I changed the world.

Page 206

The thin man glanced back at the closed door, not thinking much of it, assuming the door had been blown shut by the wind. He was more worried that the sound of the door closing might be too loud and attract the attention of the owner of the house prematurely.

Fortunately, after waiting for more than ten seconds, the entire courtyard remained quiet, and there seemed to be no movement. So the thin man waved his hand and walked straight towards the hanging flower gate of the outer courtyard.

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"Guest, what are you looking for?" On the other side, the thin man who had climbed over the wall entered the inner courtyard of the entire mansion, and he was located on one side of the east wing. Just as he was carefully moving forward, looking left and right, a voice suddenly came from his side.

The sound was ethereal and abrupt in the quiet night. The thin man was startled and felt his hair stand on end. He turned around abruptly and saw a young woman dressed as a maid.

Without thinking, he instinctively grabbed the woman by the neck and slammed her against the wall.

Only then, by the light of the moon, did the man see the woman's face clearly. She had delicate features, her hair was styled in a bun, and she wore a moon-white vest on top and a similarly moon-white pleated skirt on the bottom.

"Hey, it turns out to be a beautiful young lady..." The man's heart immediately relaxed, and he reached out to stroke her face, finding it smooth to the touch.

Although he frequented some brothels in his spare time, given his spending power, what good women could he possibly encounter? Most of them were just ordinary, unattractive women. But when he suddenly saw a woman who looked quite outstanding, and he was clearly in a dominant position, his mind immediately became a little excited.

"Don't make a sound, or else, watch out for your face..." The man threatened in a low, menacing voice, while choking the woman and pinning her against the wall. His fingernails on his other hand were intentionally or unintentionally scratching her face.

Somewhat to his surprise, the woman did not struggle violently as if she were being coerced, nor did she seem to intend to shout. Even with her neck being choked, she simply opened her eyes and quietly looked at him.

However, the lack of the expected violent struggle and terrified look, coupled with the man's overly calm reaction, made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if his dignity had been offended.

Furthermore, driven by some indescribable thought, he couldn't help but reach out and make threatening gestures towards the woman's face. The smooth touch on his hand sent a shiver down his spine.

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Chapter 365 The Strange Night at the Zhang Residence

Even so, the woman remained calm and did not struggle at all because of his violation; she simply stared at him quietly.

"Heh...you little lady have quite the guts..." Even if he was itching to do something, the situation didn't always allow him to act immediately. After the man had his fill of violence, seeing that the woman didn't seem to be struggling, he was a little worried that he might strangle her to death if he kept choking her for too long, so he loosened his grip on her throat slightly.

"Don't shout! If you shout, I'll scratch your face... Very well... Now tell me, who are you? Are you a maid here?"

“I am a maid here.” The woman’s throat was released, and she did not scream. Instead, she said in a calm and indifferent tone, “Sir, you are invading my master’s private territory. Please leave immediately.”

"Heh... Get out?" The man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Young lady, you look quite pretty, but I didn't expect you to be so dim-witted... Tell me, which house is your master in right now?"

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"Ah..." In the front yard, just as the group was rapidly approaching the screen wall and about to pass through the hanging flower gate, a terrified cry suddenly came from behind.

Although the cry was clearly suppressed, it was still crystal clear in the quiet night.

Everyone stopped and looked back, only to find that the fat man at the back was staring at the stone lion with a deathly pale face.

"Erpang, what are you doing! Making such a racket!" The thin man at the front looked around but didn't find anything unusual. He became annoyed and glared at the fat man, scolding him in a low voice.

"Seven...Seventh Brother...no...no...this stone lion..." The fat man, scolded, hurriedly tried to explain, but he stammered and couldn't get the words out clearly.

"What exactly is going on?!" the thin man shouted again.

"This stone lion... its eyes, its eyes can move!" The fat man was as terrified as a two-hundred-pound child, his face trembling.

In the quiet of the night, these words sent a chill down the spines of those around him, and all eyes turned to the stone lion beside the fat man.

There stood two stone lions, each taller than a person, flanking the red-lacquered gate. Carved from bluestone, their heads faced the inner courtyard. These two stone lions were exquisitely crafted, in the traditional curly-maned lion style of the Great Zhao Dynasty. They had their heads held high, noses large, mouths wide, and eyes wide open, crouching lifelike on their stone pedestals.

