[Observers and gods may not comment from now on.]

  My party stepped out of the train and were greeted by the inside of an eerie, ominous home. The lights were off, the house tinted in a cool shade of blue. The looming front door was behind us.

  I looked around, inspecting the home. The childhood paintings stuck to the fridge and the decorations on the fireplace—it was just as I remembered.

  “Peijin, where are we?” Yang asked, standing just beside Yue with his staff drawn.

  Instead of replying, I confidently turned toward the front door and flicked on the light switch, and the house now flooded with a cool, flickering light.

  “A home,” I replied nonchalantly, doing my best to keep my heart at a steady beat.

  Amelia stood just beside me, and I comfortingly rubbed her bag. “I’m going to take the hoodie for this room, okay?” I reached down to remove the blue hoodie before sliding it over myself.

  “Ha, think you need the extra protection?” Yue asked, her eyes mocking and her grin wide. After my earlier explosion in the car, I could tell things were tense again between my party.

  I had no idea why I acted so cruelly to them earlier. I would blame ‘Scathing Reviewer’ except for the fact I only acted cruelly after it deactivated. Was that just my normal personality then when ‘Scathing Reviewer’ wasn’t influencing me?

  I was the most unworthy being in the entire world.

  Yang elbowed Yue sharply, causing her to whip her head around and glare at him. Wei let out a loud sigh and pressed the back of his hand against his temple before standing between the duo.

  I could only channel my emotions to one place. I gripped Zhige tighter and wielded it confidently before me.

  “We need to get through the end of this house. I know where the exit is.”

  Bending down, I lifted the petrified Amelia up and threw her over her shoulders, holding onto her legs.

  “Peijin, I’m sorry if I made you upset,” Amelia murmured, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Don’t apologize when you didn’t do anything wrong. I should apologize to you for snapping. It’s okay to be scared.”

  Amelia’s grip tightened, and she buried her face in the crook of my neck.

  “Peijin, you still haven’t told us what this room is,” Wei chimed in, uneasily looking around. We had progressed through the first room and walked down a hallway, now approaching a large granite kitchen island.

  Without a moment of hesitancy, I easily turned around and flicked on the light switch once more, not even having to look to see where it was.

  “Mm, I guess I haven’t.”

  My shoulders tensed a bit more in this room, and I swallowed loudly. My anxiety only grew with each room. It had been so long since I last step foot here, and I did my best to keep my bitter memories at bay. The kitchen where my mother used to cook me breakfast, the couch where my dad watched football—my hands were trembling.

  Wei was eyeing me nervously, quickly picking up on my cues. “Aren’t you going to tell us?”

  “No need to.”

  Yue scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Can you stop acting like some emo teenager? You knew the rest of our rooms, but you won’t tell us yours? The hell is so scary about a house?”

  With a loud swoosh, a gust of wind flung open a window and blew past the group, causing the dusty curtains to blow around them.

  Letting out a surprised yelp, Yue clung onto me before awkwardly pushing herself off and running over to the window, shutting it. Her expression was flustered, and she turned around, waiting for me to make fun of her and say something crass.

  But my vision was longingly locked on the sofa in front of the television. I wondered how my dad was. Was he also going through the dungeon rooms right now? A part of me hoped I would run into him—a part of me hoped I’d never have to see him again.

  The sound of Amelia’s stomach grumbling jolted me from my thoughts. I made my way over to the fridge.

  “You’re not seriously thinking about eating out of there, are you?!” Yue exclaimed, her mouth wide open in a mixture of disgust and shock.

  I rolled my eyes. Of course, I had no plan to eat whatever rotting demonic food was in the fridge. I subtly opened the Azure Dragon store and purchased all the food items for Amelia to pick from.

  [1,935 stars used.]

  I opened the fridge anyway, blue sparks flying out before revealing a massive fridge filled to the brim with delectable frozen foods and ingredients.

  Standing there frozen in shock, Yue watched as I let Amelia pick ingredients out, all of them looking fresh or recently purchased.

  Even the freezer was filled with food, like pints of ice-cream and congyoubing.

  I looked over her shoulder, signaling for everyone to join.

  “Grab whatever you want. Let’s spend some time eating so we have enough strength for the next rounds,” she said, giving a small smile to everyone before stepping to the side.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Yue asked, suspicious.

  “I made sure it was.”

  [Disciple Yue has activated ‘Lie Detection!’]

  [Lie Detection confirms Disciple Peijins’s words as truth.]

  Yue’s face fell, giving me a doubtful stare. “And how did you “make sure” of it?” She asked, giving air quotes.

  My eye twitched before I reached into the fridge, grabbed a pear, and threw it straight at Yue’s head before turning back to Amelia, gently speaking to her.

  “What do you want? I’m not a good cook, but maybe Yang is.”

  “What’s that?” Amelia asked, pointing at the frozen package of congyoubing.

