"Miss Zuo," Shi Liaozhi stared into Zuo Jing's eyes as if trying to see right through her. "I hope you can give us an explanation."

Zuo Jing glanced at him. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You don't understand?" Shi Liaozhi gasped. "Then let me ask you, what's with the painting on the wall?"

After the three of them returned to their room, Shi Liaozhi, who was wringing out his costume with a piece of cloth, suddenly noticed a painting on the wall facing his bed.

The painting depicted a woman dancing gracefully.

Her dance was elegant, she wore a theatrical costume, her steps were light, her fingers held in the orchid mudra, her extended fingers were slender and long, her neck was fair, and her body was shapely under the costume.

Anyone would see her as a rare beauty.

But at this moment, Shi Liaozhi felt only endless fear.

He suddenly thought of the painting that You Qi had mentioned.

And the woman in the painting…

No, it was a female ghost!

The female ghost who rode on Qin Jian's back and broke his spine!

His thoughts connected, and he gradually sorted out the sequence of recent events.

Soon, a creepy but realistic conjecture took shape in his mind.

The appearance of this painting represented misfortune.

And according to what You Qi had just said, he had seen this painting before, which meant that this painting had appeared in his room, resulting in the tragic deaths of Qin Jian and, earlier, Tang Shirou.

This was an undeniable fact.

"Mr. Shi," Chen Qiang's voice came, neither calm nor panicked. "Calm down. Arguing won't solve the problem."

"Even if this painting really brings us danger, I don't think it will be immediate. There's still a chance." Chen Qiang continued, "So let's sit down and think about it carefully."

Shi Liaozhi's gaze shifted to Chen Qiang.

This newcomer seemed to be adapting very well. In just two short days, the fear that he had once possessed had disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief.

And beneath that relief was a sense of calm.

Staring at the young man's face, which looked like a student's, Shi Liaozhi slowly calmed down.

Not because he was afraid of him, but because what he said made sense.

"A chance?"

"Yes." Chen Qiang nodded. "After You Qi suddenly mentioned the painting and the female ghost on it, Mr. Shi, you subconsciously showed a surprised expression."

Then, he added reassuringly, "I don't mean anything by it. It's a normal reaction, especially given the premise that ghosts exist and have already killed people."

"But have you noticed that the people in the other room basically didn't react at all? Chen Xiaomeng, Jiang Fugui, and that Hao Shuai." After saying that, Chen Qiang looked at Zuo Jing, who was frowning slightly, and said, "So I guess they've also seen that painting."

"But not like in the rooms of An Xuan's group." He continued, "Miss Zuo also said that Chen Xiaomeng and the other three are together. I trust Miss Zuo's judgment."

Shi Liaozhi frowned slightly, then said, "Are you saying that the painting also appeared in Chen Xiaomeng's room?"

"It should be."

"Then why hasn't anything happened to them?"

"It's not clear yet." Chen Qiang said, "But since that's the case, there must be a reason."

He was very modest. Even though he was in control of the conversation, he still left enough room for Shi Liaozhi and the quiet Zuo Jing.

Shi Liaozhi's eyes gradually changed as he looked at Chen Qiang. After a long while, he let out a breath and said, "Just say what you want to say. We're all in the same boat now."

As if he felt uncomfortable standing there, Shi Liaozhi changed his position.

Strangely enough, the painting was hung in a very particular spot. In terms of color layout, it was almost integrated with the walls and the surrounding scenery.

A simple potted plant with a dark pattern was placed sideways in front of the painting, adding an unspeakable beauty to the woman in the painting.

For a long time after they entered the room, no one noticed the painting.

What really made Shi Liaozhi notice the painting was… a feeling.

Yes, a feeling!

A very strange feeling of being watched.

He sat on the bed and felt uncomfortable no matter how he tossed and turned. Because of his experiences, he never thought it was just a delusion caused by nervousness.

At first, he thought it was Zuo Jing or Chen Qiang, but until… he followed that feeling and saw the painting!

The beautiful woman's eyes in the painting were staring at his face.

That was also the biggest reason why his attitude towards Zuo Jing had been so bad earlier.

He was terrified.

He was worried… that he would be the next one.

But after a moment, he looked at Zuo Jing, as if he were a different person, and bowed slightly, saying, "I'm sorry, Miss Zuo. I was too impatient just now."

Chen Qiang smiled. As he had thought, Shi Liaozhi, who seemed frivolous but whose behavior revealed a sense of order, was someone who knew what was important.

"It's my fault." Zuo Jing frowned with a troubled expression. "You guessed right. An Xuan did look for me. I… I have some…"

A few seconds later, Zuo Jing changed her wording. "That An Xuan is not ordinary. I suspect there's something wrong with his background."

"Background?" Shi Liaozhi seemed interested, but he still tried to suppress his emotions. "You mean…"

"Wait." Chen Qiang suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Shi Liaozhi and Zuo Jing both looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Looking in one direction, Chen Qiang seemed to be able to see through the wall. "Did you… did you hear anything?" he asked in a low voice.

But from their expressions, it was clear that they hadn't heard anything.

"No," Zuo Jing replied softly. "What's wrong?"

"I think… I think I heard the sound of drums."

Hearing this, Shi Liaozhi's scalp went numb. Hearing the sound of drums now was not a good thing, especially with this extremely strange painting… appearing in their room.

The next victim would probably be one of them.

And he had a feeling that the most likely candidate was…

"Dong!"

Instantly, Shi Liaozhi's eyes paused, then immediately narrowed into slits.

He heard it.

He heard it too.

The sound of drums!

How could this be?

Wasn't the game over?

Qin Jian was already dead.

Today… at least today, they should be safe.

Then, a very strange and slippery sound came from outside the door.

Neither far nor near.

"Splatter."

"Splatter."

It sounded like something wet was stepping on the bluestone slabs.

It was large, and heavy, very heavy.

Because along with the sound of stepping in water, there was also the sound of a heavy object being dragged.

It was coming from the direction of the lake.