Chapter 111 Haunted House (ETL) Part 1
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Chapter 111: Another suicide!
The fire broke out in the residential complex across the street. Standing at the entrance to the haunted house, Gu Ye looked over there and indeed saw black smoke coming out of a building in the neighboring complex. But it was so small that he couldn’t make out much of it. Gu Ye was puzzled. Could suicide be organized as a group event? Like, does reincarnation in a group offer any benefits, or something?
At that moment, Gu Ye saw a number of people running over there with excitement on their faces. Needless to say, they were all there to see what was happening. It was noon, and upon hearing the news of the fire, many people had gathered to watch, especially the elderly residents of the neighborhood. Some elderly people even rushed to the area while carrying a child, fearing they would miss out if they were too slow.
Gu Ye frowned. “Won’t it affect the fire trucks’ rescue efforts?”
Wang Xueliang was used to it. “Of course it will. But every time something like this happens, there are always people watching.”
At the moment, the fire truck sirens could be heard. Shao Dayong, hearing the noise, came out to see what was happening. Gu Ye asked both men, “There have been 4 incidents before this? All in that neighborhood?”
Shao Dayong replied. “Yes, this is the 5th case. Because of that, I check the safety valves every day before cooking, and twice afterward, just in case there’s a fire.”
The more Gu Ye thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss. “How did the people in the 1st fire die? Was it also self-immolation?”
Someone who happened to be eating at Shao Dayong’s noodle shop overheard the conversation and joined in. “The thing I heard about that was a house fire involving a housewife and 2 children. All three of them couldn’t be saved. The children, a boy and a girl, the boy was 5, the girl was 2. I heard they both died from asphyxiation from the smoke. The fire was already raging when the firefighters arrived. One firefighter was injured while trying to save the people, but sadly, the victims couldn’t be saved in the end.”
“The man in that family was in a terrible state, too. He was just over 30 years old and had a happy life with a son and a daughter. Suddenly, his family was torn apart.”
“I heard the man fainted on the spot, and it took a long time to resuscitate him. But we don’t know where he is now.”
Gu Ye instinctively asked, “Don’t know where he goes?”
“Yeah, he never came back.”
Gu Ye asked curiously, “What about the next few cases? They all chose self-immolation?”
“Yeah, this all sounds strange. I’ve heard of self-immolation, but I’ve never heard of so many people choosing that method of death.”
At this moment, someone shouted, “Quick! Get out of the way! Make way for the fire truck!”
When the fire truck arrived, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered, and many people in the neighborhood were watching. The fire truck blared its sirens and shouted through the loudspeaker, “Get out of the way! Cars ahead, move away quickly! Don’t block the road! You’re hindering the rescue! Those aunties holding children, please move aside and let us pass! Everyone, be careful!”
Gu Ye saw many elderly people holding children at the gate of the opposite neighborhood. They are slowly making way at a speed far slower than when they ran over to watch the excitement.
Gu Ye curled his lips. “Some people just have that mentality. When they are facing government servants, they are less afraid. After all, watching the fun isn’t illegal, and they can’t be arrested for that.”
The weather was getting colder now, and the wind was quite chilly. Shao Dayong saw everyone standing at the door and said, “Since the fire truck has arrived, there shouldn’t be any major problems now. Let’s go eat first. I’ve cooked a few bowls of noodles and a few stir-fries. It’s just home-cooked food and won’t taste as good as from a restaurant, so don’t mind it, Master Gu.”
Gu Ye didn’t sense any death aura, so he stopped looking. He smiled and said, “It’s not. If your cooking wasn’t good, the restaurant wouldn’t be so crowded.”
On the table were 6 dishes and 3 bowls of noodles, cooked to perfection. It was clear that Shao Dayong had studied diligently. The three of them ate while listening to the noisy sounds outside. Clearly, the onlookers hadn’t gone far.
Wang Xueliang asked quietly, “Could there be a ghost? These fires are quite spooky.”
Hearing that, Gu Ye laughed. “For a ghost to dare to appear in broad daylight, they must be filled with resentment. It’s impossible not to see it. Don’t worry, no one will die this time.”
Just then, someone said, “Aiya, it wasn’t suicide. I heard it was a young couple arguing, and to scare the man, the woman threatened to imitate those suicides and set herself on fire. She lit a fire on the kitchen floor and called the police herself.”
“Luckily, it wasn’t self-immolation. Life is good now, so what’s there to be upset about?”
“Are those young people crazy?! Aren’t they just creating trouble for the firefighters?”
“That couple was arrested by the police. They deserved it! Were they too bored and decided to cause trouble? They need to be taught a good lesson.”
“That’s right. During that fire, firefighters their age were injured. The firefighters were busy saving lives, while this young couple was looking for trouble.”
Hearing this, Gu Ye asked curiously, “Which fire?”
Wang Xueliang explained, “The first time. It was the biggest fire.”
Gu Ye frowned. There had been a series of suicides in the neighborhood next door, and this haunted house was haunted. Judging by the size of the haunted house, the underground area had already reached the neighborhood next door. Was there a connection?
