The attic plunged into a deeper darkness, and the air seemed a little colder. The lights in the coffin flickered, and their light seemed to be imprisoned within a small radius of the coffin, unable to illuminate the attic.
‘Something’s here with me… But why didn’t my eyes tell me? Why didn’t the charms work?’
He gulped as he concentrated his mind, gripped the kitchen knife with one hand and his toy gun with the other, and stared in the direction that made his eyes burn the most.
He could hear faint sobs, and the darkness seemed to be swallowing all the light from the coffin.
I can’t see, he thought. ‘But I can feel something squirming in the darkness.’
He continued staring at the darkness, and the fear made him hold his breath as he gripped the handle of the knife until the whites of his hand could be seen.
True enough, something crept beyond the darkness, and a pair of glowing eyes revealed themselves.
He was stunned. The eyes were no higher than his own knees.
‘What the… is it lying down on the ground?’
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the pain in his eyes returned to normal, and he found that the air wasn’t as suffocating anymore.
Meow!
Accompanied by strange meows, the shadow engulfing the entire attic receded like a tide.
The cold light flickered back on, and a cat crept out of the corner as it sat right in front of him.
It was a calico cat, but its coat was mottled and dirty over its skinny, lacerated body, as well as a huge bump on its head.
‘Animal abuse,’ he breathed out. As much as he was scared of its appearance, he pitied it.
However, something was amiss: the cat was illuminated by the coffin’s light, but it cast three, no, more shadows behind it, as if there were many cats crowding behind it.
It tilted its head and meowed at Yibei, and a strange light shone in its eyes, which made him tremble slightly.
This is not a normal cat, he thought. ‘It’s a murderer.’
The cat held a sinister aura to it, and all it reminded Yibei of was Mr Rabbit.
One person and one cat confronted each other in the dark and weird attic.
The silence was no longer threatening but, in fact, awkward. Yibei, being Yibei, opened his mouth to break the silence: “A-are you an urban legend? Are you responsible for, uh, these things happening around here?”
The cat simply tilted its head once again as it meowed.
‘It thinks I’m stupid, isn’t it? Although the cat isn’t making my eyes burn, to appear in such a weird place…’
He gulped once again as he aimed the toy gun at the cat and pulled the trigger with no hesitation.
Thud! Meow!
There was no explosion as the charm hit the now-screaming cat. It fell to the ground from the impact and meowed as it looked at Yibei again.
‘It can’t be!’ he yelled inwardly. ‘It can’t be a real cat! Did I just commit animal abuse? I’m not buying it!’
He silently removed his backpack, shook out the contents, and crept towards the cat.
‘I don’t care if you’re not an urban legend… I’m taking you back to the Night Division.’
Seemingly aware of his intentions, the cat immediately stood up as it arched its body and tail, letting out a series of threatening meows.
He ignored it and brought his backpack over to the cat.
Meow!
The moment the backpack landed on the cat, it shuffled through the gaps of his backpack nimbly and leapt straight into the darkness as it stared at Yibei with mocking eyes.
“You…! Just wait! I’m coming to get you!”
At this moment, the sound of the shutter down downstairs came from under the attic, and a loud shout could be heard.
‘Shit.’
Downstairs.
The butcher who sold meat to Yibei helped the police officer open the shutter door, and the both of them stared into the unwelcoming darkness of the store.
Smelling the strange air and seeing the burning incense, the both of them were immediately repulsed as they looked at each other.
“You’re saying a thief broke in? Where is he?”
The police officer complained inwardly. This place looked haunted, and he doubted any thief would even step foot into a place this repulsive with nothing to steal.
“Well, yes! I’m telling the truth—I saw that little brat enter this shop with my own eyes, but…”
The butcher did see Lu Yibei sneak into the store. He would never admit it, but he cursed that boy for having such a keen eye to pick out the best meat in his stall, causing him to lose one-fifth of his profits. Because of this, he kept a close eye on Yibei.
