Old Residential Complex, Entering the Cursed House

Every ten seconds, I scattered a handful of this specially roasted rice onto the ground.

The rice quickly covered the ground, and before long, it attracted a whole crowd of wandering ghosts.

They crawled on the ground, constantly eating the rice, occasionally sticking out their red tongues to lick the floor.

Their saliva made hissing sounds, and from time to time, they let out slightly excited cries.

It sent chills through my entire body.

I had no idea why Uncle Yu was doing this, so I asked:

"Uncle Yu, why are we scattering rice?"

After saying that, I scattered another handful onto the ground.

As Uncle Yu rode the electric scooter, he twisted the throttle harder and said:

"The thing haunting you gave you a mark. It'll follow your scent to find you.

Scatter some rice so the filthy things around us can absorb the scent we've left behind.

That'll also make it take longer to find us..."

Only after hearing Uncle Yu's explanation did I understand.

I nodded and murmured, "Mm," then continued silently counting the time as I scattered handful after handful of rice.

There wasn't much rice in the bag, and it was gone before long.

Uncle Yu drove the electric scooter with me on the back for another ten minutes or so before finally stopping.

We arrived at the entrance of an old residential complex, its buildings the kind of old apartments built in the eighties.

The surrounding area was shabby and worn-down.

The moment we got off, Uncle Yu said to me:

"Xiao Jiang, take off your shirt and pants."

He didn't explain why. After saying that, he headed straight for a clothing donation bin nearby.

It was the kind of green metal box specifically meant for people to donate old clothes.

I had no idea what Uncle Yu was planning.

But aside from trusting Uncle Yu, there was no one else who could save me now.

I didn't hesitate. I quickly stripped off my soaking wet shirt and pants.

I stood by the roadside completely naked.

Meanwhile, Uncle Yu rummaged through the donation bin and found several old outfits.

He tossed one set directly to me.

"Put these on."

I caught them. It was a rather old set of middle-aged man's clothes.

With my life on the line, I didn't have the luxury of caring about much else. I put them on right away.

Uncle Yu found an outfit for himself as well and changed into it.

Afterward, he used some other clothes to wrap up a dummy.

He dressed the dummy in my shirt and pants.

"Uncle Yu, are you making a decoy for me?"

I widened my eyes and asked.

Uncle Yu nodded slightly.

"You're a smart kid!

But this still isn't enough. Come with me..."

"Where?"

I pressed him again.

Uncle Yu raised a hand and pointed toward one of the stairwells.

"That unit in this building, 7-3."

By the moonlight, I could make out an apartment on the seventh floor of that building.

Its windows had been sealed shut with wooden boards, making it look rather strange.

What normal home would completely board up all its windows?

I guessed there had to be something unusual about that room.

"Uncle Yu, is there something unusual about that apartment? Why are its windows boarded up?"

As Uncle Yu led me forward, he explained:

"Someone hanged themselves in that unit before. It's a Cursed House now.

We'll hide in there tonight."

"A Cursed House?"

I was somewhat surprised and looked toward the apartment again.

Since it was called a Cursed House—

There was no way the place was clean.

Even if I avoided Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost, wouldn't I end up getting tainted by some other evil presence?

Uncle Yu seemed to see through my thoughts and continued:

"Don't worry. Water ghosts are hard to avoid, but a Cursed House can be used as shelter.

I've gone into that place and made offerings before.

The filthy thing inside isn't too fierce.

As long as we follow the rules once we're inside and do as I say,

we should be fine hiding there for one night."

Uncle Yu sounded completely confident, which put me much more at ease.

Then Uncle Yu led me upstairs.

There was no elevator, so we could only run up the stairs with hurried footsteps.

There wasn't a single light in the stairwell. It was pitch-black.

When we reached the sixth floor, I suddenly smelled a fishy stench.

The sudden odor made my scalp prickle.

Uncle Yu and I both instinctively lowered our heads to look down.

A chill ran down my back.

Uncle Yu was even more startled.

"Damn it, how did this thing get here so fast?

All that rice was scattered for nothing.

Hurry, follow me upstairs..."

After saying that, Uncle Yu quickened his pace.

Uncle Yu was a little overweight, and right now he looked even more exhausted than I was.

But he didn't stop.

The two of us hurried to the seventh floor, unit 7-3.

This apartment was something else.

A yellow talisman paper had been stuck to the door with chicken feathers.

The entire door was wrapped in red string, making it look incredibly eerie.

Uncle Yu merely glanced at it before cursing:

"What idiot put this up? What kind of useless crap is this? Even the Starting Stroke Incantation was drawn wrong."

As he spoke, he tore down the yellow talisman and threw it on the ground.

Uncle Yu thought it was a fake talisman, completely useless.

At the same time, the fishy smell in the air grew stronger and stronger.

Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost, was probably about to catch up to us.

Uncle Yu didn't hesitate any further and raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock..."

Three knocks first, then four, then three again, then four...

The first three were soft, while the next four were heavy.

There was a distinct rhythm and sequence to them.

It had to be some specific way of knocking.

In the silent stairwell, the sound was especially piercing.

After he knocked four times in a row,

a hoarse old woman's voice suddenly sounded from inside the apartment:

"Who is it?"

Her voice was very faint. If you weren't listening carefully, you wouldn't hear it at all.

Upon hearing that voice, Uncle Yu spoke toward the room.

"Old Aunt, I brought you food last time."

The moment Uncle Yu finished speaking, the previously locked door opened on its own with a click.

As soon as Uncle Yu saw the door open, he grabbed my hand without another word and dragged me straight inside.

The room was pitch-black, without the slightest bit of light.

The moment I entered, I felt a cold draft.

Other than Uncle Yu's silhouette in front of me, I couldn't see a thing.

After entering, Uncle Yu shut the door behind us.

Then he told me:

"Hold on to my hand. Don't let go."

I was panicking too, so I hurriedly answered:

"Understood, Uncle Yu."

All the windows in the apartment had been sealed shut, so no moonlight could get in.

Once the door was closed, it was truly impossible to see your hand in front of your face.

I had no idea what the room looked like.

All I could smell was a moldy stench.

Holding Uncle Yu's hand, I stumbled along behind him.

Along the way, I kicked a basin.

It clattered loudly, painfully grating in the silence.

Uncle Yu even called out to the room again:

"Sorry, Old Aunt. Didn't mean to, didn't mean to."

As he spoke, Uncle Yu pulled me into what seemed to be another room.

He lowered his voice and said:

"We're in the bathroom now. Squat down in the corner.

If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to hide here for the night."

I nodded to show that I understood.

If Uncle Yu hadn't come to save me tonight, I would have drowned in the lake already.

I trusted him deeply.

But we had only been hiding inside for a short while

when the strong fishy stench filled my nostrils again.

At the same time, faint footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap..."