Step Back! Master is Here! - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: I Am Sorry

Tang Luo could not possibly be single for the rest of his life.

Not long after Qin Menglan left, Tang Luo received an invitation to meet face-to-face.

It was an invitation from Li Hua Supernatural Interest Group to investigate supernatural phenomena.

The activity would be held this Saturday at 10 pm.

The location was an unfinished building at the edge of the city.

More precisely, it was an unfinished villa on the mountainside.

Originally, there were plans to develop the mountainside as an area for villas. Hence, the developer had built a few to test the market.

However, they had run into problems soon after construction started, such as lack of capital.

Nobody had been willing to take over the project, and it became a deserted area with two half-built villas.

Two years ago, the body of a tramp had been discovered there.

There were all sorts of rumors among the people.

Later, according to the police report, it had actually been an accident.

It then grudgingly became the favorite place for the city’s supernatural enthusiasts.

Someone had even posted photos of their expedition in the forum.

This time, it did not involve the entire group. Including Tang Luo, there were thirteen participants. Three of them said they were undecided and would decide closer to the date. The other ten would definitely attend, bringing along their own equipment and rations for a perfect adventure.

Anyway, this was what the organizer, who was also the group owner, Mistress Cutie, told Tang Luo.

It seemed to be a lot more exciting than the last supernatural investigation activity, which had turned out to be a campfire party.

It was Saturday night, and Tang Luo was sitting in the back of the car, thinking quietly to himself,

‘Hope I won’t get disappointed this time.’

The driver glanced at Tang Luo from time to time through the rearview mirror.

‘What is he doing, going to such a deserted area by the edge of the city so late at night?’

“Young man, what are your plans tonight?” The driver could not help but ask, as they arrived at the destination.

This time, Tang Luo didn’t deliberately wear trendy but exaggerated clothes. Rather, he was dressed casually.

“Oh, I am meeting someone for an adventure,” said Tang Luo.

“This place is fit for an adventure?” The driver’s eyes widened.

Were there any adventure areas on the edge of the city that he did not know of?

This wouldn’t do. The reputation of the old driver was crumbling!

He definitely had to look into the bottom of this.

“What kind of adventure? Is it exciting? In what form? What are the rates…”

“Uh, I’m talking about your usual exploration,” Tang Luo explained helplessly, looking at the old driver’s expression.

‘The damned internet age has destroyed many words.’

“Oh.”

The old driver immediately lost his interest.

‘Haha, young people nowadays are really energetic.’

After watching the old driver disappear in the horizon, Tang Luo switched on his phone and asked the group, “I’m here, where are you?”

In less than three seconds, Mistress Cutie sent an address. “We are all here, just waiting for you.”

“Coming,” replied Tang Luo.

They were already waiting next to the two remote villas on the mountain.

The refurbished roads were still there, except that they had been invaded by wild grass.

At night, there were not many roads in a lot of places.

Fortunately, for Tang Luo, this did not matter to him. He walked at a very fast pace, with no intention of allowing anyone to pick him up.

Tang Luo went up the mountain and saw that the villas were basically finished. The water and electric works were completed. There was even some work done at the entrance of the villas.

There were a bunch of people standing, shaking the torches in their hands.

“He is here, just coming up the mountain.”

One of the girls said with the tone “86[1] is coming up the mountain”, “Are you guys ready?”

“No problem.”

The group nodded, one after another, looking absolutely prepared. It was time to demonstrate their real skills!

About ten minutes later, a black figure appeared outside the villa, holding a small bright flashlight and shaking it casually.

Tang Luo shouted as he looked at the half-opened gate of the villa courtyard, “I am here, where are you?”

“We are here,” someone answered, walking out.

“Xuanzang?” asked that person.

“That’s right, you are?”

Tang Luo shone briefly at the person’s face.

Although Tang Luo had seen several people share their photos in the group, those photos were not usually real. This was a common understanding among people.

Tang Luo only glanced through the photos and did not bother remembering their faces. Hence, he had no idea who the lady standing in front of him was.

He only knew this person might run into trouble and could become his merit provider.

“Mistress Cutie, group owner,” said the woman. “Wang Shuishui, just call me Old Wang.”

The woman in front of him did not look young and should be around 30. She carried a backpack and had a torchlight. There was even a special-looking hat on her head with a video camera and a lamp,

She sounded like a working adult, rather than a university student.

“Okay, Old Wang.” Tang Luo followed her advice.

Wang Shuishui was momentarily stunned. It was the first time she met someone who called her Old Wang carefreely.

Couldn’t this guy be more polite?

“Where are the rest?” Tang Luo shone his flashlight around. Apart from Wang Shuishui, he did not see anyone else.

“They couldn’t help, but go ahead.” Wang Shuishui pointed to the half-opened door of the main body of the villa. “Let’s go in too.”

“Sure.” Tang Luo nodded as he headed towards the door.

“Wait for me. I’m recording, do you mind?” Wang Shuishui said, “Every adventure is a memorable journey.”

She pointed to her hat. On it, there was a video camera with a blinking red light.

“No,” Tang Luo said as he pushed open the door wider.

Just as he reached out and touched the door, a loud sound came from upstairs. It sounded as though something heavy had dropped.

“Ah!”

