DaoistOUnPCJ

A driverless bus carrying a group of cursed people to a black house...... In the house, there was a door stained red with blood. The cursed, every once in a while, will be forcibly pulled into the terrible world behind the bloody door to complete the horror...... When Ning Qiushui experienced one terrifying story after another in the treacherous house, and finally survived nine deaths, he found that all this was very different from what he thought...... It turned out that it was not a curse, but a ...... - "Late at night, friends, come and sit in the house, there is a brazier here, and by the way, listen to me nag you about this."

Spooky dorms

For a heartbeat, Ning Qiushui felt every cell in his body freeze.

The icy rasp of metal grinding against metal erupted behind him. The sound of knives and forks scraping—right at his back, closing in.

Ahead, the louvered window at the corridor's end blew open. Wind heavy with blood stench flooded his lungs.

Instinctively, his hand shot toward the light switch. Need light—

Then the words from the mysterious letter flashed in his mind:

[When wind blows, no lamps shall glow

[When rain falls, no candles shall burn

Gritting his teeth, Ning Qiushui withdrew his trembling hand. Step by step, he advanced through the gale, metallic screeches clawing at his ears. Cold sweat drenched his back.

He gambled—betting the entity couldn't kill him unless he triggered its rules.

Adrenaline scorched his veins. The window at the corridor's end slammed shut as he finally grasped his doorknob. The sounds vanished.

"Just… an illusion?" He slumped against the door, drenched.

Inside, Liu Chengfeng's gruff whisper trembled: "You… okay?"

Ning Qiushui nodded. "It came. But couldn't touch me."

"Death rules." Liu Chengfeng exhaled shakily. "You figured some out."

"Not all." Ning Qiushui sipped tea, hand steady. "But the third floor holds answers."

The sound returned past midnight. Closer. Hungrier.

Liu Chengfeng's teeth chattered as the noise paused outside their door. Ning Qiushui set down his cup. "Now."

Cracking the door, they crept into the blackened corridor. The louvered window gaped like a maw, wind howling.

Toward the third-floor stairs they moved, shadows swallowing their silhouettes.

Chapter 9: Ascending