Chapter 82 Ghost Stories
(This chapter contains a few ghost stories, so be prepared!)
Night engulfed the deserted village. Only the beams of flashlights pierced the darkness, swaying among the broken walls, stretching out distorted and grotesque shadows. The evening breeze blew through the empty window frames and doorways, bringing with it waves of tooth-aching creaking sounds, as if something was spying and whispering in the dark.
A timid girl in the group instinctively huddled in her boyfriend's arms, seeking a sense of security. The others also unconsciously moved closer together, quickening their pace, fearing they'd be left at the end of the group. In this eerie and gloomy atmosphere, humans instinctively fear the dark and the unknown. And based on everyone's experience watching horror films, being left alone is practically the first recipe for death, and no one wanted to try.
Chu Yan and Chu Yu fell at the back of the group. Chu Yan held a flashlight in one hand, scanning the road ahead, while the other hand held Chu Yu's hand naturally. Chu Yu's palm was broad, with distinct knuckles, but it was a little cold, even with a subtle stiffness. He let Chu Yan hold his hand and didn't struggle.
The group walked slowly, one step deep and one step shallow, and finally arrived at their destination - the long-abandoned ancestral hall in the center of the village.
The ancestral hall's wooden door had long been rotten and mottled, with a rusty lock hanging on it, but it had obviously been tampered with long ago. Lu Chen stepped forward and pushed hard.
“Crack—”
The tattered wooden door creaked and slowly opened, sending a cloud of dust swirling down. Lu Chen casually brushed away the dust in front of him and stepped in first. The others glanced at each other and bravely filed in.
The interior of the ancestral hall was even more dilapidated and eerie than the outside. Cobwebs were everywhere, tablets were tilted, a thick layer of dust accumulated on the altar, and the air was filled with a stale, damp smell.
Perhaps because they felt that the flashlight was too inappropriate and destroyed the mysterious atmosphere, a boy in the group mysteriously took out a pack of thick and long white candles from his backpack and gave one to each person.
"Come on, light the candles. That's what it means to feel good."
Everyone, not wanting to spoil the fun, lit their candles with lighters. The dim, flickering candlelight replaced the cold, white flashlight beam, instantly brightening the atmosphere, but also making everything around them even more shadowy and mysterious.
Chu Yan took the candle, lit it, and casually put the flashlight away. He sat down against a relatively sturdy support pillar in the ancestral hall, the candlelight dancing on his face, illuminating his eyes with a depth that was unfathomable. Chu Yu sat down almost next to him, her body pressed very close, one hand still tightly grasping Chu Yan's, even more tightly than before outside.
It's boring to just sit here. In order to pursue more extreme excitement, someone suggested that everyone sit together and tell ghost stories.
Very good. This suggestion can be regarded as a "blind spot in knowledge" for Chu Yan and Chu Yu.
Chu Yu received a materialistic elite education since childhood, and his behavior is based on science and logic. There are no "ghost stories" in his world at all. The closest thing he has heard is probably the "ghost account" in business wars.
Chu Yan, on the other hand, had fought all sorts of real demons and monsters in the Infinite Flow world. The fabricated ghost stories of the real world sounded so fake to him, like kindergarten play, that he found it difficult to empathize.
But neither wanted to spoil the fun, so they pulled out their phones and silently began searching for "short horror stories" and "classic ghost story collections," preparing to cram and read a random one later.
The first person to volunteer was a short-haired girl who looked very brave. She cleared her throat, lowered her voice deliberately, and began to speak in a trembling tone:
"This story takes place in a girls' dormitory. Legend has it that many years ago, a senior student in red jumped from the roof of the dormitory building late one night due to relationship problems..."
Her voice echoed in the empty and silent ancestral hall, accompanied by the howling wind and the crackling of candlelight outside the window, with a powerful effect. Everyone held their breath and involuntarily moved closer to each other.
"...Since then, every night, especially around the time she jumped from the building, there would be strange 'dong dong... dong dong...' sounds coming from the dormitory corridor, as if someone was jumping up and down..." The girl's voice became lower and more erratic. "Someone said that a girl who came home late once saw a figure in red clothes in the corridor, jumping towards her... getting closer... getting closer..."
