Chapter 3: The Little Friends at Home
“Click—Creak—!” Turning the doorknob and pushing the door open, a thin layer of dust rushed towards Luxianbei, who frowned slightly, covering his mouth and nose with one hand as he stepped into the apartment.
There hadn’t been anyone living in the apartment for over ten days, and it was normal for some dust to accumulate. However, the amount of dust present now seemed like it had been years since there was any human activity, which was a bit abnormal.
As the thin dust settled like a light veil, the air rippled like water disturbed by pebbles, and in the next moment, the scene in front of Luxianbei suddenly turned abnormal.
In the cool-toned living room, tiny streams of light fled rapidly, and several shadows were frolicking on the large coffee table.
Bouncing beads resembling eyeballs, the gaudy colored faux fur, a tattered white sleep dress, a set of false teeth holding a cigarette, and the coat that Mr. Rabbit had powered up were anthropomorphically twisting their bodies, making the whole apartment seem like their party hotspot.
As they moved, tiny dust particles flew out from the gaps in their bodies, littering the ground, and when a gust of wind blew in from outside, it spread throughout the entire room.
What the hell is this? An Urban Legend DISCO? Luxianbei stood at the entrance, gazing at the culprits reveling on the coffee table, a moment of silence enveloping him.
“……”
Today, he finally understood why in the past, whenever he didn’t come back for just two or three days, even if he had closed all the doors and windows, thick dust would still accumulate — it turned out these guys were up to mischief!
Although he had long since become accustomed to the existence of these “neighbors” in his home, seeing them in person still left him with a rather complicated feeling.
He wasn’t really scared; what household hasn’t had a few cockroaches or mice? Luxianbei had always thought that his household’s cockroaches and mice were simply more unique than those of others.
But seeing them in person felt a bit strange and somewhat nauseating!
Just as he was watching those bizarre shadows, they noticed his presence as well and froze in place, trembling uncontrollably.
They looked like a group of mischievous elementary school students caught red-handed by their parents.
Luxianbei, “……” Shouldn’t I be the one who is scared? Why are you panicking like a teapot!?
While internally complaining, Luxianbei maintained a blank expression and said, “I’m back!” Then, he took off his shoes and changed into slippers as if he didn’t see their existence, casually heading upstairs.
“Thud thud thud——!”
With the sound of footsteps going upstairs, he soon heard someone plopping onto the bed.
After Luxianbei finally settled down, the strange shadows all moved in unison, scurrying around as if fleeing for their lives, emitting a series of bizarre and sneaky sounds.
Run! It’s too terrifying; I have to escape!
Although living here was much more comfortable than other places, the room’s owner never disturbed their “lives” out of curiosity.
But now that the owner of this room had become such a terrifying being, there was no way they could stay here. Who knows – a moment of displeasure could lead them to be treated like snacks!
Luxianbei lay on the bed, preparing to take a short nap, but upon hearing noises downstairs, his brows furrowed more and more, and taking a deep breath, he growled, “Is it so annoying? Is it so annoying?”
“Making someone else’s home dirty and messy is one thing, but not letting people sleep well, huh?!”
As the words fell, the entire room fell silent.
Luxianbei nodded slightly, turned over, and soon began to doze off. Just as he drifted between dreams and reality, he faintly heard a hushed discussion.
“Are we still leaving?”
“Where can we go? Besides, if we just leave like this, he’ll probably k*ll us!”
“What should we do then?”
“Why don’t we……”
Before he could hear the sneaky voices come to a conclusion, everything went black, and Luxianbei fell asleep.
……
When Luxianbei woke up again, the sky outside was already filled with red clouds. Glancing at the time, it was already past five in the afternoon.
Unbeknownst to him, he had slept for over five hours.
“d*mn, how did it get this late?” He muttered to himself as he got dressed, jumped out of bed, and hurried downstairs.
Just as he was about to head out in search of a suitable place for today’s “Daily Pain,” he noticed something unusual in the living room and stepped back.
Looking around, the entire apartment looked like someone had cleaned it; the floor was so clean it reflected light.
The coffee table was dust-free, and everything on it was neatly arranged.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows were spotless, leading him to momentarily think, “Did some fool come and uninstall my windows while I was sleeping?”
Even the old grease on the kitchen’s range hood had been cleaned, and a steaming bowl of hearty beef noodles had been placed there.
“Wow——!” Luxianbei gasped in astonishment. Was there actually a fairy in his house? So happy! What the hell!
There was no explanation for suddenly having a bowl of beef noodles when he had no beef at home — it was quite strange, wasn’t it!?
Who would dare eat this? What if he turned into a bug, a frog, or a stone while eating!?
But……
As the aroma wafted through the air, Luxianbei swallowed hard; he was hungry, really hungry.
