Wu Qing didn't give them much time to consider. With a wave of her hand, she had the maids bring out paper and pens.
"The game is very simple. Just write down the names of all the ghosts present. If everyone's answer is the same and correct, you can get your tickets and leave the castle," Wu Qing explained the rules of the game, then told them to begin.
Everyone looked at Ning Wei. Although Wu Qing hadn't explicitly forbidden them from discussing, they were cautious and communicated only with their eyes.
Ning Wei scanned all the ghosts with her gaze. If anyone still didn't understand her meaning, she would have to express her exasperation.
As her gaze passed over Bai Yang, Bai Yang felt every hair on her body stand on end.
The rules Wu Qing had stated were completely different from the game rules she knew.
The game rules Bai Yang knew were that if any ghosts remained in the castle by the end of the week, none of the guests could leave. This was precisely why she had been so reluctant to reveal her identity.
As for the "rebirth" that Lian Yun had so confidently declared earlier, it was all nonsense. Bai Yang had lied to these ghosts.
During breakfast, Bai Yang had been so nervous, breaking out in a cold sweat, that she thought Ning Wei would target her. But when Ning Wei named another ghost, she felt a sense of having narrowly escaped death.
As time drew to a close, Bai Yang's mood had shifted to that of a spectator.
She had eagerly awaited seeing the disappointed expressions on everyone's faces, just as she had felt despair when facing death alone!
But the game Wu Qing announced shattered her fantasy.
At this moment, Bai Yang could only hope that the others weren't as clever as Ning Wei, especially those four men who had been on the same bus with her before.
Under the watchful eyes of Wu Qing and her maids, folded pieces of paper were handed to Wu Qing.
As expected, there was indeed a fool who believed Bai Yang was not a ghost.
However, Wu Qing was a woman of her word. She had already discussed the matter with Ning Wei, so changing the list was a simple matter for her.
She met Ning Wei's gaze, picked up the different list with a smile that was not quite a smile, and casually tore it up. The owner of that list instantly dissolved into a pool of blood, dying before everyone's eyes.
The ghosts whose names were written on the list were also lifted from their seats and floated in the air.
At the same time, train tickets with their own names appeared before everyone's tables. The bus was already waiting outside the dense forest, its horn blaring to urge passengers to board, the sound reaching directly into the castle.
This horn was no less effective than the school bell; everyone clutched their tickets, wishing they could sprint to the bus at an eight-hundred-meter pace, especially the three men who had just lost another teammate.
However, no one dared to move until Wu Qing spoke.
Wu Qing thoroughly enjoyed their fear of her, just as she enjoyed their adoration of her beauty.
In Ning Wei's eyes, Wu Qing was an extremely twisted woman.
Perhaps she had been here for too long; apart from her beauty, nothing else truly belonged to her.
"You may all leave now. I hope the seven days you spent here were a pleasant memory."
Everyone's seats felt like they were pricked by needles; not a trace of pleasantness could be seen.
But facing Wu Qing, they could only agree, agree, and agree again.
"Alright, hurry and leave. The maids need to tidy the castle and prepare for the next batch of guests." Seeing that everyone was hesitating, Wu Qing urged them on.
This time, no one could sit still. They hurried out of the castle.
Ning Wei lagged behind. She told Tang Tang, "You all get on the bus first. I'll be right behind you."
Everyone was accustomed to her behavior, so Tang Tang only reminded her, "Then be quick."
Ning Wei nodded. Watching everyone walk into the dense forest, she slowly turned back towards the castle and met Wu Qing's gaze, her beauty restored.
"You want to stay and keep me company?" Wu Qing asked, amused.
Ning Wei shook her head and pointed at Bai Yang, who was suspended in the air, inquiring about Bai Yang's fate.
"She lost the game, so naturally, there's only one outcome: death."
Ning Wei listened without any reaction and then asked Wu Qing, "Before she dies, I have a few questions for her. Is that convenient?"
Wu Qing didn't hesitate and readily agreed.
If she hadn't encountered Ning Wei this time, she didn't know how much longer it would have taken to recover her appearance. Thus, she could easily grant this small request.
Bai Yang slowly descended. To ensure her cooperation, Wu Qing specifically "warned" her, "If you don't speak properly, I won't hesitate to make you disappear immediately."
Wu Qing was now like the resident deity of the castle, holding the lives of all beings there in her hands, so Bai Yang had no choice but to obey her.
Bai Yang nodded numbly, then looked at Ning Wei, awaiting her questions.
To save time, Ning Wei quickly asked Bai Yang, "How did you die? And how are your sister Bai Xue and Li Zi'ang doing now?"
Bai Yang hadn't expected Ning Wei to still be concerned about her sister. For a moment, she laughed madly, as if insane. Wu Qing, displeased, gently tapped Bai Yang's back with a finger. Bai Yang immediately became as vacant as a puppet.
She began to answer Ning Wei's questions, numbly recalling past events.
After parting ways with Ning Wei and the others at the ocean park, the group had gone through two more stations. Although the risks were high, they had managed to avoid any teammate deaths.
Until they entered a five-star hotel and, at the invitation of the lobby manager, attended a cocktail party.
Everyone was indulging in the festivities, unaware of how quickly death was approaching.
In the blink of an eye, all the staff transformed into vengeful spirits and began to attack the guests around them. Then, the guests, as if infected, also started attacking those near them.
Thus, one spread to ten, and ten to a hundred, turning the entire hall into hell.
Li Zi'ang and the others weaved through the chaotic crowd, their teammates cooperating to successfully open a door to survival.
However, Bai Yang didn't keep up with the main group. So, her sister Bai Xue took a step forward. Upon hearing Bai Yang's cries for help, she turned back to save her. Li Zi'ang, of course, couldn't stand by idly and followed Bai Xue back.
Bai Yang was already being held by a vengeful spirit by her calf. Its sharp fangs had made her leg bloody.
She could only scream in terror and cry out; she could do nothing else.
It wasn't until Bai Xue reached out to pull her, and Li Zi'ang used an object to drive away the vengeful spirits, that things changed.
The two supported Bai Yang and ran out, only to have two more vengeful spirits suddenly block their path.
Bai Yang knew that vengeful spirits would temporarily stop once they had food. So, she set her sights on Bai Xue, who was completely unaware, and ruthlessly pushed her forward.
Bai Xue's surprised expression met Bai Yang's smug one. She thought everything was under her control, but she was too smug, which made her overlook Li Zi'ang's presence beside them.