“A-Xiu, what are you…..fuck, fuck, fuck—”

Fang Qian’an was in the front while holding Li Xiu. Feeling the loss of strength in the boy behind him, he quickly turned around and grabbed him.

Then, he met the densely packed eyes of the paper figures.

A series of curses burst from the young school bully’s mouth, and he was so frightened that he nearly fell to his knees.

Not long ago, there was obviously just darkness around them. Even Fang Qian’an didn’t know when these paper figures had appeared. Fang Qian’an was still afraid of ghosts. If he had seen these things at a normal time, he would have been so frightened that he hugged Li Xiu next to him while crying.

But right now it was not business as usual.

Li Xiu had just been frightened terribly. There was no blood in his face, and he looked as if he would collapse with a breeze.

Fang Qian’an only took a light glance at Li Xiu’s face, and his heart, which had shrunk into his throat, was forcefully pulled down and stuffed back into its original position.

Fang Qian’an gulped and mustered the courage to comfort him.

“Don’t be afraid. Seriously, don’t be afraid. There’s nothing to be afraid of, they’re just a bunch of paper people. I could tear these things apart with my hands on the way…..”

However, his vibrato voice seemed to be unconvincing, because as he spoke, Li Xiu’s face became more pale.

The youth clung tightly to Fang Qian’an’s arm, and the corners of his eyes that were stained red by tears were now filled with moisture.

“F-Fang Qian’an.” Li Xiu’s voice was as tiny as a mosquito. “Do you get the feeling that they…..that they’re moving?”

Li Xiu could no longer determine the boundary between reality and illusion.

It was so scary. So bizarre.

The eyes on the faces of those paper figures were obviously so crudely drawn, but Li Xiu still felt that the way they were staring at him was very creepy.

Just like some kind of living things.

Moreover, during this few-minute pause, he felt that there seemed to be more paper figures — it seemed as if they were moving toward him and Fang Qian’an at a very slow speed.

When he expressed his suspicion, he clearly felt every muscle in Fang Qian’an’s body tense.

Cold sweat dripped down the school bully’s forehead and neck.

Rustle—

Rustle—

In the darkness, there was a sound like papers rubbing against each other.

Fang Qian’an held the candle high and glanced at the paper figures.

“I-it’s okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of, really nothing to be afraid of. Right, put this on—”

After a brief hesitation, Fang Qian’an seemed to suddenly think of something. He pulled off the paper mask he was wearing and quickly put it on Li Xiu’s face.

The paper mask looked exactly like the faces of the paper figures, with some rough cracks at the neck.

It was as if someone had just torn it from the neck of a paper figure.

There were also two blood-red blush spots on the mask, as well as a bright grin that extended to the ears. The only difference was probably the two rough holes dug for the eyes.

It was strange to say, but although the paper mask looked scary, once it was put on, the feeling of being stared at by countless people instantly vanished.

The subtle rustling in the darkness also stopped at once.

Li Xiu turned to Fang Qian’an in surprise and said in a panicked voice: “Wait, this mask? You gave me your mask, so what are you going to do?”

“I came to find you, and I have a candle in my hand. Teacher Xu gave it to me. The paper figures seem to be afraid of it,” Fang Qian’an said to him very stiffly.

As if either comforting Li Xiu or talking to himself, Fang Qian’an turned his head, clenched Li Xiu’s hand tightly, and walked step by step out of the circle of paper figures.

“These paper figures won’t notice you if you’re wearing the mask, so they won’t be a big problem for the time being. A-Xiu, come on and follow me, we need to get out of here fast. As long as the candle doesn’t go out, we’ll definitely be able to leave. We’ll definitely get out…..”

His back was completely drenched in cold sweat.

Li Xiu’s lips closed for a moment, and he felt as if his throat was blocked by something. There was obviously much to say, but when he opened his mouth, his mind went blank.

Not long after he put on the paper mask, those strange paper figures no longer appeared around them.

As they moved forward, Li Xiu’s eyes unknowingly adapted to the extreme darkness of the environment.

The flame of the candle in Fang Qian’an’s hand would occasionally flare up. In the strong firelight, Li Xiu also saw the situation around him more clearly.

Only then did Li Xiu realize how strange the place they were in was.

Everything that caught the eye had an air of familiarity. The more Li Xiu observed, the more familiar it felt, and he finally returned to his senses in a cold sweat — the place they were in was just like the Xiao family villa.

