Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18: If I Bring This Hammer Down, You Might Die
That man really was useless. As a ghost, he had gone to block two ordinary people, yet not only had he failed to kill Lu Liangting, he had nearly been burned to death himself. Perhaps the only use he had was to become nourishment for her.
Unfortunately, Bai Yu had not managed to devour Lu Liangting’s ghost, which would have removed one of his trump cards. However, it was not a major problem. That ghost was very weak—so weak that it was not even as strong as that useless male ghost.
Spiritual fire burned throughout the corridor. Bai Yu glanced deeply at Lu Liangting but ignored him. Turning sideways, she disappeared from the spot, actually entering Zhao Mingyue’s shadow.
After entering the shadow, she did not forget to remind her.
“Mingyue, don’t reveal the relationship between us. That’s very important.”
Zhao Mingyue hesitated as if she wanted to say something. She glanced behind her and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Nearby, Lu Liangting felt somewhat awkward. Bai Yu had completely ignored him.
In Lu Liangting’s mind, ghosts were actually easier to deal with than people.
In his opinion, the human heart was the most complex and least trustworthy thing. He could see through a person’s outward appearance, but he could never see through their inner thoughts. Ghosts, however, were different. Ghosts were formed from the obsessions left behind after death, and because of this, they were usually very simple.
Either purely evil, purely kind, or acting single-mindedly for a particular purpose.
Naturally, there was nothing to say to evil ghosts.
As for kind-hearted ghosts, they were usually pitiful people. If he could help them, he would.
Such ghosts were rare. If they refused to leave, it was either because they carried unresolved obsessions or because some restriction prevented them from leaving. Either way, they were rather pitiful.
From his experience, such ghosts were the most miserable. Their obsessions in life remained unresolved even after death, causing them to suffer constantly. If it was the latter case, then it meant they were being influenced by another evil ghost. Without help, they could only remain trapped within this small area forever.
In his view, Bai Yu clearly belonged to the category of kind ghosts.
If she were an evil ghost, he would have died on the fifth floor earlier.
“Lu Liangting, we have to get out of here quickly!”
Zhao Mingyue grabbed Lu Liangting’s arm and pulled him away. Behind them, the room was nearly impossible to stand in. Every piece of furniture inside had caught fire, and even the floorboards were burning.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Lu Liangting stood up while holding his head. He still felt dizzy. Glancing at the magic staff in Zhao Mingyue’s hand, he did not know what to say for a moment.
After all, that was the weapon that had knocked him unconscious earlier.
There was also one more thing—why had he run into her here?
With a heart full of confusion, Lu Liangting followed Zhao Mingyue back into the corridor.
Only then did he suddenly remember that there was still a madman in the hallway.
Supporting himself with one hand against the wall, Lu Liangting had barely stepped out when he saw Zhao Mingyue raise the magic staff with both hands and smash the female ghost lurking in the darkness to the ground with a single blow.
At the same moment, the raincoat man let out a strange cry and rushed forward, only to be struck hard on the arm by another swing from Zhao Mingyue’s staff.
The raincoat man was still a living person. Lu Liangting heard a bone-chilling crack.
He thought to himself that the raincoat man’s arm must have been broken. Fortunately, Zhao Mingyue had not used that much strength when she struck him earlier. Otherwise, he would not have merely bled a little.
Standing in the burning corridor, Zhao Mingyue panted heavily, her chest rising and falling violently.
This was the second time she had struck someone with the weapon in her hand.
Seeing the raincoat man lying on the ground clutching his arm and howling in pain, she silently murmured an apology in her heart. She then glanced back at Lu Liangting, signaling him to follow, before running toward the staircase.
They had wasted some time earlier, and now the fire in the corridor had grown fierce.
Strangely, inside the rooms the flames felt scorching hot, yet the fire in the corridor felt completely different.
Zhao Mingyue felt waves of coldness surging from all directions, seeping into every pore of her body.
This kind of coldness was impossible to describe with words. It felt as if not her body but her soul itself was freezing.
Zhao Mingyue suddenly remembered a post she had once seen online.
One report mentioned that a tenant in Tomorrow Apartments had been found frozen to death in his room during the month of August. When the police arrived at the scene, they found no useful clues and initially ruled out homicide.
She could not understand how so many people had died in this building without it being sealed off. It had simply changed its name and continued renting rooms as usual.
Holding a rusty key in her hand, Zhao Mingyue rushed to the fifth floor in one breath.
In such a short time, the fifth floor had undergone a complete transformation.
Dark-red spiritual fire clung to the ceiling, burning everything. On the walls of every room appeared twisted human faces. These faces screamed silently as if enduring immense pain.
At a glance, there were at least a dozen faces on the walls on both sides—men and women, young and old.
During their agonized struggles, the faces discovered Zhao Mingyue. One after another, they opened their eyes and cried out to her in hoarse, terrifying voices.
“Save me!”
“It hurts! It hurts so much!”
“It hurts!”
“My head… where is my head?!”
“Please save me! Save me! Why won’t you save me?!”
Like drowning people grasping for a final straw, Zhao Mingyue had become their last hope.
If Zhao Mingyue actually approached them, not only would she fail to save them, she would also be dragged in and become another face on the wall.
Her vision seemed covered by a red filter.
The walls were no longer white but a mixture of red and black, and even the flames burning around her were blood-colored.
Under such an atmosphere, the faces on the walls continued screaming. If it were only one or two voices it might have been bearable, but with more than a dozen shouting at once, it was impossible to distinguish their words. All it did was make one’s head throb with pain and one’s heart grow increasingly irritated.
Zhao Mingyue forced herself through the sea of flames and rushed toward the depths of the corridor.
After passing several rooms, she suddenly noticed that two of the doors were open—and the walls around them had no faces.
“Could the monsters inside have escaped?”
Keeping her guard up, Zhao Mingyue finally reached the door of Room 506.
Lu Liangting followed behind her, still holding his head. He was clever. Seeing the key in Zhao Mingyue’s hand, he immediately understood everything.
Besides, everyone had secrets. There was no need to pry into them endlessly.
“Mingyue, let me open it.”
At that moment, Zhao Mingyue had already inserted the key into the lock.
She turned her head toward Lu Liangting and gently shook her head in refusal. Twisting the key, she opened the door.
A wave of foul stench rushed out.
Zhao Mingyue staggered back two steps from the smell, but Lu Liangting seemed to feel nothing. He paused in a daze before stepping inside.
Zhao Mingyue was about to follow him when Bai Yu suddenly appeared and blocked her path.
“Don’t go in. That kid has fallen into an illusion. He should be reliving the day the female ghost was burned to death.”
Bai Yu narrowed her eyes.
At the moment the door of Room 506 slammed shut, she saw a woman standing inside the room.
“Mingyue, get ready. Your task will be finished very soon.”