Seeing him sneak into this store, his patriotic duty as a citizen took the wheel, and he immediately called the police.
“Well, you should have called the owner of this store, seeing that this place is dead,” the police officer huffed. “Where is he?”
“He’s…” the butcher gulped. “He’s dead. I think he had a strange disease, and…”
Halfway through, he realised something was very, very wrong and shivered. He was so keen on revenge that he hurried to the nearby police booth without thinking, but now that brat was nowhere to be found, and this place seemed…
Noticing that the butcher had gone silent, the police officer gulped too. He, too, could feel something watching them from the inside, and it was eerily quiet.
“H-hey, I don’t think there’s anything here. I think we should leave.”
“I agree, and you will follow me back and file a report with me for falsely reporting and wasting a police officer’s time!”
“What? Ah,” the butcher grumbled as he reluctantly peered inside. “I-I know you’re in there! Come out!”
“What are you doing?” The police officer pulled him back, eyeing the incense that still burnt with vigour. “Don’t call for things that aren’t there anymore!”
“Alright… I guess we’ll leave,” the butcher grumbled, but a muffled thud could be heard as if some heavy object was pushed down.
The two immediately noticed the dark void leading to the attic.
In an instant, the police officer stepped forward and pulled out a taser: “I’m warning you! Get down immediately, or I’ll have to call for backup!”
“…”
“Hello? Police’s orders! Come down immediately, or I will have to use force.”
Before he could finish, a human head hung down from the ceiling as if it had appeared in the darkness.
Looking at the expressionless face with bloodshot eyes, the police officer’s words stopped abruptly, and the butcher immediately fell on his buttocks and pointed at the head.
“G-g-g-g-ghost!”
“…”
“Are you kidding me? A ghost in broad daylight? What are you, five?” the police officer shouted.
“Right?” Yibei agreed.
“And you!” The police officer sighed. “What the hell are you doing on private property? Get down here and come with me.”
The attic plunged into a deeper darkness, and the air seemed a little colder. The lights in the coffin flickered, and their light seemed to be imprisoned within a small radius of the coffin, unable to illuminate the attic.
‘Something’s here with me… But why didn’t my eyes tell me? Why didn’t the charms work?’
He gulped as he concentrated his mind, gripped the kitchen knife with one hand and his toy gun with the other, and stared in the direction that made his eyes burn the most.
He could hear faint sobs, and the darkness seemed to be swallowing all the light from the coffin.
I can’t see, he thought. ‘But I can feel something squirming in the darkness.’
He continued staring at the darkness, and the fear made him hold his breath as he gripped the handle of the knife until the whites of his hand could be seen.
True enough, something crept beyond the darkness, and a pair of glowing eyes revealed themselves.
He was stunned. The eyes were no higher than his own knees.
‘What the… is it lying down on the ground?’
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the pain in his eyes returned to normal, and he found that the air wasn’t as suffocating anymore.
Meow!
Accompanied by strange meows, the shadow engulfing the entire attic receded like a tide.
The cold light flickered back on, and a cat crept out of the corner as it sat right in front of him.
It was a calico cat, but its coat was mottled and dirty over its skinny, lacerated body, as well as a huge bump on its head.
‘Animal abuse,’ he breathed out. As much as he was scared of its appearance, he pitied it.
However, something was amiss: the cat was illuminated by the coffin’s light, but it cast three, no, more shadows behind it, as if there were many cats crowding behind it.
It tilted its head and meowed at Yibei, and a strange light shone in its eyes, which made him tremble slightly.
This is not a normal cat, he thought. ‘It’s a murderer.’
The cat held a sinister aura to it, and all it reminded Yibei of was Mr Rabbit.
One person and one cat confronted each other in the dark and weird attic.
The silence was no longer threatening but, in fact, awkward. Yibei, being Yibei, opened his mouth to break the silence: “A-are you an urban legend? Are you responsible for, uh, these things happening around here?”
