Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

At Xie Yuhua’s live stream room, piercing screams filled the air.

The production team had long coordinated with Xie Yuhua’s manager: this villa was not haunted, nor had any violent crimes occurred here. The so-called paranormal events during filming were all staged for entertainment purposes.

So although Xie Yuhua appeared terrified and screamed in fear on camera, she was not frightened at all deep down.

She even pretended to be fragile and helpless, feigning fear while acting strong-willed enough to peer out the window.

The cameras were equipped with night vision, allowing the live viewers to see the room’s details clearly despite the darkness.

The audience frantically shouted in the chat: “No, don’t look! Quickly find Master Xue to save us!”

Of course, Xie Yuhua planned to find Xue Tinghe, but for the sake of the show and building her persona, she insisted on taking a look outside the window.

With a deeply fearful expression, she hesitated and dawdled before finally edging to the window, slowly pushing it open a sliver and peering outside.

That glance became a nightmare she would regret for a long time.

As she cautiously leaned out, a face suddenly lunged forward, pressing against hers.

Though the light was blocked and vision dim, in that moment she clearly saw the face.

It belonged to a middle-aged man, his skin marred by cuts, flesh peeling away, fresh blood trickling down. His eyes bulged as if about to pop out, and inside the sockets wriggled pale, soft maggots. The stench of decay hit her like a wave, shattering any hope that this was a trick.

“Ahh!” Xie Yuhua’s eyes rolled back, her body stiffening before collapsing backward with a thud against the floor — the impact jolted her awake.

She shook her head, gagging, then stumbled and scrambled out the door.

At the same time, Sun Zhanyuan and Qiao Yuanzhong dashed out of their rooms.

Sun Zhanyuan had been fervently playing ranked matches when the lights suddenly went out. Out of his phone screen emerged a small ghostly boy, clutching his pant leg tightly. The boy’s eyes were hollow, his mouth split wide in a grin stretching to his ears.

Sun Zhanyuan screamed wildly, kicking off his pants to shake off the ghost and fled in his boxers.

In Qiao Yuanzhong’s room appeared an elderly couple, both drenched in blood, clutching his legs tightly and croaking, “Come down and stay with us!”

In a desperate bid for escape, he too tore off his pants and sprinted out in his underwear, heading upstairs.

Their goal was clear: find Master Xue, who surely could save them!

Before the power cut, Hu Lijing had been streaming a makeup tutorial.

When the lights went out, her stream froze briefly and the lively chat was replaced by strange messages.

[“Host, my head got crushed by a wheel, how can I do makeup to look alive?”]

[“My nose was eaten off, how do I sculpt a realistic nose?”]

[“My eyes keep bleeding, every time I put on makeup the blood smears it all. Can you recommend some anti-blood-smudge cosmetics?”]

Hu Lijing fell silent...

The chat continued.

[“Honey, the soup tastes amazing! Host, why’d you stop talking? Are you scared? Don’t worry, I’m coming to find you.”]

Hu Lijing calmly replied, “Not at all.”

She even answered each eerie question in detail, explaining how to apply corpse makeup so convincingly that the viewers—human or ghost—were momentarily stunned, forgetting to come out and keep her company.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mingshuang, after the blackout, happened to glance out the window and saw a prop released by the crew—a remote-controlled airplane shaped like a skeleton, trailing long white cloth as it flew past the window.

Jiang Mingshuang played along with a scream, carefully maintaining her image. She had practiced this scene many times, trying to appear scared but still graceful and pitiable, to evoke viewers’ protective instincts.

The live chat erupted in fearful screams.

But after the screams, nothing followed.

Jiang Mingshuang sensed something was wrong. Her room was separated from Xue Tinghe’s by a thin wall with a crescent-shaped window. Though the window was closed and curtained, soundproofing couldn’t be perfect.

She had shouted so loudly; Xue Tinghe must have heard. How could he not come check and ask what was wrong?

Hesitating briefly, she approached the window and knocked softly with her fingers.

“Brother Xue? Brother Xue, are you there?”

A shadow appeared behind the curtain on the other side.

Xue Tinghe’s voice came through, distorted, “I’m here. What’s going on? Open the window and let me in to take a look.”

Jiang Mingshuang’s heart leapt with joy and she immediately agreed, reaching to pull the window open.

Suddenly, a chill ran through her. How could Xue Tinghe, with so many viewers watching, just climb through the window without caring about his image?

