Being alone fit the criteria for the fire ghost’s killing conditions, as Gu Zhan had speculated.
Sang Yue’s voice was tinged with fear; she was worried that she had already become the fire ghost’s prey.
Gu Zhan’s voice remained calm: “Is Ma Xiaowen and He Hui with you?”
“No, they’re not,” Sang Yue replied. “I’m in the small room arranged for us by the village chief, and there’s no one here. The footprints on the ground… show that no one has come through.”
“I’m in the same situation as you,” Gu Zhan said.
He turned to leave but discovered that the door had somehow been closed.
No matter how he pushed, the door wouldn’t budge.
Just then, Sang Yue’s panicked voice came through: “The door is closed! I can’t open it!”
In the next moment, bright light suddenly appeared outside, and a wave of heat rushed in.
It was fire!
Sang Yue exclaimed, “There’s a fire outside!”
It seemed she was trying to push the door with all her might, but it wouldn’t open at all. Sang Yue’s voice became increasingly terrified, but Gu Zhan spoke up: “Stay calm.”
Sang Yue immediately fell silent, and after a moment, her voice was much calmer: “We can’t get out. What should we do?”
Gu Zhan recalled his experience in the first fragment when he encountered the fire ghost in Xiao Xiu's room; it was a similar situation.
The scorching heat felt as if he were engulfed in flames.
He became more certain that the fire ghost's method of killing was to burn people alive.
The flames outside were closing in, as if knowing they had no way to escape, the fire advanced slowly.
However, the heat in the room was no less intense, and soon Gu Zhan was drenched in sweat.
Sang Yue’s situation was even worse; she told Gu Zhan, “The fire… has already come in.”
Gu Zhan frowned; if he didn’t do something, they would both become roasted chickens today.
He thought carefully about what might have been overlooked.
Suddenly, Gu Zhan asked, “Your film club investigated the original story behind ‘Feast of Horror,’ right?”
Sang Yue replied eagerly, “Yes! It was said that in a place called Huangquan Village, a woman was possessed by a ghost. Ah! Huangquan Village!”
Only then did she realize, “Isn’t that where we are right now?”
“Correct,” Gu Zhan said. “Since we entered Huangquan Village, have you noticed anything unusual?”
Sang Yue responded, “The crew said that Huangquan Village has long been abandoned, and there’s no one left… but when we came here, people were still living here…”
At this point, she paused slightly: “I find the existence of this village very strange. The facilities here are quite old, as if they don't belong to the same era as the crew.”
Gu Zhan replied, “Let’s assume the background story you investigated is true. Then the female ghost should have killed everyone in the village. So at this moment, these people in the village are not alive; it’s just that they seem unaware that they are already dead.”
Sang Yue became anxious: “What does all this have to do with our current situation? Even if the female ghost is here, she should be the water ghost. But right now, we’re going to be burned alive!”
Right, the water ghost.
Gu Zhan felt he had grasped some clues related to the water ghost.
But there was no information about this ghost that used fire.
What was missing?
The killing methods of ghosts are always for a reason, related to their cause of death, perhaps? And why can only one person be killed at a time?
Does this indicate that the ghost's abilities are limited?
From the riverbank to the small room, such a long distance—why specifically trap him and Sang Yue in this house to burn them alive? What’s special about this house?
At this moment, Sang Yue's voice came through again: “This is Xiao Xiu’s home! I found a photo of Xiao Xiu in his cabinet…”
Her voice carried a hint of hesitation, but she finished, “Um, it’s just that the photo is in black and white.”
“No problem,” Gu Zhan replied, turning around and heading toward the cabinet behind him. He pulled open the drawer and, indeed, found a photo of Xiao Xiu.
It looked exactly like the singer Xiao Xiu he had seen in the previous fragment with Ye Sheng Ge.
Gu Zhan said, “Do you remember Ye Sheng Ge? Photos from that era should indeed be in black and white.”
This meant the original story did take place in that era.
The village chief’s sense of incongruity stemmed from this.
The flames outside burned even larger now; Gu Zhan didn’t need to turn around to hear the crackling sound of the wooden doors and windows burning.
On the other side, Sang Yue seemed to choke, unable to stop coughing.
Gu Zhan stared at the black-and-white photo, appearing still, but his mind was racing.
He was wondering what exactly had been overlooked...
Since the first time he encountered the Fire Ghost.
Marbles, children, hide and seek... all were related to fire but in a narrow, immovable space.
Suddenly, Gu Zhan turned and walked toward the kitchen of the small house.
This old-style residence had a stove built from bricks and earth. The stove was constructed directly from bricks, with a firebox connected to an earthen bed at the back for winter heating.
To allow the fire to burn better, iron plates were hung outside the firebox.
As Gu Zhan approached, he picked up a piece of firewood from the ground and lifted the iron plate.
The firebox, long unused, was filled to the brim with dark, foul-smelling debris.
