Chapter 2: Haunted Hill House (2)
Strangely enough, when the group first arrived at the foot of Mount Guishan, the sky was as gloomy as night. Now that they were on the mountain, it turned into a normal overcast sky after rain.
The moist water vapor has not yet dissipated, and white mist is floating everywhere in the mountains and forests.
In such an empty and quiet environment, the tour guide's voice seemed particularly harsh and strange, echoing in the mountains.
"Guishan is a famous tourist attraction in the suburbs of Binhai. In addition to its beautiful scenery, there is also a most famous legend about Guishan. During the war years, this place was used as a mass grave. Because there were too many bodies buried here, Guishan, which was originally a small hill, was forcibly piled up into its current appearance."
Perhaps because of the poor signal and the rain, the tour guide's loudspeaker was mixed with the crackling sound of electricity, making her already sharp voice sound a little distorted and eerie.
Several guests chose Guishan because of the script arrangement of the director team, and they knew nothing about the actual situation and rumors of Guishan. At this time, they heard the tour guide talking about the mass graves, and they were suddenly a little scared when they were in the dead and deserted mountains.
The tour guide, who had just received the script before departure, also opened it and read it for the first time. After she finished reading it, her face turned a little paler.
"Did you scare everyone? After all, it's just a rumor. Here's a little secret." The tour guide forced a smile and said mysteriously to the camera: "Actually - I am a ghost!"
The guests realized that the tour guide wanted to ease the tense atmosphere and they all laughed at the right time in front of the camera.
Yan Shixun, who was originally scanning the surrounding mountains and forests, looked up at the tour guide when he heard this.
In order to look good on camera, Liu Yiyi applied extra white foundation and heavy shadows. It looked okay in the camera, but in reality, with her overly red lips and the mist blurring the scene, she really looked like a ghost with its bloody mouth wide open, as if it wanted to devour a living person.
Over there, the tour guide was still explaining the history and various rumors of Guishan in a relaxed tone, and the guests also exclaimed from time to time in response.
There was a rumor about a college student who went on an adventure and ended up missing, or a villager who saw a person with half of his body walking in the mountains. The rumors became more and more bizarre, and several people stopped believing them. When they relaxed, they felt that they had overreacted.
Only Yan Shixun, with his hands in his pockets, walked leisurely at the end of the team and almost disappeared from the camera.
The tour guide and other guests thought that these rumors about Guishan were just rumors, but Yan Shixun, who had been walking the streets and coming into contact with all kinds of people for many years, knew that this was not the case.
A hundred years ago, Guishan was just an unknown hill.
According to legend, it was once owned by a wealthy businessman, who kept a mistress in the mountains and built a large-scale project just to make her smile.
But as time goes by, the people of that time have died in the war or been taken away by time, and this statement can no longer be verified.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that a group of bandits stopped at this mountain when they passed through Binhai City a hundred years ago. A few months later, when the villagers near the mountain thought that the bandits had left, they went up the mountain to chop wood, only to find that dozens of bandits had died tragically on the mountain, with sharp scratches all over their bodies, their stomachs ripped open, and their deaths were horrifying.
Since then, there have often been people passing by the mountain to rest, and they would be found dead on the mountain a few days later. Occasionally, people from nearby villages would go up the mountain and never come back.
Everyone said that the bandits who died tragically back then held a grudge in their hearts, so they turned into evil ghosts after death and continued to stay in the mountains as bandits, attacking passers-by.
This mountain, also known as Ghost Mountain, is taboo for people living nearby.
It was not until a long time later, when the world was at peace, that the staff felt that the name Guishan was not good when entering the place name, so they changed it to the homophonic Guishan.
As for what the tour guide said about someone seeing a person walking with only half of his body left...
This is also true.
Yan Shixun happened to meet a fellow Taoist when he was helping someone exorcise ghosts. According to the fellow Taoist, there was indeed a period of unrest in Guishan. After dusk, many dry bones and rotten corpses crawled out from the ground and wandered around in the mountains and forests without any direction, but they could not get out of Guishan.
After the villagers called the police, the incident also alarmed the famous Haiyun Temple in Binhai City. Many Taoist priests worked together to search Guishan for a long time but found nothing.
The Taoist colleague also participated in the search, so he knew about this matter and told it to Yan Shixun, asking him to pay more attention to this matter, hoping to get some information with the help of Yan Shixun's diverse but wide circle.
