👻Chapter 1: Ancient Mansion👻
When she was caught by those prosecutors and thrown into Yulin District Prison, Luo Yuan once thought she would soon be taken to the execution platform and executed by the adjudicators.
However, after half a month in the Yulin District Prison, her fate suddenly took an unexpected turn.
“You see, these are all death row inmates who have met your requirements,” the supervisor in charge of guarding them said to the man next to him, in a flattering tone that he had never used before.
The man was dressed in a formal suit and was meticulously groomed, his gaze fell on the prisoners in the room with undisguised pickiness. Despite speaking politely, his entire demeanor exuded a sense of superiority.
“Is this all?” he asked, seemingly unimpressed with them.
Luo Yuan didn’t know what they were here for. Like everyone else that morning, she was asked to change into clean clothes and then herded into this cage to wait.
The supervisor, bending slightly, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with an apologetic smile, “As you know, last month happened to be the execution month. The batch of death row inmates from then has already been dealt with. This batch has only been here for the past half month, so the numbers are a bit low.”
The conversation between the two men outside was clearly heard by the death row inmates in the cage. This group consisted of both men and women, brought in for crimes such as murder, robbery, or rape. Some of them were bold and clever.
Most of them would face execution soon, and at most, they would only survive until next year’s execution month. But the man outside gave them a glimmer of hope. He seemed to want to choose a death row inmate from among them to do something. No matter what he wanted them to do, it was definitely better than waiting for death in this prison.
“I don’t know what the gentleman wants us to do, but if he chooses me, I’m willing to do anything,” a man inside the cage quickly stepped forward to speak.
As he approached the side of the cage, the formally dressed man outside frowned slightly as he neared. He pretentiously took out a handkerchief to cover his nose, showing no intention of engaging in conversation. The supervisor standing next to him seemed to receive some signal. He straightened up instantly, no longer groveling. In a moment, he reverted to his usual arrogant self, extended the electric baton in his hand into the cage, and fiercely struck the man down to the ground.
“Who allowed you to speak? Shut up! Get down on the ground!”
The other inmates, who had been restless, retreated one after another, unwilling to incur the wrath upon themselves like the unfortunate man.
Luo Yuan also stepped back. She stood at the back of the crowd, like a shadow from beginning to end, neither speaking nor moving, quietly staying in the corner, timid and unassuming.
Throughout her more than twenty years in this world, she had always been like this—ordinary, plain, hardworking, seemingly easy to bully, a commonplace woman.
She dared not volunteer herself nor dared to think about the identity of the man outside, or what he intended to do. She just hoped for it to end quickly and return to the prison. But—
A black cat suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Original translation only on WhimsicalReads.com, if reading elsewhere, know that it was plagiarised/taken without our consent. Please support us by reading on our site.
The black cat leisurely walked past her, its long tail brushing against her foot. Luo Yuan widened her eyes slightly, unclear how a black cat could suddenly appear out of nowhere. It moved so silently as if materializing out of thin air.
“That woman inside,” the voice of the well-dressed man was penetrating, piercing into Luo Yuan’s ears.
Luo Yuan felt the crowd in front of her disperse, and the ground under her feet suddenly brightened. She couldn’t help but slowly raise her head.
The man in the suit pointed at her from afar, “You, woman, come over here.”
In the corner of her eye, the black cat suddenly vanished as if it were an illusion.
Under the supervisor’s scolding, Luo Yuan walked to the front of the cage, looked at the two men outside, and lowered her head somewhat awkwardly.
The man in the suit looked her up and down, asking, “What crime did she commit?”
The supervisor immediately flipped through the notebook he carried with him and quickly answered, “Murder.”
The man in the suit was somewhat surprised, seeming to find it hard to believe that such a seemingly honest and petite woman could commit murder. “Her? Murder?”
“Yes, she killed three people—a well-known university professor, a business tycoon, and a somewhat famous actor. She stabbed them multiple times and severed their limbs and heads. She’s a vicious murderer,” the supervisor supplied.
“Very well, then her.”
