Chapter 8: Please Look, Is There Still Hope for Me?

The four boys stood in a row, reciting the password loudly, looking more dedicated than if they were memorizing vocabulary for the college entrance exam.

Zhou Tong waited patiently for a moment, then said, “Just waiting for it to grab us won’t work. We need to find a way to lure it out.”

Chang Xu asked, “How do we lure it?”

Zhou Tong: “The reason this monster remains here is because the Li family has not entirely disappeared yet.”

Old Fourth: “Are you saying it’s waiting for Miss Li? But Miss Li went into the painting. Are we supposed to take down that painting?”

But that painting was a holographic projection; to move the painting, they’d have to move the projector, which Fengdu wouldn’t design.

Zhou Tong recalled the information they had received: “The diary mentioned, ‘Hide the wedding dress so it can’t find me,’ which means to the monster, whoever wears the wedding dress is Miss Li!”

The more she thought about it, the more she believed this line of reasoning was correct. Plus, she was the only girl present, so she picked up the wedding dress and was about to put it on.

Chang Xu quickly stopped her. “I’ll do it!”

Zhou Tong’s mouth twitched. “You’re going to wear a wedding dress?”

Chang Xu: “What’s wrong with a wedding dress? A real man wears a wedding dress!” He then stubbornly put on the dress, looking like a tall, sturdy pillar draped in red cloth.

A trace of a smile flickered in Zhou Tong’s eyes, then she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Miss Li is here! Come out and see if this is the Miss Li you’re waiting for?”

The Lamp Shadow Hag, playing the monster, patiently waited for them to recite the password. Hearing someone call out, she instinctively poked her head out and was startled by the tall, burly “bride.” She thought, What kind of blind monster wouldn’t recognize that?

Helplessly, money was hard to earn, and a toothless mouth opened, letting out a guttural growl, “The last person of the Li family…”

As the monster made a sound, large shadows suddenly appeared on the stone chamber walls, clawing and lunging at them from all directions.

They were both excited and terrified, screaming and dodging.

It had to be said, the atmosphere was perfectly set.

One wisp of shadow lunged at a boy. He was startled, then immediately reacted: “Soldiers line up for battle—ah! Got it wrong!”

Then, with a whoosh, he was dragged into the wall.

Zhou Tong: “…”

She sighed, resignedly walking towards the wall, and shouted at a certain shadow, “Soldiers lined up for battle, advance!”

The shadow rapidly receded, but it was still moving. She raised an eyebrow. “Do we need to find the main body?”

Over there, Chang Xu suddenly yelled, “Damn it! Pervert! Don’t rip off my clothes!”

The remaining few turned to look simultaneously. The shadow had somehow wrapped itself around the wedding dress.

The dress was already loosely draped, so a tug would definitely cause it to fall.

Zhou Tong’s mind raced. “Don’t let it snatch it!”

With that, she used the password to force the shadow away, pulled back the wedding dress, unfolded it, and shook it back and forth against the wall.

The entire shadow quivered back and forth in the direction of the wedding dress, like a cat seeing a cat wand.

Zhou Tong observed carefully, then suddenly smiled. “Found you!” She pointed at the densest, unmoving part of the shadow. “Soldiers lined up for battle, advance!”

A non-human scream erupted, and the entire stone chamber shook violently.

Large chunks of prop stones fell.

Chang Xu quickly shielded her head. “What’s going on?! Is it collapsing?”

Zhou Tong: “It shouldn’t be. We passed…”

The red candle in the corner floated up, flickered in front of the wall, and the stone door crashed down, revealing the exit.

The group breathed a huge sigh of relief, scrambling out.

Outside, Gu Wang shook his head speechlessly and slowly walked away, still pondering, No way, is the Nine-Character Mantra really that hard to memorize?

He recited it once forward, then backward, finally confirming, “It definitely isn’t a problem with the Nine-Character Mantra!”

When Zhou Tong and the others emerged, they sensed that the mist outside still lingered, peaceful and tranquil, entirely different from the world inside.

They exchanged glances for a moment.

Someone said, “Holy cow! We’re out! This was so much fun! Better than those escape rooms that cost hundreds of yuan!”

“The plot wasn’t complicated, but the visual effects were amazing! Not a single prop broke the illusion. If I didn’t know there were no ghosts, I’d think this was done with magic!”

The Lamp Shadow Hag, hiding inside and waiting to clock out: “…”

Zhou Tong tidied her clothes. “Let’s go find that embroiderer.”

The embroiderer was still standing in her original spot. Seeing them emerge, she beamed. “You really came out! Thank you, young masters, thank you, young lady! If not for the wedding dress, I fear I would have been driven out!”

Chang Xu foolishly offered the wedding dress. “No problem.”

But Zhou Tong stopped him. She hugged the wedding dress to herself and scrutinized the embroiderer. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

The embroiderer looked puzzled. “Young lady, what would you like me to say?”

Zhou Tong ignored her and calmly analyzed: “I felt strange earlier. The monster in the stone chamber killed everyone in the Li family, very simply and brutally. So, what about the Li family’s sudden decline in fortune beforehand?”

