CH 2

(Who Killed Who?)

Shen Dongqing greeted the original inhabitant seriously. 

It was just that the original inhabitant seemed a little shy. After he held his hand, his ashen face became blue and his eyeballs were falling out its sockets.

Shen Dongqing quickly let go of his hand: “I’m sorry…”

He did not have full control over his strength as a ferocious ghost because he became a human recently, and his actions were neither light nor heavy.

Once the photo frame ghost broke free, he bolted, slamming back into the black and white portrait like a streak of smoke. 

Shen Dongqing rubbed his hand regretfully.

It had been a thousand years since he became a man, and after not being a human for such a long time, he was not adapted to it. He did know what a normal human should be like and he could only learn by observing the words, actions and manners of the people he met.

Thus, he laid on his bed and raised his phone.

According to the female high school student, there was no signal here so there were quite a few games that could not be played.

Shen Dongqing flipped through his phone until he finally found a game that could be played – Little Crocodile Likes Bathing. When he had been a ghost, he had been incredibly jealous when people were playing games; and it had been unfortunate that no one had burned his offerings and he could not touch electronic devices either, which reduced him to a mere spectator.  Now that he finally had the chance to play, he propped himself on the bed and played until the middle of the night.

And because he was very engrossed in the game, he ignored the sounds of knocking at the window and the screaming woman upstairs.

The man in the black and white portrait was forced to listen to the cheerful music that the phone was emitting as he continued to stare at the youth on the bed.

What was going on, why was he still playing? 

Could he please give the ghosts a little face?

The photo frame ghost felt like he was being ignored and it made him inexplicably upset – I have to scare this person properly. According to the rules, I can kill him at will as long as he screams.

Under the flickering lights, the portrait of the deceased person suddenly changed places without any human interference and hung itself at the top of the headboard. The person in the portrait became paler and the corners of his mouth pulled to his ears as his sclera was sheeted with a crimson red, making it an extremely strange picture.

If a timid person had seen this scene, he would have been frightened to the point where he lost his voice. 

However…

Shen Dongqing’s attention was always concentrated on the screen of his phone, and he did not even raise his head once.

The photo frame ghost was somewhat tired after maintaining the same posture for a long time, and just as he was about to relax, he saw Shen Dongqing finally move. He promptly shifted into combat readiness and assumed an even more terrifying and warped expression.

Shen Dongqing happened to see the black and white portrait on the wall. 

The black and white portrait was tinged with pride: You’re scared, right?

Shen Dongqing looked at the portrait’s expression and curled his lips at him as he said: “Good night.”

Then, he put down his powerless phone and turned off the lights.

In the darkness, the black and white portrait showed an image of despondency. 

What, what was going on? Why couldn’t he scare him? Was it because he hadn’t put enough effort into his professional work?

The black and white portrait of the deceased sank into deep rumination – It’s not worth living as a ghost.

Shen Dongqing slept heavily. 

He did not wake up until he heard a series of firecrackers bursting outside his window.

Confused, he opened his eyes and saw a ghost face right in front of him before he could fully awaken.

The black and white portrait made for a tragic appearance: This should scare you right?

Pa kjr rbwfatlcu tf tjv mbwf eq klat joafg j cluta bo ygjlcrabgwlcu. 

Dfobgf Vtfc Gbcudlcu mbeiv gfrqbcv, tlr ybvs wbnfv olgra jcv tf rtba bea j qecmt jr tf gjlrfv tlr tjcv.

Ktf yijmx jcv ktlaf qbgagjla kfimbwfv atf bcmbwlcu olra, rtbklcu j qifjrfv rwlif.

Idiot, how could a human hit a ghost…

Llr olra ijcvfv. 

Ktf yijmx jcv ktlaf qbgagjla bcis ofia j rtjgq qjlc lc lar cfmx yfobgf tlr nlrlbc rxfkfv ogbw atf sbeat islcu bc atf yfv ab atf sfiibkfv mflilcu.

