Chapter 101
Chapter 101
The players exchanged uneasy looks, but no one spoke. Only Cheng Miao’s expression darkened.
Lin Zhu noticed. He leaned closer and whispered, “Sister Miaomiao, do you know this game?”
Cheng Miao narrowed her eyes at the five Longtime Tenants, who had abruptly become cheerful again. “Yes. It’s a spirit-summoning game.”
The others heard her, and goosebumps instantly prickled across their skin.
So this was what their five days of assessments would involve.
Ignoring the players’ grim expressions, the Landlord stood and switched off the main light in the hallway.
No one saw where the five Longtime Tenants produced the candles from, but a moment later, five flames flickered in the darkness, making everyone present look like a ghost.
The Pregnant Woman cleared her throat and began. “The first day’s assessment game is mine. Two New Tenants must participate. I will explain the rules now, so listen carefully.”
No one dared interrupt. Every eye remained fixed on the Pregnant Woman, who stood with her hands on her hips as if she could hold the pose forever, her face utterly blank.
“After midnight, the two New Tenants will enter Rooms 201 and 202. Open the window and face outside. Hold a mirror in one hand and comb your hair with the other. Comb forward three times, then backward three times. Repeat the sequence three times.”
As everyone watched, the Pregnant Woman pulled two red-rimmed plastic mirrors and two plastic combs from the cloth bag she carried.
Gu Jian trembled like a leaf, but Cheng Miao saw no fear whatsoever in his eyes.
He was faking it.
“And then?” a player asked in a quavering voice.
“Then you must ask one question: How did Shen Xin die?”
Shen Xin? Who was Shen Xin?
The players looked at the Longtime Tenants in confusion. When none of them showed any intention of answering, the players could only fall silent and continue listening.
“Once you receive the answer, smash the mirror to end the game. I will assess your performance based on the answer you bring back.”
The Pregnant Woman set the mirrors and combs gently on the table, then retreated into the darkness without another word, leaving the players staring at one another.
“She even told us how to end the game. Does that mean it’ll be a little easier?”
Fan Tiantian clutched Sun Jiao’s arm. Only after dinner had her best friend told her that sticking chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice was something done during offerings for the dead.
Fan Tiantian had gone deathly pale when she heard. She had eaten food meant for a dead person!
But she still did not feel any different. Maybe it had only been a scare tactic, she reassured herself.
“We should still be careful. You can’t keep rushing into things like this.” Sun Jiao comforted her friend. From their conversation, it was clear they had known each other in real life. Unfortunately, Fan Tiantian’s personality placed her at a severe disadvantage in an instance.
“Then what do we do? Who’s going?” Little Green grabbed Little Red and shrank backward, making it abundantly clear neither of them intended to volunteer.
“Why don’t the men go first? Show a little consideration for the ladies.” Little Red was panicking too. She forced a smile, only to find no one buying it.
This was not some trivial matter of who paid for dinner. This could cost someone their life.
“Bullshit. Women have longer hair, don’t they? A game about combing hair obviously sounds like something women should do. Why don’t you two go?” Mohawk snapped. The thought of forcing someone else into it had plainly crossed his mind.
Cheng Miao clapped her hands, silencing the argument.
“There are seventeen slips of paper here. Two are marked. Whoever draws one of those goes. That’s the fairest way.”
Little Red had disliked Cheng Miao from the start. Cheng Miao was prettier than she was, her teammates were all handsome and powerful, and even Baili Qianqiu and Gu Jian, the two most striking men in the group, treated her differently.
“How do we know you didn’t rig it?” Little Red asked sarcastically, making no move to take a paper ball.
Cheng Miao gave her a cold glance. “Do you really think I need to play the same petty tricks you do?”
Little Red choked on her retort. Right, she had forgotten that Cheng Miao was a powerhouse in her own right, one who had willingly chosen to stay on a floor full of Longtime Tenants.
Baili Qianqiu chuckled under his breath and leaned over to pick up a paper ball.
Gu Jian took his time choosing one as well, muttering like a man casting a spell, “I’m lucky. It definitely won’t be me.”
One by one, the others reluctantly took their slips. Little Red could only grit her teeth and choose one too. Fortunately, the room was dark enough that no one could see the humiliation on her face.
The marked slips went to Fan Tiantian, whose luck had been especially awful today, and Mohawk, who had claimed that men had no hair to comb.
Neither of them wanted to enter the rooms. They dawdled after taking the mirrors and combs, reasoning that there was still time before midnight.
With everyone gathered around them, Fan Tiantian looked hopefully at Cheng Miao, who seemed the most dependable person there. “Miss Cheng, could you tell us more about this game?”
Mohawk smacked his forehead. Of course. This woman had said she knew the game.
Cheng Miao studied the expectant faces around her and pursed her lips. “It’s a folk ritual used to summon ghosts. The method is the same, except…”
She glanced at the two visibly nervous participants. Better to give them some warning. “You’ll see your future self in the mirror. They may try to make you turn around. Whatever happens, you must never look behind you.”
Fan Tiantian was terrified, but Cheng Miao had given them far more information than the Pregnant Woman had, even pointing out a hidden danger.
She pressed a hand to her racing heart. She could survive this. She had to!
When the time came, no matter how unwilling they were, the two had no choice but to enter their respective rooms.
The other players stayed in the hall to wait for them.
Fan Tiantian turned the handle and poked her head through the doorway. Room 202 looked no different from her own room. Nothing seemed out of place.
Trembling, she closed every door in the apartment. From the living room, she could still hear the voices of the other players outside, which steadied her nerves a little.
The lights had to remain off, but the moonlight was bright. Fan Tiantian crossed the room and pushed open the window in the wall.
Only after taking several deep breaths did she raise the mirror toward herself with a shaking hand.
She cracked her eyes open and carefully peeked into it. There was nothing there except her own face, distorted by fear.
She relaxed slightly and began to comb her hair, though her hand still trembled.
One, two, three…
Fan Tiantian’s lips moved as she counted, terrified of combing one stroke too many or too few.
After completing three full cycles, she clutched the comb tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, too frightened to move.
Without warning, a cold gust brushed her back. It seemed to blow straight into her body, chilling her bones until they ached.
Tears welled in her eyes. She did not dare cry aloud. Smothering the scream that had risen into her chest, she opened her eyes.
Her vision blurred with tears, but there was no mistaking the extra figure standing behind her reflection in the mirror.
Thanks to Cheng Miao’s warning, Fan Tiantian did not panic badly enough to do something irreversible.
She thanked Cheng Miao fervently in her heart, silently wishing the good woman a long and blessed life, all while trying to encourage herself.
It’s all right. It’s all right.
Two people appearing in the mirror was terrifying, but it was still better than seeing a female ghost, wasn’t it?
Fan Tiantian blinked, sending the tears rolling down her cheeks. She kept her gaze fixed on her own reflection, not daring to glance at the extra figure.
She was about to ask the required question when the feeling that something was wrong suddenly struck her.
What was it…?
As she tried to think, her gaze drifted sideways without her realizing it and met a pair of blood-red eyes.
Now she knew what was wrong.
The person in the mirror was her, her own brutally murdered corpse!