Because the agreement with Zhang Wubing was to leave if he was eliminated last in the popularity vote, Yan Shixun estimated that he would only stay for a few days, so he didn't pay much attention to the specific arrangements of the program. It was not until today that he knew that the first attraction was Guishan.
But there was an agreement in place, and it was a live broadcast, so it was too late for Yan Shixun to go back on his word.
“Crash~ Crash~”
The trees on both sides of the path up the mountain swayed gently, and the leaves made slight sounds.
When Yan Shixun glanced at it indifferently, the leaves stopped shaking again.
The guests were chatting and laughing in front of the camera, as if they had recovered from the shock they had just experienced. But suddenly, one of the actresses screamed "Ah!"
Everyone else was startled by her and looked over, with the camera immediately pointed at her.
The actress' face turned pale, and her legs were shaking like sieves, but she still tried to force out a smile that was uglier than crying, "I, I think I stepped on a human bone."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards her feet, and sure enough, a pale bone was being broken into two pieces under her feet.
A few timid girls immediately screamed and hid behind the people next to them.
One of the male artists was also a little scared, but considering that it was a live broadcast, he still bravely stepped forward to help the actress who was too weak to walk.
"No, it's okay! Don't worry, Ding Qian, you are just too timid. What human bones are these? They are animal bones."
The male artist observed for a long time, and when he saw that the director didn't say anything, he thought it was a prop, and he was no longer afraid. He smiled and said, "Doesn't this just show that the ecological environment of Guishan is well protected, and there are many cute little animals in the mountains? Interested audience friends can also come to Guishan to play, the air here is really good."
After hearing what he said, several guests' wildly beating hearts slowed down, and when they looked at the actress named Ding Qian, something seemed wrong.
"Sister Ding Qian, I didn't expect you to be so timid. You scared me by shouting."
"Xixi, have you been under a lot of pressure lately? It's a good opportunity for you to relax in Guishan."
…
Everyone around her said so, which made Ding Qian feel that it was her own problem.
but……
While the others continued to climb the mountain, Ding Qian turned around and looked at the broken bone with complicated eyes.
——She didn’t even know what human bones looked like. She was just concentrating on finding the camera. In fact, she didn’t even know she stepped on a bone.
The reason why she knew she stepped on a human bone was because when she accidentally broke a bone just now, she felt a breath of air blowing past her ear, complaining to her faintly, "It hurts so much"...
Is it an auditory hallucination?
Before Ding Qian could figure it out, she saw the young man who had been walking at the end bend down and pick up the piece of bone with his long, slender fingers with distinct joints.
"Hey, don't--" Ding Qian subconsciously wanted to stop him.
Yan Shixun glanced at her and continued to observe the bone: "Looking at your expression, what seemed to have happened just now?"
Ding Qian was shocked: "How did you know?"
Yan Shixun casually threw the bone into the nearby forest to prevent it from being stepped on by the people behind him. Then he took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands and said to the air: "It has nothing to do with her. You put your things in a mess and didn't even know that you lost your calf bone. Who can you blame? Here, I'll give it back to you."
Ding Qian looked at Yan Shixun's actions and words, and her hair stood on end: "You, who are you talking to?"
After what just happened, Ding Qian was already a little scared.
At this moment, she stared at Yan Shixun with her pupils constricted, and her body was shaking uncontrollably, as if if Yan Shixun said something, she would faint on the spot.
Yan Shixun had already passed her and continued walking up: "Oh, I have autism, I like to talk to myself in the air."
"Aren't you going to leave? They've all gone upstairs, and you're staying here alone?"
Ding Qian saw that there were only two staff members around her, and the others, including the cameras, had already distanced themselves from her. Fearing that she would be left alone, she quickly walked a few steps to catch up with Yan Shixun.
Although this man seemed to have a bad temper, he didn't look like a bad person. The most important thing was that when he passed by her just now, she suddenly felt that the coldness was dispelled, and she felt relieved.
Yan Shixun turned his head to glance at Ding Qian who was following him closely, and said nothing.
Although there was a small accident along the way, the group still arrived safely at the villa booked by the director.
It is indeed as the director said, this is a villa that is luxurious enough and has a sense of history. It is a combination of Chinese and European styles from a hundred years ago, with beautiful spires and stained glass windows.
Even though it is built in the mountains, it is well maintained and does not look gloomy or dilapidated at all. It looks like a five-star private resort hotel. From a distance, the beauty of the architecture and art is amazing.
