Chapter 58: Escape Room (3)
A sudden gust of wind swept through the family hall.
The hanging curtains swayed, and the painting of the beautiful woman on the wall began to flap loudly.
Crack!
The painting suddenly split into two.
A figure wearing an old Western-style dress covered in dirty stains stepped out from inside the wall.
Her posture was unnatural. It looked as if both her arms and legs had been broken, and she twisted her body as she slowly walked toward the two of them.
She moved faster and faster, as though she was gradually getting used to her body.
Before long, she was standing right in front of them.
Her face was hidden behind long hair.
Only through the gaps in her hair could they see a face covered in deep cuts, as if it had been sliced into pieces by a sharp blade, along with a pair of eyes that had no white in them.
She leaned forward and stared at the two of them.
She didn't move.
The only sound was the harsh rattling coming from her throat.
Lin Wan only looked up once before burying her face back against Zhuo Feng's chest.
Her voice trembled. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I was wrong... I'm sorry..."
She wanted to run, but her legs had gone completely weak and wouldn't listen to her.
If she hadn't been leaning against Zhuo Feng, she would have collapsed onto the floor.
Looking at Lin Wan, who had been badly frightened twice in such a short time and was now so confused that she was apologizing to the ghost, Zhuo Feng suddenly found it a little funny.
He gently patted her trembling back. "It's okay. She won't hurt you."
Hearing him say that, Lin Wan cautiously lifted her head and glanced at the female ghost again.
The ghost had been waiting for exactly that moment.
The instant Lin Wan looked up, she suddenly thrust her face forward until they were almost nose to nose.
"Uwah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
Lin Wan immediately buried herself in Zhuo Feng's arms again like an ostrich hiding its head.
She sounded like she was about to cry.
And so...
Zhuo Feng looked at the ghost.
The ghost looked at Zhuo Feng.
For a moment, the atmosphere became awkward.
After a while, the ghost seemed to hear instructions through her earpiece.
She pointed toward the photo on the altar before quietly stepping back into the wall.
Zhuo Feng patted Lin Wan again.
"The ghost is gone."
Lin Wan didn't react.
"She really left. If you don't believe me, take a look."
Lin Wan first looked down at the floor beside her. Seeing that there weren't any extra feet nearby, she finally looked up.
"The ghost gave us a hint just now. There must be something hidden behind the photo," Zhuo Feng said, pointing at it.
"Okay."
"I'll go check."
"Okay."
"So... can you let go of me?"
"No."
"The scripted scare is already over. Nothing else is going to jump out."
"Mm."
Lin Wan was still in a daze. Her mind was filled with the terrifying face from the photo. Her left arm stayed tightly wrapped around Zhuo Feng, refusing to let go.
With no other choice, Zhuo Feng reached behind the picture frame with his right hand and felt around.
A moment later, he pulled out a folded letter.
It was written by someone named Wan Lingling.
The letter said that she felt deeply guilty for bringing her friend Xia Yiqiu to the Wan family, where her father had caused Xia Yiqiu's death.
It also said that there were letters exchanged between her brother, Wan Qiaosheng, and Xia Yiqiu locked inside a cabinet in his room.
She had hidden the key herself.
It was inside the drawer of the dressing table in her own room.
After reading the letter, Zhuo Feng folded it up again and put it into his pocket.
Then he said to Lin Wan, "Let's go find Old Han. We need to get the key, then find Young Master Wan's room."
"Okay."
At this point, Lin Wan was almost like a puppet.
Every time Zhuo Feng told her to do something, she simply followed.
The two of them left the family hall.
Not long afterward, they found Han Jinsong hiding inside a large water jar.
The sight they walked in on... was honestly hard to look at.
Han Jinsong had hidden the upper half of his body inside a large water jar with a broken rim, while his lower half stuck out, leaving his backside exposed.
A ghost dressed like the family's old butler, with a round cap, a black traditional jacket, and long fingernails, was scratching at his raised butt.
He kept shouting, "No! No!" It was hard to imagine what he had already gone through.
