He stared into the abyssal blackness under the bed, mesmerised by the unseen horror that lurked there. His throat tightened with a fearful anticipation, as if he were about to plunge into the depths of a dark ocean. He knew he was losing his mind, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the irresistible pull of the unknown.

    Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, Brother Nan shifted in his slumber. His fingers brushed against a cold, limp form, devoid of flesh and warmth. He remained oblivious, curling his arm around the corpse, whispering, “Heh heh… pretty lady…”

    Two doors down, Zhou Xiao Zhen dreamed peacefully. A splendid, antique half-mirror graced her chamber. She had marvelled at its beauty when she first laid eyes on it. The mirror was a work of art, making her feel like royalty whenever she gazed into it.

    But in the gloom, as Zhou Xiao Zhen breathed evenly, a black shadow emerged in the mirror. It swelled and expanded, until it reached the glass, a viscous blob seeping out.

    It spilled over the dressing table, over the floor, crawling towards the bed. At last, it gathered into a mound by the bedside, a malformed hand stretching out towards the sleeping girl.

    As the hand touched her, a flash of brilliant flames burst from the girl, rapidly consuming the hand.

    The shadow let out a weird shriek, swiftly dissolving into a puddle of goo and fleeing from the bedside, sliding out through the door crack.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen sensed a noise, half-awake, opening her eyes to a pitch-black room. She shrugged it off, closed her eyes again, rubbed her nose, and fell back to sleep.

    Zhao Lan slept soundly in the adjacent room, oblivious to the world. Her health had been steadily improving, and with it, her nights had become more peaceful and restful.

    “Squeak…”

    “Squeak…”

    A faint noise pierced the silence, like a rusty swing creaking in the wind. A dark shape hung in the air, swinging over Zhao Lan’s head. She didn’t stir in her bed, so the shape kept swinging, back and forth, back and forth.

    Yu Xiao was not so lucky. She had a good sleep quality; she could sleep through anything. But the noise in her room was unbearable, because there was someone… a Shadow in her room, honing a knife.

    The scraping sound of metal on stone jolted her awake, and she sat up, her hair a mess, her eyes fixed on the Shadow sharpening the knife on the other side of her bed.

    The Shadow noticed her movement, and stopped what it was doing. It slowly rose to its feet, and walked towards her, waving the knife.

    Yu Xiao didn’t flinch, didn’t blink, just stared at the Shadow. It came closer and closer, and lifted the knife above its head. That’s when Yu Xiao reached under her pillow, and pulled out a bunch of talismans. She still looked emotionless, as she faced the intruder.

    Shadow: “…”

    “What’s your deal?” Yu Xiao rattled the talismans in her hand. “Honing a knife in the middle of the night, ruining people’s sleep. What do you think I’m going to do to you?”

    The Shadow was stunned; this was not what it expected. It had met some tough nuts before, but this was ridiculous. Who carries a bunch of talismans under their pillow?

    The Shadow thought of running away, but before it could make a move, a talisman drifted down from above its head. The Shadow dodged, only to see the fearsome woman get off the bed, and approach it with steady steps. As she walked, she folded the talismans into paper planes, and threw them at the Shadow’s head.

    A pitiful wail echoed from the shadow, who had never faced such a fiendish creature before.

    The fiend (Yu Xiao) stalked towards it, her voice oozing with cruelty. “I’ll make you a deal, little one. Do something for me, and I’ll let you live.”

    The shadow had no choice but to agree, trading its soul for a chance to escape the fiend’s fury.

    Since Yu Xiao’s night was interrupted by the noise, she also noticed a faint but persistent thud from the room next door.

    Ripley, who had been keeping a vigilant watch over Yu Xiao, fell asleep at the table. He jerked awake when he heard the door open and saw Yu Xiao emerge from her room. “Miss Yu…” He was concerned that she was in trouble, so he ran after her, ready to assist.

    However, when he reached the second floor, he saw Yu Xiao kicking down the door of the adjacent room, leaving him puzzled by her actions.

    Yu Xiao smashed the lock of Zhao Lan’s room and strode in without hesitation.

    As soon as she crossed the threshold, she spotted a figure dangling from the ceiling, swinging to and fro. The figure froze at the sight of Yu Xiao.

    The clatter of the broken lock jolted Zhao Lan awake, and she squinted at the door, rubbing her eyes. “Hm… Smiley? What are you doing in my room?”

    Yu Xiao pointed upwards, “I came to have some fun with that.”

    The hanging ghost: “…”

    Zhao Lan followed her gesture and saw a pair of feet, which made a chill run down her spine. “Holy crap!” She jumped out of the bed with a swear and exclaimed, “What the heck is that?”

    Yu Xiao, who had been enjoying the spectacle with a grin, cocked her head and observed the ghost. “It’s quite a sight, isn’t it? Reminds me of the ghost from the story you told us last evening.”

    Zhao Lan squinted, trying to focus and comprehend. She looked at the ghost again and felt a flash of recognition. “Oh, yeah. It does resemble that one.”

    She turned to Yu Xiao, who stood next to her, and asked in a bewildered tone, “What’s happening here?” She pointed at the hanging ghost, which had stopped its eerie swinging motion. “Is Henry telling the truth? Will our ghost stories become real?”

    Yu Xiao shrugged. “Maybe.” She reached for the rope that held the ghost aloft. “Let’s get it down.”

    Hanging ghost: “???” S~ea??h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    — How dare you? I’m a ghost, not a puppet. You can’t just yank me down like that. Have you no respect for the dead?

    Yu Xiao and Zhao Lan pulled the ghost down together. Its neck was twisted, its head drooping to the side, its tongue lolling out, its mouth silent.

