Chapter 26 Wardrobe
Fear suddenly descended.
A strong burning sensation came from his eyes, a string of bl**d beads slowly slid down from the corner of Luxianbei’s otherwise expressionless face, looking rather grim.
The not-so-wide space suddenly seemed to come alive, as if the entire corridor was a huge life form, contracting, pulsing, twisting, and morphing in rhythm with Luxianbei’s heartbeat.
His vision was blurry, dazzling streams of light danced before him, resembling a chaotic image shot by a camera in turbulence.
He had no time to ponder why Mr. Rabbit was here; instinctively stepping back, in his panic, he didn’t even realize he had tripped over something that caught his ankle. Instantly losing balance, he fell backward onto the ground.
“Bang—!”
His body collided with the ground, making a muffled thud, stirring up dust and mold that mixed in the air, rudely rushing into his nostrils and bringing an intense sense of discomfort.
Straining against the discomfort, he hurriedly sat up. As he raised his head, his heart suddenly felt as if it were gripped tightly by an invisible hand, nearly stopping.
Mr. Rabbit was now just about a meter away from him!
There was no escape! This thought flashed through Luxianbei’s mind, immediately followed by a blankness like a short circuit.
But the instinct for survival is inherent in all living beings. Under the suffocating pressure of d*ath’s shadow, he suddenly felt a surge of desperate courage. He leaned to the side, grabbed the Ming King Statue that had fallen beside him, and without hesitation hurled it at Mr. Rabbit.
“d*mn you! I’ll fight you to the end!”
Luxianbei’s emotions spiraled completely out of control as he let out a fierce roar with a hint of a hoarse cry.
“Wu—!”
The dozens of pounds heavy copper statue sliced through the air with a dull whoosh, and the next moment, Luxianbei’s body was dragged forward by the inertia of the Ming King Statue.
Missed it!? Luxianbei’s heart skipped a beat, despair instantly overtaking his last shred of will to resist, his mind buzzing, and darkness enveloping his vision.
The Ming King Statue hadn’t completely missed Mr. Rabbit; Luxianbei watched as the statue hurtled toward its waist. Then, it crashed into the air, losing control and slamming into the wall of the corridor with a “DUANG!” sound.
At that moment, Mr. Rabbit had already closed in on him, the wind whipped up by his wild run slapped against Luxianbei’s face. He could even smell the bl**d and the nauseating stench of decay emanating from Mr. Rabbit.
His taut nerves suddenly “snapped,” and Luxianbei’s face turned ashen. He released the Ming King Statue, letting it roll to the ground, his gaze dulling as if he had given up the fight, and he closed his eyes.
d*ath itself is not frightening; what is terrifying is the psychological torment and suffering while waiting for d*ath to arrive.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Luxianbei quietly awaited d*ath in the darkness; however, d*ath played a joke on him, suddenly turning a corner just as it approached.
What happened? What is going on? Why am I not dead yet?
Could it be that Mr. Rabbit has some quirky habit of wanting the victims to witness their own demise?
Luxianbei thought dumbfoundedly until a piercing scream sounded behind him, prompting him to open his eyes and turn to look in the direction of the sound.
In the dimly lit corridor, Mr. Rabbit moved forward with a crowbar, fresh bl**d dripped in thick rivulets along the angled edge of the crowbar, pattering onto the carpet and leaving a trail of bl**d spots.
In front of him, a girl in a white dress had fallen to the ground, using her hands to push herself backward bit by bit. Her abdomen was completely torn, bl**d gushed from the gruesome wound on her pale flat belly, trailing a dark red mark on the ground as she retreated.
“No, please, I beg you, don’t do this…”
The girl cried hopelessly, her tears mingling with sweat, her hair sticking to her face.
Luxianbei recognized the girl from the despair etched on her face.
It was Zhu Linglong!
In the face of Zhu Linglong’s cries for help, Mr. Rabbit showed no mercy at all, instead emitting a series of excited, eerie laughs, making a gesture for her to be silent.
“No! No! Don’t come over! Somebody help me!”
Zhu Linglong shouted, twisting and struggling to retreat, but it was all in vain; the only effect was to hasten her bl**d loss.
Her pleas went unanswered; it was as if she had fallen into an absolutely isolated space, cut off from everyone.
The next moment, everything fell into silence.
Mr. Rabbit stepped forward, gently caressing her cheek as if he were a lover. In this eerie atmosphere, Zhu Linglong quieted down, as if she had already died, allowing Mr. Rabbit to grip her arm and drag her like a corpse toward the door at the end of the corridor.
The trail left in their wake stained the entire corridor red.
“Bang—!”
A heavy sound of the door closing echoed, and the scene in front of Luxianbei restored itself to its original state. The corridor was empty, resembling a stage after the curtain call, the performance over, and he, the only audience member, remained trapped in the narrative, haunted.
Sometimes Luxianbei felt that his tightly strung nerves, which had yet to snap, did not seem to be a good thing.
