I was stunned by those two conditions. Since when had it become two conditions?n "Two conditions? I know the first is burning the paper money, what's the other condition? Also, what’s the promise?"

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Sister Hua pretended to be shocked, "Oh, my. Great wits and short memories. You promised Xiao Lingdang to find something for her."

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It all made sense now. Glancing at Xiao Lingdang expectantly, I nodded, "I will. Absolutely! Um, I will find it."

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"Now, about that promise." Sister Hua said, "What do you think of the Fan House?"

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Fan house? I was puzzled for a moment before I realized it was the name of the ghost house. So I said hastily, "Good, it’s very good. It’s nice."

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Sister Hua was surprised at my decisive answer. She giggled "Excellent. You can work here. The ghost house lacks a waiter."

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I felt my whole body grow cold. I was paralyzed, my mouth had involuntarily dropped.

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Sister Hua giggled again, "Don't worry. I still need you to burn paper money for us. It has been a long time since I bought new shoes.”

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Sister Hua’s words made me feel more at ease. Even still, I was not so brave that l could live in the ghost house. Moreover, elderly people believed we shouldn’t trust the words of ghosts. But I had to agree with her at first, to save Xiaoru. I would never come to Kaoshan Street again and neither would she.

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Sister Hua must have known what was on my minds. Her voice became bleak, "You should keep your promise."

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My heart was bleeding, but I still nodded, "If you let He Xiaoru go, I will keep my promise."

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"Okay." Said Sister Hua slowly.

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Darkness came over my eyes. I fell down like a bag of bricks. The resplendent and magnificent scene disappeared. There was now only a flashlight revolving on the floor.

​

Wu Jian also fell down. However, he quickly jumped up, picking up the flashlight to shine all around. The light fell upon the prostrate figure of a person in the distance. When I shone a light on the face of the figure slumped on the floor, I screamed out, "Xiaoru!"

​

Huang Xiaolong stood up painfully and yelled, "Hurry!"

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The word woke Wu Jian and me up. Wu Jian stepped forward and picked up He Xiaoru. "Let's leave here immediately!"

​

After we stumbled out of the ghost house, Huang Xiaolong looked at his watch. "Unbelievable, it’s only one minute past twelve."

We had gone in at ten minutes to midnight. Although we had stayed in the ghost house for a long time, it was now only one minute past midnight. I felt a little scared at the time distortion. There was a lot we didn’t know about ghosts.

​

Looking back at the closed gates of the courtyard, I left Kaoshan Street with He Xiaoru, Wu Jian, and Huang Xiaolong in a hurry.

When we brought her to the hospital, the doctor said He Xiaoru had just fainted. I felt relieved. It was close to one o'clock now. It seemed that there had been a traffic accident and there were many people in the hospital. I calmed down as time passed and ev erything seemed to go back to normal.

​

There was a cigarette in Wu Jian’s mouth, but he didn't light it under the angry glare of the nurse. Meanwhile, Huang Xiaolong kept chattering to himself. I heard him say that if he had brought an appropriate weapon, he would not have been caught off-guard.

I kept silent, staring at him. If he had showed his talent of speaking, perhaps the ghosts in the ghost house would not have had so much control over him.

​

After lying on the hospital bed for a whole night, He Xiaoru woke up slowly. Her parents had arrived by then. One of them thanked me and then sent He Xiaoru to another hospital, a bigger hospital in the provincial capital. There was no copportunity for her to talk with me. She mouthed “WeChat” in my direction as she left.

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Once she was gone, Wu Jian stood in front of me, comforting me and slapping my shoulder, “It’s a good idea for her to go to another city. At least, she will be away from the ghost house.”

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I nodded silently. Huang Xiaolong walked towards me, “Don't worry about me, bro. I’ll be fine.”

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Then he left the hospital. He made a steadfast gesture in the doorway, looking back at us. I figured that was the last we’d see of him.

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As Huang Xiaolong’s figure receded in the distance, Wu Jian helped me up saying, “Let's have breakfast.”

I nodded.

 

Seated across from me in a nearby diner, Wu Jian said, "Do you plan to live in the ghost house?"

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I shook my head, "I should probably leave for a while."

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Wu Jian seemed to feel uncomfortable with my decision. I could tell he just felt worried and said, "Aren’t you going to burn the paper money and help Xiao Lingdang find whatever it is she lost?"

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I hesitated, still feeling scared. "No."

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Wu Jian nodded, "Yeah, it’s probably a good idea for you to keep away from the ghost house. Be careful, though. Sister Hua said the ghosts will not let you go if you cannot keep your promise."

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I said, "I am going to live in a temple. A temple should be useful against ghosts."

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Wu Jian asked, "How will you explain this to your mother?"

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I didn’t know what to say. What about my mom and Xue’er? I could hide from the ghosts, but my mom and Xue’er could also see those pictures. Not to mention, I had forgotten to ask about those pictures…

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I told Wu Jian what I had just remembered. Wu Jian laughed bitterly, “You can leave with your mom and your niece, or...”

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I understood what Wu Jian wanted to say. But would my mom and Xue’er leave with me because of the ghost house? If I knew anything about my mom’s personality, she would just invite witches and wizards to the ghost house to fight the ghosts. Could they win? I didn’t think so. Those people were just like Huang Xiaolong, a load of frauds.

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I was confused about what to do.

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Wu Jian slapped my shoulder, “If we cannot avoid it, let’s face it head on. We cannot hide from it forever. Besides, I really believe those ghosts won’t harm you. Just as Sister Hua said, they want somebody to burn paper money for them.”

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I nodded feebly. I also felt confused. I don’t know when he had joined me, all I knew is that suddenly Wu Jian wanted to face it with me. It would be wonderful if the ghosts would stop harming human beings from now on. That was something both he and I wanted, it’s what had brought us together.

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I shook my head as if to clear my mind. The noodles in front of me were cold. I couldn't eat, I had no appetite. After shaking for a moment, I managed to regain my balance.

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Since I could not avoid it, I should face it. I had already been to the ghost house a couple of times. I’ve become braver. Although I‘d be scared, I would not be scared to death like I was before.

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I would complain about my new profession as a pimp, however, it wouldn’t matter. It seemed it was something I had to do. My main concern was the paper money that I had bought in the store beside the ghost house. After passing by the ghost house many times, I couldn’t see that funeral goods store anymore. I didn’t know whether paper money and candles I bought elsewhere would work the same. I hoped so. Otherwise, I’d be in real trouble.

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