You reap what you sow
Zhang Dazhui dragged his tired body back home. Just as he took off his coat and was about to lie down, there was a sudden knock on the door.
His whole body stiffened, and cold sweat instantly soaked his inner clothes - could it be that the female ghost from the Ye Mansion was chasing him?
He hurriedly blew out the candle and dove into bed, not daring to breathe. The knocks on the door became more and more urgent, mixed with a low voice calling: "Brother Zhang! It's me!"
It was the voice of neighbor Li Dachui.
Zhang Dazhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, shivering as he put on his coat and went to open the door cursing, "It's the middle of the night, you..."
Before he could finish his words, Li Dachui rushed in and bolted the door. He looked panicked and kept glancing out the window, like a frightened rabbit.
"Li Dachui, what are you doing?" Zhang Dazhu shouted at the top of his voice, "Who allowed you to..."
"Shh! Keep your voice down!"
Li Dachui covered his mouth with his hand and dragged him into the inner room. Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Zhang, did you go to the Ye Mansion today?"
Zhang Dazhu's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes evaded: "You? How did you know?"
His neighbor often spoke ill of the Ye family and often spread the word that they had done something wrong to end up like this.
"Stop pretending!" Li Dachui waved his hands, a look of someone who had seen through everything. "I saw it all. The young master of the Qi family went in with you."
After saying that, he rubbed his hands, revealing a rare hint of embarrassment, "Go in... what did you find?"
Zhang Dazhu was stunned: "Don't you hate these supernatural things the most?"
"Oh!" Li Dachui put his arm around his shoulders and smiled flatteringly, "I'm just curious! Tell me!"
"this……"
Zhang Dazhu hesitated. He couldn't say he was so busy running that he didn't find out anything, could he? His eyes rolled, and he evaded the question, "The shop said the plot is divided into three acts. I've only experienced one, so what can I know?" He even yawned pretentiously. "I'm sleepy. We'll talk about it another day..."
Li Dachui was not willing to let him go. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few copper coins, stuffing them into Zhang Dazhu's hand: "Just tell me something!"
As soon as the copper coin came into his hand, Zhang Dazhu's eyes suddenly brightened, his waist no longer felt sore, and his sleepiness disappeared. He immediately clapped his legs and said, "Okay! I'll tell you about it!"
He recounted his experience with exaggerated details, especially emphasizing how "heroic" he was, such as how he kicked the female ghost away, how he knocked down a zombie with one punch, and so on... In short, he exaggerated everything he could and couldn't.
Li Dachui's eyes lit up when he heard this, and his face was full of admiration: "Brother Zhang, you are so amazing!"
Zhang Dazhu was very proud and became more and more excited as he spoke, until Li Dachui suddenly spoke up -
"In that case, why don't you take me in and try it out tomorrow?"
“…”
Zhang Dazhui was momentarily stuck, his bold words seemed to be strangled by the neck. At this moment, he suddenly remembered the bright red warning in the haunted house rules.
"No..." He pretended to be embarrassed, "The boss stipulates that each person can only experience each scene once."
"Ah? Why is this happening..." Li Dachui's face was full of disappointment.
Zhang Dazhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had finally fooled the thief. But Li Dachui's eyes rolled and he came closer: "Well, how about this, you tell me in detail about that mechanism you just mentioned, and I'll go there by myself tomorrow!"
As long as he didn't go, everything was fine. Zhang Dazhu quickly reminded him of all the details that needed attention before letting him leave satisfied.
The next morning, a loud shout was heard from the streets of the city.
"Come and see! The latest cheats to pass the Ye Mansion Haunted House!" Li Dachui shouted at the street corner, spit flying, waving the papers he had sorted out overnight in his hand.
The crowd of onlookers was packed in layers, many of them shouting, "I'll buy it for whatever price you give me!"
"Ten taels." Li Dachui didn't even hold on and just made a sky-high offer.
"Ten taels?"
People asked, "This is the same price as the entrance fee!"
"What do you know? Have you ever been there?"
Li Dachui's nose turned up, "This is the information my brother exchanged his life for yesterday! Zhang Dazhui knows it, but he doesn't have this..."
He deliberately lowered his voice, "Be careful not to get out if you go in."
"Tsk, are you kidding us?" No one believed Li Dachui's nonsense. It was just a shop, and they could eat people?
Li Dachui patted his chest and promised: "If you don't listen, come find me."
This guarantee was indeed effective, and soon all the secret books in his hands were sold out.
Not far away, Sister Qing, who had just returned from shopping, witnessed the whole process and ran back holding up her skirt.
"Miss! Someone is selling our strategy outside!"
Ruan Yunsheng was mixing perfume. Hearing this, he didn't even look up. "Let them sell it." He pinched a pinch of phosphorus powder with his fingertips. "We already have a countermeasure, don't we?"
She suddenly looked up, a sly glint in her eyes: "What they got is already a discarded version."
The girls all smiled softly after hearing this. An Yue floated to the beam, her red wedding dress fluttering in the wind. "Then today..."
"Everyone feel free to express yourself today." Ruan Yunsheng smirked, "Especially you, An Yue."
