Famine

Chapter 10

My concern for Tang Chen stems not only from the old man's request, but also from my inability to bear seeing such a good person consumed by fate. Singing is a good hobby, though it's a bit pricey. Since Tang Chen can afford it, and while the mountain path is treacherous, his talismans are no joke, and most importantly…

Singing is not dangerous.

So I felt at ease enjoying my rare quiet campus life. After all, the most he would do at night was go to karaoke, and he wouldn't have to teach at night twice a semester.

But I was wrong.

As the saying goes, public opinion is like flowing water, and so are the hobbies of college students. For some reason, a strange craze suddenly swept through the campus, and the practice of talking about ghosts and the supernatural became very popular.

This wouldn't have been a problem in itself, but after talking about it for a while, people naturally wanted to experience it for themselves.

(Are they saying they didn't get enough experience living in this awful place?)

Xiao Lian and his group started going out at night.

Let's go for a nighttime stroll then. We've gotten used to living here, and Huang'e has really established herself here. She's madly in love with Tang Chen, and I'm almost losing track of who Huang'e's master is... She's always following Tang Chen in and out.

With the calamity following, what else could possibly happen?

But as the semester was drawing to a close, and the weather was so cold that I was wrapped in a quilt, sniffling as I read "The Romance of the Mirror Flower," Huang E suddenly threw a flurry of feathers onto my bed.

She was covered in dust and dirt, screaming at me desperately. She was so emotional that I couldn't understand what she was saying.

"...Can't you calm down?" I glared at her, suddenly sensing something was very wrong. "Something happened to Tang Chen?"

She then burst into tears, nodding frantically, "I can't get into that house! There's a talisman..."

"The house?" I asked.

She revealed a dilapidated, gloomy house with its door boarded up.

This house... it looks so familiar...

Isn't this the most famous haunted house in town?!

I stared blankly for about two seconds, mouth agape. I quickly kicked off the blanket, grabbed my coat, and ran outside, completely forgetting that I was wearing pajamas.

When I started the engine, I realized I was wearing my pajamas. But with a life at stake, who cares about pajamas? I was freezing, yet sweating profusely.

The old man was right; there were no evil spirits in the mountain he was in charge of. But the town at the foot of the mountain was not in his jurisdiction.

He drank what I didn't know was a lot of my living expenses, and kindly reminded me that there was a haunted house in the town with its gate nailed up, not a good place to play.

"The town's jurisdiction is too weak, even the City God can't do anything about it. At most, he can keep those unruly brats locked up inside," the old man earnestly warned. "Even if you're tired of living, don't go there! What's wrong with young people these days? One after another, they're all rushing to their deaths..."

The old man was a bit short-tempered, but he meant what he said. For him to issue such a serious warning, it definitely wasn't something pleasant. I only glanced at him from afar a few times, not daring to even get close.

Why would these people, instead of enjoying their good life, choose to die a heroic death? Isn't this like an old man eating poison, tired of living?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. It was one thing for others to be blind, but why was Tang Chen getting involved in this mess? Having suffered before, why was he blindly following suit?!

Perhaps I was too angry, because even Huang E said I was full of murderous intent. The locals who used to play tricks on me and hitchhike randomly disappeared without a trace and arrived at the haunted house with unusual ease.

I've heard about the history of this haunted house. (Although it was from the dead.)

The male head of the household used his life savings to buy land and build a house. But not long after moving in, he discovered that the measurement was incorrect and that the house encroached on about ten square meters of another landowner's land. He originally wanted to buy it, but the other landowner made exorbitant demands, insisting that he demolish the house and return the land.

The two families argued fiercely, taking the matter to court. The dispute is still ongoing. The landlord, who has connections, is constantly harassed by thugs, driving the male homeowner to the brink of a nervous breakdown. In the end, the court ruled that he must return the land.

The already mentally unstable male homeowner went mad, hacking his wife to death in the kitchen, strangling his two sleeping children upstairs, and then hanging himself in front of his parents' memorial tablets on the third floor.

For a mere ten square meters of land, a family was ruined and killed. The landlord, a wicked and audacious man, insisted on demolishing the house and returning the land. The machinery malfunctioned as soon as it arrived at the door, and before the workers even started work, a food poisoning incident occurred. One accident after another followed. The landlord, not even fifty years old, suffered a stroke less than six months later, becoming bedridden and unable to move, and it took him more than ten years to die.

