The King of Curses

Chapter 4 Haunted Mansion
"Well, we can't go on like this. It won't sound good if people tell others about it. If the merchants in the building run away, that would be a real loss."

"What should I do?"

"Take it easy for a while. How about... you take over for me during this period of time?"

"I?"

The security guard named Qin's face wrinkled into a ball and he quickly shook his head to refuse.

"I still have to go home and take care of my wife and children."

In fact, everyone knows the whole story. Even if they have never seen it with their own eyes, they are skeptical about ghost stories. However, most people would not dare to get close just by hearing rumors about it, let alone stay in it for a whole night.

Uncle Li couldn't force it, so he thought that the position could only be vacant temporarily.

But if a thief breaks in and causes theft of store property, or if an accident happens when no one is around at night, he won't be able to take responsibility either.

"Hello."

When Uncle Li and the security guard were in distress, they suddenly heard someone talking to them.

Turning around, they saw a young man pushing a bicycle looking at them with a smile.

"I'm here to work part-time. Night security, right?"

"You are... a college student?"

The security guard looked up and down, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yeah, I just finished my freshman year."

Cen Dongsheng smiled in a simple and honest way.

"Isn't it summer vacation now? Come out and find a part-time job."

Uncle Li and the security guard Qin looked at each other. They were just worried about having no one to help them, so this guy really came as a timely help.

"I have heard what you two said just now."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"Ah, you heard it?" The security guard named Qin was surprised, "Then you..."

"It's okay. I'm not afraid of those ghosts and gods." He replied, "I have been brave since I was a child."

"Okay! That's great!"

Uncle Li was very happy.

"That's true. You young guys must be very hot-tempered. Ghosts will avoid you when they see you."

Cen Dongsheng just smiled and didn't answer.

There is indeed such a saying, but unfortunately, most people’s understanding of ghosts is biased and should not be taken seriously.

Compared with the various knowledge summarized and tested by scientific methods in later generations, the folk rumors in the past can only be described as "knowing it but not knowing why."

Young people have vigorous blood and abundant "yang qi" in their bodies, which symbolizes living life. Even if ordinary people do not know how to refine and use it, they can still unconsciously cause damage to the lowest level of floating spirits. But on the other hand, if they encounter a vicious ghost, the naturally produced "yang qi" in their bodies is too strong, and it will only be treated as a delicious bun.

After a brief chat during the interview, Uncle Li agreed without hesitation.

"The night shift allowance here is very high, and we will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Uncle Li waved his hand.

"Come on, Xiao Qin, take him to get familiar with the work."

"it is good."

The security guard looked at Cen Dongsheng with a strange look, walked over and said to him:

"You come with me."

……

After Uncle Li left, the senior took him to the dressing room to get his uniform and briefly introduced the next work.

His working hours are from the closing time of the mall at 11pm to the opening time at 7am, after which someone will come to take over his shift.

The patrol interval is every 2 hours, and patrol equipment such as flashlights and walkie-talkies must be equipped. After the patrol, they must immediately return to the post along the route, check the property safety and surrounding environment, and fill out the night patrol log.

"The main thing is to check the passage doors before the store closes. In addition, places like equipment storage areas, temporary power boxes and cables need to be inspected in detail."

The security guard named Qin took him around the places he should go.

Although it was still daytime, I could still feel the dark and damp atmosphere when I passed through some unlit corridors. Some bathrooms were usually closed off with wooden boards, with building materials and paint buckets randomly placed next to them, and the dim light bulbs hanging in front of the doors flickered.

Cen Dongsheng asked casually, and the security guard replied that the shopping mall had just been renovated and the shops had not yet been rented out. Some areas were not open to customers, so they were not cleaned up for the time being.

After returning to the sentry post, security guard Brother Qin was already preparing to go off work.

"Xiao Cen, are you really not afraid of ghosts?"

Before leaving, he couldn't help but ask.

"Correct."

Cen Dongsheng said.

He thought to himself, if there really is a ghost, I’m here to encounter one.

"Okay then." Brother Qin sighed, "If you have any questions, please use the intercom to contact us in time. There are people guarding the monitoring room and the parking lot. If you encounter something you don't understand, you can call and ask. Originally, we were supposed to work in groups of two, but we are really short-handed here, so I can only rely on you."

