Buddhist player

The rain poured down.

As time went on, the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, it intensified.

Standing under the eaves and looking out, the sky and earth were a dark, oppressive expanse, as if the entire world had been submerged by the torrential rain.

But in the torrential rain, the car parked on the roadside not far away became even more conspicuous, and even the warm yellow lights of the town below the mountain became hazy.

Looking at the car in the downpour, the bard's expression was somewhat complicated.

The feeling of having a clear way out right in front of you, yet being unable to reach it, is the most unbearable.

"Alright, stop looking. Even if we found the car keys now, I wouldn't dare get into that car."

He reached out and patted his shoulder, then handed him an umbrella.

Although umbrellas are basically useless in this kind of heavy rain, they offer some psychological comfort.

"Let's go, let's take a general walk around this villa first."

Taking a deep breath, the bard took the umbrella and turned on his powerful flashlight.

Although in such heavy rain, the beam of a powerful flashlight can't shine more than a few meters, it's still enough to check the nearby environment.

For the rest of the time, the two remained silent, simply walking side by side and surveying the surrounding environment around the villa.

In this villa complex nestled on the mountainside, each villa is a standalone property, not connected together. Instead, they are carefully separated by gardens. Even the backyards of the villas are uniformly furnished with swimming pools, showcasing their luxury.

For safety reasons, the bard and the Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao did not stray too far from the villa... in fact, they did not need to stray too far.

After all, besides scouting the terrain, they also considered the possibility that their missing backpacks had been abandoned outside the villa when they went out.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the Daoist Master shining his flashlight beam at the villa next door, the bard asked a question with some curiosity.

"It's nothing, it's just that I keep feeling like someone's watching us...maybe it's just my imagination."

He frowned slightly and put the flashlight down again.

At a distance of tens of meters, and with the thick rain, the beam of a powerful flashlight couldn't penetrate at all. In the downpour, the villa next door looked like a huge tombstone standing in the darkness, its shape barely visible, with no further details.

Seeing that the bard beside him was still looking at him, Dao Ke Dao was not the eternal Dao, and patiently explained it to him.

"My perception has 9 points, so I might be more sensitive."

"...It's best if it's just your imagination."

The bard glanced at the dark villa next door, the one he had tried to illuminate with his flashlight earlier, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

They were already having a bad time dealing with a haunted house, but if there were ghosts in the villa next door... he didn't even want to think about it.

"It's about time, let's go back."

The bard glanced at the swimming pool not far away and then turned around.

"Judging by the time, they'll be here soon too..."

—The sudden sound of a heavy object falling into the water interrupted his words.

The bard: "..."

"...Did you hear that sound?"

"I heard you, behind us, by the swimming pool."

"That……"

"Never mind. According to the usual tropes in horror movies, we should pretend we didn't hear anything at this point. Otherwise, in the end, other people might find our bodies in the swimming pool."

He deliberately lowered his voice and quickly retraced his steps, speaking at a very fast pace.

"Remember, don't look back, and don't..."

—The second sound of a heavy object falling into the water rang out.

Compared to the first time, the second splash was more rapid and faint. Along with this second splash, they also heard some strange noises.

It sounds like... a muffled groan from a female ghost?

Just as the bard's heart was pounding and he wished he could jump back into the hall in a second, a familiar voice sounded softly behind him.

"You two, are you just going to stand by and watch me die? Are you sure you won't lend a hand?"

Hearing the familiar voice coming from the downpour, the bard paused for a moment before turning around.

...Then, the next second, he saw a scene that almost caused his heart and lungs to stop.

In the pouring rain, in the swimming pool behind them, the surface of the water suddenly split open, and a figure stiffly rose from the grayish-white splash.

Just then, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the world with a dazzling light. It was during this moment that the bard was able to clearly see the figure's face.

...No, that wasn't a face at all.

A better description than "face" is a slippery, reflective oval shape that looks like the shell of a giant insect. In the bright light, it presents an inhuman outline, smooth and inorganic, yet it subtly reveals an inhuman sense of dread.

—If the other person hadn't taken off their gas mask the next second, the bard probably would have run away already.

(...Did they encounter danger on the second floor and have no choice but to jump out of the window to escape? Of the two sounds of falling into the water, Yuan Qing should have been the first to jump down. As for the muffled groan of the female ghost, it should have been when Chen Bai jumped down later and accidentally hit her...)

A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind, and in the shortest amount of time, the bard quickly sorted out the current situation.

Glancing at Dao Ke Dao Bu Chang Dao, who seemed still stunned and frozen in place, the bard disregarded the torrential rain and quickly rushed to the poolside to help pull Chen Bai and Yuan Qing ashore.

"What are you doing...?"

"Let's talk about it back in the lobby."

Bai Chen glanced quickly in a certain direction and wiped the rain off his face.

"Oh... wait a moment, I'll pull down Dao Ke Dao."

While agreeing repeatedly, the bard tugged at the still dazed Dao Ke Dao Chang Chang Dao.

"Alright, you should snap out of it now. There's nothing scary about it, it was just..."

Looking at the Tao that is filled with fear before him, the bard suddenly stopped speaking.

It was only at this moment that he belatedly realized that from the beginning, the other person had not been looking towards the swimming pool, but rather towards the nearby villas.

……villa?

Slowly turning around, the bard followed the gaze of the Dao that can be spoken of as eternally distant.

Just then, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky once more.

In the light of the lightning, this time, he clearly saw the scene that the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

In the pouring rain, at the neighboring villa that stood a few dozen meters away from them, all the doors and windows of that villa—the main entrance, the windows, and even the partition door on the second-floor balcony—were opened and faced towards them.

...a complete void.