Later, no one dared to live in that house, and no one dared to demolish it. They could only nail the door shut with wooden planks, and it became a notorious haunted house in the town.

I'm standing right in front of this haunted house now. The wooden planks that held the door shut have been removed, leaving it half-open. Huang E can't get in no matter what, and I don't really want to either.

I called out twice from the doorway, but there was no response.

My heart sank. Huang E looked at me with teary eyes. "...If Tang Chen gets eaten up, where will my dignity be?" she sobbed. "I've been with him for half a year and haven't even gotten a lick of his boots. Now he's become someone else's food!" Then she burst into tears.

…After all, she was a monster, and her thinking and reactions were very faithful.

"I need to go inside and find where the talisman is... Don't cry, and don't wipe your tears on my clothes." The important thing is not to smear your snot on them. "Go find Shuo, in case I can't get out, ask her for help."

"How could she possibly help?" she sobbed. "I went to her door and shouted myself hoarse, and she just spouted some nonsense about the balance of the Great Dao and that nothing can be interfered with... At most, she can help you collect your corpse!"

My heart sank. Indeed, it's better to rely on yourself than others. "...You should still go and tell them. At least... someone will collect the body."

Otherwise, it will rot inside, all watery and soggy, and it would be embarrassing if people came smelling it.

I took a few deep breaths and stepped through the gate.

The eerie, cold air made my heart ache slightly.

This has nothing to do with the weather. The house has been tainted by resentment for a long time, which has seeped deep into the air like toxins. Although the herbal tea that Shuo gave me was indeed quite effective (for me), Rome wasn't built in a day, and my weak constitution can't be fixed by just a few doses of herbal tea. It requires long-term conditioning.

But no matter how much more I meddle, the Nine-Turn Divine Pill is useless.

Despite this profound realization, I still sighed in despair and called Tang Chen's name across the messy living room. There was no response.

But Tang Chen is a very noticeable person. Even without a response, I could sense him somewhere in the room. Perhaps it was the demonic aura that Huang E coveted in him.

This is an old-fashioned house. The first floor has a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The second floor should have a master bedroom, study, and children's room, and the third floor is a shrine.

That's at least what I've heard.

I felt my way into my coat pocket and found a slingshot and a small bag of moonstones, which reassured me a little. Having something to protect myself emboldened me. Since I couldn't see anything suspicious in the living room, I cautiously looked into the bathroom, the place most prone to gathering yin energy. It was covered in dust and had a few very fresh footprints.

…These people came to explore the haunted house without asking a single question, and they even used the restroom?

I silently turned and headed to the kitchen. Even though I was used to it, I was still startled.

The woman, with her back to the door, was washing and chopping on the bare countertop, as if she were cooking. I didn't dare look at what she was washing and chopping... because she seemed to be constantly adjusting her head, which was almost falling off...

It's so natural, like he's just brushing his hair aside.

From my angle, the bone-deep wound on her neck, now no longer bleeding, was even more shocking; probably only a tiny bit of skin and flesh remained attached to the back of her neck. She was so focused that she didn't even notice me approaching.

Seeing her washing and chopping a table leg, I felt a sense of relief, yet also a pang of sadness. Perhaps things happened so fast that she was paralyzed with fright and became a ghost, clinging to the memory of feeding her family, washing and chopping, preparing to cook.

After standing there for a while, I decided to deal with her last. She wasn't the main reason for the house's resentment; there was still a chance for her to be exorcised. At most, she might scare people... but this was her home. If other people insisted on coming in and getting frightened, whose fault was that?

I turned around and saw a child looking at me through the half-open kitchen door. He stared at me with a sinister smile, "Hehe."

It disappeared in a flash, and then I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Looking back at his wife, still chopping table legs, his heart grew heavier. The ghosts of adults are often less dangerous. They are easily frightened, and even when trapped in a state of paralysis, they still vaguely sense something is wrong because they have a greater understanding of death.

But children are a different story. They are particularly unreasonable and utterly ignorant. They are closer to the desolate and wild, both being innocent creatures.

But the cruelty that comes with innocence can be particularly violent.

I went upstairs, the wooden stairs making a teeth-grinding sound. I had just stopped at the top of the stairs on the second floor when all three room doors slammed shut with a loud "shake".

