[My House of Horrors] January 5

Heavy footsteps sounded in an empty room as thick veins of blood spread out from the doorknob.

The clock struck midnight. The doorknob began to turn, barely perceptibly. Blood mist surged, and everything around it was coated in red.

Zhang Yao leaned against the bloodstained door, his left eye bloodshot. Despair and negativity drifted away from him until, at last, the door behind him slowly swung open. Bloodied hands gripped the door, their bloody handprints emanating boundless fury.

One day, Zhang Yao stood before the blood door of his home. His shadow wandered in the darkness, and lanterns made of human skin hung from the branches of trees extending out from inside the doorway.

“Fortunate one, favored by a vengeful spirit, congratulations on triggering the four-star trial mission, ‘January 5, Wednesday.’”

“Mission hint: On January 5, when I received that death notice, I knew I would eventually push open the door leading to a world of despair.”

Boss Chen, who was carrying a skull-crushing hammer today, seemed a little conflicted.

“Come on, come on! Vengeful spirits, hand over your keepsakes. Red-clad ghosts, hand over your strands of blood. Once you’ve paid, you can go in. Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.”

Looking at his visitor, Zhang Yao grinned. “Boss Chen, when you visit someone else’s home, don’t you think you should be a little more polite? Could you stop wanting to stuff everything you come across into your haunted house?”

“And stop bringing those worldview-shattering things, too. Call my sister out, and let’s have a meal together.”

The Nine-River Hammer King wasn’t feeling too great today. Ahem, I mean, he was feeling wonderful.

Some say the world beyond the door is an even deeper despair. I don’t think so. Even in the most desperate place, you can still find that one ray of light shining with hope.

Theme: Watching the everyday life of an older sister and her husband