Escape Through the Deep Well

This person was like Wang Yang at first, unremarkable, or rather, Shen Yu didn't remember his name, but that didn't matter, because something more important was at hand.

The person's door opening wasn't quiet at all, immediately drawing Wang Yang's attention. And in that instant, Shen Yu and the others heard the sound of dislocating bones, then watched in horror as Wang Yang's upper body twisted around, making both his upper and lower halves face the other person.

"Holy shit..." Yu Cheng Yi didn't dare to scream loudly, only able to express his shock in a hushed voice.

The other person and Wang Yang stared at each other for a few seconds. Just as the person reacted and tried to close the door, Wang Yang was a step faster, lunging at him.

The door was pushed open, and the person was forced inside by Wang Yang. Immediately after, a piercing scream echoed throughout the building.

"Let's see if we can save him." Shen Yu lightly nudged Yu Cheng Yi with his elbow.

Yu Cheng Yi nodded, tiptoeing behind Shen Yu. They both hunched over and crept closer.

This ear-splitting scream had better wake everyone up. With strength in numbers, a group like theirs could surely deal with one Wang Yang, no, a mutated Wang Yang.

They didn't move slowly; if they did, they feared there would truly be a fatality.

At the door, the sounds of struggle and fighting inside were considerable. Yu Cheng Yi kicked open the half-closed door. What met their eyes was Wang Yang pinning the other person down, his hands tightly gripping his neck, trying to strangle him.

Yu Cheng Yi pulled Shen Yu behind him. He rushed forward and kicked Wang Yang in the butt, sending him tumbling several times. Able to breathe again, the person clutched his neck, coughing violently.

His face was already red from choking.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Shen Yu stepped forward to help him up. Seeing Wang Yang make a move to get back up, Shen Yu pulled Yu Cheng Yi, who was about to charge again, back with one hand. "Run."

He pulled the two of them out. Coincidentally, this room was opposite Shen Yu's living quarters, so they had to run halfway around the corridor of You Shen Lou.

Wang Yang behind them lunged out like a monkey, his speed showing no signs of him being a corpse with dislocated bones.

"Oh my god, what is this?" Yu Cheng Yi ran the fastest, pulling Shen Yu's hand with one hand, while Shen Yu pulled the other person along.

Shen Yu had realized early on that no matter how much noise they made, not a single room here opened its door. This meant they might no longer be in the original space, or other rooms had been tampered with, and now they could only save themselves.

"Downstairs, run downstairs." Shen Yu had a habit of leaving the lights on when he left his room. When he noticed his room light wasn't on, he knew it was the first case—they had been pulled into another space without realizing it.

Yu Cheng Yi didn't dare to delay for a moment. He naturally followed Shen Yu's words, pulling the two of them downstairs without a second thought.

Shen Yu felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

And behind them, less than six or seven meters away, was Wang Yang's corpse. He didn't dare to stop.

"Shen Yu, think of something, think of something!" Yu Cheng Yi also knew that running indefinitely wouldn't work. In a flash, they had reached the first-floor courtyard. By now, the snow was knee-deep, restricting their movements.

But luckily, it wasn't just them; Wang Yang also seemed very clumsy.

"Thank you, thank you." The other person couldn't say anything else, only repeatedly thanked Shen Yu and Yu Cheng Yi.

Shen Yu had no mind to pay attention to that person. His mind was racing, searching for a way to save themselves, until the well in the east corner caught his eye.

His eyes lit up. "Yu Cheng Yi, run to the well."

He said.

Yu Cheng Yi didn't hesitate either, using his shins to clear a path and run towards the wellhead.

"What are we doing at the well?" Yu Cheng Yi, seeing them about to reach the wellhead, quickly asked Shen Yu for his intention.

Shen Yu didn't beat around the bush. "Jump down."

"Okay... Huh? Jump down?!" Yu Cheng Yi was startled. Not to mention what was in the well, they didn't even know how deep it was. Jumping down meant an uncertain fate.

