Ripley’s eyes were wild with desperation. “Please, just one kiss…”

    He lunged at Yu Xiao, hoping to capture her lips with his. But he only met air, as Yu Xiao dodged his clumsy attempt and delivered a swift punch to his jaw.

    “Ow…” Zhou Xiao Zhen winced in sympathy. “Smiley, that was harsh. He’s crazy about you, you know. He can’t control himself around you.”

    Tan Qiao Yin’s face darkened with fury. “What kind of excuse is that? You flirt with him, then you knock him out? That’s not cool, that’s cruel.”

    Ripley groaned on the floor, clutching his face, his eyes pleading with Yu Xiao.

    Yu Xiao frowned, confused. She glanced at her fist, then walked over to him. She crouched down and leaned over his body. Ripley whispered weakly, “It’s okay…”

    He didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Yu Xiao grabbed his collar with one hand and slammed her other fist into his face repeatedly.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen watched in horror as Yu Xiao unleashed her fury on Ripley. She jumped up and down, begging her to stop. “Enough! Enough! Please, stop it! He’s had enough!”

    Tan Qiao Yin gasped, realising how brutal she was. Had she gone too far with her words?

    Zhao Lan tried to calm her down. “Smiley, that’s enough. You’ve made your point, no need to overdo it.”

    Yu Xiao finally stopped hitting him. She looked at his battered face, barely recognizable. His head was twisted at an unnatural angle, one eye had changed from horizontal to vertical.

    Tan Qiao Yin gasped, her finger jabbing at the thing in front of them. “What kind of freak are you?”

    Yu Xiao’s eyes narrowed as she yanked the man by his scruff, bringing him closer to her furious face. “You’re not Ripley,” she spat. “I noticed something was off when I started throwing punches! You’re some kind of twisted copy. Where is he? What did you do to him?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen joined the interrogation, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, don’t be shy. Tell us how you tried to kiss Yu Xiao just a minute ago. Was that part of your plan, you sick bastard?”

    Yu Xiao reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of talismans, ready to unleash her wrath. “You picked the wrong person to mess with,” she snarled. “You’re about to meet your doom.”

    The man whimpered, his eyes wide with fear. “Mirror… mirror…” he croaked, his voice barely audible.

    Zhao Lan frowned, trying to make sense of his words. “A mirror?” she repeated. “Wait a second. This is the mirror ghost that escaped from Precious’s room last night, isn’t it? And Ripley must have gone to the loo when this thing took his place.”

    Yu Xiao dragged the mirror ghost to the nearest restroom, but when she looked at the mirror, she saw nothing but her own reflection. She glanced at the mirror ghost, then back at the mirror, then shook the mirror ghost violently. “Where is he?” she shouted. “Where is Ripley?”

    The mirror ghost sobbed, then slowly stood up and faced the mirror. As it did, another image appeared on the glass.

    It was Ripley, trapped in a distorted version of the bathroom. He looked pale and scared, but when he saw Yu Xiao, his eyes lit up with hope.

    The mirror ghost stretched out its hand, which morphed into a dark, viscous substance, and reached into the mirror. It grabbed Ripley and pulled him out of the mirror world, freeing him from his prison.

    Ripley collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. He lifted his head and met Yu Xiao’s gaze, gratitude and relief shining in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. “You saved me. Again.”

    The mirror ghost let go of Ripley and turned to Yu Xiao, its expression pleading. It hoped that Yu Xiao would spare its life, now that it had returned Ripley to her.

    Yu Xiao looked at the mirror ghost, then shrugged. She didn’t feel like wasting her energy on a pathetic creature like that. She decided to let it go.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen leaned in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “So you transformed into Ripley, but what made you go to such lengths as to confess your love to Yu Xiao while posing as him? And you even attempted to kiss her?”

    Ripley felt a surge of heat in his face, his cheeks burning like fire. What the hell? That damn ghost had used his face to do such a thing?

    The Mirror Ghost whimpered, feeling wronged. “Wuwuwu, I didn’t want to do this. When I stole his image from the mirror, I also took his identity and body and his thoughts and desires. And I made them bigger…”

    Ripley: “…”

    “Oh~,” Zhou Xiao Zhen nodded, satisfied with the juicy gossip. She smiled contentedly, like a cat that stole the canary.

