CHAPTER 10
"Don't go out." Meng Yunxi stopped Sheng Qing, who was about to go out to investigate. "Go check other floors."
Sure enough, the randomly selected floor doors all led to identical basements.
If they could escape so easily, it would raise suspicion, so the two obediently returned to the basement.
"Let's act together, lest you disappear too in a little while." Meng Yunxi frowned slightly.
That suited me perfectly, and Sheng Qing nodded vigorously.
The two walked towards the funhouse mirror at the same time. Two flames lit up on the left and right sides, and the projections of the two people in the mirror were strange, but there was no other unusual movement.
"Try turning off the lights again?" Before Sheng Qing could finish speaking, with a snap, the basement was plunged back into darkness.
Their gazes were fixed on the mirror, where faint ripples appeared. In the blink of an eye, the figures of the twin siblings slowly emerged, still wearing that same playful, amused expression.
"Are they still there? Look." Not wanting to see that bloody scene again, Sheng Qing asked stiffly.
“No, they’re in the mirror.” Meng Yunxi paused. “Or rather, we’re in the mirror.”
"Huh?" Sheng Qing was stunned.
"So we can't get out no matter what we do." Meng Yunxi said calmly, as if she had already guessed this.
"What exactly do you want?" Meng Yunxi asked the two people in the mirror with a calm gaze.
“We want Aunt Qingqing…” The little girl smiled and looked at Sheng Qing.
"No, choose another one." Meng Yunxi took a step forward and refused decisively.
"You!" The little girl's eyes widened in anger, then suddenly she smiled. "Then you can stay here forever."
“Okay.” Meng Yunxi agreed decisively, the flames went out, and the basement lights came on.
Sheng Qing was confused by Meng Yunxi's actions and tentatively asked, "What are you doing?"
Meng Yunxi stopped searching around and found a chair to sit down steadily. Only then did she look up at Sheng Qing, her expression calm and composed.
"Wait patiently, because they need something from us, or rather, they need something from you."
Sheng Qing felt a chill run down his spine. What did they mean by "they need my help"? What good could come from being targeted by these strange twin siblings?
"Who exactly are you? This isn't the first person to come because of you, and I doubt it will be the last." Meng Yunxi looked at Sheng Qing suspiciously for a long time before finally looking away.
"I really don't know," Sheng Qing explained with a mournful face. Suddenly, the image of the huge statue and the five snake-bodied, human-headed goddess statues flashed through his mind. Could this be the reason?
"Actually, there's something I forgot to mention before." Sheng Qing also pulled up a chair and sat down next to Meng Yunxi.
Meng Yunxi remained silent, her face expressionless.
"Actually, it's nothing serious, just a strange dream." Sheng Qing recounted the story of the statue, of course concealing the man-eating giant. That story was far too bizarre; if he told her, he'd probably be considered a heretic and burned at the stake.
"A snake-bodied, human-headed goddess statue?" Meng Yunxi asked in confusion.
Sheng Qing then carefully described the symbols above the heads of the five deities again. Seeing Meng Yunxi's furrowed brows and complicated expression, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is there a problem? Have you seen them before?"
Meng Yunxi looked away and after a long while said, "No problem."
"Do you think I'll believe you?" Sheng Qing said indignantly. Why should I tell you everything while you're hiding things from me?
"Knowing too much isn't a good thing." Meng Yunxi shifted her posture, focusing her gaze intently on the funhouse mirror.
"Hey! Stop cheating..." Sheng Qing was about to question him when the lights in the basement suddenly went out.
The mirror emitted a dim light, and like fish swimming in water, the twin siblings nimbly crawled out of it.
The whole scene was incredibly bizarre.
"What exactly is going on?" Sheng Qing tried to remain calm.
"Bad people!" the twin siblings muttered under their breath, stomping past Meng Yunxi and standing in front of Sheng Qing, looking pitiful.
"Aunt Qingqing, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you just now." Her tone sounded extremely aggrieved, as if it wasn't the two of them who had frightened her, but Sheng Qing.
"Please help us." Tears welled up in her eyes as she said this.
"But I don't know how I can help you," Sheng Qing said, casting a pleading look at Meng Yunxi.
"Let us out first, or we're out of the picture." Meng Yunxi's self-righteous manner almost made Sheng Qing think that he was the one who was going to do the work, instead of himself who was being forced into it.
"No, Jiajia can't find out," the younger twin hurriedly refused.
"Shut up!" The older twin glared at her younger brother. "How many times have I told you, it's not Jiajia."
"But..." The younger brother wanted to argue, but seeing his sister's gaze, he swallowed his words.
"Jiajia? Are you talking about Jiajia, the little girl holding the doll?" Sheng Qing caught the key words.
The two siblings looked fearful and nodded timidly.
"What's wrong with her?" Sheng Qing couldn't help but shudder as he recalled the little girl's strange behavior.
“Jiajia is long gone. Now she’s just a monster whose body has been taken over by an unknown creature,” the older sister said indignantly.
"It not only lied to us, but also trapped us in the basement," the younger brother began to complain.
"It mentioned your name several times in front of us, and we thought you were both bad people, so we accidentally scared you. Aunt Qingqing, you must have a way to help us." The older sister's tone also became aggrieved.
"Please help us," the twin siblings pleaded in unison.
"What did it say?" Meng Yunxi interrupted, asking calmly.