Luo Yuan was separately escorted out by the supervisor. Subsequently, she saw the man in the suit choose three others. including her, a total of four were chosen, two men and two women. They were taken to wash again, changed into new clothes, and then led out of the prison.
Seeing the gate of the Yulin District Prison, along with the grey-white walls and bright red barriers, Luo Yuan felt as if she were in another world. She never thought she would come out alive, all of this felt surreal.
A high-end spacious car that they had never ridden in before took them away from Yulin District Prison and onto a main road. The bustling high-rises and the crisscrossing lanes were chaotic yet orderly, and everyone living here followed the rules. Yet, on this usually congested street, this car had some sort of
privilege. It passed through the central area without stopping for any traffic lights, smoothly reaching its destination.
The car drove for a long time, and no one inside spoke, creating a suffocating silence. Finally, the female inmates sitting next to Luo Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we going?”
In addition to the man in the suit from earlier, there was another man in the car who looked quite young. He was also dressed in a suit, smiling as if he were in a good mood. Hearing this question, he glanced at the four uneasy prisoners and chuckled, “For you guys, it’s a great thing.”
The eyes of one of the male prisoners lit up, and he asked eagerly, “What kind of good thing?”
The man in the suit, who spoke earlier, impatiently interrupted their conversation, “Shut up, it’s so noisy.”The smiling man innocently spread his hands, shutting up and not speaking again. The others didn’t dare to ask any more questions, but anticipation grew in their hearts. Since it’s not a bad thing, but a good thing, what kind of good thing could it be?
Original translation only on WhimsicalReads.com, if reading elsewhere, know that it was plagiarised/taken without our consent. Please support us by reading on our site.
Only Luo Yuan still felt uneasy, but she didn’t dare to speak up, and obediently sat in her place waiting for what would happen next.
As dusk approached, the car slowly drove into a forest. The crisp scent of trees mixed with the smell of decay began wafting in through the slightly open windows. Luo Yuan silently looked out the window, somewhat uncertain whether this was still the Yulin District where she had lived for more than twenty years. The Yulin District had been fully developed; there shouldn’t have been such large forests anymore.
At intervals along the wide and clean mountain road, there were gatehouses spanning overhead. The car drove too fast for Luo Yuan to see the appearance of these gatehouses clearly, but she could see that red lanterns hung on each gatehouse, their two red lights glowing in the dusk like the gradually awakening eyes of monsters.
Finally, the car stopped in front of a massive gatehouse. Luo Yuan and the others stepped out of the vehicle, lifting their heads to gaze at the imposing structure before them. The three-tiered roof was supported by red-painted stone pillars, on which many strange patterns without specific shapes were carved. The complex interplay of lines and shapes seemed to dance and blur, leaving one feeling dizzy and disoriented if stared at for too long. As if eroded by wind and rain, the mottled red stains on the columns appeared almost like blood, slowly trickling downward.
The two formally dressed men, who had appeared arrogant and frivolous in the car, stepped out as well. Upon seeing the elderly couple standing by the gate, holding red lanterns, they hurriedly bowed and paid their respects, behaving like filial grandchildren*.
[*乖得像一对孙子 (guāi de xiàng yī duì sūnzi) lit. “as obedient as a pair of grandchildren.” This phrase is used to describe someone who is exceptionally obedient or well-behaved, similar to how grandchildren often behave well and follow instructions from their grandparents.]
They were two elderly ladies with greying hair, wearing white skirts. The two didn’t look alike, but their similar attire and the same expressionless face made them appear almost identical at first glance. One of them waved to Luo Yuan and the other three then turned around and led the way into the gatehouse.
As for the two men who had brought them here, they said nothing. Their expressions were reverent and solemn. They quickly returned to the car, turned around, and drove away, like deliverymen who had completed their task.
In this strange place, with these strange people, at this twilight witching hour*, the four convicts watched the departing car and then looked at the guide in front of them. They hesitated but had no choice but to follow the two old ladies into the gatehouse as if they were willingly offering themselves into the monster’s mouth.
[*逢魔时刻 (féng mó shíkè) lit translates to “encounter demon moment” in English. However, its idiomatic meaning refers to the “witching hour,” a time traditionally associated with supernatural events or mysterious happenings, typically occurring at midnight or during the late hours of the night.]
