“This is bad!” Fatty jogged back. He shouted as he reached the door, “Come… Please come to check it out!”
Xia Meng quickly rushed out. Jiang Cheng sat up in bed unwillingly. He worked his joints before jumping out of bed. After they left their room, they realised that the rest of the travellers had gathered outside Zuo Qing’s room. They maintained a safe distance from the room.
Zuo Qing’s group was also there, but they looked horrid. Shi Liaozhi needed others to support him just to stand. Fatty looked around. No one looked like they were acting. ‘Did something happen again?’ Fatty thought. He made a quick count and realised everyone was there.
“What’s going on?” Xia Meng walked over. An Xuan glanced at her. His cavalier nature was gone. He was serious. He moved away and used his eyes to signal her. Xia Meng followed his gaze and frowned involuntarily.
There were many bloody handprints on the door of Zuo Qing’s room. There were around twenty of them. There was also a pool of blood outside the door. The trail of blood meandered from the door to the pebbled path. After the morning rain, it wasn’t as clear as before. The travellers followed the trail until it disappeared into the lake.
After Jiang Cheng’s group walked over, Chen Qiang updated them on what had happened yesterday night. He had already told An Xuan’s group about this, so his story was more succinct. Plus, he didn’t mention how he and Zuo Qing knocked out Shi Liaozhi when the latter tried to open the door.
“So, you hid in your room and made no sound,” You Qi asked, “Then, Qin Jian… No, the ghost who pretended to be Qin Jian left?”
“Yes.” Chen Qiang nodded.
You Qi swallowed, and his face paled slightly. Based on what Chen Qiang said, the ghost suggested that he was the real ghost. He couldn’t tell what that meant. For example… it could mean that he was the ghost’s next target.
“Painting?” You Qi asked purposefully, “What painting?’
Zuo Qing glanced at him and scoffed, “It’s a painting that brings bad luck. It might be a hint for the murder.” She paused, “If you have not seen it before, I would suggest you not look at it.” You Qi looked awkward.
An Xuan nodded, “In that case, we can look at it together.”
The group moved away from the blood and entered Zuo Qing’s room. After a quick hesitation, You Qi followed. The blood stains on the door and floor were gory and creepy. You Qi, who was the last, felt his heart race. He quickened his steps.
Standing before the painting, Fatty started to frown. He turned subconsciously to the Doctor and realised the Doctor was leaning towards Zuo Qing. His upper body was practically leaning on her.
The painting… was different from before. Even though the subject was still the dancing woman, the background and some details had changed. For example, the background used to be empty. However, this new painting had a building in the background. It was tall and had more than one story. There was also something spherical at the rooftop.
The beauty also became more captivating. Detailed patterns appeared on her costume. It gave the feeling that she would suddenly dance her way out of the painting. Fatty was instantly frightened by this thought.
“Look!” You Qi began. He raised his finger to point at a spot, but he quickly caught himself. He put his finger down and used his gaze to make the signal instead. “Doesn’t that building… look like Young Master Huang’s current residence?”
The other travellers took a closer look and eventually agreed with him.
“It looks like our hypothesis was correct. This ghost is Young Master Huang’s lover,” Fatty concluded.
“She should be Young Master Huang’s new wife,” Chen Qiang corrected, “After all, they just had their wedding.”
Jiang Cheng didn’t join the discussion. While he took advantage of Zuo Qing, his eyes wandered over to the painted woman. He scanned her fair neck and waist.
The woman had a narrow waist. Jiang Cheng’s eyes studied the lines of her waist. They eventually focused on a small accessory. It was a brocade pouch. It resembled a small animal’s stomach or a crop. It was tied to her waist with a thin thread. It swayed with the dance. The tassels on the accessory looked like they were alive.
Something interesting flashed through Jiang Cheng’s eyes.
“Did you see that?” After they left Zuo Qing’s room, Xia Meng’s group came to the shore, “The thing hanging on the woman’s body.”
Jiang Cheng said calmly, “It’s a brocade pouch. It’s the hint.”
“Do you mean the crop in the hint is the pouch? It is attached to the ghost?!” Fatty gasped. At least that was the clue given to them by the painting.
“The painting appears to morph with time. The longer we stay here, the worse it’ll be,” Xia Meng shivered when she thought back to the painting, “I worry that she might really walk out of the painting.”
Fatty agreed with her vehemently. He nodded. “Me too. I didn’t even dare to look at the painting anymore!”
“It looks like we have to figure out a way to snatch the pouch from the ghost,” Jiang Cheng said casually.
Stealing from the ghost… Just the thought of it sent shivers down Fatty’s spine.