Hell’s Handbook

Nobody headed for the bedrooms on the second floor and got ready to spend the night in the living room together. After all, the smaller the space in a supernatural Challenge, the more frightening it was. A large living room like this was actually safer.

“What are we going to do about food? Did anyone bring food along?” asked Yu Wenkuo. If they were going to be stuck here for three whole days, they would need food and water.

“Even if someone has some in their Handbook, they wouldn’t take them out now. That would be a waste of our item limit,” said Zhang Yang sarcastically.

Yu Wenkuo glared at him, but he dared not say anything when he looked at the dagger in Zhang Yang’s hands and just sat back down again.

Xu Ge said, “Isn’t there a kitchen over there? Mr. Su, did you find any food and water in there just now?”

“There’s water, but I didn’t see any food.” Su Jin had checked and confirmed that the tap in the kitchen could be turned and clean water came out, but he didn’t see any food in the kitchen.

At the same time, that also made sense. This was a haunted house that had not been inhabited for a long time, so there couldn’t be any food left. The tap was connected to a natural source, so the water wasn’t cut off.

“There should be some food. No Handbook Challenge would drive owners into a dead end. We can look around later. I’m sure we’ll find something,” Xu Ge consoled the group.

Su Jin didn’t think so, however. As long as they had water, they wouldn’t die without food for just three days. He felt that it was much more likely that this house didn’t have any food at all.

“Mr. Su, let’s go get some blankets or something. It’s kinda cold around here and I don’t want anybody to catch a chill,” Zhang Yang suddenly said to Su Jin.

Su Jin was a little puzzled, but when he spotted the look in Zhang Yang’s eyes, he got up and said to Ning Ran, “Miss Ning, come along with us. We’ll need some help to carry everything down.”

Ning Ran didn’t suspect anything and got up to follow them. The three of them went upstairs and Zhang Yang opened one of the bedroom doors and walked in. He shut the room door immediately after Su Jin and Ning Ran had also come in.

“Mr. Zhang, you have something to say to me?” Su Jin glanced around. Hiding themselves in a bedroom like this during such a time was not a wise thing to do.

Zhang Yang smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Su. This place is safe, at least for the time being.”

“Oh? How do you know?” asked Su Jin puzzledly.

Zhang Yang said with a smile, “Because I’m not an ordinary person. I’m a medium. If there are ghosts around here, I’d be able to detect them immediately.”

Su Jin blinked a few times. Tian Lili from Team Wind and Rain had been a natural medium as well, so it wasn’t the first time he had met one. But he didn’t expect to run into another one.

“Oh, I see! Why don’t you tell Mr. Xu about your abilities instead? I’m sure he’d protect you,” said Su Jin.

Zhang Yang looked intently at Su Jin, then stabbed his dagger into the bed before saying sternly, “If I want to be protected, I’d want the strongest person in the group to protect me. Mr. Su… you’re much more formidable than that Xu Ge, aren’t you?”

Su Jin narrowed his eyes slightly but broke into a faint smile. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Mr. Xu is a veteran, after all. Compared to him, I’m just an ordinary owner…”

“Mediums are much more sensitive than ordinary humans, and I’m one of the best out there. I can hear the heartbeat of other people. If Xu Ge’s heart beats like an Olympic champion, then yours… is like the heart of a gigantic beast from ancient times. You said that you’ve only gone through three challenges, but that’s a lie, isn’t it?” Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes, “It’s impossible for someone to become as strong as you are after just three Challenges. Moreover, you really give me the goosebumps, which is something that not even a veteran like Xu Ge gives me.”

Su Jin broke into a smile as he decided to come clean. He nodded and said, “That’s right, I’ve lied about some things, and your senses are indeed sharp, but… it’s already hard enough for me to survive a supernatural Challenge. Why should I protect you too?”

Zhang Yang frowned, then said frankly to Su Jin, “Mr. Su, you’re very formidable, but not even the best of owners can guarantee they’d survive a supernatural Challenge. You need someone to help you, and I’m your best choice. As long as you’re willing to protect me in times of danger… you can make use of my abilities as much as you want.”

Su Jin was quite tempted by this suggestion. Having a medium during such a Challenge was very valuable, plus Zhang Yang was smart enough to make good guesses based on his senses and was also clever enough to quickly stand on Su Jin’s side. If Su Jin had a partner like him in such a Challenge, then even if Zhang Yang couldn’t help, at least he wouldn’t become a burden.

Su Jin fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “No problem, but I want Miss Ning to be part of this team too. Is that okay with you?”

Zhang Yang nodded without hesitation and said, “Of course that’s okay. The only help I can offer is my ability to communicate with spirits, so the number of people with us doesn’t matter to me.”