Several guests watched and nodded with satisfaction. They felt that although this variety show was a makeshift one, it was indeed generous in spending on food, clothing, housing and transportation. It was like a real vacation, and this trip was not in vain.
The camera also turned to the villa at the right time.
After such a long live broadcast, in addition to the traffic brought by the guests themselves, relying on the beautiful scenery of Guishan and several small accidents, it has retained a lot of people who subscribe and are curious about the future development.
[The guest lineup is pretty good, all of them are popular actors and idols recently, but why is the director a newcomer? I have never heard of the production company. I just heard the introduction, and there are even amateurs? What's wrong with this show?]
[The amateur little brother is so lucky to be able to be on a variety show with my brother. I envy him. I also want to get close to my brother.]
[I studied geology in college and actually went to Guishan, but why do I feel that the scenery is different from this mountain? The structure of the mountain is also different, completely opposite. Is this really Guishan? ]
[There is a boy who is quite good-looking, but I don’t know him and I can’t find any information about him online. Is he a trainee from a certain company? The one with number 4.]
In addition to introducing the scenery to the guests and issuing tasks, the tour guide also has a task, which is to check the barrage and messages sent in the live broadcast in real time, respond appropriately to answer questions and manage the direction of comments.
After all, this travel variety show called "Heart-Stirring Travel Around the World for 99 Days" is, in any case, a serious live broadcast program on a video platform.
Although Zhang Wubing has no experience as a director, as a third-generation rich man, he knows many second- and third-generation people, so it is possible for him to get the permission to broadcast live on the platform.
Any user who uses the platform APP can click on the live broadcast channel of the program to watch and subscribe.
The program was also required not to allow the appearance of any illegal content, including barrage and comments, which must also be managed by the program team. Once a violation occurs, the live broadcast permission will be temporarily banned.
Therefore, tour guides and the director team need to manage these barrages in real time.
Liu Yiyi was about to reply to the question raised about Yan Shixun in the comment section when she saw a man walking out of the villa and walking towards them.
Even though he is old, this old man in a neat suit still has a straight back, like a butler of a wealthy family, with excellent manners.
"Everyone, you are tired from the journey. Come with me to rest first. Hot water and dinner are ready." The old man introduced himself: "I am the housekeeper of this villa, Zhou Shi. If you need anything during your stay, please let me know."
After climbing the mountain and getting caught in the rain, the cold weather in the mountains made the guests feel tired and cold. When they heard that there would be food and hot baths, they immediately followed the butler into the villa.
Ding Qian, who had been following Yan Shixun, also breathed a sigh of relief and happily followed him in.
The camera also faithfully records the happy expressions on everyone's faces.
Yan Shixun put his hands in his pockets, slowly stepped back a few steps, and completely left the camera. He asked Zhang Wubing: "Do you want to increase the price? Just increase the price I usually pay for my work."
"?" Zhang Wubing was a little surprised. He had known Yan Shixun for so many years and knew that Yan Shixun made a little money by helping people catch ghosts and eliminate monsters. Although he was a little poor, he was definitely not the kind of person who would raise the price midway.
"Brother Yan, why are you suddenly saying this? Didn't we discuss this before we came?"
Zhang Wubing said, "Brother Yan, if you need money urgently, just tell me and I will definitely help you. I don't have much more at the moment, but I can still get a few million."
Yan Shixun: “…”
He glanced at Zhang Wubing speechlessly and said, "Change your name to Zhang Youbing."
You can't even take a hint, what kind of brain do you have!
Zhang Wubing: “???”
Yan Shixun snorted, and was too lazy to explain to this stupid friend, so he followed him into the villa.
The villa has four floors and is equipped with an elevator. In addition to the first floor which is the living room, dining room, kitchen, etc., the three floors above are bedrooms and study rooms.
The housekeeper said that because it has been raining recently, there are some leaks on the fourth floor that are being repaired, and everyone can choose the bedrooms on the second and third floors.
Everyone cheered and rushed to grab the room they liked. There was constant laughter and the show was relaxed and interesting, which also caused the barrage of comments in the live broadcast room to join in the laughter.
Yan Shixun didn't care where he slept, it wasn't like he had never slept with the roof over the floor before. Besides, other things in the villa interested him more than the bedroom.
It seemed that there was only the old butler in the villa. While he was upstairs accompanying several guests to choose rooms and introducing the villa, the living room and dining room on the first floor were empty, without even a sign of a living person.