The architecture within the gatehouse surprised the four of them once again.
Most places outside had already been developed with bustling high-rises. Buildings made of wood and tiles like this seemed to be a style from hundreds of years ago or even earlier; relics from centuries ago that had long disappeared from the daily lives of ordinary people. Even in various TV dramas, they had never seen such a large and luxurious ancient mansion.
Original translation only on WhimsicalReads.com, if reading elsewhere, know that it was plagiarised/taken without our consent. Please support us by reading on our site.
Being in this environment, they felt as if they had traversed through time, and even the world seemed to be in disarray. Their fear and doubt grew with each passing moment.
One door after another they walked, past gloomy and mottled tree shadows, silent corridors, and deserted courtyards. Like shadows, the two elders lead the way and brought them into the interior of the labyrinthine ancient mansion, and to a very strange courtyard.
The entire courtyard resembled the Chinese character for mouth*, with four rooms in four directions, and a slightly smaller building in the center. Unlike the ancient buildings they had seen along the way, Luo Yuan felt that the building in the middle in the shape of a mouth resembled an enlarged shrine – she had once seen this style of shrine with her sister in a certain folk museum. It was said to be the highest standard of a shrine.
[*口 is the Chinese character for mouth.]
“You all will each reside in one of these four rooms,” one of the elderly ladies said.
She stood there, her slightly cloudy eyes looking at them, with an emotionless gaze. She looked at them like they were lifeless objects*, making them deeply uncomfortable from the bottom of their hearts.
[*像看着死物一样的眼神” (xiàng kàn zhe sǐwù yīyàng de yǎnshén) translates to “eyes that look at dead things” in English. This phrase describes a gaze that is cold, detached, and devoid of emotion as if the person is looking at lifeless objects rather than living beings. It implies a lack of empathy or connection with the subject being observed.]
All four of them were frightened by this eerie place and unconsciously did as bid. Under her gaze, they obediently entered the four rooms in the courtyard.
Luo Yuan entered the room on the right. The room was very spacious and empty, with a smooth and clean floor. The walls were painted red, and the beams were made of stacked wood. Due to the poor lighting, she couldn’t see what was carved on the walls.
Footsteps sounded outside the door, it was the two old ladies. They walked along the corridor and one by one, closed the four doors. The gentle click of the closing door inexplicably made Luo Yuan’s heart jump.
The sky had completely darkened, and the room became enveloped in darkness, with only a faint light filtering through the window lattice. Luo Yuan couldn’t help but lean towards the door crack and peek out, seeing two red lights leaving the courtyard. Those were the two old ladies carrying lanterns, leaving from the small door they had entered earlier, which should now be locked, as she heard the sound of the lock. When they entered the courtyard just now, she had noticed the lock on that small door. There were two locks, both very thick and heavy.
Luo Yuan hugged herself in the darkness, looking around the empty, dark room. She always felt like something would quietly appear from the darkness, perhaps a pair of hands suddenly grabbing her feet, or perhaps strands of hair suddenly hanging down from the beams in front of her. She couldn’t control her imagination nor help but shrink into a ball.
After an unknown period of silence, she heard the sound of a door opening. One of the four people had opened a door, likely a man, his footsteps in the corridor were particularly heavy, and even when he deliberately tried to lighten them, they were still loud.
That person went to knock on the neighbouring door and said in a low voice, “Open the door, come out!”
“Hey! Everyone, hurry up and come out. What kind of ghost place is this? Are you really going to spend the night hiding in your room? Come out so we can discuss what to do!”
Through the crack of the door, Luo Yuan saw the blurry figure of a man standing in front of the next door. She pursed her lips, recognizing him as the tallest man among the four.
In such an eerie environment, it indeed felt safer to be with others, but… this man was convicted for raping and killing more than a dozen women. The man, unable to open the door, cursed as he walked towards her room. Luo Yuan quickly raised her hand and firmly pressed the door shut.
At that moment, in the profound darkness, a dim red light flickered to life—inside the central shrine-like building.