Chapter 85: Tomino’s Hell 03
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The little boy looked down, fiddling with his fingers, saying nothing. After catching Wei Zhizhi, Qi Yin came over to take him away and gave Chen Yang and the others an apologetic smile. “Let me show you to the guest rooms first,” she said.
Wei Zhizhi twisted and squirmed as she was led away, acting rather naughty. Qi Yin scolded her softly, “Zhizhi, stop moving around.”
Wei Zhizhi stuck her tongue out and made a playful “bleh bleh” noise before turning to Chen Yang and the little boy. “Are you friends with Ning Ning?” she asked.
Ning Ning, the boy’s name, was actually Wei Ning. Hearing his name, Wei Ning glanced up at Chen Yang with wide, expectant eyes.
Chen Yang smiled gently. “Yes, Ning Ning and I are friends, right, Ning Ning?”
Wei Ning offered the faintest of smiles, which disappeared quickly as he shyly hid behind Qi Yin.
Wei Zhizhi stuck her tongue out again. “Ning Ning’s such a scaredy-cat. No wonder nobody wants to play with him.”
“Who’s ‘nobody’?” Chen Yang asked.
With a proud lift of her chin, Wei Zhizhi announced, “My friends. We’re always playing hide-and-seek, but they never beat me. I always win—I’m the champion! They wanted Ning Ning to join us, but he’s so timid he always pretends not to hear them.”
“Zhizhi, stop making things up!” Qi Yin scolded, leaving Wei Zhizhi pouting in frustration. Qi Yin explained to Chen Yang and the others, “She has quite the imagination. Her ‘friends’ are actually the dolls and toys in the playroom. She gave them names and treats them like real people. Of course, since the toys can’t move, she always wins.”
As they passed a room, Qi Yin paused and said, “This is Ajie and his wife’s room. Please be quiet when walking past here. Ajie has sensitive nerves and is a light sleeper. He’s also prone to hallucinations, often hearing the sound of noisy footsteps in the hallway. But we’ve checked and even installed cameras—there’s never anything there. Guangming used to believe in supernatural phenomena but even he thinks it’s just Ajie’s imagination.”
Ajie, as Qi Yin mentioned, was Wei Jie, the eldest son of the Wei family. They also had an eldest daughter, Wei Mianmian, who lived on the first floor with her husband. The couple Wei Xiaoxiao and Wei Guangming also lived on the first floor. In contrast, the youngest two children lived on the second floor, far from Wei Jie’s room.
Qi Yin stopped at two guest rooms and said to Chen Yang’s group, “We didn’t expect so many people, so we only cleaned up two rooms. Luckily, the beds are large enough for two people. Miss Mao, would you mind staying downstairs with Xiaoxiao?”
Mao Xiaoli nodded. “That’s fine.”
The two guest rooms were across from each other. Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao shared one, while Kou Xuanling and Lu Xiuzhi naturally shared the other.
As they were entering the rooms, Wei Zhizhi suddenly broke free from Qi Yin’s hand and ran up to Chen Yang. “Do you want to play hide-and-seek with me?” she asked loudly.
Chen Yang gently declined. “Sorry, I’m an adult. I don’t play hide-and-seek.”
Wei Zhizhi stared at him quietly. “Liar,” she said, then turned and ran off.
Qi Yin apologized awkwardly, but Chen Yang shook his head and softly said it was fine.
Just then, Wei Ning broke free from Qi Yin’s hand as well and threw himself into Chen Yang’s arms. Leaning close, he whispered, “A lot of adults are playing hide-and-seek too.”
Qi Yin quickly pulled Wei Ning back and said, “Ning Ning really likes you. He usually dislikes strangers and almost never speaks to them.”
Chen Yang asked in surprise, “How old is Ning Ning? Isn’t he in school?”
Qi Yin looked embarrassed. “Ning Ning and Zhizhi are both five years old. Ning Ning doesn’t like meeting strangers and would scream uncontrollably when we sent him to kindergarten. As for Zhizhi, she’s so lively and mischievous she turned the whole kindergarten upside down. We had no choice but to bring them home and hire a private tutor. Right now, it’s summer vacation, so they’ve been hiding out in the playroom.”
After finishing her explanation, Qi Yin quickly changed the topic and showed them around the rooms before hurrying off with Mao Xiaoli downstairs.
About ten minutes later, Mao Xiaoli knocked on Chen Yang’s door. Once inside, she remarked, “This entire building feels oppressive and unsettling. No wonder it’s a four-star job.”
Chen Yang pulled back the heavy curtains, but the room remained dim. He looked outside and saw thick trees blocking most of the sunlight. Additionally, the building’s orientation wasn’t the typical south-facing design, and being shadowed made it even gloomier. Without the electric lights on, the room and hallways would be pitch black.
Zhang Qiudao walked over and looked past the trees toward the distant mountains. “The mountain’s shape is fierce, with jagged rocks and ominous energy—it’s an ill omen, gathering malevolent forces.”
Chen Yang closed the curtains and said, “Did you notice the Feng Shui of the Wei family collection building when you arrived? Based on the Eight Gates of Qimen Dunjia—Open, Rest, Life, Death, Fear, Harm, Hide, and Scene—the Open Gate is set in the northwest, the Life Gate in the northeast, and the Death Gate in the southwest, with ghostly messengers passing through. What does that remind you of?”
The group seemed to understand some Feng Shui concepts, but they weren’t well-versed in Qimen Dunjia, which, while related, is distinct from traditional Feng Shui. Except for Lu Xiuzhi, no one could respond immediately.
