Escape from the Thriller World – Chapter 8
by Little PandaVolume One: The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village
Don’t Go Upstairs
Never go to the top floor! Remember!
Most of the apartments in the Tong Lau are fully occupied. Ma Zai (a colloquial term for a subordinate or henchman, often used in a mafia or gang context) whispered to Wei Jinye: “Boss Jin, we don’t have any apartments left to rent in our building.”
Wei Jinye continued, “Isn’t there still a room on the 18th floor? Let them stay there.”
Ma Zai nervously replied, “That room is unlucky. An old woman just died next door.”
Wei Jinye glanced at them and said, “Take them there.”
The two had no luggage to speak of. Ning Lan carried a backpack, and Shen Qingyou casually swung a lady’s handbag over her shoulder.
Ma Zai led them to the 18th floor and pointed to a room at the very end, saying, “Boss Jin said to put you two in there.”
Shen Qingyou coughed twice and asked, “Could you please find a separate room for me?”
Ma Zai had Xu Sanduo from the security room bring the key to the 18th floor and handed it to them, saying, “You’re lucky to have a room at all, so stop being picky. Take it or leave it.”
Ma Zai spoke to them arrogantly, acting like a fool, while Xu Sanduo clenched his fists behind him.
Sun Er Pao was always bullying others by flaunting his power, and Xu Sanduo couldn’t stand his fake flattery.
Xu Sanduo said to them, “Don’t mess with him; he’s a favorite of Boss Jin.”
Xu Sanduo handed them a key and also gave them a piece of paper titled 《Tong Lau Rules》.
Tong Lau Rules:
Hello, new residents of the Tong Lau! This is a set of rules from the hallway that you must strictly follow. If any violations occur leading to unexpected events, the Tong Lau takes no responsibility.
1. The main door of the Tong Lau closes after 11 p.m. Please do not enter or exit freely.
2. If you find yourself on the 15th floor and suddenly on the 8th, don’t panic. It’s all an illusion!
3. If you hear strange noises at night, don’t worry. Our building has all kinds of people with little “hobbies”.
4. Never go to the top floor, remember! The top floor! You will die!
5. If a resident knocks on your door at night, don’t open it!
6. If a resident asks for your help, please assist them.
7. Do not go out after 11 p.m. Stay in your room.
8. If you accidentally break the rules, it might spare you if it’s in a good mood.
Who exactly is this “it” in the rules?
Xu Sanduo was about to go on patrol again. He held his brick phone and told his underlings that he was going down for a meeting.
He repeatedly urged them, “You two must follow the Tong Lau rules. Those who didn’t follow them before all died tragically. Remember that!”
Xu Sanduo, the head of the security team, was quite warm-hearted, giving them advice for a long time before leaving.
Ning Lan skimmed through the rules and then handed them to Shen Qingyou, who remarked, “Boring.”
Shen Qingyou didn’t care about these rules at all. In her subconscious, rules were meant to be broken. She was an atheist.
Ning Lan folded the rules neatly and placed them on the living room table. She read them several times, feeling as if that “it” was guiding them.
The fifth and sixth rules of the Tong Lau seemed contradictory. They needed to disregard one of them.
By a twist of fate, the two became roommates. Shen Qingyou claimed the master bedroom, while Ning Lan chose a side bedroom next to hers.
Ning Lan kindly said, “Ice Block Shen, here’s a band-aid for you. Put it on first.”
The more she called her Ice Block Shen, the more irritated Shen Qingyou became. She just wanted to throw this person out!
Shen Qingyou shook her head and said coldly, “No need.”
Her goodwill towards her indeed lasted only a fleeting moment.
“Fine, whatever,” Ning Lan said, taking back the band-aid and stuffing it into her bag.
“I’m going to wash up and sleep. Don’t call me unless it’s important,” Shen Qingyou said, sounding slightly tired, as she informed her roommate before heading to the bathroom for a shower.
It was rare for Ice Block Shen to speak to her voluntarily. Ning Lan casually replied, “I’m too lazy to call you anyway.”
Sitting in the living room, Ning Lan heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. She picked up the kettle from the dining table, plugged it in, and boiled some water for herself.
Holding a glass cup in her hand, she was facing a black-and-white television.
With some interest, Ning Lan stepped forward and pressed the round knob switch. The TV was playing 《The True Story of Ah Q》 (famous novella by Lu Xun, often adapted into films and television series).
An old Hong Kong-style drama from the seventies, probably seen in every household.
Below the TV stand, a disc caught Ning Lan’s eye. It had the character “禁” (means “forbidden” or “prohibited”) engraved on it.
Ning Lan picked up the disc, about to insert it into the CD player, when a knock came from the door: “Are you the new young residents? I’m Aunt Wang from downstairs, and I came up just to say hello.”
Didn’t Xu Sanduo say that the people in the Tong Lau were all cold and indifferent? What was Aunt Wang up to?
Ning Lan glanced at her phone screen. It was spot on: 11 o’clock.
She picked up the Tong Lau rules paper in her hand, where the fifth rule stated:
【If a resident knocks on your door at night, don’t open it.】
The Tong Lau rules advised them not to open the door after 11, so she planned to politely decline.
Ning Lan gripped the door lock and spoke through the door, “Aunt Wang, we just moved in tonight and are really tired. We plan to tidy up and sleep, but we’ll visit you tomorrow during the day.”
Ning Lan was trying to politely dissuade Aunt Wang, but Aunt Wang persisted, saying from outside, “You young people go to bed so early, unlike us old women who don’t need as much sleep. I’ve made some soup and thought I’d share a bit with you.”