Shen Yu, however, showed a determined expression. He wasn't joking. With danger right behind them, Yu Cheng Yi gritted his teeth and thought, *If I die, I die. Better to fall to my death or drown than be torn apart by this monster.*

He pulled Shen Yu to his side. "Let me jump first."

He didn't give Shen Yu a chance to react. He thought if it was a very high fall, his death could cushion Shen Yu's.

As his left foot stepped onto the wellhead and his right foot was about to follow, his hand was suddenly yanked hard. Losing his balance, he fell flat on his butt in the snow. As he was about to look up and ask, he saw a black shadow whoosh into the well.

Before he could react, he only heard Shen Yu's voice, "Yu Cheng Yi, lift the well cover."

Yu Cheng Yi was the type whose body acted before his mind processed. By the time his mind caught up, he, Shen Yu, and the other person had already lifted the well cover and tightly sealed the wellhead.

Shen Yu knelt by the well, panting heavily.

"What, what was that?" Yu Cheng Yi's eyes were filled with astonishment. At this moment, a room on the fourth floor suddenly lit up. Shen Yu looked up; it was his room.

They had returned.

Shen Yu clutched his chest, finally catching his breath. Yu Cheng Yi immediately squatted down to help him rub his back.

After a long while, Shen Yu spoke, his voice uneven, "It heard, it will react first."

The "it" Shen Yu referred to was Wang Yang.

"How did you figure that out?" Yu Cheng Yi knew Shen Yu was intelligent and observed keenly, but in such an urgent situation, how did Shen Yu come up with those things?

Shen Yu was helped up. He took a breath and explained, "Because I remembered that Wang Yang immediately turned around when it heard the door open. Then, when I said to run downstairs, it also moved downstairs before us."

"So, when I said to jump into the well, it was also to lure it into jumping in." Shen Yu said.

"Thank you, thank you." Shi Jia was so moved that he sobbed at Shen Yu and Yu Cheng Yi's actions. Wiping his tears, he said, "My name is Shi Jia. Thank you for saving me."

Shi Jia was wearing rather thin clothes and was shivering from the cold.

Shen Yu glanced at him, saying indifferently, "Let's go back to the room first. It's cold outside."

Shi Jia nodded repeatedly, walking and talking, "I couldn't sleep tonight, I don't know why. I know there's a rule here not to open the door if you hear noises, but it was as if a voice was guiding me to open the door. I felt possessed, only thinking of taking a quick look, never expecting to encounter this."

Shen Yu's legs were weak and unsteady. Yu Cheng Yi still supported him.

He listened to Shi Jia's words, only lowering his gaze in thought, saying nothing.

"Anyway, it's lucky you guys were here. You saved me. If you ever need anything, just say the word." Shi Jia spoke so exaggeratedly that it seemed he would kneel down and pledge his allegiance the next second.

Shen Yu was exhausted and didn't want to answer him. Luckily, Yu Cheng Yi replied, "No need. We just happened to see it. Just protect yourself from now on, and don't open the door casually if you hear noises."

"I know, I definitely won't do it again next time." Shi Jia nodded repeatedly.

Returning to the fourth floor, Shi Jia's room had originally shown signs of a struggle, but now, looking inside, it was clean and tidy, with no trace of a fight. So, the scene of him and Wang Yang fighting earlier had also taken place in another space.

"Why..." Shi Jia also didn't understand.

Shen Yu, seeing that Yu Cheng Yi also didn't understand, spoke up, "You can understand it as us being pulled into another space, a place identical to this one. We would have died there, but Wang Yang falling into the well pulled us back to reality."

He didn't know how Shen Yu could think of so much, but he convinced both of them.

Under the light, the bruises on Shi Jia's neck were particularly clear, making it feel as if his bones had been crushed, looking terrifying.

