"Don't come any closer!" Brother Wong collapsed to the ground. His hands reached back, hoping to grab something to use as a shield. His fingertips touched something cold. He turned back to look, and the mannequin that had been half-buried in the ground earlier had crawled out and was resting beside him!
Brother Wong called for Sister Mao to help him, but Sister Mao was facing quite a big problem herself. The bloated ghost had climbed out of the water barrel, and water dripped to the ground, his swollen face staring at the two visitors inside the courtyard. A shrill female scream escaped her throat. Sister Mao was scared until she lost her rationality. She abandoned Brother Wong and raced out of the house like crazy.
The lanterns on the side of the street elicited a red light. The originally-creepy village changed in several minutes; it felt like she had arrived at hell!
Two boys ran out from the courtyard. The eerie lullaby filled her ears, and Sister Mao raced for her life. "Help!"
As a Haunted House reviewer, she was screaming for help inside a Haunted House—that was something Sister Mao had not expected before she arrived. Her speed slowed down, and the Sedan Kids caught up to her. Despair almost swallowed her whole. "How come this road is so unending? Someone come and help me!"
After turning the corner, Sister Mao saw the red graveclothes standing in the middle of the road. The clothes stood upright, and when it discovered Sister Mao, it chased after her without warning. Her throat was raw from screaming. Sister Mao focused on running.
Fortunately, the Lord rewards hard work.
Sister Mao saw light at the end of the road!
At the end of the other street, there were several dim oil lamps. Even though the light was weak, they managed to chase the darkness away. "That should be the exit!"
Sister Mao tried her best to run toward the light, but as she ran, she realized that something was wrong. Those lights did not seem fixed to anything; they seemed to be moving on their own!
"The lights are floating in the air?"
With monster chasing behind her, Sister Mao did not have the time to consider these details. She ran another few meters before she saw the lights for what they were!
Pale faces floated behind the lights—each oil lamp was hanging from the mouth of a floating human head!
Sister Mao's brain had gone into shutdown. Her body continued to move for several meters due to inertia. Just as she was about to charge into the group of Skull Lanterns, a hand reached out to grab her.
"Follow me!" the man said harshly. He pulled Sister Mao into one of the old homes and led her to jump through the window.
"Who are you?"
"Shush, it's very dangerous here." The voice was rather familiar, so Sister Mao allowed him to drag her for two streets. After they ran away from the monsters, they finally stopped. They hid behind the door, and Sister Mao turned to look at the man who saved her from certain death. Her gaze moved up, but when she saw that face, her face quivered. "Bai Qiulin‽"
"Will you please quiet down‽" Bai Qiulin hissed at her. "Why? Is it that surprising to see me?"
Sister Mao's brain was a puddle, and she staggered back. "But Xiao Lan said on the phone…"
"It was me who hurt her, right?" Bai Qiulin said coldly. "You've all been tricked by the dirty things inside this Haunted House."
"Dirty things?" Sister Mao looked at Bai Qiulin with suspicion. When the five of them had gone to find Zhang Lan earlier, the pallbearers had left the coffin in the middle of the road, splitting the group in two. At the time, Sister Mao's attention had been focused on the pallbearers and the Sedan Kids, so she did not know what happened on the other side of the street.
"You might not believe what I have to say next, but it's all true." Bai Qiulin's throaty voice made her uncomfortable. "The couple with you are ghosts!"
"You're saying Mr. Zhou and Duan Yue are ghosts?" Sister Mao widened her eyes, having trouble believing it.
"This Haunted House has been in operation for many years already, and there have always been rumors of ghost hauntings." Bai Qiulin's pupils shook. "Several months ago, a couple decided to commit a suicide pact since their love wasn't blessed by their families. The location was this Haunted House."
"Suicide pact‽" Sister Mao leaned against the wall—her legs could no longer support her body.
"Initially, everything was fine, but slowly, more and more visitors had visions of that couple. It appears like their souls have stuck around the Haunted House after they died!" Bai Qiulin's voice was scary. "Huang Xing was tricked by that couple. I wanted to save him, but I was too late."
"But on the phone, Zhang Lan said you're the one who harmed her, and she asked Mr. Zhou for help before the call was cut off…"
Before Sister Mao could finish, Bai Qiulin interrupted her. "You people are so dumb! Don't you know how to use your brain when you receive her call? Why would the call be ended right after Zhang Lan called for Mr. Zhou's help? Why didn't they end the call earlier? They had to wait until Zhang Lan pointed me as the murderer first. Why is that?" The more Bai Qiulin argued, the louder he became. Sister Mao was led in circles by Bai Qiulin, and she started to buy his story.
"At the time, I just wanted to tell Zhang Lan everything. I purposely avoided the couple, but Zhang Lan misunderstood me, thinking I wanted to harm her." Bai Qiulin's expression was serious. "All I wanted to do was help, but my good intentions were taken advantage of by that ghost couple!"
Every time Bai Qiulin spoke, it heightened the terror in Sister Mao's heart. Her conviction started to shake. "So, those two are the real ghosts."
"It's unsafe here; I'll lead you out."
Before giving Sister Mao any chance to think, Bai Qiulin opened the front door. The two ran down the street, and when they reached the end of the street, two figures turned the corner and stood under the light of the red lantern.
Mr. Zhou and Duan Yue!
"Sister Mao?" Mr. Zhou was stunned, and his expression changed within seconds. With his finger pointing at Bai Qiulin, he pleaded, "Get away from him! You're standing next to a ghost!"
The desperation in Mr. Zhou's voice unsettled Sister Mao. Both parties said that the other was the ghost—who was she going to believe?
Her footsteps moved involuntarily forward. Sister Mao still believed Mr. Zhou a bit more.
"Don't go! The ghost couple are lying to you." Bai Qiulin stood where he was. His tone was sharp but shaking like he too was afraid. Hearing that, Sister Mao started to hesitate.
"Sister Mao, come over here!" Mr. Zhou screamed at the top of his lungs. Then he suddenly remembered something. "That madman ran out from the mental hospital! He chopped off his left hand! Tell him to show you his left arm!"
One side was a couple that committed suicide inside a Haunted House, the other was the convicted patient who chopped out his hand, and Sister Mao stood in the middle. She did not know who to trust. Who among them is lying? Who should I believe?