There are generally two types of scary horror movies.
One builds tension slowly—layering atmosphere and unease until your chest feels like it's being crushed.
The other hits like a hammer—an abrupt, jarring scare that jolts through your nervous system like a bolt of electricity, leaving your soul screaming in terror.
Clearly, my situation was the second kind.
My heart raced. Hands and feet turned to ice. My whole body felt like it had been thrown into a freezing cellar—paralyzed.
I didn't dare turn around. My eyes were locked forward, unblinking, sweat sliding down my face as every scream stuck in my throat like glue.
"Who's behind me? Who's behind me!"
The scene from my dream was repeating itself, only now... it was real. I was wide awake. Is this what sleep paralysis feels like?
A cold breath washed over me. I could feel it even through my clothes, like a knife against my waist—or invisible hands gliding up my spine toward my neck.
What the hell is it? What is that thing?!
I was completely awake. I knew I was awake. Everything happening right now was in the real world—the world I'd lived in for twenty-five years.
Eyes wide, pupils flickering, a strand of black hair entered the edge of my vision.
It was filthy and matted, caked with grit and dried blood. No way that hair belonged to a living person.
Then something gripped my throat. That black hair began crawling up my back, and my head was being forcibly twisted—slowly, unbearably—toward whatever was behind me.
My vision was dragged along, unwilling, red veins spidering through my eyes like a doll about to explode.
The pressure on my neck grew stronger. If this kept up, I was going to die.
The talisman! Right—the talisman!
With one last gasp of air, I bit down hard on my tongue. The pain shocked my body into motion. My fingers twitched, grabbing the talisman I'd tucked against my chest.
A surge of warmth shot through my limbs. I leapt up from the bed, like I was wielding a burning flame, and hurled the talisman behind me.
In that split-second flash, I caught a glimpse of a blurry face, reflected in the bloodshot surface of my eyes.
But when the talisman struck—the space behind me was completely empty.
Nothing.
That's impossible...
The pain around my neck made one thing perfectly clear: that wasn't a dream. It was real.
Standing by the bed, shaken and pale, I muttered, "There really is a ghost?"
I grabbed the camcorder and my phone. If this Nether Showroom gear could really capture ghosts, then it must've recorded everything that just happened.
Which meant—the livestream audience would've seen the ghost too.
"Anyone there? Can someone tell me what happened after I fell asleep?"
The chat was silent. It was nearly 3 a.m.—most viewers had gone to bed.
After a long pause, a lone comment appeared:
"Tian Du Thunder Talisman!"
—from Liu Banxian from Qingcheng Mountain.
The moment I saw that handle, I latched on like a drowning man grabbing a life preserver.
"Banxian bro! Save me!"
"Kid, I don't know what kind of luck you had in a past life to get your hands on a Tian Du Thunder Talisman blank. If not for the intervention of some noble figure—or perhaps destiny itself—you'd be dead already!"
"Banxian! Now's not the time for riddles! Speak human language, I'm begging you!"
I clutched the talisman, still standing by the bed. At this point, every direction felt unsafe.
"You're a mortal man, mind full of distractions. You entered this cursed inn at the Hour of the Rat—of course you encountered misfortune. But the heavens left one gap, one thread of survival, and that thread lies in that talisman blank you carry."
"This paper really that powerful?" I looked at it. After repeated use, it had lost much of its luster—faint, almost dull now.
"Before I joined Qingcheng Mountain, I spent years searching for a 500-year-old thunder-struck peach tree. Poured half my life into crafting a thunder talisman coffin—just to nurture a single lightning talisman. A masterpiece! But once I joined the sect, I left the coffin behind to seal the clan's fate. If I had it now, I'd challenge yours for supremacy!"
"Bro, could you please stop flexing and start helping?! I just saw my own shadow MOVE!"
"Calm yourself. In shadows hide ghosts. That wasn't your shadow. You're protected by the talisman—but it bears resentment. It'll go after the girl instead."
"You mean Xiaofeng?! Should I—what, jump out the window and call the cops?!"