    Yu Xiao released its hand, and the Mirror Ghost fled back into the mirror in a flash.

    Yiyiyi~… the outside world was too scary; it never wanted to leave the mirror again.

    Ripley was at a loss. What was that horrible ghost talking about? What was he supposed to do? Would Miss Yu hate him for this?

    “Miss Yu, I…” Ripley stammered, unable to look Yu Xiao in the eye. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to do that…”

    “Alright, enough with the explanations,” Tan Qiao Yin said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “The more you try to clarify, the more muddled it becomes. Young people, they have some desires; it’s natural.”

    Ripley felt tears sting his eyes.

    They walked back to the living room, where they found Brother Nan and the others waiting for them.

    Brother Nan cursed as he sat on the couch, his face contorted with rage and fear. “What the bloody hell? How does a bridge just snap like that? It was fine yesterday!”

    Yu Xiao shrugged, not surprised by the bridge’s sudden collapse. She had always felt a sense of unease crossing it, as if something was waiting to pull them down into the dark water below.

    Henry looked like he had seen a ghost, which he probably had. His skin was pale and clammy, and his eyes darted around nervously. “We need to find another way across. Come on, let’s work together.”

    Ma Shan and Zhu Miao Miao emerged from the kitchen, holding plates of food. Ma Shan scoffed, “Why should we bother? You’re the ones who want to leave. We’re fine here.”

    Henry gaped at them, incredulous. “Are you mad? This place is haunted, don’t you see? There are ghosts everywhere, horrible ghosts. I’ve seen them, hanging from the ceiling, sharpening their knives, whispering in the shadows… and there’s another one, another one… if we stay here, we’re doomed!”

    Kang Jun snatched a plate from Ma Shan’s hand and took a bite beacon. “Then let us be doomed,” he said, chewing. “It’s none of your business, is it?”

    Henry felt a surge of anger and disgust. He decided he didn’t care about these lunatics anymore. He turned to Brother Nan, “I’m getting the tools. We’re leaving today, no matter what.”

    After a healthy American breakfast, Yu Xiao and the others followed Henry and Brother Nan outside to watch as they tried to make a makeshift rope bridge.

    After a lot of swearing and sweating, they managed to tie a rope to a tree on the other side. Brother Nan tested it, ready to slide across.

    Henry clenched his teeth, determined to get out of this nightmare. He was next in line.

    Zhang Shu and her daughter were the only ones left behind, clinging to each other in despair. Zhang Shu sobbed into Yue Yue’s hair, her voice hoarse and broken. “Please, let us cross with you. I can survive, but she’s just a child. She won’t make it alone.”

    But Nan Ge and Henry had no sympathy for them. With grim determination, they gripped the rope and slowly dragged themselves across the chasm, ignoring the cries and pleas behind them.

    Zhang Shu watched them with a sinking heart, feeling the last shred of hope slip away. She wailed louder, unable to stop the tears and snot from running down her face.

    Yu Xiao had enough of the noise. She couldn’t understand why Dr. Qu had dreamed up such a scene.

    She walked over to Zhang Shu and her daughter and crouched down in front of them. She looked at them with a cold and curious gaze. “Do you really want to go over there so badly?”

    Zhang Shu lifted her head, her eyes red and swollen. “There are ghosts here,” she whispered.

    Yu Xiao snorted. “And you think there are no ghosts on the other side? Have you thought about what awaits you over there? Do you know what dangers lurk in the dark?”

    Zhang Shu shook her head. She didn’t care. She just wanted to get away from this place. Her husband was dead, killed by one of the ghosts. She couldn’t risk losing Yue Yue too.

    Yu Xiao shrugged. “Well, if you’re so determined to go, I guess I can help you.” She stood up and reached out her hands. Before Zhang Shu could react, she grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up. Then she did the same with Yue Yue.

    Zhang Shu gasped. “What are you doing?”

    Yu Xiao smiled wickedly.

    Zhang Shu: “!”

    Before she could protest, Yu Xiao twirled them like a pair of rag dolls. “Let’s go!”

    Whoosh!

    The next thing Zhang Shu knew, she and Yue Yue were soaring through the air.

    Zhang Shu: “Ahhhh!!”

