Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Suddenly, the entire room turned deeply gloomy, and it felt as if the temperature had plummeted within an instant.

But only the warm light of the chandelier had gone out. The eerie lights on the photo wall remained unquenched, illuminating every "memorial photo" on the wall in tandem with the flashing red light coming from the wardrobe.

Before anyone could regain their composure in the dimness, a sharp clang sounded from outside the photo studio—by the entrance of Xu's Photography. Everyone instinctively turned their heads and saw a decapitated body swinging against the glass door of the studio. Just like the severed head hanging above the makeup room door, it swung back and forth, blood spurting from its mangled neck with every impact, splattering the glass.

The creepy laughter of the headless woman they had just heard in the video echoed again, reverberating throughout the room.

"Ahhhh!"

"Damn it!"

Xia Rui and several girls screamed in unison, scrambling and almost weeping, rushing towards the darkroom where photos were developed.

"It's fake..."

Before Xie Yin Xue could finish his sentence, only he and Liu Bu Hua remained in the studio.

Undeniably, even Xie Yin Xue had to admit that this themed escape room had perfectly captured the essence of what terrifies people the most.

Imagine: you and your friends, after much effort, finally figure out the exit criteria. Even if you couldn't, perhaps the staff would assist. When they tell you to place the memorial photos into frames to leave, and just as you do, before you could even breathe a sigh of relief, you see a decapitated body falling from above, hitting the door repeatedly, like a vengeful spirit out to get you. It'd be surprising if you weren't terrified out of your wits.

Gazing at the rope tied around the corpse's neck, they sighed and joined the others in the darkroom.

Inside the darkroom, the door behind the skeleton, previously tightly shut, was now open. However, the passageway was less than a meter high, allowing only one person to proceed at a time by bending or crouching. Everyone had to queue and enter one by one.

Xie Yin Xue was the last in line. As he was about to enter the tunnel, he clearly heard a "click" – the sound of an old-fashioned camera taking a photo. It came from right behind him.

This reminded him of an old belief that when one's picture was taken, their soul would be trapped within the photograph, lingering even after death.

Swiftly turning around, Xie Yin Xue saw two things at the entrance of the tunnel: the severed head that previously hung by the makeup room, and the headless body from outside Xu's Photography.

They originally belonged to the same body. Now, they were positioned on either side of the entrance in a sinister manner. The mutilated neck of the body lay on the ground as if ready to pounce, while the severed head with blood-red eyes peeked out from its dark hair, staring chillingly at Xie Yin Xue, as if intending to eternally capture him as another memorial photo.

Noticing Xie Yin Xue's hesitation, Liu Bu Hua slowed down but didn't look back, simply asking, "What's wrong, godfather?"

Xie Yin Xue replied, "I might be haunted by a ghost."

Facing this horrifying scenario, Xie Yin Xue's voice, which was usually soft and soothing as rain, now held a trace of excitement instead of fear.

"What?! This room is genuinely haunted?" Though Liu Bu Hua was taken aback, he sounded even more thrilled than Xie Yin Xue, "Then godfather, let's go back quickly and not let it escape! It's been a while since we've encountered such a brazen ghost."

"Yes." Xie Yin Xue nodded in agreement, "We should show it to Ah Ji before it escapes, to broaden his horizons."

Once he stepped out of the escape tunnel, the door of the chamber gently closed behind them. When everyone looked back, they realized the door was fashioned like a gravestone, with large bloody characters in a regular script that read: "… Family Tomb."

The character preceding "Family" was blurred, making it hard to decipher, like ink smeared by water.

In theory, it should represent the character "Xu" from "Xu's Photography," suggesting that this was a haunted photo studio inside a tomb. But on second thought, it could also be... their tomb.

After all, they had all taken their "memorial photos" and personally placed them into frames. Perhaps the blurred character might be their surname.

The headless corpse scare at the end of the themed escape room meant that Han Dong Ni, Xia Rui, He Min, and the rest were still rattled and on edge even after stepping out into the well-lit escape room lobby.

Still shaken, Han Dong Ni asked, "Are we really out?"

"We should be... right?" Xia Rui was equally uncertain.

"Let's leave quickly," Xi Can, clutching Yan Wen He's arm, said with tearful eyes, "I really want to go out and bask in the sun."

He Min whispered in agreement, "...Me too."

Before Yan Wen He could chime in, a staff member from the front desk, seemingly having heard their discussions, approached them.

All eyes turned to the newcomer, only to find a young policewoman in uniform. Both parties stared at each other in astonishment. Finally, the policewoman broke the silence, asking, "What are you all doing here?"

Xia Rui widened his eyes in surprise, "We were just playing the escape room..."

Shouldn't that question have been theirs to ask?

Why on earth would there be police in an escape room shop?

The policewoman looked even more surprised than they were: "You didn't pass out?"

"No," Han Dong Ni replied, her face filled with confusion. Although she felt like fainting numerous times in the escape room due to fear, she managed to make it out, "Did someone here pass out?"

"There was a gas leak here. All the staff and previous escape room players inside have fainted," the policewoman informed them. "We're in the midst of rescuing them."

