Translator: CinderTL
"Doctor!" Fatty's eyes lit up the moment he saw Jiang Cheng.
Shen Mengyun, sprawled on Fatty's back, shouted anxiously in Jiang Cheng's direction, "Run, Mr. Jiang! There's danger behind you!"
Huai Yi thought to himself, Why weren't you this excited when I almost got caught by the Ghost several times? And Brother Jiang isn't an idiot; does he really need your warning about the Ghost chasing us?
After the two groups reunited, they reached a fork in the road ahead.
"This way!" Jiang Cheng led the group, and they immediately raced up the stairs.
Based on Jiang Cheng's observations, the Sculpture Ghosts' movements became noticeably stiff when climbing stairs.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the Ghosts, Huai Yi, panting heavily, said quickly, "This isn't working. We're carrying someone; we'll never outrun them."
"You keep running and draw them away," Jiang Cheng said, lifting Shen Mengyun from Fatty's back. "I'll take Miss Shen and find a safe place to settle her."
"Alright!"
The group accelerated, disappearing from the Sculpture Ghosts' sight. At a corner, the two groups split up.
Wang Qi and Fatty Huai Yi continued running upstairs, deliberately stomping their feet heavily to attract the Sculpture Ghosts' attention.
Jiang Cheng, meanwhile, quietly led Shen Mengyun into a small room in the right-side corridor and closed the door.
Inside, the two held their breath.
Soon, the Sculpture Ghosts' chaotic and disorganized voices echoed up the stairs. Just from the sound, one could imagine their grotesque postures.
But in the next moment, both Shen Mengyun and Jiang Cheng's expressions abruptly changed.
The Sculpture Ghosts had stopped at the corner, paused for a few seconds, then split into two groups. One continued pursuing Wang Qi and Fatty, while the other headed straight for the room where they were hiding.
How could this be?!
According to Jiang Cheng's understanding, these creatures shouldn't have the ability to sense where people were. They were merely hunting based on instinct.
Shen Mengyun had clung to a sliver of hope, wondering if it might be a coincidence, that they were just passing by.
But when the chaotic footsteps stopped right in front of their door, all such illusions shattered.
They had been discovered!
Bang!
The door shuddered violently.
The Sculpture Ghost outside was ramming the gate.
Thump!
Thump!
Two more blows.
The wooden gate frame had already cracked, sending dust swirling into the air.
The gate was secured by an old-fashioned bolt lock. The screws holding the bolt in place had already begun to strip.
It was clear the gate wouldn't hold much longer.
There were at least five or six Sculpture Ghosts outside. If they all poured in at once, Jiang Cheng wouldn't have room to maneuver in the cramped space.
"Mr. Jiang," Shen Mengyun said urgently, grabbing his arm. "The moment the gate breaks, I'll rush forward to hold them back. You use the opportunity to escape."
Seeing Jiang Cheng remain silent, Shen Mengyun's heart clenched. She tightened her grip on his arm, her voice rising. "This time, you must listen to me, Mr. Jiang. I know my body best. My leg is injured; I can't run. I can't drag you down again!"
Jiang Cheng glanced at her. "I have a plan we can try. But it might not be very pleasant for you, Miss Shen."
"You... you have a plan?" Shen Mengyun's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe there was any hope left in their desperate situation.
She suspected Jiang Cheng was just trying to comfort her.
But then, Jiang Cheng leaned in close, pressing his face against her ear and whispering a few sentences. Slowly, Shen Mengyun's eyes widened in shock.
Bang!
With the final impact, the Gate finally gave way. The hinges snapped, and the entire Gate crashed backward, landing on the ground with a cloud of dust.
Before the dust could settle, several Sculpture Ghosts of various forms rushed in, jostling for position. But when they saw the scene inside, they froze.
"Ah! Ahhh!"
Tear—
"No!"
"Ah! Gurgle, gurgle..."
Thud!
Amidst a woman's heart-wrenching screams, struggles, and kicks, the Sculpture Ghosts watched as one of their own pinned a woman to the ground, tearing and biting at her.
The woman writhed in agony, her cries growing weaker, accompanied by gurgling sounds from her throat—clearly, she was dying. Her clothes were torn and disheveled, leaving her utterly helpless and desperate.
The first two Sculpture Ghosts to rush in stared blankly, their dim minds filled with questions. They couldn't understand: they had been the first to charge in, they had broken down the Gate, yet suddenly, none of this seemed to concern them anymore.
Though they might think about it, their minds seemed incapable of grasping anything beyond this. For them, the only thing that mattered was killing every living person.
After a moment, the Sculpture Ghosts resumed their relentless march, leaving to pursue the remaining survivors.
Only after the footsteps outside faded did Jiang Cheng rise from Shen Mengyun's body.
Shen Mengyun stopped struggling, her face flushed crimson. She glanced at Jiang Cheng from the corner of her eye as she gathered her torn clothes.
When she noticed Jiang Cheng staring at her, her face grew even redder.