At least if he were scared to madness, he would no longer fear!
If given the chance, he must quickly k*ll Mr. Rabbit! Ever since encountering it, he had been cursed with bad luck; it had to be its fault! Luxianbei thought.
A chill wind wandered through the corridor, the scattered warning sand softly rustled, and the door at the end of the corridor was tightly shut, seemingly never to have been opened.
What he had just witnessed was like a fully immersive sci-fi movie, intensely stimulating all his senses.
But even in a fully immersive movie, you can’t keep playing horror films! After regaining his composure, Luxianbei thought with deep grievance. A little romance or action film now and then would be excellent!
Luxianbei thought, and a slight pain began to throb in his abdomen again; though not severe, its frequency was quick, suggesting impatience.
Zhu Linglong seemed dissatisfied that Luxianbei had reached the suite’s door yet made no further moves.
Luxianbei gently rubbed his abdomen and murmured, “Miss Zhu, it doesn’t help to be impatient; I have already seen it. The card reader indicator light at that big door didn’t even light up. How can I get in? Even if the indicator light were on, I…”
“Click—!” It sounded as if someone had turned the door lock behind the door, echoing loudly in the quiet corridor.
Following that, the door was pushed open slightly, creating a gap wide enough for a person to pass through; a bone-chilling wind blew in from the crack, and Luxianbei suddenly felt that everything around him had changed.
As if some sleeping monster had awakened, hiding behind that ancient-looking door, waiting.
Luxianbei, “…”
Speaking of which, since departing from Mudan Street to here, he had not felt particularly frightened until witnessing the scene of Mr. Rabbit harming Zhu Linglong.
Now, with just one step away, he hesitated and felt fear creeping in.
Entering that door, finding the scissors that had cut open Zhu Linglong’s abdomen and giving them to her father would fulfill her request, but what would happen after that?
If Zhu Linglong bore no malice and simply left, then Luxianbei’s life could return to normal.
However, if Zhu Linglong forced him to this point with some ulterior motive…
In just a few seconds of hesitation, the pain in his abdomen intensified, and at that moment, a sound reached his ears from the invisible corner, the heavy iron door of the emergency exit being pushed open.
“Creak—!”
Scattering footsteps followed.
Someone was coming!
Luxianbei’s heart skipped a beat; he held his breath as a flash of white suddenly crossed his mind.
Is it that person?!
The one who had stealthily entered the resort hotel with unknown motives before him?
He hasn’t left!
With that thought, Luxianbei’s palms grew sweaty. He glanced at the half-open door ahead and then at the corridor corner behind him, the sneaky, soft footsteps gradually approaching.
Should he move forward into the room? Or retreat and confront that unknown intruder?
A resolute look flashed in his eyes. He clenched his teeth, lifted the Ming King Statue, and headed toward the room where Zhu Linglong had been attacked.
Come on, stranger! If your destination is also Zhu Linglong’s room, then it’s time for us to switch places; this time, it’s my turn to lurk in the shadows!
…
“Click!”
Entering the room at the end of the corridor, Luxianbei gently closed the door, quickly locked it, and pressed himself against the door, listening for a moment to the sounds outside before turning around to survey the room where a m*rder had once occurred.
The room was very dim; entering it felt as if he had suddenly jumped from day to night. Perhaps due to a lack of sunlight for a long time, the entire room felt unusually cold.
The layout of the room was the same as he had seen in the illusion, but most of the furniture had been moved, and the bl**d-stained carpet had been hastily rolled up and placed in a corner of the living room.
Holding the Ming King Statue, Luxianbei carefully followed the route in his memory towards the master bedroom of the suite, where he had seen Zhu Linglong meet her demise, hidden away in the wardrobe.
Upon entering the master bedroom, Luxianbei paused slightly at the sight before him.
Though the furniture in the living room had almost been removed, the master bedroom remained unchanged.
The ornate crystal chandelier creaked and swayed, the crystal pendants clinked occasionally, producing a pleasant sound like wind chimes. The entire room was evidently well-designed, still grand even shrouded in dust.
On the classic Chinese-style large bed lay a long bl**d-soaked dress completely torn at the abdomen, quietly lying there as if a fatigued girl was peacefully sleeping.
Luxianbei shifted his gaze from the bed and then looked toward the wardrobe beside it.
The large mahogany carved phoenix cabinet was adorned with gold threads along its grain, inlaid with lotus flower copper rings.
Luxianbei gazed at this exquisite craft, a cage imprisoning the monster.
Taking a deep breath, he approached, placed the Ming King Statue beside him, halted in front of the tightly shut double doors, repeatedly raising his hand, only to let it drop again.
Just as Luxianbei hesitated, the bl**d-soaked long dress on the bed seemed to flutter as if stirred by the wind, moving silently closer to his back.
A vague pale figure gradually emerged from within the long dress, almost pressing against Luxianbei’s back.
