Chapter 35: Improvement

　　It took a long time for Yumeng to come back to her senses, the sky now fully darkened.

　　I need to find Xia Ning, she thought, forcing herself to stand up. She nearly fell over, feeling dizzy from crying for so long. Her head was spinning, and her legs felt weak.

　　She leaned against the wall for support and made her way downstairs slowly. Each step made her legs tremble. Despite not feeling hungry from not eating all day, her body was clearly protesting its lack of sustenance.

　　Creak…

　　As she pushed open the iron gate, it suddenly hit her—she hadn’t brought anything to light her way. Outside, it was pitch dark, visibility barely reaching 20 meters. The white gravestones around her made the house feel like an enormous tomb.

　　Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to look for her?

　　Tonight, not even the stars were visible, and a dense, black fog seemed to envelop everything.

　　As Yumeng’s heart raced with uncertainty, she spotted a shadowy figure in the distance. It looked eerily like Xia Ning.

　　A flicker of hope ignited in her chest, and she was about to call out Xia Ning’s name when she remembered Xia Ning’s chilling words: Wu Jing is dead, they’ve eaten her.

　　Who are “they”?

　　Yumeng’s mind raced as she stared at the figure. If that shadow is a monster, I’ll just run back and lock the door tight.

　　Suddenly, the figure moved, becoming harder to discern. Yumeng, unable to call out loudly, hurried towards it. She stumbled over a gravestone and nearly fell but kept moving.

　　As she got closer, the figure became clearer. It stopped just a few meters in front of her.

　　Staring at the figure’s back, Yumeng’s blood ran cold—this wasn’t Xia Ning. It looked like… Wu Jing!

　　But wasn’t she dead??

　　Could it be that she’s alive??

　　Yumeng’s fear intensified as she struggled to make sense of what she was seeing.

　　She wanted to turn and run, but what if Wu Jing wasn’t dead?

　　Yumeng took a few more hesitant steps forward, stopping just a few feet behind the figure.

　　“Wu Jing…?” she called out, her voice trembling with fear.

　　The figure remained silent, and the eerie quiet around her was suffocating.

　　Thinking she hadn’t spoken loudly enough, Yumeng took another step closer, raising her voice, “Is that you, Wu Jing?”

　　The figure finally moved. Its head slowly turned toward Yumeng in an unnatural, jerky motion that was deeply unsettling.

　　When it was fully turned, Yumeng’s heart sank in horror—Wu Jing’s abdomen was grotesquely open, with a blood-red, intestine-like mass hanging out and swaying.

　　“Ahhh…!!!”

　　Yumeng screamed in terror, desperate to run, but her legs betrayed her, trembling uncontrollably as she stood paralyzed.She clenched her fists and pounded her legs, trying to compose herself, but then something even more horrifying happened—Wu Jing began to slowly approach her!

　　“Hungry…” Wu Jing’s voice was a rasping, nightmarish sound.

　　Yumeng’s fear intensified as she watched Wu Jing draw closer. She lost her balance and collapsed to the ground.

　　“Ahhh…!!” Yumeng screamed in terror, unable to stand. She rolled onto her stomach and began crawling forward with all her strength.

　　Her hands were scraped raw, her fingernails torn and bloody from clawing at the ground. Despite her desperate efforts, she hadn’t managed to crawl very far.

　　As she struggled to move, a pair of feet appeared in her line of sight…

　　At this moment, Yumeng paused, her face a mask of anxiety as her gaze darted around.

　　“Yumeng, maybe… maybe you shouldn’t continue,” I said, gently patting her head, feeling a pang of sympathy.

　　She shook her head with determination, meeting my eyes with resolve. Biting her lip, she continued, “Wu Jing bit off my fingers and ate them. Then she came closer, clawed open my abdomen, and reached into my belly…”

　　“And then… she pulled out my intestines… and ate them bit by bit…” she said, her voice choking with emotion.

　　I wrapped her in a comforting embrace, patting her back soothingly. “It’s okay, it’s okay…”

　　“I thought… I was going to die. But then I finally woke up. Thank you, Xia Ning… If it weren’t for you… I… I would have really died.” Yumeng sobbed uncontrollably in my arms.

　　Her story left me shivering with cold sweat. It was so close—just a hair’s breadth away, and Yumeng might have been lost.

　　If I had been even a minute later, I might never have seen her again.

　　After a long while, Yumeng’s crying gradually subsided.

　　“Even now, I still can’t face Wu Jing…”

　　“I haven’t answered any of her calls. I’m afraid… I’m afraid of reliving that nightmare.”

　　I gently pushed her away, looked into her tear-streaked eyes, and said, “Yumeng, you need to separate reality from your nightmares. What you experienced was just a terrible dream.”

　　“Don’t confuse reality with a dream. Actually… in my nightmares, you’re also a monster.”

　　Yumeng, her eyes still tearful, stared at me blankly before suddenly hugging me tightly. “Xia Ning…” she cried, but this time, her tears were those of gratitude.

　　After a while, we parted. Yumeng wiped her nose with a tissue and smiled at me. “When it gets light, I’ll call Wu Jing.”

　　Seeing her in a better state, I felt a sense of relief.

　　Just as I was about to respond, we heard a series of knocks at the door: “Yumeng, wake up and come eat breakfast,” her mother’s voice called out.

　　We were both momentarily stunned, glancing at the window. To our surprise, the sky had brightened considerably.

　　We exchanged smiles.

　　After breakfast, Yumeng’s father told us to gather our things for a trip to the mountain. Yumeng, looking much more cheerful, seemed to have perked up significantly.

　　However, after receiving a phone call, Yumeng’s father’s mood darkened noticeably, casting a shadow over the previously light-hearted atmosphere.“Hello, this is Xia Ning.”

　　“What? How are things?”

　　He spoke quickly, stepping into Yumeng’s room and closing the door behind him. When he emerged, his face was tense.

　　“I’m really sorry, kids, but we can’t take you out today. There’s a problem at the construction site,” Yumeng’s father said gravely.

　　“What kind of problem?” Yumeng’s mother’s worry was evident as she saw his serious expression.

　　Yumeng’s father waved her off. “Don’t ask right now. Just come with me.”

　　Yumeng’s mother hurried to change her clothes.

　　“Xia Ning, I need you to look after Yumeng today. We’ll be back in the evening. I’m leaving five hundred yuan—order whatever you want for lunch, and don’t go wandering around, okay?” Yumeng’s father instructed firmly.

　　Yumeng looked like she wanted to speak, but I gently tugged at her sleeve, and she stayed quiet.

　　Seeing the seriousness in her father’s demeanor, I nodded earnestly, skipping any further pleasantries.

　　“Understood!”

　　“Yumeng, make sure to listen to Xia Ning while we’re gone…” Yumeng’s mother added, her voice almost as if she were speaking to a child.

　　“Alright…” Yumeng said reluctantly.

　　With a loud bang, the door slammed shut as the couple hurried off.

　　“I’m not a little kid anymore…” Yumeng muttered to herself.