Chapter 33: His Hand Was Ice-Cold

Immediately after, the two ghosts held hands and ran downstairs together. Their torsos were joined at the abdomen, fused together, but their movement was completely unimpeded, running very fast.

One grinned, the corners of her mouth stretching almost to her ears, letting out a sharp, piercing laugh. The other wore an expression of intense suffering, tears streaming down her face, emitting painful wails.

The exact same face displaying entirely opposite expressions created a stark contrast, delivering a strong, eerie visual impact.

At the same time, the ghostly figures in the corridor were closing in.

Pei Liu froze for two seconds, then decisively chose to run downstairs. Fortunately, Xie Wuyu let go of him and did not try to stop him.

Wu Kai and the others, who had been running ahead, were terrified by the twin ghosts. They immediately turned around and fled, practically scrambling on all fours. Their survival instincts were fully triggered, making them unbelievably fast.

Wu Kai was athletic and quickly took the lead.

When he realized they had successfully returned to the first floor, he felt a surge of joy.

But then, he saw a familiar woman standing not far ahead, with her back to him.

“…Jiaqi?”

Wu Kai called out hesitantly.

The woman heard him, her hair swaying slightly as if she were about to turn around. But her body remained still; her head suddenly rotated 180 degrees to face Wu Kai. Where her eyes should have been were two black holes streaming with tears of blood, and she grinned hideously.

Even more terrifying, the female ghost maintained this posture and quickly walked toward him.

Wu Kai nearly leaped out of his skin, screaming frantically at the top of his lungs. His voice was loud enough to make the entire villa tremble.

As soon as Pei Liu reached the bottom of the stairs, his ears were assaulted by the scream. Looking up, he saw ghosts swarming from all directions. Their appearances were incredibly grotesque and terrifying, charging toward them with clear intent.

It was like a zombie siege—dense, overwhelming, and horrifying.

Everyone’s expressions went blank for a moment. No one expected the finale to be this intense; it was as if the production team wanted them dead.

Tong Jiaqi couldn’t help but scream, goosebumps erupting all over her body. She was so terrified she lost her ability to form coherent sentences: “Ghosts, run… run fast—!!!”

The other guests were in a similar state. Their minds went blank, consumed entirely by panic. With no time to think, they could only flee on instinct. As for which path to take, they didn’t care; they just ran wherever there was a way.

Consequently, they were easily separated, running in different directions.

Pei Liu ran blindly, his heart pounding. His situation was worse than the others.

Wu Kai and the rest were half-believing and half-doubting about the ghosts, but Pei Liu distinctly felt the surging ghostly energy. It swept over him like a tidal wave, bone-chillingly cold, making his exposed skin sting as if pricked by needles.

Moreover, having been trapped in the staircase loop earlier and running for so long, his stamina was severely depleted. Both his legs still felt weak and sore; he simply couldn’t run fast.

In times like this, the urge to look back is irresistible.

With a single glance, Pei Liu saw a massive, uncountable horde of ghosts. The sheer number was terrifying, making him wonder if every single ghost in the place was chasing him.

Each one was uniquely hideous—missing arms or legs, clothes torn and filthy, stained red with blood, emitting the foul stench of rotting flesh, with some even exposing gleaming white bones.

The scene before him was too shocking and horrifying. Pei Liu’s breath hitched, his face deathly pale. Seeing the ghosts closing in rapidly, he gritted his teeth. Even though he was exhausted, he forced himself to accelerate, terrified of being caught.

The ghosts roared, letting out ear-piercing shrieks, scrambling over each other and reaching out, constantly trying to grab Pei Liu. Several times, they missed by mere inches.

Their eyes glowed with a scarlet light, drool dripping from their mouths, exuding extreme greed.

One ghost’s hand was finally about to succeed, brushing against Pei Liu’s shoulder. But in the split second of malicious triumph, a slender hand suddenly grabbed Pei Liu and yanked him into a pitch-black room.

The target vanished instantly. The snarling, clawing ghosts paused, looking around in bewilderment—where did he go?

Meanwhile, in the bedroom on the other side of the wall, Pei Liu was pinned against the door. Pressed against a familiar chest, he was trapped in a confined space.

“…Xie Wuyu?” Pei Liu asked hesitantly, his voice trembling with tension.

“It’s me.”

Xie Wuyu’s voice was deep and devoid of any emotion, like an undercurrent beneath the ice—ready to shatter at any moment and swallow the person walking above.

Pei Liu’s hands were pinned. When he struggled slightly, the grip tightened. His heart was racing, unsure of the situation, so he instinctively called Xie Wuyu’s name again. This time, his fear was evident, his voice carrying a hint of a sob.

After running downstairs earlier, he hadn’t seen Xie Wuyu anywhere. If this were a real human friend, he naturally wouldn’t have left him behind. But Xie Wuyu was a ghost who had disturbed and confused his mind, highly dangerous. Therefore, Xie Wuyu’s absence only brought a sigh of relief and inner thankfulness.

But now, Xie Wuyu had suddenly appeared and pulled him in. Pei Liu couldn’t relax; he was tense and panicked, terrified that Xie Wuyu was just waiting for him to let his guard down to deliver a fatal blow.

