668 Family Portrait

 

“Han Fei! Are you done?” Xiao Jia stared at the bride doll. His eyes didn’t move. This was very scary. He felt like he had inadvertently memorized all the details about the doll. “I’ll dream about this face for a long time in the future. But the key is she’s someone else’s wife.”

“We can prepare to go now.” Han Fei memorized the steps in the ghost marriage. He covered the wedding portrait back up and took the yellow paper. “We’ll go to the 4th floor and see.”

Xiao Jia was about to sigh in relief when he heard that. “Are you sure? Can you not always take risks with your life? I didn’t see you as a desperado before this. How come you become so reckless when you’re in this building?!”

“You don’t get it. This place feels like home to me. Will you be so cautious in your home?” Han Fei naturally knew how dangerous the 4th floor was. He had been there with the hanging man before. If the hanging man didn’t haul him out, he might have been permanently trapped in that room already. However, at that crucial moment, he saw the bloody girl on the television. The scary girl told him something. He had a feeling her words were very important. If he missed them, he would regret it for life. Xiao Jia and Xiao Yu stared at the dolls each. Han Fei led the way, and the three of them came to the corner of the stairwell.

When the stairwell blocked their sight, the creaking sound began. When they reacted, the chef doll and the bride doll had left the bridal room and joined them in the stairwell. The two dolls were bound by red threads. The red threads tied them together, uniting them beyond the separation of life and death.

“Red threads? Wait a minute.” Han Fei had Xiao Jia and Xiao Yu stare at the dolls. He used Company to cut off a few red threads and shoved them into his backpack.

“Why do you need the red threads?”

“That way, we won’t need to waste time looking for them.” Han Fei stood before the two dolls and bowed at them. “I wish you a happy marriage. I will remember this kindness. I’ll repay it if I have the chance.” Han Fei didn’t care if they understood him. He moved directly towards the 4th floor.

The strange room’s door was still half ajar. Everything had returned to normal inside the room. Even the television cabinet had returned to its original spot.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Xiao Jia thought it was better if they didn’t find trouble, but he couldn’t stop Han Fei. While he spoke, Han Fei had already made a decision. He put away the knife called Company, hugged the red paper doll, and entered the roll. The rusted grille creaked noisily. Even the turning of the axle sounded familiar to Han Fei. When he was inside the room, Han Fei did something that no one expected. He closed his eyes, stopped thinking, and put down his defenses. If someone attacked him then, he wouldn’t even have the chance to counter. Han Fei channeled his focus on the memory fragments in his mind. He had the paper dolls, and their messages floated up in his mind. Everyone had their own home. Even if they hadn’t returned for a long time, even if they had forgotten everything, when they stepped into that place again, many forgotten details would be awakened. That was home. It was more than a house made from cement but a flower cultivated by time and age. As dark as life was, turning back, one would realize that the flower had brought colors to the world.

‘I’ve been here many times.’ Many emotions soaked into his soul. Han Fei moved forward. He felt fear, loneliness, and anxiety, but he also felt reliance and bliss. With his eyes still closed, Han Fei walked to the couch. He took the corner seat as if he was reserving the other spaces for the others. At that moment, an image flashed in his mind. Seven people with seven different personalities and faces squeezed on the couch to watch the television. Han Fei’s eyes flew open. He looked around. The couch was empty. His heart was pained. Han Fei felt like he had lost some very important people in his life.

Han Fei covered his face. While he was tortured by amnesia, the television switched on. The static crackled. A black house slowly appeared in the static. The house was built deep inside the black woods. Even the best adventurer wouldn’t find this place. There was no road leading to this house. It stood alone in the dark.

Eventually, the door opened. A girl in a bloody dress appeared on the screen. She was very excited when she saw Han Fei again. The murderous urge exploded. Han Fei had no idea why the girl hated him that much. He had no idea what he had done to the girl. The girl wanted to leave the house, but several broken arms dangled on her clothes. From afar, it looked like the arms were stopping her. The girl growled until she was tired and sat on the ground to continue that scary game. This was the first time Han Fei could see the inside of the house from the girl’s perspective. The walls, ceiling, floor, everything was blood red.

The girl sat in the blood to piece together the broken bodies. Even if the pieces were joined together, the people couldn’t come alive. She tried again and again until tears fell out of her eyes dominated by hatred. She collapsed on the human jigsaw puzzle and cried helplessly.

“Han Fei! Come back!” Xiao Yu and Xiao Jia outside the room urged. However, Han Fei couldn’t hear them. He had unknowingly walked towards the television screen. He squatted before the television. He leaned his face close to the screen like he wanted to crawl inside it.

The house was too despairing. There was not even a bit of light. Han Fei was influenced by that despair. He felt his body and soul sinking. Everything he had was being enveloped by the despair inside the television.

“My existence changes nothing…” A thought appeared in his mind. Xiao Yu and Xiao Jia’s voices faded away. But at that moment, he suddenly heard a cat meowing. The wounded cat ran over. If Han Fei didn’t save it, it would have died several days ago.

