Chapter 37: Deceived

Akai let out a meaningless cry and desperately ran up the mountain, trying to escape the maddening scene.

Before him, Mai and Huma, holding hands, were also desperately running up the mountain.

“Hurry up… go up quickly.”

Both realized that events were speeding out of control. By now, they knew they had fallen into a terrifying situation.

“Wait for me.”

Akai also rushed over, panting heavily.

“Where is Reiko? Akai… where is Reiko?”

Mai noticed that Akai was alone.

“Don’t ask, just go up. That monster is catching up.”

He shook his head and turned his flashlight around. Only then did Mai and Huma see the eight-legged monster behind them.

The three said nothing, just kept running forward blindly. But then, Huma came to his senses.

“This won’t do; we’ll be caught.”

He went to the pile of rocks by the mountain path and tried to push a slightly larger rock down.

“Akai, come help.”

“Okay…”

Akai also joined in. Together, they lifted the heavy rock and pushed with all their might.

With a loud crash, their combined effort worked. The big rock rolled down the mountain path and hit the eight-legged monster directly.

Seeing this, the three breathed a sigh of relief and continued running up the mountain.

Just as Huma was about to rush toward the cave, a huge shadow moved. With a bang, a terrifying fist swung down toward his frightened face.

Splat!

He thought he heard something, or maybe he heard nothing at all. As his consciousness fell to the ground, he vaguely saw a massive outline.

“Ni… Nio Statue?”

Those were his last words.

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Not long after, faint, sharp screams came from outside the cave. They were very brief and didn’t last long, which made Fang Jing a bit nervous.

“So something happened this quickly?!”

He opened his eyes in the darkness. Through the cracks in the floor, he heard the screams outside. He knew this group had likely met with some misfortune.

“What a pity, but there’s nothing I can do alone…”

Fully aware of this, he absolutely wouldn’t take risks, especially since he himself was also threatened by the Curse.

He put these thoughts aside and quietly waited for the right time.

The diary’s records were clear—he had to wait until the third quarter of the Hour of the Ox late at night to find the opportunity.

The Hour of the Ox naturally referred to the period from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. If it meant the third quarter of the Hour of the Ox, it would be around 1:45 a.m.

Time passed quickly. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when he heard strange noises coming from the wooden boards.

Creak—!

They were indeed very strange sounds.

Fang Jing, hiding in the secret compartment, even slowed his breathing, trying not to make any extra noise.

Sizzle, sizzle sizzle!

It was as if something was shedding the shell that bound it, writhing in an immature body, breaking out of the formed chrysalis…

“Bugs…!”

Fang Jing’s mind naturally thought of bugs because he heard the sound of something vibrating its wings.

However, he couldn’t see anything. The inside of the Defiled Temple was pitch black, and he couldn’t possibly see anything. He could only rely on his hearing to sense what was happening in this dark space.

Bugs… not just one, it seemed there were many, all vibrating their wings in the dark Defiled Temple, emitting a buzzing sound.

There seemed to be quite a few—five or six, or maybe even more…

He stayed quietly in the darkness, holding his breath as much as possible, fully focused on detecting the movements above the floor.

Amid the atmosphere filled with silence and tension, he didn’t know how much time had passed until, finally, the sounds above gradually faded away.

For a moment, a silence so profound it could dissipate consciousness pressed down.

He knew the time was about right. Pushing the floorboard above with his hand, he stuck his head out. He vaguely discerned the darkness; indeed, in such dim conditions, he couldn’t see anything.

There was no other way. He could only take out his Phone and use the screen’s light to distinguish the surroundings.

“…Gone?”

The Defiled Temple had no other movements; it was silent. But Fang Jing couldn’t relax at all.

He approached the center of the Defiled Temple and soon noticed the pile of strange Wooden Buddha Statues stacked in the middle.

(Uncle Yuasa really wasn’t lying; the Wooden Buddha Statues have indeed undergone strange changes…)

Fang Jing remembered very clearly that when he came here before, the wooden statues were all incomplete, as if they weren’t fully carved and were in an unfinished state.

But after the third quarter of the Hour of the Ox, Fang Jing found that the situation was different from before. Those Wooden Buddha Statues had clearly changed.

However, not all the Wooden Buddha Statues had changed. Only a few had undergone rapid transformation, changing from semi-finished products to complete states.

Fang Jing did not hesitate to take one of the complete Wooden Buddha Statues. The Wooden Buddha Statue contained a strange Yin Energy. He kept three Wooden Buddha Statues that had complete Yin Energy. As for the other several Wooden Buddha Statues, he absorbed them all at once.

There were seven completed Wooden Buddha Statues in total. The Yin Energy absorbed from each Wooden Buddha Statue provided about 5 units of Growth Value, totaling 35 points of Growth Value.

The reason he specifically kept one Wooden Buddha Statue was that Fang Jing realized the main reason the Apartment’s Curse might be erupting was probably because the Yin Energy in the Wooden Buddha Statues disappeared or was absorbed by him, leading to gradual loss of control.

“Uncle Yuasa said it’s fine to take one or two Wooden Buddha Statues at a time; taking more isn’t good. To be safe, I’ll take three at once!”

This wasn’t because he was too greedy, but Fang Jing guessed that these things might have a time limit. Otherwise, Uncle Yuasa wouldn’t have come to such a place multiple times.

The three Wooden Buddha Statues weren’t very big and could be stuffed into his bag without much effort.

After putting the items away, Fang Jing slipped back into the secret compartment. It was only the Hour of the Ox; there was still a long time until dawn.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be long before those things in the chrysalises returned. If he were accidentally discovered midway, his situation would be very bad.

He endured like this until his Phone showed it was 5 or 6 a.m. Only then was he sure it was safe, and he boldly climbed out of the secret compartment.

“Alright, it seems this night has finally been safely passed.”

Fang Jing packed his luggage and planned to officially leave Sagirimiyama. But just as he was about to leave the cave and take his first step, his sixth sense sent a strong warning.

He thought of something and turned his head. He remembered clearly that at the top of this cave, there was a long, narrow rock fissure. If it were morning, dim light should be shining through.

“No, there isn’t. No light is coming in. Even the rock fissure is gone.”

Fang Jing narrowed his eyes slightly. He reached out toward the cave entrance. The bright sunlight outside the cave instantly disappeared without a trace. Ink-like darkness swallowed everything outside the cave.

“Indeed, I was deceived!”

He gasped. The scene before him twisted. When he came to his senses again, he found himself sitting on the floor of the Defiled Temple.

The secret compartment under the floor was open, and his luggage was inside.

Yes, Fang Jing had walked out on his own.