My House of Horrors

Xiao Gu listened to Chen Ge’s words on the phone, and he was confused. Why was his boss so familiar with ghosts? He was not only not afraid of them, and he even taught him how to acquire the ghost’s affection, each sentence shining with intelligence and experience.

Xiao Gu was curious but not suspicious. It never crossed his mind that Chen Ge would harm him. To him, Chen Ge was a very unique presence. This boss that looked so normal had saved him from the brink of death twice.

The first time, he had been drugged by the mad woman and was about to cut into two. At the time, it had been Chen Ge who saved him from the mad woman. The second time had been at Fang Hwa Apartments again. He had entered the third building and realized that a faceless white shadow had been following him. He had fainted, and after he woke up, the police had said that it was Chen Ge who saved him.

This is already the third time.

Xiao Gu put the phone back into his pocket. He suddenly realized how dangerous his life was, and only by sticking to Chen Ge would his life be safe. He did not end the call. Xiao Gu wore the earbuds and leaned against the bus window. He memorized every instruction that Chen Ge gave. The rain fell harder. It was completely dark outside the window—he could not even see the road. Xiao Gu counted the time silently. He confirmed the child’s location and prepared to run at the first’s notice.

Five minutes later, the bus slowed down. Xiao Gu’s calves tensed, and he spoke very softly. “We’re almost to the stop.”

“After the door opens, do not hesitate and move immediately. Do not give the middle-aged woman any chance to react,” Chen Ge said on the phone.

“Okay.” Through the window, the shape of the bus stop could be seen. The red shadow was still standing there. The bus stop at the countryside was not equipped with a roof. The woman in red raincoat stood in the rain all alone; she looked so obvious in the rain. The bus slowed down, and suddenly, a phone rang.

Huang Ling, who sat at the front, opened her phone. Her husband had called her again. Perhaps she was feeling better as she did not end the call directly but answered it.

“Huang Ling! Get off from the bus now!” A man’s yell came from the phone. Huang Ling ended the call before the shouting continued.

Honestly, she was quite spooked. “Has he lost his mind?”

The call had just ended when the ringtone began again. It was still her husband. Huang Ling lowered the volume to its minimum. She looked around apologetically and realized that all the passengers were staring at her. The many faces carried varied expression. They looked at her with half-smiles, and she was creeped out by it.

“I’m really sorry…” The phone in Huang Ling’s palm kept vibrating.

“Why don’t you answer the phone?” The old lady who sat behind the driver spoke for the first time. The layers of wrinkles were thick on her face, and her eyes were covered by a layer of white film. When Xiao Gu first got on the bus, the old lady had not looked like that, and he had no idea when the change had happened. The old lady looked scary. Huang Ling held the phone and could not understand what the old lady was trying to say, so she apologized profusely.

“I think you should answer his phone. The more you don’t answer it, the more he is going to be worried about you,” the man in the white coat commented darkly. His eyes moved between Huang Ling and Xiao Gu. The red thread around his wrist had disappeared, and in its place was a brownish-red wound.

Huang Ling ignored the doctor. The child behind her started to cough again. The middle-aged lady’s patience was wearing thin. Her already ugly face twisted, and the features titled to the side. She glared at the child fiendishly like she was planning to kill him. The atmosphere in the bus became tense.

At that time, the robotic voice on the audio said, “Ding! We’ve arrived at Eastern Jiujiang Fresh Water Plant. Departing customers, please make sure that you have all of your belongings with you, and please alight from the back door.”

The bus pulled up at the stop, and the doors slowly opened. When the bus stopped, Xiao Gu stood up. He brushed past the passenger next to him and walked down the aisle. Following Chen Ge’s earlier instructions, he headed directly for the middle-aged woman. Xiao Gu stopped next to her. “I want to take something, do you mind returning me my coat?”

When the child was coughing earlier, Xiao Gu had lent the woman his jacket. The middle-aged woman was in a bad mood. She lifted her head to glare at Xiao Gu. With one hand holding the child, her other hand went to grab the jacket. Xiao Gu’s Adam apple quivered, and he slowly raised his hands.

At the same time, Huang Ling’s phone-started to vibrate again. Her husband seemed to have lost his mind, and he kept calling her like there was really something urgent. The jacket was slowly removed from the child. The middle-aged woman held the child with her right hand and handed the jacket back to Xiao Gu with her left hand.

Everything was going according to plan, and Xiao Gu’s heart rose to his throat. He saw the approaching jacket and kept his eyes glued to the woman’s other arm. His legs moved, and Xiao Gu’s body leaned forward. He also raised his arm. Time seemed to have slowed down. As Xiao Gu’s fingers were about to touch the cloth, Huang Ling answered the call again. “If you have something to say, leave it at home, don’t…”

“Get off! The bus that you’re on is filled with ghosts! They are all ghosts!”

All the passengers heard the voice on the phone clearly. It was too late for Huang Ling to turn off the phone.

“Ghost?” She did not expect her husband would say that. She turned back to look, and many expressionless faces looked at her. The bus shuddered, and the driver was filled with terror. He seemed to be seeing how he died, and he kept his eyes on the road as sweat dripped down his face.

The middle-aged woman who held the child had her facial features tilting even more. Her body grew larger like a balloon.

The passenger who had been sitting next to Xiao Gu earlier started to vomit. He reached his finger into his throat, and balls of weeds fell out of his lips like hairballs.

“How can we be ghosts? We’re all alive, aren’t we?” The old lady who sat at the front turned around to speak. The thick glaucoma covered her pupils that her eyes appeared fully white. All the passengers had changed. Chen Ge heard these things on the other end of the phone, and he told Xiao Gu to leave immediately. “Run!”

Xiao Gu’s arms that went to the jacket increased in speed. He reached past the jacket to grab the child. As his fingers touched the child, he realized that the child’s body was surprisingly cold and lifeless.

“This…” In that split second, the middle-aged woman saw through Xiao Gu’s plan.

“You want to steal my child?” The woman’s chubby hands reached for Xiao Gu, and her face turned incredibly ugly.