Chapter 10: Ghost Mountain Villa 10
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Separated only by the door, the people inside the shed could clearly hear the “hoo… heh” sounds coming from outside.
It sounded like the heavy, excited breathing of a wild beast, rolling out from its throat.
Bai Shuang, aware that she had done something wrong, was trembling with fear. Tears flowed uncontrollably, smudging her once delicate makeup into a mess.
Her eyes, contracted with fear, turned from the shed’s door to Yan Shixun, filled with deep anxiety and a plea for help.
Don’t… don’t let the unknown monster outside rush in, save me, save us!
However, the thing outside the door would not give Bai Shuang much time to react.
Beneath the pallid moonlight, the thing outside was grotesquely excited. It raised its heavy, rust-covered axe high into the air and then swung it forcefully at the shed’s door.
“Crack!”
The bloodied and sharp axe split open the fragile door with a shower of wood chips, creating a gap in the door.
The shadow of the thing outside fell into the woodshed through the narrow gap.
Bai Shuang tightly covered her mouth, preventing herself from making any sound. An Nanyuan’s chest heaved violently, and all he could hear was the frantic beating of his own heart.
The smile on Yan Shixun’s lips grew wider.
He parted his lightly red lips, beneath his suppressed calmness, there was a quivering madness eager to break free, ready to engage freely with that thing.
In this state of exhilaration, Yan Shixun’s senses were heightened to the utmost.
Through the gap in the woodshed door, he could see the massive, bloated crimson figure of that thing. Above it, red shadows pulsed and jumped incessantly, like the body after the skin had been peeled off, with veins and muscles clearly visible pulsating on top, and blood still flowing.
Yan Shixun’s slender body swiftly leaped to the side, grabbing the decaying firewood stick standing in the corner and giving it a slight shake, all without making a sound.
The creature couldn’t see what was inside the woodshed, but it could sense the fear emanating from within.
It excitedly let out a coarse and hoarse laughter, then once again swung the axe —
“Bang——！”
The wooden door shuddered heavily, almost falling apart on the spot. The previously narrow gap widened as the axe struck, with wooden splinters flying. After this second blow, the hole was now large enough to allow the passage of a grown man’s fist.
Shadows danced in front of the opening, and then a bright red head appeared, coming closer to the hole. With a murky eye completely exposed against the red, it eagerly looked inside.
Bai Shuang, whose gaze accidentally met that eye after experiencing various eerie occurrences tonight, finally had her psychological defenses crushed by this terror beyond human understanding. She screamed uncontrollably.
An Nanyuan trembled, his lips quivering, and cold sweat soaked his clothes. His mouth was wide open, it was as if his vocal cords were gripped, he couldn’t produce any sound, overwhelmed by fear.
The thing outside hadn’t noticed Yan Shixun hiding in the corner of the shed’s view, but it was quite satisfied with the reactions of the young man and woman it could see.
With an excited “hoo-heh” sound, it straightened up and raised the axe again, intending to strike down and shatter the shed’s door once and for all.
Just as Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan watched in helpless despair as the last line of defense was about to be breached, facing the impending danger and death, Yan Shixun’s gaze sharpened. In his eyes, everything that the thing outside the shed did through the opening became a series of slow-motion frames.
Finally, the axe fell once more.
Now’s the time!
In the blink of an eye, every muscle in Yan Shixun’s body tightened as he swiftly rushed toward the wooden door.
The firewood stick in his hand twirled into an elegant pattern, pointing straight at the opening, closing the gap inch by inch as the axe descended once more.
Metal overcomes wood, wood fuels fire, fire conquers metal – the five elements of the world mutually restrain and promote each other.
Yan Shixun shouted loudly, “Tui Qian Er Qi, Hun Yi Cheng Zhen. Yi Ming Feng Lei, Ji Hui Huang Ning, Yin Yun Bian Hua, Hou Dian Xun Ting, Wen Hu Ji Zhi, Su Fa Yang Sheng, She!”
