Chapter 36: A Family of Six (11)

Chapter 36: A Family of Six (11)

◎ "The monster is actually you." ◎

Less than forty minutes left until midnight.

On their way to the garden, Shi Youqing checked the two rooms on the first floor.

From the outside, there was nothing unusual.

But he could faintly hear Lin Lulu's anxious voice…

They quickly reached the garden in front of the villa and started searching without delay.

Although there were street lights nearby, the dim lighting made it difficult to inspect the ground. Most of the search relied on the powerful flashlight Bo Huai had brought from the real world.

After about ten minutes, Shi Youqing finally found loosened soil under a seedling.

"The color here is darker... It must have been disturbed recently."

Without any tools, Bo Huai stepped forward at the sound, beginning to dig with his bare hands.

Bo Huai’s hands were large, with long, powerful fingers. In a short while, he dug a not-so-shallow hole, and then a muddy photograph was pulled out by his hand, which he wiped clean.

As expected...

Shi Youqing took the photograph and after examining it, his expression darkened.

In the photo, there was a little girl with a ponytail. Her features were somewhat blurry, and much of the background was cropped out, like a random passerby accidentally captured in a travel photo, later extracted and enlarged...

However, the little girl wasn’t alone in the picture.

The reason for saying this was that another person wasn’t originally in the photo — next to the little girl, in what was once a blank space, a short-haired old lady was drawn with a black pen. The old lady looked stern, her hand tightly held by the little girl…

Despite the childlike and somewhat abstract strokes, Shi Youqing instantly recognized her as the grandmother from this family…

Turning the photo over, he saw a line of similarly childlike handwriting:

Happy Birthday, Grandma.

Under the dim light, Shi Youqing turned to Bo Huai, intending to speak about the photo, but his gaze froze on the shadow behind Bo Huai.

The little girl was standing there, just a step away from them.

His hand was suddenly gripped tightly. Bo Huai seemed to know what he had seen, and quickly led him forward.

But things didn’t go smoothly. As soon as they left the garden, the ground lit by the streetlights gradually darkened.

Unknowingly, Shi Youqing found they had entered a mist.

The hand gripping his tightened, "I remember the way, close your eyes, don’t look at anything."

"…Okay."

Shi Youqing followed step by step, only aware that he kept walking. After nearly ten minutes, he realized something was amiss.

The garden outside the villa wasn’t so large as to require such a long walk.

"Bo Huai?" he called out.

No response.

Their hands remained tightly clasped, but the once warm hand had become ice-cold and slightly damp, slipping like a fish and growing smaller…

Shi Youqing tried to shake it off in panic, but it clung to his palm like glue, maintaining the same grip no matter how he moved or ran.

The figure in front continued walking.

Gradually, Shi Youqing stopped struggling.

He hadn't broken any rules. Although the sudden switch of the person beside him was terrifying, it didn't mean he would die just like that... He needed to stay calm.

The small shadow beside him continued to lead him forward.

In the darkness, Shi Youqing felt the path slope downward, like descending stairs. A thought struck him – the basement!

After descending the stairs, he noticed the ground beneath his feet was damp, as if his shoes were sticking to some liquid. With each step, there was an indescribable stickiness...

They then stopped.

The view remained pitch black, but Shi Youqing suspected it was naturally dark here. If he had indeed arrived at the basement, a concealed space with no connection to the outside world, it wouldn't be surprising for it to be pitch black...

Suddenly, Shi Youqing heard the little girl calling out.

"Open the door... open the door... please open the door..."

This was completely different from the ominous knocking at midnight.

The voice was urgent, with a crying tone, repeatedly calling out.

Helpless, despairing, but mostly pleading.

It seemed entirely different from the ghostly entity he had encountered.

Infected by the sadness in her voice, for a moment, Shi Youqing forgot he was dealing with a ghost. He couldn’t help but say, "I’ll open it for you, where is the door?"

After a brief silence.

"Here." The little girl's other hand suddenly patted in front, "Brother, the door is here, open it quickly!"

He walked forward and his foot touched an obstruction – presumably the door the girl was talking about.

Shi Youqing reached out to push. Although he couldn’t see, he sensed the door must be covered in rust, feeling it scrape against his palm.

