Top Horror Novelist - Chapter 9

The brain has the instinct to protect itself, and would unconsciously check when it detected danger. Be it voice or sight, one would instinctively turn back.

However, in just half a second, Chi Yiyin resisted his instinctive reaction. He still remembered the rule that female ghosts would kill him if he were to see her. Without knowing whether the female ghost was behind him, he could not turn around rashly.

Moreover, after his initial surprise, he recognized the owner of the voice.

——The housekeeper.

A second ago he was still talking about letting the eldest miss go to see her parents, but the next second, he not only locked the gate, but also appeared behind him silently.

Either the housekeeper was malicious towards the eldest miss, and so all players will be targeted by the housekeeper, but Chi Yiyin had doubts about this for the time being. He was now separated from the rest of the players, so there was no way to confirm it.

Or another possibility was that the housekeeper was dissatisfied with him and specifically prevented him from going to the banquet hall to meet his “parents.”

But as soon as this idea came out, Chi Yiyin frowned.

Although he was a player participating in the instance, and knew the system’s announcements and rules, and knew that he would die if he failed to complete the task, the housekeeper was an NPC character in the instance, which was different from him.

Regardless of his current understanding of NPCs or the previous reactions of other players, NPCs will not participate in the affairs of players and the system, will and only focus on the original story of the instance.

That is to say, there was no way the housekeeper is dissatisfied with him, Chi Yiyin – even when he was outside the mansion, he tossed the housekeeper so much until the other was uncomfortable.

…This was what the housekeeper intended to do to the eldest miss.

In a short moment, Chi Yiyin quickly regained his composure, and at the same time noticed the rapidly rising temperature around him.

It seemed the female ghost had left.

Just when the housekeeper appeared.

Disgust? Or fear?

When he deliberately spoke ill of the housekeeper in front of the female ghost, she did not refute him.

Although Chi Yiyin was a little puzzled, he still smiled and said to the person behind him: “I should be the one asking you this, housekeeper. I just got home and was going to visit my parents. Why did you stop me?”

And locked the gate, as in the carriage, lest he would escape.

Chi Yiyin looked at the courtyard gate that was close at hand, his eyes dimmed.

He counted down silently in his heart, starting from the six minutes just now, even if he set off immediately, it would be very difficult to catch up… I’m afraid he would have to find other alternative methods.

The housekeeper didn’t deny his identity, but nor did he care about Chi Yiyin’s accusation. He just snorted and said contemptuously, “Miss, do you really not know, or are you just pretending to be stupid with me?”

“Don’t you know that madam was seriously ill in bed because of anger, and she refused to see anyone for a long time. The master is also busy working on the Ma family’s property, and hasn’t come home for a long time?”

As soon as these words came out, Chi Yiyin was startled.

Leaving aside the truth and falsehood of the mother being ill because of anger. If the master and madam of the Ma family didn’t show up, why did the housekeeper let everyone go to the banquet hall just now? The most important protagonist was not there. For the instance’s NPC, it was just four children, and there was no need to gather at all.

This was almost incomprehensible to the era a century ago that valued seniority.

Unless… it’s a Hongmen Banquet.

T/N: Hongmen Banquet = an idiom based on a historical event, meaning “a situation that appears fun and celebratory but in fact is dangerous, where enemies put on false pretense to make you lower your guard and then do something damaging to you.”

Chi Yiyin paused, aware of the maliciousness of the instance. If you go to the banquet on time, it’s a Hongmen Banquet, if you give up the banquet, there is a high probability that you will die.

The two ways of going forward and backward had been blocked. Players knew that moving forward meant death, and they also knew that they had to bite the bullet and step into the trap of the instance.

But in terms of his current situation, being entangled by the housekeeper, it was difficult to escape in a short time. With only five minutes and one second left, it was obviously impossible to find the banquet hall that he didn’t even know where it’s located.

Chi Yiyin immediately looked around, his brain turning fast, looking for a way to get him out of the dangerous situation in front of him.

“I had no idea.”

The housekeeper was still waiting for his answer. Chi Yiyin continued to play his role seriously while thinking wildly quietly, and said coldly: “I go to school that is far away, how would I know.”