The Five Thunder Talisman scripts scattered into the air, transforming into golden characters, forming a long and endless golden halo in mid-air, occasionally flashing with lightning.
The final syllable was uttered, and rings of golden light instantly surrounded the firewood stick in Yan Shixun’s hand, merging with it.
Guiding thunder into wood, to generate and drive away the evil and veneration fire.
Under the sharp axe, the initially decayed firewood stick suddenly became as hard as black iron, with lightning flickering on it.
Upon contact with the axe, it made a crisp sound of “clang!” but the attack did not stop.
The axe was shattered into pieces, but the firewood stick continued to extend from the hole, charging towards whatever was outside the door.
“Hiss——！”
It was like a red-hot branding iron touching flesh. As the firewood stick made contact with that thing, it produced a sizzling sound, and a plume of black smoke rose.
Yan Shixun had a crazed grin on his lips as he used the firewood stick as an extension of his fingers, moving it up and down to draw intricate symbols and runes on the thing’s body.
“Ah—!”
That thing screamed in agony, dropped its damaged axe, and stumbled away, using both hands and feet to escape quickly, moving far away from the firewood stick that it feared.
Only the heavy smell of burnt flesh and the lingering black smoke remained around the shed.
Originally, the opening that the creature had split open to catch its prey had become the very path to hunt itself. And the living being who should have been terrified had turned into an entity that terrorized the monster.
Through the hole left in the shed’s door, the garden appeared calm. With the red monster gone, the lush rose bushes still looked beautiful under the moonlight.
If not for the lingering scent in the air and the hearts of each person still racing, they would have no idea that what had just happened here was not an illusion but a real brush with life and death.
Trembling, Bai Shuang removed her hand from her mouth. The carefully drawn features on her face were now disheveled from the washing of tears. The recent fear had not yet dissipated, and she continued to shake uncontrollably.
Despite this, she struggled to turn her head and looked at Yan Shixun.
The young man, holding the firewood stick, had a tall and slender figure. He stood behind the broken door, having been in close proximity to the monster just moments ago, yet he showed no trace of fear.
His sharp, long eyebrows and narrow, upturned eyes were filled with a wild and fearless spirit.
The cold, white moonlight streaming in through the hole fell on Yan Shixun’s eyes. He sensed Bai Shuang’s gaze. When he turned to look back, his eyes still gleamed with that sharpness, the remnants of his ferocity.
Not only Bai Shuang but also the livestream audience, who had just witnessed a battle lasting a few seconds, found themselves holding their breath, staring in awe at this exceptionally handsome young man who had exceeded the boundaries of ordinary human capabilities.
In just those few tens of seconds of combat, he had completely captured the hearts and thoughts of the audience.
Humans are often conquered by strength and aspire to follow powerful individuals.
Yan Shixun undoubtedly fit the majority’s understanding of strength. His strikingly handsome appearance, which could compete even in the entertainment industry full of attractive individuals, made many viewers who had been waiting in front of their screens palpitate at this moment.
——Mom, I think I’m in love.
This man, crazy and strong, is so thrilling!
“Scared out of your wits?” Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow and said to the dazed Bai Shuang, “Let’s spend the night in the shed for now. We’ll go back when it’s daylight.”
With all the ups and downs, Bai Shuang’s brain had long since shut down, and upon hearing Yan Shixun’s voice, she could only nod in a daze.
Anyway, she understood now. In this eerie mansion, as long as she listened to Yan Shixun and followed him, she could stay alive.
However, the audience that had been patiently waiting in front of An Nanyuan’s split screen started to become restless.
There was a reason for this: the main screen of the live stream, originally blank, suddenly captured an image!
In the pitch-black interior of the mansion, illuminated only by the cold moonlight, an elderly face filled with wrinkles and dark spots slowly emerged on the main screen. The face had a resentful and sinister expression.
