Chapter 5: The Test of Fire
The playful atmosphere shattered instantly. Everyone froze, not daring to breathe.
Xiao Han tensed and called out, "Who—who is it?"
A gentle voice answered from beyond the door: "It’s me, Gao Han."
"Wh-what do you want?" Xiao Han’s fingers clenched around her phone.
"Dinner’s ready. Come eat!"
Panic flashed among the girls. "Xiao Han, what do we do?"
Xiao Han lifted her phone. "M-Master Lin, what should we do?"
"Stall for time…" I urged.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The door rattled under violent pounding.
"Come out! Come out now!" The once-gentle voice now carried a shrill edge.
I spoke quickly. "Improvise. Do you have anything that emits heat? Lighters, matches—test him."
"Hurry out!" The voice grew more frantic.
The girls nodded. The blonde took a deep breath and yanked the door open.
"Coming."
By the time they descended, it was 7 PM—the world outside had plunged into darkness.
Moonlight barely illuminated the lavish spread on the table: all meat dishes. Chicken, duck, and slabs of meat glazed in thick, unidentifiable sauce…
Xiao Han pretended to fiddle with her phone, letting me observe.
"Xiao Han, it’s too dark. Let’s light candles," one girl suggested.
Their eyes lit up.
"Yeah, we can’t even see the food!" Xiao Han agreed. "I’ll grab a lighter and candles."
She turned to Gao Han. "Can you help?"
"Of course." His voice remained smooth.
Footsteps faded, then returned.
"Found them?"
"Yep."
The curly-haired girl whispered, "Could you light them? We’ve never done it before."
Gao Han paused.
"...Fine."
I spoke into Xiao Han’s earpiece: "Bump into him. Make the flames touch him."
Agent007: "Master Lin, this is too risky!"
GhostLight: "Setting a ghost on fire?!"
LemonLover: "What if he’s innocent?"
The livestream chat split—half defending Gao Han, half convinced of his malice.
As the blonde "accidentally" stumbled into Gao Han, her shoulder struck his hand.
The flame licked his arm—then vanished like water into sand. Only the stench of rotting flesh and corpse oil lingered.
Xiao Han paled, paralyzed.
Gao Han pocketed the lighter and turned with a grotesque smile.
"Something wrong?"