When Bright Moon Encounter the Dark Clouds

Hold on.

He is hunting down the family in the dead of night in the hills, lying in wait and observing them like prey. He created countless diversions and smokescreens to execute this perfect plan.

What does he plan to do next?

Since the Zhu family were still crying out in pain, there were probably animal traps or wooden spikes set up in the pit. I felt chills almost penetrating my heart, and a layer of cold sweat formed on my skin. Currently, nothing but the wailing from the Zhu family surrounded us.

Then, what was bound to appear finally appeared.

Innumerable birds like a horde of dark spirits entered this forest from all directions, landing beside the pit and on tree branches. They flapped their wings in a flurry of motion as if they were summoning something with excitement and aggression at the same time.

I buried my head as low as possible since the scene was incredibly terrifying. It was unimaginable to me how Wu Yu managed to take on these ferocious yet bizarre birds in a fight. I laid low in the grass and felt safe with Wu Yu’s hand on my shoulder even though he had let go of my hand.

Finally, that man appeared with the raspy welcoming calls from the birds.

He must be controlling these birds. It’s true! It’s not a figment of our imagination. From that night onwards, I began to witness all sorts of supernatural phenomena.

A silly grin still hung on his face. He still had on those dirty clothes from that night; perhaps he had not changed. He carried a child in one hand and an oil lamp in the other. We did not know if the child, Zhu Zhihan, was alive or not since he was motionless.

“Y-you people… have arrived,” he said with a stutter as he came before the pit, placing the oil lamp down and looking down at the Zhu family.

A wave of screams echoed from the pit as the Zhu family saw their child in the man’s arms. He let out a chuckle and said, “It-it’s fine, he’s just asleep. I gave him some... some sleeping pills. Noisy… He was too noisy!”

I let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

A quivering voice sounded, “What are you trying to do? We brought the ten thousand Yuan you requested and did not notify the police. So let us and the child go!” The voice seemed to be Zhu Zhihan’s father, Zhu Zhongling.

“T-throw all your mobile phones up. I don’t want… you calling the police now.” His face became serious. “Or else… I’ll kill the child here and now.”

Sure enough, the Zhu family was under the man’s complete control, and there was no way for them to resist. As a result, they threw their phones up one by one. Then the man kicked the phones aside, and the birds swiftly picked them away.

“Honestly, I have no interest in money…” The man pulled out a three-inch knife and pointed it at the child while grinning. “I want to kill him.”

A burst of wailing came from the pit.

“Inform Shen Shiyan.” Wu Yu murmured next to my ears, his lips slightly grazing my ears. Once more, an involuntary shiver ran through my ears down my neck to everywhere else.

I turned my face away from his and slowly got my phone out. Using my arm to block the light, I sent him our location before sending a message as well: the culprit is here with Zhu Zhihan and the entire Zhu family.

All that we could do now was wait, as I had no idea when Shen Shiyan would arrive.

I turned my face in the dark, and my lips seemingly touched Wu Yu’s face. He did not move as if I had felt nothing.

“When should we save them?” I asked.

“We can’t beat him right now. Let’s wait.”

The screams and cries from the Zhu family did nothing to the man, who only stood beside the pit as he looked down at them impassively. He appeared to be unconcerned. Then he laid the child on the ground and said, “T-there is a way… to save him.”

He brandished the knife and added, “P-pick three among yourselves to… take t-three stabs from me.”

He let out a grin and continued, “Then I will let you all go. How’s that?”

The Zhu family members fell into silence.

My heart dropped. I knew that something was about to happen.