First night, 10 PM.
With two hours left until the designated evening time, Yan Changqing decided to continue exploring the second floor.
He first went to the male master's room on the left and saw light peeking through the door crack.
After a brief thought, Yan Changqing pressed his ear against the door, carefully listening to the movements inside.
He could faintly hear classical music coming from a record player, sometimes deep, sometimes high-pitched, carrying a tragic sense of destiny, yet also a stirring defiance of fate.
He continued listening, but heard no tapping footsteps, so it seemed no one was dancing inside.
Perhaps they were just simply enjoying the music.
Yan Changqing gave up on eavesdropping and went straight to the innermost room on the right, where a faint light could also be seen through the door crack of the Madam's room.
The two should have been sleeping in separate rooms, so Yan Changqing used the same trick, leaning his ear against the door.
There were no other interferences inside the room, so he could clearly hear the sounds within.
Someone was moving around in the room; the sound was very light, so it should be a female.
The footsteps never stopped, and he could also hear the sounds of opening a wardrobe or pulling open a drawer; the person inside seemed to be looking for something.
Yan Changqing frowned deeply; not sleeping at this hour and still rummaging for things inside was somewhat suspicious.
Could it be that the male and female masters weren't actually sleeping in separate rooms, but someone was taking this opportunity to search for clues in the Madam's room?
His heart stirred, and an urge to open the door and investigate arose; if he missed a clue, or if someone maliciously hid a clue, it would be extremely disadvantageous to him.
Just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, he suddenly heard thumping footsteps coming from inside.
At first, the footsteps were very faint, but then the sounds became louder and louder.
It wasn't a feeling of getting closer, but rather that the weight of the person inside was significantly increasing!
Clang.
The ground trembled, and the sound of metal clashing came from the room; even without pressing against the door, it could be heard clearly.
The footsteps became hurried; just by listening to the sound, Yan Changqing knew that the person inside was dragging a heavy object and running on the ground, and with every step, the ground would shake.
Yan Changqing's hair stood on end; he could clearly feel that these footsteps were coming towards him.
He barely hesitated, directly opened the room door on the right and rushed in, then immediately closed the door and locked it.
Bang!
A loud bang echoed in the corridor; it was the sound of the Madam's room next door being opened by a huge impact.
The footsteps dragging the heavy metal object stopped right outside the Guest room door, accompanied by a clanking sound.
It was then that Yan Changqing realized what the other party was dragging: it should be a heavy chain.
His chest felt hot, and the snake pendant had come alive at some point; it flicked its tongue towards the door, emitting "hissing" sounds of intimidation.
Yan Changqing understood at once: the threat outside the door was lethal.
The corridor lights were still on, and a dark shadow could be seen under the door crack through the light.
That "thing" just stopped outside the door and didn't leave.
Yan Changqing dared not make a sound, only tiptoed to grab a mop and hid on the other side of the door.
His heart pounded like a roaring engine.
After an unknown amount of time, the doorknob began to turn slightly; at this moment, his heart almost leaped into his throat, and he tightened his grip on the mop in his hand.
However, because Yan Changqing had locked the door from the beginning, the "thing" outside could not open it.
After realizing it couldn't turn, silence fell outside the door.
After another unknown period of time, the "thing" at the door seemed to finally give up, dragged the heavy object back into the Madam's room, and closed the door.
Whew—
Yan Changqing let go of the mop, slid down the wall to the ground, knowing he had narrowly escaped death.
With the strength of the "thing" at the door, breaking open the door would not be difficult; if it were the master, it would be even easier to simply have someone fetch a spare key.
He was not worried that the other party had gone to get the key; if that were the intention, calling for a servant would be the best approach, and they shouldn't return to their room but go downstairs instead.
Therefore, Yan Changqing drew a conclusion: within a certain range, a locked Guest room could protect the Guest's safety.
It was already 11:30 PM, and he had to return to his own room.
He opened the door, cautiously glanced around a few times, and seeing no one, quickly walked towards the left.
However, just as he passed the Hall, he suddenly stopped again.
Because he noticed that the light in the pantry in the Hall was on, whereas it had been off when he passed by earlier.
For Yan Changqing, who had just experienced a thrill, he didn't want to encounter any more anomalies.
He lowered his head, pretending not to notice, but the corner of his eye caught sight of the pantry light suddenly turning off.
A dark shadow slipped out from the door crack and was rapidly walking towards him.
Yan Changqing suddenly became tense; he quickened his pace, swiftly moving into the corridor on the left.
The dark shadow behind him seemed to notice this and suddenly ran towards him, making stomping footsteps.
Seeing the dark shadow behind him moving faster and faster, Yan Changqing immediately became anxious; he hurriedly reached the door of room 201, about to open it.
"Yan Changqing!"
When Yan Changqing heard his name, he did not turn his head immediately; instead, he looked at the snake pendant on his chest.
No movement, so there should be no danger.
Yan Changqing finally relaxed and turned to look behind him.
"Ji Tingting, why aren't you in your room at this hour?"
"It's nothing, I just came out to get a glass of water." Ji Tingting seemed to have something on her mind, hesitating before finally saying, "Oh, by the way, I haven't thanked you yet."
"If it weren't for you today, I might have been killed by the Butler. I'll remember this favor and will definitely repay you when I have the chance."
Yan Changqing just shook his head.
"No need, I just went with the flow. We're all in this together; your death would be of no benefit to us."
"It's easy to say, but hard to do. You saved my life, and that won't change." Ji Tingting lowered her head, her expression hidden in the shadows. "I definitely won't hold you back; I'll try my best to be useful."
Before Yan Changqing could reply, she suddenly looked up again, a relieved smile on her face.
"Alright, I won't delay your rest. You should go back to your room soon too."
Yan Changqing felt that her actions were very strange, but he couldn't sense any malice from her; instead, he felt her seriousness and persistence from her solemn expression.
The events just now had worn him out too much, and he didn't have much energy left to think about other things.
He hesitated slightly, then still said to Ji Tingting, "Just do what you can, don't push yourself too hard."
Ji Tingting was slightly stunned, then smiled.
"Mm."