My House of Horrors

No one in the room could understand what the little girl said, to ask a spectre to become the shadow of a living person, the person who would make that kind of request must be seriously ill. Everyone, including Chen Ge found that hard to believe.

“is this a different kind of trade? You become his shadow and he will become your puppet.” Men Nan’s prediction was more cynical, then again he was merely seeing things from the perspective of a normal ghost. After the girl in red heard that, she shook her head. The blood vessels behind her started to move and instantly they covered the entire room and completely cut off the room from the rest of the world. Scarlet was very powerful, even if the rest of the spectres worked together, they would not have been able to harm her, but Scarlet did not appear to have any hostility against them.

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After she had isolated her room from the rest of the world, Scarlet walked to Chen Ge’s side, where Chen Ge’s shadow was. Her hands morphed into endless blood vessels as they surged into Chen Ge’s shadow, she appeared to be searching for something or someone. She looked for half an hour and Scarlet creased her small brows. A line of bloody letter appeared on the walls around Chen Ge. “I can remember quite distinctly that there should be a ghost living inside your shadow, where is she? Why can’t I find her anymore? Have you lost sight of her?”

Facing the consecutive questions from Scarlet, Chen Ge was as confused as ever. “There was a ghost originally living inside my shadow?”

“Yes.” Scarlet used the letters weaved out from blood to communicate with Chen Ge. “Those without their shadow are not long for this world, at least that was what Patient number 2 told me.”

“But isn’t my shadow just fine? Look it is just right there.” Chen Ge was confused.

“The shadow of everything and everyone at Li Wan City should be titled, only you and Patient Number 2 have normal shadows, that proves that the shadows for the two of you are made up in this world, they do not exist. In other words, you two are people without shadow.” The blood letters soon surfaced. Scarlet’s emotions started to ripple for the first time after she had encountered Chen Ge. “You are very similar to Patient Number 2. He had helped me recovered some of the memory related to my mother. As repayment, I am willing to help you one time but temporarily I cannot be your shadow.”

Seeing that Scarlet had volunteered her help for one time, Chen Ge was very happy. But when he gave it a closer thought, he started to feel like something was not right again. “Scarlet, how does that Patient Number 2 look like? How come it feels like he knows me somehow?”

Based on Scarlet’s description, Chen Ge felt like patient number 2 appeared to be very familiar with him, he probably used to be his friend or something.

“He did not give me his name, I believe that every information related to him at this city is a kind of taboo. If anyone tries to find out about them, tragedy and misfortune will befall them, the man himself probably knows about that as well, therefore, he did not tell me anything else that I do not need to know.” The bloody letters appeared on the ground, then they soon disappeared, it was as if they were never there to begin if. “If you are really that curious, you can go to the hospital basement to find him. His original body appears to be locked up deep inside the hospital basement. The person that came to find me that day was merely a slip of his lingering spirit.”

“The hospital basement?” Chen Ge himself just got out from the hospital, he had no idea the hospital even had a basement.

“The most dangerous part of the hospital was all hidden underground, the patient number 2 appears to be locked up at the underground 17th floor. Of course, it is not my suggestion for you to go look for him now, the hospital basement is too dangerous.” The description of the world provided by Scarlet was different from how Chen Ge imagined it. If the hospital even had a sprawling maze underneath it, then Chen Ge would have to reassess the hospital’s overall power level. But seeing it from a different perspective, the fact that Chen Ge managed to pull one over such a dangerous hospital, it went to show how resourceful Chen Ge was as well. The more Chen Ge thought about this, the more he was eager to regain his memory.

The blood around them started to fade. The words weaved together by blood all disappeared like they were never written in the first place. After Scarlet had given Chen Ge her promise, she disappeared among the residential apartment. Both she and Single Eye could be considered very scary spectres, but they did not dare to linger too long normally, they were always hiding at some kind of hidden corner.

“You are one hell of a special character. I originally thought it would be very difficult to persuade Scarlet to help us but it was done so easily. In fact I have a feeling she was even eager to lend her help to you.” Men Nan grumbled in the tone of a middle-aged man. After saying all that, he only realized he still had not left Li Wan City. As if worried that Scarlet might have overheard him, he quickly looked around him for sign of danger.

“There are more and more people who are willing to help us. When tragedy arrives, we perhaps would have the chance to survive with barely our lives intact.” Zuo Han was not as optimistic as Men Nan. From his point of view, even with the collective effort of everyone and even after everyone’s power of gather, it was barely enough for them to fight for a chance to have their lives intact.

