Yue Di raised his finger, pointing towards the bedroom with a look of horror, his voice trembling as he said, "Those... those things, they floated... floated into the bedroom."
"You don't need to tell me! Do you think I'm blind?" Ying Qiang gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to show fear. "Let's go, let's go inside and take a look."
Both of them were veteran players who had experienced several instances. They knew very well that action offered the possibility of victory and a chance to escape; retreat would only lead to death.
Yue Di lowered his hand. Though frightened, he could only brace himself and accompany Ying Qiang to investigate the bedroom.
"Then, let's go. Inside, let's take a look."
Ying Qiang was closer to the bedroom, but he deliberately lagged behind, walking alongside Yue Di.
As they reached the bedroom door, both stopped simultaneously, their peripheral vision fixed on each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
However, after waiting for a while, neither got their wish.
"Let's go in together," Ying Qiang suddenly grabbed Yue Di's arm. "I'll count to three, and we'll go together."
Yue Di tried to pull his arm free, but the other man's grip tightened. "We'll go in together then, don't drag me!" he said with a hint of anger.
"Less nonsense!" Ying Qiang glared at Yue Di and began to count, "One, two, three, go!"
Upon his command, it wasn't that they entered together, but rather Ying Qiang shoved Yue Di inside.
"Ah!"
A scream echoed from the dark bedroom. Hearing it, Ying Qiang turned to run, but something grabbed his feet, causing him to fall and land on the ground.
Struggling to get up, Ying Qiang looked up and saw four or five small ghosts with bleeding orifices lunging at him, followed by his own miserable cries.
·
Jing Minghe's eyes snapped open, and he sat up abruptly, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, his breathing slightly rapid.
Chi Hao's brow furrowed, and he gently put an arm around Jing Minghe, asking softly, "What did you dream about?"
Jing Minghe closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, then turned to look at Chi Hao, a wry smile on his face. "Hao Ge, how did you know I was dreaming?"
"You weren't sleeping soundly."
Jing Minghe shook his head. "No, in my good brother's arms, I slept very soundly. I wasn't dreaming, I was seeing."
"Seeing?"
"Yes," Jing Minghe explained softly to Chi Hao. "The instance they are going through. It couldn't have appeared in my dream for no reason."
Chi Hao immediately understood. "Ying Qiang and Yue Di?"
Jing Minghe nodded slightly and said, "They failed."
As soon as Jing Minghe finished speaking, the door to the ninth carriage suddenly opened.
First, Ying Qiang was thrown out, clutching his right arm and writhing on the ground in pain.
Then, Yue Di was also tossed out. Unlike Ying Qiang, he clutched his left arm, groaning in agony.
"Their hands... they're gone!" Ke Wuwen exclaimed in horror, pointing at Ying Qiang and Yue Di on the ground.
Jing Minghe stood up and looked closely. Indeed, Ying Qiang's right hand and Yue Di's left hand looked as if they had been gnawed off by something. The wounds at their wrists were ragged and bloody, still spurting blood.
"Yue Di!"
Wen Sha rushed forward, trying to help Yue Di up, asking him anxiously, "Yue Di, how are you? Why are you like this?"
After Wen Sha helped Yue Di up, Ding Chang slowly walked over to Ying Qiang, who was rolling on the ground, and helped him up, not forgetting to mock him, "Is it that bad? Hurting so much."
"You know nothing!" Ying Qiang snarled at Ding Chang through gritted teeth. "You go let a ghost bite off a hand and see if it hurts! Hurry and stop my bleeding!"
You Mi rolled her eyes at Ying Qiang. As a doctor, she felt no sympathy for people like him. She then turned to help Wen Sha tend to Yue Di's injuries.
Tong Zheng and Ban Sheng came forward to help restrain the two, while Wan Zuo walked over, looked at Yue Di, and questioned, "The door to the ninth carriage has closed again. Did they both fail?"
"Likely," Tong Zheng said. "The last time Minghe and Wen Sha succeeded in their instance, the tenth carriage directly notified us to enter, instead of releasing Minghe and Wen Sha. This time..."
Tong Zheng's words trailed off, but the implication was clear.
"Then, they failed," Ke Wuwen said cautiously. "Will they need to send someone else in?"
As if he could hear their conversation, the train's broadcast sounded as soon as Ke Wuwen finished speaking.
"Passenger Mr. Chi Hao and Miss You Mi, please enter the ninth carriage."
Hearing the broadcast, You Mi paused her work on Yue Di's wound and turned to look at Chi Hao.
Chi Hao nodded slightly, leaned close to Jing Minghe's ear, and whispered, "Sweetheart, the ninth carriage will welcome you in."
With that, he gestured to You Mi with his eyes to accompany him into the ninth carriage.
"Hao Ge," Jing Minghe hurried after them. "The ninth carriage..."
"Don't worry," Chi Hao interrupted Jing Minghe. "Leave it to me."
Jing Minghe understood. The reason Chi Hao interrupted him was that he didn't want others to know yet that he might be able to see others' instances in his dreams.
After all, before he could confirm if he could see them every time, letting others know would only cause trouble.
However, for Jing Minghe, he wished he could offer Chi Hao some hints to ensure he would pass the instance with 100% certainty. Even though his Hao Ge was already smart and powerful enough, he still worried about the slightest possibility of an accident.
After Tong Zheng helped Wen Sha finish treating Yue Di's injuries, he turned to see Jing Minghe still staring at the door of the ninth carriage with a worried expression. He walked over and said in a low, exasperated voice, "Your affection, are you not going to hide it? You go in, he frowns; he goes in, you look worried. It's too obvious."
"Hide?" Jing Minghe gave a faint smile. "Why should I hide it?"
"..." Tong Zheng shrugged helplessly. "That's true. Boss Chi has been showing it without reservation from the beginning. You're no different."
He paused, and while Chi Hao was not around to be covered by a chilling aura, Tong Zheng clapped Jing Minghe on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry. We all have the possibility of failure, but only you and Chi Hao do not."
"Oh?" Jing Minghe turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know Brother Tong had such confidence in Hao Ge and me."
Tong Zheng's expression turned serious. "It's not just confidence. You have the strength, and... a mysterious... arrangement."
Jing Minghe glanced around and said in a low voice, "You've noticed it too?"
"I'm not stupid," Tong Zheng lowered his voice. "I've been through three instances with you. There are some things I don't understand, but I can see them."
After Tong Zheng's words, both fell silent.
A moment later, Jing Minghe spoke, "I haven't figured out exactly what's going on with those things yet. Brother Tong, you are someone I trust, and I hope you can trust me too."
Tong Zheng's hand on Jing Minghe's shoulder tightened slightly. "That's unnecessary. Needless to say for Chi Hao and You Mi, my trust, along with Wu Wen's, needs no doubt."