Ghost Story

"What do we do?" Duan Yuan asked Su Yu as they tried to continue climbing up the stairs again, hoping that they could reach the second floor. But, as they expected, they still failed as they still remained where they are.

They know that continuing climbing up the stairs is not the solution. They have to do something! But, what should they do? Duan Yuan pondered, trying to recall the ghost stories that his dormitory roommates always tell when they are night activities in their university.

"Tch!" Su Yu clicked his tongue after he counted the steps of the staircase. "Thirteen, huh?" he muttered and coldly smiled.

"Thirteen steps?!" Duan Yuan exclaimed.

He knows that the number thirteen has always been associated with bad luck, like in the Western movies. As for them in their country, the number four which is homophone to the world 'death' (si) is also an unlucky number. But, maybe to go along with the flow with the west, their country also adopted the inauspicious number thirteen. Thus, in the elevators or the hotel floors, there were no fourth nor thirteen floors.

The number four and thirteen, as inauspicious numbers, were naturally used in horror stories. Just like the situation where he and Su Yu are in now – the thirteen steps of the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Su Yu asked when he noticed Duan Yuan's reaction.

"Well… I just recalled some horror stories that my roommates told before." Duan Yuan answered. "During when we sneaked out at night to hunt ghosts." He explained.

At first, no one wanted to take him with them since he is blind. Though, this is magnanimous of them since they are not malicious to him, a disabled, to bully him by using him as a meat shield in case they would run into a ghost.

So, when Duan Yuan's roommates went without him and really ran into ghosts, they thought that they are going to die. But, fortunately for them, Duan Yuan appeared to save them. Though he used an excuse that he was sleepwalking. Since then, his roommates who was supposed to have a trauma of that incident, didn't cower. Instead, they became braver and started to take Duan Yuan with them, though they treat him as a human talisman instead of a meat shield.

Hearing what Duan Yuan said, it was then Su Yu that remembered Duan Yuan is a university student. It was because Duan Yuan has a stable demeanor that he forgets the other is still just a university student, albeit graduating.

Su Yu heard what Duan Yuan said and also recalled the horror stories that he has heard before from his roommates, especially the horror school stories which he finds the most interesting. After all, he is studying that time. But, unlike Duan Yuan who protects his roommates when they sneak out to ghost hunt, Su Yu sneaks out on his own to find ghosts. And he really found some, but he doesn't eat them unless they are malicious.

The school ghosts though have resentments or obsessions and they were bound to the school where they died. Su Yu talks to them to resolve their resentments or obsessions, and at most he found shocking secrets. So, he made anonymous calls to the police who found out these cases which some are unsolved. Then, the police reopened the cases and finally gave a release to these ghosts after the ghosts found justice.

Su Yu who was the mastermind wasn't awarded, since he kept his identity. But Su Yu didn't get angry nor complained. Instead, he feels happy since the merits are sweeter to him than monetary awards.

"Yes… I also have heard about the thirteen steps horror story." Su Yu spoke. There are many versions, but it is commonly called the 'stairway ghost story'.

The version that Su Yu heard was about a student being pushed down, whether accidentally or not, by another student. As for the reason why the student was pushed down, the cause was lost in the countless retells of the story. But, one fact that doesn't change is that the student died, and the perpetrator was not punished. That is why the ghost of the student who died was filled with resentment. But, no matter how much the ghost wanted revenge, it was bound in the staircase.

However, over time, the ghost seemed to have found a way to unbound itself in the staircase. And that is to kill the students or people who uses the stairs. And it did. It killed some people. The staircase since then was labeled as haunted. This was supposed to stop the ghost in killing people, but there were some daring students who wanted to ghost hunt. So, the ghost continued to kill again, until it became strong enough to unbound itself from the staircase.

The ghost, finally released, then went to find the one its murderer. But unfortunately, the ghost failed. The reason? It was actually many years that have passed and its murderer has already graduated. As to where its murderer is now, the ghost doesn't know. Even if it wanted to find its murderer, it can't let the school. And in order to leave the school, it has to kill people again.

So, the ghost resumed its ways of killing people again. Now that it wasn't bound in the staircase, it started hunting around the school whoever the unlucky student that it found at night. During one night of its hunting, it found a student, who was even out alone! It was too hungry since most of the students that it found had strong yang energy. Yet this one has neither yang nor yin energy! Thinking it was lucky, it pounced on the student excitedly, wanting to kill him.

But, unexpectedly, the tables turned and it became the unlucky one, for the student that it actually ran into was none other than Su Yu, who is a demon in human skin! Instead of killing Su Yu, it was Su Yu who caught it! As to whether it will be killed or not, it was yet to be known…