“Don't be afraid, stay calm!” Jiang Cheng could only comfort Huai Yi as best he could.

He quickly assessed the situation, which could be divided into three possibilities: First, and most directly, the person sending him messages wasn't Huai Yi at all, but a ghost, trying to lure him to open the door. Huai Yi was fine.

Second, it was Huai Yi sending the messages, but everything Huai Yi was experiencing was fake, a hallucination created by the ghost to make him call for help, attacking the reinforcements.

Third, and this was Jiang Cheng's greatest fear, everything Huai Yi was facing was real. Their previous assumptions were wrong, and the ghost's target was Huai Yi.

But regardless of which of the three scenarios was true, one thing was certain: the ghost that had appeared this time was the same knocking ghost the wealthy merchant had encountered.

Before Jiang Cheng could continue thinking, a new development occurred with Huai Yi. “The ghost is moving, it’s moving! I can hear the knocking sound moving!”

Jiang Cheng grew tense as well. “Where is it moving towards?”

“The wall, starting from the door. It's moving along the wall, but I can't see it, there's nothing there by the wall!” From Huai Yi's description, Jiang Cheng could understand his fear.

This knocking ghost was a first-time encounter. They didn't understand its method of killing at all. Jiang Cheng had originally thought that as long as he didn't open the door, the ghost wouldn't kill, but now the situation was clearly different. As for why, Jiang Cheng couldn't figure it out either.

“The knocking stopped.” Huai Yi sent another message.

Jiang Cheng frowned upon seeing the message. He had a very bad premonition. Even the fingers typing on his keyboard felt stiff. “Where did it stop?”

“The wardrobe.” Huai Yi replied quickly. “It stopped inside the wardrobe. I heard it very clearly. The last knock was muffled, it came from inside the wardrobe.”

Soon after, Jiang Cheng received a photo. The lighting was poor, but he could barely make out a large, tall wardrobe. The color was dark, and the wardrobe doors were closed. Next to the wardrobe, there was a mirror hanging.

“Is a video call possible?”

What's scarier than a ghost appearing is a ghost suddenly disappearing. Jiang Cheng was worried about Huai Yi. He was afraid that Huai Yi might miss a clue in his nervousness. That wardrobe looked suspicious.

This time, Huai Yi directly initiated a video call. Jiang Cheng didn't answer directly but tilted his phone screen, glancing at the screen bit by bit. He was also worried that a ghostly face would pop up the moment he answered.

“Brother Jiang.” Huai Yi's voice was very low. As the screen shook, the camera focused on the wardrobe. Judging from the angle, Huai Yi was currently leaning against the wall, hiding in a corner far from the wardrobe.

“Dong.”

“Dong.”

Jiang Cheng's heart rose. He heard it, a slow knocking sound. The sound was muffled, but each knock felt like it was hitting his heart.

It was coming from the wardrobe, that's right!

As the knocking sound rang out, the screen shook a few times. Huai Yi's trembling voice followed. “Brother Jiang, the knocking… the knocking sound is back. It didn’t leave, it’s still inside the wardrobe, it…”

“Don’t panic, I hear it.” Jiang Cheng tried his best to comfort him. But before he could think of a solution, a horrifying scene appeared as he glanced at the screen. The wardrobe door slowly opened a crack, and a hand reached out from the gap.

“Huai Yi!” Jiang Cheng’s voice changed with tension.

“What… what is it, Brother Jiang?” Huai Yi seemed even more nervous than him. The screen kept shifting as Huai Yi seemed to be looking around.

“The wardrobe! The wardrobe door!”

Upon hearing this, Huai Yi pointed the camera at the wardrobe. This time, the wardrobe door was open even wider. An arm stretched out from the gap, grabbing onto the wardrobe as if trying to pull its entire body out.

“What’s happening, Brother Jiang?” Huai Yi’s voice revealed terror.

“Can’t you see it?” Jiang Cheng asked in surprise.

“Don’t scare me, what did you see?” Huai Yi’s voice was on the verge of tears. “I heard knocking inside the wardrobe, but… but I can’t see anything. The wardrobe…”

Jiang Cheng understood. The scene Huai Yi saw was completely different from what he saw. In Huai Yi's eyes, the wardrobe hadn't moved at all. He couldn't see that a ghost was already halfway out of the wardrobe!

There was no time. Jiang Cheng ran towards the door, but he hesitated for a moment before opening it. He looked at his phone. In the video, the ghost had already climbed out more than half its body, wrapped in a bloodstained white sheet, as if it was about to pounce on Huai Yi in the next second.

He felt like he was overlooking something.

Something very important.

In the background, Huai Yi stopped talking, replaced by rapid breathing. He could feel Huai Yi's fear at this moment.

Suddenly, a flash of light went through Jiang Cheng's mind. That knocking sound…

That’s right, that knocking sound!

He and Huai Yi both heard the knocking sound, but according to the book, only the person targeted by the ghost should be able to hear the knocking sound. The wealthy merchant was an example!

Gradually, as his doubts deepened, more and more strange things surfaced. From the current situation, Huai Yi should be the one targeted, but why was he the one who could see the ghost?

Moreover, the ghost's movements were very slow. It hadn't completely climbed out yet. Did it have physical problems, or was it just overly theatrical?

“Brother Jiang.” Huai Yi’s trembling voice rang out at just the right moment. “What… what’s going on here? Don’t be silent, I’m scared, I feel especially cold.”

Weakness, helplessness, the hesitation and struggle of wanting to ask for help but being afraid of dragging teammates into danger… All sorts of complex emotions were intertwined, vividly reflected in Huai Yi at this moment.

He was acting very convincingly, but one thing Jiang Cheng was sure of was that there was a ghost waiting for him in the hallway outside his door, separated by only a door, waiting for him to open it.

It would be easier to deal with if the ghost's target was him. Huai Yi was safe for the time being. The previous guess was correct.

Jiang Cheng looked at the mirror on the wardrobe in the screen. After a moment, he slowly said, "Brother, don't be afraid, you're fine for now."

"Really?" There was some doubt in Huai Yi's tone.

"Trust me." Jiang Cheng comforted him, "Move a little to the left."

"Like this?" Huai Yi did as he was told, and the image on the screen moved with him.

Jiang Cheng raised his eyebrows. "That's right, like that, just a little bit more."

The image moved a little bit more. Huai Yi's eager voice came. He kept it very low, as if afraid of attracting something's attention. "Brother Jiang, what exactly is going on? You..."

After taking a closer look at the screen, Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He was completely relieved now, and his tone became much more relaxed. "Alright, now please explain to me, why doesn't the mirror reflect your shadow?" Jiang Cheng asked with emphasis, "Knocking on people's doors in the middle of the night, are you too ashamed to show your face in the daytime, darling?"