Chapter 18 Mother's Nightmare (8)
Not knowing how she finally got back to her room and settled down, Lin Chujiu, who was temporarily out of danger, felt extremely tired after the shock, as if she was about to fall asleep at any moment.
The live stream had already been shut down due to exceeding the time limit. Lin Chujiu lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating life.
She habitually rubbed her hands together like flies to relieve her anxiety, but her fingers were so tired she could barely lift them.
Lin Chujiu closed her eyes, weakly raised her hand and rubbed it a couple of times, but felt as if there was something between her two fingers.
She raised her hand, lay on the bed, and looked in the light. In the shadows cast by the light, she discovered it was a hair.
It seems she pulled the sheet down.
This hair is quite thin, has a stiff texture, is black, and is very short, shorter than the palm of my hand.
Is it my brother's?
No, my brother didn't even go near that bed at the time, and the stiffness of the hair doesn't seem like that of a human.
Lin Chujiu's mind went blank for two seconds before she suddenly remembered the pigs raised in the countryside.
She used to have a neighbor, an elderly woman, who lived alone and raised two pigs. Lin Chujiu would often go over to help feed them when she had free time.
From a distance, pigs appear to have no fur, only different colored skins. However, upon closer inspection, some hair can be seen. Most breeds of pigs only have a thin layer of hair, which is barely noticeable unless you look closely.
So, does that mean that pig slept in that bed yesterday, or even earlier?
And, coincidentally, she was lying on her mother's bed...
Based on what she saw of her mother that night, Lin Chujiu could basically conclude that the pig... was her mother.
But why... did Mom turn into that pig?
During the day these past two days, she seemed perfectly normal, and the way she looked at them was like looking at her own child. Even though she seemed a little disgusted with Jiang Chaoyu, her affection ultimately outweighed her feelings.
However, there must be a reason for the creation of a dungeon; a dungeon cannot exist without a boss.
Based on the rules and the clues she'd seen over the past two days, Lin Chujiu was now almost certain that the pig demon who was causing trouble every night was her mother.
Unfortunately, fearing the pig spirit might turn back halfway, Jiang Chaoyu called Lin Chujiu back early, and the search for clues in her mother's room hadn't even begun.
But why did Mom turn into a pig?
Lin Chujiu's head ached from thinking. In her half-awake state, a flash of inspiration crossed her mind, but before she could grasp it, she fell asleep.
The crimson moonlight shone through the window, bringing Lin Chujiu a nightmare tonight.
She dreamt that her mother in the real world was holding her hand and walking somewhere, and she was happily following behind.
Strangely, her mother didn't say a word today, she just kept pulling her forward.
Lin Chujiu felt strange and was about to ask her mother when she heard her mother's breathing becoming heavier and heavier.
In the end, it all turned into short, sharp squeals from pigs.
"Heh...hehe..."
Lin Chujiu suddenly remembered something, was startled, and tried to shake off her mother's hand and run away, but her mother turned her head at that moment!
Her face... her face overlapped with that of the pig demon from Thriller World that night, her eyeballs bulging, and wriggling fat granules rolling like maggots among the bloodstains stretched across her skin. Her bluish-black blood vessels were lifeless and cold, making her look even more terrifying than that pig demon!
"Hehe... What's wrong... my dear daughter?" Her mother tilted her head to look at her, speaking unclearly.
As she tilted her head, Lin Chujiu could even see that on one side of her face, due to the pressure of the fat, yellow fat particles fell to the ground one after another, like dumplings being dropped into a pot, rolling out a pile of maggots that emitted a fishy stench!
Lin Chujiu couldn't take it anymore, so she suddenly shook off her mother's hand and ran in the opposite direction!
"My dear...daughter...why are you running...?"
Behind her, her mother's voice rang out in waves, like a hypnotic spell. She didn't chase after Lin Chujiu, but her voice followed her like a nightmare, leaving the exhausted Lin Chujiu with no peace!
Lin Chujiu ran around in this environment for a whole night, but couldn't find the exit. It wasn't until the first ray of sunlight shone into the room that she woke up with a start, sat up abruptly, and gasped for breath.
Lin Chujiu sat on the bed, her heart still pounding, the suffocating feeling from the nightmare lingering.
Sunlight streamed through the window, dispelling the lingering palpitations of the night, but it couldn't dispel the chill in her heart.
The flash of inspiration before sleep swept through her mind again, and this time, Lin Chujiu nimbly seized it.
She forced herself to calm down and began to piece together the clues.
“Mom’s abnormality only occurs at night… She is normal during the day,” Lin Chujiu murmured to herself. “This means that Mom’s consciousness is clear during the day, or rather, ‘Mom’ herself is in control.”
So, she can also look for clues during the day.
Originally thinking that her mother would work overtime at night like the first day, Lin Chujiu went out to look for clues last night.
The intention was to create a lively atmosphere for the live stream, but unexpectedly, her mother suddenly returned home and almost killed her!
She took a deep breath, walked out of the room, and habitually went to the dining room.
Through the kitchen door, she could see her mother busy in the kitchen, simmering a bowl of soup.
The soup seemed to have just started simmering; Lin Chujiu had seen her mother adding vegetables to it as she looked inside on her way there.
If Lin Chujiu hadn't personally experienced that terrifying scene last night, she would almost have thought that everything last night was just a dream.
"Jiu Jiu, you're awake? Go wash up, breakfast will be ready soon." Mom turned around, her face bearing a familiar, tired yet warm smile, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out. Her hands were still covered in flour as she kneaded dough.
Upon closer inspection, however, one could see a deep weariness between her brows. The bloodstains and milia on her cheeks had receded, leaving only strips of dry, drooping skin on her pale face.
However, her expression remained gentle, and her eyes were full of love as she looked at Lin Chujiu.
Lin Chujiu carefully observed her, trying to find a trace of pretense or the tyranny of a pig demon in that kind face. But there was none. At this moment, she was just an ordinary mother working hard for her children.
“Mom,” Lin Chujiu mustered her courage and spoke as if it were unintentional, “Last night… I think I heard some strange noises outside.”
The mother paused almost imperceptibly while kneading the dough, then resumed her normal movements, her tone apologetic: "Really? Maybe I woke you up last night. As people get older, their sleep becomes lighter."
She turned around and continued working, avoiding Lin Chujiu's probing gaze.
She is hiding it.
Lin Chujiu was almost certain of this.
However, she seemed unaware of the specifics of what the pig demon had done last night.
Lin Chujiu didn't expose him, but just obediently responded, though her heart felt even heavier.
My mother was aware of my unusual behavior.
In her conscious state, she knew about the strange events that had occurred during the night, and it was very likely that she would not be able to escape them at all, because no mother would want to kill her own child.
The atmosphere was subtly tense during breakfast. Jiang Chaoyu remained silent, but Lin Chujiu could sense that his gaze was falling on her mother more and more frequently, with a calm scrutiny in his eyes.
Lin Chujiu felt the atmosphere was oppressive and she had difficulty breathing. She tugged at her collar uneasily and looked out the window.
The sunlight was dazzling, and if it weren't for the two eerie figures sitting next to her, Lin Chujiu would almost have thought she was in the human world.
Even with the sun shining brightly, danger was not kept at bay.
It merely donned a cloak of warmth, lurking in deeper shadows.
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