Chapter 304: Chapter 263: Ghost Mirror
He had fled all the way to the ninth floor, driven by a bizarre and inexplicable sense of danger. Even now, he hadn’t seen what that thing actually looked like.
But he knew it was definitely targeting him. He had changed hiding spots numerous times to no avail; he could be accurately tracked every time, as if he had a tracker on him.
Suddenly, Fu Xuechang’s face changed dramatically, as if he realized something, and he instantly thought of the bloody handprint on his back.
It was left by the Inverted Ghost. Although he had thrown away the coat bearing the bloody handprint, things were definitely not that simple. He had been wondering why, among so many people in the building, it was him that the entity relentlessly pursued. Now it seemed clear that the bloody handprint was playing a role.
It was a mark, and that thing would prioritize chasing anyone with a bloody handprint.
At that moment, he also guessed the identity of the pursuing ghost—it couldn’t be wrong, it had to be the Source Ghost.
The thought that he was being hunted by the most terrifying existence in the apartment made Fu Changxue feel anything but fear was a lie. He forced himself to stay calm, realizing that his only option was to stall for time and hope that Chu Xi or Tong Han would complete their task soon.
While contemplating, Fu Changxue suddenly felt a pang in his heart, his hand clutching his chest as cold sweat broke out instantly. The nameless terror was getting closer by the moment. He didn’t dare delay any longer and quickly got up, dashing towards the safety passage on the right side of the corridor; he had already been discovered and there was no point in hiding anymore.
His original plan had been to use the safety passage to go down to a different floor and find a new place to hide, a tactic that had never failed him before. Luckily, that thing didn’t move very fast, but this time, Fu Changxue was stunned: the safety door in front of him wouldn’t budge.
The door was locked. He desperately pressed down on the doorknob, pulling it outward, but it was all in vain.
With the greatest speed, he pulled out a thin piece of wire from his pocket, tremblingly inserting it into the keyhole. His lock-picking skills were good, but it took time.
The more panicked he became, the more chaotic his actions. The already rusty wire snapped inside after several bends, completely throwing Fu Changxue into panic. He whipped his head around and saw an indescribable, bizarre change happening down the corridor, about a dozen meters behind him. A large patch of grey fog was drifting towards him, concealing within it a massive, blurry ghostly figure.
As the grey fog made contact, the deep green waterproof paint smeared on the walls of the corridor slowly began to peel away, and the wooden doors nearby became dilapidated.
With no other options, Fu Changxue immediately kicked at the wooden door of a nearby apartment. Fortunately, before the fog reached him, he kicked the door open and hid inside.
To counteract the fog, he even turned on all the lights in the room.
After doing all this, he discarded his flashlight and curled up in a corner of the room, not daring to breathe heavily. He could only watch as the door in front of him was corroded by the grey mist, while the bloated ghostly figure hidden in the haze seemed to squeeze its hefty body through like squeezing toothpaste.
Fu Changxue thought of the candy seller’s nursery rhyme and so, closed his eyes, bowed his head, and remained completely still, deciding to take a gamble.
"Sky grey, grey, don’t open your eyes, stay still, sleep soundly till daylight comes."
Before long, a chilly feeling spread throughout his body as the grey fog enveloped him. Even with his eyes shut, he could sense that everything around him had turned ash-grey. An extreme chill emanated from where the bloody handprint was on his back, as if his innards were filled with ice. Fu Changxue clenched his teeth tightly, not making a sound.
He could feel a malevolent gaze sweeping near him, but because his eyes were closed and he did not move, the Source Ghost temporarily lost its target.
However, it could sense his presence, knowing he was here, since there was the mark of the bloody handprint.
The stalemate continued until Fu Changxue thought he would freeze to death, but then a turnaround occurred. The icy sensation gradually faded, and gradually, light appeared nearby, a warm light penetrating his eyelids.
Fu Changxue still didn’t move. It was only after several long minutes had passed that he heard a strange rustling sound as if something was approaching in the corridor.
The thing he feared most was happening. At that moment, the only creature that could move outside, besides Mo Daidai who was left, was the Old Lady Ghost, the same entity that had killed Cheng Ya and Li Qingxuan.
It made no sense for Mo Daidai to come to this top floor, so the most likely presence outside was the Old Lady Ghost. This ghost was truly persistent.
He couldn’t dawdle any longer; he had to leave, or else he would be bitten to death.
However, the fact that the Old Lady Ghost was here also indicated something: the Source Ghost must have already left, otherwise she wouldn’t dare. Realizing this, Fu Changxue stealthily opened his eyes, but the next second, he froze in shock.
The room was still fairly dark; the lights weren’t on. Only the flashlight he’d thrown on the ground had somehow been turned around to shine on his face, and the rustling sound from the corridor had disappeared in an instant.
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Fu Changxue suddenly had a bad premonition. Suddenly, he heard a friction sound above his head.
Shivering, he looked up, and the scene above became his last memory in this world. Fu Changxue’s eyes widened in horror as he saw a massive, grey, evil ghost with an indistinct face flattening itself into a pancake against the ceiling.
Around the apartment, Mo Daidai’s situation wasn’t much better; he was chased by the Inverted Ghost as if he was a dog without a home. Moreover, he wasn’t strong, and after a bit of running, he was completely drained. If this continued for another three minutes, he would be caught by the Inverted Ghost.
