Chapter 3
The interior of the old Western-style house had been carefully renovated, with a serene garden of flowers and plants and delicate wall sconces decorating the walls.
Walking through the courtyard into the living room, the motion-sensing ceiling light automatically lit up, casting a soft glow on the cold leather sofa, giving the otherwise empty room a warm atmosphere. However, Xia Leyang still felt an inexplicable sense of gloominess.
The living room wasn’t large, with a closed structure. Besides the main entrance connecting to the courtyard, there was only a side door leading to a courtyard with stairs.
Xia Leyang closely followed Shang Tingzhi, but for some reason, his body hair stood on end.
At this moment, a sudden “click” sound came from behind, where no one was present. Xia Leyang, startled like a mouse encountering a cat, quickly jumped to Shang Tingzhi’s side, nervously grabbing onto his sturdy forearm.
Turning around, he realized it was the door they hadn’t securely closed when they entered, now blown open by the wind.
Xia Leyang patted his chest, breathed a sigh of relief, but then heard Shang Tingzhi’s voice from above, “Why are you grabbing me?”
Xia Leyang followed Shang Tingzhi’s gaze down and only then noticed that his hand was suctioned onto Shang Tingzhi’s forearm.
Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt Shang Tingzhi’s body temperature was abnormally high, and his skin felt a bit too warm.
Under Shang Tingzhi’s scrutinizing gaze, Xia Leyang’s mind raced. Without changing his expression, he lifted Shang Tingzhi’s forearm and looked at the emerald dial of his watch, saying, “I’m checking the time.”
Shang Tingzhi didn’t directly expose Xia Leyang. He withdrew his arm and pointed with his chin at the wall clock, saying, “The time is there.”
The tone carried a hint of “Are you blind?”
Xia Leyang awkwardly coughed and walked towards the side door, saying, “I’ll go upstairs to take a look.”
But as soon as he entered the courtyard, he immediately returned to Shang Tingzhi’s side, politely saying, “You are the host; you go first.”
Shang Tingzhi found it amusing. He could tell Xia Leyang was scared but still wanted to show strength.
Quietly pulling on his sleeve, did he think Shang Tingzhi wouldn’t notice?
Thinking of this, Shang Tingzhi, climbing the stairs, stopped and gestured with his eyes towards the teak staircase, casually saying, “Someone died here years ago, stabbed three times.”
Although there was nothing on the stairs, after hearing Shang Tingzhi’s words, Xia Leyang instantly had images in his mind.
He jumped three feet high, quickly squeezed next to Shang Tingzhi, and nervously urged, “Hurry upstairs, why are you stopping here?”
The stairs in the courtyard formed a horseshoe shape. Shang Tingzhi was pushed by Xia Leyang to go upstairs, but after a few steps, they reached a corner. This was a pavilion located between the first and second floors, not spacious, originally rented to literati, but now converted into a study.
Shang Tingzhi stopped again. “This is where I work. Don’t come in when you have nothing to do.”
Xia Leyang, cowering behind Shang Tingzhi, asked, “Here…?”
Shang Tingzhi said, “Someone died here too.”
Xia Leyang pushed Shang Tingzhi to go upstairs again. On the second floor were two bedrooms side by side, sharing a bathroom in the middle. The bathroom had doors on both sides, leading to the bedrooms on either side. In other words, these two bedrooms were interconnected.
“You stay here.” Shang Tingzhi pointed to the bedroom on the right with his chin. “I’ll be next to you.”
“Wait a minute.” Xia Leyang raised his hand in a gesture to interrupt. “Someone died in there too?”
Shang Tingzhi remained calm. “Of course.”
Xia Leyang turned and left. “I’m not staying. I want to go home.”
Shang Tingzhi, not particularly concerned, raised an eyebrow, thinking it would be good if he didn’t stay, leaving the place peaceful. But after a second thought, if Xia Leyang went back just like this, the elders might say he bullied people. After all, he was older than Xia Leyang and had been explicitly instructed by the family to take care of this young master. Sending him back on the first day wouldn’t look good.
“Aren’t you not superstitious?” Shang Tingzhi leaned on the railing, watching Xia Leyang descend the stairs, and said with a light tone, “Why, afraid of ghosts?”
Xia Leyang’s steps paused at the words. Subconsciously, he tried to find a valid reason to reject the suggestion, but for a moment, he couldn’t come up with one.
He certainly wouldn’t admit to being scared of ghosts—or rather, he didn’t believe in ghosts at all. The only reason he felt uneasy was due to the influence of Chinese culture during his childhood, which had left a slight inclination towards such beliefs in his consciousness.
This inclination was minimal, and, to be precise, he considered it negligible.
