Nightmare Assault

Zuo Qing left from the closest door. The three didn’t huddle together but chose to separate. They took a corner each and stayed away from each other. Theoretically speaking, the ghosts would only assault one person at a time. However, that was not guaranteed if they stuck together. No one wanted to be the casualty.

Holding their breaths, the three stared at the door and the closed window.

The sound of dragging became clearer and closer. It sounded like the person was right before their door. However… the thing didn’t possess a shadow. At least not one that the travellers could see through the paper door.

After Qin Jian died, the mist on the lake dispersed. It was a rare full moon that night.

However, no one was in the mood to admire the moon. Shi Liaozhi, Zuo Qing and Chen Qiang didn’t look so good. Shi Liaozhi frowned deeply. A scary thought appeared in his mind. Could the thing outside have crawled over from the lake…?

BANG!

The tapping on the door severed his thoughts.

BANG! BANG!

The door trembled violently. The tapping moved from the bottom to the top. It felt like something was climbing up from the ground. The next second, Shi Liaozhi’s pupils shook, and he sucked in a cold breath.

A bloody handprint appeared on the door. Blood dripped down the print. It slowly soaked through the paper. It was hard to imagine what kind of wound would cause such a huge blood loss. The gap under the door also had blood seeping through. Under the weak candlelight, it glowed viciously. A shadow about the size of a normal human appeared on the door.

Shi Liaozhi swallowed nervously. He could imagine the movement of the creature outside the door. It had its hand on the door while blood spurted out of the wounds all over its body.

“It’s me.” The person outside spoke. The voice was gurgling as if the person was speaking through a throat choked with blood. “Open… the door quickly.” It was Qin Jian’s voice. Shi Liaozhi was startled. He sounded like he was heavily injured.

How could it be Qin Jian? He was dead. He was crushed by the ghost on his back. His spine was broken. Could someone survive such an injury?

No. It was the ghost who was outside!

Shi Liaozhi tightened his lips and said nothing. Qin Jian appeared to understand what they were worried about. He said intermittently, “I… am not dead.” He leaned on the door and said with difficulty, “You… have to trust me. I was attacked by the ghost, but the ghost killed You Qi… So… I… Survived.”

Shi Liaozhi’s brain buzzed. Then, an indescribable fear gripped his heart. You Qi? You Qi was the victim?!

“I hid beside the lake after I was attacked. After the ghost killed You Qi, it took his disguise…” Qin Jian’s voice was rich with fear, “I saw him talking with you, but I didn’t dare to show myself…” He coughed up blood to splatter the door red. “You… Please trust me… Or… you will be next.”

Qin Jian’s last sentence cut into Shi Liaozhi’s heart. The painting had appeared in their room. Even though Chen Qiang said that the death sentence wouldn’t come instantly, how much could they trust a newbie?

After the dancer in the painting laid her eyes on him, Shi Liaozhi knew that he had been targeted even though he had no idea why. Subconsciously, he turned to where the painting was. The next second, he couldn’t move his head back.

Blood drained from his face. Shi Liaozhi’s brain was blank. The blood in his veins froze. His lips fell open, but he lost his ability to speak. The woman in the painting had fully transformed. She was no longer dancing gracefully. Instead, her body became bloated, causing the costume to almost pop. Her face was beyond recognition. The eyes embedded in the folds of rotten flesh glared viciously at Shi Liaozhi. The woman’s hands grabbed the edges of the painting as if she were trying to get out.

This was bad…

Qin Jian was telling the truth! Shi Liaozhi’s eyes widened. You Qi was the real ghost! After the ghost knew that she had been exposed, she came to claim his life.

Shi Liaozhi stopped hesitating. He rushed towards the door. He needed to get away from here… He needed to go to a place where no one could find him! He didn’t need the help from others. He could survive on his own.

At that moment, something tripped him. He collapsed to the ground. The fall was heavy, but Shi Liaozhi didn’t care. He crawled towards the door. As he crawled, he shouted, “No! Don’t touch me! Let me go!”

As he almost opened the door, his world darkened.

PHEW

It was Chen Qiang who gasped for breaths. He was lying on top of Shi Liaozhi. He almost lost control of him. Thankfully, Zuo Qing jumped in and knocked the man out.

He looked up at the door that was close to him. Chen Qiang licked his lips. “It’s that painting…”

Zuo Qing nodded. She slowly stood up. She removed her knees that were on Shi Liaozhi’s back. The costume had restricted her movements, or else she could have been swifter. They both noticed that Shi Liaozhi acted strangely after he took a glance at the painting.

However… both of them studied the painting again and noticed nothing strange.

“Stop looking at it,” Zuo Qing whispered, “We’ll gather everyone when the sun comes up.”

Chen Qiang was not surprised by Zuo Qing’s choice. Since everyone already knew about the painting, there was no need to keep it a secret anymore.