Despair Game

Chapter 11: Escape From The Tiger's Mouth

When people are afraid, they tend to raise their voices to disguise themselves. Li Yang must have really encountered something.

He just shouted, asking who pulled his hair. Su and I would never do something so childish.

There is only one possibility: the ghost has really appeared!

I walked to Li Yang's side and shone the flashlight in the direction he was looking. There was nothing empty ahead, and Qin Yong and the others still hadn't appeared. The entire corridor seemed to have only the three of us from beginning to end.

I said to Li Yang, "What happened just now?"

Li Yang kept sniffing, and I didn't know if he had a cold or if he was crying, but his voice was trembling as he spoke.

"Damn it, just now when I turned around to look at you guys talking, someone suddenly pulled my hair, damn it! Let's go back quickly," he said, on the verge of tears.

I shone the flashlight on his face, and I trembled in shock because there was a noticeable black handprint on Li Yang's forehead.

Li Yang was already panicked, and now he became even more anxious when he saw me looking at him like that. He asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong with me?"

I quickly shook my head and forced a smile, saying, "Nothing, I just think you cry like a girl!"

After saying that, I smiled and patted his head, casually wiping off the black handprint.

At this point, we could only turn back. The ghosts must have appeared. Zhao Lili, as seen by Su, and the black handprint on Li Yang's forehead, all proved that they were near us.

I didn't know how to deal with the ghosts, but one thing was certain: they didn't want to kill us yet. If they wanted to harm us, Li Yang would have died earlier.

I held the flashlight and took the lead, with Li Yang bringing up the rear, slowly starting to walk back.

In my heart, I prayed that I would see Qin Yong's flashlight beam ahead.

The cool wind around us became more frequent, and papers kept fluttering on the ground. It felt like someone was constantly breathing on my neck and ears. I didn't know if it was an illusion or the work of the ghosts.

Since they hadn't made a move, it meant I wasn't in danger.

All I could do was grit my teeth and pretend not to be frightened.

Just as we had walked about ten meters, the flashlight in a classroom not far ahead flickered, followed by a scream.

I was startled, and I quickly grabbed Su's hand and rushed forward. I felt that Qin Yong and the others must have been attacked.

The flashlight beam ahead flashed by, and I could only rely on my memory to keep running forward. The sound of our footsteps echoed through the entire corridor.

Su was panting heavily as I pulled her along, and I thought I heard her calling my name.

But I didn't turn back. I had to reach Qin Yong as soon as possible to provide support.

It was probably the fifth classroom ahead, not far away. By the time I reached it, I was already drenched in sweat.

I stood at the back door of the classroom without making any rash movements. Instead, I cautiously peered inside.

The classroom was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything, but there were clear footsteps, proving that there were indeed people inside. I clenched my teeth and prepared to move forward slowly.

At that moment, Su softly called out to me from behind, and I quickly made a hushing gesture.

Just then, from the corner of my eye, I noticed several pairs of legs suddenly appearing in front of the corridor.

I quickly stood up and raised my stick, ready to strike!

At the same time, a beam of light shone on my face, making it impossible to open my eyes.

"Xiang Nan? Su? Aren't you two over there?"

"Lower the flashlight."

Qin Yong finally realized and made an embarrassed gesture, lowering the flashlight. I looked at them like I had seen my loved ones. It turned out to be them.

I let out a long sigh of relief, about to ask them what had just happened, but Li Juan was the first to speak:

"Where's Li Yang?"

I smiled, ready to tease him for being so scared, but when I turned around, only Su was left behind.

I was instantly stunned in place.

I asked Su, at a loss for what to do, "Where did Li Yang go?"

Su looked somewhat innocent and glanced behind her, saying, "As soon as I called you the first time, I noticed Li Yang was missing, right when you were pulling me forward."

Upon hearing this, Li Juan instantly became angry. It seemed that she had a good relationship with Li Yang, and she pointed at me and scolded, "You only care about the person you like, and you don't give a damn about anyone else, do you? Useless!"

Xiao Ming didn't have my patience. He stepped forward and frowned, saying fiercely, "You, speaking without manners, you think Xiang Nan was in such a hurry to come find us? You made quite a loud noise just now!"

As the leader this time, Qin Yong interrupted Li Juan, who was about to continue arguing, and looked at the direction we came from, saying, "Enough, let's not argue. This floor is only so big. Our top priority is to quickly go and find him."

Indeed, that was the most important thing. I felt guilty inside. If I had turned back and agreed with Su earlier, perhaps we wouldn't have had so much trouble now.

As we walked, we recounted the recent events to each other.

It turned out that Qin Yong and the others felt that holding the flashlight might alert the ghosts, and Qin Yong and Xiao Ming believed that even if the ghosts did appear, they would be able to handle them. So they chose to turn off their flashlights, which led us to think they had disappeared.

