(2/3)
Changsheng Building
Chapter 234: Square Courtyard
The three of them let go of each other’s hands and stood up from the bench.
Using the faint light of the oil lamp, Wen Jianyan examined the room in front of him.
The room wasn’t large and was filled with old, gray furnishings that exuded a gloomy atmosphere. The only thing that stood out was a crimson bench, blood-red in color, making it the most striking presence in the entire room.
The temperature was bone-chillingly cold, and the air was filled with the stench of decaying corpses.
Although the room was empty and devoid of anything overtly terrifying, it still evoked a strong sense of unease.
Orange Candy immediately activated the hand of guidance.
Soon, a flickering red arrow appeared in the air, pointing to one side of the wall, as if indicating the way out.
Could it be… possible to leave?
Wei Cheng was the first to approach the door of the room, cautiously extending his hand to push it open.
“Cre-eak—”
The harsh sound of the door hinge breaking the silence made Wei Cheng’s heart skip a beat, and he quickly stepped back.
The dilapidated wooden door swung open, and profound darkness instantly poured in.
Sure enough, the door could be opened.
“Wei Cheng, come back,” Orange Candy instructed.
Wei Cheng nodded, cautiously retreating a few steps until he was within the range of the light from Orange Candy’s oil lamp.
“You two, stay close.”
Orange Candy took the lead, walking forward while instructing, “Don’t stray too far from me.”
Following Orange Candy’s lead, the three of them carefully left the empty room.
Outside, the room was pitch black, with only the faint light from the oil lamp held by the little girl illuminating a small area around them.
In front of them was a small, square courtyard with a dead tree planted in the center. The rooms on all four sides were engulfed in darkness, and Wen Jianyan and the others had just exited the west room.
The hand of guidance above them was pointing toward the main hall in the north.
Orange Candy said, “Let’s go; it’s that way.”
The courtyard was eerily silent, with only the scattered sound of their footsteps echoing.
By the light of the oil lamp, Wen Jianyan glanced around.
The layout here was strange. Although it was a square courtyard, the central axis was crooked. Rusty copper coins hung in all four corners, and the tree in the middle was considered a bad omen in folk geomancy, symbolizing “entrapment,” meaning it was meant to trap everything within it.
Although they hadn’t encountered any strange occurrences yet, Wen Jianyan still felt a chill down his spine.
Soon, the three of them arrived in front of the north room.
The door of the north room was tightly shut and covered in dust.
“Captain.”
Wei Cheng suddenly spoke, staring at the closed, dilapidated door in front of him with a bad expression. “I have a very bad feeling about this room. Be careful.”
“Got it.”
Orange Candy, rarely serious, raised her hand, ready to push open the door.
“Thud, thud, thud—”
Suddenly, a series of footsteps sounded behind them, like a child running through the courtyard.
“!”
Everyone was startled, and they quickly turned their heads to look behind them.
But it was still pitch black, without a single figure in sight.
After they turned their attention back, there was a creaking sound, and the dilapidated wooden door in front of them automatically swung open. The sound of the door hinge turning was particularly piercing in the dead, silent courtyard, startling them once again.
Two dark handprints slowly appeared on the wooden door.
Seeing the anomaly in front of him, Wen Jianyan felt a chill down his spine and instinctively moved closer to the other two.
He really wasn’t very brave, and paired with his current frail appearance, his fear seemed all the more genuine and unpretentious.
“It looks like we can’t delay any longer.” Orange Candy shrugged, still looking nonchalant but with a serious expression in her eyes. “Let’s go in.”
*
Inside the shop.
The dim oil lamp flickered slightly, illuminating the few people left inside.
Although only a few minutes had passed, Wu Ya’s condition had noticeably worsened.
His face was deathly pale, and his arms spread out uncontrollably to the sides as if being pulled by something.
Except for himself, no one could see the two black shadows standing on either side of him, each about waist-high, standing rigidly and tightly gripping his hands.
As time passed, the two shadows became more solid than before.
Wu Ya’s body was extremely stiff and cold. A chilling sensation arose from the spot where the shadows held him, making him shiver all over and feel creeped out.
Everyone looked grave.
They knew that although the few people inside the painting, led by Orange Candy, faced the most terrifying threat, it didn’t mean those left outside were safe.
They had to be aware that not only were they dealing with the two shadows preparing to invade the shop through Wu Ya, but they also had to worry about two other curses that could erupt at any moment. Normally, there should be a significant interval between the eruptions of these three curses, but no one dared to assume this, so they could only prepare for the worst-case scenario.
One person stood guard by the second painting, constantly observing the movements within it to react promptly.
The others stood alert, keeping a safe distance from Wu Ya, constantly monitoring his actions.
“Hey!”
Suddenly, one teammate’s eyes widened slightly, pointing at Wu Ya’s hand:
“Look!”
Everyone was startled and quickly looked in the direction pointed out.
Between Wu Ya’s stiffly spread hands, at some point, two pale blue hands had appeared, covered with dark green corpse spots.
The corpse spots had spread from the body to his hands, and the lifeless, bloodless curse continued to spread.
There was no body, no shadow, only the two childlike hands, one on each side, holding Wu Ya’s hands motionlessly.
Wu Ya’s arms spread wider.
He slowly raised his head with an extremely painful expression on his face.
Clenching his teeth, Wu Ya spoke in a strained voice, “You all… step back.”
He felt… he couldn’t hold on much longer.
