Chapter 73

The incessant sound of rain drowned out the original silence. Qi Dali stood motionless in front of the window for a moment, then not long after, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. ◇↓

In the instant when darkness and light alternated, a woman's figure suddenly flashed past his window, in the midst of Qi Dali's dazed gaze.

It was only at this moment that Qi Dali finally reacted, confirming that he had not been seeing things and that a woman had indeed been outside his window.

But it seemed incredible to think that any woman would stay up late at night, hiding outside his window to spy on him.

There was no doubt that the woman was from Hulu Village, but when he thought about it, she seemed unfamiliar to him.

Who was she?

Suddenly, Qi Dali thought of a name that made him shudder—Xiao Li!

Recalling it, the woman who had been spying on him from the window just now looked very much like Chen Lao's daughter-in-law, Xiao Li. Although he was not very familiar with Xiao Li, due to his relationship with Chen Lao, he had seen her many times, so he would not be mistaken.

The woman who had been spying on him from the window was indeed Xiao Li.

Thinking of the identity of the woman outside the window, Qi Dali felt the temperature in the room drop significantly, because Xiao Li was already dead—how could she possibly appear outside his window?

Unless... she had turned into a ghost!

"Boom—!"

As if to confirm this conclusion, a deafening thunderclap sounded outside the window, making him shudder and instantly clearing his mind of all his thoughts.

"Who's there? Is it Xiao Li?"

Qi Dali's mind was acting up at this moment. After asking a mindless question, he began to retreat backward, grabbing at things around him.

The rain outside grew louder, and the window shook more violently, sounding like someone was continuously pounding on it with their fists, which was particularly jarring in the rain-soaked night filled with the smell of death.

Retreating to a corner, Qi Dali finally found the sickle he used when he went outside, which gave him a bit more confidence. He stopped retreating and, holding the sickle, walked out of the room, shouting.

"Speak up, is it Xiao Li?"

Qi Dali didn't care whether the intruder was human or ghost; as long as he had a weapon, he wouldn't be afraid.

Quickly coming out of the bedroom, Qi Dali suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the kitchen. After hesitating for a moment, he walked straight to the kitchen.

The kitchen was pitch black, and Qi Dali had nothing to light his way, so he could only rely on his memory and hands to cautiously move forward.

"If you're just pretending, I'll skin you alive when I catch you!"

Qi Dali spoke harshly, and in fact, it was his sincere intention. If he caught the intruder, he would definitely make good on his threat.

"Plunk!"

Just as Qi Dali finished speaking, a sound of something falling into water came from a corner of the kitchen. Without worrying about whether it was a trap, he hurriedly went in the direction of the sound.

He remembered clearly that there was a water jar in that direction, and the intruder might have hidden inside it.

The kitchen wasn't very large, so Qi Dali quickly reached the water jar. He held the sickle in one hand and, with the other, grabbed the lid of the water jar and suddenly lifted it.

At the same time, a woman's head slowly emerged from the water jar.

Before Qi Dali could react, he was dragged into the water jar.

...

Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue ran frantically toward Qi Dali's house, the closest one. Because the road was slippery, Xia Tianqi unfortunately fell several times, his body covered in rain and stinky mud.

"Damn, this lousy weather is raining again."

Xia Tianqi's mood was truly terrible, and he had a vague feeling that this trip to Qi Dali's house would be in vain.

Leng Yue didn't say anything, just focused on the journey, which was why he didn't fall.

Wiping the rain from his face, Xia Tianqi's pores still stung intensely, and his lips twitched uncontrollably. He stopped walking with Leng Yue.

They had arrived at Qi Dali's house.

Upon reaching their destination, the two of them didn't exchange any words. Xia Tianqi, acting as the scout, quickly climbed over the wall into Qi Dali's yard and then opened the door for Leng Yue outside.

In fact, Xia Tianqi had volunteered to be the scout because he always felt that Leng Yue was not as skilled as himself. Climbing over the wall was easy for him, but it might be difficult for Leng Yue.

After Leng Yue came in, he signaled Xia Tianqi to follow him, as it was hard to say whether Qi Dali was still alive.

"That window is open."

Xia Tianqi noticed that a window at one end of the house was open and suggested to Leng Yue to enter through the window. Leng Yue nodded in understanding and, with Xia Tianqi, approached the window.

Shining a flashlight into the window, they found it was a bedroom, but Qi Dali was not sleeping there.

Seeing this, the two of them had a bad feeling, but after hesitating for a moment, they jumped into the house.

As soon as they entered, the heavy rain outside turned into a torrential downpour, with lightning and thunder continuously.

Xia Tianqi's face darkened as he shone the flashlight down the hallway. The hallway was not very long, and one end seemed to lead to the kitchen.

"Qi Dali is probably already dead."

Despite his reluctance to admit it, it was late, and in such a terrible storm, where else could Qi Dali be if he wasn't at home sleeping?

"We're still too late."

Leng Yue also felt that Qi Dali's chances of survival were slim. After a moment's thought, he suggested:

"We always arrive a step too late. Maybe we should split up and act separately."

"Do you even need to ask? Of course not!"

Hearing Leng Yue's suggestion to split up, Xia Tianqi immediately rejected it:

"If I have good luck, it might work, but if I have bad luck and run into that female ghost, wouldn't that be sending me to my death?"

Although Xia Tianqi admitted that splitting up might help them get ahead of the ghost, his safety would not be guaranteed, as he did not yet have the skills to escape from the ghost.

Leng Yue, perhaps also concerned about Xia Tianqi's safety, shook his head and said nothing. Just as they were about to leave and head to the next person's house, they heard a series of crawling sounds from the end of the hallway.

"Hisss..."

Hearing the sound, Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue almost simultaneously shone their flashlights in that direction. In the dim hallway, they saw Qi Dali dragging his emaciated body, leaving a long trail of water on the ground.

Seeing that Qi Dali was still alive, Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue ran over with the hope of saving him. But before they could ask what had happened, they saw Qi Dali, in a last burst of energy, grab Xia Tianqi's sleeve and, with wide-open eyes, shout:

"It's still here... still here... it hasn't left... it's still in my house!!!"

After shouting these words, Qi Dali's already emaciated body visibly shrank and, in their horrified gaze, turned into a pool of blood.

"It's still here... still here... still in my house..."

Xia Tianqi suddenly remembered Qi Dali's warning. Feeling a chill, he warned Leng Yue:

"The female ghost is still here. Let's go!"