Volume 2, Chapter 3 (Chapter 41): My Friends at Home

Squeak!

Turning the door handle and pushing the door open, a thin layer of dust greeted Lu Yibei’s face. He frowned, covering his mouth and nose with one hand, and walked into the apartment.

He was gone for a mere ten days, and yet it was as if no one had lived here for the past year or two.

The dust in the air fell upon him like a veil; everywhere he moved, the dust moved like ripples in a lake. In an instant, his eyes burnt and beckoned him to look upwards.

In his cool-toned living room, tiny streamers flew across the room, and a few figures were revelling at his huge coffee table.

Eyeballs that bounced up and down in an endless manner, a mottled wig, a tattered, white nightgown, a pair of dentures that was smoking a cigarette, the coat that was cursed by Mr Rabbit, anthropomorphic figures that twisted among the shadows—his entire apartment was like a gathering for these strange things.

Fine dust particles would orbit around them before shooting out at high speeds as if their bodies were a slingshot.

‘What the hell? A disco for urban legends?’

Yibei couldn’t help but stare at the scene before him. It was no wonder why his house would be so dusty—these guys were the culprits!

Although he was aware of their existence before this, seeing it with his own eyes made him feel a bit complicated.

There wasn’t any point in being afraid. He knew that urban legends existed: ‘Hell, I’m an urban legend myself.’

Just as he was staring at these figures, they, too, noticed him staring at them. They immediately froze in place, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

It was as if they were a group of elementary school students who were caught red-handed by their teacher.

‘…excuse me? Shouldn’t I be the one who’s afraid?’

“I’m back,” Yibei muttered expressionlessly, putting on his house slippers and walking upstairs.

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

With each step he took, the sound of someone falling off his bed could be heard as well.

The moment Yibei’s figure disappeared from the living room, the apparitions in his living room scurried around as if they were fleeing for their lives, emitting strange noises as they darted around the room.

‘Terrible! Horrible! Run! Escape!’

The owner of this apartment unit has never interfered with their “lives” because he minded his own business.

However, the owner has transformed into a terrifying entity; there was absolutely no way they could continue living here. If they weren’t careful, they might become prey to “her”!

Yibei laid on his bed, about to take a nap. When he heard the commotion downstairs, his brows furrowed as he yelled, “Hello? What does a man have to do to get some rest? Pipe down!”

In an instant, the living room was silent.

He nodded in satisfaction and laid back down. In his lucid state, he could vaguely hear a faint, furtive discussion in his ears.

“Shall we go?”

“We have nowhere to go. We might die out there!”

“What should we do then?”

“I think it’s better for us to…”

His vision went dark as he fluttered into dreamland.

When he was conscious again, the sky outside the window was a scarlet red. Before he knew it, it was past five o’clock in the afternoon.

He slept for more than five hours.

“Damn it,” he cursed as he frantically got dressed, rushing downstairs in a panic.

He was just about to go out to find a suitable place for him to deal with his daily pain, but as soon as he stepped into the living room, he couldn’t help but stop.

Looking around, his whole apartment was clean, with not a single speck of dust on any surface.

The previously messy coffee table was now spick-and-span, and the decorative items on it were neatly arranged.

His floor-to-ceiling glass windows were polished brightly, which made him think that someone had stolen them.

Even his greasy kitchen walls were cleaned up perfectly, and a bowl of steaming hot beef noodles was prepared for him.

“Christ!” he gasped. “Did I hire a maid?”

He knew that he had no noodles or beef stored in his home. Isn’t this weird?

He didn’t want to eat it either. What if it was poisoned?

However…

The aroma of the noodles tempted him, beckoning him closer and closer. He swallowed hard; he was incredibly hungry, oh-so hungry…

In fact, if he wasn’t hungry, he would’ve continued sleeping.

“Psst! It doesn’t seem like he wants to eat it! Does he hate us?”

“I almost got caught trying to steal the beef next door! I’m going to beat him up!”

“Come on! Think of something!”

“Told you we should’ve moved.”

Lu Yibei frowned as he heard the whispers coming from behind his refrigerator. He picked up the bowl of noodles, walked over to the dining table, and sat down wordlessly.

Technically, these are my tenants. They wouldn’t dare to do anything bad, right? he thought.

“Look! He’s going to eat it! I told you we should’ve laced it with poison!”

“Shh! What if he hears us?”

“…”

Yibei was sure that there was no poison in the noodles, and yet he couldn’t help but feel a little angry.

Glancing at the refrigerator, he took a deep breath before diving right into the bowl of noodles.

Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

The noodles were cooked just right, with just the right chewiness; the beef was soft but not overcooked; and the soup stock was fragrant but not overwhelming.

He devoured the bowl of noodles in a matter of seconds, and his whole body felt warm. His hunger was swept away as he pushed the bowl away from him.

The moment he pushed the bowl, he swore he could hear countless sighs of relief coming from behind his refrigerator.

He got up and walked over to it. He bent down and was just about to say something before countless figures and apparitions dashed past him.

“Run! He’s coming!”

“He can hear us! Oh God, he can hear us!”

“Ah…” He was dumbfounded. “Don’t run. I won’t hurt you.”

Yibei couldn’t help but laugh at himself. He didn’t expect to be the one to tell these urban legends that he wouldn’t hurt them.

“Just a reminder,” he coughed. “Please don’t go around stealing my neighbour’s stuff. You might scare the soul out of them.”

To him, their existence was acceptable. If it was the Yibei before this, it might be a different story.

All the shadows and figures were silent as if they were discussing amongst themselves secretly.

“I’ll pretend that you all heard it,” he sighed as he stared at the motionless apparitions. “I’ll be gone for a while, so don’t cause any trouble.”

After leaving his apartment, he took the elevator all the way up to the top floor and then climbed the stairs all the way to the rooftop.

The nights had become long, so there weren’t many solar panels out. Only a few bulky water tanks were standing proudly on the roof.

The barely empty rooftop was dyed a brilliant orange, and it was as if Yibei was in a dream.

He found a stone step and sat down, facing the sunset.

As the sun disappeared under the horizon, familiar whispers began to tickle in his ear, accompanied by the violent beating of his heart. A bloody and cold aura started to envelop him violently.

Feeling the cold air spreading through his body, he couldn’t help but tense up, grasping the edge of the stone steps firmly.

Immediately, the sky was plunged into darkness, and a crescent moon soon revealed itself in the sky.

The next moment, a scorching heat set his body ablaze.

He was mentally prepared for this, but the intense heat that tugged at the cold air within his body left him incredibly uncomfortable and painful.

“Argh…”

The pain lasted a few seconds, and he began to chant the secret words.

“There is a… mountain, and there is a woman. Look! A severe drought stretches across this red land. You’re hatching, and I’m hatching…!”

White smoke emitted from him, and the heat remained in his body. He was visibly confused.

“There’s a mountain, and there is a woman.”

Nothing changed.

“A mountain… argh!”

His pupils shrank upon the third spell, and he keeled forward in severe pain.

‘N-no, this isn’t right. I did everything right, but…’

‘I’m still transforming…’