"Foolish boy. But saving a life outweighs building a seven-tiered pagoda. Fine, I'll break tradition and teach you the Thunder Talisman Mantra!"
I'd already reached the window, one foot on the sill.
"Listen carefully. This house is steeped in evil. The ghost won't rest. To survive the night, you must keep your thoughts pure. Steadfast and strong. No selfishness, no cowardice. Don't let the ghost cloud your mind."
"…Okay. Okay, I'll do as you say."
He had a point—I couldn't just leave Xiaofeng here. Even though she hadn't stirred through all that commotion… that in itself was kinda disturbing.
"The ghost is trying to possess her. Boy, move! Let go of fear and follow my instructions! Focus on the image of the Celestial Emperor at the center of your mind. Inhale through the nose, draw in your middle palace. Channel energy, breathe out your primordial qi!"
"Bro, speak English! Who's the Celestial Emperor? You mean like Ziwei from that old soap opera? How the hell do I visualize?"
On the bed, Xiaofeng's body started to tremble unnaturally. Her eyelids twitched violently. Then her upper body slowly sat up.
"With sincerity comes power. No jokes. Be serious, or disaster will follow."
"Oh hell no! She's getting up! You call THIS anything less than disaster?!"
Xiaofeng rose like a puppet on strings. She stood on the bed, stiff and swaying. Her eyes were wide—almost entirely white.
"Xiaofeng, come on, we don't even have a grudge between us…"
"Don't speak! Form the talisman seal, now!"
"Index, middle, ring, and pinky—together, bent toward the palm. Don't touch the center. Thumb tucked tightly over the nails. Press hard—no nails showing!"
Liu Banxian was firing off instructions like a machine gun. I could tell things were getting serious.
Possessed Xiaofeng stopped trembling. She stood there, pale and rigid, staring right at me like a hung corpse.
"Clear your mind and chant!"
I didn't even have time to read the next line of chat. Xiaofeng lunged—with scissors in hand.
I dodged just in time. Grabbed her arm, tried to lock her down with a hold I learned in police training. But she was strong—unnaturally strong.
She reached out again—this time for the talisman in my hand.
"No way! This thing's the only thing keeping me alive!"
I shoved her away, leapt onto the bed, made a break for the door—but she tackled me to the ground.
"Start the chant! Now!"
Liu Banxian had posted the mantra—a long, complicated string.
Desperate, one hand blocking the blade, I shouted it at the top of my lungs:
"By thunder's command, swift as starlight—spirits of power, heed my call! With divine sigils, I invoke the heavens. Qianluo Dana, Grand Mystery—slice demons, bind evil, vanquish ten thousand ghosts! Begone foul things, let Dao remain eternal!"
My voice rang out like a bell.
Xiaofeng faltered, her movements slowing.
"Now!"
"Tian Du Thunder Talisman!"
I flung the talisman like a blade. Incredibly, the thin strip of paper sparked like a divine weapon—flashing with light as it pierced Xiaofeng's chest.
The thunder talisman crackled. The ghost inside recoiled. Xiaofeng collapsed, limp and unconscious.
Her shadow, on the other hand—split down the middle.
A torn chunk of it zipped across the room, clawed along the wall, and darted into the bathroom.
"I'll spare you this time," I said, trembling, "but if you come back... next time, that talisman's gonna burn you to ashes!"
I was bluffing. My legs were so weak I couldn't even stand up.
"Now's not the time to rest!"
"Strike while it's weak—chase it!"
"That doesn't sound wise... a certain great man once said: never pursue a cornered enemy."
"Don't say I didn't warn you. That ghost's been wounded now—but it's not over. The moment you burned it, your fates were linked. You'll be haunted by this from now on."
"Bound? As in... till death? Damn, even ghosts are this clingy?!"
I forced myself upright, grabbed the talisman, and tossed the scantily dressed Xiaofeng back onto the bed.
"Man... I've seen some things tonight."
A whole new world had cracked open before me—one I couldn't ignore, whether I believed in it or not.
Camera in one hand, phone and talisman in the other, I pushed open the bathroom door.
"That thing ran in here last…"