46: Forty-six.

Mysterious Short Figure 46: Forty-six.

Mysterious Short Figure Having left the main district and passed by that long-abandoned old city wall, Lu Li had already seen these things with his own eyes.

Behind the mountain, large fields and scattered houses were strewn along the paths, their lights like fireflies, sporadically sprinkled in the pitch dark, resembling stars in a night sky of poor visibility, while some town lights looked like swathes of the Milky Way.

Interestingly, the residents of Belfast generally looked down on the country folk behind the mountains and mocked their accent as if their mouths were stuffed with pudding.

Even though both were on Sugard Mountain, only a few dozen miles apart.

On the desolate road, a lone firelight moved slowly.

After leaving Belfast, Lu Li had lit a torch, heeding the advice of the carriage owner: Darkness was everywhere, and in the places light could not reach, evil thrived; only light could dispel them.

The brighter your surroundings, the safer you were.

But Lu Li was not alone; occasionally on the road, he encountered travelers and caravans coming from afar.

They had a special greeting for each other at night—they gave each other a torch.

It was cheap and could save lives.

In the darkness, Lu Li remained vigilant until the carriage reached a town marked “Watch Town” on the map.

The Abandoned Asylum was on the edge of Watch Town.

The light, representing civilization, dispelled the darkness, and even the sound of the horse’s hooves seemed crisper after reaching Watch Town.

The guards at the entrance of the town showed no caution toward outsiders entering at night, as if their presence was not to fend off passersby but something else.

Clippity-clop—

The horse hooves tapped on the cobblestone road, and Lu Li, following the directions on the map, turned onto a dim path.

The surroundings grew desolate again, from fewer houses with lights on to progressively fewer houses.

A few minutes later, Lu Li reached the Abandoned Asylum two or three miles from Watch Town.

A building lay dormant in the darkness, its iron gates reflecting the light of the torch.

An eerily silent darkness surrounded the area, with only the sounds of horse hooves and wheels turning.

Lu Li slowed the carriage at the gate, passing through it and slowly approaching the building shrouded in darkness.

As the Asylum had been abandoned, the unchecked growth of roadside plants wildly thrived.

Seconds later, the carriage neared the mental hospital.

The two-story ward’s exterior walls were peeling, covered in vines, and the desolate scene made it look ominously haunting.

The glass doors at the entrance were already shattered, with glass scattered on the ground, and the hall behind the door frame was in a mess.

Debris, torn fabric, and furniture parts were mixed together, with most of the ceiling fallen, and a few pieces dangling by threads in midair.

The peeling wallpaper bore stains resembling blood.

The place looked as if it had been ransacked and burned, completely dilapidated.

However, considering that this place might have once housed a group of psychiatric patients—it made sense for it to look this way.

Stopping in front of the steps, Lu Li pulled aside the carriage curtain and said to Anna, who was curled up inside, “You stay here.”

“Eh?

Am I not coming with you?”

Anna, frightened, was stunned.

“I paid a 400-Shilling deposit for the carriage.

Also, you can move disregarding the terrain, and come immediately if I encounter trouble,” Lu Li explained.

Anna glanced at the dark and gloomy building and decided, “Then I’ll wait for you outside.”

After checking the Spirit-Calling Gun in his holster, Lu Li picked up an oil lamp, stepped down from the carriage, and walked up the steps.

Anna’s gaze followed Lu Li as he ascended the steps, holding the oil lamp, its light spreading a few meters around him as he walked toward the building enveloped in darkness.

A strange feeling spread through her heart; she felt this scene was reminiscent of a horror novel.

…

Crunch—

Shoes stepping on broken glass, Lu Li halted his steps as he neared the entrance, lifting the oil lamp high.

The cluttered hall showed no signs of abnormality.

Suddenly, a short dark figure dashed from the left corridor and silently slipped into a room.

Lu Li slightly furrowed his brow and gripped the handle of the gun in an instant.

Darkness shrouded his mind, but he felt nothing in the corridor.

It wasn’t a ghost…

He stepped over the shattered glass in front of the door and looked down as he entered the hall.

Footsteps echoed emptily, and the assorted objects scattered around the hall were lit by the oil lamp, casting various sinister shadows that seemed to come to life.

Lu Li avoided those objects and followed into the corridor where the small, dark shadows had fled.

The long corridor continued the hall’s style with dilapidated and faded walls and ceilings, and the floor was piled with brown debris unrecognizable in its original form.

The concrete walls, exposed behind peeling plaster, were covered in all kinds of obscure patterns.

The darkness stretched from beside him to the end of the corridor.

The oil lamp flickered, causing the shadows in the wall crevices to move, and suddenly Lu Li felt something watching him.

Lu Li never believed in illusions; he was sure he had indeed felt something.

Standing at the entrance to the corridor, Lu Li’s gaze slowly shifted from left to right and then from right to left, his black pupils suddenly constricted.

On the wall beside a door on the right side, there was a blood-red eye.

The eye, irritated by the light, swiveled around with a gurgling sound, eerie and horrifying.

No one could stay calm under the gaze of those crimson pupils.

Lu Li stepped forward, walking up to the eye.

It was an eyeball carved on the wall, crudely filled with red crayon.

As the light flickered, the pupil seemed to come to life and moved accordingly.

Even though it was confirmed to be fake, the red eye on the wall still bore a troubling malice.

Lu Li bent down, picked up a stone, and with its sharp corner, forcefully scraped across the eyeball.

Scratch, scratch, scratch—

Among the grating sounds, plaster fell off, the red eyeball was marred, revealing the stony material behind it.

Having destroyed the eyeball, Lu Li dropped the stone, and this time the feeling of being watched disappeared.

Lu Li turned and walked towards the room into which the small figure had run.

The dilapidated room was covered in a thick layer of dust, a clear set of footprints extended from the doorway all the way to a narrow ventilation duct.

Lu Li did not rush to follow the traces of the footprints.

He walked into the room and stood in front of the door, surveying the surroundings.

This place might have been used as a doctor’s office, with a row of filing cabinets in the corner and two desks pushed together under the window.

Everything was cloaked in a layer of dusty gray, with one exception: an old notebook on the desk.

It was also covered in dust, but compared to other objects in the room, it was conspicuously obvious, as if waiting for someone to come in and immediately notice it to flip through the notebook afterwards.

Bang!

A muffled sound, the door behind him suddenly closed at this moment.

Lu Li turned back, his eyes narrowing slightly as the dust fell.

He walked over to the door and gently pushed with his hand.

The door didn’t budge, as if it was blocked from the outside.

Lu Li quietly stepped back a few paces, then suddenly accelerated and slammed his shoulder against the door.

Bang!

A cloud of dust burst forth, and the tightly closed door swung open halfway; simultaneously, a dull thud of something hitting the ground was heard behind it, followed by the echoing sound of footsteps rapidly entering the corridor.

Lu Li’s hand released the grip on the gun handle; he still did not sense any ghosts.

Momentarily pausing to think, Lu Li turned and stepped back into the room, no longer hurried to chase after.

He walked up to the desk and picked up the notebook.