C4 Scouting the House

I shuddered and fixed my gaze on the curtain. The silhouette behind it was unmistakably human. Yet, it stood utterly still, resembling a statue.

Third Uncle seemed oblivious as he continued, "How could I possibly let you go in by yourself? I was merely speaking hypothetically..."

Mid-sentence, Third Uncle noticed my distraction and followed my gaze, puzzled. "Yang, what are you staring at?"

I pointed to the window, saying, "See that shadow behind the curtain? It hasn't moved for the longest time."

Third Uncle glanced at the window, then back at me, and questioned, "What shadow? Lee Yang, if you're reluctant to enter this house, you shouldn't spook yourself with tall tales..."

Annoyed, I shot Third Uncle a fierce look and retorted, "I'm not making up stories. Pui! Pui! Pui! One shouldn't speak of people during the day or ghosts at night. I clearly saw..."

To my surprise, when I turned back, the shadow had vanished as if by magic.

Rubbing my eyes, I wondered if I was experiencing an illusion, or if the person behind the curtain had moved away.

Third Uncle dismissed it with a wave, "Enough, let's not dwell on it. Even if there was a shadow, there's no cause for alarm. It indicates there's a person there, and as you know, ghosts cast no shadows. Now, listen to my plan..."

With Third Uncle's reassurance, I felt somewhat calmer. Certainly, a human presence was preferable to a ghostly one. Yet, I hadn't grasped that at times, the human heart can be far more sinister than any specter.

Third Uncle led me to the entrance of the desolate tower and halted.

Approaching the door, I looked up and was struck by an ominous sensation.

As the last sliver of daylight faded, darkness enveloped us. The building before me loomed oppressively, like a gaping maw of a beast, ready to devour us upon entry. The black-painted door seemed to beckon like the jaws of a tiger, poised to consume us whole.

I hesitated to share my apprehension with Third Uncle, fearing he'd mock me for my faint-heartedness. Having committed to tackling the haunted house with him, I decided it was best to simply follow his lead.

Third Uncle glanced around before producing a key and unlocking the door. As it creaked open, the musty scent of long-standing disuse hit us. The odor alone was testament to the building's lengthy abandonment.

From his bag, Third Uncle fetched two powerful flashlights, handing one to me. "Inside, don't shine it around aimlessly. Just follow me and keep the light on the path ahead," he instructed.

I nodded in agreement. As Third Uncle turned to enter, he paused as if recalling something, then dug into his bag and handed me an object. It was a small puppet, a cloth doll.

The doll was palm-sized and crudely made, looking more like a homemade craft than a factory product. Confused, I asked, "What's this for?"

Third Uncle replied, "I'll explain later. For now, keep this puppet with you. If you find yourself in an emergency, like encountering something strange or hearing me tell you to run, spit on the puppet and throw it away, then make a break for it as fast as you can. Got it?"

Though Third Uncle was usually jovial, he conveyed these instructions with uncharacteristic solemnity, reigniting the anxiety I had managed to quell.

Noticing my concern, he gestured reassuringly, "It's just a precaution. Nothing will happen as long as you stick close to me."

Having been duped in the past, the more confidently Third Uncle assured me, the more skeptical I became. But there was no turning back now. I clenched my jaw and nodded.

Third Uncle switched on his flashlight, sweeping it across the entrance. The beam was intense, illuminating the interior. I could clearly see a living room on the first floor, with furniture like sofas and coffee tables still in place. Yet, from my vantage point outside, I saw no sign of the makeshift brick house Lee Ximei had built for Old Lady Chen. Had it been dismantled, or what had happened to it?

Third Uncle had already stepped inside, and I quickly turned on my flashlight to keep pace with him.

Despite my reservations about trusting Third Uncle, at that moment, he was the only person I could depend on. It wasn't just the emptiness of the house that unnerved me. It was Third Uncle's earlier introduction and the inexplicable shadow behind the curtain that had set my nerves on edge.