“What about the previous cases of self-immolation? Do you know any other rumors?”
“I don’t know about that. But the police and firefighters were there. I only heard it was a self-immolation. If something like that got out, it would definitely cause panic, so the police wouldn’t say anything more.”
“Then how did you know?”
“I heard it from the neighborhood aunties, and from the diners. Everyone’s been talking about it lately.”
Gu Ye was impressed. What else could the aunties not know?
After eating, Gu Ye called Xie Cheng. “When are you coming? I’m in a state of confusion.”
Xie Cheng smirked. “So you also have moments of confusion too. What’s wrong? Is it complicated?”
“It’s not a matter of complicated or not, it’s just that I can’t find it.” Gu Ye said helplessly, “He said there was a ghost, but I couldn’t find any ghost energy. If he’s not lying, this is very strange.”
At the side, Wang Xueliang explained quietly, “I really wasn’t lying! I saw him!”
Gu Ye pressed the speaker mode on his phone. Then, with a bitter look, Wang Xueliang said, “I saw it on the surveillance camera. I’ll show it to you later.”
Xie Cheng asked with concern from the other side of the call, “Male or female? Old or young? Can you tell?”
Wang Xueliang replied awkwardly, “I didn’t see it clearly, but I didn’t lie.”
Gu Ye smiled. “I know you’re not lying. Let’s check the surveillance camera first. Xie Cheng, come quickly and get my divination plate.”
“I’m already on my way to your house. Where did you put your divination plate?”
“Ling Ling is home, ask her.”
After hanging up, Gu Ye followed Wang Xueliang to review the surveillance footage. Wang Xueliang had saved the videos of the strange incidents in a separate folder. Clicking on the first one, Gu Ye saw a dark, ghostly figure drift by. It was so dark that it was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman, young or old.
The second one was what Wang Xueliang had described as ‘ghost eating a person’. In the video, a dark ghostly figure in the corner grabbed another ghost with both hands, ripped it apart, and stuffed it into its bloody mouth. The captured one continued to struggle, desperate and helpless, until it was completely devoured. The video wasn’t clear, but Gu Ye could tell at a glance that it was a scene of an evil ghost eating a ghost.
Seeing Gu Ye’s expression grow serious, Wang Xueliang asked cautiously, “Is that a ghost?”
“Yes, but he didn’t leave much ghostly energy behind. Mixing with the scents left by passing ghosts, it’s impossible to tell which one he is.” This was the first time Gu Ye had encountered such a situation, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled up. “Interesting.”
It was already dark when Xie Cheng arrived. Gu Ye was waiting for him at the door, saying with disdain, “I thought you’d been carried off by a ghost on your way here.”
“I took the wrong subway and had to turn around.” Xie Cheng, wearing a tracksuit and carrying a backpack, pulled out a divination plate and handed it to Gu Ye. “Here’s your thing.”
Gu Ye had just reached out to take it when a ghostly aura suddenly drifted past him. A gust of cold wind struck the divination plate, knocking it to the ground. Both of them were startled. Then, coming back to their sense, they didn’t bother with the divination plate and started running, “Chase!”
After following the ghostly aura for about 200 meters, they were stunned. “It’s gone?”
Gu Ye sighed. “It’s gone.”
“What’s going on? Why is there no aura suddenly?” Xie Cheng was also confused. He had caught so many ghosts, but this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
The two returned empty-handed, their faces grim. Then they heard someone yell, “Another fire! Someone committed suicide!”
Looking toward the neighboring neighborhood, they saw black smoke billowing from a building. The fuss was much bigger than at noon, and from afar, a deathly aura could be detected.
Xie Cheng exclaimed in surprise, “Such excitement? Someone’s dead right after I arrived!”
Gu Ye nodded. “This is the 5th fire. They say there have been several deaths before, all in the same way.”
Soon, the fire truck arrived. The driver is still shouting through the loudspeaker: “Get out of the way! Cars ahead, move out! Move out! Pedestrians, move out!”
It was the evening rush, and the flow of people was much greater than at noon. Many people were rushing to watch the excitement. Some passing cars deliberately slowed down, and drivers held up their phones to record: “Look, there’s another fire in Jinxiu Community. They said there was another fire at noon. This is the 6th case. Everyone, please pay attention to fire prevention and safety.”
The firefighters urged over the loudspeaker: “Move out! Get out of the way!”
The driver who was recording the fire was driven away. As soon as the fire truck was going to pass, another car stopped, also taking photos and recording: “Oh my god, another fire!”
The car behind this car honked loudly. The driver opened the window and yelled, “Hurry up and get away! Can’t you see the fire truck behind us?! Why are you slowing down? TF is wrong with you?!”
The fire truck honked twice more before the car that had stopped finally moved away, clearing the road.
Xie Cheng said angrily, “The fire truck should have just rammed through it1. Who asks them to watch the fun (and delay the rescue).”
Raw word count: 6558 (whole chapter)
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