As soon as they stepped out of their rooms, the guests who were about to head downstairs for breakfast halted in their tracks, drawn by the commotion coming from Henry’s room. Was he in trouble? Had something terrible happened?

    A loud bang echoed through the hallway as the door of the adjacent room flew open with a violent force. A burly man with long hair , clad only in his pyjamas, emerged from the room, clutching his clothes in panic and yelling, “Bloody hell, what the fuck is this? Why am I drenched in blood…?”

    Brother Nan glanced at the door and gasped. “What the hell is that?” He pointed at something on the floor behind the door.

    The others followed his gaze and saw a hand lying on the carpet. They pushed the door open and discovered the rest of Henry’s body. He was lying face down, one arm stretched out as if he had tried to crawl out of the room.

    “Brother!” Brother Nan cried out, rushing to Henry’s side. “What happened to you, mate?”

    Yu Xiao, who was watching the scene from a distance, felt a twinge of confusion. She had only planned to scare Henry with some ghost stories last night. Did the ghosts disobey her and decide to kill him instead?

    Henry, who was still alive but barely, twitched his whole body. His right hand, curled into a claw, reached out for help. He lifted his head with great difficulty, his eyes wide with terror, his face contorted with pain. He managed to croak out from his throat, “Help… me…”

    They carried Henry downstairs and laid him on the sofa, where he remained in a state of shock, as if he had been hit by a truck.

    He was less of a nuisance now, at least. That was the only silver lining.

    Brother Nan clasped Henry’s hand with a gentle squeeze, his voice full of compassion. “Poor Henry. You must have seen something truly horrifying.”

    Ma Shan frowned at Yu Xiao, curiosity and concern in his eyes. “What about you? Did you have a haunting last night? Was there any trouble in your room?”

    Yu Xiao shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “There was something. But I took care of it.”

    Ma Shan shook his head, baffled. “That’s strange. Your room is supposed to be the most haunted one. But the rest of us were fine. Why did only Henry suffer?”

    Yu Xiao shot him a silent look, thinking, if I hadn’t caught the pocket ghost in the nick of time, you’d be singing a different tune.

    “Not just him.” Tan Qiao Yin interjected, pointing at Brother Nan, who was splattered with blood. “He had his share of trouble too.”

    Brother Nan looked puzzled, touching his chest. “What do you mean? What kind of trouble?”

    Zhao Lan realised that the others were clueless about what had transpired. “Our stories came to life.”

    Zhu Miao Miao blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

    Zhao Lan explained, “Henry wasn’t lying. The ghost story we told yesterday night became real. The hanging ghost came to my room.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen said, “I slept like a log and didn’t hear or see anything. But when I woke up, one of my amulets was charred, and there was a mirror in my room.”

    The others paled as they listened, remembering Brother Nan’s story. They could imagine the horror he had faced. He was lucky to have slept through it all; otherwise, he might not have made it to the morning.

    Tan Qiao Yin wondered, “Why didn’t I meet a ghost then?” She believed Zhao Lan and the others; they were on the same side now. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhu Miao Miao tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it has something to do with the environment,” she suggested. “Your ghost story involved bathrooms, right? And mine was about a mirror. But we didn’t go near any of those places last night, so we were safe from the ghosts.”

    Kang Jun nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. My ghost story was about cooking, but I didn’t touch the kitchen, so I didn’t see any ghosts either.”

    Ma Shan frowned and pointed at Henry, who was shivering in a corner. “But what about him?” he asked. “He said that our ghost stories would come true, but his story didn’t have any ghosts in it. Why is he so scared? Did all the ghosts from our stories go to haunt him instead?”

    Yu Xiao and Zhao Lan shared a worried look. They didn’t like where this was going.

    Just then, Zhang Shu came down the stairs, holding Yue Yue’s hand. She smiled brightly when she saw them. “Good morning, everyone. You’re all awake. Have you seen my husband Qin? He’s not in our room.”

    They stared at her in silence. If their ghost stories were really coming true, then what happened to Qin Lei, who was still missing?

