"I was terrified at the time. I wanted to shout for help, but I didn't dare. I didn't know where Master had gone, and...and I was worried about under the bed. That sound was truly frightening." Madam Su looked like she still hadn't recovered from the shock.

"But you eventually checked under the bed, didn't you?" Zhang Shiwei asked in a very soft voice.

Madam Su pursed her lips. After a moment, she nodded. "That's right, I...I calmed down for a long time, but finally I couldn't bear it anymore, so I suddenly lifted the quilt, ran down the bed, and immediately turned on the light."

"In the instant the light came on, I saw it. Under the bed...the person under the bed was Master!"

"His body was curled up, squeezed into the space under the bed. His eyes were wide open, his face was covered in blood, and his two hands were tightly covering his mouth. His body was still trembling non-stop."

"Suddenly seeing this scene, I was so frightened that I screamed. But I didn't expect that after Master heard the scream, he went crazy. He immediately crawled out from under the bed and rushed towards me."

Madam Su became more and more agitated as she spoke. "Master, he...he reached out and forcefully掐 (qiā) my neck, and even wanted to cover my mouth. He looked terrifying. No, I suspected that it wasn't him at all!"

"I struggled desperately, shouting. If the servants hadn't heard the sound and come, I might have..." Madam Su suddenly choked up at this point, and then began to sob softly.

"From what you've said, Master Su's state seems more like he's been possessed by an evil spirit," Zhang Shiwei said in a serious tone.

"That's right." Madam Su nodded heavily, her breathing becoming rapid. "You didn't see Master's appearance at the time. His eyes were bloodshot, and his strength was terrifyingly great. He is a polite person. I never thought he would be like this."

"By the way, Madam, you mentioned that Master Su's face was covered in blood. How did this blood come about?" Jiang Cheng looked at Madam Su. He always felt that there was a problem with her account. She seemed to be glossing over the important details.

"The blood...the blood was Master's own! Master bit his tongue. After the doctor came to examine him, he said that fortunately he was treated in time. If it had been delayed any longer, even if he could be cured in the future, he would probably have trouble speaking." Madam Su couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

"Then can Master Su speak now?" Jiang Cheng continued to ask.

"Barely, but he can't speak very clearly. You need to listen carefully." Madam Su's voice revealed a hint of sadness. It was obvious that she and Master Su had a good relationship.

Just as everyone was preparing to continue probing for information, suddenly, a "bang" sound came from overhead, as if something had fallen to the ground. Then, there was a series of fighting sounds, along with a woman's scream.

Hearing the sound, Madam Su's face stiffened. She quickly stood up and ran towards the direction of the sound. Jiang Cheng and the others immediately followed.

The group ran upstairs along the staircase. Madam Su pushed open a door. The scene that greeted them made everyone frown. A fat, middle-aged man was pressing down on a woman, one hand strangling her neck and the other hand covering her mouth. The woman was struggling desperately.

There was a pool of brown liquid beside the two, as well as a bowl broken in half.

The bitter smell of Chinese medicine permeated the air.

The woman's face was already turning blue from being strangled, and her voice was getting weaker and weaker. Seeing this, Ding Zhenzong and He Ping immediately rushed forward, wanting to pull the man off. But the man's strength was surprisingly great, his two hands like iron clamps.

In the end, the fatty went up to help, and the three of them finally pressed the man to the ground, barely managing to control him.

The room was not very large. There was a black wooden bed, a table close to the wall, and a few chairs. Judging from the layout, it was a bedroom.

It was easy to guess that the crazed man was naturally the owner of the house, Master Su, and the woman who had been pounced on was a maid in the Su residence, who had been attacked while giving Master Su medicine.

At Madam Su's request, the men carried Master Su to the bed.

There were ropes by the bed, and everyone tied Master Su to the bed. Master Su's eyes were wide open, and his face was full of terror. His mouth opened and closed, making rapid and very small sounds.

Jiang Cheng leaned in to listen carefully. Master Su's tongue was injured, and his pronunciation was unclear. He listened for a long time before he could make out that Master Su was saying, "Silence, don't talk, I don't want to be found... They're coming, I hear them, they're coming for me!"

Over and over again, Master Su seemed to be possessed, his body stiff, his eyes bloodshot, and his eye sockets dark. It was obvious that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

Lin Qianqian communicated with him in a soft voice, but Master Su didn't react at all.

Jiang Cheng keenly noticed that as long as they spoke a little louder, Master Su seemed to be strongly stimulated and began to struggle again. He seemed extremely sensitive to sound.

"Masters, please go out and wait for a while. My Master's emotions are unstable again. I'll stay here with him alone," Madam Su said in a very soft voice.

Looking at Master Su's ghostly appearance, they knew they wouldn't be able to get any useful information, so everyone left.

When leaving, Li Bai thoughtfully closed the door. Yao Shunyu rolled up his school uniform sleeves, leaned against the wall, glanced at the door, and sneered in a low voice, "Could it be that this Master Su has done something wrong? Otherwise, why would he be so afraid?"

"Be careful, the walls have ears," Ding Zhenzong frowned and reminded him in a low voice.

Yao Shunyu shrugged, not taking it seriously.

Luo Tianhe seemed to have discovered something. He turned around and walked towards the end of the corridor alone. There were room doors nearby, but he didn't stop at all, walking all the way to the end of the corridor. There was a dark wooden door there.

Strangely, the wooden door was only ajar, and a strange smell wafted out along the crack in the door.

"It's the fragrance of ink," He Ping, who was closer to the door, was the first to say.

"Not only the fragrance of ink, but also the scent of sandalwood," Zhang Shiwei sniffed his nose, adding very clearly.

Luo Tianhe reached out and gently pushed open the door. As newcomers, this move didn't seem very prudent, but strangely, with this man standing in front of them, everyone felt a sense of security.

This was a dark room, without windows, and a faint musty smell floated in the air. The light overhead flickered a few times before finally turning on, and the scene before them suddenly became clear.

This was a study, decorated in an antique style. The walls were hung with paintings, and the table was also covered with paintings. The paintings were of different sizes, and there were also rolled-up painting scrolls tied together with thin ropes.

All of them were ink paintings, and each painting depicted a horse.

Some of the paintings depicted several horses galloping in the Mo Bei (漠北) desert, raising countless sand. Some of the paintings depicted a lush grassland, with a horse standing by the water, leisurely lowering its head.

The horses' movements varied, both dynamic and static. Even an amateur like Fatty had to sigh at the depth of the painter's skill and the loftiness of his conception.