Xiao Li didn"t know if he should bite the rest of the peach. He pushed the little yellow book a bit further away and finished eating the peach before throwing the remains into the garbage can next to him.
His swallowing actions were very gentle because he didn"t want to make too much noise. He took care in his actions and this made him look a bit like a cat. Of course, it might be more than that in some people"s eyes. The little yellow book"s eyes might come with their own Xiao Li filter.
Xiao Li threw away the peach stone, dried his lips and before putting away the little yellow book, he bit the pen and wrote, "Do you usually think of these things?"
Little yellow book: 【 There are other things. 】
【 For example, if his lips are dry then I will have an impulse to wet them. 】
Xiao Li, "………"
【 I want to kiss you. 】
Seeing the topic gradually enter an uncontrollable range, Xiao Li immediately put the brakes on. He cooled his face and changed the topic. "Why aren"t there any hidden tasks this time?"
The little yellow book posted in a tone that seemed a bit lost. 【 I post them but you won"t do them. 】
…This was true. However, he was used to seeing it every time. Now it disappeared and he was a bit uncomfortable.
Xiao Li put away the little yellow book, glanced at the sky outside and walked slowly toward the old house he had found. He put away the little yellow book so fast that he didn"t see the fleeting words. 【 Thus, I"m going to change my ways. 】
The sentence didn"t cause the book to vibrate when it appeared, nor were there any signs. Soon, it was like the handwriting was wiped off with an eraser as it disappeared from the page. By this time, the outside sky showed signs of darkening. The day here wasn"t long and the night was accompanied by the sea breeze.
The wind and the sea were becoming louder but the town was still quiet. This shadow-like silence was like the countdown to life when the ghost called. It added a lot of psychological pressure. Now only did they have to find a way to live and escape the ghost attacks, they also had to worry about not making a sound.
There were no people or animals on the streets of the town. The residents lived in a simple place.
Xiao Li stopped at a junction after coming out of the hotel. There was a house window facing Xiao Li and currently, there was a face hidden behind the curtains of the window, peering at him. He turned his head and the face at the window immediately retracted. It was a small town with secrets.
Xiao Li retracted his gaze and didn"t immediately go to the house to investigate. Instead, he chose to go to the old house first. It was a large mansion and looked like the houses that belonged to rich families in ancient times. The threshold was high, there were blue stone tile walls and sea horses were carved on the eaves.
In the right corner of the gate of the old house was a tall peach tree. The peach tree was full of round peaches, the red sh.e.l.l hidden under the green leaves. It was incomparably lush and looked unusual because it was too bright. The wind blew and the leaves drooped, like the night had bent its back.
By the time Xiao Li came, the reincarnators had entered the old house but they didn"t go deep. They stood in the hall. The hallway of the old house contained a mahogany table and four chairs that were covered with a layer of dust.
Since the first time Shimizu entered the instance world, he watched many horror films in his spare time and dabbled in the horror films of all countries around the world. Therefore, when he saw the old house, he had many cla.s.sic plots in his mind.
He nodded at the last Xiao Li before taking out a paper and writing a sentence in English. [Do you want to explore here? It could be a trap.]
Their biggest problem at the moment was that they had no place to live. Their original choice, the hotel and homes had been destroyed by the two accusations. This old house might be Xiao Li"s unexpected harvest but it might be a trap specifically created by the residents.
Park Soojin saw it in a different light. [However, it could also be a clue.]
[I think we can take a rough look around here. There are people living in other places but only this place is empty. There must be a reason for it.] Lance pulled off the cross necklace and placed it around his wrist for convenience.
[I think so too.] AK47 also gave a positive opinion.
Since the other reincarnators said so, Shimizu didn"t insist on sticking to his cautious opinion. He asked: [As a team or separate?]
Thai looked up at the outside sky and wrote: [There isn"t much time. It is better to separate and come back in a quarter of an hour.]
Such exploration was best done during the day. At night time, it was too difficult to observe and it was also the time when ghosts were active. Shimizu and the others made "OK" gestures and spread out. They each chose different directions to explore the old house.
*******
Shimuzu chose to directly explore the room near the peach tree.
The young man consciously covered his mouth and nose as he put away all the thing son his body that might make noise, such as a watch, etc. Then he carefully pushed open the door and went inside. There was a small bed, a small dresser, a vase on a wooden shelf, an empty birdcage and bird droppings underneath.