Indistinctly, the sharp laughter of children could be heard, shouting, "Hide and seek! Hide and seek! It's your turn to be 'it'!"

Damn it, I'm way too far removed from childhood, and besides, I've never played hide-and-seek before.

It's really going too far to demand something from a freak who had a miserable childhood.

The temperature is really dropping. White breath is constantly coming out of my mouth. My fingers are so cold they hurt when I bend them.

Doors were opened one by one, but there was nothing there. Occasionally, a white shadow would flash by in the corner of the eye, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

I initially thought it was those two kids playing a trick on me, but judging by their height... they're way too tall. And their numbers don't match the number of victims in this house.

hide and seek?

To my limited understanding, there are two types of hide-and-seek. One is where you hide and the person who's "it" tries to catch you. The other is where the person who's "it" is blindfolded and tries to grab anyone around them.

I could only see blurry white shadows, and I was the ghost.

I pretended to be nonchalant, looking around as loud, shrill laughter rose and fell. Then, as a blurry white figure flashed past my eye again… I quickly grabbed it.

The screams and the two kids' disappointed cries mingled together, and I coldly said to myself, "I won."

I found the group of idiots who came to explore the haunted house.

"You scared me to death!" she yelled angrily when their flashlight shone on my face. "You suddenly grabbed my arm! You scared me half to death! What are you doing here?"

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these slow-witted creatures, more like dinosaurs, were not seriously injured; at most, they just wandered around in this dark room.

"I can't sleep," I lied without batting an eye. "I heard you guys came here to explore, so I wanted to come and see..." Looking around, I felt the blood rushing to my face.

Tang Chen and Xiao Lian were not among this group.

"Huh?" They exclaimed as if waking from a dream, "Where are Tang Chen and Xiao Lian? Aren't they behind us?"

Good heavens. I never imagined it would be this bad.

I'm so grateful that my lying skills have been honed to perfection. "Could they have gone out first? I vaguely heard them going downstairs just now..."

"Why did you leave us out? This isn't how you create opportunities..." they grumbled as they filed out. I walked at the very back, and once they were gone, I slipped back into the haunted house.

I didn't want to save these guys. They barged into people's homes and caused a ruckus, using the bathroom without even asking the homeowner... They really deserve to be taught a lesson. But I don't want them getting involved in the chaos.

I have a very bad omen. Even after searching so carefully, I still can't find the talisman that should be there.

As I climbed the stairs again, I encountered a bit of resistance. The two little devils, gritting their teeth, grabbed my legs through the gaps in the wooden stairs, yelling and shouting, demanding compensation.

So you're saying you treat those clueless idiots like toys?

"Sorry," I said coldly to them. They may be clueless, but they're still my classmates. How long do you intend to keep them trapped? "I'm not a gentle, kind older sister."

Grabbing the moonstone and slingshot, he knocked them both to the ground. The two little devils ran into the kitchen, crying and screaming, seeking comfort from their mother who had nearly been beheaded.

I did feel the pinch. Such a small bag of moonstones, less than ten pieces, and it cost NT$350. Even though I know it's a special price, it's still a bloodbath for a poor guy like me.

While mourning my lost New Taiwan Dollar, I climbed the stairs to the third floor.

The male homeowner, whose neck resembled a snake, swayed and prostrated himself before the altar, as if he were worshipping.

But of course I know it's not. Because hiding under the offering table is none other than Tang Chen, whom I've been searching for. Oh, right, and Xiao Lian too. How could I have so easily dismissed her...?

Ugh, I'm so resentful... I'm definitely going to catch a cold and fever tomorrow. She impatiently fired a shot, getting the male homeowner's attention. Great, my money's gone down the drain again.

He turned his head, giving me a terrifying look with the whites of his eyes, his tongue lolling out.

You can fool others, but not me?

"Your family has already cost me over a hundred yuan, just for two bento boxes!" My anger, which had been building up all night, finally exploded. "Get out of my way! What are you doing clinging to a living person? You good-for-nothings!"

Anyway, it doesn't matter if I curse them, they can't leave this house. I've been too well influenced by the cowardly and bullying mentality of the barbarians.

He roared, as if he had lost all sense of reason, and lunged at me. I fired another shot, shattering half of his skull, but he charged forward without even noticing... I had no choice but to break his legs.

But he crawled over slowly but persistently, like a snake.