TEG 5
Chapter 5 – Inside and Out
Although still confused about the tags, the situation was urgent. Zhou Xiangyue blocked out all the noisy chatter in his mind.
He ran through the narrow alley with all his strength for half a minute before suddenly stopping.
The path opened up ahead—before him stood a courtyard gate, resembling a perfectly symmetrical bronze etching. The gate was tightly shut. A pair of lion-head knockers with closed eyes glinted coldly with a dark golden sheen. Two large red lanterns hung on either side of the eaves.
The red lanterns dimly lit the surroundings, their blood-red glow casting an eerie hue over the uneven courtyard walls. The pear tree branches that stretched over the top twisted into shadows like fangs.
The courtyard felt strange—especially those grotesque lion-head knockers, eerily shut-eyed, sending a chill down his spine.
It felt as if something terrifying lurked behind the gate.
More importantly, this wasn’t how the alley looked when he first ran in.
There was no way out.
Wow, it’s a ghost wall trap!
He’s done for, lol. Not a lucky one after all. Trapped between the class master and a ghost wall—game over.
Nice, we don’t have to wait for his survival time to run out. We get to watch the pretty boy drop dead early.
The door’s shut. Looks like that little ghost isn’t home. Shame—I really liked its killing methods. Perfect for the little beauty.
Totally! Better to be killed by the ghost kid than beaten to death by the class master. At least it’s more aesthetically pleasing.
Thud, thud, thud!
Heavy, rapid footsteps echoed again, followed by a furious roar:
“You filthy bastard, get out here and die… I’ll peel your skin, rip out your tendons, and use them as straps for the mountain of blades…”
In Zhou Xiangyue’s mind, the phrase “If I don’t kill you, my name isn’t Song” grew blindingly bright, scorching even.
Zhou Xiangyue: “…”
He looked at the tightly shut gate.
His heart was pounding wildly. The fatigue and dizziness were so overwhelming he felt like vomiting. Zhou Xiangyue suspected that if he forced this body to keep running, he might die of sheer exhaustion.
Zhou Qing, thanks a lot!
No time to catch his breath—he stepped forward and pushed at the lion-head door knocker.
Nothing. Didn’t move an inch. He tried pulling.
Thin wrists strained, veins bulging—but the gate didn’t budge at all.
This is killing me! Don’t waste time on a door that won’t open! Run! You’ve got to have some hidden item to stall the class master and escape!
He hasn’t used a single artifact or talisman so far. Maybe he really is just an ordinary person. Running into the class master is suicide!
LOL. If you know you’re weak, why provoke the class master? Natural selection’s coming for you.
Zhou Xiangyue didn’t hesitate further. He knocked with the lion ring—three deep, muffled knocks.
The class master was on the way here. There were no forks in the path—he’d definitely follow.
LOL. Is he seriously knocking? Hoping a ghost will open the door in a nightmare realm?
Stop!! Don’t knock the door! DON’T KNOCK!!!
Why not?
See those lion-head knockers? I saw someone knock before and then… the lion opened its eyes…
Yikes, then what?
It bit the person’s hand like a real lion eating an antelope—slowly dragged them in and devoured them. The door opened once only their last leg was left. The class master arrived to find the gate open… and a dried-up human skin at the door, with only a bit of meat left on the leg…
WTF!! So the lion gets fed and only then opens the door?! This guy barely has any meat—won’t even be a snack!
Wait, are the lion-heads really this ritualistic? Even leave skin behind?
You’re evil.
Suddenly, Zhou Xiangyue felt a slight sting on his finger, as if something sharp had cut it.
He looked down—his right hand, gripping the lion-head ring, was now caught in its mouth.
Startled, Zhou tried to pull back, but the lion’s sharp bronze teeth held him firmly in place—it was like it had come alive.
Under the glow of the red lanterns, the bronze lion head looked grotesque and sinister.
Unseen in the shadows, a drop of blood welled from his pale fingertip and disappeared into the lion’s mouth.
The next moment, the heavy bronze doors silently creaked open, revealing a dark, gaping entrance.
Like a beast baring its jaws toward its prey.
Holy crap?! The door opened?!
Wait, is the ghost kid back? No way, we didn’t see anything.
I looked closely—the lions never opened their eyes! Whoever told that horror story is trolling!
No way! I swear I saw them eat someone before. Maybe they’re full now? Or he’s too skinny to bother with?
Drama queen, I’m just here to watch you act.
I SWEAR I’m not lying!!
Wait… did anyone else see him pat the lion’s head like petting a cat before going in??
Meow meow meow???
Did he just charm the lion with his looks? Is this the power of a bug-tier protagonist?
Zhou Xiangyue stepped inside, his expression odd.
…Was it his imagination, or did the lion-head just… lick his finger?
Too focused on the class master behind him, he hadn’t noticed a new flickering tag pop up:
“Fragrant”
With a little fuzzy cat-head next to it.
The bronze doors remained silently open behind him, the livestream feed following him inside.
No one saw the lion heads slowly open their eyes after he entered.
And as they gripped the rings in their mouths, the corners of their lips curled into an exaggerated, eerie smile.
Creak—
A bone-chilling groan echoed from the shadows underfoot, jarring against the silence.
The courtyard was pitch black. It took Zhou Xiangyue a moment for his eyes to adjust. Under the dull, rusty-red moonlight, he looked down.
Beneath his feet was a hollow wooden plank, mottled with mildew. Its edges had rotted into a strange greenish-black.
Just ahead, at face height, was a long blade nearly as tall as a man—its cold black edge pointed directly at the gate.
Zhou Xiangyue: “…”
Good thing he didn’t rush inside earlier, or he’d have been split in half.
The wooden plank stretched into the yard, studded with blades. Each knife glinted under the moonlight like a frozen forest of steel.
The courtyard was smaller than the last. All the doors to surrounding rooms stood open like gaping mouths. To enter any room, one had to navigate through a maze of blades.
Under the dim moonlight, he could make out piles of cabinets and boxes in the west wing. The east and north wings were in complete darkness—nothing visible.
It’s quiet… Maybe the ghost kid really isn’t home. Bug-tier MC for the win.
Still gotta move. Class master’s almost here!
Head to the west room! Hide in a cabinet, he’ll never find you.
Wait… that’s only if he’s patrolling normally. But this dude messed with him earlier—no way class master gives up until he’s dead.
True… better light a candle for him.
Ding ling ling… ding ling ling…
A strange, ethereal bell sound rang in the dark.
Hearing it, Zhou Xiangyue felt his spirit tremble involuntarily.
Throughout the strange opera courtyard, almost every corner had dark golden bells hanging.
These bells were engraved with complex, cryptic runes. At first glance, they looked like protective charms—but they gave off a chilling, unsettling aura.
Zhou Qing had once overheard Diao Xinsha and the others say these bells had no clappers and didn’t ring in the wind.
But now… the bells were ringing.
Something other than wind must have stirred them.
