My House of Horrors

Chen Ge did not lie. Everything that he had said was truthful, and even a micro-expression expert would not be able to find any problem with his statement.

“Currently, I am the only living member of the ghost stories society; I am the whole society’s only hope. I don’t know why you’re searching for me, but I know that you must have something important to tell me!” Taking a step forward, Chen Ge raised the flyer above his head. “Li Wan City has taken one-third of the society’s hidden treasure. Closing the door that has gone out of the control was your dying wish! Today, I am here despite of the dangers and threats to my life because I plan to reclaim what should belong to the ghost stories society!”

The shadow was a master at manipulation. When he heard what Chen Ge said, he felt increasingly unsettled. The man did not seem like he was lying, and he had arrived here to help lead the way for the doctor.

“You two…”

Chen Ge did not give the shadow that chance to speak. He spoke over him as he stared into Doctor Gao’s eyes. “Remember the words that you once told me! Think of the promise that we made! Think about your daughter, she is still waiting for you to come home!”

A human being was a very unique lifeform. Even if he was carrying all the negative emotions behind a door, even if he was consumed by the curses of the whole town, even if he had transformed into a walking abyss, there was still a human emotion lying within Doctor Gao that perhaps the man himself did not realize, and that was his memory of Gao Ru Xue.

The red eyes slowly moved, and Doctor Gao stared at the shadow who stood at the other side of the roof. The blood red coat fluttered in the wind, and black blood dripped down the side of the building.

Chen Ge had no idea what had happened to Doctor Gao behind the door, and he was confused because the wife who always accompanied him had disappeared. However, there was one thing that he was clear about. Doctor Gao seemed to have lost his rationality after consuming too many Specters and Red Specters.

Losing his memory, he could only act on instinct, and there were probably two reasons why he remembered Chen Ge. One, before the doctor perished, he had left many dying wishes with Chen Ge, including closing the door in Li Wan City and taking care of his daughter, Gao Ru Xue.

Two, it was probably because Doctor Gao had made his plan surrounding Chen Ge, and he had even come up with the plans after death. Everything was related to Chen Ge and his Haunted House. It was why he could remember Chen Ge so clearly.

The man could have gone insane due to multiple reasons, and it was incredibly difficult to fully cure a maddened man because the first adversary that he needed to face was himself.

Chen Ge realized that, and it was why he had stepped forward then. He knew that Doctor Gao would not recover with just a few of his words, and he did not expect Doctor Gao to stop attacking him. He merely wanted to shift the attention that Doctor Gao had on him onto the shadow. After taking down this element of uncertainty in the shadow, everything else could be settled later.

“Doctor Gao, even though you have lost your memory, even though you have transformed into a Red Specter, in my heart, you will always be the chairperson. It was you who showed me what a real ghost story was, and it was you who made me understood the true meaning of a ghost stories society!

“So, stop hesitating. The door in Li Wan City once belonged to the society, and it will return to the society in the future!”

The chains carved with human faces reached out from the building and slithered up the walls—their target was the shadow. The shadow did not expect Chen Ge to really convince a maddened Red Specter, but he soon discovered that something worse was awaiting him. When the chains slithered toward the shadow, the black hair blocked his way like an impenetrable wall. Zhang Ya had launched her attack at the same time.

“He is not a Red Specter, but he is much more resilient than a Red Specter. We’d better surround him and figure out a way to completely abolish him.” A madman and a man who was not much better than a madman, these were the former and current chairperson of the ghost stories society. It had to be said that Doctor Gao did have a good eye in choosing his successor.

“I am your shadow. If you want to kill me, it’s easy—die.” The shadow was very weak, but he did not show any trace of resignation, like showing any form of weakness in front of Chen Ge was something shameful.

“From the moment I burned the love letter, you were no longer my shadow. I don’t know whether I can kill you or not, but I hope you can be quiet and enjoy the ghost story that I’ve specially made for you. Consider it the last parting gift from me.”

Chen Ge retreated. The shadow under his feet connected to Zhang Ya while the shadow stood alone at the other side of the roof.

“A gift?” An ugly laugh rumbled out of the shadow. “The first gift that I’ve ever received in my life is a ghost story?”

That laughter was mixed with the cries of endless children. They cried during each death until they became dull to the sensation of death, until they could find joy in being killed.

“I will kill you; I cannot wait until the birth of the ghost fetus anymore!” After he said that, the shadow’s body solidified. The face slowly turned clearer as the facial features took on a realistic shape like someone surfacing out of the water. The shadow had turned into a second Chen Ge. “I am you, and you are me!”

He plunged his hands into his body, and the curse coursed through his fingers. Patches of scars appeared on his body, and they moved to form unique symbols. Soon, all the symbols gathered around the shadow’s heart to form the shape of a baby.

However, this baby was different from a normal child. Its heart was beating, and with each pulse, it radiated endless resentment. Looking at it was like looking at the devil picture painted on the door at the Haunted House’s toilet.

“The ghost fetus!” The baby extended its limbs, and the shadow’s body was torn apart. Four thin, spindly limbs reached out from the shadow’s body. Its expression mirrored that of the baby, a kind of hatred toward everything that existed in the world.

The chains carved with human faces lashed at the shadow. The latter grimaced as more limbs crawled out of his back. They pierced through his body, and the black liquid that represented the curse spurted out from his body. In an instant, the roof was covered in a black rain.

“I remember every single pang of despair that I’ve experienced, and each death only made me stronger. You said that you want to kill me, so I wish you luck because even I don’t know how to kill myself!”

The shadow’s face cracked like a shattered mask. Cracks appeared as blood veins crawled out from the baby inside his chest to suck into the shadow’s body. The baby was growing—it was literally consuming the shadow to accelerate its growth.

“I am the existence closest to death. I enjoy death, and I shall invite all of you to taste death with me.”

The shadow’s face fell off in pieces. The baby by his chest suddenly opened its eyes, and the venomous gaze was a complete replica of that of the shadow’s.

“Don’t give him the chance, pull the baby away from his body!” Chen Ge screamed in command. As he spoke, Doctor Gao was already charging forward. His expression was demented like an addict in the presence of a drug. He seemed to sense something more powerful than a Red Specter in the shadow.