But it was too late. The curtain was pulled aside, revealing a homeless man with messy hair, covered in filth, emitting a stench like a cesspool. In his hand, he held a blood-stained kitchen knife.

He greedily eyed Jiang Mingshuang’s smooth, fair skin, licking his lips. His mouth revealed sharp teeth with bits of bloody flesh stuck on them.

“Heh heh, baby, don’t be afraid, big brother’s coming to keep you company.”

Jiang Mingshuang’s blood ran cold. Screaming, she stumbled backward, “Ah! Who are you? Get away! Don’t come near me!”

The homeless man lunged, grabbing her hand, the foul stench intensifying.

In terror, her face contorted. She grabbed a nearby vase and smashed it onto his head repeatedly. Seizing the moment, she broke free, scrambling to open the door.

Behind her came the sound of something slicing through fabric—the knife grazing her back, tearing her clothes!

Terrified beyond belief, she fled out of the room, not daring to look back.

The group collided in the corridor, nearly crashing into each other, all rushing to pound on Xue Tinghe’s door.

No matter how hard they knocked, there was no response. They became frantic, pounding the door desperately.

The little boy ghost, the elderly couple, the middle-aged man, and the homeless man ghost circled around from both sides of the corridor, their faces twisted into sinister smiles.

The viewers at home were so terrified by the close-up shots, some clutching their chests anxiously, many rushed to Xue Tinghe’s live stream to see why he wasn’t coming to their rescue.

But as soon as they entered, they froze.

Inside, the room was brightly lit. Xue Tinghe sat at his desk, meticulously drawing talismans with a solemn expression. His demeanor lent him an aura of sanctity, inspiring awe and reverence. Wisps of smoke curled from the incense burner on his desk, adding an ethereal quality to the scene.

Fans flooded the chat with praise and admiration.

Normally, this would attract many followers, but now it felt different. Outside was a hellscape, screams more gut-wrenching than those of slaughtered pigs, yet inside was serene and untouched, as if separated into two unrelated worlds.

Master Xue seemed completely unaware of the chaos beyond his door.

New viewers felt a chill rise from their soles to their heads.

Suddenly, while fans were showering Xue Tinghe with compliments, a flood of desperate cries for help erupted in the chat.

“Ahhh! Please, Master, come out and save our brother/goddess, or the ghosts will devour them!”

Fans puzzled, asking what was happening. Someone directed them to other streams, where they saw the other guests frantically banging on doors, sending them into a panic and prompting them to return.

“Master, stop drawing! There are so many ghosts closing in!”

Elsewhere, Qi Yue and Gu Yunshuang remained in peaceful calm.

Qi Yue hesitated, stretching out a clawing hand, wavering whether to comfort. His hand barely reached when he touched someone.

He paused. Gu Yunshuang had quietly turned his back and stepped backward, then shifted again after touching Qi Yue’s hand, slowly settling into his arms.

Qi Yue felt conflicted yet pleased, wanting to push him away but his hand was limp, only resting gently on Gu Yunshuang’s waist.

He asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yunshuang’s round ears twitched, a blush spreading over his cheeks. Calmly, he said, “Did you hear something strange? Like someone screaming outside. Has the haunting started?”

Qi Yue pretended to listen. “No, that’s probably just the wind outside. You must be imagining things. I told you, there’s no ghost in this villa. The crazy director made it all up to scare people. Ghosts don’t exist; they’re just old superstitions people scare themselves with. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Gu Yunshuang relaxed, wanting to say more but remembered their cold war. Qi Yue hadn’t made the first move to reconcile, so Gu Yunshuang refused to give in.

He pouted, ignoring Qi Yue but didn’t dare move away, instead closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep.

Qi Yue comforted himself, telling himself to hold him a little longer; he could handle it. Gu Yunshuang was scared and needed reassurance.

So, though silent and ignoring each other, their closeness dissolved the earlier awkward tension, creating a subtle, indescribable atmosphere.

[“Tsk, you’re hugging and still pretending to be in a cold war? I wish I had a mirror to show you—one’s grinning ear to ear, the other’s eyes all crescent-shaped!”]

[“Wow, the haunting outside is terrifying. Come in and hide, but as soon as you enter you smell the sour stench of love. Maybe because this room is filled with love’s scent, even the ghosts don’t want to come in.”]

[“Shuangshuang, didn’t you say you were still mad at him? He hasn’t even tried to make up, and you’re the one clinging? Don’t get love-brained!”]