Chapter 0008: Black Friday

The paper figure lay on the bed of a living person. Gao Ruxue casually tossed the paper figure aside and lifted the bed board, revealing an empty space beneath with nothing at all.

Then what do you think we should do now? This haunted house feels different from other haunted houses. Heshan is a very honest young man; he believes whatever the senior sister says.

She rummaged through the boxes and turned everything upside down, suddenly uncovering a paper doll lying beneath the tattered quilt on the bed

Pushing the door open, the room was in disarray with overturned tables and chairs, the bedding on the bed was torn apart, cotton fluff scattered everywhere, and in the center of the beam hung a strip of white silk.

"Senior, I am outside to meet you, please pay attention to your safety..." Before he could finish speaking in the dialect of Heshan, Gao Ruxue pulled him into the room. He wore a苦 face, looking at the white silk that swayed gently without wind, his body feeling somewhat stiff.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment; I have overestimated this haunted house. Let's go, the exit is not in this room. She waved her hand and strode towards the outside.

"Do you remember what the haunted house owner said before he came in? He told us to find the exit within fifteen minutes. I always felt that person was somewhat sinister. If we can't escape within fifteen minutes, something terrifying is bound to happen!" He Shanshan tried to persuade Gao Ruxue, but unfortunately, the latter did not care.

The red coffin, adorned in the center with a large character for happiness affixed with white paper, is flanked on both sides by a neatly arranged row of paper figures kneeling.

Copper chicken bleeds, paper figure opens its eyes... wait for me! Senior sister!

At this point, there is no other explanation. Gao Ruxue slightly furrowed her brow: "Alright, we are ready to go to the next room"

The taboo song titled "Black Friday" has subtly entwined itself around the hearts of the two individuals, like a dark river eroding their souls, gradually dragging them into an abyss without end

It is not that I am cowardly! This place truly makes me very uncomfortable; the longer I stay, the stronger that feeling of unease becomes, as if the very thing I fear most deep down has been drawn out!

The ear room is adjacent to the main house, which is the residence of the head of the family. Pushing open the wooden door, one finds a mourning robe made of hemp lying inside, and in the center of the hall stands a lacquered wooden cabinet.

"Could you keep your voice down? What are you shouting for? A grown man acting timid like a girl." Gao Ruxue shot He Shan a glance, stopping at the edge of the corridor.

"Shut up! The underground morgue of our school is not any less frightening than this place. You claim to be a medical student, yet why are you so cowardly?" Gao Ruxue said dismissively, but her speech grew increasingly rapid. She sat beside the railing of the corridor, looking around at the ancient house, the mourning hall, the withered trees, and the scattered joss paper. None of these things were particularly terrifying: "What exactly am I afraid of?"

"Xiaoshan, how long have we been here?"

Your feelings are not wrong; in a typical haunted house, there are professional actors who portray ghosts, using a plethora of equipment to create bloody and terrifying scenes, guiding us through a structured experience. However, this haunted house did not follow that approach; it created the scenes and allowed us to explore freely, without guidance or constraints, leaving no one knowing what would happen next

I understand your point; the unknown is indeed the most terrifying. He Shan appeared to have an epiphany.

I don't know, but I feel that we definitely won't be able to get out within fifteen minutes

Since you are here, make sure to enjoy the visit. We are in a haunted house, so be careful not to be played by the haunted house.

The methods used to scare people in haunted houses are quite limited, mostly involving staff dressed as ghosts chasing us around. If we are not afraid of the dead, why would we fear the living?" Gao Ruxue wandered aimlessly through the corridor and casually pushed open the door to the left side room.

The venue for a ghost marriage is a standard siheyuan structure, with the main house serving as the residence for the elders and the head of the family, the wing rooms for the eldest son and younger generations, and the side rooms located on both sides of the main house, which are designated for the servants and maids to reside.

"Don't panic, I thought about it carefully." Gao Ruxue did not bother to brush off the dust and directly walked towards the other end of the corridor: "This haunted house is not really frightening. The main issue is that the owner has been giving us negative psychological hints. From the moment we entered the haunted house, he kept emphasizing terms like 'mass grave', 'live burial', and 'female ghost'. He wants us to scare ourselves. The more cunning aspect of this person is that he set a time limit but did not specify what we would encounter, which leads us to put pressure on ourselves and let our imaginations run wild, conjuring up the most terrifying scenarios."

Their backs are inscribed with names, their faces adorned with makeup, their eyes seemingly full of spirit, and their expressions varied, as if they are secretly watching the two individuals at the door

"Senior, we are in a haunted house, not strolling through the Suzhou gardens. Could you please consider my feelings?" The empty courtyard was filled with a chilling atmosphere, with ghostly banners fluttering and paper money swirling in the air. The haunted house in He Shan's eyes was completely different from that of Gao Ruxue. He was cautious and apprehensive, fearing that something might suddenly emerge from the shadows in the corners: "We should hurry and find the exit; I have a bad feeling about this."

Am I really afraid? I know that everything in the haunted house is fake, so why should I be afraid? Gao Ruxue's psychological defenses showed a crack, and neither of them could identify the source of their fear. Under the influence of self-doubt and psychological suggestion, the seeds of fear were taking root and sprouting.

Three entrances and three exits, the main house and side rooms, east and west wing rooms, a corridor for strolling, hanging flower curtains, a Ruyi gate, inverted lintels, and thunder god pillars... The details of this haunted house are well done, imitating an ancient siheyuan, creating a strong sense of immersion. Gao Ruxue walked around the scene, her expression relaxed, occasionally offering a few comments.

Both individuals were drawn to the eerie environment and did not pay attention to the background music that was playing on a loop

Heshan, left alone in the room, looked at the paper doll on the floor and felt his teeth chattering, possibly due to the angle; he surprisingly felt as if the paper doll was smiling at him.

The most important qualities for a forensic expert are a steady mind and steady hands, yet when she mentioned Heshan just now, her tone noticeably became much more impatient, which has never occurred in other contexts

You don't mean to say that this place actually hides something unsavory, do you? This haunted house is built on a mass grave and was converted from a hospital building

The door of the ear room was closed tightly again, and the white silk inside the room also ceased to flutter

It is somewhat intriguing. The white silk is one point five meters above the ground, a height that is simply insufficient to cause death by hanging. The furniture is overturned, and there are still traces of struggle on the floor, indicating that the haunted house is deliberately creating an illusion of forced suicide. The side room is occupied by maidservants, and the vengeful spirit does not spare even the servants who are not blood relatives of the family, suggesting an intention to torment everyone in this grand residence to death. Gao Ruxue's expression is calm, yet there is a hint of excitement in her eyes: "The design of the haunted house is very intricate; there may even be other hidden surprises."

Upon hearing what He Shan said, Gao Ruxue was momentarily taken aback, and she too sensed that something was amiss