Lu Xiuzhi said, “It sounds like a place for funerals, mortuaries, or crematoriums.”
“Exactly, yes,” Chen Yang crossed his arms and analyzed, “Building a collection museum in a place with bad energy, where there’s no sunlight and the layout resembles that of a crematorium, it’s a miracle that the people living here haven’t died. They must have had a blessed ancestor or great merit to protect them from harm.”
“In fact, the people who lived here did die, and they died in unfortunate circumstances,” Kou Xuanling said. “This collection museum was originally a mansion, and it had gone through three owners. None of them died peacefully. The most tragic one was torn apart by wild dogs, and the unluckiest one moved out with his entire family after less than a week, only to die in a car accident half a month later. Fifteen years ago, Wei Guangming bought the mansion, renovated it, and invited a high monk to suppress the evil spirits. He lived peacefully for fifteen years.”
Chen Yang asked, “Which monk was powerful enough to do that?” This house was inherently cursed, a truly haunted place, and for someone to suppress the evil in it for fifteen years without altering the layout was impressive. The monk had to be extraordinary.
“It wasn’t the monk who suppressed the spirits,” Kou Xuanling paused for a moment, then said, “It was something in his possession that could suppress all evil.”
The others were surprised, including Lu Xiuzhi, who seemed a little interested. Lu Xiuzhi asked, “Did such a thing as a relic appear in this day and age?” In the current era, enlightened monks were nearly extinct, let alone relics. Even if such relics existed, they would be treated as treasures, kept hidden away. How could Wei Guangming casually use one as a housewarming charm?
“I heard from Uncle Ma that Wei Guangming exchanged a long-lost human skin sutra for it. There were people who coveted Wei Guangming’s relic and sent several attempts to steal it. But no one was ever able to find it. Over time, it became a rumor. So, I don’t really know whether the relic is actually in the collection museum or not.”
Chen Yang said, “Alright, let’s rule out those uncertainties for now. Let’s analyze where the evil in the collection museum could have come from. What we know is that fifteen years ago, a malevolent spirit killed someone in the museum, but it was later suppressed. Another factor is the mansion’s layout, which gathers harmful energy and could attract evil forces. Wei Zhizhi and Wei Ning mentioned earlier that there were many ‘people’ inside the museum, and these ‘people’ played hide-and-seek with Wei Zhizhi.”
The evil spirits, harmful energy, and the ‘people’—these were the things they could confirm existed in the collection museum, and they were likely responsible for the security guard’s death. They needed to identify which one was the real threat and eliminate it.
Chen Yang said, “The worst-case scenario is that all three exist together.” He paused and spread his hands, saying, “We can’t rule out any possibility.”
Mao Xiaoli raised her finger, pointing upstairs. “And there’s the collection of strange items. Wei Guangming liked to collect all sorts of bizarre things, and most of them have dark energy.”
“That’s possible,” Chen Yang added the strange items to the list. “Old Kou mentioned earlier that the strange events started happening after Wei Guangming acquired a certain painting. We’ll go see that painting this afternoon. Alright, is there anything else?”
“No.”
“Then it’s dismissed. Go back and prepare.”
Everyone stood up to leave. Mao Xiaoli was the last to go, and she said to Chen Yang, “I think the Wei family is strange.”
“Rebuilt family, old man with a young wife, and add to that the eerie house. It’s normal for things to be strange,” Chen Yang comforted Mao Xiaoli. “Just trust your instincts.”
Mao Xiaoli shrugged her nose. “Alright.” Chen Yang smiled and patted her shoulder, escorting her to the door. Zhang Qiudao was leaning outside, waiting for Mao Xiaoli, who walked past him without a glance. Zhang Qiudao rolled his eyes and grabbed her ponytail, “Hey, didn’t see me?”
Mao Xiaoli turned and pounced on him, “Let go! Let go! If you pull my hair again, I’ll kill you!”
Zhang Qiudao impatiently grabbed her hands. “You pretended not to see me first, or who would pull your hair… Tsk, alright, alright, it’s my fault, I apologize. Can you speak properly?”
Mao Xiaoli got the apology she wanted and quickly stepped back, “Talk.”
Zhang Qiudao sighed, tossing her a peace talisman. “This is the peace talisman my dad gives me every year. You’re sleeping downstairs, weak as can be. You might get targeted, so I’m lending it to you for your safety.”
Mao Xiaoli coldly laughed, “Thanks, but no need.”
Zhang Qiudao said, “Take it or leave it.” After that, he slammed the door so hard it echoed. Mao Xiaoli pressed her hand to her chest, nearly having a heart attack. She couldn’t just throw away the talisman, so she had no choice but to stuff it into her pocket and head back downstairs.
As for the room, Chen Yang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zhang Qiudao, teasing, “I remember that every child of the Zhang family has a peace talisman, one that can save lives in critical moments. You just gave one to Xiaoli?”
Zhang Qiudao corrected, “I lent it to her, not gave it.”
Chen Yang said, “Oh,” and continued to laugh. His smile grew more cunning, just like the sly fox, Ma Shanfeng.
The hallway was very quiet now. Both sides of the corridor were lined with ornaments and oil paintings. Suddenly, one of the oil paintings hanging on the wall fell to the ground with a loud crash. After the echo died down, the corridor fell silent again. Wei Jie walked out of his room and saw the fallen painting, his face twisting in disgust. “Wei Zhizhi, can’t you show some manners?!”
In the children’s room at the other end of the hallway, Wei Zhizhi was asleep. Wei Ning suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the door, as if seeing what was outside through the door. In a soft, childish voice, he said, “There really are ‘people’ here.”
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