Ning Qiushui noticed it too.
He reached out and felt around.
In the darkness, Ning Qiushui found a book.
He picked it up. Desperate fingerprints still marked the dust on its cover.
He opened it.
By the wan moonlight outside the window, the two of them read what was written inside-
[June 1, 2037, overcast]
[...Grandpa called and said Grandma wasn't going to make it. He asked Mom to come home...]
[But for some reason, Mom refused firmly, even though she'd always cared so much about Grandma.]
[June 9, 2037, overcast]
[Mom didn't go to work.]
[She looked really scared.]
[What was Mom afraid of?]
[June 12, 2037, overcast]
[These past few days, I saw Mom crying in secret all the time. When I asked her why, she wouldn't say anything. She just held me.]
[She held me so tightly that I could hardly breathe.]
[June 21, 2037, light rain]
[Grandma died. Grandpa called Mom, and her face went pale after she hung up.]
[She suddenly went out and didn't come back until late at night. She handed me a piece of blood-red jade and told me to hang it by the window and never take it down, no matter what happened.]
[June 22, 2037, heavy rain]
[Mom packed her bags and left home with Dad, leaving only me and Granny Wang, the housekeeper who'd looked after our home for years.]
[Before they left, they told Granny Wang and me not to open the door if we saw them come home.]
[July 12, 2037, heavy rain]
[Mom came back.]
[I remembered what Mom and Dad had told me, but I opened the door anyway.]
[I... missed them so much.]
[August 1, 2037, heavy rain]
[Something was wrong...]
[It... wasn't Mom!]
[August 15, 2037, heavy rain]
[I wasn't a good kid. I didn't listen to Mom and Dad, and I let that horrible thing inside...]
[It was right outside...]
[I was thirsty and hungry, but I didn't dare go out...]
[Was I... going to die?]
[What should I do?]
That was where the diary ended for good.
Its contents were horrifying.
The two of them stared at the diary, unable to speak for a long time.
"So... that old woman on the second floor wasn't the lady of the house's mother. She was... the housekeeper."
Liu Chengfeng swallowed.
"Then that monster..."
Ning Qiushui closed the diary and spoke to Liu Chengfeng behind him.
"The shoe cabinet by the front door was neatly packed with newly bought women's shoes. I was thinking, if a woman who loved shoes that much really went on a trip, wouldn't she take at least a few pairs?"
Liu Chengfeng froze.
All of them had passed that shoe cabinet several times, but none of them had noticed.
Ning Qiushui's powers of observation... were terrifying.
"And didn't you want to know what those three words the old woman on the second floor kept repeating really meant?"
At that, Liu Chengfeng recovered a little and looked at Ning Qiushui.
"Wh-what were they?"
Under the deathly pale moonlight, Ning Qiushui met Liu Chengfeng's eyes and delivered the chilling truth, word by word.
"The old woman on the second floor wasn't saying the meat wasn't cooked."
"She was trying to tell us... the woman never left!"
Liu Chengfeng's breathing grew rapid, his eyes wide.
"You're saying that woman in the red dress we saw on the first day... never left?!"
Ning Qiushui nodded slowly.
"Right."
"It never left at all."
"It must have found somewhere hidden nearby... and eaten that little girl."
Thud!
Liu Chengfeng's legs buckled. He stumbled and nearly fell.
"Holy shit..."
He went numb.
His whole body went numb.
Ning Qiushui stood by the window, reached out, and touched the Blood Jade hanging there.
Whatever it was, whatever it had been made from... none of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was...
This Blood Jade could keep out that terrifying woman in the villa, whatever she really was!
Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he turned to Liu Chengfeng.
"Beardy, hurry!"
"We'll split up. Go down to the kitchen on the first floor and pack some food. Prioritize filling food that's already cooked!"
Liu Chengfeng paused.
"Then... what about you?"
Ning Qiushui answered.
"I'll go to the second floor and carry the old woman up!"
Liu Chengfeng immediately understood what Ning Qiushui intended to do.
"Won't we run into that... ghost thing?"
Ning Qiushui's gaze sharpened, his tone certain and resolute.
"We have to take the risk!"
"There aren't many of us left, and nighttime, when it's out hunting, is our only chance to get into the third floor!"
"After tonight, getting the old woman and food in here probably won't be this easy again!"
Liu Chengfeng gritted his teeth.
"All right!"
There was no turning back once they committed.
