Chapter 299: Chapter 260: What Are You Looking At?
To tell the truth, when he saw those nine characters, the first thing Yang Xiao thought of was the old man selling candied haw outside the apartment.
The evil cultivator in that room no longer belonged to the category of disrespecting the old; it was known as causing calamity to the world, something everyone had a duty to eliminate.
With Mr. Wen’s reminder, Yang Xiao stood in the storage room, his back to the large mirror, closed his eyes, and needed to calm himself down, clearing his mind of distractions.
It was also heavily stressed by Mr. Wen that opportunities were rare—determined to achieve success in one battle, Yang Xiao began to breathe deeply, waiting for the optimal moment to arrive.
He was waiting for after midnight, when Tong Han would also make her move.
...
At 11:57 p.m., Tong Han appeared in front of the elevator on the third floor, and at that moment, it was as if the elevator knew someone was coming; it stopped right at the third floor.
Taking a deep breath, Tong Han pressed the door open button. As the elevator doors slowly parted, the scene before her was quite unexpected.
The elevator was empty, but unlike the worn feeling the apartment usually gave, the inside of the elevator looked very new, spotless, like its old stainless steel walls had just been polished, reflecting like a mirror.
Caught off guard for a moment, Tong Han didn’t hesitate any longer and quickly stepped into the elevator. Following Mr. Hou’s instructions, she first took the elevator up to the ninth floor, then back down to the first floor—everything went smoothly without any glitches or unknown phenomena.
Next was the crucial part. Tong Han extended two fingers, pressing the buttons for the second and fourth floors at the same time. Now the situation changed: the elevator, as if out of control, shuttled back and forth between the second and fourth floors more than a dozen times, gaining speed with each pass.
Finally, just as Tong Han began to doubt if she had been deceived, the elevator came to a gradual halt. This time, it stopped at the third floor, and the number three button suddenly lit up—bright red, a stark difference from the yellow light of the other floor buttons.
Seeing the red light, Tong Han immediately turned around, back to the elevator doors, her breathing becoming uncontrollable in its rapidity—she didn’t know what might be waiting for her once the doors opened.
"Ding—"
The elevator doors slowly opened, and Tong Han involuntarily held her breath. Through the reflection on the glossy steel walls in front of her, she saw that there was no one outside.
Even then, Tong Han didn’t act rashly because she suddenly had a very uneasy feeling, as if something was watching her.
It was during this brief moment of hesitation that the elevator doors began to close again, but when only a third of a gap was left, they abruptly stopped, then tremblingly opened again, as if they had caught something in between.
Tong Han heard a muted sound as the elevator doors collided with something. Her first instinct was that it had caught a person’s body.
The next second, before Tong Han had time to think further, the sight before her sent a chill through her entire body, as if she had been thrown into an ice hole. Through the reflection on the elevator wall, she saw a bloody corpse lying behind her.
The corpse was half inside the elevator and half outside, with copious amounts of blood dyeing the white lab coat on its body into a red garment of blood.
As the doors closed again and hit the corpse, making a dull sound, this time the body on the floor suddenly started to convulse violently. If it were anyone else, they might have been frightened to death, but Tong Han remained motionless.
Moments later, the corpse’s severed lower half struggled to stand, and then the upper half, dragging a large amount of intestines and organs, crawled onto its lower half. At last, it assembled into a relatively complete human form.
And Tong Han knew for certain that this person must be the surgery ghost, Zuo Qiu Shude.
After Zuo Qiu Shude stood still outside the elevator, Tong Han began to slowly back away, retreating from the elevator.
"Who are you?" Zuo Qiu Shude suddenly spoke from behind, as if she had only just noticed someone else was there.
Tong Han slowly turned around, and at that moment, the scene changed abruptly. Zuo Qiu Shude was wearing a clean white lab coat, her short hair neatly combed, and she looked at Tong Han with guarded eyes.
"Hello, Dr. Zuo Qiu, I’m a friend of Mr. Hou," Tong Han brought out the identity she had already concocted.
"Mr. Hou? Hou Wenjun of room 2024?" the wariness in Zuo Qiu Shude’s eyes dissipated somewhat.
"Yes, him. He mentioned to me that your child was ill, and I thought I’d come over to visit. This is a small token of my concern." Tong Han’s acting was no worse than Yang Xiao’s, her eyes sincere with a touch of pity. She took out a handful of money totaling about 15 yuan in 5 and 2 yuan notes, and without waiting for a reply, shoved it into Zuo Qiu Shude’s hand, "Miss Zuo Qiu, I was once a mother too. I know... I know what you must be feeling inside."
As she spoke, tears welled in Tong Han’s eyes. She needed to stabilize Zuo Qiu Shude first, ideally getting her to take her to room number 85 to find the child in the bedroom.
Moved by Tong Han’s understanding, Zuo Qiu Shude tearfully accepted her kindness and agreed to take her to see her child.
