Chapter 4: Entering The Haunted House

The thing in The Haunted House didn’t take Xie Sui seriously at all, completely ignoring his near-threatening words. Piercing cries for help echoed through the mountain forest. Even though Xie Sui covered his lapel microphone, the sound still reached the livestream in real-time through the phone’s mic.

On the phone screen, Horror Old Liu’s video was still playing, but the attention of the water friends in the livestream was clearly elsewhere.

Because of the various twists occurring in Xie Sui’s livestream in such a short time, the number of viewers grew steadily, now surpassing ten thousand.

[Did I hear that wrong? Did I just hear a cry for help?]

[Replying to the person above, you didn’t hear wrong. I heard it too. It seemed to come from the direction of The Haunted House.]

[Could it be those three groups of streamers who went missing a couple of days ago?! Oh my god, should we call the police?]

Xie Sui sighed and gave up on covering the microphone. After switching the livestream feed to the tripod camera, he exited the livestream app and opened the phone’s dialer.

Then, without hesitation, he dialed the emergency number.

He would take the path of the whistleblower first, leaving those who would report him with nowhere to go.

“Hello? Is this the Zhaoping City Law Enforcement Team? I’d like to report a case.” Xie Sui stated his location and the situation he encountered, asking the Law Enforcement Team to send someone as soon as possible.

Watching Xie Sui report the situation to the police so decisively, the water friends in the livestream fell silent once again.

Hanging up the phone, Xie Sui looked at the camera with a natural expression and said, “Remember to call the police immediately when you encounter danger. Don’t put yourself at risk.”

[The streamer is so full of positive energy…]

[The streamer’s positive smile is blinding me.]

Despite what he said, Xie Sui was already prepared to enter The Haunted House. He had decided to find the six people trapped inside.

He hoped the Law Enforcement Team would be lenient with him since he was rescuing victims. He wanted to continue livestreaming in the future; a job like this that brought in quick money was hard to find.

Just then, another scream rang out from The Haunted House, mixed with indistinct pleas for mercy. It sounded as if dozens of people were calling for help at once, making anyone who heard it feel restless and uneasy.

This sudden, ear-piercing scream stunned the water friends in the livestream, and even their hands typing comments came to a halt.

Xie Sui maintained his smile, though his fingertips gripping the phone turned slightly white. “It seems those must be the cries for help from the streamers who ‘accidentally’ went missing in The Haunted House. What a coincidence. The Law Enforcement Team couldn’t find them during the day, yet they appear out of thin air at night. However, judging by how loud those shouts are, they should be able to hold on for a while longer.”

[Are… are those really the missing streamers? Why does it sound like over a dozen people screaming at once? Weren’t there only six missing?]

[I’m from Zhaoping City. I heard the Law Enforcement Team and the Rescue Team searched the whole house during the day. They practically dug up the floorboards and still found nothing. How could they suddenly appear at night?]

[Could it be a ghost trying to lure the streamer inside?]

Although the majority of the comments were from normal people worried about Xie Sui’s safety, there were also those who just wanted to see the world burn.

[Ganfan Huahua Shijie: Streamer, I’ll say it again. As long as you dare to go into The Haunted House and catch the ghost, I’ll give you ten more Space Battleships¹!]

Seeing this comment, the smile on Xie Sui’s face became much more sincere. Without a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Thank you, Boss. You’re very generous, Boss. I’m heading into The Haunted House right now.”

Those nine thousand-plus yuan would cover another three days of medical expenses. So what if it was a ghost-hunting livestream? As long as he could make money, he would even push a millstone for a ghost².

“But let me state once again, my livestream is just a regular outdoor exploration stream. Ghosts do not exist. I’m only entering The Haunted House to check on the status of the three groups of missing streamers to assist the Law Enforcement Team and the Rescue Team in their upcoming operations.”

[Understood, we all understand. Right, no ghosts. Don’t worry, streamer, we won’t report you.]

[666³, stop talking, streamer, just get in there already!]

The world never lacks people looking for excitement, and those who enjoy watching livestreams are the epitome of that group. Comments egging Xie Sui on to enter The Haunted House quickly began to flood the screen.

However, there was no shortage of mockery among them.

[Tch, acting all righteous, but in the end, isn’t he just trying to leech off The Haunted House’s traffic? Willing to go in and die for ten Space Battleships… your life is so cheap, streamer.]

[Hilarious. He already called the police but still wants to add pressure to the Law Enforcement Team. Are you sure you can find the missing people just by going in? I’ll be waiting for the streamer to become the next missing person.]

[Ah… wasn’t this supposed to be a horror video debunking stream? Why go to The Haunted House now? There’s really no need for all that setup, streamer. If you want to leech traffic, just go. You’re trying to act virtuous while being a hypocrite⁴.]

Despite the previous harmony, for these thrill-seeking water friends, the anonymity of the internet meant they didn’t care if their contradictory statements slapped their own faces. If they felt the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, they would immediately mock the streamer’s actions, changing their tune faster than flipping a page in a book.

It would be fine for a big streamer with a fan base, as fans would spontaneously help maintain order and suppress such foul comments. But for a small streamer like Xie Sui who had just started, he could only quietly endure the sarcasm and ridicule of the livestream comments.

However, Xie Sui no longer had time to look at the comments. He had already passed through the woods and arrived in front of The Haunted House, his attention completely captured by the building before him.