Along the way, he had thought of other ways to divert the Inverted Ghost, like throwing money on the ground, but the Inverted Ghost didn’t even glance at it.
Out of options, Mo Daidai had to take a gamble. He rushed back to his room, disregarding his cut fingers, and forcefully pulled down the mirror on the wall. Then, facing the doorway, just as expected, the Inverted Ghost barged in the next second.
But the Inverted Ghost charging towards her didn’t get transferred by the mirror; instead, it smashed the mirror directly, sending Mo Daidai flying several meters away along with it.
A taste of sweetness in her throat, Mo Daidai nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, but at that moment, the Inverted Ghost had already closed in on her. In the nick of time, with her back against the corner of the wall, Mo Daidai swiftly inverted her body, supporting herself on the ground with both hands, maintaining the same posture as the Inverted Ghost.
This time it worked. The Inverted Ghost hopped around Mo Daidai ceaselessly, constantly changing positions around her, the hand it stretched out miming movements across the air, but it just couldn’t find the angle to leave a handprint behind Mo Daidai.
However, this was only temporary. Mo Daidai could see that the ghost was becoming increasingly irritable and its adaptation to maneuvering its body was improving quickly.
It wouldn’t take long before it would find her vulnerability.
And more critically at the moment, her own body couldn’t hold up any longer. She had never been known for physical strength, and moreover, she had injured her shoulder previously during the old lady’s abuse. Even if the Inverted Ghost didn’t attack her, with her current posture, she couldn’t last much longer.
"Chu Xi, Tong Han... hurry up!"
...
Tong Han was also running for her life in the Mirror World. Enraged by her, Zuo Qiu Shude chased after her like a madwoman, dragging her intestines and viscera along the ground in relentless pursuit.
At this moment, Tong Han was slightly regretful. She had only planned to distract Shude temporarily to buy some time for Yang Xiao, but now she realized that if she were caught by Zuo Qiu Shude, she would probably suffer terribly.
Nonetheless, Tong Han was much stronger physically than Mo Daidai. Noticing that climbing stairs was very inconvenient for Shude due to her physical condition, Tong Han led Shude up and down the safety stairs until finally finding the right moment to burst through the safety door and rush into room 85. She slammed the door shut with a bang and began to lock it from the inside, successfully stealing the other party’s ’home’.
The infuriated Zuo Qiu Shude kept ramming the door outside, screaming loudly. Normally, Tong Han would mock her through the door, but this time she held back, believing in leaving room for future encounters.
She quickly approached the bedroom door, but as expected, it was locked.
"Chu Xi!" Tong Han banged hard on the door, "It’s me, I’m Tong Han. I’ve locked Zuo Qiu Shude outside. Open the door, I’ll help you!"
The knocking caught Yang Xiao’s attention, but he didn’t care one bit because it didn’t matter whether it was the real Tong Han or a ghost in disguise; in any case, he wouldn’t open the door.
Meanwhile, the mirror in front of Yang Xiao underwent a change. A huge face loomed suddenly close, giving him a shock out of the blue.
"Teacher Yang!" Li Qingxuan appeared in the mirror, holding a silver key, excitedly said, "Quick, Teacher Yang, the key is here!"
"Well done!" Yang Xiao took the key tossed in by Li Qingxuan and immediately went to unlock the lock on the dead child’s body.
Hearing that Li Qingxuan had brought the key from outside, Tong Han got an idea and started to knock fiercely on the door calling out, "Chu Xi, be careful of Li Qingxuan. I saw from the mirror that he killed Cheng Ya; something is off about him!"
Li Qingxuan, hearing that it was Tong Han’s voice, was about to explode with anger, "Teacher Yang, be careful, this woman knows your real name; she tricked me earlier, saying you were dead, but I saw through her lie!"
"Li Qingxuan, you slanderer, Chu Xi, beware of him! To keep us from leaving, he actually smashed the mirror!"
"Teacher Yang, I am a good citizen!"
"Good my ass, you despicable villain, Chu Xi, don’t be fooled!"
"Tong Han, I fuck your ancestors!!"
The two exchanged barrages of insults, one behind the mirror and the other behind the door. Logically Tong Han undoubtedly won, but in terms of damage, Li Qingxuan had the upper hand. Yang Xiao remained focused on not listening or believing, the urgent task at hand was to get the dead child out; everything else was trivial.
Carrying the cold body of the child, Yang Xiao didn’t bother with Tong Han behind the door and hurried to the mirror. He spoke to Li Qingxuan, "Can I trust you?"
Li Qingxuan was taken aback, "Of course, of course, Teacher Yang. You saved my life!"
"Good, now turn around and step back, face the wall, and raise your hands high, keep them where I can see them at all times," commanded Yang Xiao.
Li Qingxuan obediently complied with the order, even as he didn’t stop cursing at Tong Han until Yang Xiao told them both to shut up.
Having successfully brought the child’s body to room 3028 of the apartment, Yang Xiao didn’t dare to delay. He quickly took out the can of gasoline from under the bed, doused the cold body in it, and immediately ignited it. A dazzling burst of flame erupted on the bedroom bed, engulfing the body.
In the brilliant light, the body did not char but instead withered and crumbled bit by bit until the clothing on it was burned away, revealing the ancient bronze-colored little mirror hidden underneath the clothes.
What was eerie was that the mirror’s surface did not reflect any of the firelight but was enshrouded in a gloomy aura, making it appear especially mysterious.