I wondered, how could there be a shadow in a house that had been uninhabited for so long? And now that I thought about it, there was no light inside the room. Even if someone stood behind the window, how could their shadow be cast upon the curtain?

But I couldn't come up with an answer right then because Third Uncle had already reached the center of the living room, and I hurried to catch up.

Once inside, the musty odor intensified, becoming almost overpowering. Another striking sensation was the cold. In Shenshi, the temperature difference between day and night might be significant, but it wasn't enough to make one feel chilled. Yet this room was different; it felt like stepping into an ice cellar.

After spending some time in the room, my skin slowly acclimated to the temperature, and I began to feel slightly more comfortable.

Inside, Third Uncle, flashlight in hand, moved very slowly, casting light around the area. Having agreed to certain rules, I didn't dare wander or shine my light carelessly, so I closely followed his lead.

We circled the first floor a few times, with Third Uncle finding nothing of particular interest but getting a good sense of the layout. There was a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. I guessed the bedroom was meant for Chen Dafa's mother, but Lee Ximei had never allowed the elderly lady to move in.

Third Uncle was thorough, even shining his flashlight behind the bathroom toilet, though I wasn't sure what he was searching for.

Eventually, Third Uncle steadied himself and gestured for me to follow him toward the staircase.

It looked like he was ready to inspect the second floor, so I followed, preparing to ascend as well.

Just as I set foot on the staircase, I was struck by an odd sensation from behind. It was an uncanny feeling; though I lacked eyes in the back of my head, I could sense someone's gaze upon me.

Perhaps this was the so-called sixth sense, a phenomenon I'm sure many have experienced.

At that moment, the feeling was overwhelmingly intense, compelling me to whip around and check.

I aimed my flashlight behind me, only to find no one there.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I realized I had been too on edge, frightening myself over nothing.

I turned to continue following Third Uncle to the second floor, but to my surprise, he had vanished from the staircase in just a brief moment.

Startled, I inwardly swore at his unreliability, a trait he was certainly living up to. He had asked me to follow him, yet he hadn't kept an eye out for me. How could he not notice that I hadn't kept up? He had left me behind and gone upstairs on his own.

I hurried up the stairs, trying to catch up with Third Uncle.

Halfway up, however, I sensed that something was amiss.

Listening intently, I realized there were no footsteps coming from the second floor. The stairs beneath me were wooden, and I remembered not hearing any creaks earlier, suggesting that Third Uncle might not have ascended after all.

The desolate tower was now enveloped in an eerie silence.

It was as if Third Uncle had vanished within its walls. My heart raced, threatening to leap from my throat.

We had managed to lose each other in this house, and I was filled with regret. So, I descended the stairs once more and found myself back on the first floor.

Scanning the area, I was unexpectedly greeted by a sliver of light shining through the crack of an otherwise empty bedroom door.

I came to an abrupt halt, taken aback by this unforeseen development. Third Uncle and I had just been in that room, which contained nothing more than a wooden bed and a cabinet against the wall. There had been no sign of anything unusual, so why was there light emanating from it now?

To verify what I was seeing, I crouched down and switched off my flashlight.

At that moment, a flickering light persisted from within the empty house. It seemed as though a candle was burning inside, casting a wavering glow.

I had a suspicion. Could it be that Third Uncle had thought of something and doubled back to that room just as I had turned my head? And due to my heightened nerves, I hadn't noticed?

I swallowed hard, felt for the puppet tucked at my waist, and tried to steady my racing heart.

I clicked on my flashlight again and found myself drawn toward the vacant house.

Reaching the doorway, I saw that the door was ajar, leaving a narrow slit open.

The light inside flickered on and off.

Despite the fear gripping me, my curiosity won out, and I reached out to push the door fully open.

With a creak, the door swung wide.

As my flashlight beam cut through the darkness, it landed on the bed, revealing a figure lying there.

"Ah!" I cried out, nearly dropping the flashlight.

Even though I had anticipated that Third Uncle might have returned, the sudden sight of someone on the bed gave me quite the scare.