Shen Yu suddenly felt that Shi Jia had a strange aura about him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After a few words, Shi Jia bid them farewell. He said, "You two go ahead. I'll open the door and light the way."

Yu Cheng Yi didn't think much of it, supporting Shen Yu as they turned to leave. The moment they turned, Shen Yu suddenly pushed Yu Cheng Yi away from him. The next second, a black blur lunged between them.

Yu Cheng Yi's "Holy shit" was swallowed back into his throat. He looked closely. Who else could this be? It was Shi Jia!

Shi Jia crashed into the railing. Luckily, the solid wooden railing blocked him, preventing him from falling downstairs.

By now, Shi Jia had transformed into a different person. His face was pale, and the bruises on his neck looked even more terrifying than before. Running downstairs was no longer practical, as both sides of the hallway were within Shi Jia's immediate reach.

Shen Yu signaled to Yu Cheng Yi. The next second, the two of them retreated into the room in perfect understanding. Shen Yu reached out and felt for the light switch beside the door frame. With a gentle press, the entire building, apart from the red lanterns outside, was plunged into darkness.

This was also why Shen Yu had suddenly pushed Yu Cheng Yi away, because he hadn't seen the light in his own room opposite them turn on.

With the room dark, Yu Cheng Yi and Shen Yu instinctively held their breath. Very quickly, only Shi Jia's heavy panting and chaotic footsteps could be heard in the room.

Shi Jia stumbled around the room, knocking over various objects. Yu Cheng Yi, hiding in a corner, trembled. Suddenly, a cylindrical object rolled to his feet.

He quietly squatted down and felt the object that had rolled to his feet. It was a flashlight, presumably Shi Jia's.

But he wasn't stupid; he naturally didn't dare to turn on the flashlight and become a living target.

Shen Yu's position wasn't good either. Moreover, the price of turning off the lights was that they couldn't see Shi Jia's movements.

Shi Jia, transformed into a monster, wasn't stupid. He knew to grope his way towards the light switch, as someone had definitely turned off the lights just now.

Fortunately, Shen Yu was thin. He felt Shi Jia brush past him several times without actually touching him. But the problem was, he seemed to be getting closer to Shen Yu's position.

Feeling the cold aura from Shi Jia right beside him, the cold wind from his groping hands fanned Shen Yu's face, making his nerves taut as a string. The next second, Shi Jia seemed to discover something and directly reached out to grab Shen Yu.

Shen Yu seemed to have a premonition, but realized it too late. At that very moment, his mouth and nose were suddenly covered by a warm, large hand. The other hand gripped his waist, and a strong force pulled him into a warm embrace.

This was no illusion; his nape hit a collarbone, and Shen Yu even felt a slight pain.

This embrace was incredibly familiar. Was it Xie Tu? He guessed.

Clearly, there was no way out from behind him. How did Xie Tu appear behind him?

Unfortunately, Shen Yu's mouth and nose were covered, so he couldn't ask anything.

Shi Jia failed to catch anyone and instantly darted to the other side. Shen Yu heard the footsteps receding, and the person behind him also disappeared. He reached out to feel, but only touched air.

How nice, doing good deeds without leaving a name. Shen Yu thought.

The house, which should have been noisy, became quiet. They couldn't see what Shi Jia was doing; at least there were no more footsteps.

Sitting still and waiting for death was certainly not the way. But currently, the two of them weren't in the same spot and couldn't discuss anything. Shen Yu intended to make some noise to attract Shi Jia closer. At that moment, he would turn on the light, pinpoint Yu Cheng Yi's location, and then turn off the light again.

After realizing Xie Tu was nearby, Shen Yu seemed to become much bolder in his actions.

Only this time, before Shen Yu could turn on the light, Yu Cheng Yi had already made a move, as the flashlight in his hand had been switched on.

He had the same thought as Shen Yu: to attract Shi Jia towards himself.

