My House of Horrors

“Then what was your brother’s response?”

An originally mentally unhinged person who was haunted, Chen Ge expected such an individual to resort to extreme action when threatened, and what Fan Yu’s aunt said next confirmed his speculation.

“Weirdly enough, after her threat, my brother calmed down. He considered it for a whole afternoon before relenting to her demand.” The expression on Fan Yu’s aunt’s face was complicated. “In retrospect, he was probably figuring out a way to kill her instead of considering the divorce.

“Things went as planned for my brother. It was raining cats and dogs the day that he locked Fan Yu up in his office and returned home alone. When we discovered that Fan Yu was not home, we assumed that the boy had gone missing, so all of us went out to go searching for him. My brother led his wife to Mu Yang High School.

“When I returned home at 9 pm, none of them were there. I was worried, so I also headed for Mu Yang High School to go look for them.

“There was an old well on the hill behind the school. A few days before that, there had been a landslide caused by heavy rain, and the well had been buried. When I arrived, my brother was clearing the soil around the well.

“I didn’t see my sister-in-law at first. I called my brother’s name as I walked closer, and when I did, I saw her body stuck at the mouth of the well.

“I really didn’t expect him to do something like that; he was such a gentle soul normally, and he really did love his wife. I realized then that my brother has lost his mind. Ever since he brought home that photo and said that he was haunted, I should have known that was the case.

“After I stumbled across the murder, I was given two choices. One was to help him cover up the body, and the other was to die.

“To save myself, I had no choice but to listen to him. As he ordered, I left some wounds on my sister-in-law’s body and then helped him dig the well open.”

Fan Yu’s aunt was leaning against the wall, and her eyes were filled with regret. “I knew I had become an accomplice, but the scarier thing was that I didn’t know when my brother would dispose of me. He definitely would not leave any witnesses alive. Perhaps after burying my sister-in-law, he would also toss me inside the well.”

“So, you took the initiative and killed him first?” Chen Ge listened to the woman’s story quickly, and from his perspective, this whole family was abnormal. The husband was a Peeping Tom, and after finding out about it, the wife did not report it to the police but used that as leverage to ask for a divorce.

“If I did not kill him, I would have been killed. And after killing him, I became Fan Yu’s only family, and I did not need to share him with anyone else again.” The last sentence was probably the only truthful word that left the woman’s lips that night.

“But Fan Yu is not even your child to begin with.” Chen Ge believed half of what Fan Yu’s aunt had said. There was no way to confirm things that happened three years ago, and there was no one to counter Fan Yu’s aunt.

“You’re wrong! My children have possessed Fan Yu’s body, and that is why he is familiar with my children’s habits! Fan Yu is not only my brother’s child but also my children!” Green veins started to pop on the woman’s face, and her lips were bleeding from the vehemence of her claim.

Seeing her in this state, Chen Ge did not think it was wise to push her further. This woman said that her brother was crazy, but from how he saw it, she was not that normal herself. Her mind had probably snapped when her husband and children passed away in the car accident, and she applied her twisted love on Fan Yu when she realized the boy could see her children’s lost souls.

Looking at the distraught woman, Chen Ge was reminded of the mission description given by the black phone—Everyone has a deep well inside their heart where shameful and unknowable secrets stay buried.

“Get up, show me to the well where your brother’s body was dumped.”

“The well has already disappeared. After my brother shoved my sister-in-law down the well, I pushed him in. He broke his fall on top of my sister-in-law’s body. He screamed and cursed from inside the well, but no one could hear him because of the heavy rain.” Fan Yu’s aunt pulled at her hair nervously, her arms continuously shaking. “I filled the well up with soil, and three years have passed since then. I don’t even know where to start to look for the well.”

“You only need to give me a general area,” Chen Ge said in a normal tone, but it elicited a violent reaction from Fan Yu’s aunt.

“No one will be able to find them!” Memory struck the woman’s heart like a knife, and her expression twisted with ferocity. “I will raise Fan Yu alone; I will give him all the love he needs!”

“If you really love Fan Yu, you wouldn’t have done this. Your love benefits only yourself; it’s incredibly selfish.” When they were at the Haunted House, he had noticed that Fan Yu preferred talking to Chen Ge, a stranger, than deal with his aunt. It was obvious that they did not share a good relationship.

“You said that the period after your family’s accident was the darkest moment of your life. It was Fan Yu who came to you with comfort by offering you the drawings of your children. He helped you out of sincerity, but you killed his father.” Chen Ge was reminded of the small house that was filled with red figures. If he had not intervened then, things might have gone down a far worse and far crueler route. “You should be glad that Fan Yu is still a child.”

Facing the punishment of the law would be good for both Fan Yu and his aunt. Fan Yu was searching for heaven inside the well, which meant that he had witnessed everything; he knew his aunt was the real killer.

As he grew older, he might have repeated what his aunt had done, and with blood on his hands, his life would have been ruined.

“It’s time to give this tragedy its closure.” After ending the livestream, Chen Ge had called the police. With regards to the kind of punishment Fan Yu’s aunt would receive, he really had no clue.

“The boy is forced to live with the killer of his parents. No wonder his psychological development is so stunted, you are the cause of his symptoms.”

When Chen Ge called the police, Fan Yu’s aunt shook her head vehemently, and her lips moved before she ran toward the toilet door.

“Stop struggling.” Chen Ge followed behind her. He was afraid that she might do something stupid.

Two of them ran to the first floor. When they passed the sealed classroom, Fan Yu’s aunt suddenly tripped and stayed on the ground for a long time. It felt like someone had yanked on her leg; it was weird to say the least.

Chen Ge stopped several meters behind her. Fan Yu’s aunt was collapsed at the door to the sealed classroom, and Chen Ge was feeling apprehensive about this particular classroom.

He stuck his back to the wall opposite from the door and leaned to peek into the classroom. It was after midnight. The empty classroom was filled with students, and an old, rotund man was standing at the lectern.