Translator: CinderTL
"Room 512 housed an old woman A Zhe had never seen before. Judging by her appearance, she must have been around eighty years old."
"The old woman stood behind the gate, showing no intention of coming out. After a long pause, A Zhe saw her sigh, as if resigned to closing the gate and returning inside."
"But for some reason, the gate stopped halfway and swung back open. She lingered there for a while, then, as if steeling herself, beckoned A Zhe to approach."
"The old woman had a kind face and exuded a comforting aura, making A Zhe trust her instantly."
"She ushered A Zhe into the living room and told him not to blame the neighbors for their aloofness, explaining they were simply afraid."
"She also revealed that many people had seen the same entity A Zhe had witnessed the previous night."
"But when A Zhe pressed her for details about its true nature, the old woman hesitated. She shook her head, admitting she didn't know."
"However, she warned that the entity rarely appeared—the last sighting was a decade ago—but its presence always heralded misfortune."
"If it sets its sights on a household, something truly terrible will happen to them."
Hearing this, A Zhe, who had still clung to a sliver of hope that the creature had merely passed by and had no intention of harming him or his son, felt his heart sink.
But when the Old Madam learned about A Zhe's son, her face paled, and she insisted on meeting the boy immediately.
A Zhe dared not refuse. He led her to his doorstep, but before he could even pull out his keys, the Old Madam sighed heavily and said, "There's no need to see him now. That thing has already marked your son."
Terrified, A Zhe frantically asked if she might be mistaken. The Old Madam gave him a bitter smile, offering no explanation. Instead, she pointed to a spot on the gate and told him to look for himself.
Beside the peephole was a clear palm print, as if someone had pressed their hand against the gate while peering into his home.
It was the imprint of a right hand, far larger than an average adult's, with fingers that were unnaturally long—nearly one and a half times the length of a normal person's.
A Zhe's face turned pale at the sight. He immediately flung open the gate, pulled his son out, and, right in front of the Old Madam, made the child recount the entire story in detail.
Little did he know, an even more horrifying revelation awaited him.
That thing had actually spoken to his son!
It had said it loved the boy's eyes and demanded he gouge them out and give them to it.
A Zhe froze in shock. In an instant, the Old Madam moved from behind him to stand before the child, seizing his head without a word and examining it closely.
Suddenly, her expression shifted. She took a deep breath, turned the boy around, and gestured for A Zhe to look.
Parting the child's hair, they discovered another palm print on his scalp, identical to the one on the gate!
Five jet-black finger marks were imprinted into the skin, as if someone had tried to tear the child's scalp off.
Even the most oblivious person could tell the Old Madam knew something. A Zhe knelt before her, begging her to show his son a way to survive.
"He only has this one child. He'd do anything to protect him!"
The Old Madam helped A Zhe to his feet, a flicker of pity in her eyes as she looked at the child. She told him to take the boy to a place called Fallen Sunset Slope and find a man named Liu Genfu there. "If he's willing to help," she said, "he might be able to keep the child safe."
After confirming the address, A Zhe wasted no time. He grabbed the child and drove straight there.
On the way, he called a well-connected friend and asked him to investigate whether anything unusual had ever happened in his building.
The remote location and unfamiliar roads slowed them down, and despite his haste, they didn't arrive until dusk.
As A Zhe approached with the child, he realized it was actually a dilapidated cemetery, long abandoned and overgrown.
The deeper they ventured into the cemetery, the more uneasy A Zhe felt. Nothing about this place looked like it could possibly be inhabited.
Along the way, he saw countless overturned tombstones, while many more were half-buried in waist-high weeds, only their cold, stone corners peeking out.
Just as A Zhe was beginning to wonder if he'd come to the wrong place, a voice suddenly rang out behind him, asking who he was and what he was doing there so late.
The unexpected sound startled A Zhe half to death. He turned to see a burly man dressed oddly. The man wore a straw hat with dark sunglasses underneath.
A Zhe quickly explained that he was looking for a man named Liu Genfu to ask for help, and asked if the man knew where Liu Genfu lived.
Hearing this, the man turned and motioned for A Zhe to follow him.
The man led them through winding paths, circling through the cemetery until the sun had completely set. Finally, they arrived at an inconspicuous earthen mound.
The vast, desolate graveyard held only the three of them—a terrifying thought that sent a chill down A Zhe's spine.
The man pointed to a pitch-black tombstone half-hidden beneath overgrown weeds. "This is Liu Genfu's grave. What business do you have with him?"
"Liu Genfu is dead?" The news struck A Zhe like a hammer blow. If Liu Genfu was gone, what hope remained for his child? Despair welled up in his heart.
Just then, A Zhe's phone rang. It was a friend calling to tell him that he'd confirmed an incident had indeed occurred in his building, but not recently—it had happened ten years ago.
Ten years prior, a male caregiver had died in the building. He had been hired by the community to care for an elderly man who was nearly blind. Everything seemed normal at first, but no one suspected the old man had psychological issues. Believing that "like cures like," he became obsessed with consuming animal eyes.
It started with common fish and chicken eyes, but soon escalated to larger livestock like cattle, sheep, and pigs. Eventually, he set his sights on the caregiver himself.
One late night, feigning illness, the old man summoned the caregiver to his apartment and coaxed him into drinking water laced with sleeping pills.
"Oh, and that old man lived in Room 512—the same floor as you. But he died shortly after that."
"His death was bizarre. He starved to death in his own home. When his body was discovered, he was huddled in the darkest corner of his bedroom, his face twisted in a strange expression of terror."
"I also found the male caregiver's name. He was Liu Genfu, and he's buried in the cemetery on the mountain north of the city."
A Zhe, still reeling from the shock, felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. The movement was so subtle, almost as if the person was afraid of being noticed. He looked down and saw his son.
But his son's face now wore a strange expression. His eyes were fixed on the gravedigger standing nearby, and he asked in a puzzled tone, "Dad, why is the uncle from last night here too?"
(End of the Chapter)
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