135: Chapter 135 Saying the harshest words, doing the most cowardly things

As the Old Woman spoke, she reached out to grab the Naughty Child, who was frantically rummaging through the wardrobe.

However, the moment her hand touched the back of the Naughty Child's hand, he violently shook it off.

"Grandma, don't touch me! I have to find him, or I'm going to get eaten!"

Watching as the wardrobe was completely emptied without finding that "person," the Naughty Child crawled onto the floor, then pressed his head against the ground and peered under the bed.

"Ah~" With just one glance, the Naughty Child let out a shriek.

Amidst his screaming, the Naughty Child scrambled to a sitting position, pushing himself back with his feet until his back hit the wardrobe, stopping only when there was nowhere left to retreat.

The next second, a wet patch rapidly spread from beneath the Naughty Child's bottom.

Pointing at the space under the bed, the Naughty Child cried out in terror: "Grandma! Grandma! There's someone under the bed! I saw someone under the bed, I really saw someone under the bed! Help! Someone wants to eat me~~"

As he spoke, the Naughty Child burst into loud, wailing tears.

In the past, the Old Woman would have immediately pulled her Good Grandson into her arms to protect him. But today, when the Naughty Child said there was someone under the bed, the Old Woman immediately leaped far away from the bed and bolted out of the room. "Good Grandson, don't cry, I'll be right back!"

The Old Woman rushed into the living room, rummaged through the coffee table drawer to find the safety talisman she had obtained from Master Wang earlier that day, grabbed it, and raced back into the bedroom.

After rushing into the bedroom, the Old Woman quickly shoved a triangular-folded safety talisman into the Good Grandson's clothes, kept one for herself, and scattered the rest under the bed.

"Don't be afraid, Good Grandson. This is a talisman blessed with magical power by Master Wang. I've already driven him away."

At this moment, Yan He, who had been in another room, ran out after hearing the commotion. She grabbed a broom from the living room and held it in her hand. "Mom, what happened?"

Seeing Yan He enter, the Old Woman hurriedly pointed at the bed and urged: "Just now, the Good Grandson said he heard someone wanting to play hide-and-seek with him and that he saw someone under the bed. I just threw Master Wang's talismans in there. Quickly, go check if the thing under the bed has been driven away!"

"What?" Yan He quickly backed away from the bed. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Mom, you know me. I'm too timid to even kill a chicken. I'm scared. Why don't you do it?"

"I'm old and can't handle that kind of shock. You're young, you should go take a look," the Old Woman retorted quickly.

The Old Woman sneered inwardly: "That's a trick I stopped using years ago. You want to try that on me? You need more life experience before you try that."

Yan He shook her head like a rattle-drum. "Mom, I can't. My legs have gone soft."

Uh~ They really were soft. The next second, Yan He plopped right onto the floor.

"You~" The Old Woman pointed at Yan He for a long time before finally squeezing out two words: "Useless trash!"

She wasn't useless because she didn't dare check under the bed; she was useless because of where she had sat down. Of all places, she had blocked the door. If something really happened, they wouldn't even be able to run away quickly. She was utterly useless.

The more the Old Woman thought about it, the angrier she became, and that anger temporarily suppressed her fear. Her limbs slowly regained strength. She placed her hands on the floor, but just as she was about to push herself up, a hollow, eerie opera tune suddenly drifted into her ears.

"Longing for my dear son, tears stream down,"

"My Seventh Son went to Yanmen to call for reinforcements."

"Why has he not returned after all this time?"

"I fear Pan Renmei might recall old grudges,"

"And I am terrified my son will lose his life."

"Sorrowful, I enter the camp with furrowed brows,"

"Hungry in my belly, cold throughout my body."

(PS: Peking Opera - Li Ling Bei)

As the sound hit her ears, the bit of strength the Old Woman had just mustered vanished, lodging itself in her throat. She collapsed back onto the floor, and a shrill scream erupted from her, shaking the entire building.

"There's a ghost~~!" As she screamed, a puddle even larger than the one under the Naughty Child appeared beneath the Old Woman.

"Help!" Yan He shouted immediately after.

As the screams rang out, "ding, ding, ding" notifications kept popping up on other residents' phones.