After rescuing Han Jinsong, the two of them found a place that looked brighter and safer.
The three of them squatted against a wall and compared the clues they had found.
Han Jinsong took out a key.
"I found the key to Master Wan's room in the butler's room. The moment I picked it up, he crawled out from under the bed and chased me. I was scared to death!"
Zhuo Feng took out the letter they had found.
"We found this letter. It says there are letters between the young master and the bride locked inside a cabinet in his room. They're probably needed to calm the ghost's anger. Do you still have the other key?"
"Yep, right here."
"Then let's go to the young master's room first."
"Sounds good."
Han Jinsong stood up and looked at Lin Wan, who hadn't said a word the whole time.
"What happened to Lin Wan?"
"Lin Wan got a ghost right in her face."
"Holy crap! That's seriously bad luck..."
Just imagining it made Han Jinsong's legs shake.
The three of them set off again.
After getting the letters from the young master's room, they ran into Chen Jie's group.
After going through plenty of trouble, Chen Jie and the others had found the injured Taoist priest, who was close to death. They received a peach wood sword and a Bagua Mirror, then came to meet up with them.
Now all six of them were together.
Chen Jie glanced at Zhuo Feng, who was still holding Lin Wan's hand with their fingers tightly interlocked.
His eyes shifted slightly, but he didn't say anything.
The group headed off together to find Master Wan's room.
Inside the room, they found a coffin nail carved with mysterious symbols.
After using the Bagua Mirror to drive away the ghost, they returned to the room where Lin Wan's group had first entered.
Using the coffin there, they discovered a hidden room.
After solving the password puzzle, they opened it and found a red coffin inside.
Inside lay Xia Yiqiu's body. (It wasn't an NPC, the escape room used a mannequin.)
She wore a bright red wedding dress. Her hands and feet had been nailed to the coffin. Her mouth and eyes had been sewn shut with thread.
No one could imagine how much pain she must have endured when she pulled one hand free from the nail just to scratch desperately at the coffin lid.
At this point, the story reached its ending.
They were given two choices.
The first choice was to drive the coffin nail through the center of Xia Yiqiu's forehead and then destroy her ghost with the peach wood sword.
The second choice was based on the fact that Xia Yiqiu had been the victim.
They could first use the letters written by Wan Qiaosheng to calm her hatred.
Then they could drive the coffin nail back in place and seal her away with the Bagua Mirror instead of destroying her.
However, if she ever broke out of the coffin in the future, her hatred would become even stronger.
She would bring disaster to the living, and many innocent people would lose their lives.
One choice appealed to reason.
The other appealed to emotion.
The decision was entirely up to the players.
After discussing it for a while, all six of them chose the second option.
As for whether she might harm innocent people in the future...
What did that have to do with them?
If the sky ever fell, someone taller could hold it up!
Wasn't there a Taoist priest in the story?
Let him deal with it!
After finishing the escape room, the six of them walked toward the exit.
But one final surprise was waiting.
An NPC wearing white clothes and a ghost mask suddenly jumped out from behind a curtain with a loud,
"Waaah!"
Other than Lin Wan, who instantly hid behind Zhuo Feng, the other five all shouted, "Holy crap!"
Then they rushed toward the NPC, ready to grab him and pin him down.
The owner quickly stepped in and stopped them.
Before leaving, Zhuo Feng gave the staff his WeChat account and asked them to send him a certain piece of security camera footage later.
Then the six of them walked out onto the street.
Feeling the hot summer air...
Watching the crowds of people and the busy traffic...
They all felt as if they had returned from another world.
The real world is definitely better.
……………………
That night...
A comedy skit was playing on Lin Wan's computer.
The dorm room lights were fully on.
Her phone was playing a cheerful song. She wrapped herself tightly in her blanket, even covering her head.
She used to think living alone was wonderful.
Not anymore.
Now she felt like the dorm room was full of people.
There might be someone under the bed.
Someone inside the closet.
Maybe even someone hiding in the bathroom…