Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97

  The further they went into the dormitory, the thicker the stench in the air. It was like trash had been piled inside for years without anyone to deal with it. Xu Yin and Yin Hong walked at the front while Chen Ge and the boy with the stench walked in the middle. The boy tried his best to hold in the smell like he was worried that it might push Chen Ge away from him. This boy had always been like this; he had a body that would naturally give off a bad stench, but his heart was unimaginably pure.

  “If you don’t feel well, we can stop here,” Chen Ge said softly. He kept interacting with the boy. He rarely forced his workers to do things that they did not want to do. The cheeks with folds of fat swung left and right. The boy rejected Chen Ge, but the further they went down the corridor, the more nervous the expression on his face became.

  “Don’t force yourself. Compared to the truth, I’d rather you live a happy life. You didn’t feel much happiness when you were alive, and I don’t want you to get tortured after death. That would just be too sad.”


  Several minutes later, they reached the end of the corridor. Many students held their noses—this place was too smelly. The stench was hard to describe. It was no longer the decaying smell of trash. It seemed like it would permeate through people’s skin to make people feel disgusted from within. None of the ‘people’ could stand this; only the boy with the stench did not feel uncomfortable. His wavering body even coagulated like the stench there was originally part of his body. He had once abandoned it, but now the smell was gathering around him. The smell around the boy was heaviest, and the students stayed away from him. This was like when he was still at school; no one was willing to be his friend, and everyone stayed away from him. He was made a laughingstock, a walking joke.

  “Are you alright?” Chen Ge’s hand landed lightly on the boy’s shoulder. As the body materialized, Chen Ge’s hand did not phase through the boy’s body anymore. This was the first time that he had felt the boy’s body temperature—it was bone-chillingly cold, completely different from his appearance. No matter where the others chose to hide, Chen Ge would stand beside the boy. The reason was simple—he was his worker. Chen Ge actually had many workers, but he did not ignore their personal feelings even though there were so many of them. Every worker was important to Chen Ge because he knew, no matter what happened, those specters treated the Haunted House as their home, and it was the only place they belonged.

  “Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I will face it with you. You have many friends now. We will be by your side, so you don’t need to face these things alone anymore.” Chen Ge wanted to touch the boy’s head, but he realized that the boy was too tall, and he could not reach it. Just as he was about to pull away, the large and tall boy took great difficulty to bend over, and the small eyes hidden in his face blinked several times.

  Chen Ge smiled. He just wanted to console him. He patted the boy on his shoulders, stood beside him, and did not move away.

  “There is a reason this place is forbidden. If we unleash the thing inside it, all of us will be in trouble.” A student that had joined them later whispered some advice. Many people were talking, and even the old headmaster came over to tell Chen Ge to be careful. Everyone saw Chen Ge as the center of the team, and they would listen to his command. But to everyone’s surprise, Chen Ge finally led the boy with the stench to the door and handed the choice over to him. “Whether we open the door or leave, it’s your choice.”


  Many students were speculating about the two’s relationship. Only Bai Qiulin and Xu Yin were different; they felt touched.

  Standing at the end of the corridor, the boy with the ugly appearance stood where he was like he was petrified. He raised his arm to grab the doorknob, but he lacked the courage to turn it. Turning back to look, he was standing at the darkest part of the corridor. This brought some memories. Many times in the past, he had wished to escape this room, but whenever he saw the long corridor leading away from it and the gauntlet of faces that would be staring at him, he would lose his courage. This small room was a place that belonged to him fully; it was the place that had made him feel the safest until his respected father died in the room.

  The stench in the air thickened a lot. The boy hesitated for a long time before tightening his grip to push the door open. A stinging stench rushed out from the room, and many people subconsciously stepped away. Only Chen Ge, Xu Yin, and the boy were left at the door. Trash littered the room, much of which had decayed until its shape could not be recognized. Once the door opened, the trash spilled out into the corridor. There was not even a spot for them to stand inside the room.

  The boy walked into the room. He stepped on the trash with his eyes glued to the armoire in the corner of the room. Chen Ge knew what was inside it. He blocked the people behind him so that they would not disturb the boy.

  The room was familiar to the boy. He stopped next to his bed. He waved his arms to clear away the trash that sat on the bedsheet and look at the mattress that hid underneath it. The broken mattress was covered with dark red stains. With a shaking body, the thing that he had been avoiding suddenly appeared before him.

  The red on the mattress reflected in his eyes, causing the red in his eyes to deepen. Strange noises elicited from his throat. It was as if he had not spoken for a long time and had forgotten how to phrase a sentence. In the end, he gripped the mattress with both hands as he tried to tear it open. Pieces of mattress with stains fluttered around the room like dark snow. The boy stood next to the bed as memories flashed within his mind. The voice in his throat grew louder, and it sounded like both anger and helpless pleading.

  Seeing the helpless boy in the room, Chen Ge slowly closed the door. The boy probably did not want others to see him like that.

  In the dirty and cramped room, only the boy and Chen Ge were left. Standing quietly beside the door, Chen Ge allowed the boy to vent his emotions. He felt like he should be there to accompany him. The stench in the room could make a person go mad. The boy calmed down after a long time, but there was change to his little eyes. They were filled with black and red blood vessels.

  Pudgy hands gripped the armoire, and he slowly opened the door.

  To Chen Ge’s surprise, the stench in the room did not increase, and an adult body wrapped in cling wrap did not fall out.