In the cold bathroom, the sound of dripping water was incessant. There were many sinks, and in the darkness, it was unclear which faucet hadn't been tightened.
After washing his hands and shaking off the water, Qin Nuo didn't dwell on where Agai and Atu had gone. He decided to head back to the stage room first.
Suddenly, he heard so very faint sounds. Qin Nuo had sharp ears and heard them clearly. He turned his head to look at the pair of white canvas shoes.
On the brand-new shoes, the few patches of dried blood seed to dissolve, the dark red color becoming vibrant again.
It flowed over the shoes, striking the eyes, as if the owner of the shoes was wearing them, with fresh blood flowing.
In the air, apart from the pungent sll of blood, there was another strange aura mixed in.
A strong chill ran down his spine, as if it could penetrate his skin and flesh, eroding his spine.
"The aura of a curse." Qin Nuo didn't turn around, glancing backward while checking the children's watch on his wrist.
Unknowingly, it was just past two in the morning...
"Stay calm, it's not the one from the basent." The Blood-Eyed Ghost spoke, reassuring Qin Nuo.
Qin Nuo blinked and reached out to touch the white shoes when a childish voice ca from behind.
"Brother, those are my shoes. Can you give them back to ?"
"Mom bought those shoes for . They were so new the first day I wore them. I don't know how they suddenly got so dirty."
Hearing the voice, Qin Nuo turned around and saw a small brown teddy bear doll sitting on the beam of the cubicle, its two black bead-like eyes glowing with a faint green light in the dark.
Its body was covered with various degrees of damage, as if cut and stabbed by sharp objects, with yellowed cotton exposed. It sat there, tilting its head, staring at Qin Nuo.
Seeing this scene in the bathroom, anyone would be scared out of their wits.
Yet Qin Nuo remained calm, picking up the blood-stained canvas shoes and speaking to the teddy bear, "Little one, didn't your mom teach you that you should be sleeping at night, not sneaking into the bathroom to watch others? That's very impolite."
The teddy bear's green eyes flickered twice and asked, "Do you know my mom?"
"I only rember she gave a pair of pretty new canvas shoes, but I've forgotten what she looks like."
"I can't rember her na, or my own."
Qin Nuo's expression shifted slightly.
Another soul trapped by a curse.
The teddy bear didn't notice Qin Nuo's change in expression and continued speaking to itself, "I rember sothing. That night, on my way ho from school, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head, and blood flowed down my face, dripping onto my new shoes..."
Qin Nuo didn't pay much attention to the teddy bear's story. After the last encounter with a puppet doll, he knew these cursed souls were emotionally unstable and didn't want to provoke them. He lifted the white shoes in his hand, "If these shoes are yours, then take them back."
"I just ca to use the bathroom, and now I need to hurry back."
Placing the white canvas shoes on the damp floor, Qin Nuo turned to leave, but as soon as he did, the door slamd shut.
The bathroom instantly turned pitch black.
The flashlight in Qin Nuo's hand seed to be running low on power, dimming significantly.
"I've been trapped in a place for a long, long ti. As ti passes, my mories fade. Now that I've just woken up, I really want to find soone to talk to. Brother, can't you just chat with ?"
The teddy bear's two green eyes were fixed intently on Qin Nuo.
With a helpless expression, Qin Nuo said, "Just chatting, I'm happy to do that, because I'm a lonely person too."
"It's just... I'm really in a hurry, so please find soone else."
As he spoke, Qin Nuo punched through the door handle, and with a bang, the door opened on its own.
"So selfish. Brother, don't you think I'm pitiful?"
"I can't rember anything, and it's been so long since I've seen anyone besides myself. Now that I've finally t soone, why don't you stay?"
In the darkness, the teddy bear's eyes turned blood-red, with dense red veins crisscrossing its body, tearing through the cotton.
An invisible ghost power spread out.
The basins around Qin Nuo shattered one by one, and the invisible ghost power grabbed him like a giant hand.
At the sa ti, the teddy bear opened its mouth wide, revealing not fabric inside, but a bloody maw!
Its teeth were stained with fresh blood, hanging with bits of flesh, as it tried to swallow Qin Nuo whole.
The brutal ghost power bound Qin Nuo's entire body, dragging him toward the abyssal maw!
But at the sa ti, a more domineering ghost power erged, instantly dissolving the force.
Qin Nuo took out two bone nails, clamped between the corpse-spotted fingers of his right hand, and flung them. Two white streaks tore through the air, piercing the teddy bear's body in an instant.
The teddy bear let out a strange sound, toppling over, with black flas burning through the holes pierced by the bone nails.
The red veins covering its body rapidly retracted, and the teddy bear sat up, looking at the black flas on its lower body.
The flas, devoid of heat, burned its fiber stuffing to ashes.
The teddy bear showed no signs of pain, staring at its gradually disintegrating body, the green light in its bead-like eyes dimming.
"Am I going to die?"
"What a strange feeling. I rember death being a terrifying thing, but why don't I feel scared?"
The teddy bear's voice was peculiar, like a baby without self-awareness, bewildered by everything.
Qin Nuo remained silent, watching as the black flas nearly consud it, then raised his hand to retrieve the two bone nails.
Hiss!!
As the bone nails left its body, the red veins once again entwined the teddy bear's surface, restoring its health while ghost aura spread.
Qin Nuo, quick as lightning, dashed forward and pierced the teddy bear's head, pulling out the paper figure from the back of its head.
As soon as the paper figure was extracted, the dense red veins, like old tree roots, were pulled away, instantly losing all vitality and crumbling.
In an instant, the teddy bear lost all signs of life, the light in its bead-like eyes fading away.
The paper figure struggled vehently in his hand.
"Crush it?" the Blood-Eyed Ghost suggested.
Just as his fingers were about to exert force, Qin Nuo suddenly spoke, "Wait."
"The paper figure is just a shell, containing an innocent soul."
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