Chapter 17: Burning the Doll

Zhao Hai’s heart was pounding rapidly, and he hadn’t yet calmed down; his feelings were very complex.

Tong Jiaqi asked in a soft voice: “Teacher Zhao, did you see the corpse?”

Zhao Hai shook his head.

Together, they examined the contents of the box.

There wasn’t much, just a mishmash of random items that left them confused.

A black slip dress, a spoon, a few strands of hair, a pendant, lipstick, and a small razor blade.

Most importantly, they emptied the box but still couldn’t find the doll.

It was a bust—a wasted trip.

The guests sighed, deeply disappointed.

Wu Kai poked through the pile of miscellaneous items in the box, as if venting his frustration. Accidentally, the pendant necklace rolled slightly, and its cover slid open.

Pei Liu had been staring at it because he found the pendant familiar, and he immediately noticed: “What’s this?”

The pendant was rose gold, oval-shaped, with delicate openwork carving, and it clearly looked expensive at a glance. Inside was a photograph; by pushing the cover aside, they could see the whole picture. But none of them expected that the photo would actually be of the family’s nanny.

Everyone was shocked. Wu Kai suddenly let out a “Wow” and said: “I have a bold theory. After getting married, the CEO had an affair, and the target was the family’s nanny. Then, the daughter accidentally discovered this and felt conflicted and pained, which led to her strange behaviors. These items are the evidence. She hesitated over whether to tell her mother, but her father found out she knew first. To protect his reputation, the cold-blooded CEO chose to brutally murder his daughter and fulfill his love.”

The more he spoke, the more sense it made to him. He pointed at the necklace and said: “It must be like this; I’ve seen similar news reports. That’s why his daughter turned evil, became a vengeful spirit, and came back to kill them. The animal bite marks on the CEO’s skull must have been from the dog trying to protect its little master.”

Hearing it laid out like that, it was quite convincing, connecting many of the clues. But…

Pei Liu: “Why would her mother be afraid of her? And why would she kill her mother as well?”

Wu Kai froze, saying dryly: “…She went crazy with bloodlust? She wanted her mother to go down and accompany her?”

Even as he said it, he realized it didn’t hold up and scratched his head in frustration.

Unable to figure out the reasoning for now, the group had to put the box aside and continue searching for the doll.

During the search, they all took turns going to the restroom. Men were generally quick, while Tong Jiaqi took a bit longer. However, this time she took exceptionally long.

Just as everyone was getting confused from waiting, she suddenly ran out, stumbling, her face deathly pale, and said in terror: “There’s a ghost inside…”

The group instantly grew alert and stared at the restroom door, but after a long while, nothing came out.

Pei Liu walked over, took a look, and found it empty—there was nothing there either.

According to Tong Jiaqi, she heard footsteps outside while using the toilet and thought they were hurrying her, but when she opened the door, she saw no one. Thinking she had misheard, she went to wash her hands, only to see a person standing behind her in the mirror, staring fixedly at her. Terrified, she immediately turned and ran out.

At this moment, Zhao Hai suddenly spoke, his expression somewhat serious: “I saw one under the bed just now too.”

The others’ expressions changed.

One person encountering a ghost was completely different from a group of people encountering ghosts simultaneously; the latter induced far greater fear. Even though they knew they were recording a program, as the days passed, their fear escalated. Sometimes the ghosts were so realistic that they wondered if they had encountered real ones.

Stories of ghosts and gods have been passed down for generations, enduring over time. Many tales are profoundly mysterious and cannot be explained by science. Many people waver back and forth, feeling they should believe in science and that ghosts don’t exist, while still being uncontrollably afraid.

Tong Jiaqi whispered: “Let’s hurry up and find a way out.”

They were more than halfway through the recording; quitting was impossible. If they just held on a little longer, it would be over soon. Previous guests had managed to escape early. Burning the doll and finding the truth would allow them to leave.

They gathered their spirits and searched harder.

From an angle unseen by the others, Jian Yongge suddenly smiled, turned around, and walked away with clear intent, returning quickly with a crudely stitched handmade doll in hand—just as the female ghost had described.

The others were pleasantly surprised and asked: “Where did you find it?”

Jian Yongge didn’t answer immediately; instead, he leaned close to Pei Liu, almost pressing against him, and asked with a beaming smile: “Do you want to know?”

Pei Liu got goosebumps, not understanding what Jian Yongge was up to. He had clearly hated him before, yet now he was smiling so sweetly… his voice was coquettish, containing a hint of seduction, and he even twisted his waist as he spoke.

So scary.

Pei Liu’s eyes widened, and he took two decisive steps back, saying cautiously: “If you’re willing to say.”

Jian Yongge leaned against his shoulder and said sweetly: “If you ask, of course I’m willing to answer. I specifically grabbed this clue for you; it was in a hidden compartment on the wall of the secondary bedroom.”

Pei Liu was puzzled—how did he know that so clearly?

Jian Yongge just smiled without saying a word.

The others watched their interaction with widened eyes, completely baffled. It felt as if Jian Yongge had become a completely different person.

They looked at Pei Liu in confusion, but Pei Liu was just as clueless and could only shake his head.

With the doll in hand, it was naturally time to find the female ghost.

Jian Yongge looked at Pei Liu with an expression of passionate infatuation, as if looking at his beloved lover. He even tried to link arms with him, but just as he was about to touch him, a wisp of black mist suddenly appeared on Pei Liu’s wrist, effortlessly blocking him. It gave Jian Yongge the sensation of being scorched by fierce fire, the pain causing him to instantly snatch his hand back.

‘He’ was secretly resentful: Does Pei Liu have a protective amulet?

