After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 42

“Chouzhuang, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and go in!” Shi Zhi shouted excitedly, completely unaware of any abnormalities.

Xie Chouzhuang hesitated slightly, subconsciously touching his pocket. When his fingertips brushed against that trace of chilliness, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, he had subconsciously brought the Soul-Binding Brush with him.

“Alright, let’s go.” Xie Chouzhuang steadied his mind and followed Shi Zhi into the haunted house.

As soon as they stepped through the door, they were met with a dimly lit hallway. The walls were pieced together from aging and dilapidated wooden boards, covered with mottled marks and cracks; the path beneath their feet was paved with uneven stones, and every step brought a noticeable jolt. Ahead lay a bottomless darkness, resembling a black behemoth opening its bloodthirsty maw, waiting for its prey to enter.

As they walked further inside, a faint, vague, and eerie sound drifted from the depths of the darkness. Listening closely, it sounded like heavy iron chains being slowly dragged across the ground, sending chills down one’s spine.

“Hsss~~ Is this air conditioning turned way too high?!”

Although they had mentally prepared beforehand, when that bone-chilling cold wind blew past them, both Shi Zhi and Xie Chouzhuang couldn’t help shuddering at the same time.

“It feels no different from a regular haunted house, right?” Shi Zhi looked around. “I heard there aren’t any employees inside. Could this all be just hype?”

“It might have some horror elements.” Xie Chouzhuang could already sense the lingering yin energy pervading the house at all times. It was very thick, yet no ghosts were in sight.

The two walked along the corridor for about two to three minutes without encountering a single terrifying scene.

Just as Shi Zhi was about to give up, a room finally appeared ahead of them.

Pushing open the door, the two discovered it was an operating room. Inside, the pale white lights flickered erratically, occasionally emitting buzzing electrical sounds as if they were about to go out at any second. The walls were stained with blotches, resembling a bizarre canvas mixed with dried blood and unknown mucus. In the corners, spiderwebs layered on top of one another, with several massive spiders crawling among them.

The operating table was rusted and slightly tilted, with dark red blood clots still lingering on one side, emitting a nauseating, fishy stench. On the adjacent instrument cart, scalpels, tweezers, and other tools were arranged haphazardly. Some of the blade edges were already blunt, yet they were still stained with wisps of flesh fibers, as if they had just undergone an extremely brutal surgery.

Cold gusts of wind swept down from the ventilation duct overhead, mixed with low, sobbing wails that sounded like countless wronged souls bitterly groaning. The entire operating room was permeated with a pungent smell of disinfectant and a rotting stench; the two scents intertwined to form a unique, hair-raising odor that continuously drilled into their nasal cavities and stimulated every single nerve.

Xie Chouzhuang carefully inspected his surroundings. Reaching out, he lifted the white cloth draped over the operating table, revealing densely packed, crimson, and glaring handprints beneath it.

These handprints varied in size; some were clearly visible, while others had blurred and indistinct outlines, as if someone had tried to forcibly wipe them away. As the white cloth was lifted, a thick scent of blood filled the entire room.

“Damn it, this set design really has some substance to it.”

“It looks like real blood.”

“This boss is pretty dedicated to get this much animal blood.” Shi Zhi remained completely oblivious.

After all, no one would ever suspect that an honest-looking boss could be a murderer.

Xie Chouzhuang wandered around, completely baffled. Why could he sense ghosts, yet not see any? The ghost qi in this operating room was so high had all the ghosts been suppressed?

“Pretty much.” Ji Sixian’s voice echoed right by Xie Chouzhuang’s ear.

Startled, Xie Chouzhuang reacted only to realize that he had accidentally spoken his guess out loud.

“Shh.” Seeing Xie Chouzhuang staring at him with wide eyes, Ji Sixian made a silencing gesture. “Only you can see me.”

“Why did you come here?” Xie Chouzhuang shifted to a camera blind spot and pulled out his phone to type.

“As soon as I finished handling my affairs, I sensed that you were here, so I rushed over. Your guess is correct; there are ghosts inside, and more than one, but you can handle them.”

“Older brother, give me a hint!” Xie Chouzhuang silently typed.

“Do it yourself.” Ji Sixian was exceptionally cold.

“Chouzhuang, what are you squatting in the corner for? Did you find a clue?”

“No, I’m just looking around.” Xie Chouzhuang put away his phone.

“Be a good boy. If you perform well, I’ll give you a reward.” Ji Sixian stroked his head to comfort him.

“There’s a password box here!” Shi Zhi dragged a password box out from the corner with great effort.

“The password should be 2142,” Xie Chouzhuang stated.

“How do you know?”

“Those handprints have four different types: two, one, four, and two, running from left to right. So the password should be 2142.”

Following Xie Chouzhuang’s instructions, Shi Zhi entered the password, and sure enough, it popped open, revealing a diary inside.

“Another diary?” Xie Chouzhuang muttered to himself.

Shi Zhi picked up the notebook. The moment he opened it, a yellowed organ test report slipped out.

“Isn’t this the one about Zhang Laidi that the boss told us about earlier? Why does this report look so real?” Shi Zhi examined it closely before flipping open the diary. Inside were blood-red characters: All of you go die!

As Shi Zhi turned this page, a fierce gale suddenly whipped up around them, blowing the surrounding equipment scattering across the floor.

Xie Chouzhuang couldn’t even keep his eyes open from the wind.

“Oh mother!” Shi Zhi lost his grip, and the diary was blown straight away. Just as he wanted to reach out and grab it, Xie Chouzhuang grabbed him by the collar and pulled him behind his back to shield him.

A man dressed in doctor’s attire abruptly appeared before the two of them.

“Have you seen my body?” the man asked gloomily.

“Didn’t they say this haunted house had no employees?”

“Is it possible that this isn’t a human?” Xie Chouzhuang drew the Soul-Binding Brush and jabbed it into empty space. The doctor directly exploded, only to coalesce back together.

“Have you seen my body?” Completely oblivious, the doctor continued walking toward them.

“Holy crap! There’s a ghost!” Shi Zhi subconsciously prepared to throw a talisman.

“Don’t.” Xie Chouzhuang stopped him. “This isn’t the main body.”

If it were the main body, Xie Chouzhuang should have already eradicated the ghost just now. Yet this ghost suffered no damage whatsoever, and its ghost qi didn’t look particularly strong either. That left only one possibility: the entity before them was not the real body.

“Is the boss watching the surveillance cameras?” Shi Zhi searched around the perimeter, his eyes locking onto a rotating security camera.

Xie Chouzhuang lowered his voice and spoke: “This ghost was placed here by him.”

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit surveillance room, the boss sat in his chair, his eyes bloodshot. Gripping his mouse tightly, he stared unblinkingly at the doctor on the screen, looking as though he wanted to tear the other person apart alive.