Chapter 32.2 Ye Family House No. 444 05
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In the evening, Shen Yihui arrived at the inn in his car to meet them. Earlier during the day, Supervisor Su had talked to Chen Yang for a while. After all, Hu Yingnan, who had gone missing, was her disciple. When she heard that Chen Yang intended to visit Ye Family House No. 444 tonight, she mentioned that she couldn’t leave Ziyang Palace for the time being and said that she would hold a ceremony there in the evening to pray for everyone’s safety.
Shen Yihui drove Chen Yang and Du Shuo towards the abandoned Ye Family House No. 444. Along the way, he glanced at Du Shuo through the rearview mirror. Du Shuo noticed and briefly met Shen Yihui’s gaze.
Shen Yihui’s heart skipped a beat, and his entire body involuntarily went on high alert. It took a while for him to gradually relax once Du Shuo withdrew his gaze. However, he didn’t dare to probe Du Shuo further, but he felt relieved. With someone like Du Shuo present, the chances of rescuing Hu Yingnan and the others would be slightly higher.
It was around half-past six when the three of them arrived at Ye Family House No. 444. Although it wasn’t yet dark outside, the residence seemed shrouded in an eerie shadow, unsettling anyone who glanced at it.
Ye Family House No. 444 had undergone renovations twice. This time, it was in a new neighborhood. However, whether it was due to the occurrence of three gruesome incidents or the inherently eerie nature of the residence itself, there weren’t many people living nearby. Surprisingly, there was a lively crowd gathered on the outskirts. There was even a square outside where music was playing, and a group of middle-aged women were dancing in a synchronized manner.
As the car drove into the inner area, the sounds from outside were abruptly cut off, leaving behind a dead silence. In this atmosphere, it was no wonder that no one dared to live here.
Knock knock. The car window was tapped. Chen Yang looked up and saw a young man standing outside. He rolled down the window and heard the young man playfully say, “Are you here to explore the haunted house too?”
“Haunted house?”
The young man raised his thumb, pointing to the Ye Family House No. 444 behind him. “It’s become popular on the internet now. Whenever there’s a live broadcast, there are always viewers. It’s especially mysterious. I heard that a group of people came to explore it last night, and during the live stream, there was a sudden blackout followed by chaotic screams. Haha, now people are debating whether they were faking it or if they really encountered supernatural events.”
“If they really encountered supernatural events, are you still daring enough to come here?”
The young man replied, “Why not? Humans fear ghosts, but ghosts also fear humans. With so many of us here, radiating positive energy, even ghosts would be afraid.”
Chen Yang nodded. “You seem to know a lot. It looks like you believe in ghosts and spirits?”
“Better to believe in their existence than to deny it.”
“Then why are you still willing to come here?”
Even if he believed, his lack of reverence towards ghosts and spirits, and his purely playful attitude, made him even more unlikeable. The young man nodded as if it was only natural. “It’s the spirit of exploration… So, how about it? Do you want to join us?”
Chen Yang: “We only have three people.”
“That’s okay. We have six people on our side, which makes a total of nine. With more people, things become easier.” At that moment, two other young men joined in, persuading them and offering to give up the second floor for Chen Yang’s group to livestream.
Chen Yang: “Don’t tell me you’re treating us as targets?”
The group of young men chuckled awkwardly, but one of them, after failing to sway Chen Yang and his companions, burst into anger and cursed at them. His general sentiment was that if someone didn’t appreciate the offered favor, they should be disregarded. In response, Chen Yang lowered the car window, narrowly avoiding catching the cursing young man’s hand.
Chen Yang’s face turned cold. “Get lost.”
Shen Yihui: “Knock them out.”
Chen Yang raised an eyebrow and looked at Du Shuo. Du Shuo said, “Let them in, scare them a bit to cure their inflated egos.”
Chen Yang smiled and nodded in agreement. True to their words, when the group entered the Ye Family House, Chen Yang discreetly placed a summoning talisman, attracting nearby wandering spirits and ghosts. Within half an hour, those young men screaming and running out, wetting themselves in fear, shouting about encountering ghosts.
Tearing off the summoning talisman, and using a dispelling talisman to send away the wandering spirits and ghosts, Chen Yang returned to the car, waiting for the appointed time. As midnight arrived, the three of them got out of the car. Closing the car doors, they looked up at the night sky devoid of stars, with a pale moonlight.
The surroundings were silent, not even the chirping of insects could be heard. The sinister nature was evident.
Du Shuo stood by Chen Yang’s side, accompanying him as they entered. The trio had a clear objective and headed straight for the second floor. At the staircase landing on the second floor, Chen Yang instinctively glanced towards a hidden corner but didn’t see the little ghost that appeared in the livestream video.
Checking the time, it was only a little past midnight, indicating it wasn’t yet the designated time. They ascended to the second floor and noticed that the staircase was conveniently positioned in the middle of the floor. They separated and walked towards different directions.
As they split up, Shen Yihui took out a string of bells from his pocket and handed them to Chen Yang. “These are summoning bells from Baiyun Temple. If you want to communicate, just give them a shake, and you’ll hear the sound of the other person’s bell.”
Chen Yang took the bells and parted ways with Shen Yihui at the staircase landing. Naturally, Du Shuo followed Chen Yang. A long corridor led to a pitch-black end, with large rooms on either side. They pushed open the doors to those rooms, entered, and observed their surroundings. The rooms contained ordinary furniture. As they reached the end of the large room, they found another small room behind a door.
“The layout of the rooms is weird,” Chen Yang commented while standing in front of a mirror in the small room. He stared at the dark marks on the mirror and continued, “The orientation of the house is also off. It sits north but faces the south, while it’s tilted 15 degrees towards the east, precisely aligning with the ghost line, the main culprit. It’s no wonder that there have been numerous crimes committed in this type of residence. However, the other houses in the vicinity don’t exhibit such feng shui taboos. Only the Ye Family House No. 444.”
