Household Survival Guide 1

“Master!” “Master!” “Master!”

One shout after another of “Master” pierced Xu Si’s ears, making her head feel like it was about to explode.

Xu Si just wanted some peace and quiet. She quickly opened her bedroom door and locked the four noisy ghosts out.

The next day, Xu Si enjoyed chips and cola while directing a few ghosts to clean the house.

On a whim, she picked up a diary to jot down her feelings, but words appeared on the page:

[Strange quest has begun. Players, please prepare yourselves.]

Quest: [Family Survival Rules] initiated.

Quest contamination level: 10%

Number of participants: 1

Xu Si panicked and blindly grabbed one ghost, not even knowing who she pulled in.

Upon entering the quest, she realized it was the little fairy she had grabbed.

Looking closer, the ghost was quite handsome—wearing a white shirt paired with black suit pants, though his body was bruised in shades of blue and purple, looking fragile and weak.

The little fairy’s skill was empathy: whenever his master was attacked, he could absorb the damage and pain.

However, Xu Si felt this skill was useless since as long as she didn’t break the rules, the quest boss couldn’t harm her.

Later, she realized how mistaken that belief was.

Xu Si scanned the surroundings, searching for the rules.

On the living room wall hung a strange family portrait. Everyone wore transparent smiling masks that blurred their original features—except for the daughter.

Only she had tears in her eyes, blood at the corners of her mouth, faintly smiling, standing awkwardly on the family’s left side.

It seemed her role in this quest was the daughter. Xu Si silently wondered why these ghosts loved hanging photos on the wall so much.

The floor and furniture were spotless, but the cleanliness was unnerving, as if no one had ever lived here.

On the table sat a half-eaten bowl of pickled cabbage. All the doors were tightly shut except for one bedroom door, which was ajar.

Looking closer, she saw the lock had been pried off.

On the adjacent wall was a carving: Daughter’s Bedroom.

She pushed open the door and a foul stench hit her nose.

The curtains were half torn down, reflecting half darkness and half light. By the desk stood an easel, and on the desk, besides a workbook, lay an open diary.

It read:

Welcome to the quest [Family Survival Rules].

[This is a “happy and harmonious” family. Please play your role carefully and avoid being discovered by the residents. Follow the rules below (Part 1):]

[1. Do not open the door to strangers, for you do not know what awaits outside.]

[2. If Mother hits you hard enough to draw blood, it means you are acting out of line; please comfort your family.]

[3. No matter what Mother says or does, it is because she loves you deeply. Never defy her, even if her love is expressed in ways you find hard to accept.]

[4. To avoid quarrels with Mother, you may retreat to your room and barricade the door. No family member will disturb you, but they will watch you from the shadows.]

[5. Do not tell the diary about yourself; it is a cunning “tattletale.”]

“Bang, bang, bang!” The door was being hammered fiercely. It seemed the first lucky ghost visitor had arrived today.

Xu Si hesitated at the door, peeking through the peephole. The ghost outside had the label “Mother” above its head.

Rule number one: [Do not open the door to strangers, for you do not know what awaits outside.]