In the vast garden, Ye Xiaomei and Ke Shufan were leading the doll in circles, but their gazes frequently drifted toward the main building. Their hearts were equally uneasy, unsure of the progress inside—whether Xiao Bai and Chen Cailing had found any valuable clues.
Just then, as if sensing something, Ye Xiaomei suddenly turned her head. There, on the steps outside the main house, the butler had appeared from nowhere, standing expressionless, staring at her, his thoughts unknown.
Cursing inwardly, Ye Xiaomei’s first thought was of Xiao Bai and Chen Cailing, who were investigating inside the main house. Just as she was about to pull out the "Never-Disconnecting Phone" to warn them, she inadvertently glanced down and, together with Ke Shufan, her face drastically changed.
The doll that had been right in front of them moments ago had vanished again.
In the blink of an eye when she turned around!
Where had the doll gone? Please, don’t let anything happen!
Though they had heard Xiao Bai and Chen Cailing mention the doll’s sudden disappearance yesterday, having it happen to them now sent a chill down Ye Xiaomei and Ke Shufan’s spines. They also didn’t know if this counted as violating the list’s requirements.
Gritting her teeth, Ye Xiaomei immediately scanned her surroundings.
They had to find "that thing" quickly!
After wandering nearby for over ten minutes, Ke Shufan suddenly let out a soft gasp behind her, pointing at a large tree.
It was a massive withered tree on the slope behind the garden. And there, sitting beneath it, wasn’t that eerie doll?
Just as Ye Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief, a thought struck her, and her heart tightened again.
Why had it come here?
Was it because... there was some kind of clue here too?
As Ye Xiaomei felt puzzled, Ke Shufan, beside her, had the same realization. She opened her small bag and took out an item.
A bottle the size of a bottle of essential oil, with only a bit of transparent liquid at the bottom. Under Ye Xiaomei’s slightly surprised gaze, Ke Shufan unscrewed the cap, poured out a drop, and smeared it over her eyes.
Cow tears—three drops per bottle, exchanged for ten points. This was Ke Shufan’s complementary item to Xiao Bai’s abilities. Typically, talismans for dispelling ghosts were the top choice for most listeners, but Ke Shufan had a different idea. Xiao Bai’s sealed spirit photos were far more powerful than ordinary ghost-banishing talismans. Since they were entering the story world together, Ke Shufan decided to take a different path, exchanging for an item that could sense spirits—cow tears!
The method of use was to apply it to the eyelids, and within ten seconds, one could see nearby spirits.
When the doll appeared under the withered tree, Ke Shufan felt a strong intuition. She believed the doll’s two disappearances weren’t just the story’s way of scaring participants but held special significance.
So, she resolutely decided to use the item to investigate the withered tree for supernatural traces.
After applying the cow tears to both eyes, Ke Shufan closed her eyes, then slowly reopened them.
As her eyes opened, a rope hanging from the crooked withered tree appeared before her—a noose at its end, shaped into a loop!
The silent, terrifying sight made Ke Shufan step back in fright, but fortunately, she had mentally prepared herself. She quickly grabbed Ye Xiaomei’s hand to steady herself.
So that was it... so she had seen it...
The doll appearing under this withered tree was no coincidence—there were traces of supernatural power here!
"Shufan? What did you see?"
Knowing Ke Shufan was using some item, Ye Xiaomei was also extremely tense. Though she couldn’t see anything, Ke Shufan’s reaction told her that something had been discovered.
"I see... I see a noose hanging from this tree. What does it mean?"
The cow tears’ effect lasted only ten seconds, so the rope loop on the tree soon vanished.
But knowing a noose hung above them, the two dared not linger. They fled from the tree’s vicinity immediately!
---
Meanwhile, in the attic, Xiao Bai suddenly heard Chen Cailing scream, followed by a deathly silence from below.
When she opened her eyes, everything in the attic had returned to normal. The spreading blood had vanished, as if what had just happened was merely an illusion.
Of course, it wasn’t an illusion. The cracks on the locket pendant confirmed that. She had used the special spirit photo item, whose powerful exorcism ability had driven away the surrounding supernatural forces, restoring calm.
Otherwise, she would have been killed in this attic!
After devouring the supernatural forces around, the ghostly face in the photo grew even more twisted and terrifying, while the cracks on the frame indicated that the power sealing the photo was weakening.
The more supernatural forces the photo consumed, the stronger its ghost-dispelling effect became, but the higher the chance of breaking the seal. Looking at the photo’s distortion and the frame’s cracks, Xiao Bai estimated that this item could only be used once or twice more. Any more, and it would be dangerous.
With the attic calm again, the sealing power was gone. Now, Xiao Bai was more worried about Chen Cailing below.
The attack just now had contained immense supernatural power. She had only repelled it by using the special spirit photo item. And Chen Cailing... was just a newcomer entering her first official story!
Though she hadn’t said much, leaving the other outside the room was Xiao Bai’s way of protecting her. Despite her cold demeanor, she would protect her teammates when possible. She had warned Cailing not to enter the room casually, but the scream from below clearly meant the other hadn’t followed her instructions.
When Xiao Bai returned from the attic to the children’s room, everything was calm again.
But Chen Cailing was nowhere to be seen.
-----
PS: The girl’s gone. Happy?