In fact, if it weren’t for his hunger, he wouldn’t have woken up so quickly.
He had been awakened by hunger.
Earlier, while sleeping, his consciousness was enveloped in a dim darkness, unbearable hunger made him want to devour the surrounding darkness!
“What if he doesn’t eat? Is he still holding a grudge against us?”
“d*mn, when I stole meat from next door just now, I almost got caught! He’s not eating? I’m going to confront him!”
“Don’t panic, don’t panic; let’s think of some way!”
“Hmm! What can we think of? I’ve said before, it’s not easy to cling to someone! Moving out quickly is the right way!”
From the dim corner under the refrigerator in the kitchen came a series of whispering sounds. At the sound, Luxianbei frowned, stepped forward, and sat down at the dining table.
After all, it was their little friends’ kind intention, and seeing them so timid, they probably wouldn’t dare pull any tricks, Luxianbei thought.
“He’s going to eat! He really ate! I told you, we should’ve put some poison in the noodles to k*ll that b*stard!”
“Shut up! What if he hears us?”
Luxianbei, “……” Although he was sure there was no poison in the noodles, why did he suddenly feel a bit angry?
Glimpsing at the direction of the refrigerator, he withdrew his gaze, scrutinizing the beef noodles in front of him. He took a deep breath and began to wolf them down.
“Slurp—Slurp—Gulp gulp gulp—!”
The perfectly cooked noodles, soft but not mushy beef, and rich-flavored broth.
After finishing a bowl of beef noodles, Luxianbei felt warm all over, the hunger pangs evaporated, and he contentedly set down the bowl.
The instant he set down the bowl, a relieved sound came from the corner under the refrigerator.
He stood up, moved toward the refrigerator, bent down, opened his mouth to say something, only to see shadows scurrying around beneath the fridge.
“Run! He’s coming!”
“d*mn! He’s been pretending not to hear! What kind of Luxianbei is this!? He’s simply an old silver coin!”
“Get out of the way! You stepped on my hair!”
“……” Luxianbei stared blankly at the chaotic shadows for a moment, then sighed, saying, “I say…… you guys don’t run; I won’t harm you.”
Never did he think that one day, he would say “I won’t harm you” to a story of urban legends!
Luxianbei internally grumbled and continued, “I’ll just say one thing: don’t go stealing from the neighbors anymore, alright? It’ll scare them.”
Although he could barely accept the existence of these “little friends,” an average person wouldn’t accept it, right?
Just thinking about it, if suddenly the beef in the fridge was gone, that would be quite scary. Luxianbei thought.
The urban legends, “……” He didn’t seem as scary as he had imagined?
“Sigh——!” Seeing those urban legends frozen in place, seemingly trying hard to express “we’re just a pile of junk,” Luxianbei sighed lightly, “I’ll take it that you all heard me; I’m just stepping out for a bit, don’t cause any trouble at home.”
After speaking, he got up and left the apartment.
……
Stepping outside, Luxianbei took the elevator to the top floor, then climbed the stairs all the way to the rooftop.
Ever since the night began to stretch longer, fewer people had been using the solar water heaters. The rooftop without photovoltaic panels only had a few heavy water tanks standing lonely.
On the somewhat empty rooftop, the colorful glow of the sunset painted the sky, giving it a somewhat dreamlike feel.
Luxianbei found a stone step, sat down facing the setting sun, and quietly waited.
As the sky gradually darkened, familiar whispers began to resonate in his ears, accompanied by his heart’s rapid beating, a bloody and cold aura rising.
Feeling that chill spreading within him, Luxianbei tightened all his muscles, gripping the edge of the stone step tightly.
At that moment, the sky plunged into darkness, and a slender crescent moon appeared in the sky.
Is it coming? Luxianbei’s gaze sharpened.
The next moment, a heat that seemed ready to melt his body erupted within him.
Although during this time he had mentally adapted to the pain that came with the arrival of night, the collision of burning heat and chill within him still made him unable to suppress a cry of pain.
“Ah——!”
The pain lasted for a few seconds, and once he had adjusted slightly, Luxianbei took a deep breath and began to recite a passage about the female specter.
“There is Zhongshan. There is a woman in green clothes…”
White mist enveloped him, and the heat that felt like it would melt his body continued to surge. Luxianbei paused for a moment.
Did he get something wrong?
Thinking this, he quickened his pace and repeated it once more.
“There is Zhongshan. There is a woman in green clothes…”
“There is Zhongshan…”
……
After reciting it three times consecutively, he seemed to finally confirm something, and his pupils suddenly constricted, instantly filled with panic.
Today, he followed the same steps at the usual time, doing the same thing as always, yet the pain did not vanish as it usually did.
The process of his transformation into an urban legend was still ongoing!
