The Strange Voices in the Gu House and the Phantom on the Stage
The Strange Voices in the Gu House and the Phantom on the Stage
The flame of the oil lamp suddenly "crackled", and the sparks fell on the pottery jar next to Chen Ba's hand, startling the insects in the jar and making them jump around. The "buzzing" sound suddenly became sharp, like countless fine needles piercing a person's eardrum.
Meng Yao couldn't help but shiver. The camera strap hurt her shoulder, but she didn't dare let go. This camera was her only source of security. She hadn't had time to take a picture of the flower ghost in the ancestral hall earlier, and now she kept thinking that if she encountered evil again, she would at least have some evidence. But when she looked down at the camera screen, she saw that it wasn't her own face that was reflected, but a pale child's face. A pair of black eyes without whites stared at her intently, and there were drops of water at the corners of the mouth, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.
"Ah!" Meng Yao threw the camera to the ground, and the screen cracked. The child's face twisted in the cracks and then disappeared.
"What's wrong?" Lin Shen turned around immediately, his eyes scanning the surroundings. The door to the cabin was still closed, and the old paper covering the windows rustled in the wind, but he didn't see anything unusual.
Meng Yao pointed at the camera on the ground, her voice trembling: "Inside... inside there's a child, a child without eyes!"
Chen Ba bent down to pick up the camera, wiped the dust off the screen with her fingertips, and chuckled, "It's just a little trick of the Water Evil Child. It's best at attaching itself to things with lenses to trick the timid." As she spoke, she suddenly pointed the camera lens at Meng Yao, "Look again, is it still there?"
Meng Yao was so frightened that she stumbled backward, bumping into the wooden cabinet behind her. A dozen or so pottery jars of various sizes were placed on the cabinet, and she knocked them against them, causing the lid of one of them to clatter to the ground. Several emerald green insects tumbled out from inside, and immediately crawled towards Meng Yao's feet, leaving a sticky green trail in their wake, emitting a fishy odor like rotting leaves.
"Don't touch them!" Chen Ba suddenly shouted, reaching for a silver hairpin from his waist and thrusting it at the insect. The moment the hairpin touched the insect, a puff of white smoke erupted, and the insect instantly curled up into a ball, turning into a black powder. "This is 'Bone-Eating Gu'. If it touches your skin, it will burrow into your bones. Even a god won't be able to save you."
Meng Yao's face instantly turned as white as paper. She looked at her trouser legs - the bug almost crawled onto her trouser legs just now. Thinking about it now, her back was covered in cold sweat.
At that moment, outside the house, a sudden burst of opera singing echoed: "Yiyaya" (like a woman's lament), a mournful melody, yet with an indescribable strangeness. The singing drifted near and far, and when the wind blew, it felt like singing right next to my ear. I could hear every word of the lyrics clearly: "I put on my red wedding dress, waiting for my lover to return, but he never comes back..."
"It's the ghost actor!" Zhou Tang suddenly grabbed the compass, his face solemn. "The compass needle is turning, she's approaching here!"
Everyone held their breath, no one dared to speak. The sound of the opera grew closer, accompanied by the clattering of footsteps, as if someone in embroidered shoes were walking on the bluestone pavement outside the wooden house. The footsteps stopped at the door, and the opera stopped with them. Outside, there was an eerie silence, with only the patter of rain still pounding.
After a while, the door creaked open a crack, and a red shadow peeked through the crack. It was a woman in theatrical costume, a phoenix crown on her head, her face thickly smeared with paint, red rouge painted from cheeks to temples, like congealed blood. Her eyes were two black holes, without pupils, only bottomless blackness. But at the corners of her mouth, an exaggerated grin tugged at her, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.
"Dear guests, would you like to hear me sing a piece of opera?" The woman's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against wood. "I sing 'The Golden Purse', which was the most popular opera in town back then..."