"Ok, I know."

*
"Click."

The clock on the wall shows twelve o'clock.

The noisy voices in the shopping mall gradually died down.

The customers and pedestrians who came to shop and stroll have dispersed, all the shops have closed their doors, and most of the lights in the corridors and passages have been turned off.

Occasionally a car would pass by the road outside the building, the honking of its horn breaking the quiet of the night, and then silence would return to normal.

The ten-square-meter security booth has a simple camp bed, a folding chair, a thermos and a wardrobe. There is a radio and potted plants on the table, as well as an old small TV with noise jumping on the snowy screen.

Cen Dongsheng opened his eyes from meditation again.

He put on his hat, picked up the flashlight, and walked out the door with steady steps.

His movements were swift and decisive, and in the eyes of some experienced people, they might be able to see that the young man had received special training.

The flashlight's aperture was large or small, swaying back and forth in a regular pattern, passing over every corner of the corridor.

The shutter door fell, the empty passage, the dark and empty space, the quiet atmosphere...

Occasionally, I can hear the sound of water dripping from somewhere, and I don’t know if it’s because the faucet is not closed tightly or if it’s just an auditory hallucination.

He maintained a slow breathing rhythm, consciously accumulating strength in his body.

If he is "lucky", he might encounter his first battle since his rebirth tonight...

Although it is called a battle, in reality Cen Dongsheng has not yet mastered any spells, and the power he possesses is at a low level.

The good news is that since the shopping mall is open from day to night, he doesn't think it's haunted, so it's not too dangerous.

In this day and age, true haunted houses are still relatively rare, and once discovered, the government will most likely choose to keep it secret.

In the era when the war between ghosts and humans had not yet come to the surface, in order to avoid causing panic among the masses, the upper echelons often adopted means of information blockade.

He had anticipated this when he made the decision to scout out the area.

The core of the "haunted house phenomenon" - whether it is some kind of curse, a forbidden object, or simply powerful Yin Qi, it often resides in the most powerful ghost inside the haunted house. As long as it is defeated, the haunted house can be exorcised and the corresponding spoils can be obtained at the same time.

This process is very familiar to Cen Dongsheng.

However, although the Yin Qi currently gathered in the building is not enough to distort the space, it can still attract low-level ghosts, which means that there is indeed something hidden inside this commercial building. ... As long as the rumors of "haunting" are true.

As for the ghosts themselves, I can only say that I have a barely chance of dealing with them now.

If you want to be one step ahead, you always have to take some risks.

"Tap tap tap."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the silent corridor.

The internal map of the building was memorized by Cen Dongsheng when the security guard took him around. This was a trained instinct for him.

Therefore, no matter where he went, he could review his actions in his mind: he had already passed about one-third of the patrol route, and his current location should be in the northeast area of ​​the third floor. The shops concentrated here were mainly men's and women's clothing...

"Crack."

A strange muffled sound suddenly rang in his ears, interrupting his thoughts.

Cen Dongsheng stopped immediately. In an instant, the long and deep corridor became silent.

All that was left was the movement of the flashlight in his hand, and the aperture slowly turned to the direction where the sound came from.

Behind the grid of the rolling shutter door is a glass door, behind the glass door is a clothing store, and...

Dummy model.

The half-body mannequin has no face and wears a wide-brimmed hat on its head.

"Crack."

There was another familiar sound, and Cen Dongsheng felt that he was not mistaken. The dummy that was supposed to stand there motionless... actually shook.

"Crack."

The dummy's head swayed to the side again, slightly but clearly visible, and definitely not an illusion.

It was as if "it" suddenly came to life and was moving its neck joints with a "clang, clang" sound.

There is no doubt that this is a horrifying scene beyond common sense.

When faced with sudden unknown fear, people often show their truest side.

Some people will be so scared that they freeze in place, some will be so scared that they run away screaming and howling, and some will take the initiative to commit violent acts. If they are too scared, they will turn into anger and rush up to try to fight the other party...

But Cen Dongsheng's reaction did not fall into any of the above categories.

He didn't move, but he didn't freeze either. Instead, he locked his shoulders and hunched his body slightly, like a runner standing at the starting line.

