For a fleeting moment, everyone in the living room braced themselves for a scene straight out of a horror movie: Mo Lingling emerging with her head rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
But quickly, they realized that while it was indeed Mo Lingling, it was a normal Mo Lingling, albeit one whose face clearly betrayed sheer terror, suggesting she had been deeply shaken by whatever she had just witnessed.
“You… you all…” Mo Lingling’s voice trembled, her speech barely coherent.
Julie rushed over, gently pulling Mo Lingling toward the sofa in the living room and urging her to sit.
A profound silence settled over the room, no one daring to speak.
After a long stretch of quiet, He Xu finally broke the stillness. “Just now, perhaps… perhaps we were all seeing things…”
This excuse was threadbare; one person might hallucinate, but five people seeing the same thing at once was decidedly eerie.
Yet, surprisingly, as soon as he voiced it, the other three nodded in agreement, excluding Mo Lingling, and they began to chatter amongst themselves, debating every possible explanation for visual distortion.
“Enough… stop arguing…” Mo Lingling, who had been sitting on the sofa covering her face, suddenly cried out in a loud voice.
Startled, everyone turned to look at her, immediately falling silent.
Mo Lingling lifted her head, glancing at the group, her eyes tearful as she said, “Real or not, you all broke the rules.”
The expressions of everyone present immediately shifted. It was true; the game’s rules stipulated that regardless of what was seen in the mirror, the players could not flee. Instead, everyone was supposed to say “Go” simultaneously, turn their backs to the mirror, and only then would the game conclude; otherwise, it was rumored that the outcome would be unpredictable.
Mo Lingling stared at them all, then suddenly stood up, rushed toward the main door, and fled without even saying goodbye, yanking the door open.
The remaining four could only stare at each other, unsure of what to say or do next.
After a long pause, two of the students casually said their goodbyes and departed He Xu’s house.
Only He Xu and Julie remained, exchanging wry, helpless smiles, not knowing how to proceed.
Hesitantly, He Xu pulled Julie close, whispering comfortingly with lingering dread, “We saw Lingling. Maybe… maybe we’ll be alright…”
Julie started slightly but remained silent.
The two spent a night steeped in fear, not sleeping a wink. Since their planned meeting was on a Saturday, Sunday dawned. As soon as the sky lightened, He Xu and Julie called Mo Lingling, hoping to check if her emotions had stabilized and if she was feeling any better.
The phone rang for a long time unanswered. Worry began to creep in, but eventually, someone picked up. It was Mo Lingling herself.
Upon inquiring, Mo Lingling seemed emotionally stable, though still slightly downcast. Nothing unusual had happened after she returned home last night; aside from the terrifying vision in the mirror, everything seemed normal. So far, the game had resulted in no negative consequences.
Only then did they collectively manage a shaky sigh of relief, reluctantly accepting the explanation of shared hallucination. But reality was far from what they imagined.
When they returned to school on Monday, He Xu, Julie, and the other two students noticed one thing as classes began: Mo Lingling hadn't shown up.
During the second period, the form teacher entered the classroom, his face heavy with sorrow, and informed them that Mo Lingling had died in an accident the previous night.
One could only imagine the shock He Xu and the others felt upon hearing this news. The details they managed to gather afterward nearly caused them to lose control: Mo Lingling had reportedly stumbled on the stairs while walking home after leaving, breaking her neck. Her head was found twisted one hundred and eighty degrees backward.
As he recounted this part, He Xu and Julie, still in the private room of the teahouse, couldn't hide the terror in their eyes, instinctively clutching each other, their bodies visibly trembling.
“An accident?” Kuang Feifan murmured to himself.
“No… absolutely not an accident…” He Xu emphasized, his voice rising.
Kuang Feifan instantly realized his slip, quickly bowing slightly and gently patting the back of He Xu’s hand resting on his knee. He spoke softly, “Take your time, you’re safe here.”
He Xu continued to shake his head lightly, still visibly distressed, whispering, “Not an accident, not an accident, it definitely couldn’t have been an accident, because… because they… they all died accidentally…”
They?
Kuang Feifan frowned and glanced at Feng Tian.
Feng Tian reached into his coat, pulled out a shining silver flask, and handed it to He Xu, ordering him in a tone that brooked no argument, “Take a sip.”
He Xu didn't understand but nervously accepted the bottle. He looked at Julie huddled beside him, then back at Feng Tian, who met his gaze with an encouraging expression. He gritted his teeth, twisted the cap, and took a drink from the spout.
Immediately, his face contorted, and he involuntarily winced, gasping, “What is this…”
“Genuine Erguotou,” Feng Tian said with a smile, taking the bottle back from He Xu and handing it to Julie. He spoke to her in an exceedingly intimate tone. “Here, have a small sip. It will calm your nerves and boost your courage.”
Julie hesitated for a long time before accepting it and taking a tentative sip.
Kuang Feifan simply rolled his eyes at Feng Tian’s behavior but chose to let it pass, perhaps reasoning that a shot of liquor might actually help in this moment.
Seeing that their agitation seemed to have somewhat subsided, Feng Tian continued, “And then what?”