Jiang Cheng stood up, still feeling unsatisfied. But when he saw Shen Mengyun stealing glances at him, he quickly adopted an embarrassed expression and began to explain, "Miss Shen, I apologize for my actions. I only did it to—"
"I understand," Shen Mengyun said softly, her head bowed.
"Miss Shen, why don't you... why don't you get up first? We need to leave. We've fooled them for now, but there's no guarantee they won't return," Jiang Cheng said.
Shen Mengyun blushed even deeper. She tried to stand, but her legs felt like jelly. The struggle had left her body completely drained.
Jiang Cheng, ever considerate, helped her to her feet.
"Mr. Jiang, how did they find us?" Shen Mengyun asked curiously.
Jiang Cheng walked to the gate, glanced left and right to ensure the area was clear, then supported Shen Mengyun as they turned toward the fork where they had parted ways with Fatty and the others. "I've been wondering the same thing. It's as if someone was guiding them."
Before he could finish, Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped as if struck by an idea. He turned abruptly to face Shen Mengyun. "Miss Shen, I think I have a lead, but I'll need your cooperation."
Shen Mengyun's face flushed. "Do... do we have to do it again? And this time... here?"
Jiang Cheng's eyes lit up at her words, but remembering their current situation, he maintained a dignified demeanor. "You misunderstand, Miss Shen. This time, I need you to go down the stairs alone, the same way we ran up earlier."
He paused, then added, "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."
Though Shen Mengyun didn't understand his plan, she instinctively agreed.
Because of her injured leg, Shen Mengyun held onto the stair railing and slowly descended. Jiang Cheng followed far behind her, mimicking the Sculpture Ghost's stiff, emotionless gait.
With the Sculpture Ghost gone, the area was temporarily safe.
During their escape, they had noticed several statues placed at the corners between floors. These were ordinary statues, however, and did not move.
But now Jiang Cheng suspected that one of them had betrayed him.
Just after Shen Mengyun disappeared around the corner between the second and third floors, Jiang Cheng reached the same spot and saw the statue beside him move.
It was a bust, hidden between two large statues and easily overlooked.
Upon closer inspection, it had a sly, rat-like face, round-framed glasses, and a middle-parted hairstyle.
The statue extended one arm, pointing in the direction Shen Mengyun had gone, while the other arm gestured towards Jiang Cheng with a fawning expression, its mouth constantly moving.
It was clear the statue had mistaken Jiang Cheng for a companion and was reporting Shen Mengyun's location.
But the next moment, the statue's eyes widened in shock.
Jiang Cheng watched as the figure slowly pulled down its mask, revealing a face twisted into a savage grin. Its eyes gleamed with a chilling intensity. "So it was you, you little rat, who snitched on me!"
When Shen Mengyun heard the commotion and rushed back, she found Jiang Cheng raising his sickle, about to smash it down on the trembling statue's head. "Give it here!"
With a resounding "thump," the statue's head shattered into countless pieces.
Jiang Cheng sheathed his sickle, still seemingly unsatisfied. He stomped on the statue twice, declaring that such a Ghost couldn't have been a good person in life, likely even guiding the Japanese soldiers.
"We should go, Mr. Jiang," Shen Mengyun urged.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the statue's remains, then at the empty space where it had stood. Turning to Shen Mengyun, he said, "Send a message to Huai Yi and the others. Tell them to come here. I know how to shake off those Sculpture Ghosts."
"Mr. Jiang, I left my phone at the library," Shen Mengyun said sheepishly.
Jiang Cheng pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly sent separate messages to Fatty Huai Yi and the others, telling them to hurry over.
He then instructed Shen Mengyun, whose mobility was limited, to hide in the shadows behind several statues.
He himself stood in front of the half-body statue.
The half-body sculpture stood on a wooden stand. Jiang Cheng tried to squeeze inside, and it fit perfectly, concealing his lower body while leaving his upper body exposed.
Judging from the fact that the Sculpture Ghosts hadn't recognized him earlier, they seemed to have little memory of their own kind, only the ability to distinguish whether something was one of them.
The work uniform Jiang Cheng had found earlier now proved invaluable.
Less than a minute later, footsteps echoed overhead, growing louder as they approached. Soon, Fatty and the others arrived, panting heavily.
Shen Mengyun quickly stepped forward, waving to signal them. By the time the Sculpture Ghosts chasing them caught up, the others had already hidden behind the sculptures.
Jiang Cheng, mimicking the earlier Sculpture Ghost, flailed his arms wildly, diverting the pursuers.
Fatty turned to Shen Mengyun, his eyes widening in shock. Her clothes were clearly torn and tattered, barely covering her in several places, with one shoulder completely exposed.
"What... happened to you?" Fatty stammered.
"It was Mr. Jiang... he... he saved me..." Shen Mengyun stammered, her ears turning crimson.
"You... you two... Are you sure he was saving you?" Fatty suddenly raised his voice, feeling like his first thirty years had been a complete waste.
(End of the Chapter)
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