Chapter 102: Let’s Escape Together (Part One)

At that moment, my heart suddenly trembled violently, and I was filled with overwhelming fear. Could it be that the innkeeper knew I had witnessed the entire murder and was now coming to kill me to silence me? I sat there frozen, too afraid to move, terrified that if I opened the door, I might never be able to escape again. After all, I had already witnessed the cruel methods of the innkeeper who looked exactly like me.

What should I do?

Knock, knock, knock… With each knock, the sound seemed to shake me to my core, making me utterly uneasy. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

Knock, knock… The door was knocked again. This time, a surge of nameless anger rose in me. Why should I be afraid? If it came to it, I would rather die. Besides, Chen Chuyi had told me before he left that I would not die in Huamei Village. What was there to fear?

With this thought comforting me, I slowly approached the door and tentatively placed my hand on it.

If I am to die, then so be it!

I pulled the door open. Standing before me was the innkeeper—the very man who looked exactly like me, but whose voice was hoarse and terrifyingly aged. I had been somewhat afraid of him before, but after witnessing him commit murder just moments ago, I was trembling all over with fear.

“Are you alright? Do you feel unwell?” the hoarse voice asked. I dared not answer. How could I explain that I was scared because I had seen him kill someone?

“No, no, I’m fine,” I stammered.

“Is there something you need so late at night?” The innkeeper’s eyes softened with kindness as he spoke warmly. “I came to tell you that every night here in Huamei Village, there is a Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts. Would you like to see it?”

“The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts? I—I think I won’t go. I’m a bit tired and want to sleep,” I replied.

“Tired?” The innkeeper regarded me oddly. I hurriedly yawned, but to be honest, I wasn’t sleepy at all. It would be a miracle if I could sleep under these circumstances.

Putting aside what this “Night Parade” was, the innkeeper himself was enough to terrify me. He was too strange. Surely he had come to check on me, to see if I had seen him murder someone downstairs. If I showed the slightest sign of distress, would he kill me immediately? The thought chilled me to the bone.

Feigning composure, I yawned again and said, “Innkeeper, if there’s nothing else, I’d like to sleep now. We can talk in the morning if there’s anything.”

As expected, the innkeeper did not press me further. His voice softened as he said, “It’s not safe here at night. Be careful not to startle yourself awake.”

I simply responded with a hum and quickly shut the door. The scene I had just witnessed had left me breathless, almost suffocating from the fear.

“Nie Xiaoke, Tu…” I sat on the bed, trying to call out several times, but only silence answered me. There wasn’t a sound at all.

I lay on the bed, too afraid to sleep, staring wide-eyed at everything around me. I didn’t want to fall asleep and never wake up again—that would be a terrible fate.

Yet, strangely, as I lay there, waves of drowsiness began to wash over me. I bit my teeth and tried desperately to stay awake, but the more I resisted, the more my eyelids slowly closed.

Ah!

Suddenly, I heard a voice that made my whole body shudder, snapping me wide awake. I couldn’t explain why I was so startled, but I could feel my body trembling uncontrollably. The terrifying scenes I had witnessed earlier told me that Huamei Village was far more dreadful than I had imagined.

Without hesitation, I rushed to the door and flung it open. At that instant, I nearly screamed.

Before me hung a man I did not know but had seen before—the gaunt Yin-Yang master carrying a peachwood sword.

“Don’t go out!” The thin master’s face showed a flicker of joy when he saw me, then he spoke in a deep voice.

I was terrified and quickly shut the door, retreating straight into the bathroom.

The bathroom?

The thought made me tremble again. The images swirling in my mind nearly drove me mad. I had been holding back from using the bathroom just to avoid what might happen here.

Because in my previous nightmare, I had seen something resembling an eye inside this very bathroom, which Xiyue called the Yin Eye.

Xiyue had told me that the Yin Eye continuously absorbs a person’s yang energy, and if I ever encountered it, I must not look at it.

But now, just after I entered the bathroom, a swirling vortex appeared before my eyes, drawing my gaze irresistibly inward. I had no chance to look away.

Eventually, my whole body was sucked into that eye.

Inside, I saw an image: the innkeeper who looked exactly like me dragging a burly man into the backyard, then slowly pulling the man’s corpse into a room.

But I couldn’t see what happened inside the room.

At the same time, my head felt dizzy and heavy, nearly causing me to collapse in the bathroom.

No—I have to get out. I must leave this place.

Where had Xiyue, Chen Chuyi, and Zhao Shiw been? And Wan Niang—where were they?

Staggering out of the bathroom, I went to the door and opened it once more.

Though I had prepared myself mentally, I was still startled.

“Mr. Yang Dong, do you need something?”

Ah?

My spirits, which had been flagging, were instantly jolted by the person before me. It was none other than the waiter whose head I had seen cut off by the innkeeper who looked exactly like me.

I stared blankly at the waiter, trying to find some clue in him, but in the end, I failed.

“Mr. Yang Dong, what’s going on?”

Not willing to give up, I stepped forward and grabbed the waiter by the neck.

The moment I did, the waiter’s body trembled slightly—and his entire head rolled off his body…