Translator: Cinder Translations
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Zuo Jing moved away from the spot closest to the door. The three of them did not huddle together for warmth but immediately scattered, each occupying a position and maintaining a certain distance from each other.
Common sense suggested that a ghost would likely only attack one person at a time, but if they were to gather together, it would be hard to say. No one wanted to be the one who got caught up in the mess.
Holding their breath, the three of them stared intently at the door and the tightly shut window.
"Scrape—"
"Scrape—"
The sound of something heavy being dragged became more and more distinct, and the distance seemed to be closing. Judging by the sound, whatever it was had reached the door, but under the faint moonlight, the thing at the door did not cast a shadow on the paper covering the door.
After Qin Jian's death, the thin mist over the lake and the dark clouds that had shrouded the sky dispersed.
Tonight was a rare full moon.
But no one was concerned about the moon anymore. Shi Liaozhi, Zuo Jing, and Chen Qiang all looked unusually grim.
Especially Shi Liaozhi, whose eyebrows were tightly knit together, and veins bulged on the back of his hand.
A terrifying thought crossed Shi Liaozhi's mind.
Could the thing outside have crawled all the way from the lake, which is why...
"Bang!"
The sudden sound of banging on the door was like a cleaver, directly severing his train of thought.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Several more bangs followed, and the door shook violently. The sound of banging moved from the bottom upwards, as if something that had been lying on the ground was gradually getting up.
The next second, Shi Liaozhi's pupils trembled, and he sucked in a cold breath.
On the door, less than three meters away from him, a bloody handprint had appeared.
Blood dripped around the handprint, slowly soaking through the paper on the door. It was hard to imagine what kind of injury could cause so much bleeding. Even more terrifying was that blood was also seeping in through the crack under the door.
Under the dim candlelight, it shimmered with an eerie glow.
A shadow of about the same height as an ordinary person quietly appeared on the door.
Shi Liaozhi's throat moved silently. He could even imagine the movements of the thing standing outside—a bloody hand pressed against the door, a shattered body oozing blood everywhere...
"It's me," the person outside spoke, accompanied by continuous coughing, as if their throat was filled with blood, "Open... open the door."
Shi Liaozhi was stunned. It was... Qin Jian!
He seemed to be severely injured, speaking breathlessly, as if he wouldn't last much longer.
How could it be Qin Jian?
Wasn't he already dead, crushed by a ghost on his back, his spine snapped?
Could someone with such injuries... still come back to life?
No, impossible, it must be a ghost outside!
Pursing his lips, Shi Liaozhi remained silent.
The Qin Jian outside seemed to understand their concerns. He gasped for breath, his voice intermittent, like a broken old bellows.
"I... I'm not dead," he leaned against the door, struggling to speak, "You... you must believe me, I was attacked by a ghost, but... but the ghost has already killed You Qi, so I... cough cough..."
"I survived..."
Hearing this, Shi Liaozhi was first stunned, then an indescribable chill rose from his heart.
You Qi?
Was it You Qi who died?!
"I hid by the lake and saw the ghost kill You Qi, then take his form..." Qin Jian's voice was filled with uncontrollable fear, "I saw it find you with my own eyes, but I... I didn't dare to go over..."
"I didn't dare to go back either, so... cough..." Bloody froth stained the white paper on the door a bright red again, "You... you must believe me."
"Otherwise... otherwise you'll be next..."
Qin Jian's last words struck a chord in Shi Liaozhi's heart. The painting had already appeared in their room. Although Chen Qiang said they wouldn't die immediately, how convincing were the words of a newcomer?
After realizing that the female ghost in the painting was staring at him, Shi Liaozhi immediately knew that he had also been targeted by the ghost, though he wasn't sure why.
Almost instinctively, he glanced at the location of the painting.
But the next second, he couldn't look away.
The color drained from his face, and a cold wind seemed to blow through the back of Shi Liaozhi's head. The blood in his veins felt as if it had frozen, filled with icy shards.
He slightly opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The woman in the painting was vastly different from before.
No longer the graceful dancer, her body was now swollen, her red opera costume bulging, especially her face, which was completely blurred. Rotten flesh hung uncontrollably, and a pair of eyes buried deep in the decaying flesh emitted a terrifying light.
Even more horrifying, the swollen woman's hands were stretched out, one leg stepping forward, as if she was trying to squeeze out of the painting.
And the direction her face was turned... was directly towards Shi Liaozhi.
Damn it...
Qin Jian was telling the truth! Shi Liaozhi's eyes widened. That... that You Qi was the ghost!
And now that the ghost knew it had been exposed, it was coming to kill him!
Without hesitation, Shi Liaozhi immediately rushed towards the door. He wanted to escape, as far as possible, preferably... where no one could find him!
He didn't need anyone's help. He could survive on his own.
But just as he ran towards the door, something tripped him, and he fell to the ground with a loud "thud."
The fall was severe, but Shi Liaozhi couldn't care less at this point. He struggled, desperately crawling towards the door, shouting as he went, "No! Don't touch me!" he screamed hysterically, "Let me go!"
Finally, just before he could reach the door, everything went black, and he lost consciousness.
"Pant—, pant—"
The one breathing heavily was Chen Qiang. He was lying on top of Shi Liaozhi, but even then, he couldn't hold him down. Fortunately, Zuo Jing acted decisively and knocked Shi Liaozhi out.
Looking up, staring at the door less than a meter away, Chen Qiang licked his lips and whispered, "It's that painting..."
"Yeah," Zuo Jing nodded. She slowly stood up, moving her knee off Shi Liaozhi's back. The bulky opera costume restricted her movements, otherwise, it wouldn't have been so difficult.
They all clearly saw that the strange phenomenon occurred after Shi Liaozhi looked at the painting.
But strangely... when they looked at the painting, they didn't see anything wrong, at least not on the surface.
"Stop looking," Zuo Jing said softly, "Wait until dawn, then call everyone over, together."
Chen Qiang wasn't surprised by Zuo Jing's decision. Since everyone already knew about the painting, it was no longer a secret that needed to be kept.
It was more like an unspoken understanding.
(End of the Chapter)
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