The moment that debris was exposed, Gu Zhan heard a child's laughter behind him, followed by the flames outside extinguishing, plunging everything into darkness.
Sang Yue's panicked voice came through: "What happened? What’s going on?"
The next second, she appeared before Gu Zhan.
Behind her were the sounds of women chatting, sticks hitting clothes, and the flow of water.
In front of him were Ma Xiaowen and He Hui, urging him in confusion: "Weren't we supposed to go back? Why aren’t we moving forward?"
Sang Yue lost her balance and collapsed to the ground, touching her forehead, drenched in cold sweat.
Seeing her like this, Ma Xiaowen and He Hui realized that something significant had happened to her and Gu Zhan. They quickly stepped back, surrounding Sang Yue: "What’s wrong?"
Gu Zhan turned back and noticed they were still by the riverbank.
They were nowhere near the small house.
"What happened to you just now?" Ma Xiaowen asked softly.
Gu Zhan replied, "Let’s talk about it after we get back."
Sang Yue looked at Gu Zhan, wondering if they should return after nearly being burned to death in that small house.
But Gu Zhan had already taken a step forward.
Sang Yue had no choice but to force herself to get up.
Having escaped the illusion created by the ghost, the sky seemed less dark.
The small house wasn’t far from the riverbank, and they quickly arrived.
Having almost been trapped there and burned to death, Sang Yue naturally didn’t want to go back inside.
Ma Xiaowen and He Hui, confused, didn’t want to enter either and stayed close to Sang Yue.
Gu Zhan went inside alone, straight to the kitchen.
The kitchen setup was identical to what they had seen in the illusion earlier; the pot stood quietly in the corner, and the firebox was covered with a piece of iron. Perhaps due to frequent use, the iron had turned black...
Even the stick on the ground looked the same. Gu Zhan picked it up again and lifted the iron plate from the firebox.
He stood by the stove for a long time without moving. Sang Yue entered with the others and asked him, "What’s inside?"
Following Gu Zhan’s gaze, she saw a small blackened head inside the firebox.
"Ah!" Ma Xiaowen exclaimed, nearly falling.
Sang Yue's face went pale.
"What is this…?"
Gu Zhan frowned, "As expected, this should be the Fire Ghost."
"Ah?" This answer exceeded Sang Yue’s expectations. She looked horrified at the charred corpse and asked, "How can this be?"
In this story... where is there a child who was burned to death?
But she also understood that if there wasn’t one, where did the extra ghost come from?
This scene left everyone stunned.
No one spoke.
After a while, Ma Xiaowen nervously asked, "Should... should we take it out?"
This thing was a bit unsettling; everyone just looked on, afraid to make a move.
Gu Zhan squatted down, poking at the charred corpse with the stick.
With a "thud," the head rolled out from inside.
The head rolled around continuously, straight past Sang Yue and Ma Xiaowen, coming to a stop at He Hui's feet after bumping into her shoe.
He Hui's face turned white, and she stood frozen in place.
Gu Zhan said, "Let’s find a place to bury it."
Only then did everyone snap back to reality and start to move.
The room was filled with many unused containers, and Sang Yue found a basin that was just right for collecting the charred remains.
Gu Zhan carefully used the stick to place the charred corpse into the basin.
Once all the remains were out, everyone could finally see that this child was probably only four or five years old.
They had been forcibly stuffed into the firebox.
Sang Yue carried the basin to the courtyard and dug a hole to lay the child to rest.
Gu Zhan said, "Do you remember that story? The woman named Xiao Xiu was possessed by the river ghost and killed the entire village. Since she had a husband, it would be normal for her to have children."
Sang Yue frowned, "She was possessed by the ghost, so she killed her own child?"
But even so, she found it hard to accept that a mother would kill her child in such a manner.
Gu Zhan replied, "No, this method resembles that of a person."
Though cruel, only a person would need to act like this.
Sang Yue rubbed her temples, overwhelmed: "What exactly is this story about? Why did a child suddenly appear...?"
Gu Zhan said, "There should actually be three people in the story."
"Ah?" Sang Yue looked up in confusion.
Gu Zhan explained, "A wife, a husband, and a child."
Sang Yue said incredulously, "Are you saying that everything originates from this family?"
Gu Zhan continued, "Firstly, the story of the Feast of Horror and its core have left someone dissatisfied, but since the story mainly revolves around the female ghost, we can think of it as her being unhappy with her portrayal in the film. Secondly, the child from this family was stuffed into the firebox, became a charred corpse, and eventually turned into a ghost..."
"We have encountered only two ghosts, which means that in this family, only the women and children have turned into ghosts. But what about the one remaining? The one who is still alive and has been pursued by the female ghost, the one who personally stuffed the child into the stove."
These words sent a chill down Sang Yue's spine.
Only now did she realize that in this story, the husband had been like a background character, completely invisible.
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