Having lived abroad for over a decade, Xia Leyang was disdainful of his family’s superstitious behaviors. If he were to return home now because he was “afraid of ghosts,” wouldn’t it become a source of ridicule?
After a moment of hesitation, Xia Leyang, pretending to be calm, returned to Shang Tingzhi’s side. He placed one hand on the railing, raised his head, and looked at Shang Tingzhi. “Afraid of ghosts? Ridiculous.”
“Oh,” Shang Tingzhi glanced casually at Xia Leyang’s hand on the railing, “someone died here too, right where you’re touching.”
Xia Leyang quickly retracted his hand.
A faint smile appeared on Shang Tingzhi’s face. “Let me take you to the third floor.”
Xia Leyang felt that Shang Tingzhi’s smile was filled with sarcasm.
At this moment, he belatedly realized that something wasn’t quite right. Why did every spot he stood on seem to have a death associated with it? Wasn’t this Feng Shui charlatan trying to deceive him?
Xia Leyang continued to follow Shang Tingzhi, and soon they reached the open terrace between the second and third floors. The terrace hadn’t been renovated, serving mainly as a place to hang clothes without additional leisure or viewing purposes.
Moving upward, they reached the master bedroom on the third floor with its private bathroom. This bedroom was much larger than the ones on the second floor, but due to its distance from the activity area on the first floor, despite the three small elevators recently installed in the old Western-style house, Shang Tingzhi chose to live on the second floor.
After touring the entire old Western-style house, Xia Leyang was still torn about whether to stay or not.
Shang Tingzhi had no intention of keeping Xia Leyang tied to him. He casually mentioned, “If you scare yourself away, don’t blame me,” and then returned to his bedroom on the second floor to rest.
Just as summer began, Shang Tingzhi’s body showed symptoms of low-grade fever, much like it did years ago. In the morning, he hadn’t felt it, but now his body was burning.
Shang Tingzhi’s strong fiery temperament in his fate chart made him prone to a solitary yang evil during years ending in nine. He thought that moving into a gloomy house this year would allow him to safely pass through the hottest three months of the year. However, it seemed that he could only avoid falling into a coma; the low-grade fever was unavoidable.
Shang Tingzhi took a fever-reducing medicine and started to take a nap, while on the other side, Xia Leyang nervously bit his fingers in front of the computer screen.
At least before opening the web page to search for information, Xia Leyang had a glimmer of hope, thinking that Shang Tingzhi was just trying to scare him.
However, after entering the words “Gu Family Mansion” into Baidu, the page that popped up almost scared him half to death.
Prominent haunted house in China—Gu Family Mansion
Tragic massacre! A family of six brutally killed by their nanny!
Mysterious woman moves into haunted house, commits suicide by slashing wrists in the bathtub!
Xia Leyang clicked nervously into the first link, which was a storytelling public account. The article vividly depicted the tragic events of the Gu Family Mansion massacre over forty years ago, including explicit details about how the nanny’s daughter was mistreated by the young master of the Gu family. The article even included some pictures, seemingly taken directly from newspapers. Though unclear, the images unmistakably showed the spiral staircase and the pavilion-like room in the middle of the floor. Wasn’t this Gu Family Mansion?
Xia Leyang swallowed hard, thankful that it was broad daylight outside, allowing sunlight to penetrate the room. Otherwise, he might not have had the courage to continue reading.
He clicked on the second link. Unlike the storytelling article, this page provided an objective account of the historical case, featuring some pictures that overlapped with the previous webpage. However, these photos were much clearer, and faint traces of untreated bloodstains were visible.
Staring at the room with blood splattered all over the headboard, Xia Leyang recognized it as his own bedroom!
He quickly turned his head to survey this newly renovated bedroom. The gruesome image of blood persisted in his mind, prompting him to get up and open the windows a bit more, allowing the hot air from outside to flow in and provide him with some psychological comfort.
The cicadas on the roadside banyan tree were making loud, piercing noises in waves. Typically, Xia Leyang found their noise annoying, but in his current state, he strangely felt reassured.
After the incident, the Gu Family Mansion remained uninhabited, becoming a notorious haunted house. However, strangely, in the 1990s, a beautiful single woman moved in.
However, she only stayed for less than a year, eventually committing suicide by slashing her wrists in the bathroom.
Xia Leyang stiffly turned his head to look in the direction of the bathroom. Yes, that was where she died.
Although there hadn’t been deaths all over the room, how could he continue living here?
After the woman’s death, the old Western-style house remained abandoned and unoccupied until a construction team suddenly arrived earlier this year to start renovations.
Xia Leyang knew that it was hired by Shang Tingzhi, but he couldn’t understand – why did this Feng Shui charlatan move into a haunted house for?
To prove that he could withstand living in a notorious house, showing himself as a legitimate Feng Shui master?
