Until the faint, fish-belly white light began to appear on the horizon. The creature stopped in front of an ancient building in the village, halting in its tracks, refusing to move any further. Wan Qian tugged a couple of times, but it wouldn't budge.
"This… is your home?" Wan Qian paused, then suddenly understood and asked.
"Awooooo!" The creature only managed an ambiguous howl.
A surge of pity welled up in Wan Qian. How pitiful—so gravely ill that it couldn't even speak properly. But at least it still remembered where its home was.
Wan Qian stepped forward, ready to knock on the door. As soon as she lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles against the wooden panel, the door creaked open a sliver.
Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Then again, if it had been locked, the sick person inside probably wouldn't have been able to get out in the first place.
"Great, the door isn't locked. You can go home now," Wan Qian said, half-pushing the door open as she spoke to the creature beside her.
"Woouuugh." The creature let out a howl, then slipped inside through the opening.
One good deed a day. Wan Qian made a mental note to record this as a merit. Though exhausted, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction and turned around cheerfully, ready to return to her room for some sleep.
Morning finally broke as the sun rose from below the horizon, casting a soft, golden glow that illuminated the village. The light fell upon a plaque hanging overhead above Wan Qian.
However, as Wan Qian turned her back, she did not notice that on that dark plaque, two large characters were written in vermilion ink—Ancestral Hall.
After dawn, the village roads became much clearer. Wan Qian slowly walked along the main thoroughfare.
She noticed that the doors of every household, which had been tightly shut the previous night, were now open. Yet not a single soul was to be seen. It was the time for breakfast, but not a wisp of cooking smoke could be found anywhere.
This time, Wan Qian didn't get lost. Whether it was instinct or sheer luck, she eventually found her way back to the place she was staying.
The door of the neighboring room was already open.
Early that morning, Hao Shijun had left Xie Jia and Wang Hui in their room, and gone into Wan Qian's room to check on things.
Inside the room, the floor was splattered with a pattern of black and red liquid, which looked like congealed blood clots, mixed with scattered bits of meat. At first glance, the sight was truly horrifying.
Hao Shijun realized that these were likely the marks left from last night's struggle between Wan Qian and that creature in the room.
Later, Wan Qian had opened the door and run into another creature lurking just outside. She hadn't returned all night, and no one knew what had happened.
Last night, Hao Shijun had only heard what seemed to be the sounds of a fierce struggle outside. But could someone as inexperienced as Wan Qian, a young girl barely—truly have the strength to confront such a creature head-on?
So pitiful. After finally getting rid of one horror in the room, she had run into another at the door. A wave of sorrow crept into Hao Shijun's heart.
Although he hadn't interacted much with Wan Qian, she was, after all, a fellow human who had entered this place with them.
And Wan Qian—she looked like she had only just graduated from university—the future of the nation, part of the next generation meant to carry the country forward.
She should have had a bright future ahead of her, full of promise and potential. Instead, that future had been buried in this thriller world.
He sighed lightly. Then turned and walked out of the room—only to come face-to-face with Wan Qian, who was yawning and returning to her room.
"Ah—good morning!" Wan Qian paused, raising her hand in greeting with a blank look.
Startled, Hao Shijun instinctively took a step back. "Wan Qian?!"
"It's me." Wan Qian suddenly realized Hao Shijun had come out of her room, and looked puzzled.
"What were you doing in my room?"
Hao Shijun scrutinized Wan Qian, his eyes noting how her shoes were caked with mud, with the edges vaguely smeared with congealed, slimy bits of meat and blood mixed with dirt. Her pant legs were also stained with dried, dark red blood.
But Wan Qian didn't seem to notice at all. It was like she didn't even realize. Apart from the visible fatigue and dark circles under her eyes, she looked calm—entirely normal.
"When I woke up, I found your door open and you weren't there. I thought it was strange—where did you go last night?"
Hao Shijun asked, his eyes fixed on Wan Qian, probing, "Last night, did you...?"
"Oh. Last night, I was just so hungry that I went out to find something to eat," Wan Qian yawned and then couldn't help but complain, "And ugh, the countryside is such a hassle. There was even a snake that slithered onto me in the middle of the night and scared me half to death."
Hao Shijun listened to Wan Qian's words, carefully studying the girl before him. He couldn't detect anything unusual about her. Still, the noise from last night…
At that moment, another door creaked open. Fang Minglan stepped out of her room. She had gotten a good night's sleep, especially once the eerie singing and Wan Qian's presence had vanished.
Though she was still wearing the same dress from yesterday, her long, wavy hair was now pinned up with a simple wooden stick, giving her an unusually refreshed and bright.
However, the moment she lifted her head and saw Wan Qian, her normally rosy cheeks drained of color and turned deathly pale. How was it that Wan Qian was still alive?
Last night, the noises had been so intense. How could anyone possibly survive being attacked by two of those monsters? At that instant, Fang Minglan felt an indescribable terror creeping over her.
She stared intently at Wan Qian, trying to detect any sign of something amiss. But there was nothing.
Except for the dried, congealed gore—a gruesome residue from the struggle with the monster—that still clung to Wan Qian, everything about her appearance, demeanor, and even the tone of her voice was just as it had been during the day yesterday.
Looking at Fang Minglan, Wan Qian cheerfully raised her hand and greeted her.
"Hi, good morning," Wan Qian curled the corners of her mouth and showed a kind smile.
She knows. She knows everything. The shock hit her like a bolt of lightning, and Fang Minglan froze in place.
Staring at the faint, meaningful curve of Wan Qian's smile, a chill ran down her spine — as though she had been plunged into an icy abyss.