"Give those who want to take shortcuts a surprise they will never forget."
Li Dachui led a group of people and swaggered towards the Ye Mansion. He looked aggressive and aggressive, as if he was here to cause trouble. He slammed a silver ingot on the counter and said with his nose turned up: "I want to go in!"
How rude! Ah Luo suppressed her anger, forced a professional smile, and took the silver. "Please tell me your name. We need to register here."
"What name do you want to remember?" Li Dachui's expression changed instantly, and he glared at her. "You guys, a small, shabby shop, are actually doing this?"
Ah Luo secretly clenched her fists, her nails almost digging into her palms, but she still had to force a smile on her face: "Our haunted house has a rule that each guest can only experience each scene once. Registering your name is for easy reference later~"
Li Dachui curled his lips, unable to refute, and had to reluctantly give his name.
A Luoti took note and said respectfully, "Our store only allows five people to enter at a time. You see..." She signaled with her eyes to the seventeen or eighteen strong men behind Li Dachui.
"What's the meaning?"
Li Dachui was furious. "Your crappy place has a limit on the number of people in it? Is that so great? Why?" He pointed at the huge Ye Mansion and said, "This place is so big, can't it accommodate a few of us?"
Zhang Dazhui's description last night still frightened him, so he specially gathered a group of people today to give himself courage, but in the end, not all of them were allowed in. The group of silent people behind him also expressed their dissatisfaction, and for a while, there was a constant quarrel at the counter.
Ah Luo was about to interrupt to explain when Ruan Yunsheng's voice suddenly rang out from behind the curtain: "Let them all in."
She stepped out from behind the curtain, fiddling with a silver coin between her fingers, and smiled meaningfully, "It's not impossible for the guests to experience it together, but it would put a lot of work on our staff, and the price..."
"Twenty taels per person."
"What!"
"Twenty taels! You're a shady shop!" Li Dachui slammed the table and stood up, spitting everywhere.
Ruan Yunsheng spread his hands innocently: "How about... groups of five go in batches?"
Li Dachui's face turned pale. Five people in a group? If something goes wrong, who will protect him? His eyes rolled, and he immediately put his arm around his companion's shoulders: "Brothers, let's pool our money and go in together! This ghost place is very evil, and more people will help us take care of it!"
He spoke sincerely, as if he was thinking entirely of his companions. Luo, who was standing beside him, rolled her eyes almost to the back of her head, but she tried hard not to expose him.
In the end, the group collected enough money and paid it while cursing.
"Guests, please follow me~"
Ah Luo smiled sweetly and led them to the west wing to choose roles. The moment she turned around, she gave the sisters in the dark a fierce look -
Kill them today.
At this time, Li Dachui boasted to his companions: "Don't worry, I have the secret manual! I'll keep it for you..."
With a creaky sound, the door of the west wing slowly closed.
Not long after, a series of screams like ghosts and wolves howling were heard from the Ye Mansion.
"Ah—help!"
"Li Dachui! What the hell is that crappy secret manual you're selling? It's completely useless!"
A group of people rushed out of the west wing, their faces pale and their clothes in disarray. Some of them had even lost their shoes and were walking barefoot on the bluestone slabs. The gravel scratched their soles and left bleeding marks, but they didn't care about the pain.
"Impossible!" Li Dachui was sweating profusely, holding the "strategy" in his hand, his voice trembling, "Zhang Dazhu clearly said--"
"Shut up!"
A burly man grabbed him by the collar, his eyes reddened, "If I trust you again, I'll be dead!"
Li Dachui was stunned by the yelling. Before he could react, he suddenly heard a giggle behind him.
Everyone froze and slowly turned around—
At the end of the corridor, a woman with disheveled hair was slowly crawling towards them. Her neck was twisted into a strange angle, and her mouth was stretched to her ears, revealing her sharp white teeth.
“Run…run!”
The crowd exploded instantly and fled in all directions in panic. Li Dachui's legs were so weak that he could hardly stand and was dragged forward by his companions.
"This way! Go this way!" He pointed to a fork in the road, his voice shrill and changed tone. "The secret manual says this is the safe passage!"
Everyone was so frightened that they had no time to think and rushed in after him.
However--
"Bang!"
The secret door suddenly closed, trapping them in a narrow corridor.
"Li, Li Dachui..." someone said tremblingly, "What...what's going on..."
Li Dachui's lips trembled, he didn't know why, could it be that Zhang Dazhui had lied to him.
"I...I don't want to play anymore..." Finally someone broke down and cried out, "Let me out! Let me out!"
His voice echoed in the corridor, accompanied by a rustling sound that grew closer and closer, as if something was slowly crawling towards him along the ground...
"Guests, how was your experience?"
Ruan Yunsheng's voice flowed through the corridor like a clear spring. The warm light of the lantern in her hand dispelled the gloomy green flames. The scarlet silk dress was particularly eye-catching in the dark, and the bells on her waist jingled with her steps.
As if they had seen a savior, everyone rushed over, tumbling and scrambling, wailing in unison:
"Boss Ruan, help me!"
"This damn place will eat people!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com