The twins looked troubled. Finally, the older sister stepped forward and said seriously, "It said you are special." Then, after a moment of hesitation, she added, "It also told us not to act on our own and to behave properly and not to do anything sneaky."
"It doesn't mean I'm special, special..." Sheng Qing was too embarrassed to say the word "fragrant," feeling like a pervert.
"Then what about you two trapping us here?" Meng Yunxi glanced at Sheng Qing, then turned her gaze to the twin siblings.
"This, this..." The twins stammered, unsure how to explain, and finally, with tears welling up in their eyes, they said, "You adults are so forgiving, we didn't do it on purpose. We just wanted to leave, to be free." They were about to burst into tears as they spoke.
"Sister, I think Jiajia, ptooey, ptooey! It's it, it, it!" The younger brother's eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered something. "That doll of hers is always with her. Maybe what's trapping us is related to it."
"That makes sense." The older sister nodded.
The twins both looked at Sheng Qing: "Aunt Qingqing, could you help us steal that doll?" Seeing Sheng Qing's reluctant expression, the older sister smiled slyly, "If you help us, we'll exchange a secret for you."
"How can we prove that your secret is worth the risk?" Meng Yunxi didn't care whether Sheng Qing was willing or able to do it, and adopted an attitude that the doll was already in her grasp.
"Hmph, don't you all want to leave this place too?" the younger brother said proudly. "What's the point of wandering around like headless flies all day? You haven't been to that place yet, have you?"
"Of course, that place isn't one you can just go wherever you want." The older sister also adopted a smug expression. "Without our help, not a chance!"
"We don't have the key either!" the younger brother excitedly chimed in.
"Shut up!" The older sister said, tugging at her younger brother with displeasure.
"What door, what key?" Sheng Qing caught the key words.
"Stop talking nonsense, speak clearly!" Meng Yunxi's eyes were sharp.
"Where's the doll?" The twin siblings reached out their hands in unison and asked.
Sheng Qing and Meng Yunxi exchanged a glance, and seeing the expression on each other's faces, they had no choice but to agree.
How could he legitimately get the doll from Jiajia? Sheng Qing pondered this question on his way home.
The basement must have some kind of magnetic field or barrier. Before losing consciousness after leaving the basement, Meng Yunxi gave a very simple and straightforward solution: go in and get it at night.
Based on past experience, the basement will likely look quite different at night. Should we wait another night?
But with time, things can get complicated, and what if something unexpected happens?
Sheng Qing felt her face was contorting into a grimace, making her look like an old woman.
"Brother Meng seems so refined, how could he do such a thing?" Xiang Wan reassured Sheng Qing with a mixture of doubt and worry. "Qingqing, there must be some misunderstanding. Mr. Meng is not that kind of person."
Sheng Qing dared not get too close, worried that the lingering pungent smell from the onion-induced redness and tears in her eyes would arouse Xiang Wan's suspicion.
"Honey, let's go to Qingqing's house together and talk things out. How can you treat someone like this?" Seeing Sheng Qing crying her eyes out and refusing to say a word, Xiang Wan's expression turned serious. She turned and shouted to the man who was standing far away on the balcony, trying to avoid suspicion.
"Now?" The man's tone was uncertain, but seeing Xiang Wan's expression, he quickly changed his tune. "Okay, I'll go right now!"
"Ah? No, no need." Sheng Qing waved his hand, somewhat guilty, in refusal.
Originally, he planned to use the excuse of having a conflict with Meng Yunxi to stay at Xiang Wan's house, and then take the opportunity to steal the doll.
Unexpectedly, Xiang Wan was a woman of action. Even though she hadn't said anything and had been crying and sobbing since knocking on the door, she was willing to stand up for him.
Hmm? Why not just go with the flow and let the two of them "seek justice" for themselves, then steal the doll and run away?
"I...I dare not go..." Sheng Qing cautiously raised her eyes to look at Wan.
These words were bound to make things worse, so Xiang Wan grabbed her husband and rushed out the door.
According to Xiang Wan, Jiajia went out to play and hasn't returned yet. As for why she would let a two- or three-year-old child go out alone, that was beyond Sheng Qing's concern.
When Sheng Qing came out of the restroom, he glimpsed the lonely doll through the half-open door.
Although my mind sensed something was amiss, the twins' secret was too tempting to ponder.
Sheng Qing tiptoed into Jiajia's room. As she picked up the doll with her back to the door, she felt an invisible yet substantial gaze upon her back.
Despite her discomfort, Sheng Qing quickly hid the doll in her arms, washed her face, and headed back.
The front door was still open, and Meng Yunxi stood in the center of the living room, looking bewildered and aggrieved. Xiang Wan, on the other hand, sat imposingly on the sofa, with her so-called husband standing beside her.
"I think this might be a misunderstanding?" Sheng Qing tried to appear enlightened, and stepped forward to take Meng Yunxi's hand, intending to walk out. "I misunderstood Yunxi."
Sheng Qing then cast an apologetic look at Xiang Wan: "Wanwan, thank you."
"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's go back first. You two can talk it out." After understanding Sheng Qing's words, Xiang Wan nodded apologetically to Meng Yunxi.
Sheng Qing tightened his grip on the doll in his arms and saw Xiang Wan out the door.
"There's no time to explain." Meng Yunxi looked completely out of sorts, and Sheng Qing didn't intend to waste any more words. He would just drag him to the funhouse mirror in the basement and he would understand.
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