CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 42: TENANT GUIDELINES (8)

Sang Que ran back to the central courtyard and saw Xu Yichao covered in blood, face pale, trembling all over, opening his mouth but unable to make a sound.

Sang Que took out half a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it to Xu Yichao, "Go wipe it clean over there."

Xu Yichao shakily took the tissues and retreated under the eaves. Sang Que looked around and poked the corpse twice with the crowbar in his hand.

Dead for sure, no sign of becoming a zombie.

She took the phone out of the corpse’s hand, tapped it with a fruit knife inscribed with a Ghost Soldier Talisman, and then picked up the phone with a piece of cloth.

The phone was unlocked, and the screen showed a text message failed to send. Sang Que switched to the background; the camera was still running.

Looking up with caution, Sang Que also retreated under the eaves before opening the first video in the album.

The young man in the video was leaning against a wall, panting heavily, his hair drenched in sweat, looking exhausted, lips cracked. He glanced at something off-camera, pupils trembling slightly, and then started speaking to the camera.

"My name is Zheng Letian. If you find this phone, please take it and leave Xujiawan Village immediately. This place is dangerous! Contact my brother, Zheng Xuan, whose number is in my contacts. Please ask him to rescue people here before the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Zheng Family will reward you greatly."

The first video ended there, and Sang Que clicked on the next video.

It was still Zheng Letian, but he looked slightly more composed, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Brother, by the time you see this video, I’m probably dead. Don’t feel sad; now is not the time to mourn. Hurry here to save Brother Wu Jun, who has been consumed by village resentment. There’s still a chance before the Mid-Autumn Festival to save him. Also, Granny Xu, the temple guardian, is trapped in the Skywell Building in Xujiawan Village."

"What? Grandma Temple Guardian is also in the building?"

Hearing this news, Xu Yichao quickly ran out and shouted upwards.

"Grandma Shufen, where are you? Grandma——"

The echoes resonated within the Skywell Building, gradually twisting, sounding increasingly strange and creepy.

Sang Que listened for a while but heard no response, so he continued watching the video.

"...I gave my jade pendant to Granny Xu. She should be able to hold on. Brother, find room 404, and you’ll find the village resentment. Once you arrive, remember two things."

"First, there is a ’Tenant Guide’ in the window of the clock shop’s first-floor duty room. Memorize its rules carefully. I only skimmed it and didn’t remember it well, which is why Granny Xu and I are trapped inside."

"Second, pay attention to each floor’s... buzz... the building’s filth... buzz... abnormal..."

The screen suddenly began to distort, static noises appeared, and Zheng Letian’s face flickered between sadness and a sinister smile.

"...buzz...they’re all still here...buzz...stay behind..."

Xu Yichao didn’t know when he had returned, looking at the phone’s twisted face and then at Sang Que’s expressionless face. He couldn’t help but ask.

"Are you emotionless? During the journey, I found you especially calm."

"You get used to it after seeing it enough," Sang Que said lightly. "Besides, I’m not acting. There’s no need to react with shock, fear, tension, or grief to things that have already happened."

Xu Yichao hesitated but felt he was getting used to Sang Que. She must be a hidden disciple of some master, specialized in exorcism and protecting peace in the human realm.

Thinking of this, Xu Yichao suddenly felt that Sang Que’s image in his mind grew larger, more sacred, and inviolable.

Sang Que quickly scrolled through the phone, the photos in the album were few, mostly landscape and portrait shots by Zheng Letian, nothing special.

There was no valuable information in the notepad either. She took out a new red cloth, wrapped the phone, and placed it in her chest bag, planning to contact his brother Zheng Xuan once they were out.

"You see the situation. If you want to leave, I can try to get you out of the building first," Sang Que said to Xu Yichao again.

It was going to be very dangerous next, and she needed Xu Yichao to think it through.

Xu Yichao glanced at the corpse in the distance, feeling the urge to pee rising again. He said with a pained expression.

"If you’re not leaving, how dare I? I just went to pee alone and almost got beheaded. Now you want me to go out alone? I’m afraid I won’t get ten steps before dying."

"Well, either way is death, and dying here is better than outside. With the heavy yin energy here, I could become a fiercer ghost and help you more. Besides, if you can solve the evil in this building, I might have a chance to live by following you. So, it’s better to stick with you."

Sang Que could only think that Xu Yichao was indeed a genius of logic.

"Alright, then whatever happens next, don’t run around or scream. Remember what I told you before: don’t act impulsively if you encounter anything dirty. Step back to observe and then decide the next step."

