23 My Version of Hide and Seek

 

In the entire building, Han Fei only managed to befriend one person. If something happened to Meng Si, then the effort he used to gain her friendship would all go to waste. ‘I’ve already entrapped Weep, so theoretically speaking, Room 1034 should be perfectly safe. Or is Chen Chen not there?’ With the cleaver in hand, Han Fei ran back to the third floor. The door with the talisman was fully open but there was no sign of the old woman.

“Granny? Chen Chen?” Han Fei poked his ring finger into the room. He did not feel anything. In other words, the house was safe. After a brief hesitation, Han Fei slowly sidled into Room 1034. Room 1034 was covered in talismans, the ground, the walls, the ceiling and even the tattered furniture. The whole place was sealed behind layers of talismans. “Isn’t this a bit much? Even my own place does not look like this!”

Han Fei made his way forward carefully. “Something’s not right. The child that I brought back home does not seem that strong. He should not require such a heavy ward. There has to be something else inside this house.” Even though the ring did not emit any response, Han Fei decided to retreat for now. But when he nudged backwards, he realized with a shock the front door had been shut without his knowledge. Instantly he was covered in cold sweat and his body froze. ‘What the hell?’

He just trapped the child in his room but now he was trapped himself inside Room 1034. The irony was not lost on Han Fei. ‘What should I do now? Have Wei Youfu bring the child over for hostage exchange? But the problem is, the Frankenstein monster won’t listen to my orders! Furthermore, the child is probably dead by now.” Standing where he was, Han Fei tried the door handle with dire hope. The door was not locked but he was unable to open it.

‘This is such a nasty trick. You already have the upper hand of being a ghost and you still resort to traps like this.’ After 10 seconds standing by the door, Han Fei finally calmed down. ‘The landlord’s ring still has not responded. This is probably the only good news at the moment.’

There was a dirty thing inside the house but it did not expose its presence. It purposely hid itself. Han Fei knew that he was stuck here unless the power beyond decided to let him go, which seemed unlikely. His mind started to spin as he scanned the room around him. ‘The windows are completely boarded and covered in talismans, so the windows aren’t going to be my exit. However, this room is right underneath my own. If I make a big enough commotion, it should elicit a response from my roommate.’ His eyes wandered over to the kitchen and Han Fei’s gaze fell on the stove. ‘The gas supply is probably dead since the place has been abandoned for so long already. Even if I can manage an explosion, I’ll be the first to die in the fire.’ Han Fei screened through all the possible solutions in his mind but was sorry to realize he seemed to be inadvertently trapped.

‘I can still quit the game but the problem is, the next time I log in, I’ll still end up here.’ Since there was no other option but forward, Han Fei decided to inspect the house further. Han Fei fingered the jade pendant Meng Si gave him and slowly inched towards the living room. He did not dare to make too much noise and kept his movement as soft as possible. The house with the talismans was surprisingly large. Bits of white rice littered the ground. Ceremonial urns were placed at the corners and Han Fei even came across many torn paper dolls. The torn dolls had painted-on faces with vibrant colors. It looked eerily out of place.

‘What has happened in this room? Why is the child called Weep?’ Thinking about these things, Han Fei pushed the bedroom door open. The rusted axle creaked noisily. When Han Fei planned to step into the bedroom, a blindfolded child hugged him from behind.

“I caught you!”

“Chen Chen?” Han Fei stared at the blindfolded boy. He then turned to look inside the bedroom. Meng Si was unconscious on the ground. Her tattered jacket was covered in children's handprints.

“I finally caught you!” Chen Chen exclaimed happily. Han Fei raised his hand and swiped the back of the boy’s head. “Is now the time to play?” Pulling down the blindfold that covered Chen Chen’s eyes, Han Fei finally noticed the problem. There was no pupil in Chen Chen’s eyes. Two scarily white eyes stared at Han Fei. “I caught you! It’s your turn to be the ghost! It’s your turn to be the ghost!” Chen Chen repeated that proclamation and his voice turned louder. His boyish voice echoed inside the room like someone was repeating his words.

Han Fei reached out to close up Chen Chen’s mouth but he realized with consternation that even after doing that, the boy’s voice could still be heard reverberating through the walls. To make things worse, the ring on Han Fei’s finger gradually chilled!

‘The ghost is coming!’ The horrid presence came from everywhere. Han Fei guarded Chen Chen and the unconscious Meng Si behind him. He turned his head to look around.

