When the house yearned for more people to enter it, that was when it became a real haunted house. Perhaps it had seen too much bloodshed, or it had heard too many prayers. Various thoughts bubbled up in Gao Ming’s mind. Every thought lured him to do something a house shouldn’t do.
Gao Ming had survived so much pain, so naturally, he was not disrupted by these thoughts and allowed the house to turn decrepit. The floor cracked, the roof tiles collapsed, cobwebs grew all over the rooms, and wild grass took over the yard.
Time ticked by. This was the first time Gao Ming sensed the touch of time so acutely. Every second seeped into the old house, slowly corroding him. His consciousness blurred, and his mind slowed. Gao Ming entered a zen mode.
After an uncountable number of years, the old house’s gate opened again. A pale hand crossed the threshold holding a red lantern.
The dust fluttered, and Gao Ming slowly opened his eyes. The red lantern lit up an old man’s face. Gao Ming couldn’t recognise the man, but the elder seemed to know the place very well. Following his memory, he placed the sacrificial objects on the table. He leaned against the wall covered in talismans and shared his story. The wrinkled face stared at where Gao Ming was. From his tone, Gao Ming slowly remembered him. This old man was the former little fat kid, the only survivor of the massacre.
Even if he had used his whole life, he had failed to get revenge. He was old. He shouted at Gao Ming about the unfairness of fate. He hoped that his grandfather’s words were real. He prayed that there were really ghosts and Gods. Even if he had to sacrifice his life, he had to achieve his revenge.
With Gao Ming watching, the old man slit his wrist. His hands were dyed red as he chanted some strange mantras. Like a madman, he tore off all the talismans from the wall. Gao Ming knew very well that the talismans had no power because he had never sensed anything from them. Even if the old man yanked off all the talismans, nothing would change. He was just a haunted house, not a God. The meanings of horror and misfortune were attached to him by the humans.
The former fatty grew up listening to his family talking about the horror stories surrounding this house. He placed the hope of revenge on this place when his body couldn’t support him anymore. However, the final result crushed him. The divine miracle didn’t happen, and the evil ghosts didn’t show up.
As the blood flowed out of him, the man seemed to have lost his courage to live. The desire for revenge sustained his life. His wish was to strangle his enemies with his hands. If that were not possible, he’d rely on the ‘evil ghost’ inside the house!
“Why? Why are they perfectly fine when they have committed so much sin? Why do I have to suffer so? God! I know you are there! Can you hear my prayers? My ancestors have worshipped you for so long. Can you help us? Can you help me?” Those who had no hope in life would turn to God. It was not that there was God, but too many people placed their hope on the existence of one.
The elder’s voice travelled into Gao Ming’s heart. From his perch, he looked down on the old man who lay by the wall with his bloody hands. The torn talismans were like the old man’s life, incomplete.
When the old man died beside the sacrificial table, the thoughts within Gao Ming started to explode uncontrollably. The old man’s final obsession was branded in his mind. Gao Ming knew that he was not a God. The confusing thoughts also knew they were not a God. However, things were progressing down a fated path.
He couldn’t suppress these things anymore. Various horrible ideas took root. The haunted house started to change. Gao Ming was greatly influenced. He felt like he was being eaten. Gao Ming resisted as best as he could.
However, Gao Ming and the house shared the same idea as to how to deal with the old man’s corpse.
The house allowed the old man’s corpse to decay within the house. Flowers and dandelions grew on his body. This might be the prettiest moment of his life.
The old man who treated this house as his faith left the world behind. Gao Ming thought he would soon be forgotten and passed through his memory. However, that was just the beginning. The old man’s death lit up the evil thoughts like sparks. The old man’s final summon was like a hand that reached through the swamp. Who knew what kind of monster it would drag up?
Time fell like snow. Gao Ming fought with evil thoughts, and more people became curious about the haunted house. They heard rumours that the haunted house could curse their enemies and disrupt the future. Rumours flew everywhere. Many cornered humans started to treat this place as their last hope. They voluntarily entered the haunted house. They sacrificed themselves in the hopes of destroying other people’s future.
Gao Ming slowly lost his fight because everyone who came there carried with them extremely strong hope. They would rather believe in the existence of ‘God’, even if it was one who was charged with malice. The rumours gained more believers. Actual deaths happening in real life caused more disciples and prayers to appear at the house.
The old house was given a renovation. A strange divine figurine was placed on the sacrificial table. Those who believed in the Evil God gathered together. They would sacrifice themselves to be God’s fingers to achieve their sinister goals.
Gao Ming was suffocated by these horrid thoughts. He was unwilling to touch them, but he was unable to resist. He could only watch as the figurine on the table smiled at him. The figurine’s face became clearer. It looked just like Gao Ming. When the figurine was fully completed, Gao Ming’s life would be over.
“I can’t move or do anything. I’m just a house. How can I destroy it?”
The only solution appeared to be for Gao Ming to accept the evil thoughts and consume the darkest side of God so that he could control God’s disciples. However, if he did that, he would walk into the God of the Future’s plans…
“I don’t have other choices. Is that what the God of the Future is trying to tell me?”
His consciousness fed on the evil thoughts. As Gao Ming was infected by the dark thoughts, he also gained partial control of the disciples.
This was a very unique match. Both parties had to use their own methods to fulfil the disciple’s wishes to fight for faith. The remaining party would be the real God of the Future.