Chapter 7
Her son’s face had now transformed into the visage of a demon.
Jiang Li calmed herself down.
She glanced around the room, pondered for two seconds, and then gave a command: “Huanhuan, go help Mommy move the full-length mirror over here.”
Since her son’s test paper could score 100 points, it meant that his character setting was definitely that of an obedient child who listened to his parents.
Jiang Li figured he would most likely not refuse her request.
Just as Jiang Li expected.
Her son, though not understanding what Jiang Li wanted to do, still complied.
After the full-length mirror was moved over,
Jiang Li placed the mirror directly in front of herself, making sure her whole body was reflected in it.
Red Infant, perched on her shoulder, scratched his little head in confusion. “Mommy, what are you going to do?”
Jiang Li just smiled faintly and shook her head, saying nothing.
She turned to her son: “Huanhuan, go back to your room and rest first. Once Mommy signs the paper, I’ll leave the test here.”
Her son, true to his obedient character, followed Jiang Li’s arrangement and walked toward his own room.
Jiang Li turned on the desk lamp, illuminating the test paper on the table and her own face.
“Huanhuan, help Mommy turn off the lights, too.”
Her son brought over a stool, climbed up, and reached out his little hand to turn off the lights in the Living Room.
“Click-”
The entire Living Room was plunged into darkness.
Only Jiang Li’s desk lamp remained on, lighting up a small area.
The full-length mirror in front of Jiang Li reflected the bright desk lamp and Jiang Li’s face.
All around and behind Jiang Li was pitch black.
“Mommy, what are you doing?” Red Infant stared cautiously at Jiang Li in the mirror and asked.
Jiang Li curled her lips, “You’ll know soon. Just stay quiet for now.”
“Okay.” Red Infant shut his mouth.
Next, the entire Living Room fell into a deathly silence-
So quiet it was terrifying.
Less than five minutes passed.
Behind Jiang Li, the sound of shuffling footsteps slowly approached.
Sometimes near, sometimes far, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
It was coming.
That person was coming.
Jiang Li’s breathing quickened; she hurriedly closed her Eyes.
The next second, a hoarse, elderly voice sounded behind Jiang Li’s neck.
“Xiuqin? Liu Xiuqin!”
“Open your Eyes and look at me!”
Jiang Li kept her Eyes closed, but the little Red Infant never closed his.
Through the mirror, Red Infant saw behind Jiang Li an Old Woman dressed in burial clothes, hunched over and slowly approaching them.
The Old Woman’s face was pale as paper, without a trace of blood.
Her right ear was only half intact, the upper part missing.
The bright red burial clothes she wore signaled that she was already dead.
In Jiang Li’s mind, Family Rules number nine surfaced:
[Your mother-in-law has passed away. If you hear her calling you at home, do not turn around.]
Since the mother-in-law was calling her daughter-in-law, it was logical that she would use her full name.
And what Jiang Li needed was the wife’s name!
If the mother-in-law was bound to appear, why shouldn’t Jiang Li actively create a terrifying atmosphere to lure her out?
The most terrifying scenario was-
In the darkness, you stand before a full-length mirror, and a “human” face slowly appears behind you…
Sure enough, the mother-in-law took the bait.
This time, Jiang Li had used the rules to her advantage.
She had won again!
Jiang Li suddenly opened her Eyes, lowered her head, and with her pen, swiftly signed the three characters: “Liu Xiuqin”!
Just as Jiang Li was writing, the Old Woman had already come close, her cheek pressed tightly against Jiang Li.
“Xiuqin, my good daughter-in-law, turn around and look at me!”
The Old Woman’s voice was raspy, as if she were speaking through a strained throat.
Her face was right next to Jiang Li’s ear, exhaling cold breath.
“Look at me, turn around! Look at me!! I know you can see…”
The Old Woman spat some sticky saliva onto Jiang Li’s face, but Jiang Li ignored her.
However, Red Infant could see from the sweat seeping out of Jiang Li’s neck that she was suppressing intense fear inside.
Seeing his Mommy being threatened by such a thing, Red Infant immediately cursed:
“Get lost! You old hag, you’re hideous! Can’t you see my Mommy doesn’t want to deal with you!?”
Red Infant’s words made the Old Woman’s body tremble in fright.
The Old Woman turned to look at Red Infant, and Red Infant immediately delivered a brutal blow.
Red Infant grabbed the Old Woman’s hair, lifted her head, “If you don’t get lost, believe it or not, I’ll pull out your intestines and use them as a slingshot? Hehehe…”
The Old Woman grew timid; she thought she could scare Jiang Li a bit more and succeed soon.
But in the next second, Red Infant simply twisted her head 360 degrees.