Several beams of flashlight shone directly on the lion's body and face, but apart from looking quite exquisite, the group couldn't see anything unusual no matter how they looked at it.

This is just an ordinary stone lion, let alone one with moving eyes...

"Fatty, you've been drinking again! I told you all to keep your mouths shut today!" Seeing nothing amiss, the skinny man grew even angrier and hissed in a low voice.

He then waved his hand, ignoring the fat man, and led his men forward...

"No... I... I only had a little bit, I won't get drunk..."

Even the fat man was starting to have doubts, and felt a little guilty. He subconsciously tried to explain, but deep down he had his own suspicions. Could it really be that he had just had a few sips and was imagining things? No way, he could usually drink half a jin (250ml) without getting drunk, and today he had only secretly drunk two liang (100ml) at most…

Muttering to himself, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him anymore, the fat man didn't dare to look at his companions' disdainful eyes, and followed at the back towards the hanging flower gate with his head down...

Just as the group passed through the hanging flower gate and headed towards the inner courtyard, the two stone lions, which had been motionless, turned their eyes in unison...

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"Rat, where are you? We're coming in." As he stepped through the hanging flower gate, the thin man in the lead contacted his accomplices who had just climbed over the wall through an earpiece.

"Seventh Brother, I caught a maid at the corner of the wall by the east wing, hehe..."

The group had already entered the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard wasn't very large, but the Jiangnan-style courtyard layout made the paths and greenery quite winding. This kind of winding stream arrangement easily creates the illusion of a larger area than its actual size, which is why it's quite popular in the land-scarce south.

The group walked around a few clumps of ornamental trees and found a small, thin rat pinning someone against the wall on one side of the east wing, seemingly interrogating him about something.

At this moment, the surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, making it difficult to see clearly even from a distance.

Originally, once they arrived here, everyone was supposed to disperse and carry out their assigned tasks. However, since Haozi said he had captured a maid, they might as well find out the details first before taking action.

The gaunt man who led the group then gave a few instructions to his men, and the group quickened their pace towards the rats...

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"Rat...you...what are you doing?!"

"Seventh Brother, you've come in. I've caught a maid. Heh... this little lady has some guts, she even wanted us to leave..." The thin man turned around and explained when he heard his accomplice's voice behind him.

"Maid? What maid?!"

However, what he saw when he turned around was the wide-eyed horror of his companions. Even the usually calm and experienced Seventh Brother had a slightly distorted expression on his face.

"This isn't..." The bewildered rat couldn't understand why his companions all had such expressions, so he turned around and pointed at the woman whose neck he was still pretending to choke.

But the moment he turned back, even he himself was stunned. An expression of disbelief appeared on his face, which then gradually turned into fear...

"This...this..." The rat's teeth began to chatter, and the hand that was gripping the woman's neck withdrew as if it had touched a hot iron. Then, he stumbled back several steps, almost bumping into the thin man who was standing not far behind him.

"What...what is this?!" Mouse could barely speak. What was in front of him was not a beautiful maid with smooth skin, but a paper figure with a blank face.

The paper figures, with their snow-white bodies, scarlet lips, lifeless eyes and features, and even painted clothing patterns, were familiar to everyone present. These were common items used in funerals and ceremonies in the customs of Da Zhao. Families with better financial means would buy some to burn for their deceased relatives at the funeral.

Chapter 366 The Strange Night at the Zhang Residence (Part 2)

However, such a thing would be perfectly normal if it appeared at a funeral, but its appearance at this moment, coupled with the rat's previous behavior, made even the boldest people feel a chill down their spines in the eyes of the people around.

"Just now, really, really... there really was a young lady... how... how could this be..." Haozi mumbled incoherently, then looked at his companions for help, but the people around him looked at him as if he were a mentally unstable madman.

Then he looked at the thin man, and as if grasping at a straw, grabbed the thin man's right arm, his wide eyes filled with terror: "Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother, listen to me... I really saw a young lady just now, a real person... How... how did she turn into a paper doll..."

"Slap!" The thin man slapped the rat across the face, immediately silencing him.

However, this slap seemed to finally calm the panicked mouse down. It covered its face and mumbled an explanation, but it was no longer so scared.

