Chapter 11 The Sound of Music

Night deepened, and the surroundings were eerily silent. Sitting by the window, watching the night outside, Fatty's mind was filled with Li Shanru's words to him. She was now alone, left in that room to await death, and the thought of it was cruel.

She wasn't an irredeemably bad person, at least not in the final moments of her life.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Cheng sighed softly, "People are naturally good when they are about to die. Don't think too much about it. She brought this end upon herself... In short, it has nothing to do with you and me."

Jiang Cheng had originally intended to say that she deserved this end, but he stopped himself in the end.

Time passed, second by second, and everyone's nerves tightened. Tonight was the last day of the mission deadline. The phone left next to Li Shanru must have an alarm set for 11:20.

The alarm would attract the Ghost Steed, and Li Shanru would be the last to be taken away.

Good and evil would be rewarded, everyone would be safe, and the ending would be a happy one.

When the time reached 11:11, a strange sound came from the direction of the bedroom, like something crawling on the ground. At the same time, the lights overhead slowly went out, and the entire building was once again enveloped in darkness.

An inexplicable sense of fear washed over them. Even though everyone was prepared, they couldn't help but feel nervous when the moment finally arrived.

"Thud."

"Thud."

...

Familiar hoofbeats echoed in the courtyard, the heavy steps seeming to stomp directly on everyone's hearts. An icy chill seeped in through the cracks in the windows. For some reason, Fatty felt an indescribable sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.

Fatty subconsciously looked at Jiang Cheng, and to his alarm, the doctor's face mirrored his own, his brow furrowed.

The hoofbeats had entered the building, getting closer and closer. Time passed, second by second, and Fatty truly experienced the feeling of time dragging on. But his mood was complex. He hoped the ringtone would sound and the Ghost Steed would leave sooner, yet he also strangely hoped that Li Shanru would have a chance to live, that no one would have to die.

"Ring ring..."

"Ring ring..."

The ringtone finally sounded, but instead of feeling relieved, Fatty's scalp exploded, because... the alarm was ringing right next to them, right here in the study!

Jiang Cheng reacted first, immediately lunging towards the source of the sound, finding an old alarm clock inside a broken porcelain jar that was shattered and only half-remaining.

It really was an alarm clock, bronze-colored, rather bulky, clearly a product of this era.

Although he immediately stopped the alarm clock, it was too late. The Ghost Steed was rushing towards the study where they were hiding, the heavy hoofbeats sounding like they were about to shatter the floor.

They had been careless...

They had been set up.

Jiang Cheng hadn't expected someone to hide an old alarm clock here, and the alarm was set earlier than Li Shanru's!

But it was too late to say anything now. Jiang Cheng immediately made a decision, rushed to the window, pushed it open, and dragged Fatty to throw him out. "Go!" Jiang Cheng roared.

But Fatty grabbed the edge of the window, refusing to jump. "We go together!"

As they argued, the hoofbeats had already reached the third floor, but just as it was about to break through the door, it strangely stopped, stopping in the corridor not far from the door.

Jiang Cheng and Fatty were deadlocked, not daring to breathe.

Slowly, Fatty's face changed. He heard singing, not very loud, but echoing through the suddenly silent building, very clear.

It was... *Castle in the Sky*.

He could tell it was a woman humming softly.

The next moment, another piercing ringtone sounded, coming from the direction of the singing, from Li Shanru's room. The heavy hoofbeats, like a beast smelling blood, rushed away.

"Bang!"

A door was violently kicked open, and the humming was crushed.

He didn't know how long it had been before Fatty came back to his senses. The heavy hoofbeats had already faded into the distance. He stood up shakily from the ground. The doctor was standing next to him, staring at the alarm clock in his hand, his face so gloomy that water could drip from it.

"Li... Li Shanru she... she knew we were in the study." Fatty's lips trembled constantly, making it difficult to say a complete sentence.

"Not us, you, it's because you're here." Jiang Cheng looked at Fatty with a complicated expression. He didn't know what to say. He relied on Fatty in adversity, but whenever he encountered despair, this Fatty would bring him hope.

It was obvious that Li Shanru had used singing to attract the Ghost Steed's attention at the last moment, saving Fatty in the study. It all happened so fast, and it was so bizarre that Fatty hadn't fully reacted yet.

His mind was in chaos, but he vaguely remembered Li Shanru's last look at him, and what she had said to him: Wang Fugui, please live on, you are really great.

A pang of sadness surged in his heart for this woman who could hardly be called a friend.

Footsteps began to approach from around them. Jiang Cheng walked out the door and ran into Ding Zhendong, who was acting suspiciously. When he saw Jiang Cheng, Ding Zhendong looked as if he had seen a ghost and exclaimed, "Brother Jiang, why are you alone? What exactly... what exactly happened just now?"

"I'm here." Fatty walked out from behind the door, having already adjusted his emotions. Clearly, there were still people among the remaining people who wanted to play dirty.

He wasn't sure who it was, but he believed the doctor could definitely find this person.

When Jiang Cheng took out the old alarm clock in front of everyone, they all looked incredulous. Lin Qianqian pointed at the alarm clock and asked very carefully, "Has anyone seen this alarm clock? I don't have any impression at all."

"Me neither," Ding Zhendong shook his head.

Yao Shunyu picked up the alarm clock with interest, shook it first, and then stared at the alarm clock, recalling, "I seem to have an impression. This alarm clock was in the Su mansion, I remember... it seemed to be placed under a painting in the living room on the first floor."

Hearing this, Fatty looked at him menacingly. If there was anyone among the remaining people who didn't have a good relationship with them, then Yao Shunyu was definitely one, followed by Ding Zhendong.

The latter was sneaky and didn't seem like a good person either.

Feeling Fatty's gaze, Yao Shunyu shrugged indifferently, "Wang Fugui, what's done is done, don't be so petty. I wouldn't retaliate against you for a dead person."

In the end, Luo Tianhe stood up to smooth things over, "Brother Jiang, this matter is not only aimed at you, but also at all of us. We will find the culprit and give you and this Brother Wang an explanation."

"But the situation is complicated now, as you know, the time is almost up." Luo Tianhe changed the subject, took out his phone and showed it to everyone. The time on it was already 11:40.

Before he finished speaking, the sound of running could be heard faintly outside, as well as the sound of the door being opened.