Chapter 20: The Exit That Led Nowhere

Pei Liu had even wondered why they were afraid. Since everyone was supposedly an atheist and knew it was just actors acting, he even doubted if his own empathy was too poor, preventing him from placing himself in the protagonist’s shoes and feeling their fear.

But today, Pei Liu truly faced ghosts—a whole horde of them—just like in a horror movie.

He instantly realized he was no brave, fearless boss.

Whether it was ghosts, Jurassic dinosaurs, or apocalyptic zombies appearing on a screen, it was all just for thrills. People would even complain about it not being realistic enough or the visual effects being mediocre. But if a T-Rex or a zombie actually appeared in front of them, it would be a completely different story; they would undoubtedly be scared silly on the spot.

Because it was real—a true danger capable of snatching away one’s life—boundless fear welled up instinctively from the bottom of a person’s heart.

The feeling of making eye contact with a horde of ghosts couldn’t possibly be described with words.

Pei Liu’s entire body trembled; his blood felt as if it had frozen.

He wanted to escape, but his limbs refused to obey.

When watching horror movies in the past, he used to mock the protagonists for foolishly closing their eyes and curling into a ball when a ghost appeared, calling it suicidal. But now that he had encountered it himself, he understood it was simply human instinct.

He was shivering in terror and didn’t even react when his back bumped into a broad chest.

He was even less aware that the ghosts in the master bedroom had suddenly let out terrified shrieks, as if they had seen something unspeakably horrifying, and had fled frantically, climbing over one another to escape.

The chilling gloom in the room lifted, and the lighting grew brighter.

After a long while, Pei Liu looked toward the other guests. Their fanatical, abnormal expressions had vanished, looking as if they had no idea what had just happened.

The plate held ordinary grapes, the ghost infant had reverted to a stiff doll, and the female ghost NPC had lost her eerie ghostly aura, becoming just a staff member with realistic makeup and decent acting skills.

Jian Yongge looked down at the dress he was wearing; his face cycled through colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. When he met Pei Liu’s gaze, he shot him a vicious glare, turned on his heel, and stalked off to his room to change clothes.

Pei Liu ignored him, letting out a secret sigh of relief, though his heart still fluttered with lingering fear.

He desperately wanted to treat everything that had just happened as a dream, but the images in his mind were far too clear, and the bone-chilling cold and terror were impossible to shake off.

For a moment, he desperately wanted to quit the show and leave this godforsaken place, regardless of the consequences. Even though he wanted to do a good job for his other self so he wouldn’t leave behind a mess if they switched back, this was a matter of life and death—who had the luxury to care about all that?

Zhao Hai’s words flashed through his mind.

“Once you provoke a ghost, it’s impossible to easily shake them off. We can only try to fulfill their wishes, otherwise, we’ll be haunted for a lifetime.”

He had heard Zhao Hai had a distant relative who was a Daoist master, which lent significant credibility to those words.

He would never be able to escape.

A rare look of panic and unease appeared on Pei Liu’s usually calm face.

He didn’t even hear when others called his name.

“Little Pei, are you okay? Is your body still not recovered? Don’t push yourself,” Tong Jiaqi looked at him with concern.

Pei Liu snapped back to reality. Subconsciously glancing at the corners of her mouth and remembering what she had just eaten, a wave of nausea hit him, and his face turned pale. He was about to shake his head when he suddenly thought of something and said: “I feel a bit suffocated; I want to go outside for some fresh air.”

Tong Jiaqi naturally didn’t object, but asked: “Do you want me to go with you?”

Pei Liu hesitated. He wanted to confirm something, and before he was certain, he didn’t know if telling them would be a good or bad thing.

At that moment, Wu Kai remembered: “The corpse in the garden…”

Tong Jiaqi immediately chickened out, afraid the production team had set up something terrifying outside.

Pei Liu then stated he was only going out for a moment and would be fine alone.

He walked through the corridor just as usual, but now that he realized ghosts were real, his mindset when looking at these seemingly ordinary scenes had completely changed.

His heartbeat accelerated, his body was tense, and his previous calmness was gone; he was on high alert for ghosts that might pop out at any moment.

He softened his breathing, treaded carefully, and went downstairs as quickly as possible. The creaking sounds from the wooden stairs challenged his sensitive nerves.

Behind him, a pitch-black shadow elongated, following closely. But he didn’t notice.

