novelraw Chapter 140: The Second Knock on the Door
Chapter 140: The Second Knock on the Door
The fire crackled quietly in the hearth. The atmosphere in the cabin grew oppressive.
Some creature dwelling in the swamp had sent Lu Li this invitation.
It was unclear if this was connected to the warning that "the swamp hears what does not belong to it," but it was obvious the meeting promised considerable danger.
It seemed that from the moment they arrived in the swamp, the level of danger and strangeness around them had been escalating at a frightening pace.
"Let's just ignore it..." Anna suggested. She saw no reason to go. It felt like suicide.
"Hmm, if only we could," Lu Li folded the invitation and set it aside, not daring to toss it into the fire. Who knew what strange events might unfold if the invitation were destroyed.
"Why do you say that?" Anna sensed a note of pessimism in his voice, though perhaps she was just imagining it.
Lu Li lifted his ink-black eyes, which reflected the flickering fire and Anna's form. "We're on their territory. The moment they found me, my objective became irrelevant."
The fact that a swamp creature had delivered the invitation meant they weren't worried he would refuse.
Anna finally grasped the gravity of the situation. "Let's get out of here as soon as the rain stops. And forget about those Bloody Tentacles..."Lu Li shook his head. This was no longer about the Bloody Tentacles. The creatures had sent the invitation shortly after he'd killed the cabin's family, and that spoke volumes.
Ever since Lu Li had arrived in this world, he had constantly been adjusting his understanding of its strangeness, but it seemed he was still underestimating it.
"So what do we do?" Anna asked.
"We press on, deal with the Bloody Tentacles, and leave immediately—if it's not already too late," Lu Li replied calmly.
Lu Li's unwavering calm was contagious, and Anna began to relax... until another knock echoed at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
A slow, mechanical knock sounded from behind the door.
Lu Li and Anna exchanged a glance. Lu Li reached for his Spirit Gun, his eyes fixed on the door.
The wooden cabin, deep in the Shadow Swamp, had suddenly become a place of lively traffic.
Focusing on the Spirit Gun's perception, Lu Li frowned and said to Anna, who was looking at him quizzically, "There's no hostility, but I sense the presence of an Anomaly."
Several sources of aura were outside the door, and by all appearances, they were human.
Exorcists? Or the Night's Watch? Or perhaps, Investigators?
An Anomaly could inflict more harm on a ghost than a living being. Unwilling to expose Anna to danger, Lu Li, dressed only in a shirt and shorts, walked to the door and opened it.
A gust of cold, damp air met him. Lu Li's pupils contracted sharply.
A dark, bird-headed figure stood in the doorway. Huge black eyes stared at him unblinkingly.
Lu Li's pupils gradually returned to their normal size. "Who are you?"
The tall figure was clad in a black waterproof cloak that gleamed in the light of the oil lamp she held. On her head was a wide-brimmed hat attached to a mask with a long, bird-like beak.
The image reminded Lu Li of the plague doctors of medieval Europe—the same beaked mask, the same sinister, mysterious air that reeked of death.
The masked figure was silent. She seemed to be staring intently at Lu Li through the dark glass lenses sewn into the mask.
Receiving no answer, Lu Li remained calm, but his left hand, which held the door, began to close, blocking the way.
"Traveler," came a muffled, hoarse female voice from beneath the mask.
The door continued to close.
Thud.
A hand in a leather glove stopped the door.
"I want to wait out the rain."
...
Lu Li tossed a dry log into the fire. The flames flared, scattering sparks.
Hiss...
A drop of water fell from the tip of the bird-like beak onto a stone near the fire and instantly evaporated.
Even after entering the cabin, the masked figure neither removed her mask nor uttered a word.
Anna drifted over to Lu Li, studying the figure sitting opposite them with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.
The mask turned ever so slightly to the side. Lu Li glanced at the Spirit Gun lying beside him.
Did she recognize it?
"Thank you," the masked figure finally said, speaking for the first time since entering the cabin.
Her voice, muffled by the mask, was still hoarse, but Lu Li could now clearly tell it was a woman. What he'd heard at the door hadn't been a hallucination.
"Don't thank me. It's not my cabin," Lu Li replied. The petrified corpse, frozen in a prayer-like pose, and the remains of the family still lay by the entrance. The masked figure couldn't have missed them.
With that, the brief conversation ended. Silence once again settled over the cabin.
Anna felt awkward. The atmosphere was too tense.
Not even the howling wind outside could dispel the oppressive silence. The strange standoff continued for some time, until Lu Li picked up the kettle of water.
Between the cold air that had rushed in and the lingering chill from using the Spirit Gun, Lu Li couldn't seem to get warm.
"I'll get your coat," Anna said. Cautiously skirting the masked figure, she retrieved Lu Li's coat from where it hung by the door and brought it back.
Just then, the masked figure moved abruptly.
She stood, whipped a black umbrella out from behind her back, and pointed it at Anna!
Lu Li instantly grabbed the Spirit Gun and aimed it at the mask.
The mask was made of leather; it wouldn't stop a bullet.
"She's a ghost," the masked figure whispered, stopping the umbrella just inches from Anna's chest.
"But she won't cause any harm."
"She will."
"You have three seconds. If you don't move that umbrella away from Anna, I'll shoot," Lu Li said, his voice cold and emotionless.
"One."
"She's a ghost," the masked figure repeated.
"Three."
Lu Li squeezed the trigger.
"Another lunatic who can't count," the masked figure muttered, lowering the hand holding the umbrella.
Lu Li paid her no mind. He waited until a frightened Anna had returned to his side before setting down the Spirit Gun, which had grown so cold it felt like it was burning.
Suddenly, Lu Li turned his head toward the window. He'd thought someone was watching him from outside, but there was no one there—the window was boarded up.
Lu Li's Mind Level had dropped so low that he was starting to hallucinate.
"Who sent it?" the masked figure asked.
"Sent what?" Lu Li asked in return.
"The invitation."
"Creatures from the swamp."
"May I have it?"
Lu Li hesitated for a moment, then picked up the invitation and tossed it to the masked figure. "Take it."
The masked figure tucked the invitation away, picked up her lamp, and headed for the exit.
Rain poured into the cabin. The masked figure paused at the door and, for the first time, spoke more than a few words at once: "Get out of here as soon as you can. This swamp is no longer welcoming to you."
Slam.
The door slammed shut. The masked figure was gone.
"What was that...?" Anna asked, still reeling from the bizarre series of events.
"Perhaps she only came for the invitation," Lu Li replied, his gaze fixed on the door as if trying to burn through it and see the figure retreating into the forest.