Chapter 72: Scared to Death
Liang Xiaoyu stared into the mirror.
Only her own terrified face was reflected back at her.
She tilted her head to glance at the television.
On the LCD screen, accompanied by a crackling static sound, snow-like speckles appeared.
“Is Sadako about to crawl out of there?” She was caught between fear and indecision.
“Don’t be scared, don’t panic...” Liang Xiaoyu tried to distract herself.
“Should I greet her first when she comes out?” she thought wildly. “Or should I smack her with my century’s worth of inner strength?”
Just as she hesitated, a sudden scream split the air.
Liang Xiaoyu screamed in response, slamming her back against the wall.
The static vanished from the screen, replaced by a news broadcast.
The anchor was unfamiliar, her face grave with sorrow.
“Yesterday, the second gruesome ghost murder occurred in our city...”
As the news anchor spoke, the shot switched to a room.
At the center, cordoned off by a loop of yellow police tape, lay a woman dressed in black trousers and a white T-shirt.
A cluster of police officers crowded around, chattering and gesturing at the woman.
Suddenly, the camera zoomed in on her face.
Her features were contorted, eyes wide open, her face frozen in terror.
A chill crept over Liang Xiaoyu’s heart.
The woman was unmistakably herself.
Her clothes matched exactly what she was wearing at that very moment.
Then she noticed—the woman’s eyes twitched, locking onto her with a piercing stare.
The woman’s lips curled slowly, revealing a chilling, sinister smile.
The news anchor’s voice grew faster, shriller, stabbing at the ears.
Unconsciously, Liang Xiaoyu had backed up to the doorway, her palms slick with sweat.
Her spine tingled; her whole body felt icy cold.
On the TV, the image returned abruptly to the news anchor.
The woman’s sorrowful expression evaporated. Her head drooped, face turning ashen, eyes dripping blood, her mouth twisted into a vicious, terrifying grin. She stared directly through the screen at Liang Xiaoyu and enunciated every word:
“I’m—really—coming—out—now.”
Liang Xiaoyu shuddered from head to toe.
Her teeth chattered. Only after several deep breaths did she manage to steady herself.
She was about to speak when she suddenly felt a tickle on her neck.
Instinctively, she reached up to scratch—only to find her hand tangled in something sticky and wet.
She yanked it in front of her and screamed.
It was a clump of hair, matted with blood.
Liang Xiaoyu turned to ice.
A thick, metallic scent flooded her nose.
She felt a pair of icy hands gripping her shoulders.
There was no warmth in them at all, the chill seeping into her very bones.
A cold wind whispered into her ear, as if someone were breathing against it.
Liang Xiaoyu’s scalp prickled.
She hadn’t been this afraid even the first time she got her period.
She felt something press against her back—wet and slick, like thousands of snakes slithering beneath her clothes, crawling slowly up her body.
She started to tremble uncontrollably.
Black strands of hair dangled from her neck, writhing in the air like octopus tentacles.
She hadn’t even seen Sadako yet, but Liang Xiaoyu was already scared half to death.
Even though she’d tried to prepare for all possibilities, the moment she truly felt haunted, terror gripped her marrow.
The TV flickered.
Pale hands reached out from the screen.
Liang Xiaoyu had anticipated this, but when it actually happened, she realized she was powerless not to fear.
The hands pressed to the floor, and long black hair began to spill out from the television...
Liang Xiaoyu tried to escape, but something clamped tight around her neck, leaving her completely immobilized.
Sadako was already halfway out of the TV. Unable to hold back, Liang Xiaoyu finally let out a piercing scream.
...
“Huh, how did you get out?”
Zhou Botong, who had been standing nearby, torn between curiosity and hesitation about entering, was startled to see Liang Xiaoyu suddenly appear beside him.
Liang Xiaoyu’s face was still frozen in terror. Only when she heard Zhou Botong’s question did she snap back to reality.
Her gaze darted around, taking in her surroundings.
There was the familiar square in front of her, towering ancient trees in the distance, and the occasional roar of wild beasts.
“How did I get out?” she murmured.
She looked up at Zhou Botong standing before her.
“How should I know?” Zhou Botong hastily stepped back.
He thought there was something strange—almost haunted—about the look in her eyes.
Liang Xiaoyu ignored the old trickster and turned her attention to the phone screen in her hand.
She was still clutching her livestreaming phone.
She realized she’d almost forgotten about it inside the haunted house.
The stream was evidently still running.
The barrage of comments caught Liang Xiaoyu’s eye.
[What’s Rain Thief doing? Sadako hasn’t even shown up and she already hanged herself?]
[Looks like she’s been frightened senseless.]
[Maybe she was hypnotized? Aren’t ghosts supposed to be good at illusions—getting you lost and all that?]
[Haha, the streamer’s scream was so cute. I’ve saved a screenshot.]
[Share that screenshot with me, bro—the way she was spitting everywhere was so charming.]
[Rain Thief, hurry up and tell us how you feel.]
[She’s still in a daze.]
...
Liang Xiaoyu blinked. Didn’t I die of fright? Was it a hanging?
Did Sadako use some special power on me?
She composed herself, cleared her throat, and said, “Regrettably, I failed the challenge just now.”
Seeing the viewers’ discussions, a heavy sense of frustration pressed on her chest.
Not a single one of these trolls thought to comfort their beautiful streamer. Instead, they were all mocking her.
[Coward.]
[So cold and shaky. When will women ever stop being such scaredy-cats?]
[Rain Thief always brags, but she’s just a scared little pup.]
[If it were me, I’d be hugging Sadako and giving her a kiss by now.]
...
Her chest heaved. She lifted her chin and declared, “What do you know? That was a real evil spirit!”
“A bunch of keyboard warriors! If you were there, you’d be wetting your pants for sure!” She snorted. “Given my performance, I’m more than worthy of the title Lady Hero Xiaoyu!”
“Look at how Old Mischief was pacing outside all this time—he didn’t dare go in either, did he? Don’t just pick on me. And whoever’s posting those screenshots, watch out or I’ll block you!” she fumed. “I guarantee—no one’s getting through in three days!”
Unwilling to keep bickering, she grumbled a bit, then asked, “But seriously, how did I get out?”
The helpful viewers started offering explanations all at once.
“When I was in the yard, I ignored you all?” Liang Xiaoyu shook her head. “That was Sadako taking over the phone screen.”
“Then I pointed the camera at myself after going in? And then at the window? But I never touched my phone.” She puzzled over it. “The hair wrapped around me! Yes, you all saw it too!” she said, still shaken. “Did anyone notice someone behind me? I felt her climbing onto my back, but then how did one crawl out of the TV again?”
Piecing it together with the viewers’ chat, Liang Xiaoyu gradually figured out what had happened inside the haunted house.
Yet there was one thing that, the more she thought about it, the more it filled her with dread.