Chapter 120

Chapter 120

At one-thirty in the morning, Qin Song finally arrived at Hu Heng’s house.

He chose the smallest room and stuffed both himself and his luggage inside.

Lying on the bed, there was only one sentence running through his mind:

Huang Yuanrui crawled out of the dirt…

Huang Yuanrui crawled out of the dirt…

Huang Yuanrui crawled out of the dirt…

If what happened in Singapore had been a hallucination, a dream, then this time definitely wasn’t. Because he had truly felt a layer of dirt by the door.

He began to wonder what exactly had happened in the hallway while he was dreaming.

Maybe, in the pitch-black stairwell, a small white corner had suddenly appeared. If one looked closely, one would realize it was the corner of a woven sack.

With a series of faint, scraping sounds, the woven sack started moving forward on its own, inching slowly from the stairwell onto the hallway carpet.

It was filthy, with a thin scatter of soil clinging to it, as if it had just burrowed up from underground.

It moved very slowly, but with absolute determination, scraping along the floor again and again in a single direction.

That was when Qin Song had started hearing that rustling, brushing sound – in his dream, it had been Old Corn Tooth digging through the sand with an iron shovel.

Halfway there, as though it thought moving like that was too slow, or too tiring, it finally stopped.

Something inside the woven sack began crawling out. The first thing to emerge was a pale hand, followed by a head of black hair.

Gradually, the neck came out, then the shoulders, the waist, the legs and feet…

A complete person slowly stood up from the woven sack.

She picked up the woven sack and carried it in her hand, walking forward slowly in bare feet.

The woven sack dragged along the floor, continuing to make that rhythmic shh, shh sound.

In the end, she found Qin Song’s room with perfect accuracy. Smiling, she stopped outside his door, and dried clumps of dirt began falling here and there from the woven sack onto the carpet.

This was a hotel in Mingdu. That was dirt from City A.

She stood quietly at the door without making a single sound. She did not raise her hand to knock. It was as if she were simply keeping Qin Song company while he slept.

Qin Song had a premonition: no matter where he ran, she would be able to follow him with perfect accuracy – including to the house he was staying in now.

He dug the knife he had bought at the convenience store out of his bag and gripped it in his hand.

Unfortunately, Qin Song had guessed wrong. He waited until his eyelids were practically glued together, but he did not hear the slightest abnormal noise again. All he heard was the occasional birdcall outside the window.

At last, he could not hold on any longer. He gradually fell asleep, sleeping from around three or four in the morning until the sun was high in the sky. Everything was normal.

After waking up the next day, he felt much better.

He had changed residences last night and passed a peaceful night there. At the very least, that proved Hu Heng was not a problem, nor was Hu Heng trying to hurt him.

Hu Heng flew over on the earliest flight. When Qin Song opened the door for him, he saw that Hu Heng was wearing a huge pair of sunglasses, a face mask, and a baseball cap. In his hands, he was also carrying two large bags of food and daily necessities.

Qin Song couldn’t help laughing. “That baseball cap makes your head look even bigger.”

Hu Heng let out a breath of relief and set down the things in his hands. “Good, good, good. If you can still crack jokes, I can finally relax. I thought you’d been scared completely stupid!”
Qin Song said, “I was practically losing my mind a few days ago, but after spending the night here yesterday, I got my first decent sleep in a week.”

Hu Heng said, “That means your condition is starting to improve. You’ve already gotten through the worst few days.”

Qin Song glanced at the bags on the floor. “Why did you buy so much stuff?”

Hu Heng searched for a pair of slippers as he replied, “Obviously because if you’re staying here, you’ll need things for eating, drinking, and daily life. I’m stocking you up first.”

Qin Song crouched down and rummaged through the bags. “Oh, roast chicken, beer, chips, peanuts, chicken feet… What’s this pile? Seasonings?”

Hu Heng glanced at the things on the floor. “Yeah. I bought small bottles, just in case you cook here. I also bought peanut oil and rapeseed oil. I wasn’t sure which one you’re used to.”

Qin Song said, “I wouldn’t know. I’ve barely cooked a few times in my life. I can’t taste the difference.”

Hu Heng said, “Then you’ll have to learn from now on. You can’t order takeout every single day.”

Qin Song kept fiddling with the pile of seasonings. “This is light soy sauce, and that’s dark soy sauce… What’s the difference?”

Hu Heng thought for a moment. “One’s for flavor, one’s for color. I can’t really tell you the specifics either. Just follow online tutorials when you cook.”

Qin Song said, “Why are there five or six packs of masks too?”

Hu Heng said, “Oh, there’s another virus wave going around outside. See? I wore a mask here too. If you go out, wear one as well. Take some precautions.”

Qin Song put the things from the bags into the cabinet. “Not bad, Old Hu. You’re getting more and more thoughtful.”

Hu Heng rolled his eyes. “It’s basic common sense. You’ve just been waited on for so many years that you don’t know anything.”

As soon as he said it, Hu Heng felt it might have been a little inappropriate, so he quickly changed the subject. “Come on. Let’s open a couple beers and talk.”

Qin Song said, “Why don’t we go out and find a restaurant?”

Hu Heng said, “I already bought food. Let’s eat at home first.”

So Qin Song brought the beer and peanuts to the living room, then sat down on the sofa with Hu Heng.

Qin Song said, “Let me think where I should start…”

Hu Heng said, “Start wherever it comes to mind.”

Qin Song thought for a while, then haltingly recounted everything he had experienced over the past few days to Hu Heng from beginning to end.

Hu Heng took a few sips of beer, pondered for a moment, and said, “Honestly, I think the things you’re talking about might be half what you really experienced, and half you scaring yourself.”

Qin Song said, “I can’t tell the difference.”

Hu Heng said, “You don’t need to. Just treat it like a nightmare. Now that you’re awake, don’t keep picking apart everything that happened in the nightmare.”

Qin Song said, “What if I’m still in the nightmare? Or what if, after I wake up, I end up back in the nightmare again someday?”

Hu Heng said, “We’ll deal with trouble as it comes. Besides, you’re already recovering in a good direction. Getting a solid night’s sleep last night was a great start, wasn’t it? Once there’s a first good night’s sleep, there’ll be a second.”

Qin Song said, “I hope so.”

Hu Heng laughed. “My place has great feng shui. It’ll bless you with peaceful sleep every night!”

The two clinked glasses and drained the rest of their beer in one go.