Xu Xiangyang had mustered the courage to burst into this haunted house, with obviously just one goal in mind, and he had made mental preparations early on.
Because of that, he was determined not to give up even if he ended up bumping his head and bleeding.
However, when Xu Xiangyang entered and actually saw the scene of several people surrounding the dark-haired girl kneeling in the corner, rage surged in his heart, and all the fear and nervousness he had felt before were cast aside in an instant. He also felt fortunate that he had arrived in time, as the situation obviously hadn't developed to an irreparable stage yet.
Had he hesitated at the door of the Haunted House or decided not to enter at all, he would have been tormented by guilt for the rest of his life once he learned of the incident later. Although he was acting on impulse to save someone, that clearly had been the right choice.
The person in the center was none other than Shi Hui. Xu Xiangyang had been worried that he might get into trouble because of Lin Xingjie, among which Shi Hui was his biggest concern. Being targeted by such a school bully might actually result in a beating...
But now, he didn't feel the slightest bit of apprehension; his heart was filled with nothing but burning anger.
...
Upon noticing his approach, the girl's previously dim and lifeless pupils suddenly lit up. But she cleverly made no sound, keeping her lips tightly sealed and an air of resignation about her.
Xu Xiangyang inwardly praised her and, upon getting close enough, he strode forward and swung the telephone set he had grabbed from the living room table down hard at the back of the buzz-cut boy's head.
After all, with three adversaries, he had no chance of winning in a fair fight, so he could only try to defeat them one by one by taking them by surprise. Among the group, Shi Hui was the biggest and strongest, and from his brief actions just now, it was clear that he was the leader. Xu Xiangyang knew he had to act decisively—
So, he showed no mercy.
"Bang!"
The hard plastic casing collided with a skull, emitting a dull echo.
Under the stunned gaze of Yan Mingjun and Wang Nana, Shi Hui couldn't even manage a grunt before collapsing limply to the side.
"Aaaaah...?!"
Before Wang Nana could even let out a scream, Xu Xiangyang charged over and kicked Yan Mingjun in the stomach. The long-haired boy barely managed to raise his hands before being knocked back onto the floor, where he lay screaming in pain, clutching his arm.
Xu Xiangyang took the opportunity to give him a hard knock on the neck. He had learned a few moves from a guardian, though he hadn't had much chance to use them; fortunately, this time luck was on his side and his opponent went down immediately.
"Who... who are you... don't...!"
Seeing her male companions fall, the blond-haired girl immediately showed a look of fear and curled up defensively.
Xu Xiangyang hesitated for a moment but ultimately still gave her a kick.
Then, he turned around and reached out to grab the arm of the black-haired girl on the ground, trying to pull her up.
"Ow...!"
But as soon as he touched Lin Xingjie's arm, her delicate eyebrows immediately knitted in pain.
"... Are you hurt?"
"... No, it's okay, I can walk myself," the girl said softly. Clutching the backpack behind Xu Xiangyang for support, she struggled to her feet and glanced at Wang Nana, who had been trembling with her head in her hands just moments before and was now attempting to sneak away.
Xu Xiangyang noticed her expression. Although he felt he should be colder in front of this girl, he couldn't help but clear his throat before quietly suggesting,
"If you want to vent, why don't you go teach her a lesson now? I can help."
"No, that will leave marks. It would be troublesome if people like her turned the tables on us afterward."
"You can cushion with a backpack and punch her in the stomach,"
Xu Xiangyang proposed earnestly.
"Let's just drop it," the girl with black hair said, her head lowered as she shook her head. "Let's hurry and leave this place."
That indeed suited Xu Xiangyang's idea better, as he had no desire whatsoever to linger in this haunted place.
However, they had only taken a few steps away when the girl suddenly twisted her head back around and charged back. She first viciously kicked each of the unconscious men's groins, and when Xu Xiangyang turned around in surprise to look at her, she was covering Wang Nana's mouth with one hand while slamming the other girl's head against the pillar with a "bang, bang", ignoring her pained whimpers. Her movements were so fierce that one couldn't tell that her arm was injured.
After a while, Lin Xingjie staggered to her feet, covering her arm as she walked toward him. The girl's face was exceptionally pale, sweat pouring down from her forehead, obviously in extreme pain; yet, there was still a smile at the corner of her mouth as she let out a long sigh of relief.
Her series of actions were quite crisp and ruthless... yet there was also a touch of cuteness in them, giving him, an observer, a bizarre urge to laugh out loud, yet he felt it would be strange to actually do so, and turned his head away.
"We..."
Lin Xingjie said to him. However, she had only gotten halfway through her sentence when a sudden, muffled thud came from upstairs.
Both of their faces changed at once.
Xu Xiangyang naturally thought of the eyeless old man by the window, but he was shocked to find that Lin Xingjie's expression was equally terrible, as if she had actually seen "something".
"Thud."
A faint noise followed by the rustling fall of dust.
"Thud."
Another sound. Clearly closer than the last, as if someone was slowly descending the stairs, step by step.
Yet, Lin Xingjie, who had just run down from upstairs, knew there was no one there!
"Run!"
Xu Xiangyang shivered as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone. Without any thought of assessing the situation, he instinctively ran towards the door.
They couldn't care less about the fate of those scumbags at that moment. But Lin Xingjie, as if she had remembered something, quickly called out loudly.
"Wait, that door won't open! How did you get in here? We need to go out the same way!"
...What was she talking about?
Before Xu Xiangyang had time to react, he burst out the door, tripped over the steps, and landed flat on his face.
"Huh?"
An astonished voice came from behind him.
...
Lin Xingjie had just walked out the door and couldn't help but squint, instinctively shielding her eyes with her hand.
Despite having been inside for less than half an hour, she felt as if she had struggled to see daylight once again, the sunshine above blinding bright. Everything around her—the streets, the houses—seemed to shimmer.
A gentle breeze wafted by, softly caressing the girl's cheeks and lifting her long hair.
All that had just transpired seemed like nothing more than a nightmare...
Lin Xingjie, seeing the comically sprawled out young man in front of her, felt a sudden urge to burst into hearty laughter; yet her eyes involuntarily began to sting, and if she didn't forcibly hold back, the tears would fall the next second.
Sniffling, the girl walked up to him, carefully squatting down, and slowly reached out her hand to the one who was getting ready to stand up.
"Let's go,"
she whispered softly.