Gripping the doorknob, he pushed hard, then tried pulling when pushing didn’t work...

"Creak," "thud"...

Numerous sounds of jostling echoed.

The door was right there, yet no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge.

Exhausted and gasping for air, Shi Youqing was drenched in sweat, "I can’t open it... It must be locked from the outside..."

The girl began to sob.

The cold, clammy feeling in his hand hadn’t dissipated, but Shi Youqing was no longer as afraid of her. He squatted down, looking into the darkness, attempting to make eye contact with the little girl. He asked, "What’s your name?"

The girl continued crying, not responding.

Shi Youqing said, "Did someone lock you in here?"

The girl kept crying.

Shi Youqing persisted, "Are the people here your family?"

The crying stopped for a moment, and he felt the grip on his hand tighten.

"Yes," the girl said. "I have a dad, a mom, grandparents, and also an unborn... I don’t know if it’s a brother or sister. But they are my family."

"...Then why are you here?" Shi Youqing circled back to his original question.

This time, instead of the girl’s sobbing, he felt her move closer to him, so close that he could smell an indescribable scent of decay...

"Because I wanted them to love me," the child’s voice said clearly.

“……”

Because I wanted them to love me.

Images of the family photos in the villa, those without any trace of the little girl, flashed through Shi Youqing’s mind. A heaviness settled in his chest as he slowly stood up, "I’ll take you to them."

"No," the girl cried again, "I can't get out."

"But..."

"Brother," her voice fading into the darkness, "I want you to stay here with me."

“No.” He will die.

"But there are only five minutes left until midnight." The girl's tone was unsurprised, flat, “You're running out of time.”

Five minutes!

Shi Youqing snapped to awareness, desperately trying to keep his eyes open as he looked around, but he couldn’t see anything... He raised his hands, frantically feeling around the space...

It was cramped... cluttered with unknown objects, leaving no room to even place his feet...

Even walking to the other side of the door was difficult...

“You can’t leave,” the little girl’s ghostly voice followed him like a shadow, “Your family has disappeared. I can be your family. I'll hide you here, and then you can stay with me…”

“My family... how do you know about them?!” In that moment, Shi Youqing stiffened, a rush of emotions overwhelming him, recalling the nightmare where the girl stood beside that monster...

Was it not just a dream?!

“Did that monster tell you?” His tone shifted from calm to urgent, pressing her, “Who is he?!”

“I don’t know,” the little girl said.

“You do know!” On the verge of discovering the truth about his mother’s disappearance, Shi Youqing momentarily lost his composure, grabbing the girl and demanding loudly, “What is that monster? Where is he?!”

“I don’t know,” she repeated, starting to sob again, “Brother, why do you call him a monster?”

“……”

“We’re not monsters, we’re just souls that want to exist in this world. Apart from life, we’re just like humans... You... you’re the different one.”

“……”

“The real monster is you.”

Shi Youqing froze.

His mind was in chaos.

Three minutes left until midnight.

Shi Youqing closed his eyes tightly, taking deep breaths, trying to set aside the surging anger and hostility, and began to use his hearing to discern the direction...

He needed to leave this place first.

He had to find out what was wrong!

When he entered the basement, there was no step of opening a door, but now the exit door was tightly closed. Did this mean... that being led here by the girl from the beginning was all an illusion?

"If it's an illusion, all we need to do is wake up!"

Time flowing rapidly, Shi Youqing no longer hesitated. His hand trembling slightly, he raised it to his mouth and bit down hard on the base of his palm...

To awaken himself, Shi Youqing used all his strength, his teeth cutting into the skin, piercing flesh, and the sweet, metallic taste of blood quickly filled his mouth...

It should have been painful, excruciatingly so, and he had braced himself for it. Yet, after a moment, his palm felt numb, as if it had been anesthetized, devoid of any sensation.

"Qingqing, we're almost there."

The night breeze brushed past his ears, and Shi Youqing suddenly looked up.

His hand was still firmly grasped by Bo Huai, even as his body rested on the other's back.

Bo Huai, carrying him, walked briskly forward. He wasn't running because the ground beneath was wet and slippery, making it easy to fall.

The girl's voice seemed to echo from behind: "Brother, brother..."

