An Abnormal House

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

A strange child dressed in a shroud stood in front of a two-story wooden house, raising his dark blue arm to press the doorbell beside the door.

In the unusually quiet Kobe City, the not-so-loud doorbell sounded hollow, echoing quietly through the streets and carrying far and wide.

The bell rang incessantly without stopping.

It's like a prank, but in this city nowadays, no one would be so bored as to play such a prank. If someone did, the homeowner whose doorbell was rung would definitely stop them.

However, despite the ringing of the bell, the head of the household did not appear.

It seemed to be an empty house, uninhabited, or perhaps someone had lived there before, but was now dead.

The ghost child was very patient; it treated the doorbell like a toy, pressing it repeatedly.

Yang Jian was standing not far away, did not stop this behavior. His face was calm, and one of his Ghost Eye peered into everything inside the house.

The Ghost Eye could not see through the house shrouded in darkness.

A strange power obscured his Ghost Eye. After all, this was the Ghost Domain of the Door-Knocking Ghost. Yang Jian didn't know if he was blocked by the power of the Ghost Domain or if there was something wrong with the two-story wooden house itself.

Yang Jian did not forcefully spy on them, nor did he use his Ghost Domain, because doing so might cause him to leave, just like back at No. 7 Middle School, where he used his Ghost Domain to resist the Door-Knocking Ghost's Ghost Domain, resulting in him leaving the school with the surviving classmates.

"Don't ring the doorbell, there's definitely no one inside. Go in and take a look around, and if you find a ghost, run out immediately."

Yang Jian gave the order, sending the ghost child to scout ahead while he watched from a distance, avoiding any dangerous areas.

The ghost child stopped moving, then became active again. It lingered near the house for a moment, then found an open window and immediately slipped inside, quickly disappearing from sight into the pitch-black house.

"It's always good to be careful. The ghost child is wearing a shroud, and it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary ghost to kill it."

Yang Jian chose to wait and see how the ghost child would react.

"I hope your perception really works, and that you're not just saying this out of fear, otherwise I'll be very angry." Then, he turned back to look at the woman named Mishima.

Keiko translated quickly to ensure the information was conveyed correctly.

The woman named Mishima hurriedly said, "I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth. Please believe me. I'm trying very hard to sense the ghost's location, but this place is too dangerous. I feel like I could die here at any moment, because there's more than one dangerous place. The thing in this house is the closest to us."

As she spoke, her expression gradually turned terrified.

Clearly, she believed that the house was haunted; she sensed it as she walked, which was why she slowed her pace out of fear.

"Did your senses indicate that there was more than one ghost?"

Yang Jian's eyes flickered, his expression turning serious, before he continued, "You just need to do your job. I'll handle the rest. That's your only purpose here. Whether you're afraid or not, you have to do as I say obediently."

Keiko continued translating, "Miss Mishima, what Mr. Yang said makes a lot of sense. We can only get help by demonstrating enough value and gaining his approval; otherwise, we will definitely be abandoned."

"Come on, Miss Mishima, we can definitely get out of here alive."

She was very considerate. Despite being an ordinary person and much younger than this person named Mishima, she came to comfort him at this time.

"I understand, I will try my best to do my job well." Mishima- do nodded.

"He sent that little devil into the house to investigate, a very cautious approach. I just don't know how he controlled that little devil. But that kind of ability is truly enviable," Nagazawa muttered to himself.

The middle-aged man beside him said worriedly, "The president must have a reason for sending us here. If Mishima is only responsible for pointing out the location of the ghost, then our task is definitely not easy either. Shouldn't we be more worried about ourselves now? If we really encounter the ghost, we won't be able to escape."

"That's true. Everyone has their time to show their value; it's just that it hasn't been our turn yet. Let's adjust our mindset and try to overcome our fears. It would be such a pity if we ended up dying here because of a small mistake. What do you think, senior?" Nagazawa said with a smile.

Even though it was just a casual conversation, Keiko still translated it for Yang Jian, who was standing next to her.

Yang Jian ignored him and instead frowned as he looked at the house in front of him.

The house wasn't big, and the ghost child had been inside for a while, but hadn't come out yet.

His previous order was to run out immediately if a ghost was spotted. Since the ghost child didn't come out, does that mean there's no ghost in the house?

Or did the ghost child not encounter a ghost at all?

"Wait three more minutes." Yang Jian checked the time and counted silently in his mind.

The house wasn't big; given the child's mobility, he could explore it completely in a few minutes.

Three minutes passed quickly.

The house, shrouded in darkness, appeared unusually calm; nothing unusual happened, and no movement came from it.

"Haven't encountered a ghost yet? If that's the case, then let's not wait any longer. Let the ghost child come out and go around this area. No matter what's inside this house, at least I can be sure the Door-Knocking Ghost isn't here."

Yang Jian didn't intend to waste any more time. Instead, he shouted from outside and gave the order for the ghost child to come out immediately.

New commands can override old commands.

