Chen Kai? Yeah, where was Chen Kai? Ever since he and his friends went upstairs, the three had not been seen or heard from.

​

I couldn't see the second floor. There was a railing at the top of the staircases, with some of the room visible through it. At the same time, the entrance to the house was open and all the windows were broken, so there was nothing to drown out any sound.

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"Did they leave?” I asked uncertainly.

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He Xiaoru looked around and said, "Leave? No way; where could they have gone?"

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Where? I had no answer. Although the ghost house was broken down, the interior was very well maintained. There should have been a back door, but I didn’t believe they went out that way. The back of the ghost house was surrounded by a park, and the back door was facing a small artificial lake in that park.

​

He Xiaoru and I looked at each other for a moment before we started calling out their names. Our voices spread far away into the night sky. Our voices could probably be heard from He Xiaoru’s mobile phone shop, yet there was no response.

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"Let’s go upstairs." He Xiaoru said to me after a while.

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I nodded. They were just kids, I couldn’t leave them in potential danger. Not to mention He Xiaoru had helped me a lot, so I couldn't refuse her request. More importantly, although their disappearance scared me, the whole aura of the ghost house was not as scary to me anymore.

​

So, we went up to the second floor with our flashlights on.

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Once we were standing in the corridor of the second floor, I found that the second floor was much larger than it seemed from downstairs. At the top of the staircase was a small hall with a room on each side.

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He Xiaoru and I slowly walked towards the nearest room. We entered a small parlor with a sofa and chairs.

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On the right side of the room was a collapsed European-style wooden bed. Beside the bed was a white European dresser with a large, cracked mirror above it.

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On the left was a table and chairs, evidently a place to eat. The table was covered with dust, with bowls and chopsticks still on it.

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We found no trace of Chen Kai and the others in that room, so He Xiaoru and I slowly withdrew to the next room.

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As I turned around, it seemed as if a white figure flashed in front of the dresser. Looking at it, I realized it was only a piece of an old curtain billowing in the moonlight.

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Had I imagined it? I must have imagined it. I got a little closer to He Xiaoru – I wasn’t trying to take advantage of the situation - the hair of my back had literally stood on end.

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In the second and third rooms we learned the pattern of the house was the same, except for the items that were broken, those were different. Oddly enough, the dresser in almost every room was the best preserved.

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As He Xiaoru walked towards the fourth room, she paused and looked down into the ground floor through the railing. I hadn’t noticed her fall behind until I was already a few steps ahead of her.

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Looking back, she seemed to shiver a little. I asked softly, "What happened?"

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She turned around, gave me a reluctant smile, and shook her head, "Nothing. Let's keep searching."

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I looked through the railing. The fire in the ceremonial bowl was still burning, even though there was nothing else left in it.

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I looked at her a little puzzled, but continued on to the next room.

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In the small room was a rotten sofa with a huge hole torn into it, the European-style wooden bed on the right could just barely be identified as a bed. Again, the dresser was still in good condition. I didn't know why, but those dressers creeped me out.

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I turned around and checked the left side of the room. I felt my feet go numb and nearly collapsed, but He Xiaoru held my back with both hands.

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"What's the matter?” She couldn’t yet see what was in front of me since my body was obstructing her view.

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For a moment I stood there speechless, pointing and gasping for breath.

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I still can’t fully describe the fear I felt when I saw what was before me.

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There was a table with bowls laid out on top of it. Chen Kai and Wu Di were sitting on chairs that each had one of the legs broken off. Their glassy eyes stared at the empty bowls and they were acting as if they were eating a meal.

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"Ahhhh!!!" He Xiaoru’s shrill scream echoed in the night and hurt my eardrums.

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Chen Kai and Wu Di did not react and continued eating their invisible meal.

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I rubbed my ears with my hands. He Xiaoru stopped screaming, but her face was white and cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

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I didn't know how to comfort her. I just went with what I’d seen on TV and pressed He Xiaoruin to my chest, rubbed her back. I don’t know if I was imagining it, but her body was terribly cold.

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After a moment, He Xiaoru calmed down and pulled away from my arms. She pointed to Chen Kai, "He… They…"

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As she left my arms, I shuddered. I was frightened half to death.

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Looking around carefully, we slowly walked toward Chen Kai, shouting, "Chen Kai, Wu Di!”

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The two did not respond. Illuminating the table with our flashlights, we saw the bowls were filled with some half-solid goop. Their chopsticks were covered in disgusting residue.

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I clapped and shook Chen Kai's shoulder, but Chen Kai didn't respond. I handed the flashlight to He Xiaoru and grabbed him, trying to drag him away.

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Chen Kai was just a thin teenager. Although my strength was not impressive, even pulling an adult off a chair shouldn’t have been a problem for me, but Chen Kai seemed to be nailed to the chair. Though I pulled with all my might, he remained motionless, chopsticks in hand.

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"Just stop them from eating." He Xiaoru’s mind had finally regained some clarity.

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I thought about it. When Chen Kai was about to use his chopsticks to pick up the vegetables, I forced his hand to open.

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Chen Kai stopped eating. I was busy internally celebrating the success of He Xiaoru’s plan, but then she grabbed my hand, her teeth chattering. I glanced at her curiously and noticed she was staring, terrified, at Chen Kai.

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I turned my head and saw that Chen Kai was looking right at me with terrible, blank white eyes.

He Xiaoru and I screamed off the top of our lungs as we ran out of the room, sprinting quickly down the stairs into the main hall.

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Then the fire in the bowl went out, leaving only a few sparks behind.

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As the fire went out, I could clearly see a small figure crouching beside the bowl, as if it was looking for something. We stopped.

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I got goosebumps and tightly grasped He Xiaoru’s hand, not knowing what else to hold on to.

"Is that Kitty?” asked He Xiaoru with a trembling voice.

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The light of the flashlights flickered for no reason. I trembled violently, holding onto He Xiaoru, who was walking towards the crouching figure.

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The clear voice of a girl came from the small figure. “I can't find it. Can you help me look for it?" she sobbed.

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Although I hadn't heard Kitty’s voice earlier, I assumed the young voice belonged to Kitty and felt some relief. I tried not to be so nervous, but remained vigilant, keeping an eye out on the area around the ceremonial bowl.

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"Kitty? Is that you? What are you looking for?”

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The figure on the ground cried, "Brother, can you help me look for it? I can't find it!"

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"Kitty, don't cry. I'll help you. Are you looking for Chen Kai?” I said.

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The girl on the ground shook her head. "No, my skin is gone. I haven’t been able to find it for a long time."

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