My House of Horrors

After the decision had been made, Chen Ge stopped thinking about it. He led the Red Specters toward the northern side of the school. The red city was dangerous, but danger always came with opportunity. There were many things that were helpful to Red Specters in the city, like the monster from earlier, but that kind of monster was not that common.

Outside the education block, the painter and the man in the fog were still fighting. Chen Ge made use of this opportunity to cut through the school to reach the northern side. Zhang Ju and the rest were fighting the monsters, so it was easy to find them.

“Zhang Ju! Zhu Long!” Blood vessels crawled down the corridor, and the pungent smell assaulted their nostrils. Following the dripping sound of blood, Chen Ge came to the door of the one of the classrooms with the accompaniment of several Red Specters.

“Mr. Bai‽” When they saw Chen Ge, Zhang Ju and Zhu Long felts tears in their eyes. A friend in need was a friend indeed.

“Don’t be scared, I’m here to save you!” Chen Ge did not say anything else but the simplest truth. “It is not safe here. Bring all the children, and we’ll leave!”

“Okay!” Zhang Ju, Zhu Long, and Zhou Tu were Red Specters, and Wang Yicheng was a Half Red Specter. However, Wang Yicheng and Zhou Tu had lost their fighting ability, and it was Zhu Long and Zhang Ju who were holding up the fight. Both parties met up, and the number of Red Specters around Chen Ge increased again to a startling number.

“Why didn’t you wait for me after arriving at the library? Why did you end up on the northern side of school?” Chen Ge had been curious about that. He did not think that Zhang Ju and the rest would abandon him.

“We were ambushed. Once we left the campuses, we were attacked. It appeared to be the painter’s people, and they were Red Specters, too,” Zhang Ju explained softly. “I couldn’t handle it alone. Thankfully, Zhu Long soon came from the mirror. The person who ambushed me weren’t expecting two Red Specters. After a momentary daze, they started to escape. Then, we chased after them until we reached this place.”

“Then? Where did they go?” There were other Red Specters hidden at the school; this attracted Chen Ge’s attention. If it had not been Zhu Long and Zhang Ju but himself who came out from the mirror first, he would have been in big trouble. The other party was prepared, and he might have killed Chen Ge before he had the chance to summon Xu Yin. Just thinking about that caused Chen Geo shiver.

“Don’t worry about that. That person now is...” Zhang Ju and Zhu Long pointed at their stomachs. “... in here.”

“I’m not worried about that. There was a Red Specter on the route Chang Wenyu arranged for me, so this means that someone has leaked the secret.” Chen Ge stopped thinking about this troublesome problem. “The painter is a difficult person to deal with. Luckily, he is not coming after us now.”

Chen Ge looked out the window. He had another name added to the list of people he did not want to face other than Doctor Gao.

“This kind of person is suitable to be friends with, but it’s not easy to be their friend.” Doctor Gao wanted to revive a dead person, and the painter wanted to build a paradise behind the door—they both had some strange ideals. After saving the trapped students, when Chen Ge led Zhang Ju and Zhu Long to the center of the school, Mr. Lei finally shut up.

“I will not force you to make any choices, and I will try my best to help you. However, I have limited power, and I can’t do so much. I can only save those who are dear to me.” Chen Ge had rescued the people on the northern side—that gave him the approval of many students, and more people wanted to follow him. Compared to the Red Specters around Chen Ge, the staff were on the weaker side. When Chen Ge prepared to leave to the western side of the school, many students were willing to follow him. Before Chen Ge promised anything, the teachers became worried. They knew very well that the school’s consciousness was made up from every student, so the more students they had, the safer they would feel.

“Calm down, look at who is holding back the scariest monster. The fact that you haven’t been consumed by the red city is due to the painter. He is the one you should be thanking, not this fella called Chen Ge.” Mr. Lei was feeling annoyed. “Only Top Red Specters can be relied on. No matter how good the others did, it is just a futile struggle.”

Mr. Lei was telling the truth, and it was something Chen Ge could not deny. He asked the teachers to look after the students, but at the moment, Chen Ge stopped moving.

“How did you know I don’t have any Top Red Specters with me?” When he said that, the surroundings became quiet.

“You have a Top Red Specter with you?” Mr. Lei scanned the ghosts around Chen Ge. He did not believe this.

“Why do you think they are gathered around me?” Chen Ge showed a winning smile.

“Are you talking about Chang Wenyu?” Mr. Lei was reminding of something, and he frowned.

“Not her. Technically speaking, this Top Red Specter that I have is the real owner of this school. I came here to recover her stuff.” Chen Ge was not lying, and his expression was calm.

Under Chen Ge’s cold gaze, Mr. Lei suddenly shuddered. He saw the present box that Chen Ge was holding, and he remembered that the box was taken from one of the rooms in the female dormitory. A scary thought crossed his mind. Mr. Lei sucked in a cold breath, and the way he looked at Chen Ge changed. “It’s her‽”

Chen Ge did not waste time answering—he just smiled. He hugged the box and ran to the western side.

Many students wanted to follow Chen Ge, and this time, Mr. Lei did not stop them.

“Sir, what should we do?” There were fewer and fewer students in the classrooms; the surrounding teachers were anxious. “We have promised the painter, no matter what happens, we wouldn’t have the students’ conviction shaken.”

“If that woman has really returned, where would she hide?” Mr. Lei did not appear to hear the other teachers as he kept his eyes on Chen Ge’s back.

“Mr. Lei?”

“Shush! Something big is about to happen!”

More students left the center of the school. The painter outside the building felt this, and his black eyes turned away from the man in the fog for the first time to look at the school. Chen Ge, who was running down the corridor, felt a chill run down his spine, and then he could not stop sweating. He turned to look out the window and happened to meet the painter’s gaze.

The painter’s dark eyes did not seem to have any life, but Chen Ge’s eyes reflected a blood red world. The painter was reflected in Chen Ge’s eyes, and he saw himself clearly.