Chapter Ten: A Turbulent Heart

Since there was only one emergency flashlight, everyone had to move together. This, at least, gave them a sense of safety.

First, they searched carefully near the corner where the mouse had been seen last time. Judging by their reasoning, the mouse must have come from somewhere deeper in the hall.

“Come on, let’s move this cabinet in the corner together,” suggested Cui Kaixuan. “I bet there’s a mouse hole behind it.”

“Alright, let’s do it together!”

The cabinet wasn’t large, and it was empty, but it was surprisingly heavy. Tao Tao shone the flashlight while the rest mustered all their strength and finally managed to move it.

Sure enough, there was a hole in the wall behind where the cabinet had been, just large enough for a mouse to squeeze through.

“That’s disgusting,” Tao Tao muttered with a grimace.

“Enough, princess. We should be glad we have anything to eat at all,” said Cui Kaixuan, shaking his head. In times like these, who actually wanted to eat mice?

“We’ll set the trap right at the mouth of the hole. It’s bound to come out. Guo Zhengxiang, bring the light over here.” Cui Kaixuan rubbed his hands together and knelt down. Guo Zhengxiang took the flashlight from Tao Tao and helped illuminate the area.

After a while, Cui Kaixuan frowned and said, “Wait, something’s wrong. There are no mice inside this hole.”

“What’s the matter?” the others asked, puzzled.

Cui Kaixuan got up, helpless. “There’s no fresh mouse hair at the entrance, just a few dried strands. See for yourselves.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep looking,” someone said.

They continued to search around.

Before long, everything suddenly went black.

“Guo Zhengxiang?” someone called out.

“Damn, the flashlight’s gone out,” Guo Zhengxiang replied, squeezing it desperately, producing a faint whirring noise, but no light shone forth.

“Don’t worry, this type of thing rarely breaks. It’s probably just a wiring glitch,” said Xiu Ming.

The emergency flashlight was powered by manual cranking, generating electricity for an LED bulb. Neither the generator nor the LED array were likely to break down, and with so many LEDs packed in, it was impossible for all of them to fail at once.

The sudden darkness didn’t cause much panic.

“Nobody move. Is everyone here?” Guo Zhengxiang asked.

“I’m here.”

“I’m here.”

Voices sounded off one after another.

“I’m here too.”

A chill ran down Xiu Ming’s spine, and everything fell silent.

Because the last voice belonged to Wang Qian.

Xiu Ming was not the only one struck speechless with fear; everyone else was equally unnerved.

But the utter darkness only intensified their terror.

“No, something’s wrong,” thought Xiu Ming. “Before, even when it was dark, there was always some faint light. Now, I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.” He slowly moved toward where Fei Xin had been standing—a distance of about three steps.

Yet after four or five cautious steps, he still hadn’t bumped into anyone.

“Fei Xin, are you there?” Xiu Ming called softly.

“I’m here.” But hearing Fei Xin’s reply, Xiu Ming couldn’t tell where she was. Then Guo Zhengxiang’s voice came: “Tao Tao?”

“I’m here. Where are you? Why can’t I tell where your voice is coming from?” Tao Tao’s panic was obvious in her shaky tone.

“Nobody move,” instructed Cui Kaixuan. “If we stay put, we’ll keep our original positions. Our senses are playing tricks on us—if we wander, something bad might happen.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha…” Wang Qian’s laughter rang out, sharp and piercing. “Gao Yi, did you enjoy everything you did to me? Were you satisfied—so satisfied that you killed me? Why?”

“Ah!” Gao Yi felt as if her voice was right next to his ear, cold and shrill. He let out a terrified scream and bolted blindly into the darkness.

A cry of pain was heard—probably from Cui Kaixuan—followed by his angry shout: “Who ran into me?”

Gao Yi ran away. That was Xiu Ming’s first thought. So it really was Gao Yi who killed Wang Qian, and now her ghost had come for revenge.

This matched their previous suspicion.

