My House of Horrors

Even though Chen Ge had no idea what was in the corridor, he knew that he could not allow himself to be dragged into the room. His arms were pulled, and his eyes were blindfolded. Chen Ge could only kick at what believed to be the direction of the corridor. His feet made contact with something, and the pain jolted Chen Ge awake. “White Tiger! Bite it!”

All that Chen Ge could trust now was the white cat, but the strange thing was, the cat that laid on his shoulders did not move at all. He could feel the cat’s weight on his shoulder not shifting.

His body was dragged on both sides, and this held on for almost half a minute when Chen Ge heard a man say, “Don’t you want to live‽ I am trying to save you! There is a ghost in the stairwell!”

Following the voice, the pull on Chen Ge’s arm increased. Now Chen Ge was given a choice, to follow the man’s voice into the corridor or continue up the stairs. In less than a second, he made the choice and shouted, “It was human beings who pushed them to their death, so why should I be afraid of ghosts? If you really want to save me, let go!”

At that crucial moment, Chen Ge chose to stay in the stairwell. He was willing to stay with the ghost whose identity he had confirmed over leaving with a random ‘human’ stranger. The pull on his arm dwindled until the door clicked. The man who wanted to drag Chen Ge into the room appeared to have left.

Is he that desperate to find a scapegoat? The last one who had that intention is still trapped inside a painting.

Chen Ge slowly stood up.

The sound of the door closing was very, close so it means the man’s room is very close to the stairwell. I’ll be sure to return tomorrow with my employees to pay a visit.

He waved his arms about. He touched the bannister and wall to confirm his location.

“Thank you for your help earlier,” Chen Ge said to the space next to him. No one was pulling on his hand anymore, so he was not sure whether the boy was still there or not. “Da Bao?”

There was no reply. Chen Ge waited for a while before moving up again.

The situation is worse than I thought. I thought this place would have at most three Specters and some lingering spirits, but it looks like I was being overly optimistic.

Lingering spirits would have a hard time interacting physically with human beings, so both the man who grabbed Chen Ge’s arm and the boy were Specters. He had only gone up to the eleventh floor, and he had already run into two Specters; this would only get worse. When Chen Ge came to the space between eleventh and twelfth floors, he felt something under his feet. It felt wet.

Puddles? There is no light in the upper part of the building, so why would there be a puddle on the stairs? Could it be a broken pipe?

Chen Ge could confirm that he was not stepping on blood because blood dried very quickly. The blood used at his own Haunted House was all diluted with thinner.

This should be water.

When that thought crossed his mind, he felt chill on his cheeks, like water was dripping on his face. Before he reached out to touch his face, the chill moved to his ankles like a snake had just slithered up his leg.

What is going on?

The air turned damp, and moisture stuck to his skin. When Chen Ge was contemplating this change, a woman’s voice suddenly came from above.

“So cold…” The voice was light and shaking.

There’s something before me?

Chen Ge slowed down, and his brain spun. The air around him filled with vapor. Did the person feel cold because her death was related to water, or was her body stored inside a freezer? Chen Ge thought about a lot in a few minutes. He continued to move forward. Just as he was about to pass the source of the voice, he felt both of his legs freeze. The chill spread along his spine like something was crawling up his back.

“So cold, so cold…” The shivering voice now echoed behind Chen Ge, like she was following him, just one step behind him. Standing with his eyes closed in the staircase, he could not see anything, but he could sense someone standing behind him. With each step, the person behind him also took one step forward. The chilling feeling did not dissipate and only grew stronger. Chen Ge did not act rashly; he slowly raised his hand to undo the button of his jacket. He undid the buttons one by one and removed his jacket before turning to cover the person behind him. “Put this on, stranger. I can’t help you change what’s already happened, but I hope this jacket can bring you some warmth.”

The jacket landed on something. Perhaps Chen Ge’s action was so sudden that the thing could not react.

“Other than this stupid cat, I have nothing. I see death very lightly, but that doesn’t influence my love for life.” Chen Ge held the wall and slowly squatted down until he sat on the steps. “This night is long and boring; would you like to chat?”

With his eyes blindfolded, Chen Ge could not see anything. Without any employees or tools, he could not do anything. However, he did not feel helpless. He leaned against the wall. In the damp, eerie stairwell, his smile appeared so bright and unusual.

“If you don’t mind, please sit next to me.” Chen Ge tapped the spot next to him lightly. “I know how loneliness feels, and I envy those who can joke with their friends and have endless topics to chat about. Seeing their joy, I will always find a secluded corner to be by myself. That is how I like it. Eventually, people got used to it. To be honest, you’re the first one who I have chatted so closely with for so long.”

His lips moved, and Chen Ge turned to look next to him. “Can you stay for a chat?”

Some shuffling entered his ears, and Chen Ge’s finger brushed against his own jacket. The ‘stranger’ who had been following him sat down next to him on the step.

“Thank you for accompanying me. I am not a people person, but do you mind telling me your story?”

His tone was sincere with an undercurrent of pleading.

“My body is pressed together. It’s very cold. I cannot even hug myself…”

“Where are you? Can I go find you? How can I help you?” Chen Ge sincerely wished to help. There was at least another murder case hidden in this building.

“My head is placed behind my back, my arms are folded together, and my legs are on the second floor. He used to hate me. It was not until he raised the cleaver that he smiled. He said that he finally found the upside to an anorexic girl. That was a rare compliment. He said, since I am so small and thin, I will be easy to hide.”