And just now, when Li Juan screamed, it wasn't because they encountered a ghost. It was just a stray cat that startled Li Juan. Qin Yong only turned on the flashlight to confirm and then turned it off.

That's how it was for them. But our situation was more complicated. I don't know why Su saw Zhao Lili in white clothes, and I don't know why something grabbed Li Yang's hair and left a black handprint on his head. What does it mean?

When I told Qin Yong and the others about these incidents, they also found it unbelievable. But their conclusion in the end was that both Su and Li Yang were experiencing hallucinations.

Su didn't want to explain any further, and I believed her. Li Yang's appearance just now, along with the black handprint on his face that I personally witnessed, still left a charred smell in my palm.

So, on the surface, I didn't argue with them anymore, but I remained cautious in my heart.

With Qin Yong and Xiao Ming joining us, I felt more confident. One was a carefree skeptic and the other had a Taoist grandfather. But even after searching for a long time, we still couldn't find Li Yang.

I became more and more anxious, and Su's hands started trembling again as we returned to this place.

The classroom with the open door was just ahead. The plastic bags on the ground were no longer floating, and the wind had stopped.

I carefully took steps forward, while also paying attention to the movements behind us.

Qin Yong took the lead and rushed in with his flashlight, and the three of us followed closely behind. I and his two flashlights illuminated different sides.

But before we could adjust to the environment here, I noticed someone standing by the window along the wall.

The old-style windows were made large for better lighting. Since this was an abandoned building, the railings on the windows had fallen off, leaving them empty.

That person stood with their back facing us on the window, as if they were about to jump down at any moment.

I instinctively closed the door, and at the same time, I released Su's hand and let him lean against the wall. I held a flashlight in one hand and a wooden stick in the other, forming a triangle with Qin Yong and Xiao Ming, slowly moving forward step by step.

The closer we got, the clearer the person became. I noticed that their shoes seemed similar to Li Yang's.

I whispered, "Li Yang? Is that you? Stop fooling around and come down. We're ready to go back."

However, the person didn't pay any attention to me and kept muttering to themselves.

I made hand gestures to Qin Yong and Xiao Ming, indicating that we should rush over and bring him down.

They understood instantly and, as I counted to three, we prepared to charge. But when I reached three, that person suddenly shouted loudly, "I'm sorry!"

Then, decisively, they jumped down to the floor below.

We couldn't catch up no matter how fast we moved, but fortunately, we were on the second floor. If I remember correctly, there should be a lawn below. I believed that jumping from here wouldn't be fatal.

I immediately turned around to go downstairs, but as soon as I turned, I saw that the door next to Su had unexpectedly opened.

My scalp tingled, and I shouted in alarm, "Su, be careful!"

At the same time, a pale, skeletal hand reached out from outside the door towards Su. I couldn't see the face of this thing clearly, except for the ghastly pale hand and a pile of hair trailing on the ground.

After I shouted, I rushed over at the fastest speed and raised the stick in my hand, ready to strike the arm!

The hand had already grabbed onto Su's hair, but luckily I reacted quickly. As soon as I struck the hand, it instantly recoiled. I heard a bone-cracking sound followed by sizzling smoke, echoing through the entire corridor.

I pulled Su back behind me, and by that time, Xiao Ming and Qin Yong had rushed over.

I checked on Su to make sure he was fine before lifting the stick. The talisman on the stick had turned blackened. It seemed that the talisman had worked just now.

Qin Yong patted me and said, "Let's quickly go downstairs. This isn't a place we can handle. The talisman can only be used once, and it's dangerous to delay any longer."

I nodded, threw away the stick in my hand, and picked up the one Su had dropped on the ground. Then, we proceeded to make our way out.

With a clear goal in mind, we moved swiftly. If the second floor was already this dangerous, we hadn't even been to the third or fourth floor.

Fortunately, we reached the ground floor safely. We immediately ran to the spot where the person had jumped.

There lay Li Yang on the lawn. When we turned him over, it was indeed him.

Luckily, he still had a pulse and seemed to be okay.

Without wasting time, we carried Li Yang and left. As we left the abandoned building, I glanced back at the classroom on the second floor and vaguely saw a figure standing at the window.

Then, the window slammed shut!

I didn't dare think about it any further. I rushed quickly towards the dormitory. Li Yang woke up halfway, saying that he had forgotten everything and surprisingly had no injuries.

After comforting Su back in the dormitory, I finally returned to my own room.

After taking a shower and lying in bed, I had a sense of rebirth. The events that had just happened were vivid in my mind.

At that moment, my phone suddenly rang. It was already 3 AM, and I thought it might be Su. But when I opened it, it turned out to be Little Devil.

Little Devil sent a smiling emoji in the WeChat group and then mentioned all six of us.

"Xiang Nan, Su, Qin Yong, Li Shiming, Li Yang, Li Juan."

"Tomorrow, I'll change the plan. The six of you will play a game. I'll tell you the details tomorrow at noon. Goodnight!"