My House of Horrors

“They’re coming!” Just the mere sight of the thick rolling waves of blood fog and a glimpse of the black chains inside it caused the tattooed man’s legs to go weak. He looked at Chen Ge who stood at the edge of the building alone, and he wished to ask if the man was born without a sense of fear.

“I have a plan that might greatly improve our chance of escape.” Chen Ge was very calm. “Both the shadow and the party who just arrived at the scene want to kill me, but the shadow temporarily does not know that I am actually the newcomer’s target. He is putting up this resistance to ensure that his own plan is not ruined. If he finds out the truth, he will be more than willing to help the newcomer come kill me.

“So, currently, the situation is good for us, and the longer this drags on, the better it’ll be for us.” Chen Ge paused and called for the others to join him. “I have something on me that attracts the newcomer. So, in a bit, I will lead him and the shadow away, while leading a trail of destruction through Li Wan City. While that is happening, you should make use of the opportunity to go explore Ming Yang Residence and find the missing parts of the door.”

“Okay.” The tattooed man agreed, but after giving it some thought, he noticed the plan’s flaw, so he quickly added, “But what about you? Being chased by these things, if you’re not careful, it’s over!”

He was not worried about Chen Ge per se, he merely thought that if Chen Ge’s plan was to distract these two scary monsters, with his current power, he would not be able to buy them much time.

“This is the best solution for now.” Chen Ge took out a flip-phone that had gone obsolete on the market to summon Tong Tong, the phone spirit. “Try and see if you can send me a message while we’re inside this place.”

Tong Tong gave it a try, and Chen Ge’s phone vibrated. A simple message appeared. “I can, but it will tire me greatly.”

Chen Ge nodded. He then summoned Men Nan and Ol’ Zhou. “I need you to watch over Tong Tong and follow them to go look for the pieces of the broken door.”

Men Nan was a Red Specter, and Ol’ Zhou was experienced and cautious. Combined with Tong Tong’s ability to communicate over a long distance, this was the best and most trustworthy group that Chen Ge could come up with.

Men Nan did not complain since he knew the gravity of the situation. He glanced at the blood fog and chains far away and wiped away the cold sweat that did not appear on his forehead. “What about you?”

“I’ll lure these things away to provide an opening for you.”

“My friend, the thing that the newcomer is coming for is that piece of paper, right? I saw a Specter take that paper away. You could have ordered him to distract the shadow while you follow us to find the exit.”

Chen Ge was surprised that the smiling man would call him a friend. After all, Chen Ge had done many things including tossing the red high heels at him to antagonize himself against the man before. “I can’t do that. Just follow my instructions.”

“I believe the Specter would willingly take the paper away and did not return it to you because that was the plan in his mind as well. This is his choice.” For the smiling man, Chen Ge would not be someone who was god awful since he was well-beloved by Specters—that was the reason his attitude toward Chen Ge had improved.

“He is like family to me. Would you send your family into danger for the sake of your own survival?” Chen Ge had a severe expression on his face. When he said that, the scent of blood around him thickened, and the sound of static appeared. Some blood appeared around Xu Yin’s empty heart, but he soon returned to normal.

“No matter what, I would not let him suffer the pain alone anymore. He has made his choice, but I have my principles to follow.” Actually, Chen Ge had long discovered the problem with Xu Yin. For every battle, Xu Yin held nothing back—it felt like the man was actively seeking death. There was nothing worth preserving in his life, and Xu Yin had no idea why his spirit had lingered in the world.

He had no idea what he desired. He had no compulsion to destroy and nothing to protect. So, why did he choose to protect Chen Ge? He could not answer that either. Perhaps because he treated Chen Ge as the only person that he could trust, or maybe he was merely finding a reason to justify his death-seeking tendency.

Death was a serious matter. Chen Ge understood that, which only made him want to help Xu Yin even more.

It was not a coincidence that Chen Ge was called the Specter’s Favored. He had something about him that could not be found in others. He could understand the truth of the pain that other people were feeling and use his own actual actions to help alleviate that pain, to give them a second chance at life after death.

“I will join him in luring the monsters away. Li Wan City is only big—I hope you’ll move as fast as you can and find all the missing pieces before the enemies catch up to me.” Chen Ge took out the hammer. “Leave now. I will run in the opposite direction from the one you take.”

If not for the fact that they had spent more than enough time together, Men Nan would have thought that this man before him was filled with justice, a good boss who was selfless and upright.

“Be careful. I’m still waiting for you to send me back so that I can fix the broken window.” The boy worked his short legs and left the building with the rest of his group.

Soon, Chen Ge was left alone on the roof. He leaned against the rails, and fire burned at the bottom of his eyes. “Doctor Gao who refuses to be a human and the shadow who wishes to be reborn as a human, the desires of these two are completely opposing. Either way, this should be fun. I wonder, in this city that is filled with terror and despair, who will be the scarier ghost story?”

The blood red moon shone its light on the road, and Chen Ge’s shadow spread like a pool of blood. The blood fog was roughly pushed back, and an extremely chilling aura, full of terror and madness, slowly surfaced but soon dispersed.

Chen Ge looked at the blood fog, and the chains and his real expression slowly appeared. The corner of his lips curled upward. He dragged the hammer and ran downstairs.

“Doctor Gao is the thing that is closest to the existence above Red Specter of all the monsters that I’ve encountered. Even though the ghost fetus is related to a four-star scenario, the shadow here is merely a small part of the ghost fetus’ true power. So, even with the local advantage, he is probably no match for Doctor Gao.” Chen Ge ran out of the building and circled around Li Wan City as the blood fog around him slowly thinned.

“I need to be cautious of Doctor Gao. The biggest issue is I have no idea where he stands, and his true purpose eludes me even more. However, everything that he has seems to circle around my Haunted House.” Chen Ge raced down the streets, and strange noises came from behind him. Doctor Gao had probably sensed that he was moving and so picked up his own speed as a countermeasure.

The thinning of the blood fog made the echoes that came from behind him even clearer. The shadows in the nearby red building shuddered and swayed. The ghosts and murderers who were trapped there were astute enough to notice that something was wrong and all came out from their hiding place.

“It’s getting more and more exciting. Murderers, Specters, and ghost stories that you’d never imagine. This sure is a party meant for the darkness.”

Slipping down the streets, the smile on Chen Ge’s face grew brighter.