Chapter 8: The Intruder’s Shadow

She walked, meticulously listening to every sound and movement around her. Her journey led her to the innermost room.

Indeed, the vagrant had left for some reason, but his belongings remained, suggesting he would return. Hao Yang grabbed her backpack, preparing to depart.

Although her physical prowess had significantly diminished after transforming into a little girl, her senses had become exceptionally acute. She detected the faint, almost imperceptible sound of someone slowly ascending the stairs.

Certain that someone was approaching, she fell into a complete panic. Her gaze darted left and right, landing once more on the cabinet. Clutching her bag, she quickly scrambled inside.

Once she was tucked inside the cabinet, the footsteps grew steadily louder. Before long, they reached the room itself. Through a small hole in the cabinet, she watched as the vagrant entered, carrying an armful of firewood.

He placed the wood on the ground, then began to light a fire in the makeshift stove he had constructed from bricks.

After a few moments of tending, the temporary stove’s fire successfully grew larger. The vagrant added more wood, then began to prepare his meal.

He poured uncooked rice into yesterday’s lunchbox, added some water, and sealed the lid tightly. Then, he placed the lunchbox directly into the flames.

This vagrant actually appeared quite normal; he hadn’t exhibited any strange behaviors, though his appearance was somewhat frightening. As of now, he hadn’t shown any unusual tendencies.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the vagrant, sitting by the fire, used a stick to pull the lunchbox from the flames. He set it aside to cool for a moment before opening it. Immediately, the fragrant aroma of rice wafted out.

Perhaps it had been days since she’d eaten anything warm, but Hao Yang couldn’t help but swallow at the scent of the rice.

The vagrant produced a packet of pickled mustard greens from his bag. He then scooped a mouthful of rice, chasing it with a bite of the greens. The simple meal tasted incredibly delicious.

“This cursed weather, it’s truly freezing to death,” the vagrant muttered to himself as he ate. In such a quiet place, only the sounds of him scooping rice echoed, creating an atmosphere that felt unsettlingly eerie.

He spoke, hoping to prevent himself from being spooked, but unfortunately, after he finished, the silence remained. In such a still environment, even the smallest sound seems infinitely amplified.

Fortunately, the vagrant had brought a small lantern, whose gentle glow offered him considerable comfort. The crackling of the burning wood also provided a welcome distraction.

After finishing his meal, the vagrant set the lunchbox aside. This time, he didn’t extinguish the fire; the weather was simply too cold. The blaze would serve to keep him warm, and he had even prepared extra wood for this very purpose.

Likely sated, the man comfortably reclined on a thick mat, pulling a heavy quilt over himself. Before long, deep, resonant snores filled the room.

After two close observations, Hao Yang was no longer as terrified of the man as she had initially been. Her current reluctance to leave stemmed purely from the fear that he might mistake her for a thief.

Seeing that the man had fallen asleep, she narrowed her eyes and began to rest as well. The day’s exhaustion slowly crept over her, yet in a place where she felt utterly insecure, she maintained a sliver of consciousness even in sleep.

Though hazy, this awareness served as a vital warning system.

In her drowsy state, she seemed to hear a strange sound. No, someone was coming up the stairs!

The man’s snores continued; he was still asleep. So, who could be ascending?

Hao Yang instantly jolted awake, purely from fright. Someone was coming, slowly approaching their room. This person was clearly tiptoeing, their movements producing only faint sounds. Yet, in this profound silence, every tiny noise was glaringly audible.

‘What should I do? What should I do? Someone’s here, but who is it? What does that person want?’

Hao Yang dared not make a sound. Her breathing, made ragged by fear, she forcibly suppressed until it was barely perceptible.

She held her breath, listening intently to the activity outside. The intruder would take a step or two, then pause, presumably to avoid alerting the vagrant. With each sound, the person drew closer to the room, a process that seemed to take several agonizing minutes.

The man’s snores remained as loud as ever. To Hao Yang, those few minutes felt like years, each second an unbearable torment. It was terrifying, infinitely more frightening than any escape room she had ever played.

Hao Yang desperately wanted to wake the man, yet she was too afraid. Perhaps it was the vulnerability of this child’s body, amplifying her fear countless times over.

She could only pray inside the cabinet for the man to awaken.

The footsteps had reached the room’s entrance. After arriving at the doorway, several minutes passed without a single sound.

Then, after a few minutes, the footsteps resumed. This time, they sounded every few seconds, growing steadily closer, now only a few meters away.

Hao Yang clapped a hand over her mouth in terror, peering through the hole to observe every movement outside. Though she couldn’t see the person directly, she caught sight of their shadow. Judging by the silhouette, it appeared to be a man, holding something in his hand.

When the figure was just a few meters from the vagrant, it lunged directly from the doorway.

The vagrant’s snores abruptly ceased, replaced by indistinct, slurred words.

“Who are you, what are you doin’—” Before he could finish, the vagrant, who had just sat up from the ground, was struck by something the figure wielded. Blood immediately gushed from the vagrant’s head.

After being struck, the vagrant pulled a small knife from somewhere and thrust it at the thin, weak figure.

The thin, weak figure let out several cries of pain—a man’s cries. However, perhaps due to the vagrant’s own injury or the assailant’s thick clothing, the stabs only shallowly pierced the skin.

The man then picked up his weapon again and struck the vagrant’s head. This blow left the vagrant disoriented, possibly concussed, as his body became unresponsive. The thin, weak man seized the opportunity, pulled a rope from his pocket, and quickly bound it around the vagrant’s neck. He then leaped backward, positioning himself behind the vagrant.