Book 3: Chapter 4: Ghostly knocking in the night

Book 3: Chapter 4: Ghostly knocking in the night

Whos there? She mustered up her courage and asked, taking a few steps back.

No one answered.

Open the door. I want to leave. She heard her voice shaking.

Still, no one answered.

She hesitated a moment. She grabbed the small wax rabbit containing the bloodwood sword in her purse with one hand and turned the door handle with the other. With the crisp sound of a spring, the door easily opened.

It was completely empty outside, with only the glow of flashing strobe lights from the dance floor shining into the narrow hallway. Accompanied by the seemingly distant sound of music, it had a bit of a desolate beauty.

Suddenly, a strangely shaped silhouette appeared in front of her, with hair flaring and a pale, twitching expression. Xiao Xia cried out in fright and almost dropped her purse.

Move, granny. The person shoved Xiao Xia aside and walked into the bathroom.

It turned out to be a little female delinquent around eighteen or nineteen years old. Her bizarre outfit and the constantly changing colored lights made her seem as frightening as a ghost, but she wasnt truly one. However, she was really irritating. Not only was she impolite, she even called a beautiful older sister like herself a granny. According to this logic, wouldnt someone of Gu Yu Fangs age have a foot in the grave?

Xiao Xia relaxed. Perhaps the door had been jammed and her mind was just subconsciously influenced by the two women speaking nonsense. Wan Li often said this was her biggest mental weakness.

She was thinking this as she stepped out of the bathroom. She had just turned around when she felt a gust of cold wind blowing by her ear. She clearly heard that slow voice speaking from behind her: There wasnt anyone outside the door earlier.

It wasnt her imagination.

Xiao Xias scalp turned numb and she ran out of the hallway without thinking. She didnt look back until she squeezed through the crowded dancefloor. She confirmed that everyone around was human. It hadnt pursued her.

At this moment, she felt everyone around her quiet down, all turning to look in the same direction. Xiao Xias heart tensed as she assumed something abnormal had appeared. Then she realized someone wasnt being eaten by a ghost. The reason was that someone had gotten up onto the stage.

It was a female singer around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She had an extremely tender and beautiful face. She wore a sexy red dress that revealed half her silky breasts. Her bearing attracted the attention of everyone at the scene.

Xiao Xia suddenly had the strange feeling she had seen her somewhere before, but couldnt recall where it was. Right as she was racking her brains, the female singer started singing.

Love is just an irritating game, not precious at all. Men are also just playthings, nothing impressive really.

The singer seemed almost indifferent as she stood there and sang, without any signs of trying to please the crowd. The frivolous, sexy song contained two parts disdain, three parts mockery and five parts allure. However, she sang it with an essence and flavor that not even superstars could convey. It was like she was a rebellious goddess that held men in contempt. Xiao Xia was filled with praise, and the men at the scene were intoxicated. They completely didnt mind the singers arrogant and even impatient attitude.

The song ended. Facing the waves of applause, the singer nodded slightly towards the crowd. When her dark, seemingly bottomless eyes landed on Xiao Xia, Xiao Xia suddenly recalled who she was.

She was the kind person who helped staunch her bleeding with a paper towel during the mugging.

Xiao Xia felt a wave of excitement at meeting someone familiar in this place. She waved her hand wanting to draw the singers attention, but the latter swept her gaze over the scene before turning and leaving.

Xiao Xia hung up in fright, but before she could recover, the pounding on the door reached her ears. She almost cried out in shock.

She subconsciously retreated back to her bed which still had some lingering warmth from her body heat. She hid inside the blankets as though to escape, but the knocking grew more and more urgent. Even when she covered her head, she could still clearly hear it in her ears, as though it was pounding on her heart, making her numb from fear.

She didnt know if any of the neighbors could hear the noise in this quiet winter night. She only heard that after the knocking, a shrill voice asked mechanically: Is someone inside? Is someone inside?

Xiao Xia didnt dare respond.

However, she heard the locked, reinforced door slowly creak open. Footsteps rang out slowly in the living room, accompanied by the sound of something fumbling around, as though looking for something. Then, it headed straight towards her bedroom.

Cold sweat soaked her pajamas. She didnt dare make any large movements, and merely forced herself to stick her head out of the blankets. She stared at the flimsy door. The footsteps stopped by the door for a moment and the knocking started again.

Is someone inside? The shrill voice continued to ask while the heavy knocking continued, making the door tremble as though it would fall over at any moment.

In her terror, Xiao Xia suddenly recalled that the bedroom door wasnt locked. Since the heavy front door had been easily opened, whatever was outside could come in at any moment. It was just being polite in giving her a heads up. Her hiding in bed made her a sitting duck.

She reached out with a trembling hand and fumbled around until she found the little wax bunny on her bedside table. She shrank back into the covers and crushed the sealing layer of wax. She gripped the same small and old wooden sword. She knew even Ruan Zhan wasnt able to exhibit this swords full might, but it was a mystical object that warded off evil. As long as she wasnt afraid, the wooden sword would exhibit strong destructive power against demons it encountered. This would keep her safe.

Dont be scared, dont be scared. She had seen ghosts several times before. What was there to be afraid of? She comforted herself this way, but what left her helpless was her timid nature that made her more frightened the more ghosts she encountered.

At this time, the sound of a door opening was heard, followed by footsteps.

Xiao Xia held her breath and prepared herself. She sensed something approach her bed and stand there for a while, as though locked in silent confrontation with her. Right as she was about to lose the remnants of her courage, a hand patted her blanket. She could feel the chill through the thick blanket as the shrill voice asked: Is someone inside?

Xiao Xia screamed and abruptly leapt up, the bloodwood sword also enlarging in her hand. However, she dropped it in her panic. The sword fell to the floor, giving off a beautiful red glow.

There was nothing in the room. Only a quiet and obscure atmosphere was left. Xiao Xia practically dived to the floor, grabbing the bloodwood sword and swinging it around wildly. However, only the sound of her panting could be heard.

She slowly walked to the door and looked out at the pitch black living room. She flicked on the light switch but nothing happened. The front door was wide open and the cold wind blew directly inside. A white piece of paper fluttered in the wind, spinning in circles in front of her sofa. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to walk over. She raised the sword and slashed.

Before the sword could reach it, the piece of paper was weirdly swept out with the wind and vanished. At the same time, Xiao Xia felt a gust of cold wind, as though something invisible had walked past her.

She was terrified, whirling back to her bedroom and swinging the sword in the air at the concealed danger. She flailed around from the innermost part of her room all the way to the front doors in the living room. After feeling the abnormal air disperse, she closed the door firmly before running back. She sat on her bed, the bloodwood sword still tightly gripped in her hand.

Ruan Zhan. She softly called his name, her body trembling. She felt the loneliness and helplessness well up in her heart like a wave.

Everything would be fine if he was here. If he was here, she wouldnt be afraid of anything.

She never realized how much she needed him. Only when he suddenly left did she deeply feel it. It was as though her mind suddenly cleared. It turned out she had become dependent upon him like it was second nature.

But where was he now? Was he still going to return?