154: Chapter 154 Late-Night Storytelling on the Balcony, Lin Chen Starts a New Story

At 8:00 PM, everyone gathered again on time on that huge open-air balcony on the second floor.

Having learned from last night's lesson, everyone was fully prepared for the cold today.

Everyone wrapped themselves in a thick blanket and curled up on the lounge chairs.

The coffee table in the center was filled with sliced fruit platters, melon seeds, peanuts, and various drinks.

Fully equipped, the eight people sat in a circle, and fourteen eyes, like searchlights, focused in unison on Lin Chen.

"Finally, we've made it to the most anticipated bedtime story segment of the day! My head has been filled with Hu Bayi and his team's adventures in the ancient tomb all day long. The audience must be waiting anxiously too. Teacher Lin, don't dawdle, hurry up and start!"

Lei Jiayin grabbed a handful of melon seeds, cracking them loudly while urging him impatiently.

Liu Shishi wrapped the blanket around her legs, turned to the side, and looked at Lin Chen with her chin resting on her hands: "Let's not listen to 'ghost blows out the light' tonight, okay? I want to hear Hubby tell the story of the Supernatural Master."

Xiao Yueyue chimed in with a confused look: "What Supernatural Master? What kind of story is that?"

Liu Shishi said mysteriously: "It's the one my husband told us privately last night. It's way more thrilling than 'ghost blows out the light', and it's the kind where there are actually ghosts! Plus, he told it like it was real. Last night, I even doubted if my husband had really worked part-time as a ghost-catching Taoist priest before."

"Ah? There are actually ghosts?!"

Song Zuer was startled and quickly huddled into Song Dandan's arms, blanket and all.

Upon hearing this, Lei Jiayin immediately got agitated: "Damn! Teacher Lin, that's not fair! You haven't even finished the big pit of 'ghost blows out the light', and you've secretly opened a new one? Are you trying to give us all a nervous breakdown on purpose?!"

Guli Nazha clung tightly to Lin Chen's arm, her whole body almost shrinking into his arms. Her voice trembled, but it was filled with excitement: "The Supernatural Master is really scary! The dirty things in there are much scarier than the zombies!"

Xiao Yueyue got even more excited upon hearing this: "Oh my! That sounds great! Let's tell the Supernatural Master story tonight first! 'ghost blows out the light' can wait."

After the lively discussion, all eyes returned to Lin Chen, waiting for him to speak.

Lin Chen held Tong Liya's soft, boneless hand, playing with her slender fingers, and looked at this group of big stars with amusement:

"I'm telling you guys, you're all big shots in the entertainment industry. Is this all the ambition you have at night? Are there no other entertainment options, or what? Why are you all acting like you've never seen the world, being so obsessed with listening to stories?"

Hearing Lin Chen's teasing, the seven heads next to him nodded in unison like chickens pecking at rice.

Even the staff members standing on the side holding the boom microphones couldn't help but nod wildly along.

If someone else were telling a story, it would at best be called a lullaby.

But when Lin Chen tells a story, it's simply an auditory feast!

It's even more satisfying than watching a 3D blockbuster in a movie theater.

That kind of immersive feeling that makes your hair stand on end—only those who have listened know.

Not only does every character have a custom voice and accent, but when it comes to thrilling parts, he also occasionally uses Ventriloquism to provide realistic sound effects like wind blowing, grass rustling, or doors pushing and chairs bumping.

With this talent, in the entire domestic entertainment industry, can you find a second person besides Teacher Lin?

Not to mention, Teacher Lin's ability to weave stories is also superb; the plot twists and turns, leaving people unable to stop listening.

"The story of the Supernatural Master, didn't you three already hear it in the room last night?"

Lin Chen turned his head to look at the three wives beside him.

Whether he tells a story or not doesn't matter to him; it's just to pass the time.

Since his wives love to listen, he might as well spare some saliva.

Tong Liya snuggled into his arms coquettishly: "It's good, I want to relive it again~"

Liu Shishi and Guli Nazha nodded repeatedly, then, like two startled little rabbits, simultaneously shrank their snow-white, soft bodies.

That adorable look of being ready to dive into their husband's arms and scream before the story even began was simply perfect.

Their performance immediately aroused the intense curiosity of Lei Jiayin, Xiao Yueyue, and the millions of netizens in the livestream regarding this new plot.

Originally, more than half of the audience in the livestream was frantically spamming the screen, begging Lin Chen not to open a new plot and to finish filling the pit of 'ghost blows out the light' first.

But now, seeing the reaction of Lin's three little wives, this wave of spamming comments was cut by more than half.

Looking at this situation… could this new story be even more thrilling than 'ghost blows out the light'?

"Let's call this story 'Those Years I Was a Supernatural Master'."

Lin Chen adjusted to a comfortable sitting position and spoke slowly.

"In this world, we often talk about 'seeing ghosts'. But among everyone present, has anyone actually seen a ghost? Probably not. But I have. And, far more than one."

Lin Chen deliberately lowered his voice. His originally clear and sexy voice now carried an indescribable, eerie chill.

"When I first started, I was scared to death too. It wasn't until I met my master that I gradually understood a truth: ghosts are actually not scary at all; what's truly scary is the human heart. Because sometimes, people… are more vicious than ghosts."

With Lin Chen's eerie opening, a new, bizarre story slowly unfolded.

To keep his three wives, who had already heard it once last night, from feeling bored, Lin Chen casually changed the beginning of the story.

Anyway, this novel was originally pieced together from various supernatural posts in his past life, combined with his master-level writing skills to create it as a secondary work.

