Volume One: The Graveyard of Eight Coffins Chapter 25: Elevator Terror

If, just moments ago, the elevator hadn’t stopped at the first floor, it could have been blamed on a mechanical failure. But for it to once again pass right by the first floor and continue rising—this was harder to justify. I sensed something was very wrong. I hurried over and frantically pressed the elevator’s buttons, lighting up almost every floor, but the elevator ignored all commands and kept rattling upward, refusing to stop at any floor.

In frustration, I kicked the elevator door and shouted, “What kind of lousy elevator is this?”

Liang Yue was anxious too, but she seemed much calmer than me at this moment. She stopped me from my frantic actions and said, “Calm down.”

She stepped forward, but her foot suddenly gave way and she crouched down, gripping her right ankle and hissing in pain. I remembered how she had just kicked that person outside the elevator—truly unflappable in a crisis. If she hadn’t acted, and that person had entered the elevator, anything could have happened in such a confined space. What was even more terrifying was my sense that the being outside wasn’t even alive.

Seeing Liang Yue like this, I realized she must be hurt. I squatted beside her and asked, “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. When I kicked that person outside, it felt like I hit a stone slab. My ankle got jarred.”

“His body was that hard? That only proves my suspicion—whatever’s out there isn’t alive.” I helped her to her feet, analyzing the situation aloud.

She rotated her ankle and seemed to recover quickly, though she still looked worried. “Not alive? How could there be... a corpse here?”

I glanced at the elevator indicator—it had reached the eleventh floor, but the doors still hadn’t opened. After a few violent shakes, the elevator began its descent to the lower floors.

Leaning against the wall, I said, “At this point, we should just be grateful if we can get out of this elevator in one piece.”

Liang Yue looked dispirited. “What’s wrong with this elevator? It’s completely out of control.”

I explained, “Usually, places heavy with dark energy—where ghosts appear—have their magnetic fields altered. To change a magnetic field like that takes a tremendous amount of yin energy. It can’t happen under normal circumstances unless someone’s used special means to summon spirits and intensify the yin energy here. When the magnetic field is altered, anything involving electricity or remote control can be manipulated. Of course, ordinary people can’t do this—it takes someone with special skills, like a Daoist priest, a ghost handler, or a corpse driver.”

Though I hadn’t spent much time with my third uncle, he’d often told me about the occult, and described many events that defied scientific explanation. I’d always taken them as stories, never expecting that what little I’d learned would seem so profound to Liang Yue. Now, with my uncle gone, she looked at me with admiration and hope, clearly relying on me to get us out of this predicament.

But all I knew was just the surface. Without my uncle, I was out of ideas. It was obvious, though, as I’d said to Liang Yue—the elevator was being controlled by someone.

I looked up: the elevator had dropped from the eleventh to the ninth floor. I was about to offer her some words of comfort when suddenly the elevator gave a harsh, grating screech and plunged straight down from the ninth floor.

At the same time, the light in the elevator flickered and died with a crackle.

“Ah…” Liang Yue, after all, was still a girl. Unable to contain her fear, she threw herself into my arms, clinging to my shirt so tightly that it hurt.

I could only grip the elevator handrail with one hand while holding Liang Yue with the other.

Despair filled me. The elevator was falling fast—if it hit the ground at this speed, not even a god could save us.

There was nothing left but to trust fate. If we crashed, we’d be dead for sure—maybe even make the next day’s headlines.

But just as I braced myself for the impact, the elevator slowed and stopped.

The indicator was still on; maybe my frantic button pressing had worked after all. Weren’t there emergency guides that suggested this tactic in elevator accidents?

Regardless, the elevator’s halt meant we’d dodged disaster for now.

Liang Yue realized this as well. She quickly pulled away, wiped the cold sweat from her brow, and muttered, “You sure held tight.”

“You…” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I had no energy left to bicker with her. Women—reasoning is pointless.

The elevator had stopped at the first floor, but the doors didn’t open. After a brief pause, the elevator began descending into the basement.

Liang Yue had just left my arms, but at the first sound of movement, she lunged back, holding me tightly again.

