Chapter 109: Coming with a Knife

Night had fallen—tonight was the night of reckoning.

Things shouldn’t have progressed so quickly. By normal pace, they should have only reached the stage of preparation for the sacrifice.

But Chen Fu and the middle-aged man’s urgency had accelerated the task. What should have taken two days had, in just one, already entered its final phase.

The sacrifice had yet to be completed, missing one soul—a female soul.

Tongguan and the others had no knowledge of this.

The three of them—Tongguan, Fang Shenyan, and Yu Guo—hesitated, analyzing the possible situation.

Disagreements arose. Fang Shenyan insisted they return to South Mountain to retrieve the painting.

Yu Guo argued that the Li Mansion had already become the final battleground between the staff and the ghost.

Ji Li, absent for a day and night, would now surely arrive with the crucial object for survival—the painting. They trusted Ji Li implicitly, thanks largely to his planning before the task.

Fang Shenyan, however, did not share this trust. He unconsciously touched the back of his left hand, standing in the shadows, his expression colder than ever.

With a stick, he wrote the character for doubt on the ground.

It was clear he did not fully trust Ji Li.

Even though they had faced life-and-death situations together, trust was mutual but incomplete—they were comrades, not friends.

Yu Guo, sensing this, noticed that Fang Shenyan’s left-hand tattoo had disappeared. Though bold, Fang was meticulous, and Yu Guo narrowed his eyes cautiously, asking, “Teacher Fang, how did you get out of the illusion?”

All three knew there was evidence of Fang Shenyan existing inside the glass bottle compartment.

Fang gave no answer, deepening Yu Guo’s suspicion. He stepped back, beginning to wonder if Fang had already been killed by the ghost and replaced.

Now standing before them could be a ghost in disguise.

Ji Li, Fang Shenyan, and Yu Guo were the veteran trio of Branch Seven. By nature or due to the ghostly torment, they could never fully trust outsiders, even after supporting each other through life and death.

At that moment, Tongguan interrupted the two lost in thought, placing a hand on Yu Guo’s shoulder, glancing at Fang Shenyan, and softly saying:

“His situation has nothing to do with ghosts, it’s related to the hotel. Once this task is over, we’ll know.”

Seeing Yu Guo’s astonished expression, Tongguan picked up the short knife from the ground and, looking at the two of them, said firmly:

“I believe Ji Li is racing here with the painting. Not because I trust him, but because he’s not a fool. His mind would never overlook that tonight’s true battlefield is the Li Mansion. He knows the importance of the sacrifice and what must be done.”

These words impressed Fang and Yu Guo. They could see the tension between Tongguan and Ji Li—a kind of rivalry. Yet at this moment, Tongguan’s observation was more objective than anyone else’s.

Ji Li had no reason to miss tonight’s final battle, and he would understand the importance and decisiveness of the sacrifice.

Thus, the one to strike the final decisive blow would inevitably be Ji Li.

Tongguan’s gaze then swept the darkness behind them. He still couldn’t understand why the ghost had surrounded the three of them but not killed them, taking only the two female staff.

It seemed now that the ghost was responding to a perceived threat. Whatever Ji Li was doing on the other side had triggered its sense of danger, prompting special attention to Chang Nian and Tao Xiaoyi.

Was this related to the sacrifice? Tongguan didn’t yet know. What he did know was that Ji Li was racing toward them without pause.

His current mission: disrupt the ghost’s plan before Ji Li arrived.

The situation was clear. Tongguan looked at Fang and Yu Guo and asked firmly:

“Who’s coming with me?”

Yu Guo glanced at the still-motionless Fang Shenyan, hesitated briefly, then stepped forward. “I’m coming!”

Tongguan gave Fang Shenyan a look, said nothing further, grabbed the bag on the ground, and dashed out.

A step behind, Yu Guo saw Fang Shenyan emerge from the shadows.

Now he truly saw him: the same appearance, neatly half-white hair, exuding a scholarly aura, yet with an ever-growing shadow of gloom surrounding him.

Even up close, a tangible cold radiated from him.

“You…” Yu Guo sensed something different about Fang Shenyan but couldn’t articulate it.

The only change he noticed: Fang no longer wore his black-rimmed glasses.

Fang then used a wooden stick to slowly write on the ground:

I’ll be the only one to wait for Ji Li!

Yu Guo didn’t understand. He couldn’t grasp why Fang Shenyan would claim he alone could wait for Ji Li…

Gradually, seeing Tongguan walk further away without pursuing, Yu Guo followed silently.

In the forest, Fang Shenyan was alone. His steps were slightly unsteady; his injuries had not fully healed. Yet without the glasses, his movement seemed unaffected.

He walked toward the roof of the elderly woman’s room—the same place he and Ji Li had agreed to meet last night.

Fang Shenyan leaned on his wooden stick with his right hand, staggering yet resolute.

In the palm of his open left hand, an eyeball stared wide, as if alive.

No one knew what the recent dream truly meant, except him.

From that moment, Fang Shenyan loathed his body even more, yet to survive, he had no choice but to rely on that entity.

That entity had been within him, dormant through two missions.

Now, perhaps because they were nearing the Two-Star Hotel or influenced by an overwhelmingly powerful ghost, it had truly awakened. In a form both burdensome and inescapable, it granted Fang Shenyan abilities he could neither ignore nor discard.

Abilities like breaking illusions, or perceiving the movement of ghosts…

Among them, only he could guide Ji Li. Only he could illuminate the path forward.

Tongguan laid the groundwork, Yu Guo assisted, Fang Shenyan guided, while Chang Nian and Tao Xiaoyi delayed.

They were waiting for Ji Li, the knife-bearer, to return with a path to survival.