“Chen Ge, I’d suggest you to stay at the theme park for these few days. Try to convince the hospital that you are still stuck in your haze of bliss and buy as much time as you can. Do not let the hospital find out that you have already met up with us.” Zuo Han’s mind was very clear. He knew that Chen Ge was the key. “Just leave the task of finding helpers to the rest of us.”

“Tomorrow night, we will go together to find the Cursed Lady. After the three strongest spectres in this city have promised to give us their help, then I will temporarily stay away from the rest of you.” Chen Ge had his own concern as well.

“The Cursed Lady is the scariest and also the most mysterious presence amongst the three spectres. No one know where she is exactly, but I have heard from the author that one of the Zhang Wenyu had encountered her at an abandoned hospital before.” Ol’ Zhou said with a serious expression. “She is very dangerous, if possible, I wish to have Scarlet along with us when we go and find her.”

“No, we can’t do that. Scarlet only promises to help us one time and that was only because she was giving face to patient number 2, we cannot waste such a valuable chance just like that.” Chen Ge denied that idea firmly. He repeated the name Cursed Lady multiple times in his heart, there felt like there was a black and red thread connecting the two bodies. “Cursed Lady, I will be there to convince her.”

The group decided to meet up tomorrow morning at the entrance of an abandoned hospital at eastern Xin Hai. And then they split up and went off in different direction. This way even if someone wanted to follow them, it would be a very hard thing to do. When the sun almost came up the horizon, Chen Ge returned to the Haunted House.

Even though the Haunted House at Xin Hai Theme Park had been suspended from business, he still worked with the props, cleaned the place like usual, in preparation to return to business should the ban be lifted. These habits appeared to have been carved into his bones. Even though he had lost his memory, his body would still work on them on instinct. At around 8. 30 am, Zhang Ya came to the theme park with breakfast. Curiously enough, her parents did not accompany her to the theme park that day.

“Why aren’t auntie and uncle with you today?” Chen Ge munched on the hot rice and Zhang Ya sat down next to him.

“My father’s stomach is acting up again, my mom is staying back home to look after him.”

“Is it anything serious?”

“it’s an old illness.” Zhang Ya tried to make it sound like it was nothing but her eyes belied the well of concern and anxiety inside them.

“Zhang Ya, did you have a nightmare again yesterday night?” Chen Ge put down the chopsticks and looked straight into Zhang Ya. He held them in places so that they would not turn away from him.

“Yes.” Zhang Ya admitted with some pain. “It was the same dream again. In the dream, my parents got into an accident. The present that they had prepared for me was soaked in blood. I even dreamed about myself in a red dress, holding the bloody present that they had prepared for me, standing at the road alone in the middle of the night.”

Chen Ge did not know how to comfort Zhang Ya. Based on his speculation, he had started to gain clues about a truth that was very cruel. There was a chance that the dreams that concerned Zhang Ya was real. In other words, when they shattered this false world, Zhang Ya would lose her parents again. Despair would once again come after this girl and pull her deep into the endless abyss. Chen Ge knew that Zhang Ya had affection for him but the person that she fancied would personally destroy her beautiful dream, this would be incredibly cruel for anyone.

“Chen Ge, sometimes I would be incredibly confused.” Zhang Ya hid both of her hands under the table. Her fingers were twisted together until they were white. There was a halting breath in her words. “In my dream, when I look into the mirror, the person inside the mirror would tell me one thing. She said I have stolen Chen Ge’s life and I am currently experiencing the bliss that you once had.”

“Do not mind those things. Keep your eyes on the present and value what you currently have.” Chen Ge reached out to grab Zhang Ya’s hands, he realized Zhang Ya’s hands very incredibly cold. At the very beginning, when they started to know each other, and when he held Zhang Ya’s hand, he could feel the warmth unique to living human but now it appeared like Zhang Ya’s body temperature was gradually dropping.

“I have this ominous feeling that something is about to happen. I am very afraid that I would be torn apart from them soon.” It was unknown whether it was the nightmares or it was the immense pressure in real life, Zhang Ya was in a very bad state. Only when she was beside Chen Ge that she would feel some trace of security.

The theme park opened punctually at 9 am. There were visitors that kept coming over to ask about what had happened. They had seen the short videos about the Haunted House on the internet so they purposely came from far away to visit the place but when they found out the Haunted House was not in operation, they all showed very disappointed expression. The visitors loyalty and popularity that the Haunted House had earned were slowly fading away, reality was like a cold bath of water splashed upon Chen Ge.

At around 3 in the afternoon, the people from the management forced their way into the Haunted House. They inspected the three scenarios inside the Haunted House and did not discover any problem. But when Chen Ge asked them when they would be able to return to business, the answer that he got was ‘to be decided later’. After the group from safety inspection left, Zhang Ya called her parents holding the report given by the team. Chen Ge stayed beside her all the team. He heard Zhang Ya’s mother’s voice from the other end of the phone. She sounded very tired and Zhang Ya’s father was incredibly weak-sounding on the phone.