Aunt Wang wanted Ning Lan to open the door so she could give her the soup, and Ning Lan hesitated.
Her mind buzzed with the reminder of the seventh rule of the Tong Lau:
【Do not go out after 11 p.m. Stay in your room.】
Whether the person outside was human or ghost was unknown, so she couldn’t open the door.
Outside, Aunt Wang was holding the soup container, and Ning Lan pressed her ear to the door, hearing the sound of a container bumping against it.
Ning Lan continued to decline, “Aunt Wang, you’re really too kind. We just arrived and couldn’t possibly accept your soup. Please take it back!”
Aunt Wang’s goodwill was politely rejected by the cautious Ning Lan. With a cold huff, she said, “Young people today are really hard to get along with!”
Listening to Aunt Wang’s footsteps fade away, Ning Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ning Lan turned on the old-fashioned ceiling light, and the bulb swung back and forth, casting unsteady light throughout the house.
The overall design of the Tong Lau apartment was compact, and Ning Lan felt suffocated.
She walked onto the balcony and looked down. From this angle, she could see Xu Sanduo at the security booth instructing the security team on their patrol.
Ning Lan glanced around the room and noticed a painting of sunflowers hanging in the center, symbolizing growth towards the sun.
Suddenly, Ning Lan remembered a detail.
When Wei Jinye mentioned the Tong Lau, he seemed uneasy. Ning Lan glanced around the paintings in his living room, and one painting caught her attention.
In the painting, a woman was being burned alive, and the flames resembled evil spirits crawling up from hell, looking both like demons with ox heads and horse faces (a reference to two mythical guardians of the underworld in Chinese folklore, Niutou and Mamian) and like phantoms.
If Ning Lan guessed correctly, this painting was likely called 《Hell Screen》 (refers to a famous short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, often depicted in art.)
The style of 《Hell Screen》 is eerie, and the painter Yoshihide did not hesitate to burn his own daughter to complete the artwork. The day after he finished the painting, he followed his daughter in death.
The world is hell, and who can cross it peacefully?
Ning Lan thought carefully, “Wei Jinye has a story; he’s not simple.”
While Ning Lan was pondering this detail, Shen Qingyou came out wearing her Totoro pajamas. She was drying her wet hair with a towel, and their eyes met.
Ning Lan was about to speak and remind her about the Tong Lau rules.
But Shen Qingyou acted as if Ning Lan was invisible, walking straight towards the master bedroom.
With a loud “bang,” she shut the door firmly.
“You… this woman, really,” Ning Lan said, pointing towards her bedroom.
Shen Qingyou came out of the master bedroom again and said, “If you need something, call me. If not, don’t disturb my sleep.”
Her words reminded Ning Lan that they had a phone used for gaming that had no signal.
Ning Lan nodded, “If you sleep too deeply and get eaten by ghosts, don’t blame me.”
“If the ghosts get to me, you’d already be in their stomach,” Shen Qingyou retorted sharply, then closed the door.
Just as Ning Lan was about to freshen up, her phone screen showed an incoming call from Watanabe Keiko.
She didn’t want to get involved with those two burdens.
Ning Lan deliberately left her phone on the bed and went into the bathroom to wash her face.
On Watanabe Keiko’s side, she was anxious since she couldn’t see Ning Lan and the others at Pawnshop No. 8.
Xie Wu, waking up from a comforting sleep, said, “Hurry up and call them. They wouldn’t have run off while we were asleep, would they? They really lack a sense of teamwork!”
Watanabe Keiko, with a hint of drunkenness, kept dialing Ning Lan’s number, saying, “I’m calling, Brother Xie Wu, but none of them are picking up.”
Xie Wu snatched the phone, angrily tossed it onto the bed, and said, “Let’s go! We’ll check the Tong Lau!”
The two of them stormed off to the Tong Lau, and Xie Wu, being impatient, grabbed Xu Sanduo and asked, “Brother, did you see two women go into the Tong Lau?”
Xu Sanduo looked them over and said, “You’re not here hoping for our Master Jin’s mercy to crash here, are you? The Tong Lau is full. You should leave!”
“Brother, please do us a favor and let us stay. We have nowhere else to go!” Xie Wu pleaded, feigning pity, and gave Watanabe Keiko a meaningful look.
The two immediately put on an act. Watanabe Keiko wiped away fake tears and said, “We came from out of town seeking medical treatment and can’t find a place to stay.”
Watanabe Keiko was lying without a second thought, even though they had been there just that morning.
Xu Sanduo wasn’t in the mood to chat with them; he needed to change shifts for patrol.
“Go, go, go, get moving! This isn’t a charity!” Xu Sanduo shouted, urging them to leave.
Sun Er Pao came over with a cigarette in his mouth and said, “What’s all the yelling about? You’re disturbing your brother Er Pao’s smoke!”
Xu Sanduo pointed at them and said, “They want to stay in the Tong Lau, but we’re already full. There’s no room left!”
Sun Er Pao stepped forward and lecherously touched Watanabe Keiko’s hand, then looked at Xie Wu and said, “Is she your wife? She’s got some looks. If you let me have some fun with her, I might be able to squeeze out a room for you.”
He didn’t have deep feelings for Watanabe Keiko; they were just casual partners after a one-night stand. Although she resembled his daughter, making him reluctant, Xie Wu had to harden his heart for survival.
Xie Wu pushed Watanabe Keiko into Sun Er Pao’s arms and said, “Tonight, you’ll serve this gentleman!”
Watanabe Keiko was tossed to Sun Er Pao like an object by Xie Wu.
Sun Er Pao grinned widely and said, “You’re a loyal brother. You can have my room! As for the little beauty, she’s mine now!”
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