chapter 9

"Senior, don't these paper figures seem to be watching us?" Crane Mountain clung to the door, refusing to step inside. "I'm serious! There's something off about them. What if they're people in disguise? I swear, the closer I get, the more I feel they'll stand up!"

The paper figures treated with Chen Ge's embalming skills exuded a strange aura. Although clearly inanimate, there was a subtle hint of life to them.

Gao Ruxue glared fiercely at He Shan, itching to call him an idiot. Fear is contagious. She wasn't particularly scared before, but He Shan's words unsettled her. "Can you please hold your tongue? One more word and I'll leave you here on your own."

She ventured into the room first, scanning the surroundings. The windows on the main room's walls were mere decorations, with no actual openings.

"Senior, we should hurry out. This room feels sinister, completely sealed. The exit won't be in here."

"The haunted house owner is adept at psychological manipulation and reading minds. So, we must act contrary to our instincts. The more unlikely a spot seems, the more thoroughly we should search," Gao Ruxue said, moving around the room. The breeze she created caused the paper figures on the floor to sway slightly.

From outside the door, He Shan asked nervously, "But with the room so open and devoid of hiding spots, where could the exit be?"

"No hiding spots? Who said that?" Gao Ruxue stood at the center of the main room, raising her long, fair leg to step onto the red coffin. "Come, help me. We're opening this coffin."

"Opening it?!" He Shan's mouth twitched, his entire demeanor displaying unease. "Isn't that a bit... inappropriate?"

"Do you plan on staying in this haunted house forever?" Under Gao Ruxue's pressure, He Shan reluctantly stepped inside, carefully avoiding the paper figures on the ground, and bent down to assist with the coffin lid.

"On my count— one, two, three. We lift together."

"Alright."

"One, two..."

"Thud!"

Before Gao Ruxue could finish counting, a peculiar sound echoed from within the room.

"What was that sound?" He Shan, clutching the coffin lid, shuddered.

"Shush," Gao Ruxue signaled for silence, looking around. Her gaze finally settled on the red coffin. "The sound seemed to come from inside the coffin."

Upon hearing this, He Shan paled. Holding the coffin lid, his hands felt as if they were gripping burning hot metal. "Sis, you're my only sister. Let's get out of here, please."

"Think about it. If a sound emerges from a coffin, it can mean one of two things: First, there might be an employee inside ready to scare us when we open it. Second, there might be some sort of mechanism or device inside. So, in any case, the coffin is an essential prop in this 'ghost marriage' scene. To escape, opening the coffin is one of our necessary steps," Gao Ruxue patted the coffin lid. "No hesitation. Let's open it."

"A sound coming from the coffin isn't just strange, it's downright terrifying!" Under the influence of 'Black Friday', He Shan's inherent fears were amplified. All he wanted now was to leave as soon as possible.

"Look, regardless of what's causing the sound, we need to open the coffin. Are you with me?" Gao Ruxue urged.

"I'm not entirely sure what you're saying, but it seems to make sense."

As He Shan and Gao Ruxue pushed together, the weighty coffin lid began to slide. When it had opened a quarter of the way, an unexpected explosion resounded from within the aged coffin!

"Bang!"

The coffin tilted sideways, ejecting countless paper effigies and mock money. A strange laugh from an unfamiliar woman filled the room, and the door to the chamber began to automatically close!

"Get out now!" He Shan, being closest to the door and startled, barely spared a thought for his senior. He darted towards the exit, but before he could step out, a woman's face appeared at the doorway!

Pale, exquisite, a beauty that takes one's breath away!

"Holy crap!"

Taken completely off-guard, Heshan threw a punch straight at that face.

Yet, the owner of that face seemed to anticipate his reaction as if having rehearsed it countless times. Before his fist even landed, the figure had already evaded. "It's a trap!" Missing with his punch, in a state of panic, he scrambled towards the opposite side of the courtyard.

"Heshan! Don’t run off!" Gaoruxue shouted loudly. She had just seen a red silhouette chasing after Heshan into the side room.

"The side rooms are for the younger generation. Oh no! The place Heshan entered is where the vengeful spirit used to live!" Gaoruxue hurriedly tried to exit, but the main room's door had already shut. She was locked inside. "They're trying to separate and conquer us? Just for visiting a haunted house? Is this really necessary?"

The coffin shattered, paper effigies scattered all around, and Gaoruxue, trapped in the middle, was in utter chaos. She kicked at the door, finally forcing it open after more than a minute.

Merely a minute had passed, but the outside seemed to have undergone significant changes.

"Xiaoshan? Heshan!" Gaoruxue called out twice, but there was no reply. Apart from the eerie background music in the haunted house, the only sound was that of joss paper rustling against the floor.

"What’s going on? The haunted house isn’t that large. Heshan should’ve heard me. Did something happen to him?" Images from crime scenes flashed in her mind, and Gaoruxue wondered why such thoughts suddenly occurred to her.

She followed the corridor and, relying on her memory, reached the western room. "Xiaoshan ran in this direction."

"Creak..."

Pushing the old wooden door, a paper 'happiness' character fell off. Gaoruxue entered the room.

The room was decorated as a bridal chamber, but bizarrely, everything was in white. Instead of feeling joyous, it felt eerie.

"Where did he go?" The ambiance in the room was peculiar, with the only light coming from a white lantern outside. As Gaoruxue cautiously moved forward, a cold wind blew from behind, making her skin feel as if it was brushed by an invisible hand.

Her shoes stepped on joss paper, and her feet were occasionally touched by strange things. The lighting was dim, so she couldn't see clearly and decided to move faster.

Pulling aside the curtains of the inner room, Gaoruxue halted at the entrance. The room was empty except for a bed covered with drapes and two facing mirrors hung on opposite walls.

"I saw Heshan enter this room. It's only been a minute or two; how could he just vanish? Is there an exit hidden in this room? Did Heshan accidentally find it and escape?"

Various thoughts raced through Gaoruxue's mind. As she stepped further inside, there were echoing footsteps!

"Who's behind me?!"

She whipped around, only to see her reflection in one of the mirrors.