On the way, Tong Han noticed that this place was different from the apartment they resided in; the decor and environment were much newer, and everything was reversed from their world. Now she was sure Mr. Hou hadn’t lied to her—this was indeed the Mirror World.
"We’re here." Zuo Qiu Shude stood in front of door 85, nudged it gently with her hand, and the door opened, revealing a pitch-black interior.
"Miss Tong, please come in," invited Zuo Qiu Shude earnestly, her face still smiling, welcoming her like an old friend.
Although Tong Han keenly sensed that something was off, the corridor was fully lit; there was no reason for Zuo Qiu Shude’s home to be in darkness. And where had the upside-down male ghost gone?
Furthermore, if the child was truly at home, why would the door be unlocked? It made no sense unless there was no need to lock it because someone was still inside.
With this thought, Tong Han feigned calm and smiled politely, "Miss Zuo Qiu, could you help me turn on the light? I’m afraid of the dark."
"That’s quite unfortunate, the light is broken today," Zuo Qiu Shude continued to usher Tong Han in, "Please come in, the child is waiting for you."
At that moment, Tong Han, using the corridor’s light, spotted the light switch on the wall behind the door. Without hesitation, she swiftly slapped the switch.
The next second, the room instantly lit up, and the sight that greeted her made Tong Han turn and run. Just a few meters away, near the sofa, Mr. An, with half his head crushed, was squatting on the ground staring intently at her, clutching a kitchen knife in his hand.
Tong Han ran quickly, and a strange noise followed closely behind—not the sound of running feet, but more like something was crawling fast on the ground.
Without even needing to think, it was undoubtedly Zuo Qiu Shude, dragging her intestines and upper body behind her. Tong Han thought to struggle a bit more, running and shouting, "Miss Zuo Qiu, what are you doing? I’m just here to visit the child!"
"Liar! Liar!" Zuo Qiu Shude shrieked.
"How have I lied to you?" Tong Han genuinely didn’t know where she had slipped up. Could it be that Mr. Hou had betrayed her?
"You’ve never given birth! You have no idea of my pain!" Zuo Qiu Shude became increasingly frantic and her speed suddenly surged, "I am a doctor; you can’t fool me!"
Now, Tong Han understood Miss Zuo Qiu’s credentials. No wonder she was called a Divine Doctor—she knew at a glance whether someone had given birth or not. Who could stand against that?
Tong Han wasn’t running aimlessly; she was heading for the dead end on the eastern side of the corridor, where the False-Teeth Old Granny lived. This was her only chance.
"Granny!" Before she reached there, Tong Han screamed at the top of her lungs, "Granny, open the door quickly, I’ve brought your false teeth!"
The old granny didn’t disappoint. Just in the nick of time, she opened the door; Tong Han rushed in and the granny shut and locked the door with a "thud."
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
"Open the door!"
From outside came the furious roars of Zuo Qiu Shude, while inside, both the old lady and Tong Han dared not breathe aloud.
After a few minutes, Zuo Qiu Shude eventually gave up. Judging from the sounds, she had dragged her mangled body away.
A few more minutes passed, ensuring that no sound could be heard outside anymore, and the old granny behind the door let out a sigh of relief, turned around, and waved at Tong Han who was sitting collapsed on the ground, "Child, don’t be afraid, she’s gone."
"She can’t come in, right?" Tong Han was making a final confirmation.
"She can’t, you can rest easy now." The room was very dim, lit only by a kerosene lamp on the table. The old granny smiled at Tong Han kindly, her tone unusually pleasant, "We’ve been neighbors for so many years; I owe you some courtesy, right? Breaking in would be impolite."
"By the way, did you bring my false teeth?" The old granny asked with a beaming smile.
"Of course, I brought them for you. I specifically came to return your false teeth, but I didn’t expect to encounter such a madwoman." Tong Han looked obedient, doing her best to get on the good side of the old lady.
"What a well-behaved child you are." The old granny took the dentures, chuckled happily, and went back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Taking advantage of the old granny’s absence, Tong Han picked up the kerosene lamp and inspected the room. A short while later, she unexpectedly found a small offering table in a dark corner of the wall. A few incense candles and spirit money were placed on the table, with three photographs hanging behind it.
But as Tong Han brought the lamp closer and saw the three photographs clearly, she felt a sudden dread. The three photos, corresponding to three corpses, were gruesome, as if mauled by beasts—there wasn’t an inch of flesh unstained with blood, and many spots exposed ghastly white bones, the faces torn beyond recognition.
Tong Han’s heart skipped a beat, her mind racing to the false teeth she had brought for the old lady—sharp as beast fangs, and no less deadly.
"What are you looking at?"
An eerie voice suddenly exploded behind her, startling Tong Han into jumping on the spot. Without any notice, the old lady had appeared behind her.
The old lady no longer bore any semblance of her former gentleness. Her eyes bulged, red with bloodshot veins, and upon opening her mouth, sharp, ghastly white teeth were revealed.
"I’m asking you, what are you looking at!!"