He touched the base of his palm; there was no wound, but the sight of the hand holding his, smeared with blood, startled him.

It was sticky, clearly covered in blood...

The wound seemed to be right at the base of his palm...

"Bo Huai?"

"We're almost there."

"I meant your hand..."

"It's not important, we're almost there."

Only two minutes left!

At the end of darkness, a light suddenly flickered.

Only after fully emerging from the darkness did Shi Youqing realize that the light he saw moments ago originated from Feng Bin.

Feng Bin had stayed awake, keeping vigil until after eleven o'clock. Seeing them emerge, he immediately called Lin Lulu to inquire about the situation, feeling that something was amiss... Indeed, a long time had passed, and there was no sign of anyone returning to the garden.

Feng Bin instructed Li Yuancheng to guard the door, grabbed several flashlights, and ran to the garden entrance to search... Fortunately, two figures appeared just two minutes before midnight!

But upon seeing Bo Huai, carrying Shi Youqing on his back, and his bloodied hands, Feng Bin was astonished: "You two..."

"Hurry back!" Shi Youqing urged urgently, "It's almost midnight..."

"...Alright! You too, quickly!" Without further ado, Feng Bin turned and ran back.

Once inside the brightly lit room, Shi Youqing's complexion changed.

He noticed that not only Bo Huai's hands but also his neck bore a terrifying strangulation mark...

His heart pounded with fear, watching Bo Huai prepare to carry him up the stairs again; he wanted to get down, but his limbs felt sore and weak as if overused...

Overused?

Bo Huai shackled his legs, one hand threading through the crook of his knee, continuing to climb up, holding onto him: "We're almost there."

His strides were large and, despite the soaked soles of his shoes, each step was steady.

With ten seconds to midnight, Bo Huai finally made it inside the house and immediately closed the door.

Shi Youqing was placed on the sofa.

He looked up, gasping for breath.

Bo Huai was quickly washing the blood off his hands with alcohol, hastily wrapping them with a bandage, and then he brought over water to clean Shi Youqing's hands and face.

Soon, a girl's knocking sounded at the door.

Bo Huai, as if deaf, finished wiping and went to prepare medicine.

Shi Youqing asked, "Your hand... and your neck, what happened to them?"

Bo Huai: "I got it outside."

“……”

After a while, the landline rang. It was a call from Lin Lulu. She said that Su Xi had emerged from the water but was still unconscious. She had a heartbeat, so it likely wasn't serious. Hao Tianshuo from next door was also fine...

Shi Youqing's thoughts were in disarray. He briefly mentioned the incident with the photos in the garden and suggested they rest for now, leaving the rest for discussion tomorrow.

Silence once again enveloped the room.

The medicine was ready. Bo Huai brought it over for him to drink.

Shi Youqing glanced at the bandaged spot on his hand: "Was it me who bit you?"

Bo Huai: "No."

Shi Youqing: "And the mark on your neck, did I cause that?"

Bo Huai: "No."

Shi Youqing began to drink the medicine. It was bitter, and his face scrunched up in distaste.

The man leaned over, offering sugar to his lips.

Shi Youqing accepted it, biting it twice to break it down. He said, "You don't have to lie to me. You suddenly carried me on your back because I was uncontrollable, right?"

At that time, he had been caught in an illusion created by a ghost. If it were just an illusion, the physical part of him being led would have been taken back by Bo Huai eventually, rendering the illusion ineffective...

Unless his body was out of control...

In the illusion, he indeed bit a hand, though he didn't strangle a neck. But, to open a door, he had gripped the doorknob and shaken it hard for a long time...

All these actions were evidently mirrored on Bo Huai's body...

"No," Bo Huai, looking intently at him, suddenly revealed the real reason he carried him. "There was a lot of water on the ground, and your shoes were new. They would get dirty."

“？？？”

[Author's Note]

Special thanks to the angel who threw a landmine: Big Quilt, for 1;

Grateful to the angels for watering with nutrient solution: Big Quilt for 5 bottles; Stranded, Men Who Don't Care About Themselves Are Like Rotten Cabbages for 1 bottle;

"I'm truly grateful for everyone's support. I will keep pushing forward!"