Following his principle of “if you can use force, never bother with words,” Red Infant jumped onto the Old Woman, bit open her belly, tore it apart, and pulled out clumps of glue-like bloody intestines.
The Old Woman was so terrified that her face turned pale. Cradling her stomach, dragging blood and intestines, she scrambled and crawled away from the scene.
Before leaving, she even smashed a vase, and a slip of paper fell out from inside the vase.
Red Infant kicked the Old Woman on her backside, wiped his hands, and bent down to pick up the slip of paper.
Red Infant held the paper, examining both the front and back several times.
Then, wagging his little bottom, he trotted back and resumed lying on Jiang Li’s shoulder.
“Mommy, this is the equipment I got for you,” Red Infant said, seeking praise as he handed the slip of paper to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li took the slip, and upon a closer look, realized-
It was actually the second set of rules!
After a quick scan, Jiang Li put the slip away in her pocket.
Seeing Red Infant so eager to help her, Jiang Li couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.
Could it be that the chicken heart had bought him over?
Even sacrificing an eyeball hadn’t been as effective.
Red Infant, this little “glutton,” loved eating hearts so much; it seemed she should stock up for him in the future.
Jiang Li rubbed Red Infant’s little head. Although it was still icy cold to the touch, Jiang Li unexpectedly felt a trace of warmth.
“Yingying is amazing! You’ve helped Mommy a lot,” Jiang Li praised him in a coaxing tone.
Red Infant blushed at Mommy’s praise, shyly scratching the back of his head.
“Ah… it’s nothing, really!” Red Infant waved his hand, his bashfulness making him look even more coy.
Jiang Li saw that she had finished signing the test papers, so she got up and walked to the switch for the Living Room chandelier.
In the dark, she reached out her right hand and turned on the light.
“Click!”
As soon as the light came on, a man’s figure appeared out of nowhere, just one meter in front of Jiang Li.
Jiang Li’s heart nearly gave out.
This family-if they didn’t scare her to death, she must be tough as nails.
She saw her Husband holding a knife, still wearing an apron around his waist.
It looked like he was about to do something important.
By now, it was already dark outside.
“Honey, aren’t you sleeping tonight?” Jiang Li asked.
She needed to know what her situation would be tonight.
Her Husband’s gaze lingered on Jiang Li for two seconds, then he withdrew his eyes and walked straight to the Kitchen.
He said, “Damn mice are trying to steal food at night! I’m keeping watch in the Kitchen tonight.”
In other words, he wouldn’t be coming back to the Bedroom to sleep.
Jiang Li felt a bit relieved.
If this strange Husband had to share a bed with her, Jiang Li feared she wouldn’t sleep a wink all night.
Seeing her Husband enter the Kitchen, Jiang Li turned around, took out the slip of paper from her pocket, and unfolded it.
Before returning to the Bedroom, she had to figure out if there were any rules she needed to pay special attention to.
[Three-Person Family – Night Rules]
[1. From 23:00 to 04:00 the next day, make sure you stay only in the Bedroom. Only the Bedroom is the Safe Zone.]
[2. The Toilet tank is old and malfunctioning. Hearing continuous flushing sounds is normal.]
[3. Locking the Bedroom door is key to survival.]
[4. There are no Red High Heels in the house.]
[5. No matter when, do not agree to any request from “it”.]
[6. Before sleeping, make sure the photo on the wall is a Wedding Photo, not a Black and White Double Portrait.]
[7. Remember, the Husband will not return to the Bedroom at night.]
[8. If you wake up in the middle of the night and find a second person lying in bed, be sure to pretend to be asleep. Do not open your eyes.]
[9. The Black Cup contains Honey Water prepared for you by your Husband. Please drink it while it’s hot.]
[10. Before sleeping, be sure to draw the Curtain. Do not make eye contact with the Eyes outside the window.]
“Mommy, only the ninth rule is wrong,” Red Infant reminded her.
The ninth rule of the Night Rules:
[The Black Cup contains Honey Water prepared for you by your Husband. Please drink it while it’s hot.]
So, she shouldn’t drink the Honey Water?
As she pondered this,
Jiang Li seemed to hear the urgent ticking of a stopwatch in her ears.
Puzzled, Jiang Li looked up toward the source of the sound-the Round Clock in the center of the Living Room.
The clock, which had been spinning rapidly, immediately slowed down the moment it sensed Jiang Li’s gaze.
Time resumed its normal flow.
The current time: 22:59:57.
In Jiang Li’s mind, the first rule of the Night Rules flashed quickly:
[From 23:00 to 04:00 the next day, make sure you stay only in the Bedroom. Only the Bedroom is the Safe Zone.]
“Tick tock-”
Only two seconds left.
There was no time-