He wriggle his body, only to realise that his head had separated from his neck, and his head was lying on the ground.

The photo frame ghost went dumb.

Previously, he had always been the one scaring and killing people, so why was he at the receiving end of human’s punch now? And because he was not proficient enough in his professional work, he did not know how to respond, and he could only stay there. 

“I’m sorry!” Sheng Dongqing stood up quickly, wanting to pick up the head on the ground and help him press it back.

The photo frame ghost reacted.

You just decapitated me with one punch! If you touch it again, wouldn’t my spirit scatter?

Before Shen Dongqing could touch the rolling head, it issued an inexplicable scream, trembling as it minimised itself in a corner. 

Shen Dongqing could only come to standstill as he consoled: “Don’t be afraid, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

But when his words landed in the ears of the black and white portrait, it sounded like he wanted his life. Hence, he quickly stood up and hugged its own head before it merged back into the photo frame.

The person in the photo frame flipped itself and faced the back of the frame outside, so afraid that he curled himself into a ball.

Sheng Dongqing felt rather embarrassed. 

The original inhabitant had kindly woken him up, but he had knocked the person’s head off.

He walked to the front of the black and white portrait and gave his earnest apology.

The person in black and white portrait and his frame started shaking in reply, and their tremors almost shook the frame off the wall.

Shen Dongqing immediately reached out to catch the photo frame. Unable to find a place to put it down, he settled for the nightstand after he took a glance around the room. He even adjusted its positioning to ensure that it was placed steadily and in the best angle for appreciation. 

After he was done with that, he stood further back to observe it for a while, and the ghost within the photo frame started sweating under his gaze. Only then did Shen Dongqing nod his head in satisfaction before he walked out.

The others basically went through a sleepless night and they had gathered in the hall early in the morning to start looking for clues regarding the murderer.

When they saw Shen Dongqing coming, they were visibly shocked. 

Yellow Hair had no scruples as he blurted out: “You’re still alive?”

Sheng Dongqing was puzzled. “Ah?”

“Did you encounter anything strange last night?” Gold Chain asked.

Last night, many spiritual events occurred in their room. For example, knocks started sounding at their door in the middle of the night, there was a pale face at the window, and a hand had stretched out from underneath their bed… if Old Chen had not been around, they were afraid they would not have lived to see the day. 

Therefore, everyone thought the lonesome Shen Dongqing was dead.

Shen Dongqing made a brief recall: “No.”

Except for his overly enthusiastic roommate, nothing had occurred.

When Old Chen overheard his words, his eyes darkened as he gave Shen Dongqing a one-over to search for any anomalies. He did not want to talk about the topic anymore so he said: “We have to find the murderer in three days. Time is of essence; we’ll split up to search for clues.” 

After the incidents last night, the other were already aware of how many dangers were out there and not one of them dared to move.

Old Chen was growing impatient. “The hostess already told us the rules yesterday! It’s safe during the day and the ghosts will only appear at night!”

The group of people forced themselves to move.

Old Chen instructed: “Do not go to the innermost room on the third floor.” 

The others shuffled out and scattered, leaving Shen Dongqing alone on the sofa.

He was not in a hurry, and he roamed around the house once at a leisurely pace before he walked to the dining room.

Due to the arrival of guests, the hostess had prepared a sumptuous breakfast for them.

However, the others were afraid that there were something wrong with the food and they had abstained from it. They merely consumed two bottles of cold water to drink themselves full. 

Shen Dongqing did not have such worries and he grabbed a steaming bun and took a bite.

Having been a ferocious ghost for a long time, no one had given him offerings. Now that he could have food after going through such difficulties, he thought everything tasted good. A plate of buns was quickly devoured by him but his belly remained flat without a sign of his consumption.

Shen Dongqing rubbed his belly and picked up another apple to nibble on before he started looking for clues.

This was a self-constructed house in a village and it had three and half floors.

