CH 42

Chapter 42 – Esophagus 14

When Xu RenDong got to the end of the cave, his vision suddenly opened up. The huge dining table was full of food and the beautiful Greek girl nodded silently at the end of the dining table, her long flaxen hair draped softly on her shoulders.

The food on the table was dazzling and colorful. The girl at the table had a serene and sweet face. This could have been an exotic still life portrait but the girl’s empty eyes and palms, each holding an eyeball, added cold and cruel metaphors to this painting. It made people feel very uncomfortable when they looked at it. A silver-white elevator stood behind the girl, looking even more abrupt.

Xu RenDong retold Lian Qiao’s battle plan from last time back to him. After Lian Qiao listened, a strange look flashed through his eyes.

“It’s a coincidence, the plan in my heart is like this.”

When Xu RenDong heard him say that, he felt like he had stolen the results of Lian Qiao’s efforts. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. But he could only say: “Right now it shouldn’t be too late so let’s do it.”

This time, Lian Qiao stole the eyeballs smoothly. The sleeping Greek girl didn’t notice and still sat with her head down. It was Lian Qiao who frowned after the theft, looking down at the two eyeballs in his hand with disgust.

Xu RenDong recalled the sensation of his wet and slimy eyeballs squirming in his palms and cast a sympathetic look at Lian Qiao. When he saw Lian Qiao had succeeded, he turned and walked in the direction he came from. Lian Qiao ran to catch up, leaned to his ear and whispered: “Wait, I have an idea.”

Xu RenDong looked at him, puzzled. Lian Qiao put the two eyeballs in his pockets then took out half of the chalk. He walked to the edge of the stone wall closest to him. However, he only pressed the chalk head against the stone wall and did not draw anything.

Lian Qiao looked back at Xu RenDong, asking for advice in his eyes. Xu RenDong immediately understood what he meant: If they painted a new door here, and not where they came from, where would this door lead?

You can’t guess. You won’t know unless you try it.

Xu RenDong nodded in agreement and Lian Qiao started painting the door. Soon, a small door less than half a meter appeared on the stone wall. The two looked at each other, took a deep breath and pushed the door open together.

What appeared in front of him was a bedroom he had never seen before. The tables and chairs were all furnished in the same style as the monastery. It was gray and dirty and there was an uncomfortable gloom everywhere.

In the next second, they saw the old nun sitting on the bed gnawing corn.

Lian Qiao & Xu RenDong: “???”

Old nun: “?????”

Unexpectedly, he opened a door in the cave and ended up in the old nun’s bedroom!

But why was she gnawing corn? Does this monastery still hide corn cobs? Then why didn’t we find any… Wait, did NPCs also want to eat?

The old nun was in shock at having been discovered stealing food. Her eyes widened like a fish, her mouth was half open and there was still half of her chewed corn in her mouth. Xu RenDong and Lian Qiao were also in great shock.

In this way, both parties were silent for a few seconds. Then Lian Qiao reacted first.

“Excuse me, goodbye!” Lian Qiao suddenly dragged Xu RenDong backwards.

These words were like a basin of cold water and the old nun woke up in an instant. The expression on her face immediately became fierce and she jumped out of the bed and rushed towards the two of them.

Xu RenDong had already retreated into the cave. Lian Qiao was about to reach out to close the stone gate. There was a sudden pain on the back of his hand and he was gripped by the old nun’s bone-like fingers!

At the same time, the old nun shouted angrily: “Little bastard, where did you come from!”

She roared and her voice was sharp and harsh, echoing in the deep cave, stabbing at people’s ears. Xu RenDong and Lian Qiao were shocked and, at the same time, they looked at the Greek girl behind the dining table. Sure enough, under the stimulus of this huge sound, the girl’s originally drooping head suddenly lifted and her sunken eye sockets were aimed at where the sound came from!

Lamia had awakened!

Xu RenDong and Lian Qiao suddenly fell into a dilemma where they were stuck with wolves in front and tigers in the back. The two hesitated for only a second and then Lian Qiao used the strength of the old nun’s grasp to pull Xu RenDong back over: “Come back!”

Xu RenDong suddenly jumped back into the bedroom. Seeing this, the old nun grabbed him with her withered hands like eagle claws. Xu RenDong relied on his small body, bent over and hid, using both hands and feet to sneak between the old nun’s legs.

At this time, Lian Qiao’s hand was still held tightly by the old nun. The old nun was furious and with a violent force, she pulled Lian Qiao out of the cave and slammed him against the wall. Lian Qiao let out a muffled snort and slid from the wall to the ground but, ignoring the pain, he got up and shouted: “Close the door, close the door! Close the door!”

