“There’s nothing wrong with your eyes,” said the doctor with glasses, returning the registration slip to Lu Mian in a calm tone. “No treatment is needed.”
“Then why did I see red and white flashes?’ asked Lu Mian curiously.”
“Based on what you’ve described, it was likely your eyes’ natural adjustment to a sudden burst of bright light. It’s nothing to worry about. You can go home now.”
“Right, thank you, Doctor.” Lu Mian happily took the registration slip. What a relief—no illness, and she’d saved some money too.
She’d rushed straight to the hospital as soon as she woke up this morning, skipping her classes altogether. Now that everything was fine, she could go back to her part-time job.
Lu Mian walked briskly to the bus stop whilst contacting the haunted house owner.
[Lu Mian: Boss, I’m free to work my part-time job this morning.]
[Haunted House Owner Liu: No need to hand out flyers today. There’s a vacancy for a haunted house staff member—would you like to give it a go? It pays eight yuan an hour.]
Eight yuan an hour? Lu Mian thought that was rather low, but she had no other options at the moment, so she had to accept it for now.
[Lu Mian: Sure, I’ll head over now. It’ll take about an hour.]
There was no direct underground line from the opthalmology hospital to the Haunted House, so she had to take a bus and then change to the underground.
Whilst waiting for the bus, Lu Mian stood on the platform scrolling through her phone, when she came across a shocking message—
[Chu Guanyue: Our event has been approved. @Fang Qinian, you can start preparing the items needed for the summoning game.]
Lu Mian’s eyes widened in shock. The school permitting a paranormal club could be seen as allowing students to pursue their interests, but how on earth could they possibly approve of this sort of summoning game?
It requires chicken blood, candles, and must be conducted in the dead of night—it looks every bit like a cult activity, doesn’t it?
And that book documenting the summoning ritual—it first appeared over a decade ago, and now it’s resurfaced. What does that prove?
That the cult is making a comeback!
Six people died back then, and now there are exactly six of them again. The more she thought about it, the more it resembled some sort of cult sacrifice. No, she had to report it—she absolutely had to report it!
Lu Mian went straight to the university Youth Committee’s email address and submitted her report.
In two days’ time, those five people in the club would start playing the summoning game. She’d wait and see today to see if the Youth Committee took any action; if they didn’t, she’d go straight to the principal’s office to report it.
Lu Mian had mapped out her reporting strategy very clearly. Just as she successfully submitted her report, the bus arrived.
Lu Mian stepped onto the bus. Surprisingly, it was quite full, though mostly with elderly men and women, many of whom were laden with goods—poles upon poles of fresh, succulent vegetables.
Lu Mian carefully steered clear of these fresh, crisp vegetables and stood by the handrail near the rear door.
It was a four-stop bus ride from here to the underground station, so Lu Mian idly observed the scenery outside.
This ophthalmology clinic was situated in a newly developed area of the city. The development was still incomplete, and as it was close to the outskirts, there were few people along the route.
Lu Mian was idly scanning the view outside the window when she unexpectedly spotted a sign—‘Deserted Path’. The sign was actually quite blurred, and the writing had been smudged, but having worked a part-time job for a while, she was all too familiar with the symbols on it, which is why she recognised it at a glance.
It looked rather run-down, though. Was the haunted house owner planning a refurbishment?
Wow, the owner of the place where she worked part-time was quite something; they were actually opening a branch here.
But wasn’t the location for the new shop a bit dodgy? With so few people around, would anyone actually come?
It wasn’t really any of her business, so Lu Mian simply sighed and let her mind wander.
The bus jolted along and soon reached its stop. Lu Mian changed to the underground and quickly arrived at the haunted house where she worked part-time.
The owner was already waiting there, a warm smile spreading across his chubby face. “Lu Mian, you’re here. Your job is to be a ticket seller, but as well as handling sales, you’ll need to take care of after-sales service—sending a text message to customers after they’ve left.”
The boss handed Lu Mian a piece of paper. “You only need to send these to customers who’ve brought a flyer. Remember, even if ten people turn up, if only one of them has a flyer, you only send it to the one holding the flyer. Send them out in the order listed on the paper.”
Lu Mian looked down at the contents:
1. Dear guest, our haunted house is about to close. Please come out as soon as possible.
2. Guest, where are you hiding? We’ve sent staff in to look for you.
3. Dear guest, aren’t you coming out yet? It’s getting dark; we really are closing now.
4. Guest, don’t trust anyone.
5. Found you!
Lu Mian looked up in astonishment. The boss was a bit of a genius, wasn’t he? Even after people had left, he was still going to great lengths to create a spooky atmosphere. This after-sales service was definitely worth the money.
“Right, I’ll do my best.” Lu Mian took the leaflets with a solemn expression.
The boss gave Lu Mian an approving look. He had high hopes for this employee; he’d helped him hand out leaflets for so long without a single mishap. He really was lucky.
Lu Mian took his new job very seriously.
…………
“Come on, this haunted house looks like great fun. The atmosphere on the flyer is spot on.”
A boy with deep blue-dyed hair led the way, cheerfully calling out to his friends.
It was a group of five—two boys and three girls. They all looked very young, no more than twenty by any estimate, with their hair dyed in a variety of colours.
Lu Mian glanced at them: blue, purple, yellow, white, red—enough to make a five-coloured glutinous rice dish.
“Hello, tickets this way,” Lu Mian fully embraced his role as ticket seller, directing the group to the counter.
Once they’d paid, Lu Mian’s gaze fell on the flyer in the blue-haired boy’s hand. He silently made a note on his phone: you’re the first unlucky soul.
After watching the five of them go inside, Lu Mian looked idly towards the exit, waiting to text the blue-haired boy once he’d left.
The haunted house was built in a unique way; the exit and entrance were practically right next to each other, so Lu Mian could observe the comings and goings of the guests immediately.
…………
The five had chosen a role-playing themed haunted house attraction.
Upon entering, an NPC dressed as a Taoist priest approached and began setting the scene. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me warn you once more: this mansion is extremely dangerous. Are you really sure you wish to go in?”
Upon receiving affirmative nods from the group, the Taoist spoke with a grave expression: “This mansion was once the residence of a wealthy merchant during the Republic of China era. He later moved away due to the turmoil of war, and it has stood uninhabited for a long time. Legend has it that the merchant’s three concubines and a large number of servants perished within its walls. You must be extremely cautious once inside; ensure that those beside you are truly human, and come out immediately once you have found what you need.”
The Taoist priest then handed out a piece of yellow paper to each of them. “This is as far as I can help you.”
Once the five had taken the yellow papers, the Taoist NPC vanished. By the dim light, they unfolded the papers to examine them.
“There are words on the yellow paper. Mine says ‘bell’. I suppose I just need to find a bell to complete the quest.” ” The blue-haired boy glanced at his piece of yellow paper, casually slipped it into his pocket, and began to survey his surroundings.
Before them stood the mansion’s main gate, with two red lanterns hanging on either side. The rosewood door’s paint was peeling, and the plaque above the door was so weathered that the characters were barely legible, covered in layer upon layer of cobwebs.
A trail of blood-red paint stretched out to the entrance.
The blue-haired boy shifted his feet, deliberately ignoring the sticky sensation beneath his soles, and called out to his companion, “Come on, let’s go in!”