Chapter 304 What’s the Truth?

Chapter 304 What Is the Truth?

Su Bai knew that newcomers to the nightmare world lacked the ability to perceive the Red Moon's power. Even beneath its glow, they could only feel a bone-deep chill.

As the Ghost Lady, possessing the West Courtyard Bride, let out a piercing wail, the power of the Eerie Entities began to surge wildly.

Though, to the current Su Bai, the Ghost Lady’s power might not even rank among the top tier in the nightmare world, this rampant surge of power was palpable even to the new players, who felt waves of cold, eerie winds swirling around them.

Moreover, at least in this game, the Ghost Lady’s existence was unique.

When this mansion was first built, the wife, murdered by Master Wang and transformed into an Eerie Entity, had not been dead for long. She even needed to possess the West Courtyard Bride to move. Yet, her resentment was deep enough to turn her into a vengeful ghost, stripped of all reason, even to the point of killing the brides who had done nothing wrong.

Though it was unclear how many years ago this tragedy occurred, by now the Ghost Lady, the ghost brides, and the old butler submerged in sludge had been bound to this mansion. Among them, the Ghost Lady was undoubtedly the most terrifying presence and the true occupant of this mansion.

Within these walls, the Ghost Lady’s power might grow even stronger.

As if to confirm Su Bai’s thoughts, the rampant power of the Ghost Lady began to affect the entire mansion. Su Bai could even sense the flow of energy around him, like ripples in a pond—starting as small undulations but gradually spreading outward until they enveloped the entire mansion.

Then, in the next moment, the candlelight that had once illuminated the mansion vanished. The entire mansion, along with everyone’s vision, was plunged into darkness.

Su Bai was the first to adapt to the returning darkness and noticed the blood-colored moonlight that followed.

He instinctively looked up at the sky and saw that the disguised moonlight had disappeared. The blood-red crescent moon now hung in the sky, bathing everything in the nightmare world equally under the night.

Turning his gaze to the rear courtyard, now devoid of lantern light, the once shimmering pond was gone. The red lanterns had faded into dilapidated remnants, and the winding bridge, pavilion, and stone path had all become broken and decayed.

The illusion that had enveloped the entire mansion shattered completely amid the Ghost Lady’s piercing wails, revealing the mansion’s true, original form.

"The mansion... the mansion..."

Before Su Bai, the old butler, who had been swallowed by mud and was barely recognizable as human, appeared disoriented. His eyes, untouched by the mud, wandered blankly.

"Where is the mansion? The pond? The brides... the broth..." The old butler began to drag his sludge-laden body, muttering aimlessly as he wandered the courtyard.

"Ah—!!"

After an ear-splitting shriek, the Ghost Lady’s twisted, monstrous face suddenly appeared outside the East Courtyard. The players hiding inside the courtyard had no doubt that if the East Courtyard "Bride" hadn’t been blocking the entrance, she would have torn them to shreds in the next moment.

"They shouldn’t have died?"

To everyone’s shock, the Ghost Lady did not start slaughtering. Instead, she stood there and spoke in a hoarse, aged voice.

Earlier, Wen Wen had said in front of the Ghost Lady that the brides shouldn’t have died, and the Ghost Lady was still hung up on it.

"Outsiders, have you ever thought..."

The players hiding behind the East Courtyard "Bride" held their breath, with no idea what the Ghost Lady intended to say.

"This time, it was you outsiders who brought the broth to those women, but this place is merely an illusion. Have you ever wondered, outside this illusion, on the day those brides truly drowned, there were no outsiders like you in this mansion. So who was it that persuaded those brides to drink the broth? Who made those brides let down their guard in the deep of night?"

"Was it that disgusting old man, or was it another bride who shared their pitiable fate... another bride forced into marriage?"

After her old, hoarse voice faded, the Ghost Lady raised her withered hand and pointed directly at the East Courtyard "Bride" shielding the players.

"Why would a bride do something like that?" Sha Linghai couldn't believe that the East Courtyard "Bride" was involved in the deaths of the brides, or perhaps he was unwilling to believe it. After all, aside from the East Courtyard "Bride," they had no other help in this mansion.

"Wuu—"

The Ghost Lady made a strange sound, a sound that was both a snicker and a whimper. The Eerie Entity possessing the West Courtyard Bride emitted these odd noises while turning sideways, allowing the players in the courtyard to see the backyard that lay in ruins and the old butler still wandering there.

The Ghost Lady’s power began to flow once more, and the red crescent moon above the mansion was once again shrouded by an illusion.

"See for yourselves what truly happened back then..."