“Little Eight?” When Han Fei uttered that name and looked at the kitten, the girl dominated by hatred also had her eyes trembled. She turned her head to look at a corner of the black room. In the corner of the room, permanently dominated by blood and darkness, was a small flower pot. The pot was small. There was no flower, but it was filled with brown soil. The seeds hadn’t germinated. However, compared to the black room, the existence of the flower pot symbolized a different possibility. The little girl slowly stood up. Her dress dragged along the broken body parts. She picked up the flower pot with both hands. The world was still dark, the room was still filled with despair and dead bodies, but his arrival had brought a small change. “Would the seed from the living world blossom into a flower in the cryptic world?” The girl hugged the pot and stood in the black room. She turned to look at Han Fei. Han Fei’s reflection appeared in the girl’s murderous eyes. She moved the pieced together bodies to the couch. The long couch was seated with seven bodies. When there was only one empty space left, the girl lifted her finger to point at Han Fei through the television screen. The image was like a special family portrait. It was unclear how many deaths people had been through to complete this piece.

“I think I remember it.” The video ended. A bloody tape was spat out from underneath the cabinet. Han Fei picked it up. When his fingers touched it, the strange voice in his mind said again, “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve reached Stage Five!”

Han Fei ignored the voice and examined the tape. Many things were written on the cover. “If you can see these words, then it means that you’re still you and not Fu Sheng and not that laughing soul.

“These days, I’m worried that would we slowly forget the important people and lose them in this city.

“But I eventually understand the truth. We can’t forget the people we’ve met so easily. Those people are the reason we are who we are.

“I hope you can hear our voices. Do not suspect, do not worry. At least we still remember you, remember your name and remember your valiance.”

The image of Han Fei and seven lonely souls sitting on the couch to watch the television became clearer. The black cloth over his memory had larger holes.

“I’ve seen this girl’s picture in Director Fu’s room. In the normal picture, she was hugging a flowerless flower pot. But when I left the room, the picture mutated. The girl was climbing out of another’s bloody stomach.

“Other than the paper craftsman, not one person with the surname Fu can be trusted. The same goes for Director Fu. The girl in the picture isn’t his family but my family! That room is not his room but my home!” The tape and the red doll were very important to Han Fei. Holding them, he felt very safe, like he had his family’s company.

“Han Fei, can we go now? Or do you plan to spend a night here?” Xiao Jia was worried, seeing how Han Fei had fully melted into the darkness.

“Okay.” Han Fei stood up and looked around. He walked to the window and picked up a flowerpot. He dug in the soil for a long time before he found a seed that was like a red heart. “There’s really something inside the pot?” Keeping the seed, Han Fei led his teammate downstairs. The two dolls kept following them. The entrance had been destroyed by the blood-red monster. The deep red light shone into the dark lobby. Happiness Neighborhood reverted to the state how Han Fei remembered it. The neighborhood was covered in blood. There was a blood-red eye floating in the night sky.

“The ghosts live in the cryptic world. This neighborhood sits at the crossroad between the two worlds. If the culprit wants to separate the two worlds, they have to destroy this place.” Han Fei still wasn’t powerful enough to participate in this. At this moment, he was more like a sideline watcher, witnessing history repeating itself in this city. They exited the building, and the dolls stopped chasing after them. They entered the alley between Building 1 and Building 10. They exited Happiness Neighborhood without any hindrance. The blood receded, and they were enveloped by night again.

“We’ve finally escaped!” Xiao Jia leaned against the telephone booth. His limbs kept shaking.

“Now is still not the time to rest.”

Han Fei dragged Xiao Jia and Xiao Yu into the deserted alley. A black taxi slowly drove over. Lee Guo Er had been waiting for a long time already. “Why did you take so long?”

“We saved someone. We’ll talk on the way.” Han Fei took the passenger seat. He was still hugging the blood-red doll.

“Is she trustworthy?” Lee Guo Er was a fugitive after all.

“I’ll ask for her opinion.” Han Fei communicated patiently with Xiao Yu. He realized with surprise that he was very good at persuading people. He didn’t take long to convince Xiao Yu to join them. Xiao Yu was a normal person, but her mother was different. She was a ‘mobile’ ghost, and most importantly, she could use the phone to bring certain people into the cryptic world.

After gaining Xiao Yu’s trust, Lee Guo Er didn’t say anything else. She handed the invitation card to Han Fei. Han Fei adjusted the angle and saw the number on the card, 30.

“Wasn’t the point only 23 earlier? Why the sudden increase?” The hanging man was not as powerful as the boy, so he wouldn’t award 7 points. Han Fei suspected the wooden dolls and the paper dolls had given them the points too.

“I was the one being confused. I was sitting there in the car, and the points rose on their own.” Lee Guo Er put the card away. “What is your next plan?”

“I’ve gained a lot from this trip. I need time to digest them.” Han Fei looked through his script. “Right. Do you know any famous haunted building?”

“Haunted building?” Lee Guo Er raised her brow. “Why do you want to know that?”

“I want to get married.” Han Fei said matter-of-factly.