A chill wind swept by, making the two of them shiver. He Shaoqing couldn't help muttering, "Is it windy? So cold?"

Kuang Feifan scanned the courtyard while saying, "Forget about that, we need to find the person."

In front of the courtyard gate, a bluestone path led straight to a small building not far away. The surrounding area was filled with old residences dating back to before the Liberation, mostly built in the 30s and 40s. Before the founding of the PRC, this area was a concession, so the architectural styles were predominantly European. The small building before them was no exception: a two-story Western-style house with a brick and wood structure, featuring a multi-pitched roof and dormers.

The ground floor entrance was supported by stone pillars, forming a veranda. To the right and above, a rectangular platform was built, adorned with an engraved marble balustrade. The second floor featured a row of casement windows, and at the corner beneath the eaves, a spanning balcony was installed, topped by a semi-circular rain shelter.

The exterior walls were mainly finished with cement rendering, with some sections showing exposed clean, kiln-fired brickwork. The roof was a large slope, punctuated by several skylights at the very top.

However, it seemed this place had been uninhabited for a long time. The exterior walls were covered in creeping vines, and the exposed brickwork between them was mottled and peeling. Most of the tightly shut windows had shattered glass, while the unbroken ones were thick with accumulated dust.

Kuang Feifan carefully studied the Western-style house. Through the frameless windows, he could only see utter blackness, making it impossible to discern anything inside the rooms beyond.

He Shaoqing rubbed his head, pursed his lips, and asked, "Why does this place feel so eerie? Are we shooting a horror movie?"

Kuang Feifan frowned, looking up the concrete steps leading to the main entrance of the small building. He said to He Shaoqing, "Look, the main door is ajar. Could the bag snatcher have run inside?"

He Shaoqing suspiciously raised his hand to touch his chin, tilting his head to survey the building, and asked curiously, "Why would he escape here? Did you actually see him jump into this courtyard?"

Kuang Feifan nodded and gave an "Mm" sound in affirmation.

He Shaoqing clapped Kuang Feifan on the shoulder, "Let's go, hurry up and catch him."

The two stepped onto the stairs and approached the main door of the small building. The two dark wooden doors were indeed slightly ajar. Kuang Feifan pulled out his phone. He Shaoqing was momentarily taken aback: "Who are you calling? Do we need backup? Surely we can handle one bag snatcher between us?"

Kuang Feifan shot him a sideways glance. "I'm using my phone as a flashlight, idiot."

He Shaoqing shrugged and also pulled out his phone.

Pushing the door open, a wave of icy wind immediately rushed out, making them both involuntarily shudder. They instinctively glanced at each other, both feeling a surge of unease deep within.

"Damn, this place is filthy," He Shaoqing muttered, frowning. He fanned the air in front of his nose, where a choking smell of dust and mold made his nostrils itch.

Kuang Feifan nodded, suspicion dawning, and said quietly, "Yeah, it is pretty dirty. It looks like no one has lived here for ages. Strange, why hasn't anyone managed this place for so long?"

As they spoke, they had already stepped inside the main entrance of the house. However, they both failed to notice one thing: since crossing the threshold of this building, a strange atmosphere had enveloped them, causing their voices to drop instinctively.

By the light of their phones and the faint illumination from outside, they could vaguely make out the layout of the house. Before them was an empty main hall, the floor covered in dust, with cobwebs thick in the corners. On either side of the ground floor hall were two closed doors. In the distance, a staircase led to the second floor, and next to the stairs was a small door, likely the entrance to the basement.

They had only taken a few steps forward when, suddenly, the two large doors behind them silently swung shut. The interior was instantly plunged into deeper gloom. They both instinctively turned, startled, and rushed back to pull the doors open, but the doors refused to budge as they expected.

Seeing that the doors could indeed be pulled open, Kuang Feifan was about to suggest to He Shaoqing that they should go back out first, wait for reinforcements, and then search for the gray-jacketed snatcher with more people. But just then, they heard a man’s piercing scream echo from somewhere within the building. The cry reached their ears, filled with despair and helplessness—the sound one makes involuntarily when facing imminent death.

Kuang Feifan and He Shaoqing’s expressions shifted, and they exchanged glances, their eyes now holding confusion, even terror.

They both turned simultaneously, staring intently at the staircase leading upstairs. They were certain the scream had come from above. After the cry faded, silence returned to the building. In fact, the entire structure was not truly silent; besides the clear sound of their own breathing and heartbeats, countless strange, inexplicable noises seemed to drift in from all directions.

He Shaoqing instinctively swallowed hard and whispered, "What’s going on? Did you hear that…"

Kuang Feifan took a deep breath, regaining his composure, and explained softly, "It’s alright, these subtle weird noises are probably just the old wood expanding and contracting, or maybe mice running around. But that scream earlier… someone might be in trouble."

"Could it be that gray jacket guy?"

"Possibly."

"Let's go check it out."

He Shaoqing said this not as a question, but as a statement. Kuang Feifan nodded, offering no words of dissuasion. Since childhood, their courage had been extraordinary; deep down, both possessed an adventurous spirit. Moreover, after graduating from middle school, they had been assigned to the military and received rigorous training, making them believe their physique and spirit were as tough as steel. Now, facing this small building filled with bizarre mystery, their first thought was not to leave quickly, but to venture in and find out what was happening.