    Halfway across the chasm, Brother Nan and Henry were dangling from the ropes, their muscles burning and their palms sweating. They heard a shriek above them and looked up, only to see Zhang Shu and Yue Yue zooming over their heads.

    “…”

    Yu Xiao had flung them with such force and precision that they landed safely on the other side, tumbling a few times but escaping any major harm.

    Zhang Shu sat on the ground, clutching Yue Yue to her chest, her eyes wide with disbelief. She stared at Yu Xiao and the others on the opposite cliff, wondering if she had slipped into a dream. How could this be real? It was too ridiculous, right?

    Fortunately, Brother Nan and Henry were in good shape, so they managed to pull themselves across the gap, albeit with great difficulty.

    They collapsed on the ground, panting and groaning, only to find Zhang Shu and Yue Yue standing nonchalantly nearby, as if nothing had happened.

    Brother Nan was clueless. He looked at them with a bewildered expression and asked, “How did you guys end up here?”

    Zhang Shu bit her lip, then admitted, “We got tossed here.”

    Henry, who had the brains of a rock, stared. “What?”

    “Never mind that.” Brother Nan got to his feet. “We need to get out of here, pronto.”

    The four of them scrambled into Henry’s sleek car, and Henry revved the engine. The car sped away, leaving a trail of dust behind.

    Ma Shan watched the car fade into the distance, feeling a pang of anxiety. “They’re not really bailing on us, are they?”

    “Of course not,” Tan Qiao Yin said with a smirk. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that they can’t just escape like that. They’ll be back for sure.”

    They chatted casually, ignoring Ripley’s presence. Ripley heard them talk about horror movies, wonder who was a doctor, and debate what was the easiest way…

    He couldn’t make sense of it. He felt like these people were aliens, like they belonged to another world. He sneaked a few glances at Yu Xiao. She was one of them. Would she also leave this place?

    Henry and the rest drove down the mountain, but the mountain road seemed infinite. They drove on and on, but the road never ended. It had taken them less than two hours to drive up the mountain, but why had they been driving down for hours and still not reached the bottom?

    The darkness of the night crept over them, turning the trees into sinister shadows that loomed over the road. Henry felt a surge of panic as he glanced at the gas gauge. It was almost empty. He swallowed hard and turned to Brother Nan, who was sitting next to him. “What should we do?” His voice was shaky. “We’re almost out of gas.”

    Brother Nan tried to sound calm, but his eyes betrayed his fear. “Don’t panic. We’re far away from that horrible mansion now. We’ll be fine.”

    Henry wasn’t convinced. He looked out the window and saw nothing but bleakness. He shuddered as he recalled the madness that had gripped the people in the mansion. He wondered if they were still alive. “Are you sure?” He asked. “Is this really safer than staying there?”

    Brother Nan didn’t have an answer. He felt a pang of hunger and regret.

    “It’s raining,” a small voice said from the backseat.

    Zhang Shu snapped out of her trance and glanced at her daughter. “What?”

    “It’s raining,” Yue Yue repeated, pointing at the glass.

    “Are you sure it’s raining?” Brother Nan asked, incredulous. He lowered the window and reached out his hand, expecting to feel the wetness of the drops. But there was nothing. Only the sound of rain, growing louder and more frantic by the second.

    A chill ran through the car, and everyone felt a sudden unease. They remembered the other story that Qin Lei had told them.

    Brother Nan felt a surge of panic. He quickly rolled up the window and grabbed his phone, switching on the flashlight. He shone it outside, hoping to see something normal. But what he saw made him scream.

    The windshield was stained with blood. Everywhere he looked, there were red handprints, smearing and overlapping, as if someone had tried to claw their way in.

    “Ahhhhhh!!!!”

    **

    At the villa, Yu Xiao and the others enjoyed a lavish dinner. Henry had spared no expense for their week-long vacation, and the food was abundant and delicious.

    Ripley was in charge of the steaks, and he cooked them to perfection. The meat was juicy and tender, with a mouthwatering aroma that made everyone salivate.

    Yu Xiao wished Ripley was more than just an NPC in a dream. She wondered if there was a way to hack the system and make him a permanent resident of Saint Elizabeth’s. But she knew it was hopeless. He was only a figment of someone else’s imagination. sea??h thё novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───