Chapter 12 The Sound of Hooves

Everyone had experienced similar tasks, something like hide-and-seek, but tonight, what was looking for them wasn't human. They couldn't even be sure if it was a ghost, because it was accompanied by a series of incomprehensible hoofbeats.

"This house has three floors, but it's not very big overall. I've looked outside, and there aren't many places to hide. And there are twelve of us," Zhang Shiwei said, his tone not optimistic.

"Thirteen, you forgot about him." Ding Zhenzong nodded towards Song Keli on the bed.

"When Zhang Shiwei and I came back, we saw the butler holding a large lock. It looks like he's going to lock the gate from the outside once we're all inside," Li Shanru recalled.

Everyone present had experience being chased by ghosts and hiding for their lives, but this time was particularly tricky. They had too little information.

They weren't sure what kind of ghost was hunting them, they weren't sure what characteristics this ghost had, and they weren't even sure when or where the ghost would appear.

The task left them with only a crazy, terrified man who couldn't provide help, and even needed to be protected.

As the target, everyone knew the importance of Song Keli. If he was found and killed by the ghost, the mission would fail directly.

Everyone knew what mission failure meant for them.

"There's no use thinking too much now. What's coming will come sooner or later. While it's not completely dark yet, let's all walk around and familiarize ourselves with the layout."

Jiang Cheng's suggestion was very pertinent and naturally adopted. Lin Qianqian found several flashlights in the bedroom drawer, tested them, and they were barely usable, so she distributed them to everyone.

"Doctor, why are we splitting up? This area... this area is scary." The fatty gripped the flashlight, shining it everywhere, even on the ceiling. The footsteps of him and the doctor echoed in the empty corridor, even creating a slight echo. He had no idea where his teammates had gone.

The building looked like it had been around for a long time. The electrical wiring was old, and the lights in some remote areas were simply broken, shrouded in a blurry darkness, as if strange things were standing inside.

"It's not just us who want to split up, everyone thinks so. Everyone is looking for a suitable hiding place, and for safety reasons, only they can know this location." Now that there was still some time, Jiang Cheng explained in detail. He casually pushed open a closed door, looked inside, then closed it and continued walking.

They walked through many rooms. Some looked pretty safe to the fatty, not easy to be found, but the doctor didn't seem very satisfied.

Suddenly, the fatty had an epiphany and realized, "Doctor, I get it! You want to find several hiding places, right? Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone you!"

Jiang Cheng paused, then sighed softly without turning his head, and continued walking.

After walking around the building, they came to the sofa they had sat on before. Yao Shunyu was sitting comfortably with his legs crossed, squinting and with a cigarette in his mouth, not looking nervous at all.

Seeing Jiang Cheng and the fatty approach, Yao Shunyu exhaled a puff of smoke and pushed the cigarette case and matches on the table forward, "Want one? The cigarettes here taste pretty good, just a bit strong."

"No." Jiang Cheng refused directly.

Yao Shunyu didn't mind, just grinned, but the smile made people feel uncomfortable.

During this time, it started to rain lightly outside, with gusts of wind, seeming to herald an unusual night.

More and more people gathered at the sofa. Judging from their expressions, everyone seemed to have ideas about their hiding places. Lin Qianqian saw the fatty still holding the flashlight and reminded him, "You don't need the flashlight now. Turn it off to save power for when you really need it. Use the flashlight on your phone for lighting if you need it."

"Oh, oh."

Just as everyone was starting a new round of discussion about the task, suddenly, a sound of something falling came from upstairs, "Thump!" The sound wasn't very loud, but it was particularly clear given everyone's high level of tension.

Everyone quickly went upstairs, pushed open the door, and the scene before them made everyone's hearts twitch.

The blankets on the bed were messy, and Song Keli, who was originally lying on it… was gone!

"Where is he?" The fatty panicked instantly.

Jiang Cheng quickly walked a few steps to the bed and put his hand under the blanket. "The blanket is still warm, he just left."

He Ping and Ding Zhenzong rushed to the window, pulled open the curtains, and looked outside. It was pitch black outside. "There are no signs of the window being opened. He wasn't taken away through the window," Ding Zhenzong said anxiously.

"Don't panic. Song Keli wasn't taken away by those things, at least not yet. He won't go far. Let's look for him outside. He must be nearby!" Luo Tianhe said in a deep voice.

After speaking, a group of people rushed out. Luo Tianhe was the last one, not forgetting to close the door before leaving. A burst of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, gradually fading away.

The bedroom became quiet again.

About a minute later, the silence was broken. A very slight noise appeared in the bedroom, "Zzz... zzz..." as if something was rubbing against the floor.

About 10 seconds after the sound started, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Luo Tianhe, Jiang Cheng, the fatty, and a few others barged in.

At this moment, Song Keli was crawling out of the corner, his whole body like a fleshy worm, wriggling on the ground. Seeing someone suddenly break in, he started to tremble and desperately tried to crawl under the bed.

A moment later, the few people who had run downstairs to act also came back. Seeing Song Keli like this, Ding Zhenzong was furious and wanted to teach him a lesson, but he was stopped.

The fatty and He Ping stepped forward, each grabbing one of Song Keli's legs, dragging him out. Although this man looked sickly and weak, he was surprisingly strong. He hugged the bed leg and wouldn't let go, "They're here, they're here! I need to hide, don't make a sound... I heard it, I heard it!"

"What's here? What the hell did you hear?" He Ping suspected that the old man was acting. He listened carefully for a long time, but it was very quiet nearby, except for the sounds they were making.

Catching him off guard, Song Keli turned around, his face contorted, and bit down on He Ping's hand. Fortunately, He Ping reacted quickly and let go. Song Keli instantly crawled under the bed.

He curled up inside, covering his mouth with both hands, shaking like a sieve.

Suddenly, Yuan Shanyuan, who was standing at the back, changed his expression slightly. "Something's not right. It's too quiet."

At this time, everyone also came to their senses. Indeed, it was too quiet around them. Not only were there no human voices or dogs barking, but even the sound of the wind had disappeared. They should know that it was still raining outside.

Before everyone could react, the light above their heads began to dim slowly, and finally went out under everyone's nervous gaze.

Not only the lights in the bedroom, but even the lights in the corridor went out. From the outside, the entire Su mansion was plunged into darkness.

"Clop."

"Clop."

"Clop."

...

Following the window, a clear sound floated in. It wasn't very clear, and had a distorted feeling, as if it was coming from another world, but every sound seemed to be stepping on everyone's heart. Someone took the lead, and everyone rushed out in a swarm.

No one thought about exploring the source of the sound, and everyone scattered to hide.

The sound of hooves... had really appeared.

Song Keli hadn't lied.