The first floor was where the hall was situated at and it was furnished with sofas and a television, as well as the central room leading to the main door which had paintings hung on the wall, ones that were styled after the blessings of a lucky star. However, the paintings were created decades back and the pigmentation had long faded, leaving it pallid and blurred.

Left of the central room was the kitchen and the stairs were on the right.

Just as Shen Dongqing was walking out of the kitchen, he heard the sound of a rubber ball bouncing coming from the right. 

Pa pa pa—

The sound was soft and slow.

Shen Dongqing walked along the bend and saw a little girl in a pair of ponytails with her back facing him.

She was wearing a flower skirt and her hand were moving up and down as she played with her rubber ball seriously, and she did not notice that someone was approaching her. 

After watching her for a while, Shen Dongqing decided to sneak away quietly so he would not disturb her.

He was turning around when he heard the ball roll over with a tumbling sound, and it happened to roll right next to his feet. Soon after, he heard a small voice.

“Big brother, can you pick up the rubber ball for me?”

Shen Dongqing was about to pick it up when a warning suddenly came from above. 

“Don’t, quickly run!” The female high school student’s complexion was waxen, and her entire body was slumped against the staircase railings. She wanted to run but her legs felt weak, and she could only look fearfully at the little girl.

Shen Dongqing lowered his head to look.

How was the object that rolled to his feet a rubber ball? It was clearly a little girl’s head. The little girl was pale and white, and her eyes were large and round. If she was trying to be cute, she had failed because she looked a little scary.

“Big brother…” 

The little girl’s mouth open and closed as she spoke softly.

Shen Dongqing remained unfazed as he picked up the head and passed it over.

The female high school student was scared silly: “Why do you dare to…”

How could a person possibly dare to pick a live human’s head as if it was normal? 

“Thank you, big brother.” The little girl in the flower skirt received it and tucked the head that was a copy of hers in her arms.

Shen Dongqing ignored the little girl’s peculiarities. Instead, he spoke to her as if she were an ordinary child and asked: “Why are you playing here alone?”

The little girl whispered, “I need to be softer, if I’m too noisy, Daddy will be angry. Isn’t that right, older sister?”

The head in her arms agreed, “Daddy is very fierce.” 

Shen Dongqing casually said: “Isn’t your dad already dead?”

The two little girls revealed their bewilderment in their expressions.

Shen Dongqing’s thoughts took a turn and he was about to ask something when an ear-piercing scream sounded from above.

It was Yellow Hair. 

The little girl shivered, “Daddy’s gonna be angry…”

Holding her older sister’s head, she ran out of the corridor and her figure disappeared into the darkness.

Shen Dongqing glanced upstairs and walked up. On the third floor, he found Yellow Hair who was physically paralysed on the ground.

The female high school student followed behind him timidly. 

When Yellow Hair saw someone arriving, he seemed to have found his life-saving straw as he started blabbering incoherently, “I saw red eyes inside…”

When some things was forbidden, it made people more curious.

When Yellow Hair remembered the hostess mentioning that he could not enter the room, he had thought, maybe he could peek through a door slit? The doors here were old-fashioned, and the door happened to have a gap underneath which was perfect to survey the room’s situation with. 

Thus, Yellow Hair could not suppress his own curiosity and he laid flat on his belly to peek through the door silt. However, what he saw was red.

Initially, he had thought that someone had stuck a piece of red paper to it and he had stretched his hand out to poke it open, but he did not manage to touch anything when he reached in. Bafflement had arose in his heart, which made him lean closer to take a better look, but he realised that it was not a red paper but a pair of red eyes that was staring straight at him.

When he finished his tale, Yellow Hair shuddered.

At that moment, a “dong” sounded against the door from deep within, and it caught everyone’s attention. 

Dong dong dong—

Something was being smashed against the door, again and again. Sad and shrill screaming and shouting rang out simultaneously.

Because they were partition off by a door, they could only hear a rough approximation of the words.

“My son killed her—” 

“She killed my son—”

“My son killed me, hahahahahaha—”