Li Ye gripped the shovel tightly, his palms wet with sweat. He could see the embroidery on the woman's costume had faded, and her skirt was stained with dirt and grass, as if it had been dug out of a grave. Even more terrifying, the woman's feet didn't touch the ground at all, but were suspended in mid-air, half a foot above the ground. When she walked, there was no sound, only the gentle sway of her costume.
"You...you should leave quickly! Otherwise we will not be polite to you!" Zhao Lei's screams were still echoing in Li Ye's ears. He didn't dare to be careless anymore. As long as this ghost actor dared to come in, he would take action immediately.
The woman, however, seemed to have not heard him and slowly drifted in through the crack of the door. She carried with her a damp, musty smell, mixed with a faint stench of corpse. She drifted in front of Chen Ba, looked down at the pottery jar on the table, and the smile on her lips became even more exaggerated. "Miss Chen, long time no see. Your Gu is still so fragrant."
The smile on Chen Ba's face disappeared. She picked up the silver hairpin on the table and pointed it at the woman: "Ghost actor, don't act wildly in front of me. My Gu is not for you to use as a snack."
The woman giggled, her laughter so sharp it made anyone's scalp tingle. "I wouldn't dare take your poison. I just came to see if any of these new guests were willing to sing with me. You know, I've been singing alone on the stage for so many years, I've been lonely for a long time..."
As she spoke, her eyes swept across the crowd, finally stopping at Meng Yao. Meng Yao was so frightened that she huddled in a corner, her hands covering her head, not daring to look at her. The woman floated in front of Meng Yao and held out a pale hand. Her nails were long and sharp, painted red like blood. "My dear girl, you are so beautiful, you must be very suitable to play Zhu Yingtai, right? Let's sing "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" together, okay?"
Meng Yao suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if something was gnawing at her heart—it was the Heart Guarding Gu! She had just been so frightened that she had thought of running away. The Heart Guarding Gu sensed her evil thoughts and began to punish her.
"Ah! It hurts!" Meng Yao curled up on the ground, sweat pouring down her face. "Don't... don't look for me. I can't sing opera..."
Seeing Meng Yao's pain, the woman's smile disappeared and her eyes turned cold. "Boring, another coward." She turned and floated in front of Su Wan. Su Wan was trembling with fear, but she pretended to be calm and pushed her glasses up. "I... I can't sing opera either. You should find someone else."
The woman stared at Su Wan for a moment, then suddenly reached out and brushed her fingertips across her cheek. Su Wan felt a piercing chill, as if scratched by an icicle. She shuddered, leaving a red mark on her cheek, as if scratched by a fingernail.
"You have someone you like in your heart, right?" The woman's voice suddenly became gentle, as if to comfort Su Wan. "I can help you, help you keep him by your side forever. As long as you sing a play with me, I will help you..."
Su Wan's heart skipped a beat. She really wanted to be with that senior, but she knew she couldn't trust what that clown said. She gritted her teeth and shook her head. "No, thank you."
The smile on the woman's face completely disappeared. Black mist emerged from her eyes, and water began to drip from her costume. The drops of water on the ground turned into black blood beads. "You all don't want to sing with me? Then you all stay and stay with me in Qingwu Town! Forever!"
As she spoke, she suddenly opened her arms, and her costume instantly became very long, like a huge red cloth, rushing towards the crowd. Li Ye immediately swung the engineer shovel and hit the costume, but the engineer shovel went straight through the costume without touching anything.
"It's useless," Chen Ba shouted, and took out a black cloth bag from under the table. He opened the bag and found a handful of black powder inside. "This is 'ghost-repelling powder', sprinkle it on her!"
Lin Shen immediately took the cloth bag and sprinkled it towards the woman. The black powder fell on her, and a puff of white smoke erupted. The woman let out a shrill scream, and her body began to turn transparent. She glared at the crowd fiercely, "Just wait! I won't let you go!" With that, her body completely vanished, leaving only her shrill screams echoing through the room.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Meng Yao's chest still ached. She clutched her chest, her face pale. "Just now...just now was so scary..."