    It now cowered on the floor, while the two girls loomed over it.

    “What’s the point of dragging it down?” Zhao Lan wondered aloud. She couldn’t see any use for this thing.

    Yu Xiao smirked. “No point, really. I just hated being disturbed in the middle of the night. If I can’t sleep, neither can anyone else.”

    She waved a bunch of talismans menacingly at the hanging ghost, and ordered, “You, go to Henry’s room, and give him a fright. But don’t you dare hurt him…”

    Ripley had been waiting outside the door for a long time, he started to think that Yu Xiao had been frightened in the night and had sought comfort in her friend’s room. But his assumption was dashed when he saw Yu Xiao and her friend emerge from the room together.

    “Ripley?” Zhao Lan spotted him as soon as she stepped out, and gasped. “What are you doing here?”

    Ripley felt a surge of heat in his cheeks as he stammered, “I… I was worried about Miss Yu. By the way, what are you two doing here?”

    “Need a wee,” Yu Xiao said casually.

    Ripley’s face turned the colour of a ripe tomato and he dashed away without a word.

    Zhao Lan cocked an eyebrow and teased, “Ripley is such an innocent boy, don’t you have a thing for innocent boys?”

    Yu Xiao leaned closer and whispered, “Innocence is irrelevant, as long as they’re handsome.”

    They giggled lewdly and made their way to Zhou Xiao Zhen’s door.

    Zhao Lan commented, “Actually, Ripley is not bad on the eyes.”

    Yu Xiao agreed, “That’s why I offered to switch rooms with him.”

    They opened the door and found Precious sound asleep. The room was immaculate, with no sign of disturbance.

    “Looks like the ghost hasn’t shown up yet,” Zhao Lan speculated, “or maybe the ghost has already left.”

    “Let’s look somewhere else then,” Yu Xiao suggested, stepping out. As they walked, she asked, “What other creepy things did they say about this place?”

    Zhao Lan remembered, “There’s a ghost who died in a car crash and crawls under the blankets, and another who slashes tires but then helps fix them?”

    They were chatting when they noticed a man in black, hands in his pockets, climbing the stairs, his face hidden.

    They reached him at the narrow corridor, Zhao Lan pointing excitedly, “It’s him, it’s him!”

    The man in black raised an eyebrow, “?”

    Yu Xiao swiftly pulled out a talisman, “Don’t move! Don’t run! Stay calm…”

    **

    Henry was jolted awake by the commotion, feeling groggy and weary. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry pair of feet dangling over his head.

    A jolt of terror shot through him, snapping him awake. He bolted upright and stared at the foot of the bed, where a shadowy shape hunched over the floor, scraping a kitchen knife against a whetstone.

    “AAAAAHHHH!!!” Henry’s scream tore through the silence, as he flung himself off the bed, only to collide with another figure blocking his way. He craned his neck to see who it was; a man clad in black from head to toe, with an unremarkable face, except for his hands buried in his pockets, radiating a chill that made Henry shiver.

    “A…a ghost…” Henry’s voice was barely a whisper, his throat dry with fear. “There’s a ghost…”

    The man in black met his gaze with a blank expression, then all of a sudden he thrust his hands out and bellowed, “Hands here!!!”

    “AAAAAHHH!!!”

    “Hands here!!!”

    “AAAAAHHH!!!”

    “Hands here!!!”

    “Ahh…”

    **

    The next morning, Zhou Xiao Zhen, who had neglected to close the curtains, was roused by the sunlight streaming through the window. She had slept soundly and blissfully, curling up in the bed, feeling rejuvenated and eager to start the day.

    Suddenly, she sensed something was wrong. She reached into her pyjamas and drew out a fistful of black dust.

    She bolted upright, scanning her body for any signs of harm. Everything seemed normal, except for one thing: one of her protective charms was missing.

    She glanced at her sheets and saw a heap of black ashes. That was all that remained of her charm after it had been consumed.

    There was only one possible explanation: a ghost had paid her a visit last night.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen didn’t linger in her bed. She didn’t waste any time tidying her clothes and dashed to the door, only to discover that the lock had been smashed.

    That cursed ghost! How dare it ruin her door!

    She barged into Yu Xiao’s room, screaming: “Smiley~~~!!!”

    Yu Xiao had just drifted into a fitful sleep, when she was startled by Zhou Xiao Zhen’s voice. Her heart skipped a beat.

    She opened her eyes and found Zhou Xiao Zhen crawling under her blanket, clutching her waist. “A ghost came to my room last night, wuwuwu, I’m so terrified… I need you to transform into twenty-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio and soothe my shattered soul…”

    Yu Xiao groaned and shoved her off. “What shattered soul? You have no clue what Misty and I had to suffer last night.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen’s racket had roused the others as well. They emerged from their rooms, blinking their eyes.

    The last person to emerge was Tan Qiao Yin, whose face twisted like sour milk as she caught sight of Yu Xiao and Zhou Xiao Zhen walking out arm in arm. With a venomous glare, she hurled herself down the stairs.

    “What’s with the death stare?” Zhou Xiao Zhen inquired, raising an eyebrow at Yu Xiao. “Did you break her heart or something?”

    “Please,” Yu Xiao scoffed. “The only thing I broke was her monopoly on the market.”

    “Damn, that’s harsh,” Zhou Xiao Zhen whistled. “She must hate you more than any jilted lover.”

    Smack.

    A loud thud interrupted their conversation, coming from Henry’s room up ahead. The door swung open with a creak, but no one stepped out. A chill ran down their spines as they stared at the empty doorway.

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───