But it was convenient for Yan Shixun, as he could investigate unimpeded.
This villa, which was built a hundred years ago, still retains its original appearance today, with only simple renovations and the addition of some modern facilities.
When Yan Shixun lifted the white tablecloth embroidered with gold edges on the dining table, he saw that the solid wood table underneath was already quite old.
It looked like something from that era, and its style was consistent with the villa as a whole. One could even see a few deep knife scratches on it, and the grooves were black, like the color of oxidized blood.
“Clang!”
As Yan Shixun's fingers just touched the knife marks, he heard a sound like an iron pot falling to the ground in the kitchen behind.
Is there anyone else?
Yan Shixun immediately walked quickly to the kitchen and pulled open the half-closed door with force.
Unlike modern kitchens, the kitchen in the villa still retains the style of a hundred years ago and uses a fire-burning stove.
There was a large iron pot on the stove burning with wood. The flame was roaring and the food in the pot was bubbling. On the cooking table next to it, the seasoning jars were still open and there were some chopped vegetables on the chopping board. It looked like someone was cooking here.
However, the kitchen, which could be seen from the bottom to the bottom, was empty. The marble floor was clean, with no trace of a dropped iron pot.
Yan Shixun loosened his grip on the door handle, raised his leg and walked closer to the stove, lowering his head slightly to look into the pot. The meat was burnt with sugar color and thick oil sauce, and in the dark red color, it was impossible to tell what kind of meat it was.
Just as Yan Shixun took a pair of chopsticks from the side and was about to take a closer look to check, a flat male voice suddenly interrupted his action.
"Sir, don't you want to see the room?"
Yan Shixun turned around and saw that the old butler had returned from upstairs at some point and was standing less than thirty centimeters away from him. If he had been frightened and turned around suddenly, he would have been face to face with the old butler standing behind him.
"It's really rude to let guests come to such a dirty place in person."
The old butler at this moment was completely different from the elite and capable butler he had just been outside the villa. Not only was there no fluctuation in the tone of his voice, but even his eyes were empty, as if he was staring at one place and would not move.
The old butler smiled politely, but it was also very stiff, as if the flesh on his cheeks had no elasticity: "Are you hungry? Then please go back to your room and tidy up a bit, then go to the restaurant and wait. The dinner will start soon."
"I'll come and see what the dinner is like."
Yan Shixun was not frightened by the old butler's strange state. Instead, he became excited. The madness that he had been suppressing in his calmness was now stirring, waiting for an opportunity to break out.
There was a glimmer of light in his dark eyes, and a wanton smile spread across the corners of his lips: "I like dishes made from human flesh the most. It's really gratifying to see that they are provided here."
The old butler stared at Yan Shixun with his hollow eyes, and said in a flat voice: "The guest is joking."
As he said that, he actually raised his hand and grabbed Yan Shixun.
Yan Shixun quickly took a step aside, refusing to face this face full of wrinkles and age spots. Then, in the process of moving, his elbow accidentally knocked over the open seasoning jar on the cooking table, causing a pile of red and white powder to spill into the pot.
At that moment, Yan Shixun saw an angry and ferocious look on the old butler's face.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I have polio, my hands and feet don't work well." Yan Shixun raised his eyebrows and made a surprised and apologetic expression: "I messed up a good dish, what should I do? It can't be eaten."
The old butler made a rapid "huff" sound from his throat, and it took several minutes for him to return to normal. He stared at Yan Shixun with his cloudy and dull eyes, and forced out the two syllables "It's okay".
Yan Shixun shrugged, turned and left.
He walked leisurely with his long straight legs, and there was no sign of guilt on his face.
"It seems that our fourth guest was so anxious to have a 'castle adventure' that he didn't even care about the room."
As soon as Yan Shixun stepped into the living room, he was noticed by Liu Yiyi who was upstairs. She held onto the gilded staircase and smiled at the camera, saying to Yan Shixun: "All the rooms have been selected, and only the one near the stairs is left. It will probably be noisy sooner or later. We just checked it out, and because it's an old house, the soundproofing doesn't seem to be very good. Does guest number four mind?"
Yan Shixun raised his eyelashes, looked at the smug woman, and said with a half-smile, "I'm fine."
He could always feel a pair of eyes staring at him from behind.
Before pushing open the door, Yan Shixun looked back and happened to meet the eyes of the old butler who was standing at the edge of the living room on the first floor.
The old butler slowly and stiffly raised a smile.
Hidden in semi-darkness.
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