Chapter 14: Fourteen: Death Tug-of-War

Fourteen: Death Tug-of-War

The Sacrificial Altar was located deep within the House of Horrors, in an area not open for close-contact, separated by a fenced-off area connected by chains.

When Yu Lianyun and the others found the Sacrificial Altar, the inverted cross standing upon it was already rusted from years of neglect; mottled rust covered the entire cross, and weeds grew in the cracks of the altar, quietly thriving with the help of the sun and moon light filtering through a hole in the ceiling of the House of Horrors.

"This is it." Yu Lianyun's heart raced, a sense of unknown dread wrapping around her entire body; it was the exact feeling brought on by the nightmares that had not ceased for the past few days, a feeling she was all too familiar with.

Soon, with the help of He Jia'an and the others, Yu Lianyun used the shovels and spades they had brought along on the trip to vigorously excavate the Sacrificial Altar.

The cement and stone of the altar were terrifyingly hard, and the interior was extremely damp; every time they chiseled into it, viscous liquid with a foul odor flowed out from the gaps.

At times, Yu Lianyun and the others even felt that what they were digging into was not stone and cement, but flesh, even though it was very firm.

Whether it was psychological or not, as the excavation progressed, everyone gradually felt the environment become cold and damp.

Bang!

Suddenly, the rhythmic sound of digging produced a different noise; He Jia'an was the first to strike a hollow spot with his shovel, and he said in surprise, "Is there really a well?"

Before he could say anything more, a gust of cold, damp wind erupted from the black hole they had breached; everyone present clearly felt the ambient temperature drop by several degrees, and they couldn't help but subconsciously hug their arms and rub their skin.

"I don't think this is right." In this quiet space, Li Yingqi could hear her own breathing and heartbeat; after feeling that chilling aura, she immediately voiced her opinion, looking at Yu Lianyun, "After you find the body of the woman in white, what do you intend to do?"

"I want to give her a proper burial," Yu Lianyun explained.

"Why do you want to do that?" Li Yingqi expressed her confusion, "Do you really believe in the unscientific claim that someone who dies unjustly will have deep resentment and cause all sorts of bizarre phenomena?"

Yu Lianyun was silent for a moment, "I have to believe it, because I am experiencing it."

After saying this, Yu Lianyun immediately added: "Whether it's useful or not, I have to try; it's the only thing I can do now. Calculating from the time I received the call, tomorrow at around 3:32 PM will be the seventh day, which is my time of death."

"Whether you believe it or not, everything now is something I am willing to do. Since you chose to help me, please respect my decision." Yu Lianyun's expression was complex, but her tone was firm, "If you have reservations and don't want to get involved in this mess, then leaving now is still in time; everything can be left to me alone to handle."

He Jia'an and the others exchanged glances, said nothing more, and continued to help Yu Lianyun chisel at the Sacrificial Altar.

About an hour and a half later, the four of them finally dug a bottomless hole in the altar; when they tried to drop a stone into the hole, everyone could hear the echo of the stone hitting water.

Thus, it could be confirmed that this was indeed a stone well.

The next part would be incredibly risky; Yu Lianyun did not intend to let He Jia'an and the others follow, and they had no intention of following either, merely tying a rope to Yu Lianyun before standing by the well, quietly waiting for news after she went down.

"Be careful," Li Yingqi patted Yu Lianyun on the shoulder; as a woman herself, she knew how difficult Yu Lianyun's current state of mind was, but she could only offer the other party empty encouragement.

Yu Lianyun nodded heavily, then, with the help of the two men, He Jia'an and Wei Jiang, she slowly climbed down from the wellhead.

During the descent, Yu Lianyun felt two kinds of difficulties: the internal terror went without saying—as she climbed further down, the light from above grew weaker and the cold, damp aura grew heavier, and fear was about to burst out from her violently pounding heart—while the other difficulty was the objective environment; the walls of the stone well were covered in moss and an unknown slimy liquid, making it impossible to get a firm grip on the gaps in the wall.

Not knowing how much more time had passed, Yu Lianyun finally felt the icy well water with her toes; the near-zero temperature surged from her toes all the way to her brain, causing Yu Lianyun to shiver violently.

"I've reached the bottom!" Yu Lianyun shouted toward the wellhead, but when she looked up, she found the top was pitch black, and the rope tied around her waist had vanished without a trace; terror instantly crawled over her brain, and she felt as if she had become the second woman in white, her only way out blocked, destined to be drowned alive in this cold, deep well, huddled together with the bones of the woman in white.

"Hallucination, this is all a hallucination." Yu Lianyun told herself; everything she was seeing now was not reality, and if she just calmed down and thought about it, she could find many contradictions in what was happening to her.

If He Jia'an and the others had really resealed the well and cut the rope on her, the segment of rope around her waist should still be there, not the entire thing disappearing.

Soon, the people above, He Jia'an and the others, also discovered the abnormality below; the rope suddenly shook violently, and a massive force was pulling the other end of the rope—this was not a normal phenomenon.

He Jia'an and Wei Jiang could not let the rope continue to be pulled down; the two men braced their feet against the edge of the Sacrificial Altar while pulling the rope with all their might, struggling against the force below, while Li Yingqi took the opportunity to check the situation below; she fished out the DV with night-vision capabilities from Yu Lianyun's backpack, filmed the scene in the deep well, and kept zooming in, and the scene she saw made Li Yingqi's scalp go numb.

She saw a faceless woman in white, soaking in the water, pressing down hard on Yu Lianyun's head, pushing her into the water, trying to drown her alive.

"Hey!" Cold sweat broke out on Li Yingqi's palms and forehead; she feigned toughness and shouted righteously, "Let her go!"

The faceless woman seemed to hear her, but remained unmoved, still pressing Yu Lianyun's head into the water, merely lifting her head to face her with a face devoid of eyes, mouth, or nose, as if marking Li Yingqi as the next target.

He Jia'an and Wei Jiang, standing to the side, heard Li Yingqi's words and immediately guessed that there really seemed to be something in the well and that Yu Lianyun was in danger; they dared not be careless, pulling the rope with even more force, engaging in a tug-of-war with the unknown entity in the well.

"I'll help too!" Seeing that He Jia'an and Wei Jiang could only match the strength of the faceless woman below, Li Yingqi immediately joined the fray to turn the tide; she jumped behind the two men and engaged in a tug-of-war for life against the faceless death god in the well below.