    Tan Qiao Yin didn’t wait for an answer. She dashed up the stairs, followed by the rest of them.

    Zhang Shu looked confused and scared. “Hey, what’s going on? Why are you all running to my room…”

    Zhang Shu’s room looked normal at first glance, except for the lack of mirrors. The sun shone through the window, casting a warm light on the empty space.

    They gathered around the large bed in the centre of the room, and Zhao Lan reached out to lift the covers.

    A dark stain spread under the bed, taking the shape of a human body. It was the first thing that caught Zhang Shu’s eye when she barged into the room after rest of the group. She stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape.

    “What the hell…” She felt a surge of fear, “What the hell is that?”

    Tan Qiao Yin ignored her and knelt down, digging her fingers into the floor. She tore off chunks of wood, revealing something underneath.

    A piece of fabric came into view, with a familiar pattern. Zhang Shu recognized it instantly. It was Qin Lei’s shirt. She felt her legs buckle and she fell to the floor, sobbing.

    They kept digging until they uncovered the whole body. Qin Lei’s corpse, rotting and decomposing, stared back at them with empty eyes.

    The group stood around the body in silence, their faces pale. Their ghost stories had become reality.

    “Ah!” Brother Nan, who had been watching from the door, turned and ran, screaming, “Ghost… There’s a ghost… I’m getting out of here… I’m getting out of here!”

    “Mum.” Yue Yue’s voice came from behind him, as she peeked into the room, “Why is dad still sleeping?”

    “Yue Yue!” Zhang Shu snapped out of her shock, and ran to her daughter, wrapping her arms around her, “Come on, honey, we have to go. Mum will take you somewhere safe.”

    As they were about to leave, Ma Shan asked, “Wait, should we let them leave like this? What about Dr. Qu? We haven’t found her yet.”

    Yu Xiao shook her head, “Don’t you watch horror movies? Do you think they can really escape?”

    As they rushed downstairs, Brother Nan had Henry slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, while Zhang Shu clutched Yue Yue’s hand, dragging her along. They were in such a hurry to get out of the villa that they almost bumped into Ripley, who was coming out of the kitchen with a tray of pancakes.

    He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with confusion. “What’s the matter with you guys?”

    “Run, Ripley, run!” Brother Nan yelled at him. “This place is crawling with ghosts, more than you can count!”

    Ripley blinked, not sure if he had heard him right. He looked around and saw Yu Xiao and the others following them down the stairs. He caught Yu Xiao’s gaze and asked her, “Miss Yu, what is he talking about?”

    “He’s talking about ghosts, Ripley. They’re scared and they want to leave,” Yu Xiao explained. “What about you? Are you coming with them?”

    Ripley felt a pang of doubt. He hadn’t seen any ghosts himself, and he wasn’t easily spooked by stories. The haunted villa thing seemed too far-fetched to be true. He turned to Yu Xiao and said, “Are you leaving?”

    “No, I’m staying,” Yu Xiao said firmly. “I have something to do here.”

    “Then I’m staying too,” Ripley declared, setting down the tray. He looked at her with a shy smile and said, “I made breakfast. Do you want some?”

    Yu Xiao felt her stomach rumble. She hadn’t eaten anything since last night. “Yes, I’m hungry.”

    Ripley beamed and led her to the kitchen.

    Tan Qiao Yin watched them go with a sour expression. She muttered to herself, “Who does she think she is, flirting with NPCs like that?”

    Yu Xiao shot her a dirty look. “Are you jealous because I’m more beautiful than you?”

    Tan Qiao Yin’s voice rose to a shriek. “You’re prettier than me? Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen your own reflection? Which delusional eye of yours decided that you’re prettier than me?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen rolled her eyes. “Why are you so insecure?” she said with a sneer. “Our Smiley Sister is obviously more beautiful than you.”