"Oh, we did hear a staff member calling for help on the walkie-talkie while we were in the escape room," Xi Can suddenly remembered the distress call they heard while in the makeup room. "Is she okay?"

The policewoman replied, "She's fine, she's just been put on an ambulance."

"...Oh." Xi Can responded awkwardly, tiptoeing to peek at the lockers, "We're feeling fine. Can we grab our belongings and leave?"

She truly didn't want to linger in this escape room establishment any longer.

The policewoman, however, fixed them with a serious gaze, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. After studying them for a moment, she repeated, "Were you really inside the escape room the entire time?"

He Min nodded, "Yes, we were."

The policewoman pressed on, "Which escape room?"

Pointing to the tombstone-shaped door behind him, Xia Rui replied, "The one called Xu's Photography."

Taking a deep breath, the policewoman closed her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, her expression had turned even graver, "Our surveillance cameras didn't pick up any of you."

This revelation sent shivers down everyone's spine, prompting Han Dong Ni to ponder: if the cameras didn't record them, where exactly had they played the escape game?

Her face reflecting her astonishment, Han Dong Ni stuttered, "But... we came out from that escape room..."

Before panic could spread further among the group, the policewoman swiftly added, "Please be truthful with us. We suspect the gas leak incident might have been orchestrated."

At her words, both Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua were momentarily stunned, let alone the others.

"You mentioned that you heard a staff member from this escape room establishment calling for help on a walkie-talkie. What time did you enter the escape room?" The policewoman inquired, her lips pursed.

"Around two o'clock, I think, close to a quarter past," Yan Wen He answered diligently. "Our slot was set to start at two, but the staff member was late. By the time she arrived, our scheduled time had passed. I also recall she mistakenly directed us to the wrong room, so it's quite fresh in my memory."

"Two o'clock?" The policewoman's frown deepened. Pointing to her wristwatch, she explained, "It's currently a quarter past three. The doctor who treated the fainted staff member here said she'd been unconscious for well over two hours. Therefore, she couldn't have possibly let you into the escape room."

Stunned, Yan Wen He blurted out, "Then who was the woman who opened the room for us?"

The policewoman urgently asked, "It was a woman, right? Can you recall her appearance? All the surveillance cameras in this building, except for those inside the escape rooms, are down. We captured nothing. The person you described could very likely be the prime suspect behind this gas leak incident."

Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for words.

Their escape room experience today was proving to be quite convoluted.

Han Dong Ni, Xia Rui, and the rest barely had time to be afraid again, as more officers approached from the front desk, asking them other questions: "Where's the walkie-talkie she gave you? It might have her fingerprints."

Handing over the walkie-talkie, Xia Rui also gave them the role cards, "These role cards were given to us by her."

All the role cards were swiftly sealed in evidence bags by the policewoman. But as she examined the walkie-talkie, she suddenly remarked, "Hold on, it seems this walkie-talkie is out of battery?"

"Seriously?" Xia Rui, clutching his hair in disbelief, exclaimed, "It was working just fine inside the escape room. Maybe it ran out of battery right after we got out?"

The policewoman carefully opened the back cover of the walkie-talkie to inspect. After a few silent moments, she revealed, "There's no battery inside. It has always been dead."

Xia Rui, Han Dong Ni, and the others gazed at the empty battery slot, frozen in place. Their faces paled instantly. They all distinctly remembered hearing the distress call from the walkie-talkie, and had even discussed it amongst themselves.

"I suggest you come to the police station with us to give a statement," the policewoman said gravely after putting the walkie-talkie away, "We'll also need your help in creating a sketch of the suspect."

Han Dong Ni and her group didn't object. They felt, perhaps, that the police station might be the safest place for them at the moment.

Thus, their escape room experience for the day unexpectedly led them to the police station. Along with Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua, they remained there until the sun almost set before heading home.

On their way back to Ming Yue Cliff, a puzzled Liu Bu Hua turned to Xie Yin Xue and asked, "Godfather, what was really going on with that escape room?"

Initially, he had thought that the "Xu's Photography" escape room was haunted. Yet, Xie Yin Xue didn't sense any malevolent spirits from start to finish. To add to the mystery, they later encountered the police who mentioned a deliberate gas leak that rendered the genuine staff and participants unconscious.

"I didn't detect any spiritual energy, not even when we encountered the ghostly apparitions towards the end," Xie Yin Xue remarked with a furrowed brow, "A simple haunted escape room wouldn't manifest in this way, unless the suspect who led us into the room..."

"Is someone well-versed in the mystic arts."

Staring out at the fleeting landscape outside the window, Xie Yin Xue slowly voiced this conclusion.

The woman had a purpose for drugging so many people. Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua's arrival probably disrupted her plans. She might have discerned that he was not ordinary and decided to play along by masquerading as a staff member and guiding them into the escape room.

It was becoming clear that them being directed to the wrong room might not have been an accident. The authentic haunting they experienced and the ghostly apparitions they encountered at the escape tunnel's exit might have all been orchestrated by her.