In the owners' group chat, messages refreshed rapidly and were quickly pushed off the screen, making one's eyes dizzy.

"What's happening now?"

"Seriously? It's a holiday, can't we have some peace?"

"Are they sick? Why are there ghosts again? Never heard of this before."

"I'm guessing they're acting. I heard that woman is mentally ill. Is she having an episode?"

"WTF! How do you know she's mentally ill?"

"I heard it from my neighbor's grandfather's grandson's friend's uncle's colleague's friend. Last time the police came, that woman pulled out a medical certificate. Otherwise, why would the police be unable to do anything about her?"

"WTF! She's really mentally ill!" The person who asked said with lingering fear: "And you let them live here? Aren't you afraid she'll suddenly have an episode and hurt someone?"

"Yeah, yeah. I read online that when mentally ill people have episodes, it's terrifying, and they have huge strength. Even if they're women, one or two strong men can't hold them down."

"I admire you guys. Having someone who can have an episode at any time due to external stimuli living next to you... aren't you afraid she'll chase you with a kitchen knife one day?"

As soon as this was said, the lively chat group fell silent in an instant.

Almost everyone who saw this message began to calculate the probability of such an event happening. The result was that it was highly likely.

Realizing this, everyone felt a chill down their spines, and their throats felt incredibly dry.

Clearly, the vast majority of them were not confident that they could withstand it or quickly escape if such a thing happened. Moreover, some began to think about their own children at home. If they were to run into her...

"I think this family is just a menace, staying in the residential complex."

With the first person taking the lead, the eerily silent group chat suddenly became lively again.

"This family is said to be new tenants, and they've caused chaos as soon as they moved in. I agree, this menace definitely cannot stay in the complex."

"Same!"

"I'll go to the property management office tomorrow to ask for the phone number of the owner of Apartment 3 on the 17th floor and tell them about these things. I've met the owner of Apartment 3 on the 17th floor before; they are a very easygoing person."

At this moment, someone suddenly asked: "Should we go and check? What if something really happened?"

As soon as this was said, the lively chat group instantly became eerily quiet again. But three seconds later...

"You guys can go if you want, I'm not going."

"Exactly! I went yesterday, and I ended up looking like a fool."

"Me too. If I go again, I'm a dog!"

However, in reality, as a series of creaking sounds rang out, heads poked out from doors. When they saw that the neighbors had also opened their doors, they immediately blushed and laughed awkwardly: "Haha, the weather is nice tonight, huh!"

"Haha, indeed. The moon is so round tonight. I was just about to go for a walk! Together?"

"Let's go together." Similar conversations echoed on every floor of Building 2. Soon, the area outside Apartment 3 on the 17th floor was crowded with people. It must be said that the Chinese people are still very simple and kind-hearted.

At this moment, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock~

However, this knocking sound made the three of them, who were already like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, tremble uncontrollably.

Even the Naughty Child, who had been wailing, covered his mouth at the sound of the knocking. His small, tear-reddened eyes stared fixedly at Yan He, the pleading look of a child yearning for his mother's warm protection filling the entire room.

"Is everyone inside okay? I am your neighbor from across the hall. Do you need help?"

Outside the door, the resident of Apartment 4, who was actually the one across from Apartment 3 on the 17th floor, stood to the side, looking at the person who had spoken with a bewildered expression. "Aren't you from upstairs?"

Then, they suddenly realized, "WTF! Big brother, don't set me up like this!"

They felt like they had been played for a fool. The person knocking said, with a lack of justification but plenty of bluster: "The neighbor across the hall is more likely to be trusted. If I said I was from upstairs, they might not open the door. Think about it from their perspective, isn't that the logic?"

Before the resident of Apartment 4 could answer, the surrounding people chimed in.

"Absolutely, absolutely."

"That's the logic."

"Oh! Don't worry about these things at a time like this."

The voices from outside the door reached the ears of Yan He and the other two inside. Yan He, as if grabbing a lifeline, hurriedly used all her strength to shout: "Who is it!"

The person outside the door had to repeat: "I'm from across the hall. I heard you calling for help. Has something happened?"

This time, Yan He heard clearly and said excitedly to the Old Woman: "Mom, it's the neighbor, it's the neighbor! We're finally saved..."