Chapter 9: The Paper Effigy!
The door creaked as if moved by the wind, yet no one stood outside. The courtyard outside was completely empty.
The innkeeper was a light sleeper, and normally she would bolt the door before going to bed. Now, that faint noise had stirred her awake. Her entire body tensed, every muscle taut, as she held her breath.
Tap... tap... tap...
Soft, intermittent footsteps echoed faintly outside, each one striking like a drumbeat against the innkeeper’s heart. The air seemed frozen, heavy as a block of ice.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
Only Li Yanchu lived in the courtyard. But the heavy, masculine footsteps suddenly came to a stop, as if... As if someone were now standing right outside her door. There was faint moonlight in the courtyard, yet no shadow could be seen beyond the doorway.
“Daoist Master Yanchu, is that you?” she asked, summoning all her courage.
But, there was no response. There was no breathing, no footsteps, no sound at all, only absolute stillness.
Tap! The footsteps resumed. It sounded closer this time, as if they had stepped right up to the door. The very air thickened, becoming so stifling it was hard to breathe.
Then, from within the tightly shut room, a man's footsteps sounded again, this time slowly approaching her bed. An eerie chill instantly swept through the entire space.
“Ah! Who’s there!?” the innkeeper cried out, clutching her quilt tightly to her chest, her expression filled with terror.