PCA Chapter 155

Knock, knock, knock…

 

The knocking came from the courtyard gate, one after another, getting faster and faster. If one listened carefully, it sounded like egg-sized hailstones hitting a wooden board, urgent and forceful, as if some emergency had occurred.

 

Su Cen and Qu Ling’er exchanged glances. Su Cen folded the paper and said to Qu Ling’er: “Go open the door.”

 

Qu Ling’er went to open the door while Su Cen tucked the drawing into his robe. By the time he had merely trimmed the lamp wick, Qu Ling’er returned, looking perplexed: “Brother Su, there’s no one there.”

 

“No one?” Su Cen frowned slightly. “Then who was knocking just now?”

 

Qu Ling’er shook his head, “Maybe they knocked on the wrong door.”

 

Su Cen looked at the pitch-black night outside, went to close the door, and said as he turned back: “This village isn’t peaceful. We should also go to sleep early.”

 

Qu Ling’er nodded, clutching his small quilt to his chest.

 

Su Cen walked to the table and was about to extinguish the lamp when the candle flame suddenly flickered with a “pop,” shadows moving in the room, accompanied by unhurried knocking sounds from outside the door.

 

The two listened for a moment, and Qu Ling’er impatiently threw off his covers: “Who’s playing tricks on me?!”

 

He was about to storm off to open the door when Su Cen stopped him, whispering something in his ear that made Qu Ling’er suddenly understand.

 

Learning from his previous experience, Qu Ling’er moved silently toward the courtyard gate. His lightness skill was already good, and walking on tiptoe like this made absolutely no sound. As he approached the gate, the knocking continued—at such close range, not even an immortal could escape.

 

Su Cen also came out of the room and leaned against the doorway, waiting quietly to see who had such leisure to knock in the middle of the night.

 

Qu Ling’er gently placed his hand on the door bolt, listening to the knocking from outside, then looked back and exchanged a glance with Su Cen before suddenly opening the gate with lightning speed!

 

In that moment of held breath, even the wind in the courtyard seemed to have stopped. After several long moments, Su Cen frowned and stepped forward, “What’s wrong?”

 

Qu Ling’er turned back dazedly, his eyes showing the aftermath of extreme fright: “Bro…Brother Su, there’s no one…”

 

Su Cen was also startled: “How is that possible?!”

 

The knocking had still been going on when Qu Ling’er opened the door. Unless the person outside could burrow into the ground, how could they disappear right under Qu Ling’er’s nose!

 

“Really…really no one…” Qu Ling’er looked like he was about to cry. “Brother Su, could it be a ghost?”

 

“Where would ghosts come from in this world?” Su Cen stepped forward to bolt the door and patted Qu Ling’er’s shoulder reassuringly. Turning back, he faced the solitary moon hanging coldly high above the low-hanging thatched roof.

 

“Ling’er, help me with something.”

 

Qu Ling’er lay on the rooftop, his line of sight directly facing the courtyard gate. With the moonlight’s advantage, he could see everything both inside and outside the courtyard clearly. He was determined to catch whoever was playing tricks.

 

Su Cen stood in the courtyard, his gaze fixed on the gate. At Qu Ling’er’s signal, the two would coordinate from inside and outside, ensuring they couldn’t fail.

 

The moonlight was clear, and every movement here seemed to have gone to sleep with the village. Besides the lonely shadows for company, there wasn’t even the sound of insects or birds in the empty courtyard.

 

Such loud knocking—even if Grandmother Lu was deaf and couldn’t hear it, Lu Xiaojiu should have heard something. Was he truly so intimidated by the big mansion that he didn’t even have the courage to come out and look?

 

After waiting for a long time, Qu Ling’er had almost fallen asleep on the roof when suddenly a knock came as expected!

 

Qu Ling’er jerked awake, raising himself to look forward.

 

Then, like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, Qu Ling’er stood frozen, unable to speak.

 

“Ling’er!” Su Cen shouted, finally managing to pull Qu Ling’er’s attention back. “What did you see?”

 

Qu Ling’er was genuinely about to cry. Outside the door, there wasn’t a person—not even a ghost’s shadow—yet the knocking continued: bang, bang, bang… echoing throughout the empty courtyard.

 

Qu Ling’er tumbled down from the roof, clutching Su Cen’s sleeve tightly: “Bro-Brother Su, what do we do?”

 

Su Cen stared at the courtyard gate as the knocking grew faster. Even Su Cen began to feel uneasy. It sounded like dozens or hundreds of hands pounding on the gate, yet Qu Ling’er had clearly told him there was no one outside…

 

Su Cen steadied himself, quickly stepped forward, and pulled the door open—sure enough, the area outside was completely empty, as silent as before.

 

Could it really be ghosts knocking?