Shimizu moved on tiptoe as he walked lightly and looked around the entire room. The room was small and it looked like the owner was a woman. The quilt was embroidered with two dragonflies. He lifted the quilt with light hands and searched it. There didn"t seem to be any problems.
Shimizu used two fingers to pick up a pillow but there was something under the pillow that startled him. He took two steps back, almost hitting the birdcage which would create a loud noise.
Fortunately, Shimizu controlled his feet in time. He didn"t take the last step. He put his hand on his chest and felt his rapid heartbeat. Then he put down the pillow and looked at the thing under the pillow again.
It was a face. It looked like real human skin. It was very thin, had willowy eyebrows, eyes painted with Beijing opera-like makeup and pink rouge on the cheeks. This… a human skin mask?
Shimizu"s breathing became heavier as he extended a hand to the mask, slightly afraid that the closed eyes would suddenly open. He finally touched the edge of the mask and felt it before letting go, choosing to exit the room.
The other side.
Xiao Li had a goal when looking around this old house. He went straight inside, bypa.s.sing the rockery in the backyard and entering the deepest part of the old house.
This room should be a place dedicated to the ancestors of the house owner. After opening the door, there were two wooden chairs, layers of white curtains and a high platform where three rows of memorial tablets were placed.
The first memorial tablet read: Deceased grandfather Ye Tao, died on 17th December, 2009.
The room was cold, different from the humidity outside. The wind seemed like it could penetrate a person"s bone marrow and was very demonic. Xiao Li looked at the memorial tablets one by one and felt like he had seen the rise and fall of a large family.
At the rear of the platform, a coffin was placed. The lid of the coffin was half empty and the head of the coffin was empty.
Before Xiao Li arrived at the coffin, he heard the sound of clothes moving in the coffin. It was very light, approximately the same volume a human made when gulping, but it really existed. Perhaps it was because it was so small that it attracted some type of attention.
Xiao Li first turned his head. There was a black, wrinkled hand on the edge of the coffin. The owner of the arm was hidden in the coffin, as if deliberately trying to do the sudden movement of a corpse.
Xiao Li looked around. He went to the coffin and looked inside. Then he directly lifted the coffin lid and covered the coffin. The edge of the coffin lid struck the hand. The hand was in pain and started to struggle. It wanted to come out of the coffin but Xiao Li pushed the lid against it. The hand was in pain and had to go back inside.
Xiao Li controlled his strength as he gently and neatly closed the coffin lid. Then he grabbed a wooden chair at the door and pressed it against the coffin lid. Having done all of this, Xiao Li was satisfied and went out.
The coffin ghost holding his right hand, "……"
It stared at the narrow and dark coffin in front of it. The coffin lid couldn"t be pushed up. No, the coffin lid couldn"t be opened!!
*******
A quarter of an hour later, the hallway.
The sky outside the window was becoming darker and darker. It was close to the deep blue of the sea. Shimizu was the first to arrive at the designated meeting point. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and wrote a quick account of his exploration while waiting for the other people.
Then the other reincarnators arrived to the relief of Shimizu. For the time being, no one had died. Their looks were different but they were unified as they took out their task books and started to write. They looked like students in an exam.
Once they finished writing, they exchanged their descriptions. Shimizu roughly wrote about the room and the human skin mask. He hadn"t brought the evil object out but he touched the edge and found that the texture was very thin.
Park Soojin had gone to the kitchen and utility room on the right. The rice bowl in the middle of the kitchen contained an arm. It scared her but she successfully came back. The others were the same.
Lance: [I went to the master bedroom. It was big with a screen, a dressing box and an empty basin.]
AK47: [The attic was dark but there were no signs of ghosts.]
Thai: [In the study, there are many paintings. There are the Four Treasures of the Study and many landscape paintings.]
Xiao Li came back the latest and was also the last one to finish.
He wrote: [I saw a bunch of memorial tablets and a coffin. There was someone lying in the coffin but I don"t know if he is a ghost. I guessed he was a ghost. Once he tried to get out, I pressed him back with the coffin lid.]
Xiao Li waited for the others to read it then put up two fingers. [Now we have two choices. First, use the guy in the coffin to conduct a sound test. Second, pull him out and ask what he wants.]
The others, "???"
Wait, these were all English words they knew but… why didn"t they understand them when they were connected? Memorial tablet, coffin…
These words alone sounded so terrible but why did the atmosphere behind them change? Also, shouldn"t the normal reaction of an average person encountering a ghost be to… run away?
The author has something to say:
International friends: Are the Chinese so hardcore when dealing with ghosts in China?