Chen Ba put away the silver hairpin, her face solemn. "This is just the beginning. The ghost actor is just a minor character. The truly terrifying thing is still to come." She pointed out the window, "Look, the rain has stopped."
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed. The rain had indeed stopped outside, but the fog had grown thicker, as thick as milk, reducing visibility to less than a meter. Even more terrifying, the fog was red, as if stained with blood. The entire Qingwu Town was shrouded in red mist, resembling a gigantic cemetery.
"Red fog..." Zhou Tang looked at the compass, the needle spinning wildly. "This is a bad omen! A more powerful evil is about to emerge!"
Just then, there was a heavy knock on the door, like someone knocking with a stone. Then, a woman's voice came in, mournful and tearful: "My husband... have you seen my husband? He's wearing a red wedding dress and a red hat..."
Chen Ba's face turned pale in an instant: "It's the ghost mother! She's coming!"
Everyone was trembling with fear, and no one dared to open the door. The knocks on the door grew louder and louder, the "dong dong" sound seemed to knock on everyone's heart, and the woman's crying became louder and more shrill: "My husband... please open the door... I have been looking for him for years..."
The door suddenly slammed open with a clang, revealing a woman in a red wedding gown. Her gown was stained with black stains, as if burned by fire. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in thick red rouge, but it couldn't hide the burn scars. The left side of her face had been burned, revealing only the bones. Her right eye was gone, leaving only a black eye socket, oozing with black blood.
"Have you seen my husband?" The ghost mother walked in slowly, leaving a bloody footprint on the ground with every step. "He said he would be with me forever... How could he leave me alone..."
Her eyes swept over everyone and finally stopped at Chen Mo. Chen Mo was so frightened that his whole body stiffened. He felt that the ghost mother's eyes were like substance, falling on him, making him breathless.
"You... who are you?" Chen Mo's voice trembled. He remembered the dream that Hua Liang told him. The man in black clothes in the dream seemed as scary as the ghost girl in front of him.
The ghost mother suddenly laughed, her laughter was shrill, like crying: "I am Wang Hongxia... I am here to look for someone... Looking for my husband... And, looking for those who killed him..."
As she spoke, she suddenly stretched out her hand and grabbed Chen Mo. Chen Mo wanted to hide, but found that he could not move at all, as if he was fixed in place. Just as the ghost mother's hand was about to touch Chen Mo, Chen Ba suddenly threw a clay pot. The pot hit the ghost mother and shattered with a "crash". The insects inside crawled all over the ghost mother's body.
The ghost mother let out a shrill scream as her body began to burn. Her red wedding dress crackled and emitted a burning stench. She glared at Chen Ba fiercely, "I won't let you go! You will all die here!" With that, her body turned into a pile of ash, scattered on the ground.
Everyone was speechless with fear. The room was filled with the nauseating stench of burnt flesh and corpses. Meng Yao couldn't help but vomit. After she finished, she looked at the ashes on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "When...when can we get out of here?"
Chen Ba put away the remaining pottery jars, his face solemn. "We can't leave yet. The ghost mother is just full of resentment, not the most powerful one. When the evil witch god comes out later, it will be a real trouble."
She pointed at the oil lamp on the table. The flame had become very weak and could go out at any time. "If the oil lamp goes out, the evil witch god will come out. We must find a safe place before the oil lamp goes out."
Lin Shen stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his face: "Then let's go now. Where can we find a safe place?"
Chen Ba thought for a moment and said, "There's a dilapidated temple at the east end of the town. Inside is a statue of Guanyin. Evil creatures don't dare approach it. Let's go hide there."
Everyone nodded, packed up their things, and followed Chen Ba out of the house. The red fog outside the house became thicker, and visibility was less than half a meter. Every step had to be taken carefully, for fear of bumping into anything.