The cat simply tilted its head once again as it meowed.
‘It thinks I’m stupid, isn’t it? Although the cat isn’t making my eyes burn, to appear in such a weird place…’
He gulped once again as he aimed the toy gun at the cat and pulled the trigger with no hesitation.
Thud! Meow!
There was no explosion as the charm hit the now-screaming cat. It fell to the ground from the impact and meowed as it looked at Yibei again.
‘It can’t be!’ he yelled inwardly. ‘It can’t be a real cat! Did I just commit animal abuse? I’m not buying it!’
He silently removed his backpack, shook out the contents, and crept towards the cat.
‘I don’t care if you’re not an urban legend… I’m taking you back to the Night Division.’
Seemingly aware of his intentions, the cat immediately stood up as it arched its body and tail, letting out a series of threatening meows.
He ignored it and brought his backpack over to the cat.
Meow!
The moment the backpack landed on the cat, it shuffled through the gaps of his backpack nimbly and leapt straight into the darkness as it stared at Yibei with mocking eyes.
“You…! Just wait! I’m coming to get you!”
At this moment, the sound of the shutter down downstairs came from under the attic, and a loud shout could be heard.
‘Shit.’
Downstairs.
The butcher who sold meat to Yibei helped the police officer open the shutter door, and the both of them stared into the unwelcoming darkness of the store.
Smelling the strange air and seeing the burning incense, the both of them were immediately repulsed as they looked at each other.
“You’re saying a thief broke in? Where is he?”
The police officer complained inwardly. This place looked haunted, and he doubted any thief would even step foot into a place this repulsive with nothing to steal.
“Well, yes! I’m telling the truth—I saw that little brat enter this shop with my own eyes, but…”
The butcher did see Lu Yibei sneak into the store. He would never admit it, but he cursed that boy for having such a keen eye to pick out the best meat in his stall, causing him to lose one-fifth of his profits. Because of this, he kept a close eye on Yibei.
Seeing him sneak into this store, his patriotic duty as a citizen took the wheel, and he immediately called the police.
“Well, you should have called the owner of this store, seeing that this place is dead,” the police officer huffed. “Where is he?”
“He’s…” the butcher gulped. “He’s dead. I think he had a strange disease, and…”
Halfway through, he realised something was very, very wrong and shivered. He was so keen on revenge that he hurried to the nearby police booth without thinking, but now that brat was nowhere to be found, and this place seemed…
Noticing that the butcher had gone silent, the police officer gulped too. He, too, could feel something watching them from the inside, and it was eerily quiet.
“H-hey, I don’t think there’s anything here. I think we should leave.”
“I agree, and you will follow me back and file a report with me for falsely reporting and wasting a police officer’s time!”
“What? Ah,” the butcher grumbled as he reluctantly peered inside. “I-I know you’re in there! Come out!”
“What are you doing?” The police officer pulled him back, eyeing the incense that still burnt with vigour. “Don’t call for things that aren’t there anymore!”
“Alright… I guess we’ll leave,” the butcher grumbled, but a muffled thud could be heard as if some heavy object was pushed down.
The two immediately noticed the dark void leading to the attic.
In an instant, the police officer stepped forward and pulled out a taser: “I’m warning you! Get down immediately, or I’ll have to call for backup!”
“…”
“Hello? Police’s orders! Come down immediately, or I will have to use force.”
Before he could finish, a human head hung down from the ceiling as if it had appeared in the darkness.
Looking at the expressionless face with bloodshot eyes, the police officer’s words stopped abruptly, and the butcher immediately fell on his buttocks and pointed at the head.
“G-g-g-g-ghost!”
“…”
“Are you kidding me? A ghost in broad daylight? What are you, five?” the police officer shouted.
“Right?” Yibei agreed.
“And you!” The police officer sighed. “What the hell are you doing on private property? Get down here and come with me.”
