Chapter 2: Haunted House Vlog

“Cough, cough…”

Hua Qi’an gently covered her mouth with her hand, coughing a few times.

After calming down, she licked her slightly dry lips.

Has the temperature dropped recently?

For some reason, she always felt a bit cold.

Clearly, the temperature in the room was fine just now, so why did it change as soon as she stepped out…

Instinctively, she pulled her jacket tighter around herself.

Not only that, but the air felt thick with dust.

Her coughing earlier wasn’t just due to the temperature—the main reason was actually the dust choking her.

Hua Qi’an frowned and waved her hand in front of her, as if trying to scatter the dust before her.

When she arrived at this Mansion yesterday by subway and walking, it was already late.

So she hastily found a room with a bed, opened the window a bit to let the air and dust out, tidied up the bedding, and then fell asleep.

She didn’t even bother to check the state of the other rooms in the Mansion.

Hua Qi’an walked from the stairs to the Main Hall, opened all the windows she could find, then pushed open the old, rusty Mansion door.

Sunlight streamed in through the entrance. It was about seven or eight in the morning, and though the light wasn’t as strong as at noon, it was sufficient.

As soon as the door opened, the dust inside rushed outward.

She had been choked badly by it when she entered yesterday, too.

Now that the windows were open and the air circulating, things were a bit better.

She had actually looked up the address of this haunted Mansion online.

This area had been a Fuyin District a few years ago.

But when Hua Qi’an arrived, all she saw along the way was desolation.

Forget people, there weren’t even any birds.

At that time, it was already night. Despite the many apartment buildings, not a single one had its lights on.

Obviously, the residents nearby had all moved away…

Yet there was not a single piece of information about it online, as if someone had deliberately erased all traces.

No news is also a kind of news.

But it made sense. If there really were any stories online, a Mansion hyped as a “haunted house” would have already become a hotspot for all kinds of paranormal streamers. The dust couldn’t possibly be so thick.

Whether that was good or bad was unclear.

To be honest, she had been worried this job might be a scam or something, but after seeing it in person, she realized this place did exude a strange vibe everywhere…

Maybe the other party hadn’t tricked her.

But… in a Mansion without even a “Story,” how was she supposed to film a so-called “haunted house Vlog”?

Though this part-time job was unfamiliar and a bit odd to her…

Hua Qi’an was still determined to do her best.

So on the way over, she’d watched several “ghost-hunting” videos.

They all started with an introduction to some terrifying paranormal Story, then moved on to exploring all sorts of broken-down Abandoned Buildings.

Her place didn’t even have a background Story, nor did it qualify as a “dilapidated” Abandoned Building. Would anyone even watch a video filmed here?

Other than the dust, this Mansion was actually quite luxurious and elegant—nothing like rundown at all.

The Courtyard alone covered over a thousand square meters, though it was overgrown with weeds and trees, clearly left unattended for years.

Hua Qi’an had almost gotten lost just trying to find the Mansion.

It was obvious the original owner had been wealthy or powerful.

What kind of event could have made everyone in an entire area move out…?

Hua Qi’an couldn’t guess no matter how hard she thought.

She had tried asking the HR who sent her the Recruitment Information, but they said it was confidential.

Sigh.

Maybe she should just film it like a regular Vlog.

Before she knew it, Hua Qi’an had crossed the large Courtyard and reached the entrance.

A pile of Grass Vine had fallen by the gate, once wrapped around the door itself.

With no one left in the area, there were naturally no Security Guards or Doormen to stop her.

Hua Qi’an had simply climbed over the iron gate.

The Grass Vine must have been trampled down by her then.

Hua Qi’an pulled out her phone, cleared the background apps, then opened the Camera, holding it up to check the lens quality.

To film, she definitely needed to start from the entrance.

She hadn’t prepared any professional filming equipment—the phone was her only tool.

After all, who would spend money on gear for a job…

She hadn’t even gotten her first paycheck yet.

At this stage, being able to record a video should be enough to fulfill the job.

Anyway, since it was a haunted house, maybe lower pixels would be even better.

The Camera captured the overgrown, desolate Courtyard in its entirety.

“Hello, everyone. It’s around 8 a.m. Today, I’ll be spending a day in this so-called haunted Mansion to see what happens.”

Hua Qi’an didn’t have much experience filming these types of videos, so her introduction was dry and brief.

HR hadn’t required her to be talkative.

“As you can see, this is just the entrance to the Courtyard.”

“Now we’ll cross the yard and head to the main house.”

Her voice was clear and cool, like a clean spring, without much inflection.

It was as if she wasn’t describing a haunted house, but just an ordinary family’s Mansion.

Only, this spring now seemed a little parched, tinged with hoarseness.

A Courtyard this big wasn’t exactly ordinary.

Hua Qi’an held up her phone, filming as she walked, capturing the scenery on both sides.

The Courtyard was vast, probably a thousand square meters, so there were many forks in the path.

But Hua Qi’an already knew the route from the gate to the Mansion, so she made her way to the front door without much detour.

Last night it was too dark, and this morning she’d just gone straight from the Courtyard entrance, so she hadn’t even gotten a good look at the Mansion.

Now, seeing it properly, it was indeed impressive.

The Mansion’s doors were tightly shut.

The old-fashioned doors were adorned with ornate and complex patterns.

Hua Qi’an couldn’t tell what the designs were.

The cold gray exterior wall had a spiral staircase leading up to the second-floor balcony, and the Glass Window shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

Just by the appearance, there was no way to tell this was a “haunted house” abandoned for years.

An ordinary person would never be able to earn enough for even one brick here in a lifetime.

Hua Qi’an had no desire to interact much with the future “audience” of her video.

She simply walked straight toward the Mansion entrance, phone in hand.

She reached out and tugged on the tightly closed door, but it didn’t budge.

“……”

It already felt odd earlier.

She remembered opening the door to let the dust out before she left.

Why was it closed again now?

Did the wind blow it shut?

Hua Qi’an blamed the wind for the door being closed.

She tried the handle again, but it still wouldn’t move an inch.

Jammed?

Considering that, Hua Qi’an didn’t waste any more energy on the door and turned to check the other windows on the first floor.

If she couldn’t get in through the door, she’d go through a window.

“……”

“The wind must have blown everything shut just now.”

Looking at the similarly sealed window, Hua Qi’an pressed her lips together.

Because she was filming while walking, all her attention was on the Camera lens.

In the lens, the tightly closed window reflected her face, partially obscured by the phone.

Hua Qi’an shifted her gaze from the phone to the actual window behind it.

She reached out and tried pushing the window.

Thankfully.

Unlike the door, the window wasn’t jammed.

“Squeak——”

It let out a harsh scraping sound as it opened.

It seemed as if a shadow flashed by.

The smell of long-uninhabited dust and familiar dampness wafted from the room behind the opened window.

Her arm suddenly felt cold.

As if something fell from the top of the window frame.

Hua Qi’an shuddered, as if shocked by electricity, and immediately drew her hand to her chest.

“This is…”

A strand of water grass, still wet and dripping, had just landed on her wrist.