Start with a core cabin

Chapter 1343 Opening (I still have to drink salty tofu pudding in the morning)

Meijia took the two of them around the mansion, and Duanmu Huai finally understood why Meijia invited them.

This place really makes people feel uncomfortable.

To be honest, from the outside, this mansion is quite nice, and the lighting is also abundant. Unlike many other mansions that are dark and gloomy, the glass dome and floor-to-ceiling windows bring enough light to the entire mansion. If you just take a photo and look at it, you will only feel that it is a very gorgeous and bright scene.

But what about actually walking inside... That's another matter.

Duanmu Huai would make an analogy, the whole mansion gave people the feeling of an operating room or a morgue, there was plenty of light, but there was always a chill, even in the daytime. Meijia said that before they came, she had been reading in the garden outside - no wonder she didn't like staying here.

Moreover, Meijia's parents were unable to return because they were abroad, so now Meijia was alone here - the two maids were obviously not her companions. Duanmu Huai and Sha Jiuye also saw another maid. According to Meijia, she was the daughter of Grandma Sanchuan, a middle-aged woman in her thirties. She also had a stern face and rarely spoke. She looked solemn, as if she was in a mourning hall...

Are you celebrating your birthday or attending a wake?

"This is not a good place to celebrate a birthday."

After walking around, Duanmu Huai sat on the sofa in the reception room and gave his opinion without hesitation.

"If you ask me, this place is more suitable for a funeral hall."

"elder brother…………!"

"Ahahaha, it's okay, Sakuya. I actually feel the same way."

Mika stopped Sakuya from complaining with a wry smile.

"Actually... no one likes this place... unless it's a birthday party, no one will come here."

"Then why do we have to celebrate our birthday here? Can't we just go somewhere else?"

Duanmu Huai just didn't believe that there was no rebellious person in this family. Are they all so obedient like sheep?

"…………………"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's complaints, Meijia's expression darkened slightly, and then she looked around uneasily.

"Actually... there was a person who thought this tradition was too stupid and gave up the ceremony, but then... he died."

"died?"

"Yes."

Mika nodded vigorously, her wrists grasping the hem of her skirt turning pale.

"That's a distant cousin of mine. When he was sixteen, he decided not to come here to celebrate his birthday. Instead, he went to KTV with his classmates to sing all night."

Well, this is in line with the characteristics of modern students. Going to KTV to celebrate birthdays is a common thing.

"But the next morning, when the waiter opened the door of the box, he found that my cousin was dead. Not only him, but also his classmates who were in the box with him were killed. I heard that the scene was very cruel, and everyone was disemboweled..."

"Is there such a thing?"

Hearing this, Sakuya's face turned pale, while Mika nodded silently.

"Yes, the Bai Fan family spent a lot of money to suppress this matter, and announced to the public that they took an overdose of drugs and killed each other in the box... But we all know that this is not true. Because after that, everyone said that this was a punishment for the cousin who violated tradition..."

So that's how it is. No wonder everyone follows this rule even though they are reluctant. After all, a person only has one sixteenth birthday in his life. Even if he is reluctant, he can just grit his teeth and get through it. Although he doesn't know whether it is true or not, it is better than losing his life.

  Of course, you can also say it is a coincidence, but this is a matter of life and death. You only have one life, and no one wants to gamble with their life, right?

Not only that, according to Meijia, there are actually three rules in total.

The first one was what she had said before, that everyone in the Baifan family must celebrate their sixteenth birthday in this western-style mansion.

But it’s not as simple as just finding a place in the mansion to celebrate your birthday. There are two other rules as well.

The second rule is that the person celebrating his or her birthday must arrive at the mansion one day in advance and stay in the innermost guest room on the east side of the second floor of the mansion.

Yes, it's a guest room.

The mansion has three floors, the first floor is mainly the restaurant, kitchen and entertainment room, the second floor is the guest room, and the third floor is the study and master bedroom. Mika is from the Baifan family, so she naturally has her own room in the mansion, but... it's useless.

She had to stay in the east-side guest room on the second floor the day before her birthday. Moreover, there was only one guest room on the entire east side, located at the end of the corridor. She had to live alone, and no one was allowed to stay on the entire east side, not even in the corridor. In order to prevent guests living on the west side from breaking into the east side, an iron door was used to separate the two sides, and only Grandma Sanchuan had the key.

"That guest room must be huge, right?"

Hearing this, Shajiuye asked curiously. There were a total of six guest rooms on the west side of the mansion. Mika had already taken them to see them. Basically, the layout of these guest rooms was similar to that of hotel rooms, with a bathroom and a bedroom with a large bed, and daily necessities such as a desk and a TV.