She described the scene vividly and with great devotion, bringing everyone into the terrifying scene, even breathing lightly.
Chu Yu frowned slightly as he listened. Although he didn't believe any of this, his body tensed up involuntarily as he listened to this deliberately horrifying story. The fingers gripping Chu Yan's wrist tightened unconsciously, even digging slightly into his skin.
Just when the short-haired girl was talking about the most crucial point - "The figure in red had jumped in front of her, and she slowly raised her head..." Everyone held their breath, their hearts in their throats.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The dilapidated door of the ancestral hall was suddenly knocked lightly from the outside!
“Ahhhhhh—”
Almost simultaneously, several heart-wrenching screams erupted from the ancestral hall. Several girls huddled together in fear, and even a few boys shuddered with fear, nearly dropping their candles.
Chu Yu was so frightened by the sudden knock on the door that his entire body trembled violently. He suddenly tightened his grip on Chu Yan's hand, and his heart felt like it was being gripped by an icy hand, skipping a beat. He could even feel the cold sweat on his back.
However, the expected female ghost in red did not appear.
From outside the door came a roar from a middle-aged man with a thick rural accent:
"What are you doing in there?! Don't you know this is a dangerous building?! Who will be held responsible if it collapses and kills you?! Get out now! Who allowed you to come in here without permission?!"
The ancestral hall fell into deathly silence.
The utter fear that had just permeated the air was replaced by a sense of immense embarrassment and absurdity. Everyone looked at each other, their faces still pale from shock, their eyes filled with a bewildered, "That's it?" and a mixture of amusement and laughter.
After all this time, I found out it was the night patrol.
It turns out that because this "uninhabited village" has recently become popular on the Internet, more and more people come to explore and check in. People in nearby villages are worried that something might happen, so they specially arrange people to patrol every night to drive away some ignorant tourists.
Lu Chen and his group just happened to walk into the trap.
The group of people were scolded by the night watchman, apologized repeatedly, and then were "asked" to leave the ancestral hall in disgrace.
Standing outside the ancestral hall, everyone slowly came to their senses after being blown by the cold night wind. They couldn't help but look at each other, and burst into sounds of fear and laughter.
Chu Yan was the calmest person throughout the whole process. Aside from a slight raised eyebrow at the initial knock on the door, he hadn't reacted at all. He lowered his head, reached out and raised Chu Yu's hand, which was still tightly grasping his, and jokingly said, "Brother Yu, the alarm is all clear. Can you let go now? If you pinch me any further, I'll bruise you."
When he looked up, he realized, in the moonlight and the afterglow of the distant flashlight, that Chu Yu's face seemed a little too pale. Even her lips were tightly pursed.
Chu Yan was stunned for a moment, and a somewhat incredible thought came to his mind. He moved closer and asked in a low voice under the cover of the night, his tone full of obvious surprise and inquiry:
"Brother Yu, you were really scared just now, weren't you?" "Have you never heard a ghost story before?"
Chu Yu pursed her lips tightly, her eyes a little vague, as if she felt it was shameful to admit this, but under the gaze of Chu Yan's eyes that seemed to see through everything, she finally nodded very slightly.
Great, case solved. Mr. Chu Yu, the future heir to the Chu Group and a stoic elite in the business world, heard his first ghost story in a deserted ancestral hall, where a chilling wind blew and candlelight flickered, accompanied by a perfectly timed knock on the door...
No wonder the reaction was so big.
Chu Yan looked at him pretending to be calm but unable to hide his fear, and suddenly found him a little funny, and a little inexplicably well-behaved.
He didn't joke anymore, nor did he let go of Chu Yu's hand. Instead, he held Chu Yu's still somewhat cold hand even tighter, and his ten fingers naturally slipped in and clasped it tightly.
Chu Yu felt the reassuring warmth coming from the other person's palm, and the palpitations caused by his first ghost story experience in his life slowly subsided.
He turned his head slightly and didn't look at Chu Yan, but his fingers quietly and lightly flexed.
The team regrouped, and amidst the night watchman's nagging instructions, they headed towards the farmhouse. The abandoned ancestral hall behind them faded back into darkness, as if the previous shock and embarrassment were just a minor episode.
The clasped hands never loosened under the cover of night.
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