Chapter 121 Seven Children on the Construction Site
The two stumbled and fell several times as they ran through the dark boiler room, their feet treading on a jumble of scrap metal and pipes.
The footsteps behind me grew closer and closer. They didn't sound like running; rather, they sounded like something was being dragged along, accompanied by the sound of water.
"Over here!"
Xie Xun saw a rusty iron gate ahead, and behind the gate was a staircase leading upwards.
As soon as they rushed in, Xie Xun slammed the door shut behind him, pulled a crumpled yellow talisman from his backpack, and slapped it against the crack in the door.
The talisman had just been pasted on when a muffled thud came from outside the door, as if someone had bumped their head against it.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of fingernails scraping against metal rang out, a screeching sound that made one's teeth ache.
"It won't last much longer." Xie Xun took a breath and looked up at the stairs.
The stairs were old-fashioned concrete steps, with several tattered burlap sacks piled up at the corner, and a musty smell in the air.
The words "Emergency Exit" were crookedly written in red paint on the wall, but the direction the arrow pointed to was completely dark, and you couldn't see the end of it at all.
The countdown above is still going on:
"Sixty-two, sixty-one..."
With each count, the motion-activated light in the stairwell flashes and crackles, as if the voltage is unstable.
Fu Qinghuai wiped his face, his expression grim: "This godforsaken place is draining my energy."
The black aura around him had faded considerably compared to before, as if it had been suppressed by something.
Xie Xun took out the ancient jade fragment from his pocket; the jade was burning hot and was vibrating slightly. He walked up a few steps of the stairs and suddenly stopped.
"Look at the wall."
Fu Qinghuai leaned closer. On the mottled wall, besides mold spots, there were also some... children's handprints.
Tiny, with fingers spread out, the handprints were everywhere. Next to some of the handprints, words were even carved out with fingernails:
Let me out.
"Mother"
"pain"
The handwriting was crooked, conveying a sense of despair.
"Those seven children..."
Xie Xun's voice tightened, "Were you locked up in a place like this back then?"
Before he could finish speaking, a "thud" suddenly came from above his head.
It looked like something had fallen.
The two looked up and saw a small, wet, pale hand hanging down from the gap in the railing above the corner of the stairs, its fingers twitching slightly.
Then came the second one, the third one...
Seven little hands hung there neatly, dripping water.
Water droplets fell on the steps and quickly formed a small puddle.
In the water, you could vaguely see thin, dark red threads moving around, like... like the threads connecting underwater lanterns.
The countdown suddenly stopped.
A deathly silence.
Then, a thin, tearful voice, belonging to a little boy, came from the top of the stairs:
"Brother...can you see my head?"
"My head...I can't find it..."
As soon as the words were spoken, the seven little hands suddenly twitched at the same time, and then abruptly pulled back upwards!
From the top of the stairs came a series of hurried, stumbling footsteps. It sounded like something headless was running around wildly in the darkness.
Xie Xun and Fu Qinghuai exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking, but they both understood.
You can't go up there.
The headless "thing" was crashing around on top of it, making a series of loud clanging sounds as wood snapped and metal fell to the ground, growing increasingly violent.
"Let's go back." Xie Xun lowered his voice and turned to push open the iron gate that had just been closed.
He stopped as soon as his hand touched the doorknob.
Dark red water was slowly seeping into the crack in the door.
It wasn't sewage, but rather thick, sweet-smelling blood.
Even more terrifying, a thin layer of burning paper ash floated on the surface of the blood, with sparks flickering like countless eerie eyes.
Outside the door, Ah-Can's voice rang out. It was still several people speaking at the same time, but this time it was tinged with sobs:
"Brother Xie... Brother Xie... Open the door... It hurts so much..."
"My neck...it hurts so much from being strangled..."
Why didn't you save me...?
The sound of fingernails scratching the door turned into pounding fists, each blow heavier than the last.
The iron gate began to deform, bulging out in the shape of fists.
"Back off!" Fu Qinghuai pulled Xie Xun back a few steps up the stairs.
The little boy searching for his head above suddenly stopped crying. In its place came a "gurgling" sound, like something ball-shaped rolling down the stairs.
The sound was getting closer.
At the first corner, a dark, wet, round shadow sprang out, slammed into the wall with a thud, bounced back, and stopped in the middle of the steps.
It's a basketball.
It was old, its surface worn and saturated with water, heavy and taut. Yet it was still trembling slightly, as if something alive was inside.
Xie Xun stared at the basketball, a chill running down his spine.
He recalled what Director Wang had said: seven children of nearby residents had gone missing near the construction site.
Children on the construction site... basketball...
“This isn’t basketball,” Fu Qinghuai said coldly.
As if to prove his point, the basketball's surface suddenly cracked open. A small, swollen, pale hand emerged from the crack, its fingers twitching and clawing in the air.
Then came the second one, the third one...
Seven tiny hands emerged from the various cracks in the basketball, frantically scratching at the air and tearing the basketball even more apart. Finally, the basketball completely shattered.
There is no bladder inside.
There were only seven children's bodies, curled up together and tangled together. They were forcibly crammed into this small space, their limbs twisted, their heads squeezed together, making it impossible to tell who was who.
Their eyes were all open, staring blankly at the two people below the stairs, their mouths opening and closing, emitting soft, overlapping sobs:
"It's so crowded...it's so crowded..."
"We can't get out..."
"It's so dark..."
Blood flowed down the steps, mixing with the blood seeping in from outside the door, and quickly submerged the soles of Xie Xun's shoes.
Above them, the sound of someone running towards them, "Looking for the head," rang out again, this time more urgent and frantic, rushing towards them!
A pincer attack from both sides.
The blood on the soles of the shoes was sticky and slippery, making it almost impossible to stand.
The sound of the thing rushing down from above grew louder and louder, shaking the entire stairwell.
The tangled, childlike bodies that had burst out of the "basketball" in front of them were reaching out with a dozen pale hands, grabbing at their ankles.
"Go upstairs!" Fu Qinghuai immediately decided and kicked open a small iron door that was slightly ajar on the side of the stairs.
Behind the door was a ventilation duct access panel, a dark opening barely big enough for one person to squeeze through. Inside, the hum of an old fan spinning slowly and a strong smell of dust filled the air.
Without hesitation, Xie Xun ducked and crawled inside.
The pipe was narrow, so we had to crawl forward. The metal interior was cold and covered with years of grease and lint, which rubbed off on us.
Fu Qinghuai followed closely behind.
Just as I pulled my leg back in, I heard a loud crash behind me. It was the child's body that had slammed into the iron gate, making a sickening squeezing and scratching sound.
They dared not linger, and desperately crawled forward through the dark pipes.
The pipelines are intricate and complex, with many branches, and in some places they even go vertically upwards.
Xie Xun could only rely on his rough impression of the building structure and his perception of the flow of yin energy to choose a path free of the smell of blood and moisture.
After climbing for an unknown amount of time, a faint light appeared ahead, along with a weak, suppressed sob.
Xie Xun slowed his movements and carefully moved to the front of the air vent grille, looking down through the gap.
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