  My brows furrowed, and I looked at Yang and Wei for help, but they only shrugged back. I wasn’t sure how to explain the dish to her, given she must have never seen something like this before.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “They’re scallion pancakes. They’ve very savory,” I said. “My mom used to cook them for me all the time, but it’s been a while since then.”

  “What are scallions?” Amelia asked.

  “Vegetables.”

  “No thanks.”

  “They’re really good. I think you’d like them,” I said.”

  “Peijin promises?”

  “I promise.”

  I pulled the pack and tore it open, picking out one of the frozen pancakes. I opened a cupboard without hesitation and pulling out a pan—turning to the large pantry next, I grabbed a bottle of olive oil. It was instinctual.

  “Yang, can you cook for her? I’d butcher it.”

  It wasn’t difficult to see Yang’s hesitant expression, but he quickly hid it under a warm smile; the typical orange glow of his eyes was muted to a deep brown now because of the dim lighting.

  “Sure. Could you grab me a set of chopsticks and a plate?”

  I turned around and reached under the granite countertop, pulling out a barely visible drawer and taking out the plate and chopsticks before setting them on the table. I lifted Amelia onto a barstool and spun it, causing Amelia to let out a small laugh before swaying from her dizziness.

  Yang walked over, turning the knob on the stovetop until a small red fire blossomed. He put the oil onto the pan before swirling it and dropping the frozen pancake in.

  “You seem really familiar with everything here, Peijin,” Yang said as if it were a casual conversation.

  “Do I?”

  “No, you must just have really good luck at finding things,” Yang replied sarcastically.

  I glared at him. “That wasn’t funny.”

  Yang pouted before flipping the pancake, causing little bits of oil to spray out. “Your poster was a family photo in front of a house, was it not?”

  My shoulders tensed, and a heavy silence followed. Yue was right—my posters showed my mother holding me as a baby while my father cheered beside us, delighted by the new home we had purchased in the background. Not one part of the image seemed terrifying. If anything, it was a beautiful family photo.

  “I wouldn’t know,” I muttered coldly. “I don’t have any family photos left.”

  “Aww,” Yue pointed at Yang and I talking while Amelia spun in a chair just before us. “Don’t these two look like a cute couple? Let’s all go around and talk about our childhoods while in the middle of an apocalyptic dungeon.”

  Wei barked back at Yue. “Hey, every room has been different, and I’m sure Peijin knows what she’s doing. She’s gotten us this far.”

  Shrugging nonchalantly, Yue turned her focus back to the conversation between Yang I.

  “Really? How come if you don’t mind me asking?” Yang asked politely.

  I braided Amelia’s curly hair, trying to distance myself from confronting my childhood. “I moved out when I was fourteen.”

  “That sounds more like running away than moving out, no?”

  I smiled bitterly. “Yeah, I guess I did run away.”

  “Bad parents?” Yang asked. He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and like there would be no judgement between us. It was my first time ever talking about myself since the incident.

  “No. They were good to me,” I replied honestly.

  I couldn’t say anything more because of how clouded the memory was. When I ran away a little over a decade ago, I buried those memories deep in my head, refusing to ever unearth them again. It was like blood on my hands that I finally washed off, but the feeling of blood lingered. My childhood haunted me, and I couldn’t stop myself from trembling in fear at the thought of confronting my lost memories.

  “I grew up in a haunted house,” I finally said.

  Yue paused for a moment before she burst out laughing, reeling over the granite table and smashed her close fist against it. “You mean ghosts and ghouls? Ha ha ha, you’re kidding me!”

  It wasn’t that unbelievable of a statement considering that those very same ghosts and ghouls had manifested themselves into their lives, but my face flushed a deep pink.

  “I mean it! This place is seriously haunted! The things here, they follow you around.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, what, the boogie man is your biggest fear? Did he grab your foot when you accidentally let it hang over the edge of your bed?”

  I let out a loud sigh, running my fingers through Amelia’s hair and undoing the braid. “It was a long time ago. I don’t remember it anymore.”

  “Fourteen isn’t that long ago.”

  Wei looked embarrassed now at the mention of my age and quickly shushed Yue. The scallion pancakes were finally finished, and Yang placed it down before Amelia. She tore it into smaller pieces before biting down on it, her face lighting up at the savory and crunchy yet still soft texture.

  “You said your mom used to cook this for you, right?” Yang asked, tearing himself a piece, “Where is she now?”

  “No clue,” I shrugged, “Doesn’t matter to me. I haven’t spoken to her since I was eight.”

  “O-Oh, I see,” Yang flushed out of embarrassment.

  I snickered at his response. “It’s fine. It was forever ago. What’s more important is what’s going on right now. This is another bad room for Amelia. Wei, I want you to protect her.”

  “What?!” Yue exclaimed, offended. “What makes him so special? I took care of her last round!”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to put a kid in the hands of a devil. Besides, your weapon is a spear. You’re like a Neanderthal.”

