When they regained consciousness, they had all arrived behind the blood-red wooden door.
They found themselves scattered across a magnificent villa district in the suburbs.
The strange thing was that although the villas were exquisitely built, the whole place felt utterly lifeless.
After passing several of the villas, Ning Qiushui confirmed there was no one in the district.
It was eerily quiet.
"Is it uninhabited, or has everyone just gone off to work?"
Ning Qiushui studied the villa district carefully, and seemed to notice something.
"No..."
"The landscaping shows signs of recent pruning, there are goldfish in the pond, and there are everyday tools in the yards... people should be living here."
"So... where has everyone gone?"
A flicker of doubt crossed his mind as he kept walking forward.
Soon, he spotted the villa the task required them to enter.
It wasn't hard to identify.
Because in the entire district, this was the only villa with someone standing outside it.
It was a woman—beautifully made up, expensively dressed, carrying a suitcase.
She wore a sun hat with a little red flower pinned to it and held the hand of a delicate little girl of eight or nine, standing in the yard under the mild sunlight, smiling at those who arrived.
Her smile was lovely—she was the kind of young wife who grew prettier the longer you looked—but for some reason, looking at that smile, Ning Qiushui felt a chill... creep up his spine.
That smile didn't seem like a welcome for guests. It seemed more like...
While Ning Qiushui was lost in thought, a large hand clapped onto his shoulder.
He jumped and turned—it was the bushy-bearded Liu Chengfeng.
"Bro, you made it too?"
Ning Qiushui nodded.
"Mm. Looks like that villa over there is where we're headed."
Liu Chengfeng gazed at the villa from afar, his expression turning considerably graver. He pinched his fingers in divination and muttered:
"Not good..."
Seeing him do that, Ning Qiushui's eyes lit up:
"You can read fortunes?"
Liu Chengfeng shook his head.
"Out in the world, I do tell people's fortunes... but it just came back to me—I can't actually read fortunes. I'm a charlatan."
Ning Qiushui's breath caught.
He went numb.
This guy was really... a textbook case for the ages.
Tell a lie often enough and you start believing it yourself, huh?
And another thing...
How could he say something like that with such righteous confidence?
"Forget it..."
Ning Qiushui shook his head helplessly and strode toward the distant villa where the young wife stood.
Others had already arrived ahead of them.
The villa's mistress didn't speak with them, only gave them an impeccably official smile.
The smile was neither warm nor cold. Whenever anyone spoke to her, she would only reply with the same line:
"Please wait. A few of the caretakers haven't arrived yet."
After about ten minutes, all seven were finally assembled.
Then, as if some condition had been triggered, the mistress who until now had only smiled suddenly addressed them:
"Everyone's here, yes?"
"My sincere apologies for calling you all out here to look after my mother. It's just that my husband is away for work, and I'm taking my daughter to the seaside for her birthday, so there's truly no one at home..."
"And my mother is getting on in years—not only paralyzed and bedridden, but her mind has deteriorated badly. I worried that two or three caretakers might not manage, so I simply hired all of you from the agency at once..."
"As for money, don't worry. Money is no object to me."
"When I return... if my mother has been well cared for, I'll pay each of you a separate reward."
As she spoke, she led them into the villa and up to the second floor, into a spacious room.
The lighting in the room wasn't good.
And inside... there was a rather unpleasant smell.
On the large bed by the window lay an old woman with a kindly face, watching Ning Qiushui and the others serenely.
On her face hung a barely perceptible, eerie smile—the kind that made everyone's hair... stand on end.
"This is my mother..."
After the introduction, the woman crouched down at the old woman's side and said with deep tenderness:
"Mom, I'm taking Tuantuan to the seaside for her birthday. I've found seven caretakers just for you—they'll look after you for these five days..."
Then she leaned close to the old woman's ear and whispered something.
Then the woman rose, looked at the group, and smiled:
"My mother may be paralyzed and a little senile, but she can understand simple things. Her health is quite good otherwise—no other illnesses, and a fine appetite... Oh, right, I haven't shown you the kitchen yet."
She led them back downstairs to the villa's kitchen.
The kitchen was just as large, with a full set of cookware on the counters, all washed spotlessly clean.
To the left of the kitchen entrance stood two enormous refrigerators.
"Summer has already arrived here, and the rainy season is coming. The rainstorms in these parts are dreadful—there will likely be heavy wind and rain over the next three to five days, and going out to buy meat and vegetables will be very inconvenient..."
The woman pulled open one of the big refrigerators, revealing it packed full of meat and vegetables, and smiled at them:
"But don't worry."
"I've prepared plenty of food and water for you..."
"Also... my mother doesn't like vegetables. When you cook for her, just make plenty of meat."
Having finished, she didn't leave right away with her daughter, but asked:
"Do you have any other questions?"
Ning Qiushui was the first to speak:
"Excuse me—does no one else live in this villa district?"
The woman froze for a moment, then smiled with perfect composure:
"That's right. This district was built quite some time ago, but it's too remote, so aside from us, no one else lives here. Honestly, if it weren't for my mother, we wouldn't be living here either..."
She paused, then added:
"For these five days, just treat yourselves as the owners of the villa. I've tidied up all the rooms on the second floor for you—pick whichever ones you like."
"But do take note... you absolutely, absolutely must not go up to the villa's third floor. Understood?"
As she said this, the woman's expression suddenly turned deadly serious.
Everyone agreed.
Seeing them consent, the mistress broke into a smile again.
"Since everyone understands, then... my mother is in your hands!"
"Oh dear, the car's about to leave—my daughter and I must go, or we'll miss the high-speed rail..."
With that, she hurried to the door in her high heels and led her daughter and suitcase out.
Ning Qiushui had a vague sense that something was off, so he went to the window and watched the direction of her departure.
Just as they were getting into the car, the little girl the woman was leading turned her head back and met Ning Qiushui's eyes through the window.
That one look froze him where he stood.
His eyesight was excellent.
So Ning Qiushui saw, with perfect clarity, a trace of... terror in the little girl's eyes!
She was afraid.
Afraid of what?
Afraid of going to the seaside?
Afraid of her own mother?
Or... afraid of this villa they were standing in?
As Ning Qiushui pondered, Liu Chengfeng, the burly man with the bushy beard, sidled up again and smacked his lips:
"What're you staring at? They're long gone..."
"Bro, who'd have thought—young as you are, you've got a thing for married women... Not bad, not bad. A promising future!"