Chapter 32: Terror at Midnight

“What's wrong, Yuanyuan? Did you fall?”

Zhao Xiaoting was startled by the noise and knocked on the door cautiously. “May I come in?”

Xiang Yu was drawn by the commotion as well. The two hurried inside to find Ji Yuanyuan pale and shaken, pointing at a section of the wall. “Someone was spying on me while I was bathing!”

“What?” Both were utterly surprised.

Yuanyuan had already dressed, sleeves rolled up fiercely as she stormed out. “Damn it! How dare someone spy on me while I’m bathing? They must have a death wish!”

Seeing the situation was serious, the other two hurried after her. Yuanyuan reached the pigpen outside, but it was deserted.

Her eyes flickered mysteriously. “Where is the person?”

Zhao Xiaoting asked cautiously, “Yuanyuan, are you sure someone was spying on you?”

Yuanyuan glared. “Of course! I saw it with my own eyes!”

Still suspicious, she carefully examined the pigpen wall, then her eyes lit up. “Here, right at this spot!”

The others quickly gathered round. The pigpen was built of stones, and with time, there were inevitable gaps—this was one of them.

Zhao Xiaoting peered through the crack and was secretly shocked. “You can really see inside! It’s perfectly clear!”

Xiang Yu also looked, her expression darkening. “Let’s skip bathing tonight.”

With perverts lurking even on university campuses to secretly film girls, this remote countryside was no safer.

Yuanyuan shuddered. “Good thing I hadn’t taken off my undershirt yet! Damn it, if I catch that bastard—”

They hurriedly washed their faces and rinsed their feet, bolted the door, and placed a stool against it, finally feeling somewhat secure.

The three collapsed onto the bed, relieved. Although cramped sharing one bed, it gave a semblance of safety.

No one could sleep right away. Xiang Yu stared at the bedspread, deep in thought. “Looks like Yaoyao’s suspicions were right. This place isn’t simple. We need to be careful, stay vigilant, and stick together as much as possible.”

The more Yuanyuan thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She turned over and reached for her phone. “No, I have to warn Yaoyao and the others! At least we have three people; they’re only two!”

She pulled out her phone, brightened the screen to message Jiang Yao, but though the text was ready, it wouldn’t send.

She glanced at the empty signal bar and cursed under her breath. “What kind of place has no signal?”

“It’s normal for signals to be weak in the mountains. Let’s tell them first thing tomorrow morning,” Xiang Yu comforted her.

Zhao Xiaoting nodded. “Yaoyao is smarter than us. If anyone dared spy on her bathing, she’d beat them to a pulp!”

Yuanyuan considered this and gradually relaxed.

---

Finally overtaken by exhaustion, despite whispering anxiously together for nearly an hour, sleep claimed them.

...

Late at night, the village was sound asleep.

Jiang Yao was a light sleeper; arriving in an unfamiliar place unsettled her rest.

She was dreaming fitfully when she suddenly heard faint rustling beside her. Still motionless, her mind snapped awake.

She opened her eyes silently and saw a hunched dark silhouette standing by the bed. Such a sight could scare the soul out of anyone!

Before she could react, a terrified scream rang out, “Who’s there?!”

The next second, a beam of light suddenly shone as Duan Yiren switched on her phone’s flashlight.

An elderly woman looked apologetic. “Sorry to scare you two girls.”

Duan Yiren wiped cold sweat from her forehead and sighed in relief. “Grandma, what are you doing standing by our bed in the middle of the night? You startled me!”

She hadn’t been fully asleep either; the noise woke her immediately. It was the alertness honed by surviving the apocalypse.

Jiang Yao rubbed her throbbing temples, tension tightening every nerve.

She was simply startled by Duan Yiren’s shout.

The old woman kept apologizing. “I came to find something, didn’t mean to wake you. Didn’t expect to scare you instead.”

Jiang Yao rose from the bed. “What are you looking for? I’ll help.”

She gestured for Duan Yiren to shine the light, then switched on the room light at the door.

The old woman hurriedly explained, “My medicine—I couldn’t sleep because of chest pain.”

Duan Yiren’s eyes widened. “That’s serious! Where did you put the medicine?”

The old woman pointed to a cabinet. “I think it’s in there.”

Jiang Yao opened the cabinet and found a box of quick-acting heart pills. She took it out. “Is this it?”

“Yeah, that’s it!” the old woman nodded.

Jiang Yao read the instructions. “How many do you usually take?”

“Six.”

She poured out six pills and handed them over.

Duan Yiren asked with concern, “You have heart problems? Why don’t you keep such important medicine with you?”

The old woman smiled gently after swallowing the pills. “I did, but that box just ran out. I thought I’d come get some more.”

Jiang Yao asked softly, “Do you feel better now? Should we get a doctor?”

“Ah, it’s an old ailment, no need,” she waved her hand. “I feel much better. You two should sleep now; sorry for waking you.”

“No worries. Your health matters. Are you sure you’re alright?” After she confirmed, Jiang Yao and Duan Yiren escorted her back to her room.

Back in their own room, both were yawning heavily. Duan Yiren climbed onto the bed first, grumbling, “How can people be so heartless? Leaving an elderly woman with health issues all alone. What if something happened?”

“It’s all because of the hardship of life; they have no choice,” Jiang Yao said, sitting on the bed. She reached for her phone to check the time, then paused.

Her gaze fixed on the phone beside her pillow.

She remembered clearly putting it under the pillow before sleeping.

Duan Yiren noticed and asked curiously, “Why are you just sitting there instead of lying down?”

Jiang Yao suppressed her thoughts. “Nothing.”

Maybe she was just being overly sensitive.

“Go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

...

They slept until dawn. After breakfast, everyone gathered by the roadside with their backpacks.

The boys looked refreshed, but the girls appeared tired and listless.

Chi Xing raised an eyebrow. “Why does everyone look so drained?”

Zhao Xiaoting wanted to say something but hesitated, glancing at a nearby pole. Noticing Jiang Yao and Duan Yiren approaching, she quickly waved. “Over here, we were just waiting for you!”

Jiang Yao hurried forward. “Sorry, we woke up a bit late.”

Ji Yuanyuan noticed the dark circles under her eyes and squinted. “You two didn’t sleep well either?”

Jiang Yao hesitated. “You too?”