Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 29 Xiaoming
Jiang Jin returned to the guesthouse.

Deathstroke followed behind him, warily scanning his surroundings, his ears perked up, occasionally letting out a low growl.

"You'll be on watch tonight."

Jiang Jin rubbed the head of the funeral bell and rearranged the rusty animal traps at the door. When he escaped from Grandpa Huang's house, he didn't forget to put the animal traps back into his watch.

Deathstroke obediently lay down by the door, but his eyes remained fixed on the room door.

Jiang Jin didn't think much of it; he was too tired.

Now possessing the "Hunter's Cursed Blade" ability, even without Deathstroke, his hunter's instincts allow him to wield the blade in his sleep. Therefore, after a quick wash, he grabbed his boning knife and the bag of rice, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

But this night was destined to be anything but peaceful.

In the early hours of the morning, Jiang Jin was awakened by the urge to urinate.

He groggily got up, grabbed the boning knife, and groped his way to the bathroom. The room was pitch black, with only the occasional glimpse of light from the clouds outside the window.

The bell was still lying at the door, but suddenly its fur began to stand on end.

Jiang Jin went into the bathroom, flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and then came out.

At this moment, Deathstroke suddenly stood up and let out a deep roar at Jiang Jin!
However, before the dazed Jiang Jin could react, he suddenly felt his ankle being tripped by something, and he fell heavily to the ground!
"hiss--"

Jiang Jin gasped, quickly sat up, and looked back.

There was a person lying on the floor!

A man!
The man remained motionless, as if he had fainted.

Jiang Jin's heart suddenly raced, and he quickly shouted, "Deathstroke!"

Before he could finish speaking, the man suddenly moved.

He suddenly raised his head, his face ashen white, his lips an unnatural bluish-purple. His eyes were wide open, the whites of his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Jiang Jin.

Deathstroke pounced quickly and bit down hard on the man's trouser leg!
"Go..." the man said hoarsely, seemingly oblivious to pain, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed from the depths of hell, "Go quickly..."

A chill ran down Jiang Jin's spine.

The next second—

“Ah—ah—”

A mournful Cantonese opera aria suddenly came from the bathroom!
Just like back then in apartment 708, No. 31, Qingtan Community!
Jiang Jin turned his head sharply and saw a puddle of water slowly seeping out from under the bathroom door.

Immediately afterwards, a wet, pale, almost transparent hand reached out from the crack in the door!
On her hand, she was wearing that bracelet!

At that moment, Jiang Jin rushed to the bedside table of the guesthouse, grabbed the red lantern, and picked up a match!

With a "snap," flames shot up, the lantern was lit, and it emitted an eerie red glow.

Within the area illuminated by the lights, the air seemed to freeze.

At the same time, the hand that reached out from the bathroom spread its five fingers, its nails as black as ink, and grabbed the man's throat!
Jiang Jin could immediately sense Deathstroke's intense fear, so he immediately called for Deathstroke to come back!

"Go—ah!"

The man began to struggle, his fingers gripping the wall beside him tightly!
But that hand was incredibly strong; it pulled sharply—

"Shh!"

The man was forcibly dragged into the bathroom!

The door slammed shut, and the singing stopped abruptly.

In the room, only Jiang Jin's rapid breathing and the low growl of Deathstroke remained.

At this moment, Jiang Jin realized that this man had come to warn him!
Jiang Jin took a deep breath, picked up the lantern, and walked step by step toward the bathroom. Deathstroke followed closely behind him, his back hair still standing on end, but at least he no longer growled.

The bathroom door was tightly closed, and there were no water stains under the door, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

Jiang Jin reached out and slowly pushed open the door—

empty.

There was nothing in the restroom. No water, no man, and certainly no pale hand.

The mirror, toilet, and sink were all as usual.

Even the water stains on the ground had disappeared. Jiang Jin held the red lantern; thankfully, the lantern hadn't gone out.

"That person just now..."

No, I should say that ghost...

He doesn't seem to be an evil spirit? On the contrary, it seems he's here to warn Jiang Jin!

In any case, Jiang Jin can't stay here any longer; he needs to find another guesthouse.

I checked my watch; it's 5 a.m. The SAN value has also dropped below 60%!

He ate another piece of char siu, but... there wasn't much char siu left, only two pieces.

He recalled the man's face and suddenly felt... he looked somewhat familiar.

"and many more……"

Actually, when the old man Huang Jianhua told him about Xiaoming, Jiang Jin felt that the story seemed... very familiar.

Then he remembered a Hong Kong horror movie he'd watched as a child. He couldn't recall the plot, but it seemed to start with a similar psychic game. Xiao Ming's experience was very similar to the male protagonist in that movie!

However, he doesn't really like horror movies; he prefers Hong Kong police dramas. He only remembers that the male lead in that horror movie played the younger brother of the male lead in his favorite Hong Kong TV series, "Detective Investigation Files," so he has an impression of his face.

"Xiao Ming...?"

Jiang Jin left the room and hurried downstairs to check out. Anyway, regardless of the original or revised version, the rule only stated that you should close the doors and windows when you return to the guesthouse, but it didn't say that you couldn't go out again afterwards.

Ah Hui wasn't there; another waitress helped him check out.

As Jiang Jin stepped out of the guesthouse, he thought to himself: If that person really is Xiao Ming, then he really has a lot of questions he wants to ask him.

Back then, those people drank the water from the pool because of a psychic game, and they kept dying.

What exactly happened after that?
The villagers clearly knew the secret of the woman in blue, but they dared not say a word.

Clearly, they feared that revealing this secret would lead to the female ghost's killing spree.

"If only I had a medium among the reincarnated beings. At level 1, a medium can achieve empathy with the dead, which would allow them to access the deceased's memories... and I could then find clues about the soul-suppressing ritual."

As Jiang Jin walked outside the guesthouse, he didn't notice a sinister gaze fixed on him.

When Jiang Jin walked down a relatively secluded street, he suddenly heard a sound behind him.

"You, surnamed Jiang, stop right there!"

Jiang Jin stopped abruptly, slowly turning his head. Deathstroke was crouching at his feet, emitting a low whimper.

Standing behind him was a man dressed in a long robe with a red cloth tied around his waist, his eyes fierce. He held a red lantern in his left hand and raised a gun in his right, aiming it at Jiang Jin.

"I've been staking out you for a long time. I don't believe... you're some distant nephew of Boss Chen!"

This man was none other than the one called Fourth Brother.

"who are you?"

Jiang Jin secretly gave Deathstroke the order.

The hounds darted out silently, like a black lightning bolt, and pounced on the guards in an instant!
"what--!"

Before Fourth Brother could react, Deathstroke had already bitten his wrist holding the gun, its sharp canines piercing through the flesh, and blood gushed out instantly.

Just as Deathstroke lunged at him, Jiang Jin dodged using a pre-calculated trajectory, then swiftly moved forward and easily subdued him, seizing his gun!

Fourth Brother tried to retaliate, but Deathstroke bit down hard on his calf again! He fell to his knees in pain, the red lantern rolled to the side, its flickering light illuminating his terrified and contorted face.

"Wh-what is that?!" He kicked his legs desperately, but he couldn't see or shake off the death knell.

The gun was pressed against his forehead to ensure he wouldn't dare call for help. Because it was fitted with a silencer, no one heard the shot.

"I ask, you answer."

"Okay, okay, you can ask me anything!" Fourth Brother nodded frantically. "Don't, don't kill me!"

"Answer me... what is a soul-suppressing ritual?"

　This chapter is a tribute to the scene in the original movie where Rubbish reminds Xiaoming to leave. I must say, Rubbish is a true man.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)