Since the sound originated upstairs, they didn't linger on the first floor, stepping toward the stairs. The entire floor of the building was made of wooden planks, which echoed hollowly underfoot.

When they reached the landing on the stairwell, Kuang Feifan suddenly grabbed He Shaoqing's arm. He Shaoqing started, questioning Kuang Feifan with his eyes.

Kuang Feifan’s eyebrows knitted slightly as he whispered, "Hold on, something's not right."

He Shaoqing raised an eyebrow, asking silently.

Kuang Feifan pointed at the floor. "Look. The walls in here are covered in dust, and quite a bit of plaster has peeled off. The corners are full of cobwebs, and the glass is thick with grime. But this floor, it's as clean as if it were swept daily. Don't you think that’s strange?"

He Shaoqing paused, squatted down, illuminated the floor with his phone, and shook his head gently. "Yeah, it is pretty weird." Suddenly, his tone changed to surprise. "Look, the main door has closed again."

Kuang Feifan looked up. Indeed, the door they had casually pulled open earlier had somehow closed completely again. A draft blowing the door shut? Kuang Feifan immediately dismissed the thought.

"Should we go check it out?" He Shaoqing asked.

Kuang Feifan considered it. "Let's check upstairs first. If things get really strange, we pull out and search again when more people arrive."

He Shaoqing nodded, stood up, and followed Kuang Feifan toward the second floor. The surroundings were deathly quiet, as if gusts of chill wind were blowing from all directions. As they reached the second-floor hallway, they looked back four or five times. Both felt as though someone was following them, but of course, no one was behind them.

The moment their feet landed on the second-floor surface, they distinctly felt a softness underfoot. Looking down, they saw that the second-floor hallway was carpeted with thick, plush rug. They raised their phones to shine around. With the limited light, they could vaguely see that the left side of the hallway wasn't long, ending in a closed door facing them—apparently only one room on the left.

At the far end of the right side of the hallway was a window with shattered glass. Through the light filtering in, they saw the hallway turn a corner, suggesting there should be more rooms beyond.

"This building isn't small," He Shaoqing remarked casually. He looked left and right down the hall, but couldn't detect anything amiss, so he tilted his head and asked Kuang Feifan, "Where did you think that scream came from? I don't see anyone else here."

Kuang Feifan remained silent, instinctively counting. There were three closed doors in total down the right side of the hallway—two on the right, one on the left. Strangely, on the wall directly opposite each door hung a mirror the exact same width as the door. Looking toward the left side of the hallway, near the door directly facing them, a mirror was also hung on the wall, matching the size of those on the right. But unlike the others, these two mirrors faced each other across the hallway. What was even more astonishing was that all the mirrors in the hallway were spotlessly clean, entirely free of dust, as if someone diligently wiped them down regularly.

"What are you looking at? You look so serious," He Shaoqing asked Kuang Feifan, who stood frozen, staring blankly.

Before Kuang Feifan could reply, the closed door on the left side of the hallway creaked open with a "zhi ya," swinging inward a crack without any apparent external force. Immediately, as if pre-set or commanded, the three doors on the right side of the hallway made similar "zhi ya" sounds almost simultaneously, each pushing inward by a slight gap. White light shone out from every crack, casting eerie white lines onto the floorboards.

The two gasped simultaneously, their bodies stiffening instantly. Their hands instinctively clenched into fists, and their scalps tingled with numbness.

"What is happening?" He Shaoqing blurted out.

"I don't know. Something’s odd. Don't make any rash moves," Kuang Feifan admitted, unable to comprehend the situation immediately.

Despite the bizarre scene unfolding, He Shaoqing couldn't help but roll his eyes at Kuang Feifan. "Say, Young Master Fan, what do you mean by 'rash moves'? Are we just supposed to stand here like statues?"

Kuang Feifan surveyed their surroundings, thought for a moment, and said, "I see we have two options: one is to immediately go downstairs and leave this building, or two is to check room by room and see what exactly is going on in here."

He Shaoqing crossed his arms, resting his chin on his hand in a thoughtful pose. "Do you think it's possible that this bizarre situation was caused by that bag snatcher? He ran here because he saw us chasing him, deliberately creating strange things just to scare us off?"

Kuang Feifan looked at He Shaoqing’s contemplative expression and couldn't help but laugh. "What are you thinking? Does a mere bag snatcher have the capability to orchestrate all this?"

He Shaoqing pouted. "Fine, I’m too lazy to figure it out. What are we doing now? I’m not planning on running. How about we split up? That'll be faster."

Kuang Feifan was about to object, but He Shaoqing clapped his shoulder, pointed toward the left end of the hall, then pointed right. "Enough, hurry up. You take the room at the far end, I'll take this side."

Saying that, He Shaoqing headed straight for the first room on the right side of the hallway. Standing before the door, without a second thought, he raised his leg and violently kicked it open. He immediately thrust half his body inside to look, and then, his eyes widening suddenly, he let out a startled cry: "Holy—Crap!"