After walking for about ten minutes, they suddenly heard a loud splashing sound, as if someone was struggling in the water. Then, a child's cry came over, the cry was so sad that it made people feel uneasy.
"It's Shui Xie Tong!" Zhou Tang suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, "It's in the well ahead!"
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and they could vaguely see a well in the fog. The wellhead was covered with a tattered wooden board with a hole in it. The sound of water and crying came from the hole.
"Don't go near it!" Chen Ba yelled, "The Water Evil Child will drag people into the well and drown them! Let's go!"
The group quickened their pace, heading toward the dilapidated temple at the eastern end of the town. But after just a few steps, they heard a "splash" behind them, as if someone had fallen into the water. They looked back, but Meng Yao was gone. Only her camera had fallen to the ground, its screen still flickering, reflecting the scene in the well—Meng Yao struggling in the water, a blind child grabbing her feet and dragging her underwater.
"Meng Yao!" Lin Shen shouted and was about to run towards the well.
"Don't go!" Chen Ba held him back. "It's useless for you to go. Shui Xietong is very strong in the water. You can't save her at all!"
Lin Shen looked at Meng Yao's painful expression on the camera screen, and his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. He knew that Chen Ba was telling the truth, but he couldn't bear to watch Meng Yao being drowned by Shui Xietong.
"I must save her!" Lin Shen broke free from Chen Ba's hand and ran towards the well.
Chen Ba sighed, pulled out a silver hairpin from his waist, and followed. "Okay, we'll go together. But be careful, the Water Evil Child is very cunning, and he'll use illusions to trick you."
Everyone followed Lin Shen to the well. Chen Ba used a silver hairpin to poke open a hole in the wooden board and looked inside. The water in the well was black, like ink. Meng Yao was struggling in the water. A child without eyes grabbed her feet and dragged her under the water.
"Meng Yao, hold on!" Li Ye took out a military shovel and smashed it towards the child in the well. The shovel landed on the child, who let out a shrill scream and let go of Meng Yao's foot.
Lin Shen immediately lay down at the mouth of the well and reached out to pull Meng Yao. Meng Yao grabbed his hand and desperately climbed up. Just as she was about to climb out, countless hands suddenly emerged from the well, grabbed Meng Yao's legs, and dragged her underwater.
"Help me!" Lin Shen shouted, and Zhou Tang and Chen Mo immediately ran over, grabbed Meng Yao's arm, and pulled her up together.
Chen Ba took the silver hairpin and stabbed it towards the hands in the well. The moment the hairpin touched the hands, a puff of white smoke came out with a "hiss", and the hands immediately withdrew.
Finally, Meng Yao was pulled up. She was soaking wet, her lips were purple, and she kept coughing, spitting out black water.
"Let's go! Shui Xietong will come again!" Chen Ba helped Meng Yao up and ran towards the dilapidated temple at the east end of the town.
After following Chen Ba for about twenty minutes, they finally saw the shadow of the dilapidated temple. Half of the roof had collapsed, and a worn plaque hung at the entrance, with the words "Guanyin Temple" inscribed on it. The paint on the plaque had peeled off, leaving only a blurry mark.
They walked into the dilapidated temple, which was covered with dust and cobwebs. The Guanyin statue in the center was already in tatters, with only the upper half remaining. The gold paint on its body had fallen off, revealing the wood inside.
"Let's hide here for a while." Chen Ba leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. "Although the Guanyin statue is broken, it still has some spiritual energy. Evil creatures dare not come in easily."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Meng Yao, wrapped in the coat Su Wan had handed her, continued to shiver. She stared at the red mist outside the ruined temple, her heart filled with fear—she didn't know how long this nightmarish adventure would last.
Just then, a rustling sound came from outside the dilapidated temple, like someone walking. Then, a man's voice came in, deep and sinister: "Do you think you're safe hiding here?"
Chen Ba's face turned pale instantly: "It's the Evil Witch God! He's coming!"
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