From some time onward, a lot of old homes in the Han Hai Countryside began to be abandoned due to different reasons. Once the original owners left, other things moved in. The others slowly entered the home until only Bai Xiao remained outside.
The countryside was the focus area for anomalies. However, the investigation centres wouldn't send people there because the population was low unless there was a clear report. This meant that the dirty things inside the old homes would have plenty of chances to fester and grow. The home underneath the research centre was probably moved there from someplace in the countryside.
“Everyone here has experience with anomalies before. They know how to interact with anomalies and have mastered the ways of survival, but...” Bai Xiao looked through the window into the home. “It has been a few minutes, but things are still so normal.”
Holding the blade, Bai Xiao entered the home through the front door. The layout of the place was completely against normal Feng Shui. It was not meant for the living but for the dead. Everything in the room was odd in number. There were three chopsticks on the table.
The wooden clock at the corner of the living room was like a squatting person. The moving second hand was his heartbeat. The investigators, still exploring, slowly felt anxious. The experience they gained was useless there. The place was dangerous, but they couldn’t find the source of the danger.
“Should we gather in the living room?” Investigator Number Nine summoned everyone to the living room. “There will be more than one person who passes the test. We are not competitors. We can share information and gain the ghost tattoo together.” Since no one offered, No. 9 began again, “Shall I start?” He took out a few letters of debt, “The owner once owed a lot of money. However, he managed to pay off all of them using some strange methods.”
“I found corpses of birds and fishes under the bed in the daughter’s room. They are rotten and smelly. They look like sacrifices.” No. 2 crossed his arms before his chest. “The owner might have conducted some rituals to sacrifice stuff to the ghosts. He started with animals and eventually graduated to his family members.”
“Do you think everyone here has been sacrificed?” No. 3 was old. His eyes were murky, and his hair was white. “But, where is the ghost? How will the anomaly manifest itself?”
“Wait...” No. 5 looked around, and his expression darkened, “Have you discovered that Investigator 4 is gone?”
Without any sound of struggle, a living person disappeared into the old home within a few minutes.
“This home only has two floors and seven rooms. We have stuck close to each other. If No. 4 made any sound, we would have heard them.”
“This home is only so big. Everyone here is experienced. Even if one can’t escape from the ghosts, it should not pose a big issue to yell for help.” No. 5 changed the subject as his eyes flashed with panic. “Other than that... did you realise that the temperature inside here has dropped?”
“We should stick together.” No. 2 looked at the rest. “But, the two suspicious ones can stay behind.”
The investigators gathered around the dresser. They were not only careful of the ghosts but also No. 9 and Bai Xiao.
“Hey, should we work together?” No. 9 smiled at Bai Xiao. He looked manic. His mind was so influenced by the shadow world that he was not normal anymore.
Bai Xiao walked out into the yard without saying anything.
Bai Xiao reconstructed the layout in his mind, “This underground home is like an altar... An altar holding a human head.”
He walked around the home. The human figures inside the home slowly disappeared and the temperature dropped. When he returned to the old home, the living room lights were off and it was eerily silent.
“Where is everyone?”
Bai Xiao couldn’t help but turn to the main bedroom. “Could they have opened the dresser? Were the ghosts really hiding inside the dresser?”
Bai Xiao gripped the knife as he moved slowly in the dark towards the main bedroom door.