His eyes were fixed on the direction of the dummy, with alertness and concentration in them, but without fear, just like an experienced snake catcher facing a hissing venomous snake that was scaring others.

This stalemate lasted for several minutes until the dummy's neck turned about 90 degrees and stopped moving.

A pale figure suddenly disappeared behind the model.

"……Oh."

The corners of Cen Dongsheng's mouth rose slightly, his eyes still paying attention to the direction of the dummy, but his body had already turned back.

"A wild cat?...I must have seen it wrong."

He muttered to himself and continued walking further down the corridor.

Although he said "wild cat", he certainly didn't really think that the sudden change was caused by the cat.

On the contrary, Cen Dongsheng could almost confirm that this was the work of ghosts; but judging from this kind of pretending to be a ghost, it was of a relatively low-level type.

Like the forbidden masters, ghosts and monsters are also divided into four levels according to their dangerousness, namely "A, B, C, and D". Those higher than that will not easily appear in this era.

The four types of ghosts are four levels, or four types:

A-level ghosts are often the core of a haunted house, and have the basic ability to manipulate the internal space of the haunted house. They are super-dangerous monsters that he could not exorcise independently before his rebirth;

Class B ghosts, also known as "evil ghosts", are characterized by their strong ability to interfere with the physical world, creating hallucinations and possessing humans, which is also basic for them;

Class C ghosts, also known as "lonely souls", are characterized by a certain degree of intelligence and can even communicate with people. They often look similar to the deceased when they were alive.
The lowest level of ghosts, also known as "floating spirits", have the most uniform characteristics. They are almost all "white, glowing, and faceless", which means that floating spirits do not even have a real self and often appear in groups based on instinct.

"If there really was a ghost of the level of a fierce ghost, I would have run away now. Fortunately, there wasn't one."

Cen Dongsheng took a deep breath and continued forward.

*
"If you were to say the most suspicious place in this building, it would naturally be the west area."

The reason was that part of the wall in that direction was still covered with scaffolding and plastic sheets and had not been renovated yet. He had noticed this on the way here.

If the "curse" he was looking for was hidden in an area open to customers, then the building would not be so peaceful, and the victims would not be limited to a few security guards on night patrol.

Walking along the corridor, he finally stopped in a place that was completely blocked by plastic sheeting.

Cen Dongsheng thought about it and decided not to make too much noise, so he changed direction and walked towards the nearby bathroom.

He had just taken a few steps closer when he heard faint crying sounds coming from the direction of the women's restroom.

Subtle sobs, mixed with sobs and filled with sadness.

No wonder... Cen Dongsheng remembered the experience of the security guard before him.

In this sense, this man is considered brave. Most people would have collapsed by now, let alone muster up the courage to go in and check the situation.

While thinking, Cen Dongsheng walked into the women's restroom without hesitation.

He tried to turn on the light, but the bulb above his head only flickered twice and then dimmed again.

He turned on the faucet again, washed his hands, and bent down to rub his face.

When he raised his head again, he felt much more refreshed. After shaking off the water droplets on his hair, he observed his face in the dim light.

He looked at himself in the mirror, and not far behind him, a thin woman in an old white dress was standing there quietly.

Long, dry hair fell in front of her, covering the woman's entire face; she stood in the corner with a slightly hunched back.

If you turn around at this moment, you will find...

There was nothing in that corner.

Cen Dongsheng didn't say anything, nor did he shout out, he just stared at her in silence.

Time seemed to slow down suddenly.

After a period of silence, he suddenly grinned and made a face at "her" in the mirror.

"..."

Well, there was no response.

It is most likely the same person who tried to scare him with the dummy just now.

Cen Dongsheng turned off the faucet and pretended not to see it, walking past the corner where the female ghost in white was.

……

Between the two toilets, he noticed a collapsed low wall that had not been completely filled up, so he simply stepped over the wall and got to the other side.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Cen Dongsheng felt a chill crawling up his spine; at the same time, because of the obstruction of the plastic sheet, no light from the outside world could penetrate, and the surroundings became pitch dark.

He felt like he was in an abyss.

However, it was this kind of environment that made Cen Dongsheng smile involuntarily.

"found it."

He whispered excitedly.

——The strong and special "Qi" emitted by the high-level spell without being sealed was clearly reflected in his senses.

(End of this chapter)