My House of Horrors

The black hair slammed into the old man like a wave. A slender and fair arm materialized within the hair to grab on the old man’s shoulder like it was trying to yank the old man into the wave of black hair. The old man was shaking, feeling the grasp on his shoulder. Obviously, he had suffered under the threat of this arm before. “I sent you out, why did you return?”

The answer was a slam to the ground. The old man crashed heavily against the floor, and the red on his clothes dimmed quite a bit.

Zhang Ya is here! From what the old man said, it seemed he had also chased Zhang Ya out once, but Zhang Ya broke through the door again.

You came back to find me? A warmth surged through Chen Ge. He was about to speak when he saw Zhang Ya walk out from the wave of hair. The girl did not even glance at him and walked straight toward the old man.

In the quiet world behind the door, a blood curdling scream could be heard. It caused Chen Ge’s teeth to chatter. Are all baleful specters that prone to taking revenge?

At his prime, the old man probably could have fought back, but he had been shocked by the boy’s awakening and had half of his blood stolen by the boy, so when facing Zhang Ya, he was as powerless as level 0 mob.

There should be further level differences among Red Specters as well, and this old man is probably one of the weakest Red Specter.

Spotting Zhang Ya, Chen Ge’s nervous heart started to relax. In this strange place, Zhang Ya was the only ‘person’ who could give him comfort. After the situation settled down, Chen Ge wanted to switch into a more comfortable position. However, when he lowered his head, he saw a pair of curious eyeholes staring back at him.

The clothes of the young boy in his arms had been dyed red without him noticing. His face was blanched, and his eyes were completely black, without pupils, iris, or anything else.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead, and Chen Ge saw blood vessels climb back into the boy’s body through the wound that was left on his neck.

“I did that to wake you up; I had no choice. My intention wasn’t to harm you.”

The boy hung on his body, and it seemed like he was trying to climb on top of him. It was quite scary having the body crawl up him. Chen Ge’s first reaction was to push the boy away, but he was afraid that might cause further misunderstandings.

“Men Nan, I know your name, and I came to save you. Your second persona was assaulted by a monster; it was me who saved him.” Chen Ge was trying to win some points, but he was afraid that the boy might not give him the chance to say anything later.

Earlier, the old man had called the boy the Devil. To be able to be called the Devil by a Red Specter, this meant that the boy was not as innocent as he looked. The boy did not stop moving until his face was inches away from Chen Ge’s.

At such a close distance, Chen Ge realized there were no eyes in the boy’s eye sockets, simply two empty eye holes. Chen Ge did not know what the boy was looking for, and the hairs on his neck crawled. He reached into his pocket silently, took out the picture of Men Nan and his mother, and slid it between the two faces.

“I know about your past, and I understand your pain. If you need someone to talk to, you can tell me anything.” Chen Ge repeated everything he had told the Men Nan in real life. “We have the same experience, so perhaps we can be friends.”

A man who knew no fear, this was the perfect phrase to describe Chen Ge. Even at a time like that, Chen Ge was thinking about recruiting the boy to work for him at the Haunted House. When he saw his mother’s picture, the boy’s attitude softened. He released his grasp on Chen Ge and jumped down to the floor. “Where did you find this picture?”

Men Nan in the real world had asked this question before. Their way of thinking was similar.

“In the director’s dresser inside his office.”

“He dared hide my mother’s picture.” The boy raised his head. “Can you give me this picture?”

“Sure.” Chen Ge passed the picture to the boy. He could feel the boy’s hostility toward him had decreased. He squatted down to the boy’s level. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked softly, “Just now, the old man said that this world is your nightmare, and after you wake up, the door that connects this place to the real world will close. Is that true?”

“This world existed before me, and I’m merely the first one who discovered it.” The boy pocketed the picture, and his hollow eyes looked at Chen Ge. “Don’t ask me anything about this world. The more you know, the harder it’ll be for you to leave.”

The boy’s intelligence was disproportionate to his appearance. Chen Ge had just spoken, but he had also figured out Chen Ge’s angle.

“You cannot tell me anything?’

“I can only say that this world is the reflection of human beings’ darkest secrets. It is filled with sin and terror. It is similar to the real world but different, just like day and night.” Then the boy walked out the door. The boy’s red shirt was blinding. It seemed to be dripping in fresh blood.

“I still have two more questions. Don’t move so fast.” Chen Ge rushed forward. He had regained his agility, and the blood vessels that had seeped into his arms and legs earlier seemed to have disappeared.

The boy stopped and turned around. His empty eyes studied Chen Ge closely. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“I am, but I have some questions that need to be answered.” The appearance of Men Nan’s real persona was meaningful to Chen Ge. “I want to ask about someone. Your second persona refers to him as Doctor Chen.”

“Haven’t heard of him.”

“Your second persona once told me that you returned to the Third Sick Hall because you were invited by two individuals. One of them was the old director and the other was this Doctor Chen.” Chen Ge sounded sincere. “This man is very important to me; he might be my missing family.”

Perhaps the word family had touched the boy. He moved his empty eyes away. “This Doctor Chen is very common-looking but has a special pair of eyes. He’s similar to you, the exact type of person that I detest.”

“That’s all?” Chen Ge was speechless before asking his second question. “This door that connects the two worlds, how can I close it completely?”

“Very simple.” The boy smiled. “Keep a living person behind the door and ask him to guard the door for you.”

“What kind of solution is that?” Chen Ge wanted to ask about the reason behind the appearance of the door, but the boy disappeared in the blink of an eye. “Is he hiding some important information from me?”

Chen Ge was afraid that the boy might get into an altercation with Zhang Ya, so he hurried to follow the boy.

After leaving the room, Chen Ge realized that the boy did not wander far. The boy’s brows were deeply knitted together, and his dark eyes were looking forward.

The red on the old man’s coat had almost faded, and he barely had a human shape left. His remaining body was surrounded by Zhang Ya’s black hair and would disappear in a few seconds.

“Leave me the old man’s body, and I’ll let you go.” The boy was small, but Chen Ge felt the threat coming from his words.

Her finger danced over her lips that were as bright as blood. Zhang Ya did not pay attention to what the boy said. With one leg on the director’s broken body, she turned to look at the boy like she had spotted a new ingredient for dinner.