Yu Cheng Yi thought that even if he was useless, he could still punch Shi Jia, whereas Shen Yu couldn't. So, he deliberately turned on the flashlight to draw Shi Jia's attention.

He turned on the light, but Shi Jia didn't lunge. He waved the flashlight around a few times, but didn't see Shi Jia. He even saw Shen Yu in the opposite corner, but still no Shi Jia.

Could it be that he couldn't find them and left?!

Yu Cheng Yi was a little excited. He shone the flashlight upwards.

Thanks to the faint light of the flashlight, he excitedly looked towards Shen Yu.

He saw Shen Yu wink at him. He was stunned but understood Shen Yu's meaning: he was telling him to look up.

Yu Cheng Yi swallowed hard, blinked his wide eyes, and stiffly looked up.

What met his eyes was Shi Jia, like a spider, clinging to the wall. Shi Jia's hands and feet were stuck to the ceiling, his head rotated 360 degrees, facing Yu Cheng Yi. Their eyes met, and Yu Cheng Yi blinked his wide, innocent eyes.

And Shi Jia grinned at him, his mouth stretched to his ears, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, like the Japanese yokai "Kuchisake-onna."

Yu Cheng Yi immediately screamed 'Oh my god' and threw the flashlight at Shi Jia. Shen Yu didn't hesitate either, quickly flipping the light switch.

The entire house lit up.

Leading Shi Jia to that well again was no longer practical. Shen Yu had just run a full circle and clearly hadn't recovered his strength. Yu Cheng Yi looked like he couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the clothes rack nearby, holding its base with both hands, and said, "I can't take it anymore, Shen Yu, let me hit it."

Shen Yu also leaned against the ground, clearly having given up resisting. "Go ahead and hit him. I'm tired."

Yu Cheng Yi looked at Shi Jia. "You brat, Shen Yu and I saved you like that, and you treat us like this? Fine, today it's either you die or I live!"

Shi Jia didn't understand the words, but he could sense Yu Cheng Yi's resistance.

His limbs moved like a cat kneading dough, wiggling twice on the ceiling. Then he kicked off with his hind legs, intending to lunge at Yu Cheng Yi, who was already prepared to deliver a blow.

Unexpectedly, Shi Jia suddenly changed direction and lunged at Shen Yu. This action was so fast that no one had time to react. Shen Yu's pupils contracted slightly. Yu Cheng Yi threw what was in his hands and also lunged towards Shen Yu, "Shen Yu!"

He shouted.

In that moment of peril, a person suddenly appeared in front of Shen Yu. Xie Tu, in his night attire, stood before him. He reached out and grabbed Shi Jia's neck, his eyes cold, his clothes and long hair fluttering as if caught by a sudden wind.

The bells on his body jingled crisply.

His expression was cold, like a god descended from the heavens, shielding Shen Yu.

"Xie... Xie Tu?" Yu Cheng Yi, sprawled on the ground, only looked up and asked doubtfully.

Shen Yu leaned against the wall to stand up, then slightly tiptoed and tilted his head past Xie Tu, his voice neither warm nor cold, with a hint of teasing, "You're here but didn't show yourself, just watched us make fools of ourselves?"

Xie Tu's expression momentarily faltered. His eyes flashed, and he exerted force with his hand. With a "crack," Shi Jia completely lost consciousness. His head lolled to one side, his entire body like a lump of mud hanging from Xie Tu's hand. Xie Tu released his grip, and Shi Jia fell to the ground with a "thud."

"I just arrived." Xie Tu lowered his head to explain to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu gave a perfunctory nod. "Uh-huh, just arrived."

Clearly, he didn't believe it.

"Are you hurt?" Xie Tu decided to change the subject. His way with words was always inferior to Shen Yu's, and he feared that if he continued to banter with Shen Yu, the latter would uncover the fact that he had been secretly observing him for the past few days.

Shen Yu spread his hands and shrugged, "I'm fine."

