I moved along the base of the wall.

The old security bars groaned underfoot, unable to bear the weight any longer.

The humming coming from under the door of Tiger Cub's room grew clearer and clearer, as if a child was repeatedly singing the same melody in a child's voice.

But it always goes off-key on a certain syllable, turning into the harsh sound of fingernails scratching glass.

Through the crack in the door, the moonlight stretched Tiger Cub's shadow and projected it onto the wall.

The shadow, however, was a whole size larger than him.

He knelt on the ground, the wooden floor beneath his knees corroded with dark stains from the viscous substance.

The rag doll in front of me was grinning, and two blood-stained marbles were turning slightly as I hummed a tune.

Suddenly, Tiger Cub's head turned 180 degrees without warning, his empty eyes staring straight into my gaze, and a smile that looked more like a grimace stretched across his lips: "Grandpa, you've finally come."

Holy crap?

This kid has been waiting for me?

What about Li Xiulan?

Could it have been eaten?

My blood froze instantly, and cold sweat beaded on my hands as I gripped the lightning sword.

Suddenly, the sound of leather shoes tapping on the ground came from downstairs, each tap heavier than the last, as if someone was dragging something up the stairs.

The corridor was too narrow; there wasn't even a fire cabinet where one could hide.

I could only cling tightly to the wall, listening to the sound as it climbed up from the first floor.

At the corner, Li Xiulan's father-in-law slowly appeared, leaning on his cane.

Moonlight filtered through his sleeves, casting a translucent shadow on the ground.

The cane, which should have been solid, now revealed openwork patterns in the shadows, clearly the outline of a carved cabinet door.

Several withered eyeballs were strung on the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist at some point.

His grayish-white pupils remained rolled upwards, gleaming bluish-white in the moonlight, swaying gently with his movements.

Looking for Xiulan?

He made a gurgling sound in his throat, his missing teeth letting in drafts, yet the corners of his mouth formed a strange arc.

"She's playing with Huwa."

As he spoke, several bumps suddenly appeared on the skin of his neck, as if something was wriggling under the skin, before they subsided in an instant.

As he spoke, he lifted the birdcage and shook it.

Suddenly, a hand covered in lividity reached out from the cage.

The cage door creaked open.

Several bluish-gray moths fluttered toward me, their wings imprinted with the same lotus scroll pattern as the cabinet door.

A dull thud came from the carved cabinet in the master bedroom, as if someone was pounding on it desperately inside.

The black, sticky liquid seeping from the door cracks had overflowed the threshold and formed small puddles in the corridor.

Twisted human faces emerged from the surface of the mucus, just like the faces of Li Xiulan's family in the photo where her eyes had been gouged out.

I reached into my pocket for the compass, and the copper needle spun wildly, pointing towards Tiger Cub's room.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of plastic slippers behind me.

Li Xiulan appeared wrapped in her pajamas, repeating herself with a blank look in her eyes.

"Take me to find Tiger Cub... Take me to find Tiger Cub..."

The bluish-gray handprint on the back of her neck had spread to her entire face.

The fine lines are faintly visible beneath the skin, just like the peeling peony lacquer on the cabinet door.

The sound of an iron gate opening came from downstairs, followed by the innocent voice of a child.

"Mom, I'm here."

Li Xiulan turned around instantly and ran towards the source of the sound.

The hem of the pajamas brushed against the slime, leaving a string of lotus-shaped footprints.

I gripped the lightning sword tightly, its tip pointing towards Tiger Cub's door.

The red light seeping through the crack in the door.

The rag doll's limbs are slowly stretching out, and the red mark on Tiger Cub's wrist has now turned into the shape of a complete cabinet door.

I gripped the lightning sword tightly, ready to strike, when suddenly the blade began to vibrate slightly.

My heart skipped a beat. This is...

Although I haven't had this sword for very long, it has already become sentient.

In the past, each tremor was a sign that I sensed a powerful evil aura around me, or that I was facing an extremely troublesome demon.

Its strong reaction at this moment suggests that something far more terrifying than I could have imagined is lurking in Tiger Cub's room.

I took a deep breath, trying to glean more clues from the frequency of the sword's vibrations.

Yingniang and Liu Sandao, who would occasionally visit, once said that the unusual movements of magical artifacts are often closely related to changes in the surrounding energy field.

The Thunderstrike Sword vibrated rapidly and erratically, as if it were being impacted by an extremely chaotic yet powerful force.

Meanwhile, the red light seeping from the crack in Huwa's room door grew stronger and stronger, turning the corridor into an eerie blood-red color.

When the rag doll's limbs are stretched out, it makes a soft sound like cotton cloth tearing.

The red mark on Huwa's wrist was now wriggling as if it had come to life.

"Old man, trying to run away?"

Li Xiulan's father-in-law's voice suddenly became sharp, completely different from his previous old and hoarse voice.

But this time, he was completely different from the first time; he was even more terrifying.

With a loud shout from Li Xiulan's father-in-law, he suddenly hurled the birdcage at me.

The hand covered in lividity in the cage grabbed my sleeve, and the icy touch sent a shiver down my spine.

I swung my sword backhand, and the moment the lightning sword cleaved the prayer beads, my withered eyeballs shot out like marbles.

Upon landing, each one cracked with a spiderweb-like pattern.

The birdcage crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

The hand in the cage suddenly turned into a puddle of black slime, which burrowed into the carved cabinet through the cracks in the floor.

Li Xiulan's father-in-law's body twisted strangely, his spine making a cracking sound like bamboo breaking, and he crawled towards me.

Just then, the carved cabinet in the master bedroom made a loud noise, and the cabinet door was kicked open halfway.

Black slime gushed out like a tide, enveloping countless pale arms.

I hurriedly pulled out my compass. The copper needle spun wildly under the intense interference of the magnetic field, finally pointing straight at the carved cabinet and bursting out with dazzling golden light.

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