“It’s your turn to be the ghost, it’s your turn to be the ghost…” The ceremonial urns tipped over and sticky handprints appeared on the walls. The torn paper doll faces appeared to smile at him. Soon Han Fei saw a pale hand reach out from inside the closet. It was followed by a pale, small face.

Footsteps came from the supposedly empty living room. A round head peeked out from behind the television. A girl with a ponytail crawled out from behind the couch. The house was coming alive. From behind shoe rock, inside the kitchen, under the bed, behind the curtain, underneath the mattress, one after another child with blanched faces and eyes devoid of pupils crawled out from their hiding places.

Han Fei’s breath caught in his throat. His knees weakened. He barely managed to stay upright even as he leaned against the wall. These ghosts appeared to be the missing children from the neighbourhood. There were so many of them that Han Fei’s scalp numbed!

The air in the room froze as the children turned to look at Han Fei. This hair-rising scene already stopped Han Fei’s heart. The children’s voices gradually faded away until a horrid crying started to ring out inside the house. Han Fei turned to the source and saw a shadow squatting by the corner of the living room. The shadow was small, but it was clear that he was different from the other children.

‘This is the real Weep?’ The other children streamed into the bedroom. Every single one of them carried a blindfold with them. Their white eyes followed Han Fei’s pupils as they repeated the same phrase, “It’s your time to be the ghost.”

Han Fei did not answer. At that moment, a child leaped at Han Fei. His sharpened nail aimed at Han Fei’s eyes! ‘Those who refuse to put on the blindfold will have their eyes gouged out?!’

Pairs of small hands grabbed onto Han Fei’s clothes to lock him into place. Han Fei could only watch as the nails widened in his sight. Everything seemed to be over but just as the pain was about to arrive, the jade pendant around his neck snapped crisply. A burst of chill energy exploded from it.

The boy who was about to pull out Han Fei’s eyes was sent flying. He hugged his broken fingers and started to cry. The other children were so shocked that they let go of Han Fei.

‘It was the granny’s pendant that saved me?’ Han Fei lowered his head and saw that the jade pendant around his neck had cracked. It probably could be used one more time before it snapped into pieces. ‘What to do now? The talisman can’t protect me forever! I need to find a way to leave this place as soon as possible!’

Harrowing sobs drifted into his ears. The shadow had slipped into the bedroom. It represented the chill and darkness of the whole house, this was the real Weep!

While the children parted for Weep, the latter stared at Han Fei quietly. He picked up one of the fallen blindfolds and offered it to Han Fei. Meng Si’s pendant could only be used one more time. Han Fei knew rejecting Weep would not change his situation. His every nerve tensed and he knew this was the most crucial moment. Han Fei did not reach out to accept the blindfold but he did not reject the offer to play hide and seek either. After some thought, a cruel and evil smile appeared on his face. Squatting down, Han Fei leaned his face towards the shadow, “A normal hide and seek is not fun, how about we up the ante?”

Shoving his hand into his pocket, Han Fei’s slightly demented expression colored with wicked obsession. His eyes brimmed with unbridled excitement, “In the rules of a normal hide and seek, a designated ghost is tasked to find everyone else but today, how about we do something different? All of you ghosts will come and find me, a single person!” With an upward curl of his lips, Han Fei’s face was practically sticking to the shadow. “I will use my life as the wager. If you can find me within an hour, then my life will be yours. But if you fail, then you have to do 3 things for me.”

His eyes burned with venom and madness. The chilliness from the jade penchant had not completely faded. At that moment, Han Fei looked like he belonged among the ghost kids. The room gradually silenced. After who knows how long, the shadow nodded. He led the other children out from the bedroom. Han Fei picked up Meng Si and Chen Chen. He placed them at the front door. The smile on his face grew demented. His body shook as if he could no longer contain the elation within him. “If you fail to find me inside this house, then feel free to explore the houses of the other tenants. That is a free hint I’m giving you!”

After all the children and the shadow turned around, Han Fei walked to the front door. He tried the handle again and as expected, the door did not budge.

“Such an interesting bunch of kids.” Han Fei commented in a derisive tone. “Remember our bet. Give it your all!” With the craziest and maddest expression, he cackled maniacally, “And the game… starts now!”

Opening the menu, Han Fei clicked on the button to quit the game. The world turned red and spun. When Han Fei opened his eyes again, he quickly yanked the gaming helmet off. His body was soaked in sweat. Han Fei scratched his head madly and his eyes were bloodshot. “Oh My Fucking God, what have I done this time?!”