“Okay!” Xu RenDong had already rushed back to the door at this time and slammed the door closed with one push. Seeing that the stone door was about to close, a pale hand suddenly stretched out from the cave! The hand grabbed the stone door and slowly pushed the door open again.

Lamia had caught up!

Xu RenDong was shocked and slammed the rock door with all his strength, trying to push Lamia backwards. Lamia’s pale palm was stuck in the crack of the door and was pinched several times by the stone door. The palm was pinched flat but, as if she could not feel anything, she clung to the door frame firmly.

The old nun was also shocked when she saw this: “You, you…” She screamed. At the same time, Lamia had already pushed open the stone door and poked her head from behind the door. At this moment, she was no longer the beautiful girl. Blood began to shed from her empty eye sockets and the skin on her face was like a weathered rock, which was lifted and dropped piece by piece. The delicate facial features quickly distorted and turned into a terrifying monster in a flash.

A vicious look suddenly flashed in the old nun’s eyes. Her withered claws stretched out towards Xu RenDong and grabbed him by the collar. Xu RenDong struggled in mid-air, and his two short and chubby legs flopped desperately, but they couldn’t kick the old nun.

The old nun snorted and threw Xu RenDong towards Lamia!

“Xu RenDong!” Lian Qiao screamed heartbreakingly, rushing towards the rock door with his hands and feet. However, it was too late. Lamia had grabbed Xu RenDong and pulled him towards her chest!

Lian Qiao tried his best and finally caught Xu RenDong’s wrist. He supported the edge of the stone door with his feet and firmly grasped Xu RenDong in his hands. Lamia held on to Xu RenDong with so much strength that Lian Qiao desperately resisted the door frame to prevent Xu RenDong from being completely dragged in. Fortunately, the door frame was opened small. He spread his legs against the door frame, using his knees as the fulcrum, relying on the strength of his joints and ligaments, forcibly competing with Lamia.

Xu RenDong was held tightly in his arms by Lamia and those two pale arms wrapped around his chest like a python, making him breathless. Lian Qiao put his knees against the rock door and the joints of his legs were twisted into terrible angles. Xu RenDong could hear his bones cry from such a distance and it seemed that if they were pulled just one inch further they would crack and break.

Xu RenDong tried to squeeze out a few words from his throat, “Lian Qiao… let go…”

“I won’t!” Lian Qiao’s fingers turned pale because of too much force. Instead of letting go, he turned towards him. Xu RenDong stretched out his other hand, “Catch my hand! Hurry up!”

Xu RenDong’s vision was blocked by Lamia. He vaguely saw a tall shadow behind Lian Qiao approaching and he was anxious: “Lian Qiao… Behind…behind…behind…”

Lian Qiao couldn’t take care of that right now. He just desperately grabbed at Xu RenDong’s hand. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his back and his whole body trembled: “Uhhh!”

Lian Qiao turned his head and saw that the old nun had quietly walked up behind him. At this time, the old nun raised her leg again and kicked him hard in the back! The pointed leather shoes kicked him on the soft underbelly of his waist, kicking him to the side!

…Woo…” Lian Qiao curled up in pain, followed by a lightness in his hands–Xu RenDong had been dragged into the cave by Lamia!

“Xu RenDong!” Lian Qiao screamed and stretched out his hand towards the dark cave but couldn’t catch anything anymore. Hearing a loud crash, Xu RenDong groaned as if he had been thrown to the ground.

At the same time, Lian Qiao felt the danger approaching in the dark. His nervous reflexes were faster than thinking. He stepped back abruptly but saw Lamia’s pale and withered claws rushing out of the cave again! Fortunately, the stone gate painted by Lian Qiao was small and Lamia’s body got stuck. She couldn’t get out. He saw her two pale arms stretch out from the cave, twisting frantically like a python.

The old nun screamed in surprise. She backed up and her body hit the table and chair. She quickly turned around to push the table and chair, trying to block the stone door.

The cave was pitch black and Xu RenDong’s life or death was uncertain. Lian Qiao’s eyes were red. He gave the old nun a fierce look and suddenly took out the chalk.

“What do you want?!” The old nun exclaimed, trying to stop him. Lian Qiao dodged like a cat and the chalk in his hand had already drawn an arc on the wall!

The arc just connected to the edge of the stone gate. The white chalk line quickly corroded the bedroom wall like sulfuric acid. The Lamia in the cave broke with force and the stone gate crumbled like a biscuit piece!

The opening connecting the cave and the bedroom had doubled in an instant!

