A Long Horror Story (Part 1)

Chapter 1: The Lingering Ruins The old town was as silent as a tomb on this rainy night. Lin Mo stepped onto the slippery, muddy path and stopped in front of the long-abandoned 'Lin Family Old House'. Thirty years ago, a case that shocked the entire town occurred in this house: a family of five mysteriously disappeared overnight, leaving behind untouched meals and bloodstains all over the floor. As an independent journalist specializing in urban legends, Lin Mo decided to venture into this forbidden place on this stormy night in search of exclusive news material. The heavy wooden door creaked open with a grating sound as he slowly pushed it. A blast of cold air, mixed with the smell of mold and stale blood, immediately hit him. He raised his high-intensity flashlight, its beam cutting through the accumulated darkness, illuminating a dusty, round dining table in the center of the living room. Just as the rumors said, several broken porcelain bowls were on the table, with dried, dark brown stains still visible around their rims. Lin Mo swallowed hard, suppressing the rising excitement and unease, and slowly walked into the living room, the wooden floorboards groaning under his feet. He took out his voice recorder to document the scene. However, as the flashlight beam casually swept across a half-shattered mirror in the corner of the living room, his breath froze. The reflection in the mirror was not his own, but that of a woman in a red dress, her back to him, slowly combing her long hair with unnaturally stiff movements. To be continued...