But after Yang Jian shouted outside, the house remained silent. It was as if the ghost child had vanished into thin air, showing no sign of coming out of the house.

"Something's wrong."

Yang Jian's face immediately darkened.

Mishima's previous perception was correct; this house does indeed have a huge problem. Regardless of whether it's haunted or not, the fact that the ghost child went in and never came out again is enough to prove its unusual nature.

"I'm going inside to take a look. You all wait here. Nagazawa, come with me." Yang Jian glanced at them, then strode forward.

After Keiko translated, the young man named Nagazawa's expression changed, and finally he shrugged, having no choice but to follow.

Yang Jian arrived at the front door of the house. His blackened, cold, dead hand grasped the doorknob, and with a gentle pull, the door opened.

It was pitch black inside, and you couldn't see anything. A strong stench of decay filled the air, as if a corpse had been rotting in the house for a long time, making you want to vomit.

"Hold this gate tight, don't let it close, no matter what it takes."

Yang Jian glanced at it; "If you can't do it, I'll kill you when we get out. That's an order."

Keiko was slightly startled upon hearing this, and then carefully translated for the man named Nagazawa.

"What an inconsiderate order! But compared to Mr. Yang risking his life to enter the house and investigate, this order can be considered merciful."

Nagazawa smiled; "Then, Mr. Yang, please rest assured. I've entrusted your escape route to you, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

Yang Jian remained silent. He carried his luggage bag and calmly walked into the dark house in front of him.

He wanted to find the ghost child and see what had happened to it.

We also need to double-check what exactly is going on with this house, and whether the Door-Knocking Ghost is inside. If not, then why is this the case?

"This business trip was even more unlucky than the previous ones; this happened right from the start."

Yang Jian felt that he was surrounded by darkness. He could only see the blurry corridors on both sides, and his vision was greatly affected. Moreover, this was with his Ghost Eyes. If he closed his Ghost Eye, he would probably be blind and could only walk by feeling his way along the walls.

He hadn't walked far when he felt the surroundings growing increasingly cold and gloomy. This feeling instantly tensed him up, but then he realized something and suddenly stopped and looked back.

How long can the hallway of a house be?

Based on Yang Jian's previous assessment of the building, it was at most only six or seven meters tall. But now, as he turned around, he could vaguely see a faint light emanating from the gate behind him. The distance was quite far, seemingly twenty or thirty meters.

Distance has been affected.

Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly. He had encountered this situation before, back in the world of Ghost Painting.

However, he did not back down because of this, but continued to move forward.

Soon.

Yang Jian walked down the corridor and arrived at the first sliding door, which should be the living room area of the house.

Dried bloodstains remained on the sliding door, forming the shape of a handprint. It must have been left by someone, and the handprint was facing outwards. This means that at some point, someone with blood on their hands opened the sliding door, attempting to escape from inside.

But the person who tried to escape must have failed.

Yang Jian hadn't seen any corpses along the way, only smelled a strong stench of decay, which was particularly intense inside the house.

"The living room was very tidy, not messy at all, and the ghost child wasn't there."

Yang Jian entered the living room and looked around. He didn't find anything strange, nor did he see the source of the stench, nor did he find the body of the deceased.

"It's strange. If someone is murdered in the living room, it means the ghost was there before. So, it should have left some traces after killing someone. However, although there are still doubts, we can be completely certain that this house has nothing to do with the Door-Knocking Ghost."

He knew the way the Door-Knocking Ghost killed people; as soon as it knocked on your door, you, who were being targeted by the ghost, would die instantly, without even a chance to struggle.

It was a fatal attack.

Yang Jian himself didn't know if he could withstand the old man's three knocks on the door.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Suddenly.

A dull thud came from the ceiling above, as if someone had walked by on the floor. The wooden house wasn't very soundproof, so Yang Jian could hear it clearly.

Furthermore, judging from the sound, it should be the weight of an adult, definitely not a ghost child. Ghost children walk barefoot and make very little noise.

"Thump, thump!"

The sound continued, and Yang Jian looked up. He was quite certain that something had passed over his head, walked to the next room, and then stopped.

The dark house returned to silence.

"Is the ghost in that spot?" Yang Jian Ghost Eye intently at that location, as if he had locked onto the source.

"Go upstairs."

Yang Jian felt that the ghost child might also be upstairs, and its disappearance must be related to the ghost in this house. However, he only wanted to leave with the ghost child and did not want to waste too much energy on an unknown ghost.

He immediately quickened his pace and went deeper into the house.

After walking a short distance, Yang Jian saw the stairs leading to the second floor.

The staircase was a bit narrow, but it wasn't dangerous. At least there wasn't a ghost waiting for him on the stairs like last time, so Yang Jian made it to the second floor of the house without any problems.

Based on the location they had just determined, Yang Jian moved closer to the source of the commotion on the second floor.

Soon.

He stood in front of a sliding door, which was not fully closed, leaving a gap in the middle, as if the door had been opened just now.