The old man was wearing outdated clothes, not in line with modern styles. The layers of clothes were soaked in blood. His throat seemed to be congested with thick phlegm, making a wheezing sound like a broken bellows.
He ignored the live-streaming equipment set up in the living room and walked right past the camera. He headed toward the French doors on the side of the living room facing the screen.
The audience watching the live stream, who had just witnessed this face, were so frightened that some of them even dropped their phones.
[Is that a f*cking person or a ghost? Why is there so much blood on his clothes? Damn! If this show is scripted, I have to say, it’s scarier than most Chinese horror movies I’ve seen!]
[That’s not age spots on his face; those look like post-mortem lividity! Is he alive or dead?]
[Wait a minute, isn’t that the old steward from this afternoon? I’ve been watching since the beginning; I knew it.]
[I can’t take it anymore, I was almost scared to death by that red monster poking its head out of the shed’s door just now. I’m out of here! You guys keep it up.]
[? I just came over from social media. Is this a real-life horror game livestream?]
……
Zhang Wubing, shivering under his blanket, was on the verge of tears.
He hiccupped softly and nervously sent a screenshot of the livestream to Yan Shixun: “[Brother Yan, this old guy seems to have gone to look for you. What should I do?]”
Yan Shixun lowered his gaze to the screen and then looked up, smiling with interest as he glanced at the shed’s doorway.
It seemed like this way he could look through the opening and see the resentful face standing behind the French doors in the villa’s living room.
Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan, both of them looking pale from the consecutive events, cautiously sat down near Yan Shixun once they confirmed there was no imminent danger or monsters left.
Fear had drained too much of their physical and mental energy. Only after they relaxed did they begin to feel profound exhaustion welling up from deep within their bodies.
At this point, Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan didn’t care about their roles as idol stars, let alone the safe social distance they used to maintain to avoid rumors.
Having narrowly escaped death, the two of them leaned back to back, guarding Yan Shixun’s side. Slowly but surely, they drifted off to sleep…
……
As for Yan Shixun, he had his arms crossed in front of him, leaning against the brick wall of the woodshed, his eyes half-opened as if patiently waiting for something.
It wasn’t until the first faint light appeared on the horizon that he stirred.
The anxious viewers who had been huddled in front of the livestream throughout the night finally breathed a sigh of relief and wearily retired to their respective beds.
[Finally, it’s dawn. This was the longest night of my life.]
[Didn’t Yan Shixun say they should wait until it’s light outside? Is it safe now?]
[Yes, it’s safe. Whew… I’ve never been so nervous while watching a show or a movie before. It was terrifying.]
Both Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan also woke up one after the other.
“It’s daylight?” An Nanyuan looked at the light coming through the opening of the woodshed and exclaimed, “We can go back!”
Bai Shuang, recalling the experiences of the night, almost cried again, “That’s great, finally, there are no more of those things.”
The two spoke as they prepared to head towards the woodshed’s entrance.
But they were stopped by Yan Shixun, who extended his long arm.
“Hold on,” Yan Shixun said as he slowly straightened his posture, fully opening his half-closed eyes. “Yes, it’s daylight, but there are still shadows outside.”
Both of them were taken aback.
And Yan Shixun swiftly picked up the firewood stick beside him, raised it high, and brought it down in a forceful strike.
“Crash!”
The door of the woodshed shattered.
Simultaneously, there was a piercing scream from the shadow outside the woodshed, cast there by the angle of the sunlight.
“Ah—!”
Right before their eyes, the red, humanoid-shaped entity lost its cover in the light, exposed to the sunlight. It convulsed and struggled but was ultimately consumed by the sunlight, turning into a cloud of black smoke.
As the mountain wind blew, all traces vanished.
Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan, who had relaxed their nerves, tensed up once again, breaking out in cold sweat and feeling the aftermath of fear.
Yan Shixun casually tossed the firewood stick back into the woodshed and then walked out.
“Let’s go.”
He said with a smile, glancing at the two beside him. “Now, we can go back and get some rest.”
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