Chapter 111

It was exactly four in the morning.

Jiang Liu and Jiang He had turned the guest room upside down but found no trace of Zhao Ziming. If not for the lingering indentations on the bed from where two people had slept, one might have been under the illusion that Zhao Ziming had never been a part of their mission at all.

Jiang He was truly panicked now, breaking out in a cold sweat, completely at a loss. He slumped onto the bed, staring blankly at Jiang Liu. “Could something have happened to him?”

In the short time it took for him to go to the kitchen for a drink of water, how could a grown man like Zhao Ziming have vanished into thin air?

Jiang Liu’s expression was grave, but she gave him no time to panic. Her gaze shifted to Jiang He, and she asked without blinking, “What was this conversation you mentioned?”

Just fifteen minutes earlier, Jiang He had woken up thirsty in the middle of the night. Groggy, he rolled out of bed, only to look up and see Zhao Ziming following a woman.

By the time he reached the kitchen, he could still hear them chatting sporadically. The voices were low, but he could clearly tell it was Zhao Ziming who was initiating the conversation.

He concentrated, trying to describe the woman’s silhouette for Jiang Liu. “She was tall, about the same height as you, and had very long hair. That’s why I thought it was you.”

As Jiang He described her, Jiang Liu’s eyes flickered. She seemed to have quickly thought of something, and a scrutinizing look entered her eyes as she watched him.

Jiang He didn’t notice this, instead continuing to rack his brain for any other details he might have missed.

“Then I ran into you, and Brother Zhao was gone,” he said, confirming it several times before speaking with certainty.

Jiang Liu lowered her gaze slightly, looking at the bed and asking a question seemingly unrelated to the incident. “Which side did you sleep on?”

The guest room had a double bed, and the pillows on both sides were disheveled, making it difficult to tell where he had slept.

Jiang He was momentarily stunned by the question, then scratched his head in confusion. “The side by the window. Why?”

He received no reply from Jiang Liu.

He watched as she strode forward and, without hesitation, pulled open the half-drawn curtains. As she did, bright moonlight flooded the room. Jiang Liu glanced outside, her gaze tracing the window frame inch by inch until it settled on a crevice.

In the gap between the two walls, there was a very faint water stain. Touching it, she could still feel the dampness, which came away with the white dust from the wall paint, clinging to her fingertips and difficult to wipe off.

“Strange, is there a leak here?”

Jiang He had clearly noticed the mark as well. He stroked his chin and looked up, but the ceiling was perfectly dry; it didn’t look like it was leaking from above.

Besides, the room directly above the first-floor guest room wasn’t a bathroom, so there shouldn’t have been a faucet.

“She must have taken him,” Jiang Liu said, wiping her fingertips on the curtain. She had already reached a conclusion.

“Who?” Jiang He asked, completely baffled.

Jiang Liu couldn’t help but press her lips together as her mind recalled the strange Paper Person she had glimpsed from the sofa during the day.

Unlike the one Xu Meng had seen, the creature in her memory didn’t have a complete human face. Its face was a mess of multicolored streaks, as if the pigments had been smudged after being soaked in water.

There had been a layer of condensation on the window frame at the time, which she had dismissed as humidity.

But there were no water stains on the kitchen cabinets.

From this, it seemed there was more than one of these girls who crawled in the walls, and they came in different forms. For instance, the one she had seen looked like a Drowned Ghost.

She told Jiang He what had happened during the day, and he instantly understood. “No wonder!” he exclaimed.

That explained why he thought Jiang Liu’s hair was dripping wet at the time. Who would take a shower in the middle of the night and not dry their hair?

But he was groggy then, and on second thought, he figured maybe she was just particular about cleanliness and there was no need for him to ask, so he let it go.

But if that was the case, a new question arose.

What state was Zhao Ziming in at the time?

Jiang Liu stroked her chin, staring blankly at the water stain in the crevice of the wall.

There was a contradiction in what Jiang He had just said. If he was sleeping on the inner side of the bed, the first thing he would have seen upon looking up before getting out of bed was the window, yet he said Zhao Ziming was walking forward, following ‘her’.

That’s why she had quickly realized the direction was wrong and accurately determined Zhao Ziming’s position.

But from the sound of it, the Zhao Ziming Jiang He described could walk, talk, and ask questions. He didn’t seem to be possessed by a ghost, but rather… like he had followed it away of his own accord.

The question was, under what circumstances would a veteran player who had been through countless instances follow a monster without any defenses?

At this moment, the only possibility Jiang Liu could think of was that Zhao Ziming had recognized who that monster was and had willingly followed it.

That’s why there was no scream, no alarm, and even Jiang He, who had woken up briefly, hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

So, who was it?

The water stain clearly didn’t belong to the monster that looked like Tang Ruo. The height was similar to her own, long hair… An image suddenly flashed in Jiang Liu’s mind.

She shot to her feet, a sense of urgency in her eyes. “What color was the woman’s hair?”

Jiang He looked troubled, scratching his head pitifully. “I didn’t see clearly.”

Seeing Jiang Liu’s serious expression, his voice trailed off. “Is it important?”

