The Eldritch Files

After rescuing Pot Lid Head and Rong Qiyue last time, he had been looking forward to seeing what new rewards would appear in the Ancient Castle.

But the timing of his return this time was too delicate. His mind was filled with Bai Shi’s madness and venom, which had slowed his thinking on the matter. It wasn’t until he saw the old telephone on the wall and the black suitcase that his spirits finally lifted slightly.

The door provided an escape, and the Duke gave him an advantage in hide-and-seek. ’So, what about these two things…?’

He didn’t let the phone ring for long. In the gloomy Ancient Castle, the loud, almost piercing ring made him uneasy, afraid it would attract some monster’s unwanted attention. Han Su quickly snatched the receiver and held it to his ear.

But he didn’t dare speak just yet. He only listened.

A burst of static crackled from the other end, followed by a violent cough.

Then, after the coughing subsided, Han Su heard an aged voice speak:

”Now, which night is it?”

...

?

Hearing this voice in the gloomy Ancient Castle, Han Su felt as if a jolt of electricity had shot through him.

’Something I can communicate with…’

But he forcefully controlled himself, his mind racing.

’He’s asking me which night it is. Does that mean he doesn’t know what time the call is connecting to?’

Han Su suppressed the questions bubbling up inside him. He paused for a moment before slowly asking, ”Who are you?”

”Me?”

The voice on the other end chuckled, a sound tinged with an indescribable weariness. ”I’m a prisoner, just like you are now.”

”A prisoner?”

Han Su couldn’t figure out the man’s identity and, for a moment, couldn’t think of a suitable way to steer the conversation.

Fortunately, after another fit of coughing, the man on the other end of the line broke the stalemate. He chuckled softly and said, ”There’s no need to get hung up on such meaningless questions. Stay here a few more nights, and you’ll find out who I am.”

”And right now, if I’m not mistaken, you must be very scared.”

”But you don’t need to be afraid of those monsters. They’re just prisoners trapped here, like us. However, they carry some valuable things that the ’adults’ outside are very greedy for.”

”As long as you’re smart enough and listen to me, I’ll teach you how to evade them and get the most valuable things in this Ancient Castle...”

...

”?”

From these few short sentences, Han Su immediately realized several things.

’The person on the other end of this call... he doesn’t seem to know that I’ve been in and out of this Ancient Castle many times, does he?’

’It’s like he thinks I’m just a child who was recently locked inside this Ancient Castle.’

’And he seems to know a lot about this Ancient Castle, about the monsters... and about what really happened with this kidnapping.’

His mind raced. Han Su immediately made his breathing sound more ragged and nervous, like a child who had just been holding his breath out of fear. ”Wh-where is this place?”

”How... how do I get out?”

...

”You poor child...”

The voice on the other end of the line didn’t seem surprised by the fear Han Su was showing. Instead, he chuckled softly.

”Escaping this cage isn’t that easy. But if you’re obedient, you can avoid a lot of suffering.”

’He really doesn’t know that I’ve escaped many times!’

Han Su was now certain. He took a few more ragged breaths before asking, ”D-do what?”

”It’s very simple.”

The voice on the other end chuckled, coughed violently again, and then said, ”The fact that you could answer the phone means you’re one of the children who wasn’t chosen.”

”But don’t be sad. On the contrary, this gives you more room to move around.”

”Above you in this Ancient Castle are thirteen floors. A different monster lives on each one, and they each possess different things. First, I need you to go to the tenth floor, find a book, and hide it.”

”The book has a black cover with gold-stamped lettering. The main design is an eye within a hexagram.”

”Once you have it, you can try moving it somewhere else, hide it in a place only you know.”

”You have fifteen minutes to do this. After you’re done, hide well. Tomorrow, you will receive another call from me.”

”Heh heh, little one, good luck!”

...

After another violent coughing fit, the line went dead. Han Su’s thoughts raced. ’15 minutes?’

As he calculated, he immediately made a connection: ’That’s how long it takes for the old butler to return to the Ancient Castle!’

’Who is the person on the phone, and how does he know when the old butler will return to the Ancient Castle?’

’Why would he have a child like me steal this book?’

’And if this black suitcase by the wall is also a reward, what does it do?’

...A sudden possibility occurred to him, and his mind stirred!

’The tenth floor, huh?’

Han Su considered it, and an idea began to form. He had no time to dwell on it now, though. He took a deep breath. No matter what, he had to leave quickly today. He needed to resolve the issue with Bai Shi as soon as possible so he could get more information about the kidnapping.

”Let’s go!”