*
At the same time, in the courtyard.
Under the faint light of the oil lamp, the three cautiously moved towards the north room. The further they went, the more the air thickened, and the strong smell of rotting corpses filled their nostrils, making them almost want to vomit.
The space inside the north room was larger and more empty than expected.
“Tap, tap, tap—”
The sound of small footsteps appeared again from behind; the sound of a child running echoed in the empty house, making their scalps tingle.
But this time, none of the three turned around, instead quickening their pace and following the direction pointed by the guiding hand.
Time was of the essence.
As long as they found the source of the curse before it spread, everything would end, and the danger could be nipped in the bud.
Soon, a wooden coffin appeared, not far away.
It stood alone in the center of the room, coated with thick, crimson paint like fresh blood, silently lying in the darkness, giving off an extremely terrifying feeling.
Instinctively, they stopped, halting a short distance from the coffin.
The guiding hand danced above the coffin, pointing downward.
Though they had expected it, Wen Jianyan’s heart still skipped a beat when he saw this.
The crucial item this time was inside this coffin.
It seemed they had no choice but to open it.
“Take this.”
Orange Candy handed the lamp to Wei Cheng and took the lead to step forward.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to push the coffin lid.
Though the coffin lid was wooden, it felt as heavy as if it were made of iron. Under Orange Candy’s strenuous efforts, it emitted a hoarse “creak—” sound, barely opening a small gap.
Wen Jianyan wanted to help but was stopped by Wei Cheng: “No need.”
While vigilantly watching the surrounding darkness, he said, “What’s pressing the coffin isn’t human. If the captain can’t move it, neither can you.”
“Creak!”
Another sound.
The coffin lid moved slightly more, and a strong smell of decay hit them.
“Tap, tap, tap—”
At that moment, a series of running steps sounded again; this time, the sound didn’t just appear and disappear suddenly but rushed straight toward the three of them!
In an instant, the oil lamp flickered wildly!
In the light, Wen Jianyan saw a series of black handprints appearing on the ground, pattering toward him.
Those were not footprints, but the handprints of a child.
The two were shocked and instinctively took a step back, but the series of handprints did not chase them. Instead, it passed through the gap between them, heading straight for the coffin!
“Damn it!” Wei Cheng cursed under his breath, quickly activating a tool. The next second, a pure bell chime rang in the dark, enclosed room, echoing repeatedly. The greenish-black handprints on the scarlet coffin abruptly stopped, and the marks on the coffin lid began to fade gradually.
A pained expression appeared on Wei Cheng’s face, indicating that the prop was precious.
“This thing can only last 30 seconds!”
After the prop took effect, the heavy pressure on the coffin lid seemed to vanish. The previously iron-like heavy coffin lid was now easily pushed open by Orange Candy.
Orange Candy jumped up, half of her body diving into the coffin, searching for something inside.
Meanwhile, the once clear and loud chime was slowly fading, leaving only a faint echo.
“Tap, tap, tap—”
The sound of handprints came from all directions, continuously approaching the coffin.
“Captain, hurry!” Wei Cheng shouted anxiously, “It’s about to wear off!”
“Got it!”
Orange Candy nimbly emerged from the coffin, clutching a tattered rag doll. “Let’s go; we’re leaving!”
“Tap, tap, tap!”
In the empty room, the sound of handprints echoed, sending chills down their spines. In the area illuminated by the oil lamp, they could see those greenish-black handprints closing in, as if trying to surround them.
Orange Candy said, “Stay close to me; we’re heading straight to the west room—”
“Wait.”
Wen Jianyan suddenly spoke.
His voice was no longer warm and shy; it had turned deep, cold, decisive, and indifferent. Even though Orange Candy was ready to rush out, she couldn’t help but pause and look back at Wen Jianyan.
“This isn’t the source of the curse.”
The girl’s face was still pale, seemingly scared, but her eyes shone brightly in the dark, exuding strong confidence.
Orange Candy didn’t waste any time and directly handed the rag doll to Wen Jianyan.
In an instant, a familiar system announcement sounded in Wen Jianyan’s ear.
After experiencing the first two levels of the Changsheng Building, all the surviving anchors knew that the source of the curse was always a hidden item, precisely located using the guiding hand.
“I know.” Wen Jianyan quickly handed the rag doll back, speeding up his speech, “But the problem is, a shop’s hidden items might not be limited to one.”
And there was a significant flaw in the hand of guidance’s mechanism: its randomness. It seemed that in the Changsheng Building instance, it might prioritize non-critical hidden items.
On the previous floor, they almost suffered because of this.
As the only one present with experience in invasion, Wen Jianyan was the most familiar with the world inside the painting on this floor. He knew that if the rag doll Orange Candy had taken was the true source of the curse, then the handprints, as derivatives of the curse, would have disappeared. But since they were still nearby, it indicated that the rag doll was not the key hidden item but another diversion.
Orange Candy was stunned, showing a thoughtful expression.
“Creak—”
Suddenly, a harsh scraping sound came from behind.
Startled, they turned to look.
A pair of pale blue hands slowly pressed on the coffin lid from deep inside. The next second, the coffin lid fell to the ground with a loud “bang.”
“Creak, creak.”
A piercing sound of bones rubbing together echoed.
Under the wildly flickering oil lamp, a stiff corpse slowly sat up from the coffin.
On its face was a canvas painted with a lifelike face.
It was Wu Ya’s face.
Go go