How to change the plot and how to tweak the settings was entirely up to his mood.

"... That year I had just turned sixteen. After my master passed away unexpectedly, I moved alone to a remote little county town in Shu to settle down."

"In the old, dilapidated apartment building I rented, a young couple lived next door with their six-year-old daughter, who had just started elementary school. The couple had very explosive tempers; every few days they would smash things and fight in the room, making enough noise for the whole building to hear."

"But suddenly, for a period, it became quiet next door. They stopped fighting. Not only did they stop fighting, but I hadn't seen that wife leave the house for over half a month."

"Every time I bumped into the husband in the hallway, he always kept his head down, looking hurried. When neighbors asked, he would perfunctorily say his wife had gone to visit her parents in another city. Moreover, I noticed that during those days, he habitually rubbed his neck, and his walk was a bit hunched, as if… something very heavy was always pressing on his back."

"But at the time, I had just settled in and didn't think too deeply about it. Instead, it was his six-year-old daughter who made me feel something was unusual. Her own mother had been away for over half a month, yet this child hadn't cried or made a fuss even once."

"One day, the husband couldn't help but ask his daughter: 'Good daughter, Mom hasn't been home these days, why don't you miss Mom at all?'"

"Guess how the little girl answered?"

Lin Chen paused, his gaze sweeping eerily over everyone present.

"The little girl tilted her head and said innocently: 'Daddy, you're so strange. Hasn't Mom been lying on your back this whole time?'"

"Hiss—!"

Everyone on the balcony gasped in unison.

Lin Chen ignored their reaction and continued to narrate in that low voice:

"A few days later, the building was cordoned off with police tape. The police received a report and dug up a highly decomposed female corpse under the concrete floor in the backyard of the house the husband rented. It was his wife who had 'gone to visit her parents'."

"The husband was arrested on the spot for suspected intentional homicide. At the very moment the police put handcuffs on him, I happened to be standing in the crowd watching the commotion."

"And at that exact moment, I clearly saw…"

Lin Chen's voice suddenly sank, "The pale woman in white, who had been clinging tightly to the husband's back, suddenly turned her head slowly, looked through the crowd at me, and revealed… an extremely eerie smile."

...

The spacious open-air balcony was dead silent at this moment.

Except for Lin Chen's low, steady voice and the sea breeze whistling past their ears, not a single sound could be heard.

Even the sound of breathing was deliberately suppressed by everyone.

Everyone present, including the knowledgeable director's team, was completely drawn into this hair-raising horror story by Lin Chen.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, the logic of ghost stories themselves cannot withstand scrutiny.

What's truly scary is the listeners' own ability to fill in the blanks!

Human imagination has no boundaries; once brought into the situation, even the slightest rustle can make one imagine a whole drama.

At this very moment, the members of the Divas Hit the Road Group and the staff were frantically letting their imaginations run wild following Lin Chen's story.

Unconsciously, quite a few people felt the back of their necks turning cold, as if something invisible was really lying on top of them, blowing cold air at them.

That hair-raising feeling scared them so much that they had to look back neurotically from time to time, terrified that a pale face might suddenly appear behind them.

Lin's three little wives were even worse off.

By now, they had long forgotten their image as female celebrities; the three of them were squeezed tightly into Lin Chen's arms like a pile of arhats.

Guli Nazha was sitting directly across Lin Chen's lap, her two snow-white, slender arms wrapped tightly around Lin Chen's neck like vines.

Tong Liya and Liu Shishi were on his left and right, hugging Lin Chen's waist tightly like two koalas.

The three stunning beauties buried their heads in Lin Chen's chest, only daring to show half of their beautiful faces, their big, watery eyes darting around in terror, afraid that a ghost in white might suddenly climb up from outside the balcony railing.

"How about… we stop here for today?"

Seeing this group of people scared like a flock of startled quails, Lin Chen felt a surge of amusement and stopped on purpose to ask.

"No! Hubby, I still want to listen!"

"Don't stop, Teacher Lin! We're just at the crucial part!"

"Big Brother Lin Chen, did you catch that female ghost later?"

"Tell us a little more, Teacher Lin, it's only past nine, and if we go back to our rooms to lie down now, we'll be too scared to sleep anyway!"

Upon hearing that Lin Chen was going to stop, the members of the Divas Hit the Road Group, who had been trembling with fear just a moment ago, immediately shook their heads like rattles.

This is probably a common masochistic psychology of humans: even though they are timid as hell, they love to seek thrills by listening to ghost stories and watching horror movies; the more scared they are, the more they want to watch, unable to stop.

In the livestream, a wave of comments reached its climax at this moment.

"Lin Chen, you unfilial son, just try stopping! I'm getting goosebumps listening to this!"

"Teacher Lin, I beg you, be a human! Don't you dare cut it off at the crucial moment! Can you just give us the ending!"

"Damn! This story is amazing! It scared me so much that I don't even dare to go pee at night! The key is that I'm home alone tonight!"

"So thrilling! This is way more immersive than 'ghost blows out the light'! Teacher Lin, did you really study at Mount Mao before?"

"Although the new plot is exciting, I'm still a nostalgic person. Let me ask weakly, did Hu Bayi and his team ever get out of the ancient tomb?"

"I don't care what kind of plot it is, as long as you can finish it in one go! Lin the Dog, if you keep hanging us like this, you'll easily be struck by heaven!"

"Teacher Lin, don't sleep! Let's fight until dawn! Listening to this kind of story at midnight is the real deal!"