Chapter 257: Half a Face
This was a mud house. As Happy approached, he realized it was even more dilapidated than he had imagined. From a distance, he hadn't seen it clearly, but now, upon closer inspection, he saw the mud house was covered in cracks, looking as if it could collapse at any moment.
“Folks, I’m very familiar with this kind of house,” Happy said. “My family used to live in one just like it. I don’t know if any of you have seen one before, so let me give you a closer look. ”
As he spoke, Happy raised his phone, moved closer to the wall, and began meticulously filming the cracked surface.
As he moved his phone, thumb-thick cracks were captured on the screen, and Happy continued to narrate as he filmed.
“Honestly, this house is so rundown, it’s really dangerous to live in. I’m guessing, well, there probably isn’t anyone. . . ”
Before he could finish, a strange half-face suddenly appeared in the frame—
“Ah! ”
Happy screamed in terror, dropping his phone as he landed hard on his backside.
The sudden appearance of that bizarre half-face on the phone screen not only startled Happy, who was filming, but also thoroughly shocked his viewers.
The woman was filthy from head to toe, her clothes ragged, and her tangled, weed-like hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in ages. This hair covered half of her face, so when the camera caught her, only half of her face appeared on screen.
“You—you scared me to death! ”
Coming to his senses, Happy stood up and picked up his phone, his face still showing lingering shock.
His expression wasn't feigned; it was genuine. That moment truly had given him quite a fright.
It was precisely because his fright was authentic that it resonated with his viewers, affecting them as well.
“What the heck was that just now? ! ”
“Oh my god, you scared the living daylights out of me! ”
“The streamer said he wasn’t faking it—was that an actor you hired just now? ! ”
Happy saw the sparse comments flashing across the screen and quickly began to explain: “Folks, I told you I wouldn’t fake anything, and I absolutely won’t. That wasn’t an actor I hired, and it wasn’t a ghost either—it was a person, a person, alright? ! Don’t be scared! ”
Happy told them not to be scared, but his face was filled with lingering dread.
To prove that the suddenly appearing half-face actually belonged to a person, he quickly aimed his camera at the eerie woman in the doorway.
Facing the camera, that half-face, which had originally been expressionless, now stretched into a chilling smile, revealing a set of jet-black teeth.
Though he had mentally prepared himself, Happy was still startled by the woman’s unsettling grin. This time, however, he didn’t lose his composure as badly as before.
“Did everyone see that clearly? It’s a person! I said I’d do the most authentic spirit exploration, so I won’t use fake methods to trick you all. If it’s a person, it’s a person; if it’s a ghost, it’s a ghost. I won’t make things up. ”
“Don’t panic, everyone. Forget that she’s not a ghost—even if she were, she wouldn’t come through the signal to scare you. So, you have no reason to be afraid. I, however, do, so please don’t laugh at how I just embarrassed myself. ”
As he finished speaking, Happy pulled his gaze from the screen and looked at the woman opposite him, then cautiously approached her.
Happy stopped, an apologetic smile gracing his face, and then spoke to the woman: “Big sis, I’m so sorry about just now. I thought this house was abandoned, so I just. . . ”
The woman didn’t answer Happy. She merely stared at him, giggling vacantly. That smile, that laughter, sent a shiver down Happy’s spine, making goosebumps erupt all over him.
“Do you live here alone? ” Happy asked, summoning his courage with a forced smile.
“Noodles. . . delicious, delicious, so thin. . . ”
This time, the woman spoke, but her words left Happy completely bewildered.
“Noodles? What the heck? ”
Just as Happy was puzzling over this, a loud voice drifted from the small path outside the house.
“Hey, young man! What are you doing there? Come over here! ”
Happy turned to look behind him. An Old Farmer stood on the path, a straw hat on his head, a hoe slung over his shoulder, and a back-basket filled with green, leafy things strapped to his back.
Seeing Happy look his way, the Old Farmer quickly waved, motioning for him to come closer.
Happy glanced at the Old Farmer, then at the woman behind him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he jogged over to the Old Farmer.
