Chapter 219: The Haunting Flames of the Fourth Floor

Xushan pointed at the gold bar, seemingly sensing something. “It’s not here, not in this room,” he stated, “but it’s still within this ghost domain. It’s likely upstairs, no higher than the third floor.”

“I see. Then let’s go find it. There’s nothing else of interest on this floor, so let’s move.” Mo Qingyan declared.

We made our way back to the elevator. Upon entering, we noticed the indicator light was illuminated for the third floor, and the ominous red stain on the button for the thirtieth floor had vanished entirely.

I was curious to see how Mo Qingyan would manipulate the floors this time. To my surprise, the thirtieth floor button wasn’t lit at all. Mo Qingyan simply pressed the fourth floor button directly. The elevator swiftly ascended one floor, then opened its doors without the slightest obstruction.

“Even ghosts don’t use the same old tricks every day,” Mo Qingyan remarked, stepping out of the elevator, as if she had read my thoughts.

We arrived on the fourth floor. Its layout was similar to the third, but the scorch marks from the fire were less severe. Some doors hadn’t been incinerated and remained closed.

Two burnt-black fire extinguishers lay discarded on the floor. Beside them, a fire cabinet stood with its glass door shattered. The coiled hose next to it had been unrolled, suggesting someone had attempted to fight the spreading blaze here.

However, something felt amiss. Firstly, why was the glass door smashed open? Shards of broken glass were still stained with fresh blood, as if someone had punched through it.

Upon closer inspection, the fire cabinet door was bound shut with wire, impossible to open without wire cutters. No wonder they had to smash the glass. Moreover, there was no emergency fire axe nearby.

The hose lay unattached. If someone were fighting a fire, shouldn’t the hose be connected to the outlet?

Ah, the two connectors were incompatible; they couldn’t be joined. How could anyone possibly fight a fire like this?

Suddenly, I felt a chilling surge of resentment emanating from the outlet before me. Mo Qingyan quickly pulled me back. “Watch out!”

Filthy blood spurted from the outlet, its nauseating stench filling the air. Yet, it didn’t stream out freely; instead, it oozed forth like blood from a clogged vein, slowly accumulating into a foul pool on the floor.

“Tsk, this floor is tricky. Such intense resentment. These are the spirits of those who died with great grievances,” Mo Qingyan said, taking a deep breath.

“How about we try using the Planchette Divination?” Xushan suggested.

“If you want to die, don’t drag me into it. The resentment here is so immense that using Planchette Divination would be suicide. Do you dare to invite a deity to possess you here?” Mo Qingyan retorted.

“No, that would be inviting disaster,” Xushan replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

“Nevertheless, with such strong resentment, recreating the scene from back then should still be possible. It would just be shadows,” Mo Qingyan mused, pulling out a red pencil. She drew several blood-colored talismans in mid-air.

Instantly, all the surrounding resentment surged, drawn towards the discarded fire extinguishers, hoses, and the fire cabinet on the ground. A moment later, the world spun. The environment transformed completely.

The charred, blackened floors and walls became an old, dilapidated building. Though dirty and messy, it hadn’t yet been ravaged by fire.

However, the cries for help, the wailing of children, and the thick smoke and flames billowing from the stairwell all screamed of an urgent crisis.

“Get out of the way!” Someone collided with me. My magic artifact reacted, enveloping me in a spiritual glow. The person who hit me was a ghost, but I hadn’t expected such a realistic sensation. Even the impact felt like a living person, with their body temperature and muscles.

It was a man, desperately trying to open the fire cabinet, but he couldn’t. Nearby, several women and elderly people, holding basins of water, were futilely attempting to douse the flames in the stairwell, only to be overwhelmed by dizzying smoke as they approached.

“Damn the property management!” The man roared in frustration, slamming his fist against the fire cabinet’s glass door. With the cabinet locked and no blunt object nearby, he intended to smash it open with his bare hands.

In moments of extreme danger, people often unleash strength beyond their limits, known as ‘fire field strength.’ This was one such instance. The ordinary man cleanly shattered the glass door with a few punches, completely oblivious to his bleeding fingers. His bright red blood stained the broken glass.

The man immediately pulled the pin from a fire extinguisher in the cabinet and handed it to the elderly and women. “You all use these to hold them off for a bit. I’ll connect the hose, and then we can put out the fire!”

The others immediately took the extinguishers and sprayed their contents at the flames surging from the stairwell, filling the area with dry powder.

However, the open flames were not extinguished; they weren’t even contained. The fire merely flickered a few times under the spray, then grew even larger.

“Damn it! The property management always buys cheap, shoddy goods! They can’t put out a fire at all!” An old man cried out in terror.

“How are we supposed to fight the fire like this?!” The man also shouted, enraged.

“I’ll hold it steady for you, you take the hose and fight the fire!” A neighbor yelled, thinking quickly.

He rushed over to connect the hose. The man twisted the valve, but contrary to the imagined gush of life-saving water, only small trickles emerged from the outlet, utterly useless for fighting the fire.

Everyone despaired. Afterward, they tried various other methods, but none succeeded in stopping the fire’s spread. In the end, they could only flee back to their homes, locking their doors and sealing the gaps with water-soaked quilts and blankets, praying for their own survival.

Then, the imagery suddenly fast-forwarded. The fire burst from the stairwell, engulfing the fourth floor in the blink of an eye. Despite the protection of the artifact, I still felt an unbearable heat.

The fire came and went swiftly. In an instant, it was extinguished, leaving behind only scorched wreckage, identical to how we found it, save for the outlet that continued to spurt blood.

“Tsk, tsk, no wonder the resentment is so strong. They tried everything, yet not a single self-rescue method worked. I wouldn’t be resigned either,” Mo Qingyan lamented.

Massive amounts of resentment swirled with her red pencil, ultimately sealed by Mo Qingyan into an empty fire extinguisher. This extinguisher now radiated a dense, malevolent aura, having transformed into a cursed artifact.

“A non-standard fire extinguisher,” Mo Qingyan explained. “I’ve sealed all the residual resentment of the victims inside. Now it should be a cursed artifact with a completely different function than its original purpose. It would be better to call it an arsonist’s tool or a flamethrower.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Sweet Peach Punch

Age GapBLBoys Love

Read Now →
Not interested