 

Before Su Cen could gather his thoughts, a sudden scream came from behind him. Su Cen hurriedly turned around to see Qu Ling’er pointing with trembling fingers at something behind him, his pupils dilated with extreme terror.

 

Su Cen turned his head slightly and saw that on the courtyard gate beside him, a character for “death” had been written in fresh blood. The blood was still wet, dripping down…

 

Su Cen was stunned for several moments before regaining his senses. As if possessed, he raised his hand and touched it.

 

His fingertips felt sticky and slightly fishy—it was indeed blood.

 

“Brother Su, let’s go inside.” Qu Ling’er didn’t dare approach, but could only stand in the courtyard looking on. Seeing Su Cen staring at the bloody character in a trance, he feared his Brother Su’s soul might be taken away.

 

Yet Su Cen moved forward rather than backward, as if wanting to throw himself against the door.

 

After a while, Su Cen suddenly smiled.

 

Qu Ling’er’s heart sank, thinking: “It’s over, Brother Su is possessed. If it comes to a fight, should I go easy on him or not?”

 

Su Cen beckoned to Qu Ling’er: “Come here.”

 

Qu Ling’er thought to himself: “I won’t fall for that.” He prepared to slip away: “Brother Su, I’m suddenly very tired. I want to go back to sleep.”

 

Su Cen impatiently called again: “Come here.”

 

Qu Ling’er’s heart pounded. He feared the ghost was calling him over to disembowel him, yet also feared that if he provoked the vengeful spirit, it might suddenly pounce on him. Caught in a dilemma, he couldn’t decide whether to go or not.

 

Su Cen could tell that Qu Ling’er had scared himself again, so he rolled his eyes and said: “If you don’t come over, I’ll tell Qi Lin about your secret contact with Han Shu.”

 

Without another word, Qu Ling’er obediently came over.

 

Su Cen closed the courtyard gate from the outside, led Qu Ling’er to hide behind a big tree, and said softly: “I’ve figured out what’s going on.”

 

Qu Ling’er’s mind was completely off the door now: “How did you know I was in private contact with Han Shu?”

 

Su Cen smiled lightly, “I’m a ghost, I know everything.”

 

Qu Ling’er rolled his eyes: “If all ghosts were like you, I wouldn’t be afraid of ghosts anymore.”

 

Just as he finished speaking, there was suddenly a “thud” at the gate.

 

Both immediately held their breath and looked toward the gate. As expected, there was nothing there.

 

“Did you see it?” Su Cen asked softly.

 

Qu Ling’er closed his eyes, not daring to look directly: “Wh-what?”

 

“Did you see what was knocking on the door?”

 

Qu Ling’er squinted slightly, then immediately covered his eyes with his hands: “There’s nothing there, nothing at all!”

 

Su Cen forcefully pulled Qu Ling’er’s hands down, “Look again.”

 

Under Su Cen’s pressure, Qu Ling’er had to open his eyes again. This time, he was also startled: “What are those black shadows?”

 

“It’s these shadows,” Su Cen smiled slightly, leading Qu Ling’er out from behind the tree. The black shadows at the door immediately scattered and vanished into the night.

 

Qu Ling’er, quick with his hands, pulled out a willow leaf dagger and threw it, bringing back a tuft of black shadow that fell to the ground with a clatter.

 

The two approached to look, and Qu Ling’er was surprised: “Is this… a bat?”

 

Su Cen bent down to pick up the dagger, “This is the culprit behind tonight’s knocking.”

 

Qu Ling’er was confused: “But why would it knock on the door?”

 

Su Cen smiled lightly, pointing to the bloody character on the door: “Because of this.”

 

“Someone wrote this character using eel blood. Eel blood is fishy, and bats are attracted to the smell at night, repeatedly bumping into the door. When we open the door, the bats scatter, and we naturally can’t catch anyone. This way, we’d spend the whole night without finding the cause, scaring ourselves terribly.”

 

Qu Ling’er’s fear immediately turned to anger, “Who did this? Who could come up with such an insidious trick? If this young master catches them, they’ll be beaten so badly their own mother won’t recognize them!”

 

Su Cen shook his head, “I’ve checked. There are no blood characters on any other doors, only on ours. Someone deliberately wants to frighten us.”

 

In the pitch-black alley, the night fog hung heavily. Even if someone had been watching them earlier, they would have long since fled, leaving no trace.

 

In the middle of the night, the two could only fetch water to wipe away the blood from the door, ensuring it wouldn’t attract more bats, before returning to sleep peacefully.

 

After all this trouble, they had just lain down. Su Cen extinguished the lamp, and Qu Ling’er stretched, preparing to have a good sleep.

 

Knock, knock, knock…

 

Both suddenly opened their eyes!

 

This time, even more terrifyingly, the knocking sound was right next to their ears, at the room door just a few steps away.

 

 

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