"I... I..."
Jiang Yu stammered for a long time, unable to utter a word. When one is gripped by immense fear, such a reaction is indeed typical.
The demon mother's eyes, cold as ice, slowly revealed a smile. It was time for her to feast again.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound echoed through the corridor. Jiang Yu clutched her face, staring at Xia Tianqiong in shock and confusion. The demon mother was equally surprised.
It turned out that Xia Tianqiong had slapped Jiang Yu hard, leaving a red handprint on her fair face.
"Speak up!"
Xia Tianqiong, exasperated by her silence, almost wanted to slap her again.
"Oh, oh..."
Jiang Yu finally reacted, her speech faltering but coherent, "I... I promise to help you find... your child."
The demon mother, disappointed that her prey slipped away, turned to Xia Tianqiong, her gaze now filled with malice and hatred.
"My child is missing. Can you help me find my child?"
"I am willing to help you," Xia Tianqiong replied promptly, scrutinizing the demon mother. She wore a white, waist-length ruqun, her hair styled in a classical manner, looking like someone from ancient times. If it weren't for her terrifying eyes, she would have been quite charming.
The building had seven floors. After Xia Tianqiong agreed, every resident had been questioned. The demon mother, having completed her first rule, vanished suddenly.
"Did she leave?" Jiang Yu asked, trembling.
"Temporarily. She'll be back soon."
Xia Tianqiong sighed, uncertain how to survive the impending doom.
"She'll return?"
From below the stairs came the exclamations of several people. Survivors from downstairs had come up, wanting to know what was happening.
A burly man approached Xia Tianqiong. "Brother, how do you know about the ghost?"
Xia Tianqiong, after a moment's thought, concocted a story. "I read about this ghost story online. The female ghost asks people to help her find her child. If you refuse, she kills you. If you agree but fail, you still die."
He wasn't afraid of revealing some information since everyone here might die, including himself. If they could unite to find the demon child, there might be a slim chance of survival.
"Is this true? Ghost stories can't be real."
A middle-aged woman in pajamas was still skeptical.
Someone nearby immediately retorted, "At this point, we better believe it. If the female ghost returns and asks for her child, what will we do?"
"Is the ghost's child also a ghost?"
"The crying earlier was very unusual. It might be hiding in this building."
This unit had seven floors, with two households per floor, housing about thirty people. Eight or nine had already died under the demon mother's first rule, leaving about twenty survivors now gathered on the sixth and seventh floors, arguing endlessly.
"Forget about whether it's a ghost or not. Should we call the police?"
"If we could, I would have done so already. Check your phone; there's no signal."
"Not only is there no signal, but the unit door is locked tight, and the windows can't be opened or broken. We can't even jump out."
Everyone was in a panic, realizing the severity of the situation. Xia Tianqiong watched them silently. The demon mother was of a higher level, enveloping the entire unit in her domain, cutting off any connection to the outside world. Unless everyone died, or someone found the demon child, she wouldn't retract her domain.
"You, young man, did that ghost story mention how to escape the female ghost?"
A middle-aged woman asked, drawing everyone's attention to Xia Tianqiong.
"It didn't say specifically, just that finding the child is the way to survive."
Xia Tianqiong looked at them and continued, "We shouldn't waste time here. The female ghost appears every ten minutes. Go back to your homes, turn on all the lights, and search every dark corner. The ghost child might be hiding there."
Hearing this, they had no better option and dispersed, returning to their homes. But just then, the demon mother appeared behind a man. Ten minutes had silently passed during their discussion.
"Have you found my child?"
"I... I was just about to look!"
The man trembled, unable to move. The demon mother grinned and pounced, enveloping him like a mist. Under the horrified gazes of the others, the man aged rapidly, becoming a withered corpse in moments.
"Ah!"
"Run!"
People screamed and scattered, some running upstairs, others down. The demon mother licked her lips, watching her prey flee, then vanished again.
"Everyone, panicking won't help. Go home and search for the child!"
Xia Tianqiong, having watched the entire scene coldly, couldn't help but remind them again. After the initial shock, the survivors ran back to their homes.
"Xia Tianqiong, I'm scared. Can I stay in your room?"
Jiang Yu, pale and sweating from fear, her pink pajamas clinging to her shapely figure, pleaded.
Xia Tianqiong glanced at her and turned back to his room, replying coldly, "No!"
"You..."
Jiang Yu wanted to protest but saw him close the door with a bang, the sound echoing in the stairwell, as if hammering on her heart. Frightened, she hurried to her room, locked the door, and turned on all the lights, carefully searching every corner—closets, cabinets, behind curtains, under the sofa, leaving no place unchecked.
All the surviving residents were similarly scouring their homes for the demon child. Xia Tianqiong returned to his room and first gathered all dishes, cups, and bottles, placing them in various corners. If the demon child appeared, it might knock over these items, making a noise. He then turned off all the lights, standing quietly in the dark living room. The demon child could only teleport in shadows or darkness. While others turned on their lights, reducing the demon child's hiding spots, his dark room might attract it more.
He had deliberately misled the others to protect himself. When this demonic mother and child appeared in the building, only two outcomes were possible: everyone dies, or one survives. Xia Tianqiong had no other choice.
Ten minutes later, a scream echoed from downstairs, indicating another victim. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes, an hour... Screams sounded every ten minutes, marking the increasing number of deaths. Xia Tianqiong remained still in his dark living room. The demon child either didn't come to his room or did so unnoticed.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The knocking resumed.
"Brother, open up, we need to discuss what to do."
More than ten people, the remaining survivors, gathered outside his door. They had searched their homes and the homes of the dead multiple times but found no sign of the demon child. Though two people had seen it, they couldn't catch it. Realizing the critical issue, they understood the demon child was uncatchable, meaning they all might die. Desperate, they thought of Xia Tianqiong again, hoping he had a solution since he knew something about the situation.
"Open up, or we'll break the door down!"
Irritated by the persistent knocking, Xia Tianqiong turned on the lights and opened the door.
"Why did you take so long?"
A burly man demanded, noticing the room. "Why all these bottles and cans?"
Someone behind him exclaimed, "I knew it! He must know how to catch the ghost child."
"Yes, he's hiding something from us."
Seeing the room's setup, the crowd felt vindicated, convinced Xia Tianqiong knew how to catch the demon child, their eyes now filled with anger and suspicion.
"Everyone, calm down. I don't know any method."
Xia Tianqiong's explanation fell on deaf ears.
"You better not hide anything, or you'll be responsible for our deaths."
"If I knew the method, I would have caught the demon child by now."
The crowd, squeezing into the hallway, exchanged uneasy glances, finding some sense in his words. The burly man, however, frowned, feeling Xia Tianqiong was still hiding something.
"I don't believe you. Tell us everything."
He grabbed Xia Tianqiong by the collar. Furious, Xia Tianqiong was about to summon his internal spirit to scare him when suddenly, the crowd's expressions changed to fear as they backed away.
The burly man released him and jumped back as if electrified. Everyone's gaze was fixed behind Xia Tianqiong.
"D*mn it! The demon mother is here!"
Xia Tianqiong tensed, his heartbeat halting. The demon mother's target was him this time! Without finding the demon child, death was his only fate.