“And it started half a year ago. Thinking about it, the only change that happened to the Li family half a year ago, aside from the engagement, was inviting an embroiderer from outside. That would be you, wouldn’t it?”

“Also, Miss Li’s collected gifts, whether it was the handkerchief, the hairpin, or the earrings, all had butterflies. This is also the scene hinting that you are the mastermind behind this series of incidents!”

“You disguised yourself as an embroiderer, letting wealthy families invite you into their homes, then absorbing their luck or life force.”

“That monster might have been cooperating with you, or perhaps it was already in the Li family, and you inadvertently disturbed it. It was entrenched here, so you didn’t dare enter the embroidered building.”

“You let us go in, not because you wanted the wedding dress, but because you wanted us to defeat that monster so you could go in and devour Miss Li’s soul. You are the biggest evil ghost in this scenario, aren’t you?”

After Zhou Tong finished speaking, disregarding the embroiderer’s suddenly changed expression, she softly uttered the password: “Soldiers lined up for battle, advance!”

The password’s power was immense.

The embroiderer let out a scream, “Ah—no!” and instantly vanished.

Silence fell all around. Those who witnessed this felt their scalps tingle and shivers run down their spines.

“Ahhh! Zhou Tong, you’re amazing!!”

“Holy cow, this embroiderer was also a holographic projection! I didn’t notice it at all!”

“What a twist! Fengdu is incredible!”

Amidst the cries of awe, something suddenly clattered down from an unknown source, and a voice said: “Congratulations, guests, on clearing the scenario—Embroidered Building.”

“Congratulations, guests, on achieving the Perfect Clear title.”

“Congratulations, guests, on receiving the Embroidered Building Master’s reward: Candle Maiden’s Blessing.”

Zhou Tong picked it up and saw it was a red candle, the length of an index finger.

Its wax body was a somewhat transparent, bright red, inscribed with some indecipherable characters.

Its appearance was somewhat mysterious, fitting Fengdu’s overall style.

Everyone’s satisfaction instantly soared, and they all laughed, “Again, I’m worried Fengdu will go out of business!”

At this moment, an inconspicuous small wooden door nearby opened, and their previously “captured” companions walked out.

“Holy crap, I’m telling you, that room we were in was terrifying! It was pitch black, we couldn’t see anything, and cold, clammy things kept hitting us!”

“Just now, when the lights came on, we saw the things hitting us were water balloons! This amusement park is so evil! I got stomped on several times by Old Fifth while trying to dodge the water balloons!”

“Whoa, whoa, I got stomped on too! Don’t think I didn’t notice you were having the most fun, your voice is all hoarse from shouting…”

The group laughed and chatted as they walked out, recounting their experiences to each other, feeling like they wanted to play it ten thousand more times.

At the entrance, Gu Wang was waiting for them. Seeing them emerge, he smiled. “Guests, you were quite lucky to receive the Candle Maiden’s Blessing.”

They were happy and grinned at him. “Our Zhou Tong achieved a perfect clear!”

Gu Wang’s gaze lingered slightly on Zhou Tong, his expression unchanged. “Indeed, very impressive. I’ll see you all off.”

The seven thought this was just a park rule and didn’t mind.

It wasn’t until they passed the stone tablet that Gu Wang deftly shed his Taoist robe, revealing his normal clothes underneath. He said to the stunned group, “My apologies, my apologies, I was working a part-time job.”

With her sharp eyes, Zhou Tong caught a glimpse of something black and pointy peeking out of his sleeve, then retracting with a whoosh, so fast it seemed like an illusion. Her mind stirred, and she asked, “You work part-time here? Were you a Taoist priest before?”

Gu Wang pinched the tip of the little black snake’s tail. “I studied a bit before.” His master didn’t allow him to become a monk, so strictly speaking, he was a cultivator.

Zhou Tong didn’t know why, but she felt an urge to ask him for help. She whispered, “Since you’re a Taoist, could you help me take a look? I’ve been… experiencing bad things recently.”

Gu Wang had initially intended to observe them during the send-off, but Zhou Tong actively sought help, which was an unexpected bonus. So, he asked her to explain in detail.

She spoke in a low voice, but Chang Xu, who was constantly focused on her, was startled. He understood that such matters shouldn’t be publicized, so he found an excuse to send his dorm mates away, staying behind with Zhou Tong himself.

Zhou Tong couldn’t care less about discretion now. Perhaps it was her sixth sense, but she instinctively felt that Gu Wang was someone who could help her.

After they exchanged names, she poured out everything. The poor girl almost choked up as she described her miserable university life.

When she was little, she was obsessed with Mary Sues, fantasizing about being a beloved, rainbow-haired princess. Who would have thought that real Mary Sues could be so terrifying?!

After saying everything in one breath, Zhou Tong said with a pained expression, “Master Gu, do you think I can still be saved?”

Gu Wang comforted her for a few moments, then with a swipe of his hand, opened his Yin Eyes.

After observing carefully, his expression became serious. “Hmm? Is it actually a Fox Clan Enchantment Bead?”