“Today is the second time the management at the theme park is scheduled to come and inspect the Haunted House but as the owner of the Haunted House, Zhang Ya’s parents are not present in person. Zhang Ya’s father is not suffering from a simple stomach bug, it has to be something even more serious.” Tragedy had already fallen and it was slowly corrupting everything that Chen Ge treasured little by little. “Now it is Zhang Ya’s parents, will it be Zhang Ya next?”

He had already tasted the bliss, therefore he would only be in more pain when they were taken away from him. Chen Ge had no idea what the treatment plan that the hospital had devised for him, the only thing that he could do now was to absorb them silently while collecting his own power on the dark. After the sun set, Chen Ge wanted to accompany Zhang Ya to go visit her parents but Zhang Ya did not seem like she was too keen on that idea so Chen Ge did not force himself further. After he walked Zhang Ya out of the park, he closed himself inside the staff breakroom.

“After seeing the Cursed Lady tonight, I will not go anywhere else anymore. I will stay inside the Haunted House, hopefully that will delay the tragedy from coming so soon.” At around 10 pm, Chen Ge was all ready to leave the Haunted House when there came a curious sound from the bathroom on the first floor. Chen Ge grabbed his tool hammer, he thought it was Zuo Han paying him another visit but when he saw the person before him, he could not have been more surprised.

“Doctor Sun?” His neck and face were all covered in scars. The face that he had could not be recognized anymore. This doctor that the other doctors did not even like to work with at the hospital had escaped to Chen Ge’s Haunted House!

“I only have one minute left so I need you to just listen to me.” Doctor Sun knocked on the bathroom door and basically yanked Chen Ge into his brain maze. “Unless it was absolutely necessary, I would have never left the hospital but now that the situation has turned absolutely necessary.” After entering the brain maze, Doctor Sun only dared to continue. “The hospital has already found out about your trip to Ping An Apartment, that was why Chi Longtou was punished the way he did.”

“Since they already knew about that, why didn’t they stop me?” Chen Ge was confused.

“Long story short, before you were hospitalized, the hospital had done an investigation of you but for some reasons, they had done a serious mistake in their diagnosis on you! They thought you were using ghosts to run your Haunted House and you were using living people as bait. You have not completely gained the trust of the ghosts and that was why the hospital was willing to let you out of the hospital. The spectres themselves are the collection of negative emotions and furthermore they have lost their memory so the first reaction when they saw you should be an attempt on your life. They should do everything in their power to consume you.

“If you were harmed by your once friend, it would push you further into despair, that was the goal the doctors wanted to see. Therefore, after they found out you have ventured to Ping An Apartment, they did not stop you, in fact, they purposely had you witness the tenants torture the doctor. Assuming there is no trust between you and the ghosts, then would you think they are good people or bad people when you see the tenants torturing the doctor?

“When your bond with your former friends is broken, you would become easier to control. By then, the entire world will be your enemy and no one will be willing to help you. The set up of the hospital was perfect but they did not know about the relationship between you and the spectres is not just a simple taking advantage of each other. Even though they have forgotten about their past, they are still willing to stand beside you!

“Both parties have already lost their memory but the spectres are still willing to place their trust in you and you are also so adamant to align yourself with the ghosts. If the hospital had known the real nature of the relationship between you and those spectres, they would not have let you out of the hospital.

“But now the hospital had realized they had committed a mistake. Soon the hospital would conduct many different trials on you, they will slowly push you to the edge and I hope you will be able to retain the control of yourself at all times. Tragedy has already fallen, the hospital will go after Ping An Apartment as well. You have to go and warn to leave Ping An Apartment as soon as possible and tell them not to stay together at one spot!”

Doctor Sun spoke so fast that Chen Ge did not have the chance to put in his own words at all. “Tonight is the last chance. After you met up with them to inform them of the danger, you must not have any connection with them anymore, every single interaction that you have will only increase the hospital’s rancour towards you.”

“But I can’t just stay passively and take all the punishment like this…” Before Chen Ge finished, Doctor Sun already cut him off, “If you can buy more time, the chance of something succeeding will become bigger.”

“What kind of something is that?”

“Just remember what I said, do not be hung up over the fake bliss and do not be fooled by the false memory.” Doctor Sun grabbed Chen Ge by his shoulders. “There are multiple lives hinging on your shoulders. Every decision that you make will decision whether they are pulled into the endless abyss or not.”

“I know what to do now.” Chen Ge’s eyes were peaceful but they spoke volumes.