Chapter 46
Chapter 46
The question of why Chu Yue didn’t have a girlfriend was left unresolved.
The three of them lay on the bed, and no one spoke again.
As everything quieted down, the sound of each other’s breathing became clearer. Chu Yue knew that no one was asleep.
Last night had been a safe night, but the chance of someone dying tonight was over eighty percent.
“Stay alert tonight. I have a feeling that thing will come to our room,” Shen Yubi warned.
Chu Yue gave a soft grunt of affirmation. For some reason, he also had a faint premonition.
However, thinking about it was one thing; actually staying awake was proving difficult.
The room was dark-so dark that even with his eyes open, staring into the void, he couldn’t tell if his eyelids were open or closed.
With nothing to do, his mind grew drowsy. Just as Chu Yue was drifting off, a soft sound suddenly reached his ears.
The noise wasn’t very obvious in the quiet night, but it made his brain snap awake. Then, he heard more sounds.
The wind had picked up outside. Howling gusts, carrying what sounded like ghostly wails and wolf howls, swept past the window. It felt as though it were right next to his ear, yet also very far away.
He was certain that what he had just heard was not the wind.
A few seconds later, the sound came again.
Click.
Click.
Chu Yue reached his hand out from under the covers toward Shen Yubi’s side and hooked his finger. Within seconds, he felt the other man give his fingertip a squeeze.
Shen Yubi was awake.
Click.
Click.
The sound became more distinct, and a thin layer of sweat suddenly broke out on Chu Yue’s back.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the sound seemed to be coming from directly beneath them.
At the thought of this, he felt completely unsettled.
He hadn’t been much of a social butterfly during his teenage years, but he had still heard that famous ghost story.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, trying to dispel the images his mind was conjuring. He strained his ears to listen closely.
He didn’t know how to describe those clicking sounds. It didn’t sound like someone scratching the bedboards, nor did it sound like something hitting them from below.
The sound was very, very light, as if it were afraid of waking them up.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Chu Yue.
After they had entered this room, they had only seen the paper cutouts pasted on the top of the bed frame, but they hadn’t checked under the bed.
Perhaps there was one pasted underneath as well, but they hadn’t noticed it.
That spot was a blind side for everyone. There was a footboard by the bed, and the gaps left elsewhere were very small. No one would specifically lie on the floor to look under there.
Could there really be one down there? And was the little thing on the cutout now jumping off the paper?
As soon as Shen Yubi woke up, he immediately alerted Guan Doujin.
At this moment, not one of the three people on the bed was breathing evenly.
Just then, a creaking sound echoed from outside.
That familiar sound of footsteps on wooden floorboards had reappeared.
For some reason, Chu Yue suddenly felt his mind grow foggy. He actually felt an urge to fall asleep.
He bit the tip of his tongue hard, and the taste of blood immediately filled his mouth. However, the pain wasn’t very sharp; it even felt a bit numb.
He knew this was likely caused by whatever was outside.
No wonder the candle had been lit in that room the night before last, yet the man’s consciousness had been muddled and he knew nothing.
His hand was still touching Shen Yubi’s, but right now, even moving a single finger required a massive effort.
He wasn’t sure if Shen Yubi and Guan Doujin were experiencing the same thing, nor did he know when they would notice his abnormality. His heart was anxious, but his brain was on the verge of slipping into slumber.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The subtle sounds from beneath him continued. Each click seemed to strike right next to his ear, and the fog in his mind seemed to dissipate slightly.
Secretly surprised, he immediately pinched the back of Shen Yubi’s hand twice. Shen Yubi responded by squeezing his hand back twice.
Chu Yue breathed a sigh of relief. He was still awake.
The creaking outside continued, spreading from the stairs to the corridor. It stopped and started, as if searching for its prey.
The sound drew closer and closer. It felt as if the vibration of the floorboards in the corridor could be felt inside the room.
Their room was at the very end of the hallway. As the sound approached, it must have terrified countless people along the way.
Ultimately, the creaking stopped outside their door.
Just as Shen Yubi had predicted, it was finally their turn today.
The creaking stopped at their door. The door didn’t open, but a few seconds later, the candle in the room suddenly flickered to life.
Chu Yue quickly closed his eyes, but he couldn’t help squinting to peek.
What he saw made his heart jump.
He didn’t know how to describe the scene. Eerie and terrifying didn’t seem sufficient to depict it.
It was a paper cutout.
Made of red paper, the paper puppet was nearly half the height of a person.
At first glance, it looked like a character from a shadow puppet play, bearing a striking resemblance to the Little Paper Figures on the stone tablet.
However, the image and size were completely different.
The Little Paper Figures on the stone tablet looked cute and were clearly depicted as positive figures. This paper puppet, however, wore a wicked smile on its face, looking every bit like a treacherous official.
It held a gleaming knife in its hand and was walking toward them.
No wonder they hadn’t seen anyone enter that night. It turned out to be a paper puppet. Its body was so thin that it could hide in the darkness without being noticed. Moreover, even without opening the door, it could simply squeeze through the cracks.
Who was its target this time?
Was it Guan Doujin, Shen Yubi, or him?
The orange candlelight illuminated the room. What should have been a warm color now felt exceptionally cold and sinister.
Judging by how that woman had died, it should drain their blood and then use some unknown method to collect it, before meticulously carving the flesh off their bodies bit by bit.
Perhaps the next day, people would see a living person standing before them, greeting them.
However, the three people in this room were clearly not going to let its plan succeed.
Chu Yue watched as it drew closer. Just as he was wondering who its target was, he realized it wasn’t heading for any of the people on the bed. Instead, it walked over to the head of the bed to rummage through their clothes.
This action left Chu Yue dazed. In a flash of insight, he remembered what the Waiter had said today.
They had a thief.