The elevator soon stopped once more. After so many ups and downs, I was becoming numb. This time, the doors finally groaned open.

Just like before, a cold wind swept in. I shivered, and Liang Yue, after glancing outside, stepped out of my embrace, this time only smoothing her hair in silence.

There were still two beams of light inside the elevator. I looked down and saw our flashlights, which had fallen during the plunge but, thankfully, weren’t broken.

I quickly picked them up and handed one to Liang Yue. “Come on, we need to get out of the elevator.”

Things had changed. Outside the elevator, at least we’d have some room to maneuver if danger struck. The elevator was completely out of control now—staying inside was riskier.

I patted myself down—thankfully, the peachwood sword my uncle had given me was still there. I immediately gripped it tightly. The mysterious figure outside had vanished, but he was surely still in the basement. We could run into him at any moment.

Liang Yue also left the elevator and produced a gleaming dagger from her person, its blade glinting in the dim light.

I sucked in a breath. “You… you’re carrying that? Isn’t that considered a restricted weapon?”

She shot me a look. “Is this really the time to worry about that?”

I replied, “I’m just nervous, trying to lighten the mood.”

She waved me off. “Less talk, where do we go?”

I shone my flashlight around. “Can you find the stairs? We need to get out of this level—find my uncle, then figure things out.”

She nodded and led me around the side of the elevator. She walked ahead while I followed, sweeping my flashlight over the surroundings.

Parking lines still marked the floor, but the place looked long-abandoned and covered in dust. As we walked, we stirred up clouds of grit that made us cough.

The temperature down here was unnaturally low, like a walk-in freezer—a sure sign of heavy yin energy.

After just a few steps, goosebumps rose on my arms and I felt as if unseen eyes were watching us from the darkness. That feeling was back—the same I’d had earlier tonight with my uncle, only now it was more intense. It felt as if the presence was right behind me, close enough to touch.

Suddenly, Liang Yue said, “Found it—over here.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. With the stairwell found, we could make a dash for it. Even if we didn’t find my uncle, at least Lao Xiao could turn on the mall’s power. With lights on, everything would be easier.

We hurried over and Liang Yue pushed at the stairwell door. It didn’t budge. She tried pulling, but it was locked tight.

Frustrated, she kicked the door, the crash echoing through the empty space.

I grabbed her arm. “Don’t panic, kicking won’t help. Let’s think of another way.”

“Can’t use the elevator, the stairs are locked—what now?” Liang Yue cried, exasperated.

I asked, “Isn’t this a parking garage? What about the car entrance?”

She froze, then said, “Right, why didn’t I think of that? Let’s find it.”

We turned to search for the car exit, though I didn’t hold out much hope. If someone was targeting us, they wouldn’t just block the stairs and leave the huge car entrance open.

Still, hope was better than despair.

We’d only taken a couple of steps when a faint, ghostly flute sound drifted toward us.

Liang Yue and I both stiffened. That flute—it was the same as on the rooftop…

Except on the rooftop, it was barely audible; now, it was clear and distinct, and we could pinpoint its direction.

It came from far off—someone was playing the flute.

We raised our flashlights and shone them toward the source, but the beams were too weak, swallowed almost immediately by the darkness.

I silently cursed my uncle’s stinginess—he’d only brought ordinary flashlights. If I’d known, I would have asked Mr. Wu for a couple of high-powered ones.

The flashlights barely reached a few meters before the darkness devoured the light.

But the flute sound grew ever clearer.

I warned Liang Yue, “This flute is bad news. We got caught by it on the rooftop—stay alert this time. If you start feeling off, pinch the philtrum under your nose.”

As I spoke, I pinched mine. It hurt like hell, but it did clear my mind, keeping me from getting entranced by the music.

Liang Yue, standing beside me, probably tried my method too. “You’re full of tricks,” she muttered.

“All learned from my uncle,” I replied.

She grumbled, “Your uncle’s really unreliable, ditching us while he runs off by himself…”

I laughed. “He’s much more than just unreliable…”

Just then, footsteps echoed from the darkness.

(End of chapter)