Xie Wuyu released him but didn’t step back, saying coldly: “Find the clue first.”

Pei Liu looked up at him, then quickly looked away, cautiously walking out of the space between them. Because the space was narrow, he accidentally brushed against the other person. Through the thin fabric, he could clearly feel the slight bulge of muscle contours and the cool body temperature. Startled, he quickly backed away, bumping into the door panel.

Fortunately, Xie Wuyu didn’t react, just standing there motionless.

Pei Liu moved nervously around the room, trying hard to ignore the burning gaze on his back. Finally, he found the clue for the key: an irregularly shaped fragment of paper with the word “carpet” written on it, looking like it had been torn from a complete sheet.

He turned his head to look at Xie Wuyu and said hesitantly: “I… found it.”

Xie Wuyu naturally grasped his hand, enveloping it in his palm, and smiled slightly: “Then let’s go.”

Pei Liu nodded obediently, not daring to struggle.

He didn’t know why this ghost was helping him find clues, but for now, it was a good thing for him. Although Xie Wuyu was smiling, Pei Liu still sensed danger and didn’t act rashly, afraid of accidentally triggering the ghost and provoking him.

Xie Wuyu opened the door. The hallway outside was empty; not a single ghost was in sight.

Perhaps because he was with a powerful ghost, Pei Liu didn’t encounter a single ghost on his way downstairs to the hall. Despite this, Pei Liu didn’t relax. Instead, his throat went dry, his heartbeat accelerated, and his palms continuously sweated.

Just as they were about to step into the hall, Xie Wuyu suddenly asked: “Do you still remember your promise?”

Pei Liu was stunned, his brain crashing for a moment. It took him two seconds to turn and look at him, nodding stiffly, his voice hoarse: “…I remember.”

Xie Wuyu smiled: “Very good.”

Pei Liu didn’t understand what was so good about it, and he didn’t want to know.

A multitude of ghosts had gathered in the first-floor hall, but they were all standing perfectly still. Their faces were grotesque, their postures twisted, as if they were in the middle of a grand ghost festival but had suddenly been paused.

The scene was incredibly bizarre.

Pei Liu carefully navigated around the ghosts. Inadvertently, he locked eyes with one. The ghost’s pupils darted, its gaze chilling and malicious, shooting straight at him like a poisoned arrow.

Pei Liu swallowed hard, finally realizing that these ghosts were merely restrained by some power, unable to move their bodies temporarily. They were fully conscious, their scarlet eyes filled with a craving for living souls.

He cautiously kept a wide distance.

Xie Wuyu was still holding his hand, so they walked together to the side.

Pei Liu was mentally highly tense, but his body was utterly exhausted; the two sensations tore at him wildly. Reason told him to be on guard, while his body screamed for rest, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he stood.

The hall was unnaturally quiet.

Pei Liu could only hear his own breathing.

“Sit down,” Xie Wuyu suddenly spoke. In an environment so quiet you could hear a pin drop, it sounded like a thunderclap.

He smiled and said: “You look quite tired.”

Pei Liu swallowed, obediently nodding: “…Okay.”

And so, he walked stiffly over to the sofa and sat down.

Xie Wuyu sat next to him and naturally pressed him onto his lap, letting him lean there to rest.

Pei Liu never imagined there would come a day when he would rest his head on a ghost’s lap. He had heard of the “lap pillow” concept and thought it might be comfortable, but at this moment, he felt nothing but unease.

A hand rested on his back, stroking slowly, like petting a cat.

Under this touch, Pei Liu’s tense body gradually relaxed, but the terror in his heart only grew. What exactly does he want to do? Even now, he couldn’t figure out the true intentions of this ghost.

After an agonizing wait.

Finally, Pei Liu heard Wu Kai’s voice and immediately sprang up in pleasant surprise.

Xie Wuyu’s expression, however, turned dark.

The other guests gradually returned and regrouped. They had all found fragments, and when pieced together, it formed a sentence: Under the door mat.

Tong Jiaqi walked to the door, reached out to flip the carpet, and indeed found a file folder underneath. Inside was a key and a stack of letter paper.

She took out the key, inserted it into the keyhole, and with a click, the iron chain fell to the ground. The door could now be opened.

“Ah—!” They cried out in joy, but a second later, their tone changed, suddenly pitching into a scream of terror.

Because the moment they retrieved the key, all the ghosts simultaneously turned their heads, glaring at them with eerie resentment, and roared as they charged fiercely.

Wu Kai and the others panicked and scrambled outside.

Noticing Pei Liu hadn’t kept up, Tong Jiaqi waved anxiously and yelled: “Little Pei, what are you standing there for? Run!”

The others shouted at him too, but they only called his name. It seemed they couldn’t see the person standing next to him, and their memories of Xie Wuyu had also been wiped.

Pei Liu’s hand was held by Xie Wuyu, cold as an ice cube. He shuddered, turned to look at Xie Wuyu, and met his deep, penetrating gaze.

Then, Pei Liu decisively and forcefully broke free from his grip, not looking back as he sprinted toward the open front doors.