Ning Ran looked gratefully at Su Jin and thanked him, “Thank you, Mr. Su.”

“You’re welcome. I was good friends with your sister, so I can’t just leave you alone here,” said Su Jin with a smile. He then said to them, “We’d better bring the blankets down.”

They gathered some blankets and went back downstairs, only to find that there were only two people in the living room. Su Jin immediately asked, “Where’s Miss Qian?”

“She’s gone to the washroom,” replied Yu Wenkuo.

Su Jin frowned and said in a low voice, “Letting her go to the bathroom by herself in a place like that is too dangerous.”

“It can’t be helped. You can’t expect two guys to follow her into the bathroom,” said Yu Wenkuo nonchalantly.

Su Jin and Zhang Yang exchanged glances. It was more likely that these two men were using Qian Yingying to test if the bathroom was safe rather than having concerns over her privacy.

“AHH!” Just then, a shriek came from the bathroom on the second floor. Su Jin and Zhang Yang immediately ran back upstairs. Su Jin kicked the door open to see Qian Yingying hopping about inside like she had gone mad.

“Calm down!” Su Jin grabbed hold of her and pulled her out of the bathroom. He scanned her with his psychokinesis but didn’t find anything unusual.

“Calm down! What’s happened?” asked Su Jin in a loud voice.

Qian Yingying was a little calmer now. She held Su Jin tightly and said, “There’s a cockroach! A cockroach!”

Su Jin looked inside and saw a cockroach crawling about on the toilet seat. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It was merely a cockroach, but he thought something bad had happened and wasted psychokinesis on her.

“Mr. Su, watch out!” Zhang Yang suddenly exclaimed as he pointed at Qian Yingying, who was still hugging Su Jin tightly.

Su Jin suddenly felt like he was caught in a pair of iron pincers. Qian Yingying’s arms became very strong as they not just hugged him tightly but also began crushing his body.

“Ungh!” Su Jin let out a snort and tried to push back, but it was useless. Qian Yingying was actually stronger than him, so it was too hard for him to push her aside. Plus it was becoming harder to breathe because of the pressure on his chest.

“Get… lost!” A silver beam suddenly shot out from Su Jin’s eyes. Qian Yingying was sent flying off him and exploded.

But not a single drop of blood was splattered despite that. She was like a piece of paper that had caught fire as she turned to nothing but dust and disappeared.

“Phew!” Su Jin panted heavily and looked inside the bathroom again. There was one more Qian Yingying inside, but she was unconscious.

He hesitated a little, but carried her out anyway. Zhang Yang immediately helped him with carrying her too. Meanwhile, Yu Wenkuo and Xu Ge had made their way upstairs and asked what happened.

“She was attacked by a spirit,” explained Su Jin very simply. He and Zhang Yang carried her downstairs because he wanted to ask her what happened and why she fainted in the bathroom.

It didn’t take long for Qian Yingying to regain consciousness. She stared at everyone in confusion for a moment before a look of horror spread across her face. She exclaimed, “A ghost! A ghost is here! A ghost is here!”

“Calm down, calm down, you’re alright now.” Su Jin patted her shoulder and injected a tiny bit of psychokinesis into her to calm her nerves.

With the help of his psychokinesis, Qian Yingying slowly calmed down. Once she was calm enough, Su Jin asked, “Miss Qian, why did you faint after going into the bathroom? Did you see something?”

She nodded and said in a terrified voice, “I… immediately after I sat down on the toilet bowl, I felt a nasty chill, as though something was staring at me. I looked up to see… to see a half-rotting face, and I passed out.”

The rest exchanged glances. Qian Yingying’s observations did not provide any useful clues and sounded more like a typical horror movie, where characters would be attacked when they were in small, enclosed spaces. But what puzzled Su Jin was why Qian Yingying did not die.

The strength of that ghost earlier on was no joke. If not for his psychokinesis, he wouldn’t have been able to deal with it at all. Yet, Qian Yingying did not die. Su Jin did not think this was purely due to luck.

“Everyone gets a blanket.” Zhang Yang handed out the blankets and specially gave Qian Yingying an extra one. She had just gone through a bad scare, and a warm blanket might help her feel better.

“Let’s take turns to stand on guard. If five of you take half an hour each, we’ll get through the night,” said Xu Ge.

Ning Ran piped up unhappily, “Why just five of us? Aren’t there six of us? Besides, Miss Qian is still recovering from what happened just now.”

Xu Ge stared at Ning Ran and said frostily, “Of course, I can do it too, but as a veteran, I need sufficient rest. Otherwise, how can I protect all of you in times of danger?”

“When Miss Qian was in danger just now, the one who protected her was clearly Mr. Su,” retorted Ning Ran.