Night at the Resort (3)

Yuzuha, Nangong, and Sunna followed the source of the nursery rhyme all the way.

At last, at the end of the resort hotel's corridor, they found an old wooden door covered in dust. It was obvious that it had not been opened in a long time.

Yuzuha gripped the handle and slowly turned it. With a creak, the door opened.

The three looked inside and saw a flight of stairs that appeared to lead down to the basement.

"This is getting more and more like an urban legend." Yuzuha spoke excitedly, then felt along the wall as she descended one step at a time.

Sunna and Nangong followed behind Yuzuha. When the three reached the bottom of the stairs, they found another door.

Yuzuha pushed it open again, but the sight beyond was not the terrifying scene they had imagined.

The basement room had soft pink wallpaper and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Though it was dusty, its former brilliance was still visible.

A huge pile of children's toys lay in the center of the room. Naturally, the princess dolls in the display case were the most eye-catching.

Under normal circumstances, the three would certainly have been drawn to those exquisite dolls. But in this situation, they became suspicious instead.

"Nangong, Yuzuha... I think those dolls' eyes are moving?" Sunna pointed at the dolls as she spoke tremblingly.

Nangong looked toward the dolls, but no matter how she examined them, she could not spot anything unusual.

"Nangong, believe me! Those dolls are really strange!" Sunna insisted. She was certain that, just like the painting earlier, those eyes were staring at her.

"Is that so?"

Yuzuha suddenly drawled out the words. Sunna instinctively turned around, only to see a doll floating in midair, pressed right up against her face!

And it was swaying eerily from side to side!

"Ah!!!"

Sunna screamed for the second time that night, frightened pale in an instant...

"Hehe, little Sunna's courage is a bit lacking!" The doll was moved aside, revealing Yuzuha's mischievous grin.

"Sigh, poor Sunna." Nangong helplessly shook her head at the sight.

"Come quickly, there's a book here!"

Yuzuha called Nangong and Sunna over, showing them her new discovery.

It was a fairy-tale picture book. Yuzuha opened it, revealing strange writing and somewhat eerie illustrations beside it.

Every page was beautifully illustrated, especially the characters' eyes, which were filled with melancholy and eeriness.

"Nangong, Sunna, can you understand what this says?" Yuzuha looked at her two companions. They came from schools in the city, so they had to be more knowledgeable.

Sunna leaned closer for a look, frowning deeply as she indicated that she did not recognize it.

Nangong, however, fell silent for a moment before saying, "It's roughly a fairy tale."

As soon as Nangong finished speaking, the eerie nursery rhyme began again, and its lyrics became the contents of the picture book...

Eight children played together

The book opened to page eight

The rhyme finished its fourth line

The candy was bitten only halfway

Five little children remained

One slipper was lost from a pair

The second volume of the code was recited

The hunting rifle was loaded

Two little children remained

All at once, the basement room fell silent. The three were so quiet that they could hear one another breathing.

Yuzuha frowned deeply before finally speaking. "Based on the illustrations, the nursery rhyme implies... I think I can piece together a real story."

Yuzuha then cleared her throat and began narrating a story in a sinister tone.

"A long time ago, eight children came to the hotel. They were different ages, yet they played together very well.

"But one day, beautiful toys and sweet candy... lured them into the hotel basement.

"They played to their hearts' content, so absorbed that they forgot the time. But little did they know it was a trap. With a bang, the basement was sealed shut."

Yuzuha paused and lightly tapped the picture book with her finger.

"Of the eight children, one was crushed to death while reading, one was strangled while singing, and one took a bite of candy and was poisoned to death."

Every time Yuzuha said a sentence, Sunna could not help shuddering.

"The five children who realized the danger began desperately searching for an exit, trying to escape.

"But they were too anxious. One lost a slipper while running, fell behind for a moment, and was caught.

"One hid in a corner in fear, but after being found, was dragged out. One collapsed beneath a hunting rifle while fleeing.

"And just like that, only two of the eight children remained."

Yuzuha deliberately dragged out her words as she looked at Sunna.

"Th-then what happened to those two children?" Sunna nervously pressed, her voice already tinged with tears.

