Chapter 294 - 294 One hundred and fifty-one

Words : 1375 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

294: One hundred and fifty-one. Shadow and Shadow 294: One hundred and fifty-one. Shadow and Shadow As the dawn was breaking, Lu Li found those fin prints on the dark and lightless beach. They extended from the sea, scattered haphazardly between the shoreline and around the trees, among them were strikingly noticeable human footprints—those that Lu Li had left behind. The closest fin prints were only about thirty-odd meters away from the windbreak. Lingering here, they left a chaotic trail of footprints, as if searching for something. The sand walls and lounge chairs helped Lu Li conceal the windbreak. Or had the Deep Diver discovered it, but refrained from approaching for some reason? The black robe of Friday didn’t just cover her body; it also veiled her mystery. Confident that the Deep Diver who had left the fin prints had already departed from the island, Lu Li retrieved the container filled with water from the water collection point and returned to the windbreak. As he was about to duck into the windbreak, Lu Li paused mid-motion, his peripheral vision catching something. Standing straight, Lu Li moved back from the sand wall and distanced himself from the cliff, looking up toward the wall. About five meters up the rugged cliff face, a pitch-black human-shaped shadow clung motionless to the stone. Before dusk fell the previous day, there had been nothing on the cliff face. The human-shaped shadow was attached to the cliff, resembling a black mural. Its head faced downwards, its hands grasping the stones, maintaining a climbing-downward posture, aiming directly toward the windbreak where Lu Li was resting. “It’s moving slower than I thought,” a voice came from ahead. Friday emerged from the windbreak and stood beside Lu Li, both looking up at the shadow. Lu Li’s dark eyes narrowed, quietly observing the chilling, weird shadow. Just as Friday had said, it was moving. But the movement was extremely slow, almost as slow as the movement of the sun behind the clouds. Half a minute passed, and it had only moved downward by a mere centimeter. “Is this the thing from the cabin?” Lu Li asked as he looked at it. “Mmm-hmm.” Friday shook the oil lamp in her hand, “I’m going back now, will come again at night.” She left the beach, her figure disappearing around the corner of the cliff. Lu Li withdrew his gaze, continuing to watch the pitch-black shadow on the cliff. If it continued downwards, Lu Li would have to contemplate abandoning the windbreak. But as Friday left, the situation changed. The black shadow on the cliff started to slowly turn around, this rotation as sluggish as its movement. By the time Lu Li had placed the container next to the fire, eaten the two fish for breakfast along with the water chilled from last night, and gone to the water collection point, the shadow had only turned to the eight o’clock position. Friday had drawn it away. Or rather, it was following Friday. As for what would happen as it neared Friday, Lu Li could guess. This was why Friday was moving back and forth between the cabin and the windbreak. The breakfast wasn’t satisfying, there were three more cans left, but Lu Li had no intention of eating them—they tasted even worse than Anna’s cooking. Putting on his shoes, Lu Li walked along the coastline to a waterhole on the east coast. As the tide receded during the night, it left behind two small fish swimming in the waterhole—one of which was the one Lu Li didn’t manage to catch yesterday. Throughout the night, the waterhole yielded only one fish. Without bait, this fish was fortuitously left behind in the waterhole. To make the waterhole a food source, Lu Li needed to find bait that could attract a school of fish. There was such a thing on this island. A few minutes later, Lu Li stopped in the woods. Not far from him, a hairy corpse lay beside the waterhole. The monkey’s body was naturally decaying, without insects speeding up the decomposition. As a precaution, Lu Li briefly touched the Spirit-Calling Gun. There was no apparent malice around, nor on the monkey’s corpse. Lu Li, holding a stone flake, approached the corpse, cut off a piece of skin with hair attached, and carried it back to the waterhole on the coast. He first scooped out two small fish, killed them with a slap, and then chopped up the decayed meat to throw into the water, waiting for the results after the tide receded at dusk. On his way back, Lu Li plucked a few sea snails from the rocks, carrying them back to the sheltered spot, where the human-shaped shadow in the rock wall had already turned its body significantly, and it wouldn’t be long before it crawled back to the cabin. Upon entering the shelter, Lu Li threw the small fish onto a rock to roast and then smashed open the sea snail to extract the sticky snail meat, pinching off the tail part, and piled it on another rock. Hiss— The moisture hissed as it dried out, and the scent of roasting wafted through the air. After the fish were cooked, they were ready to eat. Lu Li waited a long time for the snails, almost until they were burnt, before picking them up to eat. After drinking a few sips of warm water to soothe his body and mind, Lu Li prepared to rest. A lounge chair blocked the cave entrance, and before sleeping, Lu Li placed a second Spirit-Calling Gun behind the lounge chair to prevent something from sneaking in while he slept. He then curled up in the deepest part of the shelter and fell into a deep sleep. ... Drip-drop—drip-drop—drip-drop— Accumulated water droplets fell into the washbasin, creating hollow, splashing sounds. The sound of water droplets became the only noise in the dim room. A corpse leaned against the wall, its eyes open in death, silently telling a story. Drip-drop—drip-drop—drip-drop— At one moment, the door was abruptly forced open, and a figure rushed in, shattering the prevailing stillness. Clutching a roll of parchment, the figure looked toward the corner with the corpse and whispered while glancing around, “Why are there two presences?” Walking circles in the room that resembled a crime scene, he muttered to himself, “One presence has dissipated, one has left... over there!” The figure then dashed out of the room, the door slowly closing behind him. Drip-drop—drip-drop—drip-drop— The overshadowed sound of dripping water reclaimed the room, with the undiscovered corpse lying in the corner. Following the traces of the presences, the figure arrived at an alley where he sensed one presence that had faded into the air and another that had long since left. This discovery made the figure frown and murmur, “Is that ghost exterminating other ghosts...?” Harboring some confusion, the figure tracked the presences, reaching the third location where the presence had briefly lingered, an attic of an abandoned house. Cautiously climbing the ladder to the attic, he lifted his head above the attic floor and looked around. The walls of the dim attic were covered with scribbles, which the figure ignored as he gripped the rolled parchment, feeling the presences. “Just like last time, one ghost’s presence has faded, and the other is moving further away...” He was late again, but he felt he was close to catching up with the presence. The figure slid down the ladder and continued following the trail of the presence. In front of a garbage dump where waste water flowed and rubbish piled up like a mountain, the figure paused briefly and pinched his nose before walking in. He sensed the presence lingering ahead and hadn’t moved. Silently hiding behind an oil drum, the figure peeked out. A shiver instantly ran up his spine. He saw a ghostly figure in a white dress standing in the open space, with a ghostly presence dissipating beside her. The dark shadow beneath the white-dressed ghost was nearly solid, imbued with a disquieting, gloomy aura. This ghost was about to transform into a vengeful spirit! Just then, a low murmuring voice echoed around. “Lu Li...”

Chapter 294 - 294 One hundred and fifty-one

Comments (0)