Chapter Five The Second Floor

The laughter seemed distant yet echoed right by their ears, filled with resentment and triumph. A sudden, inexplicable gust of wind chilled everyone to the bone.

“A ghost!”

Guo Zhengxiang hastily squeezed the emergency light, scanning the surroundings, while the others watched nervously. The beam from the emergency light barely reached far, and the second floor was clearly darker than the first. Apart from the nearby railings and the staircase leading down, everything else was swallowed by darkness.

“W-what was that?” Gao Yi, despite his burly stature, was clearly terrified.

Fei Xin clung tightly to Xiu Ming’s arm, her whole body pressing close, but in this moment, Xiu Ming had no mind for softness; like the rest, his heart was filled with fear of the darkness and the unknown.

“Up! There’s no way out from the first floor. If something really is here, there are enough of us to not be afraid!” Guo Zhengxiang’s voice trembled, but his words made sense given the situation.

Everyone drew closer together, and Xiu Ming put his arm around Fei Xin’s shoulders, pulling her close to his side.

“Thank you,” Fei Xin whispered.

Once the trembling group reached the center of the second floor, Cui Kaixuan spoke: “I think we’ve made a mistake.”

Gao Yi snapped, “Of course it’s a mistake! We never should have listened to Tao Tao’s damned idea and come into this house!”

Guo Zhengxiang retorted, “Don’t pin everything on her. Wasn’t there opposition?”

A flash of menace crossed Gao Yi’s eyes, but it vanished as he said, “I know she’s your girlfriend, but I’m just saying it as it is.”

“You—” Guo Zhengxiang was about to respond, but Cui Kaixuan shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I think we took the stairs the wrong way.”

“The stairs?” The others looked at Cui Kaixuan.

He pointed to the staircase below. “Look—between the first floor and the landing, there are two staircases that form almost a circle. Between the landing and the second floor, again two staircases form a circle. So…”

“It’s an 8,” Guo Zhengxiang said.

Cui Kaixuan nodded. “Yes, an 8.”

Before anyone could ask more, Cui Kaixuan continued, “If you turn the 8 sideways, it becomes a symbol.”

“In mathematics, it represents infinity. But in some contexts, it symbolizes cycles or reincarnation.”

Xiu Ming asked, “So you’re saying we should have climbed the stairs in a certain order?”

Cui Kaixuan nodded. “Whether we should have started on the left or right, there should be clues on the steps. But we didn’t follow a set route. So we broke something—maybe a rule. That’s why, when I was the last to step up, we heard that sound.”

“My guess is, you start on the right, circle to the left on the landing, and when going down, start on the right again and circle left.”

Though the reasoning had no clear basis, no one could refute it. Or rather, no one knew what Cui Kaixuan was basing it on.

“Since it’s already happened, let’s keep looking for a way out. When we leave, we can try following the route to see if it helps,” said Guo Zhengxiang, shining his flashlight around.

The second floor was a ring-shaped corridor, like the first floor, with hallways to the left and right. Looking up, they could vaguely make out the ceiling, about three meters high.

Directly ahead was a large door, positioned above the red door on the first floor.

“So? Should we go in?” Everyone looked at Cui Kaixuan, who shook his head. “I’m not sure. But I think we should check the sides first, and come back here last.”

With no objections, Guo Zhengxiang led them to the right.

The doors along the right corridor were more ornate than those on the first floor, each adorned with strange patterns resembling a crest.

Gao Yi and Guo Zhengxiang tugged at the doors, then shook their heads at the others—none would open.

“Next.”

The second, third, fourth, up to the seventh door wouldn’t budge.

But the eighth was larger, and just as they were about to give up, the door swung open.

The group exchanged glances, then entered.

It was a library. Rows of bookshelves lined the room, with a table in the middle piled high with books.

“Maybe there’s a clue here—a way to explain our situation,” Guo Zhengxiang said, lighting the candles on the table. The warm glow illuminated the room.

The five began leafing through the books on the table. Typically, the books left on the table were the most important, the ones most often read—starting here would be efficient.

“English?” Gao Yi frowned; his English was poor, and reading was a struggle. Cui Kaixuan was even worse, but after sifting through a few volumes, he found one in Chinese.

“The Five Wonders of Geography?” Cui Kaixuan raised an eyebrow. What were these foreigners up to?

“Faith in the mercy and love of God… it’s all false. Only faith in the Devil leads to eternal life…” Xiu Ming read aloud from a book. The illustration showed a cross with an X slashed over it.

Turning the page, he found a magic circle.

“This is a journal, documenting various tortures,” Guo Zhengxiang said grimly. Reading the book made him deeply uncomfortable. It seemed to be the most frequently handled volume, with many detailed notes and annotations about the punishments.

“My book seems to be filled with spells. These words combine into strange pronunciations, but have no clear meaning,” Gao Yi said.

“Mine is a treatise on religious theory,” Xiu Ming added, not looking up, still engrossed. The text seemed to have a strangely compelling power.

“Here’s a Chinese book on feng shui. They seem to be searching for a place of extreme yin,” Cui Kaixuan said, opening the book. Each description of such a place was marked.

“I think we should focus on finding a way out. Studying these books isn’t something we can do quickly,” Fei Xin said.

“Agreed.” Gao Yi closed his book. “Let’s see if there’s an exit. Our food is almost gone, and Wang Qian isn’t doing well.”

“Alright, let’s leave this for now,” Guo Zhengxiang said. The group stood and examined the room.

On each side of the library was a door, presumably leading to adjacent rooms.

They went to the left door first and opened it.

It was a well-decorated room, mirroring the layout of the first floor with the bed and desk in the same positions. On the desk was an identical copy of the religious book Xiu Ming had just read. Above the desk on the wall was the same crest as on the door. On one side of the wall was another door, leading to the next room. This door, however, had a latch on their side—it could be locked from this room.

They searched carefully, found nothing unusual, and opened the door to enter the next room.