When they arrived at the master bedroom, the female ghost was already waiting for them, holding the ghost infant in her arms. She placed a finger in the ghost infant’s mouth, and the infant grabbed it, gnawing incessantly, babbling as it chewed the flesh into a bloody mess. The female ghost, however, showed no reaction, maintaining a loving expression.

This sight made Wu Kai and the others very uncomfortable.

Upon seeing the doll, the female ghost looked satisfied and smiled: “Yes, that’s the one; burn it.”

“Will we be able to leave if we burn it?” Wu Kai asked eagerly.

The female ghost smiled: “Pretty much.”

Consequently, Wu Kai actively found something to contain the fire and used a lighter to ignite the doll. The cotton fabric burned easily; the flames leaped up and spread rapidly, soon reaching the doll’s face. Its eyes were made of two black buttons, which looked rather eerie amidst the flames, and one could almost faintly hear the agonized cries of a child’s voice.

Pei Liu looked up at the female ghost and noticed her usual smile had widened significantly, looking somewhat exaggerated. The red firelight reflected in her eyes, revealing a frantic joy.

Something’s wrong.

Her reaction was far too abnormal, as if some scheme had succeeded.

…Wait, she’s clearly a ghost; why have we been following her orders as if we were bewitched? Is what she said guaranteed to be true? Just because she helped us once and appeared gentle and harmless, we trusted her so easily?

A flash of white light crossed Pei Liu’s mind, suddenly recalling certain clues and connecting them. He frowned, immediately stepped forward, and hurriedly extinguished the fire. The doll was partially burned but not completely destroyed.

The female ghost instantly flew into a rage, nearly throwing the infant in her arms: “What are you doing?!”

Wu Kai and the others were also bewildered.

Pei Liu’s expression remained unchanged: “You’re a ghost, we’re human; why should we believe the ghost stories you tell?”

Suppressing her anger, the female ghost said in a soft voice: “I’m kindly helping you leave.”

Pei Liu said calmly: “That’s just your side of the story. Who can guarantee that burning the doll will really let us leave, instead of us acting as suckers and being used by you?”

The female ghost’s eyes turned cold: “What do you mean by that?”

“We found a pendant with a photo of the nanny inside. Furthermore, I clearly remember that in your family photo, you were wearing the exact same necklace. What exactly is your relationship with the nanny?”

The female ghost’s eyes glinted slightly; as if she had heard a joke, she sneered: “What relationship could I have with her? My necklace was stolen a long time ago. What nonsense are you imagining because of this? I’ve already told you the method; if you don’t want to believe it, forget it.”

With that, she put on an indignant, falsely accused expression and made as if to leave.

The others were baffled. They looked at the female ghost, then at Pei Liu, entirely unsure of what to do.

In the next second, Pei Liu stared at the female ghost, articulating each word clearly and logically.

“In the family photo, your daughter’s height only reaches your waist. But in the mother-daughter photo taken before the marriage, your daughter already reached your stomach. For a child of a few years old, right when they are growing fast, do they grow shorter?”

“Or is it that—you were never her mother to begin with.”

These words hit like a dropped bomb.

Wu Kai and the others were startled, instinctively trying to recall, but they couldn’t remember any difference in the child’s height in the photos. Is Pei Liu’s memory really that good? And if the female ghost isn’t the female lead, then who is she? Why does she look so much like the female lead?

Their hearts sank heavily.

The female ghost stopped, turned back around, and suddenly gave a smile. It wasn’t the gentle smile from before, but carried an eerie chill.

She took a step closer, half her face hidden in shadow, making it look as though her face were split down the middle. The ghost infant in her arms also turned its head, and just like her, its pitch-black eyes stared unblinkingly at them, making their skin crawl.

Having been exposed, the female ghost didn’t care at all and smiled candidly: “Even if I’m not, so what? Isn’t the most important thing for you to leave this place? Yes, I thought about using you, but this also benefits you; we can consider it a cooperation. I haven’t harmed you, have I? To leave, you can’t bypass that vicious little ghost. I know quite a bit about her, including her weaknesses. Would you rather face her on your own and end up dying miserably, or accept my help and get twice the result with half the effort? The choice is yours.”

She no longer bothered to hide it, adopting a magnanimous and open demeanor that actually made Wu Kai and the others hesitate. It was true; that little ghost was mad and terrifying, and dealing with her on their own was impossible. Having a partner was indeed better, even if that partner was a ghost. Sometimes, taking a risk was necessary.

The female ghost looked at them for a couple of seconds and said tolerantly: “I’ll give you one night to think about it. Give me your answer at nine o’clock tomorrow morning; I won’t wait past then.”

With that, she slowly walked away, seemingly uncaring about them, or perhaps confident she would receive a satisfactory answer. The ghost infant lay on her shoulder, gnawing its finger, its dark eyes watching them.

The remaining living people began discussing the matter; some supported cooperation, some opposed it, and some were undecided.

Jian Yongge acted entirely out of character, watching the drama unfold with keen interest.

Ultimately, they couldn’t reach a conclusion, and the group had to return to their rooms to calm down and think it over.

While brushing his teeth, Pei Liu’s thoughts wandered.

Staring at himself in the mirror for a long time, he even felt a bit of strangeness.

After leaving the bathroom, his gaze inadvertently fell on the nightstand, where a horror novel sat—one he had read a bit of last night…

Pei Liu suddenly realized something, his eyes widening slightly.

The ghost encounters Wu Kai and the others had today were identical to what he had read in the novel.

This subtle overlap carried an unspeakable eeriness.

Did they all conspire to prank me? But reading that horror novel was a spur-of-the-moment whim, and the camera in the room was broken; who could have known I read it?

Moreover.

Pei Liu lifted the hem of his T-shirt. The bruise on his waist hadn’t faded, and after a night’s sleep, a new one had appeared higher up, closer to his chest.

It looked like fingerprints.