Chapter Seven: Calming the People

After leaving the hall, the group ascended to the second floor and began exploring other rooms.

“Why did we leave Gao Yi behind?” Tao Tao asked, puzzled.

“Don’t ask too much. It’s the best decision,” Guo Zhengxiang stopped, thought for a moment, and explained.

Tao Tao was still confused and looked to the others.

Fei Xin turned his head away, clearly unwilling to face the question.

“I’ll explain,” Xiu Ming looked at Tao Tao. “Before dinner, Gao Yi was very agitated. I think he’s close to a breaking point. With his personality, it’s hard to predict what he might do. He appears strong, but in truth, he’s very fragile inside. Remember the basketball game at the school sports meet? He nearly got into a fight over something trivial, and for days afterward, he secretly put an iron rod in his backpack. He’s obsessive and needs to relieve pressure.”

“Relieve pressure?” Tao Tao suddenly understood. “But that’s so unfair to Qian Qian!”

“Wang Qian… she can’t hold on much longer. At most, a day. And she’s already deeply unconscious,” Cui Kaixuan said.

Tao Tao fell silent.

“Let’s go. This is the reality,” Guo Zhengxiang said.

…

Inside the room, Gao Yi changed Wang Qian’s wet cloth.

In the faint firelight, Wang Qian’s cheeks were flushed, making her look enticing. Gao Yi had always been single, and girls like Wang Qian, who spoke so boldly, were fatally attractive to a single man like him.

A thin blanket could not conceal her alluring figure; its outline traced her slender waist and peach-like chest.

Unable to restrain himself, Gao Yi pressed his lips to her rosy mouth. As soon as he touched her, he nervously lifted his head again.

“Mm…?” Wang Qian seemed to stir.

Gao Yi swallowed hard. “No… I can’t…” He turned his face away, forcefully suppressing what should not be rising.

“The most important thing now is to get out of this haunted house,” Gao Yi turned away. The laughter of the ghostly woman from earlier seemed to douse him in cold water, clearing his mind significantly.

Just then, an odd, ticklish comfort crept into his heart, and scenes from the Japanese films he often watched appeared before his eyes, seductive sounds playing vividly in his ears, both sight and sound so real.

His suppressed desire ignited again like a flame.

A sudden gust of wind, from who knows where, blew the thin blanket aside.

Her fair and graceful body was exposed. It turned out Tao Tao hadn’t dressed Wang Qian properly.

Her bra merely covered her chest, the buttons undone by Tao Tao; a casual lift would reveal the softness he’d dreamed of. And atop her long legs, the white lace drove Gao Yi’s blood boiling. Between the lace and her perfect groin, faint traces of black peeked out.

Gao Yi clenched his fists, walked to the door, checked that no one was outside, closed it, and latched the lock.

When he turned back, his eyes were filled with desire.

Outside the door, a faint, mad laughter echoed from the void.

…

“This is the last room on the right. It won’t open.”

“Seems like all the doors to outside rooms won’t open; only the study can be entered.”

“I’d like to check out the study, I’m really curious about it,” Tao Tao said, her curiosity piqued because she’d heard they had merely passed by it, so perhaps something had been overlooked.

“How about we spend an hour in the study?” Guo Zhengxiang asked.

Everyone was a student, and they still had interest in books from long ago, not to mention that they might find clues about this place, so naturally, no one objected.

So, the group continued to search through the materials.

“What are you reading, Tao Tao?” Fei Xin came over, holding a candle.

“It’s a book about the struggle between humans and demons. Legend says a lord led brave knights to attack the demon’s castle, finally achieving victory.”

“But after they returned, their personalities changed drastically, and eventually, they themselves became demons.”

The book was thin. Tao Tao closed it and looked at Fei Xin, saying, “Fei Xin, these books really…”

“Ah!!” Tao Tao suddenly screamed along with Fei Xin’s frightened cry.

“What happened?” Everyone rushed over to see Tao Tao’s book fallen to the floor, her hands clutching her head.

Fei Xin stood nearby, bewildered.

“Fei… Fei Xin’s shadow is laughing!”

Tao Tao didn’t dare raise her head, terrified, she shuffled toward Guo Zhengxiang.

What! Everyone, including Fei Xin himself, was startled and stared at the wall behind him.

Fei Xin’s stretched shadow was cast on the wall, and a crescent-shaped mouth, baring sharp teeth, was smiling, its head swaying slightly with the candlelight.

Even Xiu Ming felt a chill in his heart.

Several pairs of eyes met that smiling face.

“Something’s wrong.” Cui Kaixuan stepped forward and touched the shadow’s mouth, everyone’s heart pounding.

Under their gaze, Cui Kaixuan took the mouth off. “It’s a key.”

He then showed it to everyone.

The crescent-shaped key handle matched Fei Xin’s shadow perfectly.

“A false alarm.”

“I thought my heart would stop.”

“Sorry, Fei Xin,” Tao Tao stuck out her tongue.

…

“It’s fine. Honestly, I was scared too. But thanks to you, we found this key,” Fei Xin smiled.

“It says R205,” Cui Kaixuan examined the key in the candlelight.

“R probably stands for right, and 205 should be the sixth room, the one we found locked this morning,” Cui Kaixuan stood up. “Shall we go check it out now?”

“Let’s go, let’s try it,” the group promptly headed to the room.

Click. The door opened. Cui Kaixuan had worried that the lock would no longer work after so long, but it turned out his concerns were unnecessary.

Inside, it was the same as the other rooms. But on the table lay a bunch of keys.

Cui Kaixuan tried the key on the door facing outside; it opened too. After stepping out and checking left and right, he locked it again.

These keys were clearly not as exquisite as the previous one, much rougher in appearance, and their heads varied in size, so it was almost certain this bunch wasn’t meant to open the second-floor doors.

Behind this door was a latch; both rooms could choose to lock it, and the emblem was still on the door.

“This place has a good environment. I think we should move up here,” Guo Zhengxiang mused.

“I’m afraid not. There’s carpet on the floor—easy to cause a fire,” Xiu Ming shook his head.

“Hmm… true.”

Xiu Ming also noticed that every table had the same religious book, meaning this house belonged to a religious group, and the doctrine they followed was recorded in that book.

So, Xiu Ming pocketed the book to read later.

But when they tried to enter again, the key didn’t fit anymore. So, their exploration of the right side rooms ended there.

The group moved toward the left corridor.

The left corridor was a bit different from the right; there was no large door to a library, just a row of room doors.

But at the end of the left corridor, there was a vertical ladder attached to the wall, leading up.

“Looks like that goes to the attic or roof area.”

“There could be rats or snakes up there; we’d best not go.”

“Then let’s call it a day, rest well, digest what we found in the books. Everyone, the way out might be hidden in those pages. There are still some details we can look for tomorrow.”

The group finished their discussion and headed to the first floor.

“I’m a bit worried about Qian Qian,” Tao Tao said, holding onto Guo Zhengxiang’s shoulder. Whether it was her illness or something else, Tao Tao felt leaving her to Gao Yi was a mistake.

Guo Zhengxiang sighed. “This is an emergency. Gao Yi’s emotions will affect our team, and he’s shown aggression. We have no other choice. Getting out is the priority.”

Tao Tao nodded gently, clinging tighter to Guo Zhengxiang’s arm.