Chapter 5Ghost Encounter
404 Words
The shadowy figure crouched in the corner made both Ning Yu and me shout,"Who’s there?!"
No answer.Instead,it hunched and darted to another corner of the shop—unnaturally fast,as if gravity didn’t apply.Emboldened,we chased it,yelling,"You picked the wrong place to steal from!This used to be a funeral shop!"
The words chilled my spine.
Ning nudged me."Trying to scare him or me?"
We cornered the figure against the wall.Shining my flashlight,we saw it was hunched forward,wearing a tattered black cotton coat—odd for summer.Wait…Cotton coat?More like burial clothes.
Ning and I exchanged a glance and stepped back.
"Who are you?"I demanded,waving the light.The beam passed through its body,illuminating the wall behind.No shadow.
Before I could process this,the figure moved.It clawed the wall like a lizard,scaling to the ceiling and vanishing.
Ning gulped."You saw that,right?""I’m not blind,"I muttered.
We retreated,locking the shop.Ning asked,"What now?""Never dealt with ghosts before,"I admitted.
Ning suggested the figure might’ve crawled upstairs—where the KTV hostess lived."If she dies here,your place’s reputation is ruined,"he warned.
"Shut it!"I snapped."We’re checking.Even ghosts can’t mess with my income."
We knocked on her door.A shaky voice answered,"Who is it?""Landlord,"I said.
"Not tonight…I’m on my period,"she replied.
Ning raised an eyebrow."You visit often?""Shut up!We’re here for the ghost!"
Overhearing,she gasped."Ghost?!""Misheard!We meant thief!"I lied,rousing all tenants to"check for stolen items."
Nothing was missing.Everyone went back to bed.
Ning refused to sleep alone,so we crammed into my room.Every creak kept us awake until dawn.
At noon,we returned to the shop.The black desk,which had been dragged aside,now sat perfectly centered—as if last night never happened.
"Burn it,"Ning urged."No,"I said."The ghost’s tied to it.Destroying it might curse us.We need to send it away."
Ning scoffed."You know how?""My grandma taught me…sort of.But first,I have to read its face."
"Read a ghost’s face?!"
"Grandma’s rule.Said if I ever met a ghost,I had to read its features before banishing it.Thought she was nuts.Now I’m the nut."
As we debated,thunderous stomping erupted upstairs.
The KTV hostess stood in her doorway,head bowed,hair masking her face.She stomped rhythmically,her wrists icy to the touch.
Her face—half-painted white,half sallow—snapped up.Her eyes burned with hatred,teeth grinding.
I scanned her face:pitch-black Yintang,chaotic Jie’e Palace,and thinning eyebrows—all signs of possession and impending death.
Ning whispered,"Let’s go—"
I jabbed her Philtrum,a pressure point to rouse consciousness.She collapsed.
"Did you knock her out?"Ning asked."Help me carry her inside.Time to test Grandma’s methods."
- Writer
