The cave was narrow and oppressive, filled with the smells of earth and rust.
The four of us were practically crammed together, and Old Chen smiled apologetically:
"I never imagined that one day four people would crawl into my hole, so I didn't dig it very big."
"It's okay, it's warmer to hug each other."
Li Huai, however, took it in stride and didn't care much about it.
I was uncomfortable from being squeezed, but I didn't say anything.
After all, this is a shelter they prepared for themselves, and it's already a great favor that they let us in during such a critical moment.
What right do we have to complain that other people's shelters aren't big enough?
"The sudden darkness was probably Wang Fugui's scheme. Luckily, we found a shelter by chance, otherwise we would have been in big trouble."
Luo Tianhe felt somewhat fortunate.
Old Chen leaned against the damp ground, and the dark red hemp rope around his wrist emitted a faint red glow in the darkness.
We were chatting casually when, soon, a series of faint noises came from outside the cave.
Immediately, a look of fear appeared on Old Chen's face. He put a finger to his lips, signaling us not to make a sound.
We immediately realized that those things had actually found their way to Old Chen's house!
Instinctively, we held our breath.
However, holding your breath is not a long-term solution; we can only slow down our breathing as quickly as possible and not make a sound.
Soon, we heard footsteps, not the sound of shoes on foot, but the sound of bare feet stepping on the cold, damp ground.
The sounds started out sparse and slow, as if aimless.
But soon, the sounds became more frequent, coming from all directions, growing more and more numerous and closer.
I immediately realized that they must have discovered our activities from up there.
"Pat-pat, pat-pat, pat-pat."
They hover right above our heads, and sometimes their sounds even linger near the canvas-covered openings for a long time.
I can even picture pairs of pale, swollen feet covered in mud, standing less than half a meter above our heads.
As they lingered, an indescribable, eerie stench, a mixture of the aroma of meat and the stench of blood, seeped down, making them want to vomit.
Luo Tianhe covered his mouth tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, and he didn't even dare to make a sound of gagging!
Nobody knows if that thing up there has hearing. If it makes a sound and we four get discovered, then it will be in big trouble!
Li Huai closed his eyes, covered his left ear with his right hand, pressed his arm on his right ear, and pinched his nose with his left hand, as if trying to shut down his five senses.
I gripped the five-emperor coins and cinnabar thread tightly, my palms were covered in cold sweat, and I had already slowed my breathing to the minimum.
Besides footsteps, there were other strange noises.
It sounded like a choked sob, and a sharp, screeching sound like fingernails scraping a blackboard.
Occasionally, a few hungry howls would be heard, sounds that were completely unlike those of humans or normal animals!
Hearing this made my scalp tingle, and my heart felt as if it were being gripped by an icy hand.
On one occasion, the scraping sound even echoed right above the canvas above our heads!
The sharp sound kept stimulating our eardrums, as if something was trying to scratch through this last barrier with fingernails.
I quietly took out a yellow talisman, biting my tongue with my teeth, ready to spit out a mouthful of blood at any moment to draw a blood talisman.
The red string on Old Chen's wrist suddenly became slightly brighter, and he gripped a heavy iron gear covered with talismans tightly with his other hand, ready to fight to the death at any moment.
Fortunately, the scraping sound lasted for about ten seconds, then seemed to be attracted by the noise elsewhere and gradually faded away.
That night felt like an eternity.
After all, no one could fall asleep if they kept hearing that kind of sound in their ears.
It's like a game of hide-and-seek, but the price of being found is something no one can afford.
After an unknown amount of time, the suffocating footsteps and eerie sounds finally began to subside, fading away like the receding tide.
I checked my phone and it was already past 5 a.m., which should have been almost dawn.
I gave Old Chen a wink, signaling him to check the time.
Old Chen quietly lifted the canvas, but no light shone in.
So he quietly lowered the canvas and retreated back into the cave.
After enduring a long wait, the canvas was lifted again in the morning. This time, a faint ray of light finally seeped in through the gaps in the canvas.
Dawn is finally breaking!
We practically crawled out of the hole using both our hands and feet, and when we breathed in the fresh air again, we all felt like we had stepped into another world.
The courtyard was in complete disarray; the huge iron objects that could hide people, as well as all the corners, seemed to have been ransacked.
Old Chen's face also turned ashen; the demon-suppressing formation he had set up had been completely disrupted!
"The person you're investigating is probably the mastermind behind the creation of the Blood Servant! And he probably already knows your purpose, and is willing to do anything to find you and kill you!"
Old Chen said slowly, not to scare us, but because it was indeed the truth.
The sky was not yet fully bright, but rather a somber, pale gray, characteristic of the pre-dawn period.
"It's not fully light yet, they might still be wandering around outside, you'd better find a safe place."
"Let's go back to the room under the old locust tree at the east end of the village. I've stayed up all night, and there's still an afternoon left. I really can't hold on any longer."
I said weakly.
After all, we hadn't eaten anything for a whole day and night, we had only drunk a sip of water.
I remember that in that room, my seventh uncle left some food for us.
The three of us dared not take the main road. Instead, we followed the shadows of the houses, holding our breath, and made our way as fast as we could towards the old locust tree at the east end of the village.
Luo Tianhe and Li Huai were in similar condition to me: sunken eyes, pale faces, and flat stomachs.
Soon, the huge, gnarled old locust tree came into view.
The old locust tree, which used to look eerie and like a ghost's claw, now looks so welcoming.
Once I get back there, close the door, I can eat something and then take a nap.
We couldn't help but relax a little.
Smiles even appeared on Luo Tianhe's and Li Huai's faces.
However, when we were still twenty or thirty meters away from the stone house, we suddenly stopped in our tracks!
A bone-chilling cold instantly swept over my body, and my blood almost froze.
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