The rest of the story, as it turned out, was disturbingly simple. The day after Mo Lingling’s death, another student who had participated in the game fell through a window and died from the fall. A day after that, that student’s girlfriend slipped in her bathroom, hitting the back of her head on a mirror and dying as well.
At this point, Kuang Feifan interrupted, asking He Xu, “When did that happen?”
“The day before yesterday,” He Xu replied, looking down.
Kuang Feifan’s expression tightened immediately, and he shot a look at Feng Tian.
Feng Tian, noticing the look, let out a long breath, pulling his face into a long stretch as he addressed He Xu. “Are those kinds of supernatural games something you can just casually play? Especially when you don't follow the rules—you should consider yourselves lucky if nothing had happened sooner.”
He Xu and Julie both instinctively lowered their heads, their faces flushed crimson, looking as if they were on the verge of tears.
Kuang Feifan stepped in to smooth things over. “Alright, since it has already happened, you need to figure out a way to resolve it, Master Feng.”
The title was clearly teasing, but Feng Tian didn’t mind. He pouted slightly. “Let’s see. I didn’t expect them to conjure up such a nuisance.”
Kuang Feifan looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Feng Tian scratched his head. “The games they usually play involve seeing ghosts or spirits through mirrors. But now they’ve summoned a vengeful spirit looking for a substitute. Haven’t you heard of a haunting? They’re all marked now; it won’t stop until they’re dead.”
“Ah…”
He Xu and Julie shrieked in terror at Feng Tian’s words.
Kuang Feifan, having encountered turbulence before, wasn't completely unnerved by Feng Tian’s few sentences. He merely asked, “Is there a way to handle it?”
Feng Tian glanced at He Xu and Julie before asking, “Do your parents know?”
The two exchanged a glance, then shook their heads fearfully.
Feng Tian immediately clapped a hand to his forehead.
Kuang Feifan also knitted his brows and said sternly, “How could you not tell your parents about something this serious?”
“We were afraid they wouldn’t believe us,” they mumbled.
Feng Tian stated calmly, “You should notify them anyway. Otherwise, how am I supposed to collect my fee?”
“Ugh…” Kuang Feifan shot him a glare.
Feng Tian just smiled nonchalantly. “Don’t look down on me charging money. There is always return for effort; that is a law that absolutely cannot be broken.”
Naturally, Feng Tian, the supposed ‘Master,’ was indispensable in handling the matter of informing the parents. He certainly had a way to make both sets of parents believe what was happening.
Upon learning that the two ignorant youths had gotten into serious trouble, the respective parents were naturally shocked, angry, and worried. Fortunately, Kuang Feifan and Feng Tian managed to intercept and intimidate them enough to temporarily set aside blaming He Xu and Julie, focusing instead on how to deal with the immediate trouble.
With the parents handled, Feng Tian laid down his terms: by 6 PM that evening, both sets of parents, along with their children, were to stay put at He Xu’s house. He and Kuang Feifan would arrive at 6 PM to take over; the parents could then leave, preferably staying at a large nearby hotel for the night, and absolutely must not return until morning. He Xu and Julie, however, were required to stay home and assist them in resolving the problem.
After securing agreement from both sets of parents, Feng Tian took Kuang Feifan’s arm and they left He Xu’s house. Their first stop was finding a restaurant for dinner.
Even for just the two of them, Feng Tian insisted on a private dining room.
Kuang Feifan tactfully suggested they just eat something simple, as they had business later that evening.
Unexpectedly, Feng Tian spoke with an air of profound mystery. “I am preparing for the action tonight.”
With that, he began ordering—Kuang Feifan quickly realized that Feng Tian wasn't just ordering the best food, but the most expensive. Luckily, Kuang Feifan didn't eat seafood, or abalone would surely have been on the list.
When the food arrived, Feng Tian didn't ask for wine this time. Instead, he reached out to Kuang Feifan.
“What is it?” Kuang Feifan asked curiously.
“I need to borrow the prayer beads you’re wearing,” Feng Tian said.
Kuang Feifan leaned back cautiously, asking, “What are you planning?”
Feng Tian quickly assured him, “Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t damage them, nor will I diminish their power.”
Kuang Feifan truly didn't want to hand them over, but he couldn't refuse when Feng Tian insisted it was necessary to help He Xu and the others that night, repeatedly emphasizing how big the trouble was, which necessitated the use of his prayer beads.
After a long period of hesitation, Kuang Feifan finally took the beads off and handed them over, asking anxiously, “Don’t keep them for long, I need them.”
Feng Tian took them. “You don’t trust me when you’re with me?”
“Wait…” Kuang Feifan interrupted him, asking again, “You mean, I have to follow you tonight as well?”
Feng Tian offered an embarrassed smile. “Well… it seems I will need your help this time.”
As he spoke, Feng Tian reached into his own satchel, pulled out a tightly sealed bottle, forcefully twisted off the cap, and tossed the prayer beads inside.
Kuang Feifan’s face instantly turned ashen with shock, followed by a surge of furious rage. He couldn't help but slam his hands on the table and leap to his feet, reaching out to grab Feng Tian.