Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I set Chuxue down.

Then I immediately rushed to the second floor.

But at the window at the end of the hallway, a dark figure flashed past and vanished.

I hurried down the stairs and chased that shadow all the way outside.

Behind the house was an unbroken stretch of treetops extending into the distance, and that shadow looked exactly like the one Chuxue had drawn on paper-pitch-black, skinny, and small…

The most important thing was, its entire body moved forward in a straight line. There was no rise and fall to its steps at all!

No. How could a human being move like that?

A ghost…

There really was a ghost!

Fear surged over me like an icy tide, swallowing me whole. My heartbeat suddenly sped up, as if it were about to leap out of my throat, and cold sweat poured down my body-

But I hardly noticed.

The wind howled past me. In the night, the trees around me bared their claws and teeth like enormous monsters, ready to devour anyone at any moment.

As I chased after it, I kept my eyes locked on that dark figure, not daring to blink. I was terrified it would disappear the instant I closed my eyes…

Or worse, that it would suddenly pounce at me!

Just when I was almost crushed by terror, another figure appeared.

She swiftly picked up a gourd from the ground, muttered something under her breath, then hurled it hard at the shadow-

The shadow was hit!

In that instant, it let out one shrill scream, then quickly vanished into the darkness.

I stood rooted to the spot, my body trembling uncontrollably.

Only when the figure came closer and gently patted my shoulder did I snap back a little.

“Child, don’t be afraid.”

I looked closely and realized it was Great-Aunt.

Only, she was different from usual.

At that moment, there was a rare clarity in her eyes.

As if, for that single instant, she had struggled free from her muddled state.

I looked at her, my voice filled with terror. “Great-Aunt, what on earth was that thing?”

But as she looked back at me, the light in her eyes began to flicker uncertainly, like a candle wavering in the wind.

Gradually, that clarity was replaced by confusion again.

The old woman kept muttering, “Don’t be afraid, my daughter. Mommy’s here!”

Seeing that she seemed muddled again, I shook her hard. “Great-Aunt, don’t be like this. I’m Bailu!”

“Bailu?”

Great-Aunt gradually came back to herself.

When she looked at me, a flash of lucidity broke through the confusion in her eyes, and within that lucidity was a deep disappointment.

“You’ve grown so much… I almost didn’t recognize you.”