By now, he trusted Ning Qiushui completely.
Without him, he probably would have died on the first night.
Now they had to give it everything they had!
The two carefully slipped out of the room. After confirming that the ghostly thing hadn't returned, they immediately headed downstairs. Liu Chengfeng went straight to the first-floor kitchen. Without turning on the light, he grabbed bags and began packing food!
Although the kitchen was pitch-black, Liu Chengfeng remembered Ning Qiushui's warning and left the light off. Luckily, he had worked in the kitchen during the day and had a rough idea of where the ingredients were kept.
But Liu Chengfeng's hands were shaking badly.
Countless eyes seemed to be watching him from the darkness.
At any moment, some terrifying apparition might spring from those pitch-black corners or behind the doors and devour him!
"Quick... quick..."
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Soon, Liu Chengfeng had packed three bulging bags of food.
Dragging the three bags, he hurried upstairs and saw Ning Qiushui heading toward the staircase with the old woman on his back.
The old woman was broad and heavy, weighing around a hundred and seventy pounds. Without Ning Qiushui's exceptional physical fitness, he would have struggled to carry her!
"Go up first!"
Seeing Liu Chengfeng stop on the stairs, Ning Qiushui gave the order at once.
Liu Chengfeng nodded and ran toward the third floor with the food.
Ning Qiushui headed up too, but a large stretch of the third-floor floor was sticky and slick. He couldn't move too quickly, or he would fall.
The old woman was frail. If she fell, there was no telling what might happen!
Almost there, almost there...
Once he reached the third floor, Ning Qiushui hurried toward the study at the end of the hall. Liu Chengfeng was already standing inside its doorway, leaning halfway out to watch.
He looked toward Ning Qiushui, his face alert.
Suddenly, he seemed to spot something, and overwhelming terror flooded his eyes!
Liu Chengfeng waved at Ning Qiushui and cried out in fright.
"Hurry!"
"It-it's caught up!!"
Still carrying the old woman, Ning Qiushui went cold all over at those words!
Scrape-
Scrape-
Scrape-
The horrifying scrape of knife against fork sounded behind him again. Ning Qiushui clenched his teeth and ran forward for his life!
At this point, he could no longer worry about falling!
Ning Qiushui knew that if he kept moving this slowly, he would certainly die!
An icy killing intent spread toward him with the pale moonlight, enveloping his entire body. He didn't dare look back, nor could he afford to!
Faster...
Even faster!!
Ning Qiushui roared inwardly, gritting his teeth as he ran forward with everything he had!
But even at full speed, he could still hear the terrible scraping of knife and fork drawing closer behind him...
This wasn't going to work!
With someone on his back, he couldn't outrun the ghostly thing behind him!
He was only five steps from the doorway when a cold, pale hand suddenly reached from behind and seized his neck!
"Where... are you going?!"
A woman's voice sounded beside his ear, venomous and ice-cold.
Ning Qiushui went cold all over, his strength visibly draining away.
He had still been... too slow.
Just as Ning Qiushui waited for death, a figure suddenly rushed out from behind the study door and pressed a hand against that pale arm!
"Aaaah!!!"
The woman let out a piercing scream. White smoke rose, and she released her grip. Another large, warm hand seized Ning Qiushui and dragged him into the study!
As soon as they entered, Liu Chengfeng scrambled to the window in a panic and hung the Blood Jade back up!
Only then did Liu Chengfeng collapse onto the floor, both legs shaking uncontrollably...
"Aah!!!"
Outside, the woman in the red dress shrieked madly, utterly enraged. Her twisted body moved to the study doorway, and she stared at them with venomous eyes!
Only then did the two finally get a clear look at the woman in the red dress by the moonlight...
What kind of... horrifying face was that?
Her enormous mouth stretched to her ears, crammed with rows of sharp teeth. They could even make out hair and scraps of flesh inside...
Cracks covered the skin around her eyes, as though it were rotting.
Her limbs were twice as long as a normal person's, and she clung to the wall like a spider!
She gripped the sharp knife and fork, already caked in bloody sludge, tightly in one hand!
"Holy shit... what the fuck is that thing?!"
Liu Chengfeng felt as if his breathing would stop. He couldn't keep himself from swearing!
The woman in red paced restlessly outside the door. She seemed to want to enter the room, yet something seemed to hold her back. In the end, she could only give up. She let out several furious roars at the two men in the study, then turned and left...
Before you continue