Chapter 41 - 41 Forty-one

Words : 1393 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

41: Forty-one. The moonlight makes the heart race 41: Forty-one. The moonlight makes the heart race “Aaaaaaahhhh!!!” The shrill scream echoed through the sewer, spreading farther and farther. Everyone trembled with fear at the scream, turning their heads toward Su Shan, who was tightly hugging Daisy and hopping with her eyes closed. “There are rats, aaaaahhhh!!!” “It’s just a rat, don’t be scared... It’s normal to have rats in such places,” Daisy said, rubbing Su Shan’s head with a helpless expression. Daisy lifted the oil lamp, which still had plenty of kerosene, enough to last until their exploration was over. “When are we going back?” She asked, worried that returning too late would cause their parents to worry. “I wish we could go back after seeing a ghost,” Reese, who was at the very front of the group, turned around to look at everyone and sighed, “But it seems unlikely now. Let’s walk a bit further, and then we’ll head back.” He wouldn’t come here again next time. And he wouldn’t bring any dead weight. Who knows why Daisy suddenly thought of bringing Su Shan and Victoria along, looking at the girl named Su Shan—she was even wearing an expensive dress... What did she think this was, a noble’s ball? Just like Su Shan was dissatisfied with the boys, the boys were equally unhappy with them. Daisy sensed something and was about to say something to ease the tension when she suddenly paused. She tilted her head slightly, looking down the tunnel with a puzzled glance. The moisture on the walls grew more severe, and in the darkness beyond the reach of the light, a faint humming sound carried over by the moist breeze could be seen. “Shh...” She raised her hand to cut off everyone else’s chatter, listening intently. “Did you hear that?” Daisy asked the others for confirmation. The humming was faint, but it was indeed there. The rest of the group found Daisy’s serious manner amusing and also tried to listen in silence. As time passed, their smiles slowly faded. “Is someone up ahead humming a song...?” ... Splash—— A pair of black rain boots stood in the river water, and the sound of stepping in the water ceased. The water flowed around the boots, trickling past. Lu Li stared into the darkness in the distance. Just now, a subtle scream had come from the depths. Murmurs barely audible seemed to fill the sewer. “Did that group run into trouble?” ... “Why not go and find out?” Reese said eagerly. The surge of emotion dispelled the lingering fear; the continual adventures to haunted places were for this very moment. “Don’t get too hopeful; we just walked... about a hundred meters. We’re still under the Coast Street. It might be that a pub above us is too noisy and the sound is traveling down here,” Reese’s friend said, dousing his enthusiasm with a dose of reality. With a mix of excitement, indifference, and fear, the group of young people, each with their own thoughts, decided to press on and discover the truth. As they ventured deeper, the humming carried on the wind facing them became clearer. It lacked accompaniment, nor was it pleasing to the ear; just casual humming with an echo. “It’s so late, it couldn’t be a worker, could it...” Daisy whispered quietly. The five of them stayed close to the left-hand side of the sewer, with Su Shan clinging tightly to her arm, and the even more timid Victoria holding onto Su Shan’s arm. No one responded; all their attention was focused on the humming. The echoing hum was now audible without straining to listen, seemingly just ahead in a place the light couldn’t reach. But at that moment, the humming abruptly stopped. Silence enveloped the surroundings. Suddenly deprived of the source of the sound, everyone looked around aimlessly, their hearts sprouting seeds of fear that spread throughout. “It’s found us!” “Shh...” “Quiet!” Chaotic noises filled the air, and Reese, who had always been silent, suddenly turned around, lifting his torch to illuminate the space behind the group. Usually, at this time, a ghost would suddenly appear behind— Reese’s eyes widened abruptly, and the torch slipped from his grasp, crashing to the ground. Plunged into sudden darkness, he mustered all his strength to squeeze out a voice from his throat. “Run! Run!!!” Not knowing why, everyone instinctively fled, screams and shrieks piercing the air, light flickering chaotically in the turmoil. Reese ran desperately, his ears filled with the sound of the wind and pounding footsteps. Perhaps someone had fallen behind, but he didn’t dare to look back, not even for a moment. Scenes from his life flashed before his eyes like a carousel, and he had imagined countless times what it would be like to encounter a ghost. Yet, all these thoughts were shattered by the chilling reality. “I can’t run anymore!” After running hundreds of meters in one breath, someone yelled out. Reese felt the tension in his chest release, and he stumbled to a halt. Looking back, all four were there, even Su Shan in her little dress. No one had fallen behind. The sound of ragged breathing echoed in the empty sewer, and the cool air did nothing to alleviate the sensation of their lungs about to burst. Daisy took out the oil lamp she had been holding close and swallowed hard, gasping as she asked, “What did you see!?” “I... cough cough... I saw a face,” Reese replied, leaning against the cold wall, the chill seeping into his back as cold sweat emerged on his forehead like rain. “That face emerged from the water... It had no body, just a face, that face... that face...” Reese couldn’t continue, the mere memory of that hateful face sent shivers down his spine. “Was it like this?” But at that moment, a bizarre voice that didn’t belong to anyone present cut through the conversation. Everyone froze, a chill rising from the depths of their hearts. “Run!!!” Daisy shouted. ... Thwack! A rain boot stepped on the pale face in the water. The face shattered instantly, its ripples dispersed by the flowing water. “Is there a ghost here?” Lu Li lifted his head, frowning as he muttered to himself. The extinguished torch lay in the damp corridor, and Lu Li seemed to see the image of several young people panicked by the ghostly face, dropping the torch and fleeing into the depths of the underground passage. Lu Li opened the flap of his gun holster and dimmed the oil lamp’s light. ... A new bout of frantic running began. But the group was already exhausted. “Don’t stop! It’s still behind us!” Reese gritted his teeth and yelled. “We, we can’t go any further...” A hand rested on Reese’s shoulder, the owner panting and glasses fogged up: “Something’s... something’s not right... the ghost is... is luring us forward...” “We’ll be caught if we stop!” The panting man coughed painfully and shook his head with difficulty: “It... It is deliberately chasing us, it might want to exhaust us completely, or maybe it’s leading us to its lair...” “What do we do then!” Daisy asked urgently. She managed to keep quiet, while Su Shan and Victoria were already embracing each other, crying inconsolably. “Run back!” the man took off his glasses, a fierce expression crossing his face. “We’re five people, it can’t catch us all. As long as someone gets out for help, we all have a chance!” Everyone turned around towards the way they came. Daisy lifted the oil lamp, and at the edge of the light a few meters away, the contours of a semi-transparent, eerie ghost loomed. Everyone’s scalp tingled, not daring to face the ghostly shadow directly, and no one dared to take the first step. The man’s determination grew, and as his body swayed, about to break into a run, he suddenly saw something and his eyes widened. Behind the ghost, a slender dark silhouette emerged silently. That figure was nearly a head taller than the ghost. A flintlock pistol silently pressed against the back of the ghost’s head. A whispering voice arose. “Who are you?”

Chapter 41 - 41 Forty-one

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