  Yang slowly slunk forward until he could whisper into Peijin’s ear: “If this is a bad room for her, and this is the haunted house you grew up in, something bad happened to you, too. Right?”

  My body immediately stiffened, but I continued to chew on my lower lip. Yang was too perceptive about my every move that it was scary.

  “The only bad thing that’s about to happen is me murdering you.”

  “Ah, with how bad your luck is, I’ll end up becoming immortal,” Yang teased, smiling and pulling back. “None of us will bring it up, but we’re here for you,” he reassured me.

  “I know,” I said, “That’s why I’m not shitting myself right now.”

  I turned around and grabbed some instant noodles from the pantry, taking them out. “We should start moving soon. These have meat in them, so let’s fill up then go.” Peijin slid the vegetable one over to Yue before heating up water.

  “Did you seriously just give me the worst flavor?”

  “If you eat your greens, you won’t be so ugly.”

  “What the fuck?!” Yue exclaimed, furious.

  I shot a teasing smile at Yue while I poured the hot water into her cup of noodles. In the swirling water, however, small vortexes formed to resemble a lopsided smiley face. My blood ran cold at the image, but I did my best to hide my expression, preparing the noodles for the rest of the party members before saying, “I’m going to use the restroom.”

  My heart was pounding in my chest, the blood pumping loudly in my ears. There it was—that fucking smiley face. There was no boogie man or ghoul in the closet; this smiley face was my tormenter, the ghost that haunted me. I could feel my grip on my memory slipping, and I quickly steeled myself.

  Six steps down the hall and first door on the right. The second floorboard would creak, and I dutifully avoided it like second nature. I stepped onto the bathroom’s tile floor and quietly locked the door, making sure not to bother anyone, before darting over to the toilet.

  “G-Gah!”

  I hurled into the toilet, the vomit coming up like red slime. My stomach was too empty for any large chunks to be found in it. Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, I gasped before vomiting once more, struggling to keep my hair out of the way.

  “God damnit…”

  If I could change one thing about my life, it wouldn’t be the pest control, the shitty writing contract I signed, or even my awful personality. If there was one thing I could change, I’d erase that smiley face from my memory forever. Maybe then, I wouldn’t have turned out so twisted.

  I stood up, flushing the toilet and wiping my face. I stood before the mirror now and stared at my appearance, inspecting my face even though my arm was still bandaged. My eyes lingered on something reflected behind me in the mirror.

  A smiley face was carved behind me out of the black shadows, and it almost seemed to press out of the walls, reaching toward her.

  “Ex..cuse me…. Who are you?” A voice croaked from the wall, warped and vicious.

  “You can’t do anything. There are people at home,” I replied quickly and firmly.

  Whenever Smiley entered my childhood, only that line would get it to leave.

  At once, the smiley face shrunk back into the wall before dissipating once more. I turned on the faucet and slapped water on her face, letting out a shaky breath. I felt myself slipping further and further into the room, no longer certain of who I was.

  “I am Liu Peijin,” I said.

  My reflection stared straight back at me, unwavering.

  “I am Liu Peijin.”

  I repeated the words, but this time, they were more desperate.

  Black eyes peered back.

  Nothing was out of the ordinary.

  I unlocked the door and walked back to the kitchen.

  Yue’s feet swayed back and forth as she kicked the base of the granite island. “Don’t you think we should have Peijin sit back during this dungeon? She’s been doing too much.”

  Wei slurped up the last of his noodles greedily while nodding. “For once, I agree with you, Yue. I want to take the burden off her shoulders, but she’d never let it happen.”

  “Ahh, do you really think she’d tell us the truth about this room?” Yue sighed. “There’s no way this is just a haunted house. There haven’t even been any ghosts.”

  Yang had cooked up slices of meat and was feeding them to Amelia, her face a wide grin.

  Yue’s eyes darted over to him. “Hey, you’ve known Peijin for a while, right? Was she always like this?”

  He stopped to ponder the question for a moment, looking at the wall across from him. “I didn’t speak to her much about our lives. We were just coworkers after all. It was difficult getting close to her because she always had this big wall up around her.”

  Yue looked at him suspiciously but let it slide, pouting as she rested her face on her hand. “I doubt she’d have any other friends. Do you think she’d worry about us so much otherwise?”

  “How could she not have friends?” Wei quickly blurted. “Do you not look up to her?”

  “Eh?! Look up to her?” Yue’s face warped as if she were about to profusely deny the statement, but she suddenly looked down at the ramen in embarrassment. “I might admire her intelligence, but so what? I admire a lot of people, okay?

  “Besides,” Yue trailed on, “She said something earlier that…” Yue’s voice trailed off, but I could feel her hard gaze piercing into me.

  I was standing the hallway, but I was staring at an open bedroom door, my jaw slightly agape, my eyes wide and trembling, and my clammy hands trembling. A figure turned to me from inside the room, his voice hoarse and weak.

  “Peijin, is that you? Oh, my sweet girl, you’ve finally come home.”