My House of Horrors

“I suppose if you put it that way…” Xiao Gu was rather disappointed.

“If you stand straight, you will not be afraid of your shadow being slanted. As long as you do not do anything wrong and live your life openly and freely, then even if you run into a ghost, they will be the one afraid of you.” Chen Ge shared the lesson with Xiao Gu, and the young man listened closely.

“I understand now. Thank you, boss, for the lesson.”

“You still have many things to learn in the future. I will help you see more things that you will never believe.” Chen Ge did not have a useful person next to him, and many things were quite inconvenient for him. Xiao Gu’s appearance made Chen Ge realize that this might be his perfect chance. He planned to cultivate an actual Haunted House employee in the young man.

“Do not tell anyone what happened on the bus, and this includes Xu Wan.” Chen Ge opened the door to the Haunted House and waved for Xiao Gu to follow him. “Tonight, you can stay inside the staff breakroom. Remember, do not leave the room and wander off on your own. Especially remember to stay away from the scary scenarios.”

“Boss, where will you sleep? I’m sure the two of us can share the same bed if we just move around.” Xiao Gu was quite embarrassed to take advantage of Chen Ge’s kindness.

“I have my ways. Later, I’ll accompany you to the bathroom to change. After that, remember to stay inside the staff breakroom until the sun comes up.”

“I can go to the toilet on my own; I’m not a child anymore.” Xiao Gu still had not realized that he was currently standing inside the scariest location in Western Jiujiang. According to the assessment on the black phone, Chen Ge’s House of Horrors could be considered a three-star scenario already.

“There are some props that I’ve placed inside the bathroom, and I’m afraid you might mess them up.” Chen Ge found a random excuse and quickly moved away from this topic. He entered the staffroom and took out two sets of his own clothes. He handed one set to Xiao Gu. “Put these on. Give me your wet clothes.”

After he was done with everything, Chen Ge closed the door to the staff breakroom. “Have a good sleep. I’ll come find you tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” The door closed. Xiao Gu sat beside the bed, and his heart was feeling quite embarrassed. He slept on the bed, and the boss slept on the floor. This was the first time that he had run into a situation like this. Brother Chen has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Even though he doesn’t mention it enough, I can see from his actions that he is a good man.

He pulled the thin cover off, and Xiao Gu was about to lie on the bed when he suddenly heard a cat meow. He quickly stood up. Underneath the cover was a big white cat with a pair of multi-colored eyes. It glanced lazily at Xiao Gu. The gaze seemed to say, Who are you, and where did you come from?

“Nice to meet you.” Xiao Gu held the cover and stood next to the bed. He did not know what to do. The white cat did not bully Xiao Gu. It bit on a cute doll and jumped to the study table next to the table agilely. The cat scratched the light switch, and the staff breakroom fell into darkness. Holding the cover, Xiao Gu stood where he was dumbly.

My god, he even knows how to turn off the lights on his own…

Chen Ge stood outside the door for a while. He left after he saw the lights inside the room go off. He also changed into the new set of clothes and carried the half-drenched backpack into the props room.

The situation in Eastern Jiujiang is quite complicated. This probably related to the door in Li Wan City that has gone out of control. Doctor Gao said that the door was once under the ghost stories society’s control. If I wish to gain more information on this door, I can try to get some from the members of the society.

Rummaging through the drawers, Chen Ge finally found the chairperson’s letter of appointment and the patients’ list for Third Sick Hall. He took these things and entered the underground scenario.

He activated the recorder and pushed open the door to the last classroom at Mu Yang High School. The mannequins in the school uniforms sat at their tables obediently. They looked so serious like they were preparing for an imminent and important exam.

“Don’t worry, I just want to introduce some new friends to you.” Chen Ge stood on the podium and tried for the first time to communicate with the spirits inside the patient’s list. He released the souls of the mad people all at once. In life, they had been the most twisted maniacs. In death, their souls had refused to leave, and they had all turned into baleful spirits. The classroom was filled with dark winds, and the table, chairs, door, and windows rattled noisily. Screams and wails echoed in the room, and vengeful eyes charged at Chen Ge directly.

“Xu Yin.” Dripping with blood, Xu Yin materialized next to Chen Ge. All the sounds and screams in the classroom were silenced instantly. When the few spirits finally quieted down, Chen Ge walked past them one by one. The group of spirits was indeed different from normal spirits. Even with a Red Specter staring them down, their eyes were radiating a dangerous glow as they glared darkly at Chen Ge.

“We’re unable to communicate?” Chen Ge took out the chairperson’s letter of appointment again. He showed Doctor Gao’s handwriting to the spirits, and when they saw the handwriting, dark red blood vessels appeared in the spirits’ eyes. In just a few seconds, all the spirits bowed down before Chen Ge.

Still unable to communicate? Or do they refuse to communicate with me because they have some issues with me?