Well, to put it bluntly, this is actually no different from a hotel king-size bed room.

There are three guest rooms on each side of the west corridor, a total of six rooms. There is only one guest room on the east side, and the entrance is located at the innermost part, so it is natural to imagine that the guest room should be much larger than Duanmu Huai's.

However………

"No, actually the room I stay in is no different from everyone else's. They are all the same size."

"Eh? Really? But it's such a big place..."

"I don't know either………"

Mika shook her head and continued. Next, the third rule was that after entering the guest room at 10 o'clock the night before the birthday, the birthday person was not allowed to leave the room. They could not leave the room until 12 o'clock the next day. Then the maid would open the iron door and take the birthday person to the chapel in the annex to celebrate their birthday there.

After the birthday party, the birthday person must return to the east guest room before 10 pm and stay for another night. They can leave at 12 noon on the third day.

"………………………"

After listening to Meijia's introduction, Duanmu Huai and Sha Jiuye looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

  Is this a birthday?

Isn't this some kind of cult ritual?

And why should we celebrate birthdays in a church in a annex? Can't we celebrate birthdays in a restaurant?

It’s no wonder that Mika is so nervous, because the incident with her rebellious cousin happened last year, and this year it’s her turn!

  Originally, Mika just thought it was a weird ritual, but since someone died, the situation naturally became different!

Unfortunately, her parents were out of the country due to work, and she couldn't count on the relatives who she only saw a few times a year. The maids here were all weirder than the others, so Meijia had no choice but to invite Duanmu Huai and Sha Jiuye to come. Even if she couldn't help, it would be good to give her courage.

"Is that the church in the annex? Can we go in and take a look?"

"No."

Mika shook her head with a bitter face.

"The key to the church is in the hands of Ms. Ayabe. She said that it can only be opened on her birthday."

Ms. Ayabe is the daughter of Grandma Mikawa, the serious woman in her thirties that Duanmu Huai and Sha Jiuye saw before.

"Well……………"

Sha Jiuye was speechless. It was the first time she had seen such a weird birthday.

The same goes for Duanmu Huai, what a psychopath this is.

"Oh, yes, Mika."

Noticing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Sakuya decisively changed the subject and took out a gift box from his bag.

"This is a birthday present. Happy birthday to you."

"Thank you!"

After receiving the birthday present, Mika's originally depressed expression relaxed a little.

"can I open this?"

"of course."

After getting Sakuya's consent, Mika opened the birthday gift box and saw a pair of very unique earrings inside - well, a gift for a very girly girl.

Duanmu Huai nodded, then saw Sha Jiuye looking at him and was stunned.

  Should I send it too?

"Well……………"

Faced with Sha Jiuye's silent urging, Duanmu Huai reached out, rummaged in his arms, then took out something and handed it over.

"Happy birthday to you."

"Thank you, Mr. Duanmu, this is...a pendant?"

Meijia curiously took the gift from Duanmu Huai, somewhat surprised. It was obviously a pendant, but the decoration on the pendant was a little strange. Hanging under the metal chain was a metal skull logo, and in the eye sockets and mouth of the metal skull, several tentacles stretched out from inside and wrapped around a war hammer. And the suction cups on these tentacles were open eyes...

"Brother, only boys would like this thing..."

Seeing this, Sakuya couldn't help but complain. No wonder she said that. After all, no matter how you look at it, this looks like the kind of death heavy metal that those chuunibyou boys love the most... For a gentle and intellectual girl like Mika, it's really out of place.

"What do you know, little kid? This is a talisman."

Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes at Sha Jiuye. Are you kidding? This thing is an ornament infused with his divine power. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a divine weapon. Unless Meijia encounters a being at the level of the three mythical gods, otherwise, relying on this pendant alone, no matter what kind of air ghost, ghoul, or snake man Baiyaki comes, they will kill anyone who stands in their way. Even the lower-level outer gods will not care.

Of course, if you meet Shub-Niggurath or Nyarlathotep or something like that...you'd better go to bed early.

I hope I will have better luck in my next life.

"Amulet? This doesn't look like an amulet at all, does it?"

Sakuya's expression is also very interesting. After all, this thing looks like a cursed item no matter how you look at it - well, it's not wrong actually.

After all, it was transformed by Duanmu Huai using the ancient divine power.

"Thank you, Mr. Duanmu. I'll take it."

However, Mika obviously didn't seem to care about these little things. She directly picked up the necklace and hung it around her neck, and then put it under her coat, so she was not afraid of being seen.

Seeing this, Sha Jiuye wanted to say something, but suddenly a chaotic sound of footsteps was heard, and then the door of the reception room was pushed open roughly.

"Hey, hello, everyone."

Then a man came in laughing.