Nangong continued along Yuzuha's train of thought. "According to the book, the final two did not escape either. Their souls were imprisoned within the dolls."

"The dolls??? I told you they were alive!!" Sunna instinctively looked back at the display case. She increasingly felt that those dolls were staring at her.

"Nangong, Yuzuha, let's get out of here!"

Terrified, Sunna grabbed the other two and tried to pull them away. However... Yuzuha suddenly let out a strange cry and began convulsing.

"Sunna, run... I can't control myself... I'm about to be... possessed..."

Yuzuha slowly raised both hands, her eyes wide as she stared fixedly at Sunna.

"Ah!!" Sunna was so frightened that she immediately let go of Yuzuha's hand and shrank toward Nangong. When she turned back, Nangong's face was equally pale as paper.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

"Haha... Nangong, we have pretty good chemistry!"

Yuzuha and Nangong supported Sunna together. Their exaggerated performance just now... poor little Sunna had been frightened three times in a single night.

Sunna glared angrily at Yuzuha and Nangong, tears welling in her eyes, looking as though she would never speak to them again.

"Little Sunna, sorry, I won't tease you anymore. I'll treat you to Tea Immortal tomorrow, okay?"

"Sunna, when we get back, I'll give you my treasured signed photo of Jia Yin!"

Seeing Sunna was angry, Yuzuha hurriedly apologized, while Nangong tried to smooth things over as well.

"Hmph~~ Since you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice but to forgive you."

Sunna gave an aloof snort. Seeing Yuzuha and Nangong's sincerity, she was just about to graciously forgive them.

But just as she was about to speak, a chill ran down her back.

With a snap, the chandelier on the ceiling went out, and the room was instantly plunged into darkness.

"Nangong! Yuzuha! Are you trying to trick me again? I won't fall for it anymore!!"

Feeling that her intelligence had been insulted, Sunna immediately pulled out her weapon—the Bubble Hammer—and swung it around.

Bang!

In the darkness, Sunna felt that she had hit something...

Then, with a click... the chandelier switch was turned back on.

Across from Sunna, Yuzuha and Nangong stood in guarded stances.

Since both Nangong and Yuzuha were there, who had she hit?

Sunna mechanically lowered her head. On the floor was a round object covered with cloth.

Sunna swallowed and cautiously stepped forward to lift the cloth. A raccoon dog crawled out from beneath it, staggering unsteadily from side to side.

"What? So it was Cauldron!!"

Looking at the little fellow she had struck dizzy, Sunna was both annoyed and amused.

Yuzuha was the same. She had actually been startled by her own pet.

She bent down, scooped Cauldron up, and placed him on her shoulder. Then she lightly flicked his little head. "Serves you right for pretending to be a ghost. You nearly scared us to death, so you deserved that beating."

"Wuwu~~"

Cauldron held his head and gave a pitiful cry, then raised a little paw and shakily pointed outside the door.

Yuzuha's smile stiffened slightly. "Outside... what's there?"

The three looked toward the doorway together. Under the dim, flickering light, a girl appeared at the entrance. She wore red bridal attire and a red veil, especially striking were the red embroidered shoes on her feet.

At the same time, the terrifying nursery rhyme had stopped at some point, replaced by the sound of a suona.

"Hello there!!"

When the eerie voice reached them, Sunna screamed for the fourth time that night, rolled her eyes back, and fainted onto the floor.

"That's it?"

Watching this scene, Yuzuha first gave a disdainful smile, then rolled her eyes back and limply toppled to one side.

"I thought it would be scarier? It's missing some fog, and the BGM should be changed to 'Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.' Put a few candles in the room too..."

Nangong gave her stylish critique, then her vision went dark as well, and she "elegantly" fell onto Yuzuha.

"Griseo, did we go too far?"

Looking at the three who had "fallen asleep" in the basement, Aria dispelled the projection and asked doubtfully, "This is just ordinary wedding attire. Is it really that scary?"

"Sister Aria, I don't know how to 'draw' it either."

Griseo walked out from the doorway holding a suona, blinking innocently.

Yeah, wasn't it just the atmosphere of an ordinary scary ghost story from Wei Fei?

Third update delivered. The author has been generous, right?

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