My consciousness suddenly returned, and I didn't even understand what environment I was in.
Then I saw the masked woman who had ridden the ghost carriage with me two days prior.
Her eyes were beautiful, her lashes long, and she wore light makeup.
Although I couldn't see her full face, I felt she was stunningly beautiful.
She looked at me, her brow slightly furrowed.
With one hand, she removed the rope that had been around my neck.
"What are you waiting for! Hurry up and go..."
The masked woman urged me on, pulling me to my feet.
Her hands were cold, and she seemed anxious.
Though I was still a bit dazed,
I understood that this was no place to linger.
This masked woman was saving me.
"Alright, alright..."
I repeatedly agreed and followed the masked woman as we rushed out of the dilapidated building.
But after only a few steps, I heard the voice of the disfigured ghost:
"You wretched woman, don't ruin my good deed!"
As soon as she spoke, I felt the surrounding temperature plummet.
It was as if we had suddenly entered an ice cellar.
Immediately, creaking sounds echoed through the dilapidated building.
It was like an earthquake; the entire structure shook, and people swayed.
Charred wooden beams rained down with loud cracks, narrowly missing us several times.
Furthermore, I made a strange observation.
This unfamiliar, dilapidated building seemed to be alive.
The walls trembled, and the stairs writhed.
I thought I was seeing things and rubbed my eyes.
But the more I rubbed, the more the surroundings seemed to writhe.
It felt surreal, like a dream.
Yet, I knew with absolute certainty that this was no dream; it was all real.
I was now completely awake.
I must have been disoriented after the ghost throttled me.
In my daze, the disfigured ghost had brought me into the dilapidated building.
The rope around my neck was meant to hang me here, to be their substitute.
Fortunately, the masked woman appeared and saved me.
At this moment, the masked woman held my hand tightly.
Without a word, she kept running forward.
Despite the surrounding building twisting and contorting, she managed to find the correct path.
We rushed from the third floor, down the dilapidated stairs, all the way to the first.
During this process, I completely lost my sense of direction.
My head spun, and I was too disoriented to see the path clearly.
At times, it felt like we were running backward, other times like we were running on the ceiling, and sometimes it felt like we were passing straight through walls.
Now, I saw a large door ahead, beyond which lay the outside of the dilapidated building.
Stepping through the door, we should be able to escape the haunted structure.
However, as we approached, there was a loud clang, and the door slammed shut.
Not only that, but the moment the door closed,
I was astonished to see human faces with features constantly protruding from the door.
Those faces were squeezed together, grinning ferociously, as if trying to break out of the door.
Seeing this, my scalp tingled with fear.
My heart pounded erratically.
My first instinct was to avoid this door, covered in moving faces.
But to my surprise, the masked woman, who was pulling me, didn't slow down at all.
Instead, she let out a soft hum and kicked at the door.
With a muffled thud,
the door covered in faces was kicked open by the masked woman.
Pulling me along, she shouted again:
"Go!"
With that, she pulled me and we dashed out of the door.
Outside the door was a small courtyard enclosed by green corrugated iron. Inside the courtyard lay many charred objects from the fire.
Once we were inside the yard, the masked woman finally released my hand.
Turning back, I saw the ghost mother and child, the ones with the disfigured faces, standing at the entrance of the dilapidated building.
They held hands, staring at me and the masked woman with their dark, hollow eyes, their expressions filled with rage, but they didn't come out.
After giving us a fixed gaze,
the large wooden door that had just been kicked open slammed shut again with a clang.
Seeing this, I felt an immense chill and a lingering sense of dread.
I had almost died in this accursed place...
"Still not leaving? Do you want to go back inside?"
The masked woman's voice broke the silence.
Her voice was slightly muffled by the mask, but it was still pleasant.
I turned around and saw the masked woman at the edge of the courtyard's fence, looking back at me.
She was tall and slender, wearing a black printed dress, exuding an elegant and refined aura.
"No, I'm coming!"
Saying that, I quickly followed her.
If it weren't for this masked woman, I would surely have been hanged here tonight.
Hearing my reply, the masked woman said nothing.
She turned and squeezed through a broken gap in the corrugated iron fence.
When I followed and squeezed through the fence,
I looked around and found myself in an unfamiliar alley.
The masked woman, with her back to me, was already eight or nine meters away, gradually disappearing into the darkness of the alley.
I looked at her retreating back and hurried after her, shouting loudly:
"Miss, what is your name?"
The masked woman didn't turn around, her figure vanishing into the darkness.
She only let out two words in a faint voice:
"Qing Dai!"
That name was truly beautiful.
I quickened my pace, intending to catch up and ask for her contact information to sincerely thank her.
But when I caught up, Qing Dai had already vanished without a trace...