chapter 10

“I’m looking for Li Xiumei. Is Li Xiumei home?”

Hearing that voice again, I was no longer just angry.

My legs felt weak and unresponsive. I practically crawled back to my bedroom and locked the door behind me.

This was the third time!

This time, she had actually come straight to my house!

I crawled back to bed, hid under the covers, and wrapped myself tightly in the quilt.

But even so, the fear inside me did not subside.

Alongside ninety percent terror, there was also ten percent confusion.

Who exactly was this girl?

Was she the desiccated corpse we dug up in that house?

Her clothes and style were almost identical to those of the corpse.

Meng Yifan and I had discussed it briefly, suspecting that this girl was the corpse.

But if she was the corpse, then who was Li Xiumei?

Could Li Xiumei be the one who killed her, and that’s why she keeps coming back to find her enemy?

But we don’t even know Li Xiumei. Why did she come after me even after I went home?

Clutching my phone, I hurriedly lit up the screen, ready to call Meng Yifan.

But when the screen lit up, I realized there was no signal at all.

Our home usually has full bars, and the signal has never dropped before.

Suddenly, I remembered the first night, when the girl came knocking for the first time. I had taken my phone to the bathroom, and there was no signal then either.

But I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, assuming the neighborhood just had bad reception.

Now it seemed it wasn’t the signal, but the girl herself-whenever she appeared, my phone lost its signal.

I was on the verge of breaking down.

The girl was still knocking, louder and louder, forcing me to open the door!

But how could I dare? I didn’t even dare to respond.

And of all times, my phone had no signal, so I couldn’t reach Meng Yifan.

What should I do?

What if she got impatient and came in directly? What then?

I felt my life was in danger tonight.

My survival instinct gave me courage. I forced myself out from under the covers, rushed to open my bedroom window, and shouted to my neighbors above and below.

“Help! Is anyone there?”

“Please, call the police for me!”

It was embarrassing, but I couldn’t care less right now.

After shouting, I waited nearly half a minute, but no one responded from upstairs or downstairs.

I stuck my head out to look, only to find that none of the apartments in my building had their lights on.

It was only midnight, and there were plenty of young people living in this complex. Young people nowadays love to stay up late-why was everyone asleep so early tonight?

Unwilling to give up, I shouted twice more.

“Please! Call the police for me!”

“I’m a resident of 1302!”

After shouting, there was still no movement around me. The silence was eerie.

I was shouting so loudly, and the girl was still knocking on my door-how could no one hear?

Growing desperate, I climbed onto the windowsill.

If that girl broke in, I might have to jump.

Just as I sat there and instinctively looked down, a girl in a long black dress appeared out of nowhere, suddenly entering my field of vision.

She was standing right below my building, looking up at me.
I stared intently, and to my shock, it was the girl who had knocked on my door!

Our eyes almost met, and even though thirteen floors separated us, I could clearly see her face-so pale it seemed devoid of any blood.

In the air, that familiar stench of a corpse seemed to linger.

I was so terrified I nearly tumbled out the window, but luckily I held onto the windowsill. Otherwise, if I fell from the thirteenth floor, my body would be smashed to pieces.

Once I steadied myself, I quickly climbed back inside, shut the window tight, and pulled the curtains closed.

I retreated back under the covers; only my bed could give me the slightest sense of security.

At that moment, the knocking on the door continued-it hadn’t stopped for a second.

I was stunned.

The knocking hadn’t stopped…

But that girl was clearly downstairs just now. If she was downstairs, how could she be knocking on my door at the same time?

How many ghosts have latched onto me?

If there’s more than one ghost, only that girl was looking for Li Xiumei. How could she block me downstairs and knock on my door upstairs at the same time?

I was desperate.

I hid under the covers, praying for time to pass faster.

The knocking outside never ceased, tormenting me for hours on end.

Finally, I made it to dawn. When morning came, though it wasn’t very bright yet, that deadly knocking finally stopped.

I threw off the covers, feeling as if I’d been soaked in water-my pajamas were drenched in sweat.

I picked up my phone and saw that the signal, which had disappeared before, was now back at full strength.

I hurriedly found Meng Yifan’s number, ready to call him.

But before I could dial, Meng Yifan called me first.

“Chen Mo, get over here right now, something’s happened!”

Meng Yifan’s voice on the phone was urgent and trembling.

I thought he was talking about the lawsuit and quickly said, “Forget about the lawsuit for now, I have something even more important to tell you…”

Meng Yifan cut me off: “Who the hell said anything about the lawsuit? Something’s really happened, get out here, now!”

He gave me an address and hung up immediately.

I thought to myself, have our ancestors’ graves been dug up? First the lawsuit, then seeing ghosts, and now something else?

Judging by Meng Yifan’s tone, it sounded urgent. I didn’t dare waste any time, so I rushed to the bathroom for a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and got ready to head out.

While showering, I glanced at myself in the mirror and saw my face was as pale as if I were seriously ill-maybe it was from being scared all night.

When I opened the door, I didn’t dare open it directly. I checked through the peephole first before I dared to open it.

Now I’m like a startled bird, even developing a fear of ‘doors’ themselves.

But then I thought, even if there are ghosts, they probably wouldn’t dare show up during the day.

After opening the door, I didn’t see any ghosts, but a photograph caught my eye.

The photo was placed right at my doorstep; I had no idea who put it there.

I picked it up and saw it was an old photo, so old it had yellowed, and the faces of the people were hard to make out.

It seemed to show a family of three: a young man, a young woman, and a little girl about five or six years old.

I was stunned, my hand trembling.

The young woman’s outfit was exactly the same as the girl who had knocked on my door.

A long black dress, red high heels…