Between the Old Farmer and the woman, he felt the Old Farmer was far more reliable, as the woman simply gave him too much of a fright.
“Elder, here, have a cigarette first. ”
Happy approached the Old Farmer, quickly pulled out his cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to the Old Farmer and lit it, then lit one for himself.
As the saying goes, “one who takes from another is beholden to them, one who eats from another speaks softly. ” The Old Farmer, puffing on Happy’s cigarette, suddenly found the young man much more agreeable.
Before Happy could even ask, the Old Farmer spoke: “Why did you go over there? That’s a Madwoman! She can kill people and not be held accountable. You’d best stay far away from her! ”
Upon hearing she was a Madwoman, Happy’s face didn’t show the slightest surprise, as it was obvious the woman wasn’t normal.
Happy didn’t want to pry into the woman’s affairs. Even if he were curious enough to ask, he couldn’t at the moment, as he was still live streaming.
“Thanks for the warning, Elder,” Happy said. “By the way, Elder, can I ask you something? ”
As Happy spoke, he aimed his phone at the Old Farmer. Fearing the Old Farmer might misunderstand, he quickly clarified.
“Elder, please don’t mind. I’m doing a show right now, so I need to film everything with my phone. I don’t mean to offend you, I hope you can understand. ”
The Old Farmer, hearing Happy was doing a show, looked at Happy, then at the backpack behind him, and smiled delightedly: “No problem, no problem! So you’re doing a show? Will I be on TV? ”
Happy knew the Old Farmer had misunderstood. He had intended to explain but hesitated, ultimately choosing not to tell the truth. Instead, he smiled and nodded at the Old Farmer.
“Yes, of course you will! ”
To get more useful information from the Old Farmer, Happy answered in a way that pleased him.
Upon hearing he’d be on TV, the Old Farmer’s smile grew even wider.
“Wait a minute, let me put down this pig feed first. It’s quite heavy to carry. ”
The Old Farmer put down the pig feed, quickly brushed off the weeds and mud clinging to his clothes, straightened his attire, then smiled and asked Happy: “What kind of show are you doing? Do you have anything you need to ask me? ”
Seeing the Old Farmer so cooperative, Happy was delighted. He didn’t stand on ceremony and directly stated: “Well, I do a supernatural show. I was wondering if you have any unexplainable supernatural phenomena around here? ”
“Supernatural phenomena? ” The Old Farmer’s smile froze.
Happy thought the Old Farmer hadn’t understood, so he quickly clarified: “To put it simply, is there any place haunted by ghosts around here? ”
The moment Happy uttered the words “haunted by ghosts,” the Old Farmer’s expression changed. Then, under Happy’s bewildered gaze, he said nothing, hoisted his back-basket off the ground, and left.
“Hey, Elder! Elder! ”
The Old Farmer paid no attention to Happy, quickly walking away as if he hadn’t heard Happy calling out behind him.
This scene filled Happy with a mix of joy and apprehension.
Judging by the Old Farmer’s reaction, there must be some strange, ghostly happenings in this village; otherwise, his reaction wouldn’t have been so strong. So, Happy was delighted, feeling he had come to the right place.
However, his apprehension stemmed from the fact that, truthfully, his courage wasn’t particularly great. As evidenced by how startled he was by the woman’s sudden appearance earlier, his bravery was no different from an ordinary person’s.
He was quite fearful of ghosts, these special entities. If there really was a haunted place here, he would definitely go, to keep his live stream going and achieve his goals. But fear in his heart would be inevitable.
Perhaps some would say, "If you’re not brave, why be a ghost-hunting streamer? " If he had a choice, he certainly wouldn't want to be a ghost-hunting streamer.
However, he wanted to go viral, he wanted to become famous, he wanted to gain more followers, he wanted to be richer—he had far too many desires.
In his view, only by focusing on ghost exploration could he achieve his goals. This path was a shortcut in his eyes, which was why he decided to burn his bridges and give it a try. Even if he was scared to death, he would grit his teeth and push through.
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