Chi Yiyin never turned around to look back—and there was no need for it.

The weak sunlight allowed him to see the shadows on the ground when he was standing against the light. The female ghost did not have a shadow, but the housekeeper did.

After the words fell, Chi Yiyin’s eyes tightened instantly.

When he saw the housekeeper’s shadow on the ground, he changed from a human being to a ferocious one in an instant, baring his teeth and claws like a tangled snake, hissing and spitting his tongue as he approached him.

At the same time, the housekeeper’s voice sounded eerie, causing a resonance like the ventriloquist of a snake, making the listener feel as if a cold, sticky snake had wrapped itself around their limbs, and his hair stood on end.

“Unforgivable, unforgivable! Miss, you have ruined the reputation of the Ma family and shamed such a prestigious family as the Ma family. The master and madam are kind and spared your life, and you still don’t know how to repent!”

“Not only are you not ashamed, but you’re also refusing to save the Ma family! Damn white-eyed wolf, you will definitely destroy the Ma family!”

The housekeeper roared in a low voice, and the stench from the wind rushed towards Chi Yiyin, blowing the originally beautiful landscape in the courtyard upside down and to a dilapidated condition in an instant.

Chi Yiyin was also blown unsteadily by the strong wind, he raised his hand to cover his eyes, and could only squint his eyes due to the stench.

And through the gaps in the hair, he saw the housekeeper’s current appearance.

The man who was wearing a long gown like a bone frame had completely mutated, and was irritated by the possibility that “the eldest miss will destroy the Ma family,” and turned into a skeleton with a height of three to four meters.

The gown had long been torn, revealing groups of snakes entangled in the skeleton, swimming frantically in the air, trying to get closer to Chi Yiyin.

It’s like maggots on rotting bones.

Even the players on the live broadcast were stunned when they saw the housekeeper’s image clearly.

[Fuck! Isn’t this the Carnival’s instance? Why is there such a thing! Snakes, skeletons… Blergh!]

[My god, what luck does this newcomer have, to directly trigger the housekeeper’s branch line. It’s over, he will definitely die.]

[He still has a banquet task, right? It must be impossible to catch up.]

[Is he the only one who triggers the housekeeper now? Could it be because he offended the housekeeper outside the mansion before? Alas, the newcomer just can’t hold his breath…]

[The current number of viewers is 4002, and the number of followers is 903. Survivor, please pay attention. The popularity of the live broadcast room is dropping rapidly.]

The skeleton’s teeth and jaws opened and closed, and the stench made Chi Yiyin frowned.

“I must never let you ruin the Ma family, it will be better for me to kill you!”

The roar made Chi Yiyin’s eardrums ache, and he didn’t have time to be surprised by why the housekeeper became like this. He first saw the housekeeper slapping his giant palm against him, covering the faint sunlight.

The system went online in time: [Congratulations! You have triggered “The Housekeeper’s Hatred.” The current hatred value is 90/100, the NPC’s comprehensive hatred value is 53, and it is currently ranked first!]

[It seems that no one likes you, whether it be parents, siblings or servants, not even friends. Is this your sad life?]

[You have successfully started your escape journey, I suggest you start running as much as you want now – being caught may be worse than death.]

[Mission ‘Banquet Hall’ countdown 00:04:03]

[“There is a ghost behind you” continues to take effect…]

The continuous reminders in his mind combined with the cold mechanical sound made Chi Yiyin squint his eyes, feeling that the system really loved him, layering another upon another of murderous reminders, tsk.

But even though he was dissatisfied, Chi Yiyin ran away without the slightest hesitation.

Countless long snakes roamed on the ground, quickly blocking the courtyard gate airtight, and the snake wall surged and entangled, making one’s scalp numb.

But Chi Yiyin smiled slightly, and immediately turned the direction of his feet, rushing to the other side away from the gate.

There, a beautiful swing in the center of the garden was covered with creeping flowers.

But the swing without anyone on it was shaking gently by itself.

“Squeak!”

“Squeak…”

The ear-piercing sound of friction echoed in the deserted garden, spreading an aura of horror, weaving into a net to grasp the heart tightly, as creepy as it was suffocating.

Chi Yiyin closed his eyes in an instant.