"Shen Yu? Xie... Tu? Since when did you two get so close?" Yu Cheng Yi also got up from the ground.

Shen Yu was about to speak when he saw Yu Cheng Yi's eyes roll back, and he fell straight down. His expression darkened. "Yu Cheng Yi!"

He rushed forward to help Yu Cheng Yi sit up, letting him lean against his chest.

"I just put him to sleep. You don't need to worry." Xie Tu spoke truthfully.

"You should have at least said something. Did you want him to fall to his death?" Shen Yu said, clearly relieved.

Xie Tu pursed his lips and also squatted down beside Shen Yu. "Then next time, I'll tell you."

Shen Yu: ...

"Alright, tell me what happened to these two tonight?" Shen Yu had some guesses, but he couldn't figure out the reason for their mutation.

This time, Xie Tu didn't hide anything. He said directly, "A curse."

"A curse? Here?" Shen Yu frowned, pressing for answers.

Xie Tu evaded again. He and Shen Yu helped Yu Cheng Yi up, then changed the subject. "Let's go. Take him back to his room."

Shen Yu was used to Xie Tu's abrupt changes of topic, and he had no intention of making things difficult for others. There were things Xie Tu wouldn't say, and he wouldn't force him.

However, Xie Tu's two words, 'a curse,' had truly piqued Shen Yu's interest.

"Alright then." Shen Yu supported Yu Cheng Yi, and together with Xie Tu, they helped him out of the room.

The moment he stepped out of the doorway, Shen Yu felt everything around them had changed. He was about to turn his head to look, when Xie Tu suddenly said, "Don't look back, let's go."

Shen Yu obediently said "oh." He didn't want to overthink the rest; everything could be dealt with tomorrow morning.

The light in his room came on again. It seemed this time they had returned to reality, escaping that other space.

The two of them helped Yu Cheng Yi back to his room. After settling him in, they left together.

Shen Yu yawned, opened his own room door, and said, "I don't even know what time it is now. So sleepy, so tired."

He spoke to Xie Tu very naturally, his voice soft.

"It's past one. You should get some rest." Xie Tu said, intending to leave, but Shen Yu didn't realize. He went into his room, leaving the door open for the other, and said, "Then let's go to sleep quickly."

"Hmm?" Xie Tu let out a questioning sound.

Shen Yu heard it and turned his head, seeing Xie Tu standing outside the door. He also wondered, "What's wrong? Do you need something?"

"No!" Xie Tu immediately walked into the room, then very naturally closed the door.

Shen Yu took off his outer jacket. He had originally been sleeping in bed when he was called to the bathroom, so he was only wearing thin clothes. The overhead light shone through the thin shirt, subtly revealing his slender waist.

This time, Xie Tu didn't get a nosebleed. He had tasted the sweet fruit, and his reaction was no longer a nosebleed.

Shen Yu climbed onto the bed, actively leaving a space for Xie Tu.

He didn't notice anything unusual about Xie Tu. Xie Tu's Adam's apple slid down. He casually turned off the light, then also slipped into bed, lying close to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was like a cat. As soon as Xie Tu lay down, he snuggled in, unable to help but sigh, "You're so hot."

Xie Tu's body stiffened slightly. He made no big movements, letting Shen Yu arrange him.

Not long after, the person beside him began to breathe steadily. Xie Tu blinked, feeling a little unable to sleep.

He didn't need sleep, nor did he need light, so he secretly turned over, hugged Shen Yu close, and looked at Shen Yu's peaceful sleeping posture. Xie Tu's heart was filled with extreme satisfaction.

Only in the middle of the night, Shen Yu woke up feeling something pressing against him. He grabbed the object in his stomach and vaguely said, "Xie, Tu, next time... change... your... clothes before sleeping..."

He only thought they were Xie Tu's accessories.

Xie Tu let out a soft sound, finally squeezing out a wronged "Mm."