Sang Que gave a reminder and walked towards a row of houses on the east side. The window of the "duty room" in the middle was open, with a wooden board set up as a counter, inside it was pitch black, and the situation inside the house couldn’t be seen.

On the counter, there was indeed a laminated paper, covered in blackish-brown stains.

Sang Que reached out to take it, but suddenly a hand stretched out from the window, trying to pull the paper away.

Bam!

A fruit knife directly pierced through that hand and the paper beneath it. Xu Yichao was dumbfounded, watching that hand turn into ashes, dissipating into the darkness.

Xu Yichao was stunned, thinking, was this reaction really that fast? Just like skipping frames in a video!

Wasn’t she just saying not to act impulsively and to step back and observe first?

Sang Que expressionlessly pulled out the fruit knife. The power of that Wandering Soul had been absorbed by the building again. It seemed necessary to find that "village resentment" in the building; otherwise, killing them was futile, a waste of the Ghost Soldier Talisman’s power.

Facing the impending "village resentment," Sang Que was uneasy but not afraid. If she really couldn’t handle it, she would Open Gate to Black Mountain Village and take the "village resentment" there to give Yan Daozi some warmth.

She dared to delve deeper only because this retreat was available.

Suppressing the inexplicable excitement, Sang Que picked up the piece of paper from the window and began reading it line by line.

[Tenant Notice]

① The main door of this building opens at 5 AM every day and closes at 11 PM. During the closure, do not knock or shout at the door. Security guard Old Tian patrols at night and is not in the duty room.

Residents going out at night should look for security guard Old Tian. Night shift workers coming back early should go to Kangmin Clinic and borrow keys from night nurse Xu Jiayi.

② At 6 AM, 12 PM, and 6 PM are peak water usage times, small water flow is normal. Public bathroom pipes often have foreign objects, and the water is turbid, not recommended for bathing or cooking. Any issues, tenants bear the responsibility themselves.

After 11 PM, the rooftop water tank begins storing water, and tenants are prohibited from using water, or they can store it in advance.

③ Pay attention to fire safety, do not leave while cooking. In the event of a fire, take the whistle on the bathroom wall and blow it to notify security guard Old Tian to extinguish it.

⑤ Mind your personal conduct, do not throw objects from heights, and do not litter. If discovered, report to security guard Old Tian promptly for handling.

⑥ From 12 PM to 2 PM, and after 10 PM, please manage your children, do not make loud noises, and do not run outside. Violators will be dealt with by security guard Old Tian.

There were only these five printed tenant notices, but there was no fourth point, which Sang Que found very strange.

Xu Yichao thought of something and said to Sang Que, "The landlord brothers are very superstitious, and there are no number 4 plaques in this building. Going from the 3rd floor, it directly goes to the 5th floor, the room numbers are also 1~3, 5~7. Many people discussed this back then, saying the landlord brothers are weird people doing weird things."

Sang Que felt a bit irritated. In the video just now, Zheng Letian said that to find room 404, they had to find the "village resentment." He had an older brother swallowed by the village resentment, indicating they might have entered 404; this room exists.

Sang Que turned the paper over and found handwritten supplement notices beneath the stains.

[Recently, some tenants reported thefts at home. Please do not bring unregistered individuals into the building. If found, security guard Old Tian will handle it.]

[Please lock your doors, pay attention to home security, do not casually enter other tenants’ unlocked homes. If you enter, you bear the consequences.]

[The landlord’s youngest son is afraid of cats. Tenants should not keep cats in the building. If a stray cat enters, please drive it away promptly.]

[Tenant of room 705 has hysteria due to family changes and is under treatment, occasionally sleepwalking at night to knock. Do not pay attention, do not open the door, and do not suddenly wake her up! Otherwise, she will follow you, and might even harm you!]

[The top floor is temporarily closed and off-limits.]

Sang Que had just finished reading the last line when suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps and the jingle-jangle of keys clashing against each other.

She immediately pressed the flashlight in Xu Yichao’s hand, squinting in the direction of the sound.

A humanoid shadow appeared on the second floor, vaguely visible in a security uniform, holding a bunch of keys while patrolling around.

Xu Yichao also saw the security guard and immediately widened his eyes, looking at Sang Que.

"Let’s go into the duty room and look for the tenant register."

Xu Yichao had mentioned before, related people from the locations of the strange talk incidents in the village all lived here.

Exploring the building while also being cautious of these rules, it’s especially important to find out who lives in each room in advance!