At that very moment, the white paper figure beside them suddenly turned into ashes in full view of everyone, and finally disappeared...

"Seventh...Seventh Brother..." A burly man beside him shrank back, and seeing this, he unconsciously said, "I feel...there seems to be something eerie about this place. Should we...should we retreat first and discuss this further..."

The gaunt man glanced at his accomplice with an uncertain expression, and finally gritted his teeth, also becoming fierce.

"Damn it! I've already taken my pants off, and we're almost there, and you think I can just put them back on?!" With that, he drew the pistol from his waist: "Trying to play tricks on my Lotus Platform Society, all those invincible and spirit possession charades, I've seen it all before. In the end, none of them can withstand a single bullet!"

Just as the gaunt man was cursing and drawing his pistol to boost morale, a sudden gust of wind swept in. Before anyone could realize what was happening, a huge monster pounced on them, instantly knocking the rat standing in front of the gaunt man to the ground. Then came the tearing sound, and the rat could only let out half a scream before losing its ability to make a sound...

"Roar..." The monster raised its head and let out a very threatening roar at the group. Only then did the group realize that the monster that appeared in front of them was none other than the stone lion at the door!

"Stone... these are the stone lions at the entrance!" the fat man at the back of the group shouted. "I told you the lion's eyes moved! See? I told you I wasn't drunk..."

At this moment, no one else paid attention to what he was saying. The illogical situation caused chaos in the scene. Some people stood there dumbfounded, while others shouted "Oh my god!" and turned to run back the way they came.

The thin man, however, was quite courageous. Although his face was pale, he still trembled as he raised the pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger towards the stone lion.

"Pfft pfft pfft..." Considering the need for stealth, the pistol was equipped with a silencer. The thin man raised the gun and fired continuously, but before he could fire a few more shots, the stone lion leaped in front of him and slapped him away with one hand...

Meanwhile, the infiltrators who had run back discovered to their despair that another stone lion was slowly strolling out from the hanging flower gate, blocking them back. Only then did they realize that the stone lions at the gate were not one, but a pair!

"Ah!!! I'll kill you, you monster!!!" A burly man frantically pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger repeatedly. However, the bullets only shattered some stone fragments on the stone lion's body, and had no other effect. His shots did not cause any damage to the stone lion, but instead provoked its attack. The stone lion pounced and bit his head, and then his head exploded like a watermelon with its head split open.

This scene caused the remaining infiltrators to instantly lose their will to resist, and they fled in all directions. Some of the smarter ones had already set their sights on the courtyard wall to the side. The wall did not look very high; an adult could easily grab it with a jump.

However, for these people, an even greater nightmare was yet to come. Suddenly, the gargoyles on the eaves came to life. These lifelike stone carvings were not uncommon in traditional architecture, and had previously gone unnoticed. But now, as these gargoyles began to tremble, pieces of their solidified shells peeled away from their bodies with their movements. At the same time, they turned their heads toward the intruders in the courtyard…

A chilling cold began to rise from the depths of everyone's hearts...

However, among the infiltrators were clearly some agile individuals. A man with dyed yellow hair took a few steps along the wall, then leaped onto the top, where a thick fog filled the view...

In this situation, he had no time to think. In an extremely undignified manner, he practically tumbled and scrambled off the wall, slipped on his foot, and fell flat on his face. But he didn't care about getting up then; he scrambled to his feet and began to run forward at breakneck speed…

However, before he could run very far, he gradually stopped and looked around in disbelief.

To his despair, he discovered that he was still in that courtyard, surrounded by his accomplices who were also fleeing in all directions...

Although it seems like an impossible myth, the fact is that he had just climbed over the east wall, but instead of reaching the outside of the wall, he climbed back over the west wall.

It seems that the space of the courtyard wall has been twisted into a circle at this moment, connecting the east and west sides of the courtyard wall together.

At that moment, some of his accomplices who had just watched him run away also unexpectedly noticed his presence. One of them shouted at him in surprise, "Yellow Hair, didn't you jump out? When did you come back?!"

"I can't get out!!!" The man stood there stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly screamed in despair, "I can't get out of this house!!!! I can't get out!!!!"

However, the next moment, he was pounced on by a stone beast that swooped down from the eaves of the west wing, and his screams instantly turned into terrified cries...

Chapter 367 The Strange Night at the Zhang Residence