Chapter Six: Nothing Left but the House

As soon as one entered the room, the balcony was immediately visible, its window wide open. The group exchanged excited glances—they could finally leave this place.

Gao Yi was the first to rush toward the balcony. “Guo Zhengxiang, lend me your flashlight.”

Guo Zhengxiang handed it over. “Be careful.”

“No problem.” Gao Yi took the emergency flashlight, eyed a withered tree outside the window, and leapt out, landing firmly on its trunk. He made a gesture to the others, shone the light downward, then climbed down the tree and vanished into the darkness. Only the occasional flicker of light revealed his whereabouts.

Soon, the beam began to move horizontally and then disappeared completely, suggesting the faint ambient light was enough to see nearby.

…He won’t leave us behind, will he? This was the thought haunting everyone.

“Let’s wait for him. Meanwhile, let’s look for clues in here,” Guo Zhengxiang said, turning away from the balcony and back toward the room.

“This door is locked. Look, there’s a hole on the door—it seems the lock inside requires a key,” Xiu Ming said, holding up a candle.

“A key… Where are we supposed to find a key?”

They carefully searched the room, including the adjacent one, but found nothing.

Not long after, Gao Yi climbed back onto the balcony, his face pale.

“How was it?” The group gathered around, asking anxiously.

Gao Yi clearly struggled for words. “We can’t get out.”

“What? Explain yourself.”

He shook his head, took a moment to calm down, then said, “I went outside the house. It seems we’re trapped inside by walls. All around the house, there’s nothing but pitch-black walls.”

“That’s impossible. We drove in here,” Guo Zhengxiang protested, grabbing the flashlight and preparing to investigate himself.

Cui Kaixuan interjected, “Don’t doubt him. If we could get out, Gao Yi wouldn’t lie to us.”

Gao Yi nodded, “Who the hell would want to stay here?”

“It doesn’t make sense. How could this happen?”

“Do you all remember the laughter earlier? I think there’s something evil in this place. Perhaps it’s what’s keeping us trapped. Frankly, we’re caught in an unsolvable ghost maze,” Cui Kaixuan said.

Ordinary ghost mazes could be escaped with proper steps, but this was completely sealed.

“So we’re stuck here forever?” Gao Yi cried out. Perhaps others weren’t as anxious, but after his walk outside, the weight of confusion and pressure felt mountainous.

Cui Kaixuan shook his head. “I don’t know, but there’s always a loophole. Nothing in this world is perfect, is it? Maybe if we do something, or go somewhere, we’ll find a way out.”

This theory had no evidence, yet it was irrefutable, for that’s how it always played out in horror films.

“All right, let’s pause here for now. We’ve been out for three hours already. Let’s return to rest and get some food, and check on Tao Tao. We’ll continue this afternoon. This place—ah,” Guo Zhengxiang said.

“No!” Gao Yi shouted angrily. “If there really is a female ghost, if we don’t leave, we’ll all die here! We have to hurry!”

He himself wasn’t sure how to hurry, but he knew the situation outside the house was utterly bizarre, and Cui Kaixuan was right—it was unsolvable! If it were merely illusions confusing direction, there’d still be hope, but now everything was cut off, leaving no room for escape.

He might be poor, but life was precious! Panic seized him—this was a dead end, with not even a crack to slip through!

Finishing his words, Gao Yi, in a fit of hysteria under the astonished gazes of the others, grabbed the table and smashed it against the locked door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After several strikes, Gao Yi was panting heavily, his blows so forceful they made everyone gasp, and the vibrations were palpable.

The four exchanged glances. Guo Zhengxiang spoke, “I’m not giving orders, just seeking everyone’s opinion. If you have a better idea, I’m sure we’d all listen.”

Gao Yi, breathing hard, lowered his head to stare at the undamaged door, then looked back at Guo Zhengxiang, a ferocious gleam in his eyes.

“I got carried away. Well then, let’s rest for a bit, and later we’ll try another place,” Gao Yi replied after calming himself for a while.

Guo Zhengxiang nodded, squeezing the flashlight in his hand, and the group headed downstairs together.

Passing the figure-eight staircase, they made a point to cross their paths as Cui Kaixuan had suggested, but felt nothing unusual.

The clock on the landing between floors still showed three o’clock, as if it were broken. The gargoyle mask loomed imposingly in the background.

Knock knock knock. “Tao Tao, open up. We’re back.”

The door opened, the fire still burning.

“How’s Qian Qian?” Fei Xin gently sat on Wang Qian’s bed, looking at Tao Tao.

Tao Tao shook her head. “She woke up once a few hours ago, but has been asleep since. Her fever hasn’t gone down.”

Cui Kaixuan touched Wang Qian’s forehead, then checked her pulse.

After a moment, he turned to the group and shook his head.

“You know medicine?” Xiu Ming asked.

“A little, just the basics,” Cui Kaixuan replied. “Wang Qian’s condition is bad—she has tetanus. I doubt she’ll last long. There’s no medicine here. Relying on her own immunity isn’t enough.”

“It’s all my fault,” Gao Yi blamed himself.

“Let’s not dwell on that now. No one wanted this to happen,” Cui Kaixuan said, then turned to Tao Tao. “Use the remaining water to wipe her body and lower her temperature. We’ll go out for some food. After you eat, come join us.”

The group gathered in the hall to divide some food. With supplies low, each received only a small portion.

Soon, Tao Tao joined them.

Guo Zhengxiang briefly recounted their exploration to Tao Tao, omitting the incident with the ghostly laughter.

“By the way, Guo Zhengxiang, not long after you left, I heard strange sounds outside the door. It was rather unsettling,” Tao Tao said.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Guo Zhengxiang forced a smile. “Probably rats.”

Rats. “Right! Rats—we can catch them. I’ve heard people used to eat rats when food was scarce. We can set a trap!” Xiu Ming suggested.

“Good idea.” Guo Zhengxiang’s eyes brightened. “The one we saw before was pretty big; I bet there’s more than one.”

Xiu Ming quickly finished his food, went to his room, brought back a stainless steel bowl, tied a small stone to it, propped it up with a stick, and attached a thin string connecting food and stick. Once the bait was moved, the bowl would drop and trap the rat.

“It’s done.” Seeing the bowl in the corner, the group nodded. Rat meat may be meager, but it’s nutritious and could replenish their energy.

In their current situation, even a sliver of hope could lift their spirits.

Yet Gao Yi still furrowed his brows.

After eating and resting a while, it was time to depart again.

“All right, we’re heading out. Tao Tao, you’ll come with us next. Gao Yi, could you stay and look after Wang Qian? Is that all right?” Guo Zhengxiang asked.

“Me?” Gao Yi hadn’t expected Guo Zhengxiang to say that.

“Huh? Well…” Tao Tao started to speak, but Guo Zhengxiang suddenly took her hand beneath the table.

Tao Tao was stunned and fell silent.