Thinking about it, it made some sense.
Xia Leyang leaned on the table, with his elbows propped up, fingers interlocked, and chin supported. He carefully considered what legitimate reason he could use to leave this place.
Being afraid of ghosts was definitely not an option. He was a staunch materialist who could never be afraid of ghosts. Moreover, if that Feng Shui charlatan wasn’t afraid, what did he have to be afraid of? He was just influenced by cultural background, feeling a bit uneasy, that’s all.
However, this obviously couldn’t be a reason. After contemplating for a long while, Xia Leyang finally decided to tough it out for tonight and leave tomorrow, using reasons like being unfamiliar with the bed or not getting used to the environment. He didn’t believe his dad could bring his bed here.
Having made up his mind, Xia Leyang huddled by the window and played games for a while. By the time he felt a hint of coolness and heard the diminishing sounds of cicadas, the sun had quietly set below the horizon.
He looked at the gradually darkening scenery outside and inexplicably felt restless and uneasy. Just at this moment, without any warning, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
Thump, thump, thump.
Xia Leyang sat up straight, nervously staring at the bedroom door without making a sound. He didn’t utter a word, and after a while of silence in the room, there was another series of urgent knocking.
He swallowed hard, but before he could speak, the bedroom door opened from the outside, and Shang Tingzhi stuck half of his body in. “Time for dinner.”
Xia Leyang, without showing any signs of nervousness, let out a breath. However, even before he could say anything, Shang Tingzhi continued, “Eat up.”
Xia Leyang, still frozen, belatedly realized that cold sweat had formed on his forehead.
It was definitely not that he was afraid of ghosts; it was just that he lacked a sense of security in an unfamiliar environment.
After forcibly convincing himself, Xia Leyang followed Shang Tingzhi downstairs.
The first floor, aside from the living room, also included a kitchen, dining area, and a maid’s room. However, no maid dared to live here. Shang Tingzhi only managed to hire a slightly bolder auntie who cooked and cleaned when he was at home.
After a nap, Shang Tingzhi felt a bit better, but his forehead still felt warm.
Seeing Xia Leyang sitting across from him quietly eating, Shang Tingzhi found it strange and initiated a conversation, “I went to your room just now and noticed your luggage hasn’t been packed.”
“Uh… I’ll pack it later in the evening,” Xia Leyang replied casually.
Since he would be leaving tomorrow, there was no need to hurry.
“Alright, let me know if there’s anything you’re not used to,” Shang Tingzhi said. Unaware of Xia Leyang’s thoughts, he initially thought the young master had already slipped away when he knocked on the door for the first time. Unexpectedly, Xia Leyang stayed obediently in his room.
If Xia Leyang chose to stay, it was better for the two of them to get along peacefully.
After dinner, the two returned to their respective bedrooms.
By now, it was completely dark outside. Xia Leyang neither closed nor opened the windows; he heard the sounds of grooming from the bathroom. He quickly grabbed his electric toothbrush and towel and rushed in.
Meanwhile, Shang Tingzhi was halfway through undressing when he saw Xia Leyang entering from the opposite door. He put his clothes back on and said, “You go first.”
Xia Leyang glanced at the fleeting eight-pack abs and said, “It’s okay, we can go together.”
“Together…?” Shang Tingzhi asked slightly surprised, “You want to take a shower with me?”
“I meant brushing teeth together,” Xia Leyang said nonchalantly, approaching the sink and squeezing toothpaste onto his brush. Since he didn’t dare to take a bath, he decided to make do for the night.
With Shang Tingzhi’s “company,” Xia Leyang quickly took care of his hygiene and then returned to his bedroom.
After a short while, the bathroom produced the sound of rushing water as Shang Tingzhi took a shower. This sound, like the cicadas, made Xia Leyang feel reassured. At least, he wasn’t alone here.
However, Shang Tingzhi couldn’t stay in the shower forever. After a short while, the bathroom fell silent, and the cicadas outside vanished.
The old town, unlike the city, still had the sounds of traffic even late at night. It wasn’t yet nine o’clock, but the surroundings were already silent. It resembled the desolate wilderness more than anything else.
Only now did Xia Leyang realize that this night wasn’t as easy to get through as he had imagined.
He didn’t dare to go to bed. Although the bed in the room was entirely different from the one in the photo covered in blood, its placement was exactly the same.
How could he sleep here?
Xia Leyang sat by the window, looking conflicted. He realized that he couldn’t sit through the whole night here.
After a brief internal struggle, he quietly walked out of his room, circled around the corridor, and knocked on Shang Tingzhi’s door.
“Come in.”
Shang Tingzhi’s voice sounded. Xia Leyang took a deep breath, slowly pushed open the door, and then stuck his head in, asking casually, “Master, what are you doing?”