Because... she wanted to silence them permanently.

As Liu Bu Hua, who was driving, noticed a woman by the roadside wearing a long blood-red dress with long hair concealing her face, reaching out to hitch a ride, he exclaimed excitedly, "Godfather, it seems we've truly attracted a ghost's attention! And it's a female ghost at that!"

With a sly smile, Xie Yin Xue played along, "It's getting dark. Who knows what kind of unsavory characters are out there? Should we give her a ride home?"

"Let's do it!"

Liu Bu Hua accelerated, not to flee, but to quickly approach the ghostly figure.

Stopping the car just a couple of meters away from her, he rolled down the window, resting his arm on the door, and called out, "Hey there, beautiful! Need a lift?"

He slammed the brakes about a meter or two away from the female ghost. Rolling down the car window and resting his arm on the door, he asked her, "Hey, beautiful, need a ride?"

“……”

The female ghost remained silent.

"Would you prefer to sit in the front or the back?" Liu Buhua asked her again, ever the gentleman, "Do you need me to get out and open the door for you?"

Still, the female ghost said nothing.

Liu Buhua was puzzled. He furrowed his brows, examining the ghost from left to right. He then brushed aside the long black hair that veiled her face to look at her even more grotesquely distorted visage than the time she had terrified Han Dongni in the secret chamber, "Did you not grow a mouth or something?"

"Well, even though your mouth is unsightly, you do have one," Liu Buhua sighed in exasperation, "Why won't you speak then?"

Upon hearing Liu Buhua's words, the ghost's bloodshot eyes widened in anger, glowering at him with malevolence. She opened her razor-toothed mouth wide, claws ready to attack.

However, Liu Buhua, seeing her aggressive posture, reacted even quicker, delivering a swift slap to her face, "Compose yourself! You look better when you don't make such faces. I don't have patience for the unattractive!"

The next second, the ghost's head, which was already barely attached to her neck, fell off, not only landing on the ground but also rolling a couple of rounds.

"Ah, my apologies, truly..." Seeing this, Liu Buhua looked genuinely remorseful, apologizing profusely, "Did I apply too much force and knock your head off?"

He opened the car door and jogged over to pick up her head.

Once retrieved, he tried to fix the head back onto the decapitated body with a firm push.

However, the alignment was off, and the ghost's head fell to the ground once again.

"Your head doesn't seem to stay on," Liu Buhua lamented, ignoring the ghost's fierce glare. His eyes lit up as if he'd come up with a solution, "Hold on! I think I have some glue in the car from when I visited the kindergarten with Ah Ji for a family craft day. I'll use it to stick your head back on."

With that, Liu Buhua headed to the car trunk to fetch the glue for the ghost.

The ghost, seemingly at the end of her patience, turned to leave. She probably wanted to get away from this situation and later figure out a way to scare Xie Yinxue and Liu Buhua or to harm them.

"Hey, miss! Wait up!"

Just as she'd started to move, Liu Buhua caught her arm, earnestly advising, "It's dark out. It's not safe for a young lady like you to wander alone at night. Why not stay at my place for the evening?"

Female ghost: "..."

What's the deal with these two?

Hearing this, the ghost, previously with her back to Liu Buhua, twisted her head a full 180 degrees and snapped in a voice that was both male and female: "I'm not female!"

Yet Liu Buhua didn't bother with such specifics, scoffing disdainfully, "Why fuss about it? A ghost is a ghost."

"Haha, come on in!"

With that said, Liu Buhua laughed heartily. He grabbed the ghost by its hair with one hand and by the collar with the other, tossing it—head and all—into the trunk. He then secured a talisman to the back of the car to prevent its escape.

Having watched the entire scene from the back seat, Xie Yinxue's eyes crinkled in amusement, asking, "Buhua, did you have fun today?"

"Oh, so much fun! Let's hurry home and continue the fun."

Liu Buhua restarted the car, and in less than ten minutes, they arrived at Mingyue Cliff. Before even entering the courtyard, he began calling out loudly, "Ah Ji!"

"Ah Ji—!"

"Are you asleep?"

Not receiving a response, Liu Buhua didn't hesitate. He stormed into the room of Shen Qiuji, Xie Yinxue's young disciple, and yanked him up from his bedding, exclaiming, "Wake up! Stop sleeping!"

Rubbing his eyes, Shen Qiuji grumbled irritably, "What the hell? I have class tomorrow."

"Minor issue. I'll get you a leave from the teacher tomorrow," whispered Liu Buhua, sounding all mysterious, "You've grown up so much, yet you've never seen a ghost. Tonight, your master and I finally caught one. It might escape by tomorrow or get scorched by Mingyue Cliff's yang energy. So, you must see it tonight!"

Shen Qiuji: "..."

What do you mean he's grown up so much without seeing a ghost? He's only six years old! Could a sane person say something like that?

Author's note:

Liu Buhua: It's dark out, and there might be bad people around. Miss, come with us. We won't harm you.

Ghost: ?

Little Easter egg: Poor Shen can't afford a bed and has to sleep on the floor, haha.