【I have a haunted house】Chapter 13: Is the Heavens Out to Get Me?

Nick was intently staring at his phone screen, watching as the wheel slowed to a crawl. With a soft click, the needle finally stopped at a certain position.

"Lottery completed, congratulations! You’ve won a rare special item: The Cursed Love Letter (3 in 1,000 chance)!"

"With bulging eyes and a pale face, she became the forbidden figure of the campus the moment she fell from the high tower. The red dancing shoes, the blood-soaked uniform, and even her name were all subjects of taboo. People pretended to forget until one day, someone else received her love letter..."

"First lottery win: a vengeful ghost, unlocking a rare title: 'The Ghost’s Chosen.'"

"'The Ghost’s Chosen': When wearing this title, there is a chance to receive the vengeful ghost’s aid."

Seeing the message on his phone, Nick suddenly felt as though the air had been sucked out of his lungs. "A cursed love letter? A 3-in-1,000 chance? The Ghost’s Chosen? And I still haven’t figured out that monster in the mirror, and now I’ve drawn a vengeful ghost?! Is the universe trying to get rid of me?!"

Regret washed over him. He shouldn’t have jinxed himself before the draw. "Calm down! Don’t panic. This isn’t the worst it can get. Just because I drew a vengeful ghost doesn’t mean it’ll appear right away. I still have time to fix this. Maybe I should go to the nearby temple and get an oracle."

He put his phone away, about to slip it into his pocket, when his fingers brushed against something.

Looking down, Nick found a yellowed letter, inexplicably stuffed into his pocket. A sense of dread crept over him as he shakily pulled it out. The words, woven from hair, formed a chilling message: "I like you."

"Calm down my ass! What is this nonsense? If you like me, can I switch careers?"

The delicate handwriting, so graceful and lively, would have been more charming had it not been woven from hair.

Nick stood in the western chamber, holding the letter, his face ashen. "I can hardly believe that the first love letter I’ve ever received came in this form."

"Boss! What are you mumbling to yourself about?" Xiao Wan entered the room, having just finished placing the paper effigies in the main hall.

"It's nothing," Nick said, looking up at Xiao Wan's made-up face. "I was just thinking... if someone knows their end is near, should they let go of all their attachments and do something meaningful?"

Xiao Wan’s expression grew thoughtful, her demeanor becoming serious.

"Xiao Wan, wait, are you agreeing to that? No, I’m not ready! This is a bit too sudden, don’t you think? Though, we’ve been working together for a long time, and if we really had to—" Nick suddenly felt nervous for reasons he couldn’t explain.

"No, boss, you misunderstood," Xiao Wan said, her fingers pointing behind him. "When I came in, I saw two shadows behind you. I was just curious. Is this part of the new project for our haunted house?"

"Two shadows?!"

Nick turned around, only to see two shadows—one large and one small—slowly converging. Eventually, they melded into one.

"WTF!"

Without thinking, Nick grabbed Xiao Wan’s hand and ran toward the door of the haunted house.

Once outside in the sunlight, Nick finally calmed down. He didn’t explain the situation to Xiao Wan and instead sat down on the steps outside the haunted house.

"Boss, you've been looking over your shoulder a lot lately. Is the pressure getting to you?" Xiao Wan sat beside him. "You need to stop stressing yourself out. Everything will be okay. What do you want for lunch? I’ll go get it for you."

Nick didn’t know how to respond. He forced a smile and said, "Just get whatever you’re having. And you should go take off your makeup, so the chef doesn’t get scared."

"Okay!"

As Xiao Wan left, Nick took the cursed love letter and brought it closer to his eyes. "I saw two shadows merging together. Does this mean the vengeful ghost has latched onto me? Is it hiding in my shadow right now?"

Where there’s sunlight, there are shadows. Nick stared at his own shadow, his eyes unblinking. "I’ve got the ‘Ghost’s Chosen’ title, and it gives me a chance to receive aid from the vengeful ghost. If this title really works, then maybe drawing a vengeful ghost isn’t such a bad thing."

He tried to reassure himself, though deep down, he knew the truth. Vengeful ghosts were called such for a reason: they were filled with resentment and curses from the moment of their death. Dealing with such a creature, even slightly mishandling the situation, could lead to a tragic end.

After lunch, Nick sat outside the haunted house, holding a flyer, watching as tourists passed by. Many were curious, but few dared to enter.

With nothing else to do, Nick opened his short video profile and noticed dozens of new private messages. After filtering out the spam and insults, he replied to the remaining ones. Soon, he found a message from Diff.

The earnest and unassuming forensic student had messaged him privately, saying that their school’s forum had exploded. A group of senior students, upon hearing that the campus beauty had been scared to tears, were gearing up to storm the haunted house. Some had even started a campaign, with over ten students signing up.

"Being young is nice," Nick mused, a smirk creeping onto his face as he imagined a dozen hormonally charged young men trembling in a huddle inside his haunted house.

"Once the trial task is over, I’ll let them try out the new scene. Let’s see what a one-star horror scene on a review app is really like."

His thoughts turned back to the trial task. It was a one-time opportunity—fail, and the corresponding horror scene would never be unlocked.

He pulled out his black phone, committing the task details to memory.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated," he muttered as he began to search for information about the location online.

"Xijiang City, West Suburb, Ping'an Apartment..."

Searching just the location name didn’t yield anything. After several pages of browsing, Nick finally found some information on a local second-hand property website.

It was a complaint about the building: the seller had hidden the truth, and the apartment was a notorious haunted house. When they stripped the walls, they found old bloodstains, and there was always a strange, foul smell every night. The complaint had been ignored, and nothing came of it. Nick noted the date—it had been posted nine months ago.

"Spending one night in a real haunted house and finding the hidden killer? This task is going to be tough," Nick thought to himself. He had studied toy design in college and was good at handiwork, but investigation and deduction were far from his strengths.

"I’m not afraid of the haunted house, but what if the killer lives next door? At midnight, turning me into their prey?"