Bitter Fruit (Three)
As expected, even showing goodwill required the right approach.
Though Scar Bride was generously displaying even more of herself, Fu Qian turned to look elsewhere at this much more pleasant greeting.
Her voice suited her appearance: she was a kindly-looking old woman.
She was small and thin, sitting on a chair in the corner. Most of her hair had turned white, but it was neatly combed back, and she was looking over at him with eager concern.
Xilaliya had been right. Someone really had seen this sick outsider.
And she had been more than a little right. Through the window, which was only slightly larger than a ventilation opening, he could confirm that it really was nighttime outside. The sky was pitch-black, without a star in sight.
What else had Xilaliya said?
Never go out into that darkness?
"What are you trying to do? Don't get any strange ideas."
The old woman had been watching Fu Qian closely and had clearly noticed his movement. She warned him at once.
"Thank you, but why?"
Rather than immediately rejecting her kindness, Fu Qian even stepped closer as he thanked her.
The church had a traditional cross-shaped layout, and its central area was even smaller than the place where Xilaliya had been staying. The old woman sat in nearly the most inconspicuous corner, farthest from the altar.
"Is there something inside?"
Fu Qian sat down in the empty space beside her and continued asking with a curious expression.
"You shouldn't ask questions like that. Not everything can be discussed..."
But after a moment's hesitation, the old woman gave a description straight out of a horror story, hinting at how terrifying the thing in the darkness was.
That wasn't all. Besides her and the bride, there were two other people