When did they get to the Xiao family villa? 

No, this wasn’t the Xiao family villa at all.

Li Xiu’s doubts quickly dissipated as the two of them fumbled forward. After walking for a long time, Li Xiu discovered that this place “appeared” very similar to the Xiao Family Haunted House, but when he looked a little closer, he found that everything here was just an imitation.

Even though the real Xiao family villa had been abandoned for more than a decade, its former luxury and decadence still could not be concealed.

And in this place, there was a feeling of crude, rushed work everywhere.

The most important aspect was that the furnishings here were all made of paper.

Yes, made of paper.

There was no telling how long this rice paper had spent in the darkness, but it was beginning to turn yellow and was falling off in some places, revealing the blackened bamboo strips and straps inside.

He and Fang Qian’an were currently walking in a “Xiao family villa” with paper furniture placed everywhere.

Li Xiu paused slightly upon realizing this.

If the layout here was really the same as the Xiao family villa, then he should be in…..the dining room now?

Li Xiu abruptly looked in a certain direction, and the candle in Fang Qian’an’s hand flared up at that moment.

There was a flash of dark green light, and Li Xiu saw three figures sitting upright in the dining room.

A paper man, woman, and old person.

Unlike the rough paper figures upstairs, the ones in the dining room were lifelike, no different than real people. The only flaw may be that on the neck of one paper figure, the bamboo strips must have rotted over time and broken, leaving the man’s head hanging on his chest.

In the illusion he had experienced before…..his “father” had his head lowered at all times.

But at that time, Li Xiu hadn’t felt that there was anything wrong.

In front of the three paper figures were three bowls of uncooked rice.

At an empty seat, there was an empty plate.

On that plate were squares and circles cut out of paper. 

On the thin pieces of paper, there was a pile of dust.

…..Like the ashes of something.

Li Xiu recalled everything he had experienced in the illusion, and his whole body instantly felt chilled to the bone.

If he hadn’t instinctively resisted and not eaten his so-called “breakfast” at that time, would Fang Qian’an still have been able to find him?

The candle flare only lasted for a moment.

Very soon, Li Xiu was surrounded by thick darkness again.

But Li Xiu had a strong intuition that at this moment, the three paper figures were quietly sitting in their seats, staring unblinkingly at them outside the dining room. 

Li Xiu’s breathing became very rapid in the darkness.

“Follow me, don’t be afraid.”

Fang Qian’an tightened his grip on Li Xiu.

The former school bully’s strength was so great that Li Xiu could practically hear the crunching sound of his elbow joint being grasped.

It hurt, but this pain actually made Li Xiu alert.

He shuddered and quickly turned his head away from staring at the things in the dining room.

The disabled boy suppressed his trembling and whispered to the boy beside him: “Let’s go, Fang Qian’an. Quickly.”

. . . . . .

Ten minutes later, Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an stopped again.

There was a heart-wrenching pain in Li Xiu’s lame leg, which had already been overstressed, and the experience of running fearfully through the dark had exhausted Li Xiu’s remaining strength.

Just at this moment, the candlelight flickered again.

Li Xiu turned his head and met three pairs of dull eyes staring at him unblinkingly from the dining table.

They had returned to their original position.

The path was obviously very simple.

Not long after passing through the dining room, they could see an imitation door. After pushing it open, there was no garden like the real Xiao family villa, but instead a long, narrow corridor. It was an office corridor that could be seen everywhere in the building complex.

There was a tile floor, with rows of locked offices on either side.

The corridor did have many forks, but Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an had never turned a corner.

They kept walking straight ahead.

However, it was so dark around them.

When they noticed, they found that they were standing in the replica villa full of paper furniture again.

A similar process was repeated several times, and in the end, even Fang Qian’an with his amazing physical strength had become extremely weak.

The boy stared at the darkness before him and muttered with a pale face: “A ghost maze.”

Li Xiu was currently being carried on Fang Qian’an’s back — since a while ago, he couldn’t walk any longer. This haunted house, that is to say, this darkness seemed to have some special magical power that could quickly drain a person’s strength and energy. When Li Xiu could no longer walk, Fang Qian’an simply carried him on his back.

However, after countless repetitions, they still couldn’t find a way out.

The candle in Fang Qian’an’s hand had almost burned out. The originally long, slender flame was now short, the light so dim that it was difficult to get a clear glimpse of the path.

“Are you kidding me…..how can I lose to something like this…..”