If she was seeking vengeance, then the rest of them should be safe.

But then the next words chilled Xiu Ming and the others to their core: “You all conspired to leave Gao Yi in my room. You must pay with your lives too! Whose idea was it?”

As she spoke, Xiu Ming felt the temperature around him drop sharply. The sound of footsteps, soft as they were, seemed to fall directly on his heart. It felt as though Wang Qian was walking straight toward him.

Leaving Gao Yi behind had been an unspoken understanding among them. Who could be called the ringleader?

Just as Xiu Ming was about to speak, Cui Kaixuan shouted: “It was a decision made by us three men! Come for us!”

“Yes, it was our decision!” Guo Zhengxiang added quickly.

“If that’s the case… then you will witness the others die, one by one… hee-hee… ha-ha-ha…” The voice was wretched, each sound like teeth scraping together.

To Xiu Ming’s relief, the voice grew fainter and finally vanished.

“Is she gone?” The icy chill left Xiu Ming’s body as quickly as it had come. Oddly enough, the shift from cold to normal required no adjustment. Whatever the cause, for now, they were safe.

“It seems she’s left…” Cui Kaixuan said, and gradually, the darkness eased, and the faint light returned.

Looking around, Xiu Ming realized he had wandered three meters away from the others. Moments ago, he’d only taken two or three steps, and he’d been heading toward Fei Xin—but he’d ended up in the opposite direction.

“So, is Wang Qian… still in the room?” Tao Tao immediately clung to Guo Zhengxiang.

“We’ll go check,” said Xiu Ming, though his heart was pounding. Some things simply had to be verified.

“I’ll stay here. Just tell me what you find,” Fei Xin said.

“Me too. I’ll stay with Fei Xin,” Tao Tao echoed, unwilling to go.

Gao Yi had already run off; the three remaining men exchanged glances and made their way to Wang Qian’s room.

They walked in silence until they saw Wang Qian lying on the bed, just as before, with no sign of having moved.

“Even the creases in the blanket are unchanged,” sighed Xiu Ming, rubbing his temples. It made no sense—he was sure Wang Qian hadn’t moved at all.

“Was it her soul just now?” wondered Guo Zhengxiang aloud, but then his expression fell. “I give up. We’re doomed to die here.”

“No, it’s not over yet. Pull yourself together. If it really is a ghost, perhaps we don’t have to worry,” Xiu Ming said, clapping Guo Zhengxiang on the shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve all seen movies, right?” Xiu Ming went on. “In most of them, ghosts can’t directly harm people—at least, not unless certain conditions are met. Like, you have to be afraid first.”

“That’s true,” Cui Kaixuan agreed. “If ghosts could kill at will, we’d already be dead. Right, let’s go find Gao Yi!”

The three hurried off.

Gao Yi, meanwhile, was staring in terror at his surroundings. Wang Qian had called him by name—she was after his life! And she would make his death a miserable one, because what he’d done to Wang Qian… beastly wasn’t too strong a word.

Wait—a light? Gao Yi spotted the three men approaching with the flashlight, and relief flooded his face.

He’d been so frightened he’d run blindly, crashed into something, and lost consciousness for a while. When he came to, the darkness had gradually receded.

But his relief was short-lived. He saw the three men pointing and snickering at him, their contempt plain. Gao Yi’s brief hope evaporated.

He’d never come from money, and at school he was always self-conscious—especially around someone like Guo Zhengxiang, who was rich and handsome. Beneath his insecurity lurked a well-hidden envy he barely acknowledged himself.

Money, a girlfriend—none of it belonged to him! Why, when they were all raised by parents, should there be such a difference?

What’s more, Wang Qian had just exposed his beastly actions and accused him of murder—now, in their eyes, he was nothing but a perverted killer.

When the three reached Gao Yi, they hurried over.

“Are you alright, Gao Yi?” Guo Zhengxiang asked.

Suppressing his feelings, Gao Yi nodded lightly. “I’m fine. I just got too nervous, that’s all.”