The footsteps behind her seemed to grow heavier, as if aware of her fear, becoming more menacing.
Mo Xiaoji’s eyes darted around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the other’s shadow in the faint moonlight. However, she was disappointed – on the ground, there was only her own faint, ethereal shadow, and nothing else.
At first, Mo Xiaoji hadn’t noticed anything strange about her shadow, but after looking multiple times, she discovered something odd.
For instance, horns growing on her head, then her belly suddenly swelling, and then missing a leg.
“Ah!” Mo Xiaoji screamed and ran away.
In her heart, she viciously cursed her brother Yu for not coming to pick her up from work today.
Brother Yu rarely missed an appointment, even in rainy weather.
Sometimes she wondered if Brother Yu had ever experienced such a strange feeling.
The sky gradually darkened, the insect sounds in the trees becoming denser. The chill on Mo Xiaoji’s body grew stronger, so intense that she could hear her own drum-like heavy breathing. If her old witch grandmother knew, she would surely mock her.
Mo Xiaoji tried to calm her breathing, telling herself there was nothing to fear, that ghosts and monsters didn’t exist. Yet, she couldn’t help her scalp from tingling.
The footsteps behind her seemed to stop. Mo Xiaoji could no longer hear matching sounds within her own footsteps.
Mo Xiaoji thought the presence had left. Many times, the footsteps would stop as she got closer to the village.
Her nerves were once again fully alert to the surrounding sounds. Even the slightest breeze could make her heart leap to her throat, the pressure from her heart making her breathing increasingly heavy.
Suddenly, a figure flashed from the bushes. Mo Xiaoji’s already fragile spirit couldn’t bear the shock, and she immediately fell to the ground.
“Xiaoji,” a low, hoarse voice spoke.
Eerie Village
“Uncle Hao Lian,” Mo Xiaoji recognized the familiar voice, knowing Uncle Hao Lian had come to fetch her. Although his face, covered in knife scars, had always been the source of her nightmares, his appearance in this desolate grove of ancient trees still helped her heart return to its normal position.
Uncle Hao Lian simply gave Mo Xiaoji a silent glance and walked away without another word.