The supernatural photo had only captured a part of the ancient residence. It wasn’t until he actually stood before The Haunted House and saw its overall structure that Xie Sui understood why things had gone wrong here.

The ancient residence was built quite grandly. Though it had become dilapidated after years of wind and rain, one could still see the care put into its original decoration.

Flying eaves, bracket sets, carved beams, and painted walls; it had corridors and courtyards, missing nothing. It was a Frankenstein-like imitation of ancient architecture that combined various garden styles from both the north and the south. From the exterior of this villa, one could see the grievances of the architect. The developer was likely the difficult type of client who wanted “everything.”

Xie Sui had a bit of a headache.

This house was indeed built with a lot of care… care taken to ensure it became a haunted house, that is.

The main structure was high in the front and low in the back, with the main house sitting lower than the two side wings. The terrain was sunken, the door faced south, there was a man-made river to the west, two nearly dried-up artificial fish ponds in front of the door, and a row of Ghost Clapping⁵ trees planted in the courtyard.

Ghost Clapping refers to poplar trees. Poplars easily attract spirits, and the sound of their leaves rustling in the wind resembles ghosts clapping their hands to call out to their friends, hence the nickname. Setting aside other architectural Feng Shui⁶ for a moment, Xie Sui thought it was common sense that one should not plant mulberry in the front, willow in the back, or Ghost Clapping in the courtyard.

To be able to grow poplars so well in a southern city like Zhaoping City, how much Yin energy⁷ must have gathered in this house? It would be strange if nothing had happened here.

Xie Sui truly admired the developer. In a sense, it was quite impressive to create a house that concentrated so many elements of disastrous Feng Shui into one place.

The architect was also quite bold to cooperate. These two were quite the duo, one daring to give the orders and the other daring to execute them.

Before entering The Haunted House, Xie Sui put his action camera back into his travel bag to prevent it from capturing anything that couldn’t be broadcast. This time, he would only take one camera into The Haunted House, which would make it easier to control the livestream content.

Standing at the entrance of The Haunted House, Xie Sui lit another cigarette. White smoke rose slowly, drifting and gathering in the air. In the space above him that was invisible to the livestream, the white smoke coalesced into dozens of shadows, like a vast cloud pressing down on Xie Sui’s head.

Xie Sui couldn’t help but chuckle. He shook his head helplessly, covered his lapel microphone, and whispered, “Don’t all come out. We aren’t going to a gang fight. Just two of you come over to help me hold the camera and the light.”

As Xie Sui’s voice fell, the gathered white mist slowly dissipated, leaving only two silhouettes behind. They picked up the camera and the light, following Xie Sui as he stepped into The Haunted House.

Someone in the livestream chat noticed something was wrong.

[Wait, the host has his back to us right now. Who is holding the camera and following him??]

[The host’s assistant, obviously. How could he come to a place like this alone? Didn’t you see that the first three groups of streamers all disappeared along with their assistants?]

[But if an assistant is holding the camera while following him, why isn’t there any shaking in the footage?]

[Bro, have you ever heard of a device called an image stabilizer?]

[The host isn’t holding the camera, and you say an assistant is. Fine. Then someone explain to me why the light source is coming from behind the lens, but the assistant has no shadow??? Is the assistant filming him invisible??]

While the livestream chat was arguing, Xie Sui had already entered The Haunted House.

The main doors of the residence, abandoned for over a decade, had long since lost their original function after years of wind and rain. The two doors lay flat on the ground like a carpet, welcoming any intruder.

Stepping into the foyer, the light following behind Xie Sui revealed the interior of The Haunted House.

After seeing the interior clearly, Xie Sui fell silent.

He didn’t know what kind of aesthetic the developer had. The exterior of The Haunted House was a faux-ancient Chinese style, but the interior decoration was a flamboyant Western style, featuring a spiral staircase, a massive crystal chandelier, intricate patterned wallpaper, and an exaggerated fireplace. It was such a bizarre fusion, as if every flamboyant architectural style in the world had been piled together.

That architect was truly something else. How did he manage to stuff all this Western decor into a faux-ancient Chinese house? Xie Sui could hardly suppress his urge to complain.

The interior of The Haunted House was in total chaos, as if a hurricane had swept through. He wasn’t sure if it was because the place had just been searched. Various pieces of furniture were piled haphazardly on the floor, leaving paths only a single person wide.

Walking through these narrow passages toward the interior, mountains of furniture were piled on both sides, looking as if they might topple over at any moment to crush him, leaving any curious explorer to rot forever within this old house.

The situation inside The Haunted House was too chaotic. There were many places to hide, and the Yin energy was exceptionally turbulent, swirling around like cyclones. For the moment, Xie Sui couldn’t confirm the location of the three groups of missing streamers.

Furthermore, ever since he stepped into the house, those cries for help had abruptly vanished, as if the purpose of those “people” calling for help was merely to lure him inside.

Xie Sui looked at the first floor, which was occupied by all sorts of abandoned furniture. After a moment of thought, he decided to bypass the furniture storage area and check the other rooms on the first floor.

The only way through the furniture was those narrow, single-person paths. Xie Sui didn’t hesitate and walked directly into the gap.

Just as Xie Sui had walked a short distance into the gap, a sudden whoosh of air echoed behind him, as if something was lunging at his back at extreme speed.

Translator’s Notes