Finally, Pei Liu stepped out of the villa doors and into the yard.

In the middle was a pebble path, with weeds growing on both sides; the trees rustled, shedding dead leaves.

At the end of the path was the ornate gate—the exit from this place.

At this moment, that dilapidated, rusty gate looked as if it were glowing in Pei Liu’s eyes.

He had come out to test if what Zhao Hai said was true.

He took a breath, lifted his foot, and walked straight toward the gate.

The path was completely clear; no ghosts appeared, but Pei Liu didn’t dare relax. He quickened his pace, crossed the boundary of the gate, and stepped out.

The scenery before his eyes shifted.

Pei Liu’s expression instantly froze.

Because he hadn’t stepped outside; it was as if he had passed through a mirror and returned to the inside of the gate. Before him stood the abandoned villa, looming eerily.

He was back.

Ghost wall.

This was absolutely not something the production team could pull off; humans didn’t possess this kind of ability.

And it was because he witnessed this with his own eyes that the last sliver of hope in Pei Liu’s heart was shattered.

He had no choice but to admit and accept this horrifying reality.

This was a genuine haunted house, and he could not leave.

He could only face the ghosts head-on and try to find a way to survive.

He stood silently in front of the gate, trying his hardest to suppress his emotions, biting his lip tightly.

The situation had already occurred, and he had to solve it. Breaking down would bring nothing but harm.

Pei Liu barely maintained his composure, but he still couldn’t control the trembling of his fingertips, betraying a trace of panic and vulnerability.

And behind him, a tall, dark shadow embraced him intimately. Its chin rested on his shoulder, forcing the tiny flame to flicker and cower timidly to the side. The entity raised an eyebrow slightly, tilted its head closer, until its face was almost pressed against Pei Liu’s slender neck, and kissed his earlobe.

With nowhere to hide, the shoulder flame could only tremble and shrink into a tiny ball. Every time the entity touched it, it shivered, looking incredibly pitiful.

It was practically a reflection of its owner’s inner state.

As the entity touched his neck, Pei Liu felt cold and couldn’t help but shiver.

He was completely oblivious to this.

That entire day.

Pei Liu spent it in a daze, constantly spacing out.

The others assumed he was unwell and were very understanding. Since Pei Liu had carried them through many challenges earlier, they felt it was only right for them to put in more effort as teammates now.

In reality, Pei Liu had made several attempts—talking to the cameras, asking the production team for help—but he received no response. Pei Liu couldn’t help but wonder if what was happening to them here was actually being recorded by the cameras. Could the ghosts be captured on film? What exactly were the staff members seeing through their monitors?

They didn’t even have their phones, so they were completely cut off from the world.

Pei Liu’s hands and feet felt ice-cold, a trace of despair rising in his heart.

It wasn’t until he saw a table full of hearty lunch food that he remembered they still had one connection to the outside world: the staff members delivering their meals on schedule. How were they getting in and out?

Hope rekindled in Pei Liu’s heart. Before dinnertime, he waited on the only path leading to the dining room. But bizarrely, despite not seeing a single person, dinner was already laid out on the table, still steaming.

The previously appetizing food now sent a chill down his spine.

What is going on? Was the food prepared by ghosts?

Or has this place been split into an inner and outer world, where we and the staff stand in the same space but cannot see each other?

Pei Liu’s mind was in chaos. After some hesitation, he chose to eat the food anyway. After all, if he starved, he would have even less strength to escape the surrounding ghosts, and he had eaten it for so many days already; it should be fine.

After dinner, Pei Liu told them about his encounter with the ghosts and earnestly stated that there were genuinely ghosts here.

Pei Liu had originally worried that this would cause them to panic and feel terrified, but after battling internally, he felt the matter was too serious and had to be addressed. Strangely, however, their attitudes hardly changed, as if they had known all along, or perhaps they thought it was just part of the production team’s script?

He suggested that everyone stay together for safety rather than sleeping in separate rooms.

But the others insisted on following the production team’s rules—one person to a room, refusing to stay together, as if they were bewitched.

Pei Liu opened his mouth, then closed it silently, lowering his head, feeling somewhat helpless.

What should I do now?

Can anyone tell me?

Night fell; darkness descended, and thick fog swirled.

Pei Liu walked exhaustedly toward his room. Just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, the door was opened from the inside by someone else.

A cold, incredibly handsome man stood before him and said familiarly: “You’re back.”

Pei Liu froze.

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