My House of Horrors

“Just remember this piece of nautical advice. No matter what happens on the water, as long as the boat doesn’t capsize, there is still hope.” Zhang Dabo was a nice person. He saw that Chen Ge was ready to set out, and he went back into the room to retrieve a life jacket. “This is the only one we have at the dam; it was given to me by my boss. It has not been used before, but you should take it with you.”

“Thank you, you should go back inside. It’s not safe staying by the bank.” Chen Ge thanked the man, put on the vest, waved goodbye at Zhang Dabo, and rowed the boat away. Rowing a boat on the dam alone at midnight, that was certainly a unique experience.

The sky and the water were both dark, and there was no light around. It was as if the world was made of darkness, and his body was slowly decomposing into it as well. Chen Ge did not head directly to the center of the dam. After moving away from the bank, he started to communicate with the Vat Ghost.

The creature that came from Coffin Village did not retain his living memory, so most of the time, it acted on instinct, and that made communication difficult. Looked from outside, Chen Ge was acting strangely. He kept waving his hands at the water like he was trying to talk to the water.

“The girl’s body is about this big. If you spot it, tell me the location, and I’ll hand you the rope. You only need to tie the rope around her body.” Chen Ge repeated that several times, but the Vat Ghost could not grasp such complicated order. He was curled up underwater, blowing bubbles out of his lips, looking at Chen Ge blankly.

“Never mind, it’s me who’s demanding too much.” Chen Ge did not blame the Vat Ghost. He opened his phone and searched for the picture of a child. “Go underwater to see if there’s a child like this. Don’t make too much noise, and if there’s any danger that you can’t handle, retreat immediately. Safety first.”

Chen Ge would often tell his workers to do various things, but he had a line inside his heart and would never sacrifice his workers to achieve his goal. Perhaps because of that, the ghosts that stayed at the Haunted House due to various reasons would grow to become accomplished and efficient ‘workers’. After simplifying the order, the Vat Ghost appeared to have understood it. His body slowly submerged, disappearing out of Chen Ge’s sight.

“It’s still not yet midnight. Hopefully, everything will be done before then.” Chen Ge looked at the shampoo bottle in his backpack. Actually, he had a more efficient method, which was to release Wen Wen’s sister and have her go look for her own body. “I’ll should consider that if the Vat Ghost fails.”

He waited for ten minutes on the boat before the Vat Ghost returned. He was frozen in fear like he had experienced something horrifying. With his body submerged underwater, the Vat Ghost waved his hands that were disproportionate to his head, and his lips opened and closed. However, Chen Ge could not understand what he said. All he could see were the bubbles.

“Slow down, or you’re going to attract other people’s attention.” Chen Ge flipped through the comic to summon Ol’ Zhou. “Can you understand what he’s saying?”

He thought that communication might be easier between ghosts. Ol’ Zhou stared at the Vat Ghost’s lips for a long time before saying, “There are many people underwater, and he’s very afraid.”

“Ask him if he found a little girl’s dead body.” Chen Ge sighed in relief. He suddenly realized that Ol’ Zhou had the talent of being a translator; this was indeed a valuable talent. Ol’ Zhou’s communication with the Vat House was voiceless. Chen Ge used the power of Ghost Ear given by the black phone, and he only barely captured some murmuring.

“He didn’t spot a girl’s body, but there was a spot at the bottom where dead bodies were piled high, and the girl’s body might be hidden there.” After communicating with the Vat Ghost, Ol’ Zhou came to this conclusion. “There are many dead bodies under the water, and the one that you’re looking for should be there as well, but he’ll need time to find it.”

“We have the whole night—that should be enough. It’s fine to take it slow.” Chen Ge had the Vat Ghost lead the way. He was about to move the boat when a ray of light hit his body. Turning around, Chen Ge saw Zhang Dabo waving the flashlight by the bank.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought that I saw a second person on the boat with you!” Zhang Dabo’s palm that held the flashlight was slick with sweat. “There’s still time to turn back now!”

“You’re probably mistaken.” Chen Ge signaled for Ol’ Zhou to return to the comic, but he got no reply. When he turned around, he realized that Ol’ Zhou had reacted faster than he did because when the light shot over, he had already disappeared. “Turn your flashlight off, or you might attract the King Fish.”

Chen Ge felt like he was the main character from a horror movie who refused to listen to advice and eventually ran into the ghost. Shaking his head, Chen Ge tossed this curious thought out of his mind and continued to row to the middle of the dam.

Eastern Jiujiang Dam was neither big nor small. When he was at the center, Chen Ge felt like he had become part of the dam, dissolving into the darkness.

Without light and with the bank far away, Chen Ge was not worried that Ol’ Zhou would be seen, so he released him again. “Tell the Vat Ghost to hold one end of the rope. Tie it around the girl’s body if he spots it, and I will personally pull her out.”

Ol’ Zhou communicated Chen Ge’s order. He dropped the rope into the water, and the Vat Ghost dived again, holding the end of the rope. The water surface returned to its undisturbed peace. Ol’ Zhou and Chen Ge grabbed the other end of the rope, and they held the same position, waiting patiently like they were fishing. Time trickled by, and the Vat Ghost did not return even when midnight arrived.

“Did something happen?” Even though Chen Ge had great expectations of the Vat Ghost, he was his worker, and Chen Ge treated him as family. The night seemed to thicken, and once midnight passed, a light fog rose from the water, sequestering the water from its surrounding.

“Why is it suddenly so foggy?” The shampoo bottle in his backpack was shaking, and strands of black hair peeked out from the cap like they were giving Chen Ge warning. Even the recorder started to play static. Chen Ge smelled a faint scent of blood in the air. He did not summon Xu Yin, but the latter materialized at the stern.

“This is not right. Something seems to have changed this two-star scenario.” Normally, it was already too much if there was a half Red Specter at a two-star scenario. They posed no threat to Xu Yin, but somehow, Xu Yin had shown up. The fog thickened. Chen Ge could see the flickering light by the bank, but a few minutes later, even that disappeared.

Chen Ge was now at the middle of the dam, the boat being twirled around by the current. Slowly, he lost his sense of direction like he was cut off from the world.

“Focus on the water.” Chen Ge summoned Bai Qiulin as well and had him and Ol’ Zhou watch the bow and Xu Yin guard the stern while he stayed in the middle.

The fog was still thickening, and to Chen Ge surprise, there was a voice coming from the fog. It was unclear whether it was from the surface of the water or from underwater, but the person was calling his name, and the voice was very familiar.