Indeed, her older brother had died five days ago, drowned in their own washbasin.
His body was covered in water weeds, his eyes open even in death. This should have been utterly impossible, yet it now seemed quite common in the mountain village.
Her brother's death had left Xiaodie heartbroken, but she did not even dare bury him, much less let outsiders know he had died.
Otherwise, those villagers would surely come in and loot everything.
No one had left the village in three months.
All daily necessities were precious, especially her family's incense.
Many people had long had their eyes on it.
On the day her brother died, Xiaodie cried all day. That night, in a haze, she heard her brother knocking outside, constantly asking her to open the door.
From negotiation, to begging for mercy, to hysteria...
Overcome with terror, she lit incense and made an offering to the Blood God. Only then did the voice disappear.
But over the past few days, her brother's voice had returned every night, constantly knocking outside.
Her brother was already dead, his corpse right beside her. Clearly, what stood outside was a monster, a bizarre monster.
Moreover, the monster's power was growing. At first, half a stick of incense had been enough. Later, it took a whole stick, and now, even two sticks could barely suppress it.
Crash!
Crash!
The pounding on the door grew more and more violent, while the incense continued to burn.
Finally, when incense smoke filled the entire room, the knocking outside abruptly vanished, as though it had never existed.
Xiaodie slumped to the floor and let out a long breath. The stone hanging over her heart finally dropped, and two trails of tears ran down her cheeks.
She stared fixedly at her brother's corpse beside her,