Chapter 53: The Execution House
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
In the infamous Sishui Apartments, a place with a dark history of harboring murderers, the grim legacy continued to cast its shadow over the years.
Right from the beginning, Situ An had made it clear that he was not there to coexist with the other residents. He had instructed his men to meticulously label the doors of the neighboring apartments. They used specific markings to indicate which rooms were haunted by ghosts, which ones were booby-trapped, and which were empty and abandoned. Situ An was intimately familiar with these details as if they were etched into his very memory.
As the doors were forcibly opened one by one, bloodshed became rampant. The prolonged nature of the carnage had a profound effect on the investigators who had resorted to consuming meat. Over time, they began to lose their grip on their identity. The appearance of black characters on their skin was a telling sign – the more characters that appeared, the more their eyes flickered between moments of clarity and utter confusion.
Watching this unfold, Situ An thought to himself, “The seeds that were planted twenty years ago are now ready to be harvested.” He observed the investigators, who were teetering on the edge of losing their humanity without a shred of empathy. Everything was happening just as he had meticulously planned.
He knew that “flesh” was not an “antidote” but a “poison.” Its effects were just slower on those with stronger willpower. Interestingly, each investigator who had survived a level-three paranormal event showed remarkable resilience and determination. These were the bravest individuals in the city, navigating its darkest and most sinister corners.
Holding a heavy cleaver in his hand, Situ An reminisced about a ghastly family massacre that had occurred two decades earlier in Building A of the Sishui Apartments. In that incident, a murderer clad in a bright red coat had brutally slaughtered eight family members before taking his own life. Twenty years had passed since then, and with the recent paranormal happenings, that murderer had turned into a frenzied, cannibalistic ghost, now haunting the building.
The increase in the number of black characters was directly proportional to the intensification of the curse, causing the flesh-eating investigators to spiral further into instability. However, these characters also seemed to enhance their powers.
Situ An had been deliberately sacrificing the building’s residents to these investigators, sharpening his metaphorical “knife” for what he anticipated to be a final showdown.
He eventually led all the investigators to the first floor, arriving at Granny’s apartment. He knocked on her door politely, “I’ve come to keep my promise.”
When the door opened just a crack, Granny caught sight of the flesh-eating investigators and sighed, “You truly are a madman.”
Tossing out three blood talismans, Granny quickly shut and locked her door, the sound echoing ominously through the hallway.
Picking up the blood talismans, Situ An stared intently at Granny’s door. “Every innocent soul that is tormented and taken by evil spirits can be turned into these blood talismans. I’ve given you so many human skins, and yet you’ve only managed to create three?” he questioned, his tone a mix of disbelief and frustration.
There was a tense silence from within the house, prompting Situ An to decide not to wait any longer. He swiftly gathered the trio of blood talismans and, flanked by his team, proceeded down the hallway, halting momentarily at the top of the staircase that descended into the basement.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
Just as Qing Ge finished his warning, a loud “Boom!” echoed through the space as the iron door leading to the basement slammed shut, effectively sealing them off from any escape route.
“Stay calm,” Situ An calmly advised, surrounded by his team. He meticulously cleaned his bone-chopping knife with a crimson talisman. “This place is a gruesome sanctuary that the cannibal ghost has fashioned for itself, but it’s also the grave we’ve come to lay it in,” he continued. “Be aware that this ghost employs a myriad of lethal methods, all designed to instill despair and terror. To outlive its clutches, never give in to fear or beg for mercy regardless of the torture you endure. Maintain hope, and the ghost might delay your end, giving your allies an opportunity to save you.”
Suddenly, an investigator from the Northern Branch shouted, “Chief! We’ve discovered a hidden door!” He had moved a bed aside, revealing a door concealed beneath a heap of repugnant, filthy clothing.
All attention turned towards the newfound hidden door, but both Gao Ming and Situ An felt something was off.
Since the disappearance of the first investigator, the smell of blood had grown stronger. Gao Ming, ever vigilant, scrutinized the expressions of each team member, spotting one whose face was unusually rigid and emotionless.
Meanwhile, Situ An, who had carefully memorized the faces and positions of his team, realized after a quick count that there was now an extra person among them despite losing one member earlier.
“Someone’s been replaced!” he exclaimed.
Without warning, blood-soaked hands lunged out. Situ An and Gao Ming, almost as if they had anticipated this, responded instantly — Situ An with a swift blade strike and Gao Ming with a nimble dodge.
Despite their quick reactions, both were unexpectedly ensnared by the bloody appendages!
The sly cannibal ghost, lurking unseen, had specifically targeted Situ An and Gao Ming, recognizing them as the most formidable threats.
Chaos erupted as the doors, resembling those of prison cells, flung open automatically. A powerful, unseen force dragged Situ An and Gao Ming through secret doors into separate rooms.
They each tumbled down a steep, debris-strewn passage, ending up isolated in different chambers.
Bleeding from numerous minor cuts, Gao Ming swiftly got to his feet, poised for confrontation.
“Is this the ghost’s gruesome workshop?” he wondered aloud.
Using his cellphone for illumination in the dark, ominous space, Gao Ming’s gaze fell upon an array of sinister torture devices. He then noticed the earlier missing investigator bound to a chair, weeping and pleading for help.