The old nun screamed in horror and desperately pushed the table and chairs toward the hole. But it was too late, Lamia had crawled out of the cave. Her eyeballs were stolen so she couldn’t see anything. The bloody and empty big eye sockets looked blankly and quickly locked onto the panicked old nun. She then rushed towards her. The old nun tried to block her with a table but Lamia easily overturned her.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh-” Lamia bit the old nun in the neck. {T/N: Like I know that Lamia has no teeth according to the previous chapter so I’m not sure what’s happening here, maybe she’s just  using her gums to tear the head directly probably.}

Lian Qiao ignored the screaming scream behind him. He turned his head and jumped back into the dark cave. With the light in the bedroom, he finally saw that Xu RenDong was curled up in the corner of the cave. A sharp stone pierced deep in his calf and blood was dripping. The injury felt painful just by looking at it but Xu RenDong didn’t make a sound from beginning to end. He just gritted his teeth and endured it silently.

Lian Qiao only like needles were stabbing his heart. He pulled up Xu RenDong and whispered: “Let’s go!”

Xu RenDong was startled, staring at Lian Qiao blankly. His heart was suddenly sour. His whole body was painful to death but he didn’t dare to scream when he bit his lip, because he was afraid that Lian Qiao would come to rescue him when he heard him call for help.

But even so, Lian Qiao had jumped down without hesitation to come save him.

The situation was urgent and there wasn’t any time to think about it. Xu RenDong endured the severe pain in his calf, limped and ran towards him. The hole connecting the bedroom was like a drop of water on the arid ground, quickly shrinking and disappearing. The screams of the old nun and Lamia’s chewing also gradually disappeared.

The cave fell into darkness immediately.

They didn’t know where the kerosene lamp had fallen. The cave was pitch black and they couldn’t see anything. Xu RenDong was almost carried by Lian Qiao and couldn’t tell the direction at all. His toes kicked the stones on the ground from time to time and he almost fell off several times, but he was grasped tightly by Lian Qiao.

How could Lian Qiao have such great strength? Obviously, he had become a child just like him so how could so much strength burst out of a small body?

The child who was not much older than himself was gasping and a violent heartbeat thumped between the two clinging bodies. For some reason, Xu RenDong couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Lian Qiao stopped suddenly as if he had noticed something. He listened for a while and whispered: “Fuck, are you laughing? You scared me to death.” 

In the darkness, Xu RenDong couldn’t see the face of Lian Qiao which must have been close by. Since Lian Qiao couldn’t see him, he smiled boldly and even asked a little happily: “Where are we going? Do you still know the way?”

“I don’t know, I’m going just by feeling.” Lian Qiao yanked him to his side and set off again. “Don’t be afraid Brother Xu RenDong. I have a good sense of direction. Do you know “Escape”? And “Resident Evil 7″ or anything like that? Those kinds of horror games don’t have any maps! And the vision is very dark and you’re often chased by monsters. But I never got lost. As long as I walk the road again, I…”

Next second, there was a boom!

Lian Qiao was shocked and fell silent instantly.

Xu RenDong said nervously: “What’s the matter?” His muscles tightened, and he was alert to the surroundings, “Is Lamia is catching up?”

Lian Qiao was silent for a moment: “…No, I hit the wall. My nose hurts a bit. Let me slow down for a bit.

Xu RenDong: “…”

Two seconds later, Xu RenDong burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the cave, creating a reverberation effect which sounded very magical.

Lian Qiao helpless: “Big brother, can you be serious, we haven’t escaped yet.”

Xu RenDong: “I know, but…hahahahahahahaha…”

Xu RenDong laughed until his stomach was sour and almost couldn’t stand up straight. Lian Qiao could only stop to wait for him. Xu RenDong didn’t know why he couldn’t control himself, he hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. Even tears came out and his throat became hoarse.

Fortunately, it was dark here and Lian Qiao couldn’t see him.

“Hey…” Lian Qiao sighed helplessly. He continued to lead Xu RenDong forward. Xu RenDong only noticed that when they had already clasped hands.

Like two children, returning from an adventure in a treasure cave.

“It should be here.” Lian Qiao stood at the end of the road and took out the chalk from his body, “I’ll draw the door.”

Xu RenDong’s eyes were wet and he looked at him with a smile in the dark: “Okay.” 

A moment later, after a slight noise, the redrawn stone gate was slowly pushed open. The familiar hallway of the living room appeared in front of them.

Xu RenDong quietly wiped away his tears.

Back in the corridor of the monastery, the two turned their heads at the same time, silently watching the gap between the stone gates shrinking little by little until it disappeared completely. The wall quickly became as intact as before as if nothing had happened. They were finally safe again.

Lian Qiao suddenly said in pain: “So, can the situation just now be summed up as, we ran to our deaths and somehow ended up killing the nun?”

Xu RenDong: “You are right.”

Lian Qiao immediately said: ” If someone else asks…”

Xu RenDong: “We will pretend that we don’t know anything.”

Lian Qiao: “Okay. 

The two of them looked at each other and laughed again.