In the Mirror, One Each

The Old Crone's words carried killing intent.

Uncle Yu and I both shuddered.

But if things really went as the Old Crone said, that would be great.

Wouldn't she be helping us out without even realizing it?

Still, I frowned slightly.

I remembered that after entering the bathroom, Uncle Yu had shone his phone flashlight around, and there hadn't been any White Silk Ribbon.

But Uncle Yu had already taken out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

He swept the light around the bathroom.

Sure enough, there was a strip of white cloth—a White Silk Ribbon—on the bathroom shelf.

He got up to take it, but I grabbed his hand.

"Uncle Yu, something's wrong!"

Uncle Yu froze for a moment and turned to look at me.

"What is it?"

I pointed at the White Silk Ribbon on the shelf, my expression grave.

"Uncle Yu, when we came in, there wasn't even a bar of soap in this bathroom.

That White Silk Ribbon is such a huge bundle. There's no way I could've missed it.

It suddenly appeared just now, so we'd better not touch it."

I stared at the White Silk Ribbon and spoke solemnly.

But I kept my voice low, afraid the Old Crone outside would hear.

Uncle Yu frowned slightly as well.

"Could you have remembered wrong?"

Remembered wrong?

What a joke. It wasn't like I had Alzheimer's.

Besides, medical students had to memorize huge amounts of information.

I had plenty of confidence in my own memory.

I shook my head.

"Definitely not. I remember clearly."

Seeing how certain I was, Uncle Yu drew a sharp breath.

For the moment, he didn't dare move.

But the Old Crone standing outside the door urged us.

"Food delivery boy, haven't you found it yet?

The White Silk Ribbon on the shelf.

Take it down and pass it to me through the gap under the door.

I'll go strangle that thing knocking on the door..."

Uncle Yu grew nervous too.

But I looked at him and continued shaking my head.

How could we touch a White Silk Ribbon that had suddenly appeared?

If we really did, I was afraid it wouldn't be the thing outside knocking on the door that got strangled—it would be Uncle Yu and me.

In the end, Uncle Yu trusted me.

He called out through the door.

"Old Aunt, our legs have gone numb. We can't reach it."

Uncle Yu lied.

But the instant his words fell, the Old Crone's voice suddenly rang out inside the bathroom.

"I think you just don't want to take it."

Her voice was dark and hoarse.

The moment we heard it, Uncle Yu and I both felt our hearts skip.

We hurriedly looked toward the sound.

On the left stood a vanity mirror.

In the light from Uncle Yu's phone, we could clearly see it.

Two people stood inside that mirror.

One was short and wore a green robe, her face sallow and withered.

She was an unfamiliar Old Crone.

The other was bloated all over, dripping wet, with a deathly pale and blank face. It was Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost that had been haunting me.

They stood in the mirror, staring at Uncle Yu and me as we hid in the bathroom.

My scalp went numb at the sight.

I immediately spoke.

"Uncle Yu, they're in the mirror."

Uncle Yu was startled too and swiftly drew the Dragon-Head Cleaver.

I didn't have time to think. I clenched my fist and smashed it into the vanity mirror.

With a crack, shattered glass scattered across the floor.

The entire vanity mirror was destroyed by my punch, though the glass cut my fist, drawing bright blood.

Uncle Yu's face darkened at the sight.

"Damn it, those two actually joined forces.

Good thing you were alert, Xiao Jiang. I almost fell for it."

Uncle Yu was still shaken.

Then, a crack suddenly sounded outside the bathroom.

The front door had probably opened.

It slammed shut again with a bang.

The rancid stench of fish grew even stronger.

Zhang Qiang, that Drowned Ghost, had definitely entered the house.

At the same time, the Old Crone's hoarse voice rang out outside the bathroom again.

"You take one, I take one."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Qiang's dull voice answered.

"Okay!"

My heart went cold. We had come to this Cursed House to avoid disaster.

But now, the Haunted House Crone had joined forces with Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost.

"Uncle Yu, now that they've teamed up, can we still hide until dawn?"

Uncle Yu left his phone flashlight on the washbasin, making the dim bathroom a little less dark.

He gripped the Dragon-Head Cleaver, his expression grave.

"Hard to say. We'll delay them as long as we can!"

But as soon as Uncle Yu finished speaking, the bathroom door let out a dull bang.

Something outside was ramming the door.

Uncle Yu and I were horrified.

But I braced the door immediately.

If that door got smashed open, Uncle Yu and I would both be finished.

Uncle Yu and I pressed against the door with all our strength.

But the impacts didn't stop.

Bang, bang, bang...

Each one was harder than the last, and cracks had already appeared in the bathroom door.

A few more hits like that, and the door would definitely break.

But at that moment, Uncle Yu gestured to me.

He pointed at the mannequin on the floor wearing my clothes, then pointed at the small window on the other side of the bathroom.

The meaning was obvious. He wanted me to throw the mannequin out the window.

I instantly understood.

We were going to use the mannequin to lure away the filthy thing ramming the door.

I didn't hesitate. I immediately grabbed the mannequin wearing my clothes from the floor.

I opened the small window behind me.

Then I threw it down from the seventh floor.

The instant I threw it, the banging stopped.

Then the Old Crone's raspy voice sounded.

"The boy you're looking for jumped off the building."

Right after that, the door outside opened with a bang.

The heavy rancid stench quickly faded away.

Zhang Qiang, the Drowned Ghost, had definitely been lured off.

The Old Crone outside spoke again.

"You've got the nerve to set your sights on this old woman.

Don't deliver food anymore. Stay in this house and keep me company from now on!"

After that, the bang bang bang of the door being rammed began again.

But the impacts were not as strong as before.

Still, the cracked bathroom door wouldn't hold much longer.

Seeing that the Cursed House bathroom was no longer safe, Uncle Yu immediately said to me.

"Rush out!"

With that, Uncle Yu yanked open the bathroom door, raised the Dragon-Head Cleaver, and charged outside.

He slashed at the Old Crone.

Though the Old Crone was small in stature.

She grabbed Uncle Yu's wrist in one motion, leaving him unable to move.

I was right behind him and saw it happen.

I didn't think of running away alone. When I saw the Old Crone grab Uncle Yu's wrist, I snapped.

I clenched my bloodied fist and punched straight at the Old Crone's face.

The Old Crone looked surprised to see me.

Her eyes widened. She was probably thinking, Didn't he jump off the building? Why is he still in the bathroom?

Before she could react, my fist had already struck her face.

The Old Crone immediately let out a miserable scream.

"Ah!"

She hurriedly released Uncle Yu's hand.

I was surprised. Earlier, I had beaten Zhang Qiang fiercely by the lake, yet he hadn't reacted at all.

So why did one punch make the Old Crone scream and stagger back?

Could it be because my fist was stained with blood?

While I was still shocked, Uncle Yu tightened his grip on the cleaver and followed up with another slash.

The blade struck the Old Crone's arm, sending her staggering back in pain.

Uncle Yu didn't pursue her. Instead, he grabbed me and ran outside.

We didn't even have time to retrieve the phone we had left in the bathroom.

We took two steps at a time.

Very quickly, we rushed out of the Cursed House.

The two of us looked each other over.

We found a rancid stench rising toward us from below.

Zhang Qiang, that Drowned Ghost, must have realized it was a mannequin and turned back.

Seeing this, Uncle Yu hurriedly said to me.

"To the roof!"