The cry of Wang Shuishui behind him was much louder than her usual voice.

Tang Luo turned his head with a strange expression.

Wang Shuishui laughed and said, “I am actually very timid, but I like this supernatural stuff.”

“Hmm.”

Tang Luo nodded as he pushed open the door.

He saw a black figure standing in the room, facing them motionless.

“Ahhhh!” Wang Shuishui screamed again.

It made people want to block her mouth—with a rag.

“Where did the dummy come from?”

Tang Luo shone the flashlight on that black figure.

It was a dummy, like a model in clothing stores. It was not the usual white but the less commonly seen black—complete with head, hands, and legs.

It was placed in the villa, facing the door. Thus, it had scared many people.

“A dummy…”

Wang Shuishui let out a breath. She then tugged at the corner of Tang Luo’s clothes and asked, “That—Master Xuanzuang, aren’t you afraid?”

“No, I am not.” Tang Luo said, “Did I not mention my profession before? I specialize in subduing demons, killing monsters, exorcising ghosts, and giving blessings. How can I be afraid?”

As he was speaking, he took out his business card.

Wang Shuishui received it and took a glance—subduing demons, killing monsters, exorcising ghosts, and giving blessings, President Xuanzang.

This was followed by telephone and internet contact details.

On the opposite side, there was a sentence. “Perform the job before charging. There’s no need to pay if it’s not successful.”

“…”

Wang Shuishui looked at Tang Luo, speechless.

She originally thought he was suffering from the eighth-grader syndrome. She did not expect it was actually a terminal disease!

This kind of person was hard to deal with.

Wang Shuishui randomly tucked his business card into her pocket and changed the topic. “Our group… don’t know if they were scared by the dummy and ran upstairs?”

There was no renovation done on the first floor. It was like an unfinished area, with some exposed wires and the like.

There were no rooms, so one could see everything with a glance. There was nothing apart from a dummy.

“Should be. Shall we go up?” asked Tang Luo.

“Alright.”

This time Wang Shuishui walked in front. Just as she arrived at the stairs, she stopped and turned to look at him with horror on her face. “Strange, why are there dummies here?”

Why was a dummy placed in an unfinished villa?

Who would do such a thing?

“No idea,” Tang Luo said frankly.

“I keep feeling that something is wrong, a little creepy.” Wang Shuishui shook her body and quickly went upstairs.

‘If you were creeped out, shouldn’t you leave immediately? Yet you intend to go upstairs?’

Tang Luo admired this kind of trouble-seeking behavior. He nodded in satisfaction and followed her upstairs.

On the second floor, there were already outlines of built rooms, separated by wooden boards.

After coming up the stairs, Wang Shuishui had recovered her composure as she shouted with excitement, “Is there anyone? We are here.”

What answered her were not the voices of her companions but the melody of a piano—melodious and pleasant. It came from the room at the end of their visible sight.

“…”

This time, Wang Shuishui didn’t even scream. She was completely frozen, like a frog that had just been bitten by a venomous snake.

“Do you have someone who can play the piano?” asked Tang Luo.

“What?” Wang Shuishui could not understand Tang Luo’s words.

“Is there someone playing the piano?” asked Tang Luo.

“Would anyone play the piano in this kind of place?” Wang Shuishui almost yelled at Tang Luo.

‘What’s wrong with Xuanzang’s eighth-grader syndrome? Are there no fear nerves in his brain? Did his eighth-grader syndrome cause the loss of fear? Your uncooperativeness has put us in a spot!’

“Yes?” Tang Luo wasn’t very sure.

A Mozard in a haunted house wasn’t unlikely. One had to think out of the box.

“Let’s go take a look!”

Wang Shuishui almost dragged Tang Luo forward.

When they arrived at the doorless room, they did not see anyone or a piano.

However, on the window facing the door was the reflection of a white fuzzy figure. It felt as if someone was standing outside the window.

Without waiting for Tang Luo to say anything, Wang Shuishui rushed forward and violently yanked open the window.

No one was outside the window when Wang Shuishui opened it. That figure had disappeared without a trace.

“There is no one…”

Wang Shuishui turned and looked at Tang Luo.

Tang Luo stood still and didn’t speak, just looking at Wang Shuishui. He was staring straight at her.

The light from the flashlight was on his body.

His handsome face was actually hidden in the shadows, and the flashlight in his hand was a little glaring.

It caused her not to see his face clearly. Instead, it gave her a chilling feeling.

“You…”

Wang Shuishui’s voice trembled for the first time.

“No one…”

Before waiting for her to continue, Tang Luo said disappointedly, “No one?”.

Wang Shuishui lowered her head abruptly.

‘How could there be no one? There was obviously something!’

“Well, according to the development of the plot, with your back to the window, there is a high probability that there will be a pair of hands suddenly stretching out to pull you away,” said Tang Luo.

“…”

Silence, the result of the abandoned villas tonight, was silence.

Wang Shuishui took a few steps forward and stepped away from the window. She then took out a walkie-talkie from her backpack and said, “Forget it, I met a courageous person. He is hopeless.”

After speaking, she smiled embarrassedly at Tang Luo and said, “I’m sorry, we are filmmakers.”

[1] Reference to the car AE86 in the Japanese anime Initial D.