Chen Yang shook his head. “Sinister.”
“A room within a room, a menacing corridor, and the entrance facing the staircase,” Du Shuo said, gesturing towards the bedroom door and the mirror. “The door facing the mirror, it’s a dreadful feng shui arrangement.”
Residential or architectural feng shui had a significant impact on people’s daily lives. If one wasn’t careful and the residence tampered or violated certain feng shui taboos, it could result in minor financial losses or even catastrophic consequences, including loss of life and destruction of the household.
The so-called “room within a room,” “menacing corridor,” and “bedroom door facing the mirror” were all feng shui taboos that accumulated negative energy. As for the entrance facing the staircase, it only caused financial losses and wasn’t as dire as the previous three situations.
Not only did the internal feng shui arrangement accumulate negative energy, but the orientation of the external also fell on the ghost line, adding more evil to the equation. It was impossible to live in such a house without encountering a calamity. However, the people who built the house couldn’t possibly commit such deadly feng shui taboos. It was simply causing harm to others.
Chen Yang leaned in, wanting to examine the black marks on the mirror carefully, when suddenly he caught a glimpse of a dark figure reflected in the mirror. Swiftly turning around, he saw a shadow dart past the bedroom doorway.
“Brother Du, I’ll go check it out first.”
Without finishing his sentence, he dashed out and disappeared in an instant. Du Shuo was a step behind and couldn’t catch up. He turned back to stare at the mirror, and the next moment, it made a crackling sound, revealing several cracks.
“Don’t you dare lay your schemes on Yangyang, otherwise, I’ll make sure you become true members of the Ghost Tribe.”
As he spoke, the mirror shattered once again, countless cracks forming on its surface, and in some places, even turning to powder. It was evident that certain individuals had focused their intentions on Chen Yang, making Du Shuo very angry.
After Du Shuo left, several individuals dressed in green robes appeared in the bedroom, wearing bronze masks on their faces. They were none other than the people Du Shuo had relied on during their stay at the inn. The leader among them displayed a mix of reverence and fear in his eyes.
“Great Master, who is he? Why is he so arrogant?” One of the younger individuals in green robes asked in a puzzled and resentful tone. “Chen Yang is a successor of the Ghost Dao and a member of the Witch Tribe. The Witch Tribe and our Ghost Tribe share the same lineage and origin. We should be helping each other, so why does he accuse us of plotting against him?”
From the words of the young man in the green robe, it became apparent that these individuals were the long-lost descendants of the ancient Shu Kingdom, known as the Three-Eyed Ghost Tribe. As for the shadow that had just appeared, it was a lost soul they had summoned to attract Chen Yang’s attention.
The elder sternly reprimanded the young man in the green robe, “Mind your words! From now on, if we need Chen Yang’s assistance, we must treat him with respect. If he refuses our request, we must not force him.”
The elder held a prominent position within the Ghost Tribe, akin to the leader of a clan, so his reprimand was obeyed by the others. While complying, a young man in the green robe couldn’t suppress his inner curiosity and asked, “Great Master, who is he exactly?”
“He is a deity whom we must revere.”
Chen Yang followed the shadow to its end, but there was no path and no sign of any more shadows. He stopped to survey his surroundings. The structure of the house prevented the moonlight from shining through, making it dim even during the day, let alone at night.
Holding his phone as a source of light, Chen Yang noticed a half-height door in the corner. He approached and easily opened it.
Behind the door was a staircase leading downwards. Chen Yang crouched down and descended a few steps before being able to stand upright again and continue his descent. Judging by the layout, he had probably crossed the ground floor and reached the basement, finally arriving at the last flight of stairs.
Before him lay a more expansive space, filled with antiquated instruments of torture. Bronze masks with vertical slits for eyes hung on the walls, and neatly arranged were wooden stakes, iron stakes, and bronze stakes, as well as a bronze hammer.
Using the light from his phone, Chen Yang illuminated the wall and noticed three bodies hanging from it. The tattered clothing on their decaying remains indicated their genders. There was an adult couple and a small child.
Above the eyes of all three were stakes: the man with a wooden stake, the woman with an iron stake, and the child with a bronze stake. Chen Yang didn’t know the significance of the different materials used for the stakes, but judging by the state of the skeletons, they had been dead for at least sixty or seventy years.
Could they be the Ye family members who were the first to die in House No. 444? No, wait, the Ye family consisted of four individuals, and here, there were only three corpses.
Chen Yang took a step back, moved the light away, and caught a glimpse of a child’s shadow flickering beside the skeletons. But when he looked again, the corner of the wall was empty. The basement was filled with numerous cages, packed with struggling skeletons that had met their demise.
Approaching the last two cages, Chen Yang saw Hu Yingnan and Zhang Qiudao, along with others, all trapped in deep slumber. In another cage, he spotted Mao Xiaoli and Kou Xuanling, both fast asleep.
Chen Yang attempted to wake them up, but they remained unresponsive. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that they were all missing a soul, which explained their unconscious state.
However, apart from the spirit of the child and the shadow that had just led him here, there were no other souls to be found in the Ye residence. Where had all the souls of these many people gone?
Just as Chen Yang pondered this mystery, he heard a sound behind him. Before he could contemplate further, his body instinctively moved, dodging aside. He turned around and faced a tall figure wearing a bronze mask with vertical slits for eyes, holding a bronze hammer and a wooden stake.
At the same time, the spirit-calling bell in Chen Yang’s pocket began to tremble intensely.
His phone chimed with a notification sound—it was 1:36 a.m
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