Li Xiu vaguely noticed that Fang Qian’an’s mood wasn’t right.

The youth lowered his head and said word by word:  “Fang Qian’an.” He patted the boy weakly. “Put me down. Leave me and go on alone.”

“You shut up.”

He cursed rudely at Li Xiu. The tall boy was currently stooped over, and had to press one hand to the wall to move forward.

“You weigh as much as a small chicken, so don’t make it seem like I can’t carry you. What go on alone, why would I come all the way here just to chat with you and then go back by myself? Don’t you think that kind of behavior would be sick?”

“You go back first…..its objective is me. You still have time to run away now.”

Li Xiu disregarded Fang Qian’an’s scolding. He struggled, trying to jump off Fang Qian’an’s back.

Fang Qian’an angrily tightened the grip on his thigh.

“Fuck me, I’m already here. Li Xiu, can you stop fussing?!” the boy growled through gritted teeth.

“……Isn’t there a time limit?”

In the next second, he heard Li Xiu’s question.

“W-what?” Fang Qian’an stuttered and paused.

Not long ago, the boy had been frightened to tears from an illusion, but now his voice was so numb that it was almost indifferent: “Fang Qian’an, there’s a time limit for the two of us to get out of here, right?”

“What are you talking about again? Damn, even after spending all this time talking nonsense with you, maybe I can find a way out—”

“The candle.” Before Fang Qian’an finished speaking, he was interrupted by Li Xiu. “The candle is the time limit, right? Fang Qian’an, you’ve been staring at the candle. The more the candle burns, the more anxious you become…..tell me, what will happen if we don’t find an exit before the candle burns out?”

*

[“Classmate Fang Qian’an, I must warn you. What you’re doing is extremely dangerous.”]

[“That ‘thing’ wants Li Xiu so much that even the red rope I gave him couldn’t stop that bastard from taking him away…..if you go, it is very possible that you’ll be included with Li Xiu.”]

[“If it refuses to let that person go, you may not be able to get out either.”]

[“…..The time I can maintain an exit is limited. This candle is your timer.”]

[“If the candle burns down before you come out, then you really won’t be able to escape.”]

*

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

Fang Qian’an spoke stiffly in the darkness.

“Li Xiu, stop twisting the fuck around, okay? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to twist on the body of a boy my age?”

Fang Qian’an said this deliberately in order to change the subject.

Li Xiu indeed stopped moving.

Enduring the fear of the deadline, Fang Qian’an said word by word: “Seriously, it has nothing to do with the candle. It’s just that when the candle is extinguished, it’ll be dark all around. That’s it.”

But after his words fell, Fang Qian’an heard the youth’s tremulous whisper in his ear.

“Fang Qian’an, lie to me and you’re a puppy.”

Fang Qian’an stared closely at the dying candle in his hand with warm eyes. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t afraid, but……

“If I lie to you,  I’m a puppy,” the boy echoed.

But Li Xiu still refused to let him off. 

“Not only a puppy, but also impotent,” the boy said in his ear.

“……”

“Fang Qianan, swear again that if you lie to me, you’ll become impotent.”

“……”

Fang Qian’an took a deep breath and abruptly came to a stop.

He stared intently at the darkness in front of him that seemed like it would never end. The intense unwillingness, anger, and fear turned into a roar.

“Fuck your mother, you shameless bastard! If you want to keep someone, you can keep me! Why are you taking A-Xiu! He’s not even a fucking adult yet! He still has to take the university entrance exam—”

“Fang Qian’an?”

Li Xiu’s voice was drowned out by Fang Qian’an’s increasingly crude and furious curses.

“He’s just a skinny little chicken. Even if you eat him like ribs, you won’t be able to chew a few pieces of meat, right? What kind of man are you, bullying such a weakling! Fuck, you’re not even a human being! Stop bullying him, can’t you just let him go to school? Come at me if you have the guts! If you take me, I’ll have enough meat for you!”

Li Xiu listened to Fang Qian’an’s fury in astonishment, and his eyes reddened in the darkness.

“Fang Qian’an, don’t be like this, don’t talk nonsense…..”

He hugged Fang Qian’an unconsciously, trembling in panic.

“Do. Not. Bully. Him!”

In the thick darkness, Fang Qian’an roared over and over, like an echo.

---

The author has something to say:

The self-esteem of high school boys is like…..

I can be a puppy.

But I can’t be impotent.

---

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Chapter 44 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 46