Nearby, the Black Cat Duke was still rolling around on the carpet. Han Su snatched him up and went back to the cellar door. Below, a sea of shadowy eyes stared up at him in unison. The other children were all dumbfounded, looking at this incredibly audacious kid.

Han Su’s gaze swept over the crowd and landed on a boy with a side-part haircut. His face was covered in soot, and his nose was running.

Han Su gave him a slight nod. ”We’ll meet again.”

He closed the cellar door. His Spiritual Activity enhanced the agility of his small body as he turned, picked up the black suitcase by the wall, and headed straight upstairs.

Now, he didn’t even need to use the secret tunnels in unnecessary places; he was conserving time.

The information from the telephone call was still uncertain, and the suitcase had sparked many theories in his mind.

’The telephone connected him to a strange man, so what was the purpose of the old suitcase?’

At first glance, the case looked very ordinary.

It was about the same size as the suitcase Han Su normally used. In theory, someone accustomed to carrying a suitcase like him should have found it easy to handle.

But Han Su had overlooked one problem: his current body was too small, and carrying the case was a bit of a struggle.

And in certain secret passages or crawlspaces that required climbing, carrying this suitcase would also hinder his movement.

But thanks to his recently and significantly improved Spiritual Activity, he still quickly reached the ninth floor. He could vaguely see the Ghost Princess’s room; she was still bathing. He took a deep breath and began his challenge.

When he entered the Ancient Castle this time, he had already checked; the key hadn’t appeared on any of the monsters on the first floor.

’So, by that logic, the key must be with one of the monsters that didn’t come downstairs.’

Last time, the key had appeared with the Ghost Princess. This time, Han Su speculated, it should be on the tenth floor or higher.

’This does fit one of my planned routes, though.’

’It’s time to rescue that guy. I have a feeling that if I need to investigate certain things in the future, he’ll be a great help...’

With this thought in mind, Han Su quietly snuck up to the tenth floor.

It was a long, oppressive corridor piled high with all sorts of books, looking almost like a library.

There were endless books, but as far as the eye could see, they were all filled with words he couldn’t understand.

This time, Han Su looked for the person first. He slowed his steps as much as possible, balancing the black suitcase on his head. Step by step, he walked over the books strewn all over the corridor and arrived at a room lit by a gas lamp.

He carefully peeked his head out and saw the guy with his head hanging low, lazily sweeping invisible dust on the floor with a broom.

He was very thin, which was why his nickname was Skinny.

A reliable member of Han Su’s A-team for escaping the Ancient Castle!

His identity: a child from the Qinggang South City Lu Family. His name was Lu Neng.

When Han Su reached the doorway of the room, the skinny boy’s ears twitched. He spun around, raising his broom like a weapon.

But when he saw that the person who’d arrived was a kid his own size, his eyes widened in surprise. He took a few steps forward and said, ”What’s up? Got tired of hanging out downstairs and came up for a walk?”

Han Su quickly raised a finger to his lips, ”Shh.”

Skinny scoffed. ”You’re shushing me? You’re the one who ran from the first floor to the tenth in an Ancient Castle full of monsters in the middle of the night.”

”The monster on this floor is already asleep. It made me sweep the whole room. You here to help or what?”

...

Seeing his completely unbothered attitude, Han Su was almost speechless. He whispered, ”I’m going to escape the Ancient Castle. You...”

Skinny snorted with laughter. ”Escaping? And you ran up to the tenth floor to do it? You plan on flying out?”

Han Su knew what he was like and knew the magic words to get him on board. Although time was tight, he suppressed his impatience and said, ”I know a secret passage. It’s up here...”

Skinny looked skeptical. ”How do you know?”

Han Su delivered the magic words: ”Believe it or not!”

Skinny was instantly convinced. He tossed the broom aside and followed him. ”Show me!”

Heh...

Han Su wasn’t surprised at all. He said, ”Getting you out is no problem, but to get into the secret passage, I need to find a key first. It should be somewhere above the ninth floor, in the hands of some monster. We have to find a way to get it...”

”A key?”

Skinny listened, looking slightly surprised. He fumbled around in his pants and pulled something out. ”You mean this?”

Seeing the gleaming yellow key that had suddenly appeared before his eyes, Han Su was genuinely stunned.

He glanced at the key, then back at Skinny’s pants. His voice sounded a little strange even to himself. ”How did you get that?”

Skinny said, ”I saw it hanging on the wall next to the old man, so I just swiped it. I was going to wait until tomorrow and take it downstairs to see if it would open the door...”

Han Su took a deep breath. ’Coming to find this guy was the right move!’