Horror Game Designer

"What else do you know about the Xi Residence?" Gao Ming climbed up from the ground. He maintained a safe distance from Bai Feng.

"I only know that the Xi God is going to marry tonight. Everyone here will be blessed. They will be spared from tragedy." Bai Feng's brain was buzzing. She pondered for a long time. Red lines appeared in her eyes, but she didn't notice them.

Gao Ming took another step back. He didn't forget his mission. "Have you met someone called Zhang Mingli here?" Gao Ming described Zhang Mingli's appearance to Bai Feng. To his surprise, Bai Feng nodded and gave him an important clue.

"There is a cellar here where the night gentleman is selected. There is a person fermented in the deepest alcohol urn. He looks like the man you're looking for; at least, his face does. As for his body…" Bai Feng thought for a while. "His face doesn't match his body. I hear he was Madam Xi's first husband and the first night gentleman."

Bai Feng's words caused Gao Ming to frown. It sounded like the Xi Gods were suppressing a part of Zhang Mingli. Just what was so special about Zhang Mingli?

"Can you bring me there?"

Just as Gao Ming said that, the whiny voice of the peach-blossomed-eyed Minor Xi God came from outside the door. "The main event hasn't started yet. Why is the candlelight out? Night gentleman, are you in there?"

Bai Feng shared a look with Gao Ming. She relit the candle.

The candle shone on the characters on the wall. The broken red lines started to wiggle. Bai Feng frowned deeply as if trying to resist something. The severed threads crawled up Bai Feng's legs like snakes. They wanted to enter her groom's outfit. Gao Ming shoved her away. He didn't show any mercy to the things in the room. He stomped on the red lines and picked up the candlestick on the table. The candlelight flickered. It reflected the giant Xi character above the headboard.

Beads of sweat fell. Gao Ming's face bulged with veins from pain. There appeared to be a giant, red demon in the room, munching on all the joy.

"Night gentleman, are you in? The auspicious hour is here. We mustn't let Madam wait."

"Gather the twenty-four Xi Gods. Prepare the five-coloured threads, open Tang Guo, ready the phoenix crown and cape, and the hand-stabilizing silvers." Bai Feng halted. She yelled at the door. She couldn't remember the rest, "Go now!"

"Okay." As the voice of the Minor Xi God disappeared, the candlelight in the room disappeared. It gave Bai Feng a jolt. She had been fighting a mysterious force, but suddenly, she couldn't feel its presence anymore.

She turned to Gao Ming. His heart bled. The boiling blood became mixed with the ashes of the Xi character. The tattoo became alive. Looking at his skin made her feel like she was walking into a different world.

"Gao Ming?" Bai Feng nudged him uncertainly.

Gao Ming looked up. His eyes were pierced by bloodlines. Meat fragrance came out of his body. It was a fragrance that caused one's stomach to grumble.

"I remember more things. In the deep-level nightmare, I had an easier time unlocking the seal to release the thing confined in my heart." Gao Ming didn't tell Bai Feng what he saw. His eyes lost a bit of clarity. It became heavier with emotions.

"What is in your heart?"

"It could be a red-clothed ghost, or it could be an eight-armed god. It could also be endless versions of myself who are dead. It might be a red city." Gao Ming tossed away the melted candlestick. "I don't know. I can't say if I should keep on pursuing this or not. Is it the right thing to do?"

"Why the hesitation now?"

"Reality hasn't let me down. At least I have a good life now. But if I keep digging, all the tragedies might return, and the pain will fall on my shoulders again." Memory fragments entered Gao Ming's mind. The crack in his heart was widening.

"Pain and despair will not vanish for no reason. If you're relieved of the pain, it means someone innocent is shouldering them for you." Bai Feng hesitated before asking, "Did you see Bai Xiao and Bai Qiao?"

"They appear to be in my heart… Not only them but also many others…"

Firecrackers exploded outside the street. The rest of Gao Ming's words were overwhelmed by the noise. No one heard him.

"The auspicious time is here. I need to go marry Madam Xi." Bai Feng came to a decision. "I'll do my best to distract the guests and the Xi Gods. You'll use that opening to rescue Zhang Mingli from the cellar. Madam Xi treats the night gentlemen like clothes, but she cares deeply about the first night gentleman. There has to be a reason why she's keeping him alive."

Bai Feng arranged her clothes before the copper mirror. She opened the door. She looked around. After ensuring no one was around, she waved at Gao Ming and walked alone to the main hall.

The feast was like a churning sea of blood. Bai Feng was like a single boat coursing through the storm. Twenty-four minor Xi Gods crowded the main hall. Gao Ming found his way to the backyard. The backyard was very clean. Four goats were kept in an enclosure. Their eyes were brilliant and humanlike.

When he lifted the lid to the cellar, a horrible smell assaulted him. The Xi Residence was peppered with fragrances. Even the wood smelled amazing. However, the cellar was incredibly smelly, forming a stark contrast to the rest of the place.

Gao Ming took out the copper mirror. Through reflection, he saw that the steps of the stairs were the backs of human corpses, and the rails were shorn bones. He walked down the steps. The cellar was filled with hugging corpses.

Some were holding hands and others were trying to get to each other. Love between couples, families and friends were on full display. The faces of the dead were coloured by joy and smile. There was no fear of death. There was no pain or despair.

The cellar was probably the darkest and smelliest place in Dream Break Town, but it featured a unique beauty. Death no longer felt as scary. It even made Gao Ming yearn for it. Of course, he quickly banished this dangerous thought.

Gao Ming walked past the corpses. When he accidentally brushed against one of them, his mind would be drawn to their beautiful memories and experience their joy.