As the new chairperson of the ghost stories society, Chen Ge had some connections with these old members. He summoned all of the employees at the Haunted House to surround the patients and then left the classroom.

…

The rain started to lighten. Huang Ling drove the taxi, and the car was nearing her home, but the speed was slowing down. Her heart was knotted in a conflict. Whenever she remembered what Chen Ge had said, she would be afraid. Should I return home tonight or not?

Before this, she did not know anything, so she had not been afraid. Now, Huang Ling did not know whom she should trust. Chen Ge’s points were valid and logical, but ultimately, he was just an outsider. Jia Ming was her husband, and they had shared a life for so many years already.

After giving it some more thought, Huang Ling still could not come to a decision. Perhaps I should go back home, but if I don’t go back, where would I go? Stay inside the taxi throughout the night? But how will I explain myself should the taxi driver wake up?

The taxi reached the entrance of the residential area, but Huang Ling still had not come to a decision. Suddenly, she saw a man holding an umbrella, waiting anxiously at the stairwell. “Jia Ming? Is he waiting for me?”

His shirt was wet, and Jia Ming looked quite look shabby.

“Why are you only coming back now‽” Jia Ming’s voice sounded quite angry. Huang Ling parked the car, and she only pushed the door open when Jia Ming held the umbrella at the door. “Come back home with me now!”

“Let me leave my phone number with the driver first. If he wakes up, he can contact me.” Huang Ling found a note inside the taxi and wrote a memo for the driver.

“What happened to you today? Why did the driver faint? Should we drive him to the hospital?” Jia Ming saw the driver that was still fainted on the backseat and was worried.

“My friend said he’s fine. He was just shocked, so he’ll be fine after some time.”

“Your friend? You’d better stop hanging out with those strange people. From their appearance, the two that came today do not look like good people.” Jia Ming held the umbrella and supported Huang Ling as they headed upstairs. The room door was open. The warm light from inside the room cleared the fear and anxiety inside Huang Ling’s heart.

“I’ve reheated the food around seven to eight times already, but you are so late.” Jia Ming pointed at the dishes on the table. “I even purposely stewed a pot of soup for you.”

“Thank you, but I don’t have much of an appetite.” Seeing the table filled with food, Huang Ling was still quite touched. However, once it crossed her mind that this man standing beside her might not be her husband, all the warm feelings turned into an indescribable terror.

“Okay then, I’ll clear the table. You’d better go and sleep; you still need to work tomorrow morning.” Jia Ming was rather angry, and he had to rein it in to not explode in his wife’s appearance. Huang Ling entered the bedroom, but she did not remove her jacket and pants. She pulled the cover over her body and lay down in bed.

In the other room, Jia Ming was clearing away the table. The sound of the plates falling into the sink kept echoing through the room. After who knew how long, the lights in the living room finally went off. Someone entered the bedroom and lay down next to Huang Ling. There was a small gap between the two.

Inside the cramped room that was shrouded in darkness, even though Huang Ling was tired, she was unable to fall asleep. The more she allowed her mind to wander, the more afraid she became. Her palms kept sweating.

About ten minutes later, when Huang Ling heard the light snoring from her husband and confirmed that the man had fallen asleep, she finally sighed in relief. After a whole day of work and the long drive, she was already at her limit. Her eyes slowly closed, and Huang Ling had no idea she was falling asleep. The fatigue from the eventful night was slowly catching up to her.

About one or two hours later, Huang Ling found herself inside a very scary dream. Her own husband stood at the door with a glinting cleaver in his hands, mumbling about the type of ingredients that he would use that night to cook soup with.

Cold sweat slid down her face, and her head jostled. After some struggle, her eyes flew open. The bedroom was completely dark and incredibly quiet. She confirmed that there was no one standing at the door.

“That was too scary.” Huang Ling rubbed her head. She grabbed the phone that she had left on the bedside table. She found Chen Ge’s contact number. She wanted to check whether she had set his number as speed dial or not. To prevent herself from accidentally waking up her husband who was sleeping, Huang Ling curled her body under the covers.

The phone screen’s light fell on her face. Huang Ling opened the phone record, and her eyes followed on the list of numbers that had called her that night.

“These came from my husband.” Her eyes slowly moved downward. Huang Ling focused completely on the display. However, suddenly, a finger appeared in her sight to press on her display, like it was trying very hard to call a particular number. Looking at that finger that appeared out of nowhere, Huang Ling shivered and jumped up in bed!

The phone fell in the middle of the bed, and the light from the display hit her husband’s face. His face looked so familiar, but the expression was so strange. “Why aren’t you sleeping? Is it because you’re hungry?”

“I’m fine.” Huang Ling hugged the cover and got up to turn on the light. However, weirdly enough, she gave it several tries, but the lights refused to turn on.

Her husband sat up in bed like a robot, and his voice became increasingly weird. The man mumbled to himself like he was unable to process what Huang Ling had said earlier. “If you’re hungry, let’s go and eat. I even stewed a pot of soup for you.”