Chapter 32: Voices in the Tunnel

A small pine tree stood beside the grave, its branches hanging low as if to provide an umbrella for the headstone.

This familiar sight made Qiu Yiyao’s emotions spiral beyond her control.

She lacked the power to stop the torment of those bizarre entities, but she could not tolerate them using her dearest loved one as a prop to mock and frighten her.

Qiu Yiyao tightened her grip on the knife and stepped forward, snatching her phone from the ground.

She shouted into the surrounding woods, "You bastard, come out! Is scaring me what you want? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid. If you have any guts, show yourself! What kind of coward hides in the shadows?"

Her voice echoed through the forest, startling the birds above and sending them fluttering away in a frantic panic.

The scene was like something out of a horror film: a lonely grave in the deep of night, a screaming girl, and frightened birds—every element pieced together to form countless spine-chilling ghost stories.

Yet, that shout gave Qiu Yiyao a surge of courage. Whatever these monsters were, it was either them or her.

The birds settled back onto the branches, and silence returned to the woods.

Nothing appeared, and the chilling sensation behind her gradually faded.

Qiu Yiyao dared not assume she had scared the creature away, but she knew it would be lurking in the dark, waiting for another chance.

Just then, a "ding" echoed from her phone; she didn't need to look to know it was a low-battery warning.

She had charged her phone fully before leaving, but she hadn't expected it to drain so rapidly. Fortunately, she had the foresight to bring a power bank.

Qiu Yiyao pulled the power bank from her backpack and connected it to her phone with a cable.

The screen lit up, showing it was charging.

Before she could even catch her breath, the screen went dark without warning. Even the flashlight turned off, plunging her back into absolute darkness.

She frantically pressed the power button, but nothing happened.

"Why do you have to die on me at a moment like this?"

Just as she grew desperate, the screen flickered to life again, displaying three large characters: "Look behind."

A chill ran down Qiu Yiyao’s spine, and that icy sensation returned, enveloping her from behind.

But she knew in her heart that if she wanted to leave this forest and escape this bizarre town, she had to face these "people" head-on; it was her only hope of getting out. Otherwise, one day, she would die silently just like that man with the glasses, only to be branded a suicide.

She gripped the fruit knife and turned slowly.

By the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, she caught a glimpse of a black silhouette standing not far away.

Judging by the height, it wasn't that "short one."

Just as she had suspected, this town was crawling with the companions of those things.

Qiu Yiyao turned on her phone's light to illuminate the spot, but saw only a few large trees.

"Come out! You’re doing all this just to scare me, right? Well, I’m not scared at all. Get out here!"

Qiu Yiyao shouted as she scanned her surroundings.

There were no paths in the woods; she had walked this far entirely by instinct.

She didn't know how far the exit was, nor if the tunnel leading out of town still existed, but the desperate desire to return to Qiu Shengming’s side had never been stronger.

She would not let anything stop her from going home. Absolutely not.

When the phone’s light shone on the suddenly appearing, eerie grave, a snow-white human face materialized beneath the pine tree.

It had no body. Its eyes were closed, and it simply hovered in mid-air.

"Pah!" Qiu Yiyao spat on the ground. "You bastard, quit playing god and ghost."

She bent down, felt for a round stone, and hurled it at the face on the grave.

"If you have the power to keep me in this forest forever, then do it. Otherwise, get lost!"

The stone passed right through the face and hit the ground.

The face suddenly opened its eyes, a twisted smirk curling its lips. "Don't be naive. Go back. You'll never get out."

"Pah! You say I can't get out, so I can't? Who do you think you are? I’m going to try anyway."

Qiu Yiyao unplugged the cable and put the power bank back into her bag.

She was determined to push through and see how it intended to stop her.

Seeing her ignore the warning, the face spoke again: "If you don't want your father to follow your mother to the grave, you’d better turn back."

"Father?" Qiu Yiyao sneered. "You mean the father who colluded with you lot and claimed I was mentally ill? Be my guest. That’s none of my concern."

She mocked herself, "I'm wasting my breath on you, you legless freak."

She looked around. There were thick trees everywhere, and no path in sight.

She had no compass, so she could only take it one step at a time.

But when she lifted her foot to head in the opposite direction of the grave, a flicker caught her eye. Ahead, not far off, another identical grave, pine tree, and face blocked her path.

She realized that no matter which direction she took, she would be blocked by the same thing.

If she relied solely on brute force, she would never defeat it.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Qiu Yiyao.

She bent down to pick up a tree branch and pulled a lighter from her backpack—something she had brought just in case. She never expected it to come in handy.

Without hesitation, she ignited the branch.

The elders always said that ghosts feared fire. Whether it worked or not, she had to try.

Sure enough, as she held the blazing branch toward the face, its expression grew even more hideous.

"You are courting death."

"Do I even have a choice?"

Qiu Yiyao bent down to pick up two more dry branches, lit them, and threw them at the grave. "That’s for blocking my way!"

The branches traced a beautiful arc through the air and landed squarely on the grave, instantly setting the pine tree ablaze.

The face was truly terrified; it flickered and vanished.

Qiu Yiyao turned and used the same method, hurling burning branches onto the other grave. Both sides erupted into roaring flames.

Despite the pang of guilt for her mother’s name on the headstone, she hoped her mother’s spirit would not blame her.

With no more eerie threats or mysterious shadows, Qiu Yiyao moved forward without obstruction and soon reached the edge of the forest.

Under the moonlight, a deep, dark tunnel appeared in the distance.

"Finally."

Although the situation inside the tunnel was unknown, Qiu Yiyao let out a sigh of relief.

As long as she made it through the tunnel, she would be out of this bizarre town.

Suddenly, a scream pierced her ears.

A gust of wind blew, nearly extinguishing the torch in her hand.

Qiu Yiyao’s nerves, just beginning to relax, tightened once more.

She held the torch toward the tunnel entrance, only to see lights suddenly flicker on inside.

There were shadows everywhere, and it seemed quite lively.

Qiu Yiyao knew it must be those things playing tricks again.

She muttered a curse and stepped toward the tunnel.

Just as she reached a point about five or six meters away, everything inside became clearly visible.

A burst of laughter echoed.

Someone said, "A tissue scared you like this? Little girl, have you lost your mind?"

Qiu Yiyao froze, every hair on her body standing on end.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and a torrential downpour began.

The roar of a train echoed in her ears.

She suddenly sprinted toward the tunnel with all her might. But just as she reached the entrance, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking precisely in front of her.

Qiu Yiyao felt as if the world had turned as bright as day, blinding her.

A tingling pain surged through her body, and a second later, her limbs went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.