Jiang Liu knew she had been too hasty. She composed herself with a light cough and waved her hand to show it was fine. “Not really.”

This whole ordeal reminded her of the notebook she had found in the children’s room. In her haste, she had stuffed it into her pocket without looking at it. Now, pulling it out, she found the illustration on it to be inexplicably familiar.

In the bottom right corner, next to Qiao Pan’er’s childish handwriting, was a printed image of a cartoon black cat. The tips of its ears and tail were colored red, giving it a playful and cute appearance.

Jiang Liu took a deep breath, her heart gradually calming down.

This instance had started with Lin Jiao’s invitation, so that decisive and powerful woman must have hidden clues in certain places, like this notebook.

Judging by the handwriting, Qiao Pan’er was very young, no older than seven. The strokes were still a bit crooked, and every character was written with great force, showing that the little girl was trying her best to write each stroke carefully.

The very first page was a short internal monologue.

[Teacher praised me today, but Mommy wasn’t happy. She was too busy taking my older brother to the amusement park. Xiao Fang said there are big balloons at the amusement park, and a castle taller than Mommy and Daddy. I want to see it too.]

Just from these words, a pang of sadness rose in Jiang Liu’s heart, as if she could see the little girl saying she wanted to go to the amusement park too.

As Jiang He read, he suddenly let out a soft “huh?” and pointed to a line. “Sis, look. Isn’t this the same handwriting as on that high-score test paper?”

He sounded a little unsure, so he hurried to the study to find it. When they compared the handwriting, they both had a moment of realization.

[Mommy and Daddy took my older brother out again. Why do they only leave me at home? My brother didn’t even get a perfect score. Is it because I’m still not good enough?]

The diary didn’t record dates, but it completely exposed the little girl’s thoughts. Such words of being neglected filled most of the pages, making one sigh with pity upon reading them.

Jiang He was a bit annoyed, muttering under his breath, “What’s wrong with these parents? How could they show such favoritism?”

At the very end of the diary, a date was finally clearly marked: a winter day six months ago.

[I’m going to elementary school in the county town. Teacher said the county town is very, very big. I can’t even see the end of it from the top of the mountain. I really hope I can start a new life when I get there. Daddy also promised to take us to the water park in the summer. I really hope summer comes quickly.]

Jiang Liu closed the diary, unable to resist rubbing the space between her eyebrows.

Whether it was the entries in the diary or the photo albums that always showed a family of three, it was clear that Qiao Pan’er was always the neglected one at home.

By the time they finished reading, the sky had begun to lighten. Jiang Liu and Jiang He exchanged a glance, and she suddenly stood up and walked into the kitchen.

“Let’s eat first. We’ll check the house when it’s light out.”

Since both the brother and sister had lived in this old house, there must be clues from their childhood hidden somewhere. Jiang Liu had a feeling that this Qiao Pan’er was a key figure.

But there was another crucial question.

“When they came back for summer vacation this time, why didn’t they bring Qiao Pan’er with them?” Jiang He asked, his expression a bit strange as he helped slice tomatoes.

Jiang Liu, who was frying an egg, paused. She pursed her lips but didn’t answer.

Either they were so biased they didn’t want to bring her, or… she simply couldn’t come back.

Her silence seemed to make Jiang He realize something as well. The kitchen fell quiet, with only the sizzling sound of oil in the pan.

***

Zhao Ziming felt as if he were traveling through a tunnel. The long, dark crevice gave him goosebumps, and he could feel the edges of his body gradually thinning, an unsettling transformation.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking. He couldn’t even see the person leading the way in front of him. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “How much longer do we have to walk!”

As soon as he spoke, a light suddenly appeared ahead. The blinding glare nearly scorched his eyes. He quickly shut them and cursed, “Damn it, couldn’t you have given a warning?”

“We’re here,” a somewhat serious female voice said from in front of him. Zhao Ziming tried to squint, and once he felt he had adjusted to the light, he finally saw the layout of the place.

It was a small, enclosed space, only big enough for two or three people. But now that he was inside, he didn’t feel crowded; instead, he nervously took two steps back.

Including him, there were now four figures in this space. Apart from the one who had led him in, the others had all been compressed into thin sheets of paper. Their entire bodies had gone from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, and their faces could still move.

Staring at Yang Caisi, who was ‘sprawled’ on the ground in front of him, Zhao Ziming was overcome with a huge sense of absurdity. He almost forgot the fact that he too had been turned into a piece of paper, and he nearly lost control and fled.

A soft but firm pat brought him back to his senses. He turned his head to see Tang Ruo floating in mid-air, offering him a kind smile. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll get used to it.”

Zhao Ziming was speechless.

What was this, a Paper Person party???

He took two deep breaths, trying his best to suppress the urge to turn and run. A stiff smile appeared on his lips. “So why did I have to be the one to come in here?”

Anyone else, be it Jiang Liu or Xu Meng, would definitely be able to laugh if they saw them! Why did it have to be him???

Lin Jiao patted his head. The breeze from her movement made Zhao Ziming sway uncontrollably. He heard the NPC’s cold voice say, “Because if they came in, none of them would be able to get out.”