    Tan Qiao Yin: “…”

    Yu Xiao, who had been watching aloofly the drama from a safe distance, took out a bunch of talismans from her pocket and announced, “Genuine talismans on a desperate clearance sale! Only three points for the whole stack. It’s a steal, trust me. You won’t regret it, you won’t get scammed…”

    “Wow!” Zhu Miao Miao gasped, grabbing Tan Qiao Yin’s sleeve. “Qiao Qiao, her talismans are way cheaper than yours.”

    Tan Qiao Yin: “…”

    Ripley brought from the kitchen with a mouthwatering American Style breakfast, a huge plate piled with bacon, eggs, vegetables, sausages, and toast, and placed it in front of Yu Xiao, his eyes sparkling with hope and nervousness. “I hope you’ll enjoy it,” he said softly.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen peeked into the kitchen and asked, “Is there any more?”

    Ripley: “Huh?”

    “Our breakfast?” Zhou Xiao Zhen said, raising her eyebrows.

    “Uh…” Ripley fidgeted with his hands. “I only made Miss Yu’s serving.” (TN: Ripley: ( ° ?? °) “Why should I feed you?”)

    Others: “…”

    Yu Xiao waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I have more than enough food here to feed a small army. Or at least, the three of us.”

    Ma Shan looked at the steaming plates of bacon, sausages, and stir-fried vegetables with envy. “And what about us?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen, who had already helped herself to a generous portion, scoffed. “You should be grateful that there is food you can cook. Or do you think you’re too good for that?”

    Ma Shan bit his lip and said nothing. He knew better than to argue with her, especially after he had just bought those dubious talismans from her and her friends. He followed Kang Jun to the kitchen, hoping to find something edible there.

    Kang Jun turned to him and said, “Hey, Brother Shan, can you do me a favour and make mine too? You know my story was about cooking? I’m afraid about triggering it.”

    Ma Shan nodded silently.

    **

    Meanwhile, in the living room, Tan Qiao Yin pointed an accusing finger at Yu Xiao, who was happily munching on bacon. “You’re such a jerk, you know that? How can you toy with an NPC’s feelings like that?”

    Yu Xiao looked up, feigning innocence. “What are you talking about? Ripley and I are just friends. There’s nothing going on between us.”

    **

    In the bathroom, Ripley was splashing cold water on his face, trying to calm down his racing heart. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, noticing how red his cheeks were. Oh Ripley, he thought, your ancestor was a tomato.

    As he leaned over the sink, he felt the cold water splash on his face, refreshing his hot eyes. He didn’t bother to look up at the mirror, where a sinister grin twisted his reflection’s lips. A pale hand reached out from the glass, slowly closing the gap between them.

    **

    Tan Qiao Yin narrowed her eyes at Yu Xiao, who was happily munching on a toast. “Don’t play dumb with me,” she said, “What’s going on between you and him? Why is he making breakfast for you and not for anyone else?”

    Yu Xiao shrugged, flashing a sweet smile. “Maybe it’s because I’m the prettiest and the nicest person here~”

    Tan Qiao Yin snorted, but before she could retort, she saw Ripley walking back. She quickly turned to him, hoping to get some answers. “Ripley, you have to tell me the truth. Has this woman been seducing you?”

    Ripley didn’t even acknowledge her. His eyes were fixed on Yu Xiao, who looked up in surprise. He walked past Zhou Xiao Zhen, who was sitting next to Yu Xiao, and squeezed himself between them. Zhou Xiao Zhen gave him a confused look, but he ignored her too.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen: “???”

    Yu Xiao was about to say something, but Ripley silenced her by placing his hands on her cheeks. He stared at her with a look of adoration, making her blush.

    “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, “I really like you.”

    “…”

    Tan Qiao Yin gasped, jumped to her feet, and pointed her finger at them. “And you still dare to say that both of you are innocent!”

    Yu Xiao was stunned. She knew Ripley was a sweet and shy guy, not the type to make bold moves. What had gotten into him?

    Ripley held her face closer to his, his eyes burning with passion. Their lips were almost touching…

    “Don’t go too far,” Yu Xiao warned him. “Or I might have to smack you.”

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───