PTYS Chapter 4

As for where it went, Xiao Muyu already had an idea, but she was utterly speechless.

Given Shen Qingqiu’s skills and her conversation with the man who tried to rob them halfway, she definitely wasn’t a novice and didn’t need Xiao Muyu’s feeble protection talisman.

Moreover, just from that brief encounter, Xiao Muyu knew Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t care for a talisman that could only block one attack. So, the only explanation was that she did it on purpose.

The same Shen Qingqiu who just righteously declared it shameful for those two to snatch the talisman had turned around and stolen Xiao Muyu’s talisman.

Reflecting on Shen Qingqiu’s parting words, Xiao Muyu found her to be incredibly insufferable. This strange and lawless personality gave Xiao Muyu a terrible headache.

In this instance, it wasn’t just Xiao Muyu; there seemed to be more than one “home.” Would she and Shen Qingqiu, along with those two men, meet again?

Despite her rush, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but ponder over her questions, but she had to force herself to stop, as thinking would distract her.

Without the talisman, she was in greater danger, meaning she had no margin for error. If she couldn’t find a safe place, her fate was uncertain.

The sun had already begun to touch the distant mountains, and the twilight bathed the clouds in golden light.

As time passed, the golden hue turned to orange-red, creating a scene like a beautiful painting with dark tree branches adding depth.

However, what was usually a sunset worth admiring now seemed like a harbinger of doom. The more beautiful it was, the more dangerous it became. The sun had softened, and the orange-red disc allowed itself to be gazed upon by mortals, but Xiao Muyu dared not linger.

She hadn’t seen any houses yet, and the setting sun over the western hills wouldn’t wait for anyone, sinking half below the horizon in an instant.

The sunlight receded like a tide, as if driven away by darkness, and twilight began to spread.

Almost immediately, Xiao Muyu felt a cold presence approaching from behind. In just a moment, the sky darkened unbelievably fast.

She couldn’t help but glance back and saw that her shadow had been halved, the other half buried in the shadow.

The surrounding grass and trees swayed from slight movement to rapid motion, and a rustling sound surrounded her from all sides, but she could see nothing but the wind. The hairs on her arms stood up, and she felt a chill.

Xiao Muyu started running and finally saw a house at the foot of a mountain ahead, emerging from the forest.

The house was situated in the west, where the last bit of twilight cast a sliver of light and shadow around it, fading at a visible pace. From the mountain top, Xiao Muyu gauged the distance—it was too far.

Xiao Muyu couldn’t see the house’s details, but it didn’t hinder her speed as she rushed down.

Just then, a piercing cry broke the sky behind her, a scream so sharp it sounded like a beast’s howl, nearly causing Xiao Muyu to stumble.

Was it a wolf?

Xiao Muyu hastily looked back but saw nothing in the dim shadows, yet the wind grew stronger, stinging her face.

The path down the mountain was steep and rugged, forcing Xiao Muyu to focus entirely on her footing, so she didn’t notice that others were also running frantically towards the house from all directions.

No one knew why they were running, as if something was chasing them.

The beast-like howls rose and fell with the wind, growing louder and closer, overwhelming everything.

Xiao Muyu felt surrounded by a pack of beasts, though she saw nothing in her peripheral vision.

Suddenly, in the shadow behind her, two or three bat-like creatures darted through the darkness, moving as fast as lightning, making it impossible to see what they were.

It was these creatures making the hysterical cries, wanting to pounce but held back by the light.

With their prey in sight but unable to attack, they became more frenzied, writhing together continuously.

Xiao Muyu spotted them and hurriedly glanced back twice. These ghastly things appeared thin like kites but were flexible and soft, yellow-white, and elastic.

As they lunged, long arms stretched out, vaguely resembling human silhouettes.

They were close, and the wind they stirred brought a putrid stench, like something decayed and dried, making her feel sick.

Xiao Muyu’s keen sense of smell picked up a hint of fragrance amid the strong rotten odor, perhaps musk, but this bit of scent made it even more disgusting and eerie.

She could feel them closing in. The wind and howling blended, pouring over her.

Using all her strength, ignoring the risk of falling, she dashed from the mountain top, muscles cramping from exertion and tension, but she couldn’t stop.

Finally, she reached flat ground and saw others equally unfortunate.

Sweat covered Xiao Muyu’s face, droplets hanging on her lashes, blurring her vision. But she vaguely saw people clustered at the door, desperately shouting and waving.

“Help, save me!” Xiao Muyu heard the desperate cry of a fellow human, filled with fear.

A woman ran in terror to her left, exhausted and hopeless, reaching out as if someone nearby or those in the house, still 400-500 meters away, could pull her to safety. But in a blink, she was engulfed by the thing and wrapped entirely.

Then the thing stood up partially and let out a laugh, sounding eerily human.

Xiao Muyu shuddered, closed her eyes, and kept running. She didn’t know what happened to the woman but judging by the screams, it couldn’t be good.

Her only focus was the approaching house, and she could already hear the people at the door shouting.

“Faster, hurry!”

200 meters, 100 meters, 50 meters!

Her lungs felt like they were exploding, her throat parched and burning, blood tasting metallic with each gasping breath, ears buzzing.

Someone dashed inside, collapsing immediately, dragged into the house by others, while others continued to fall.

Just ten meters from the house, one of those things’ tendrils wrapped around Xiao Muyu’s left hand.

It was as if her strength was drained, and she fell heavily to the ground, rolling forward several times due to her speed.

“Hehehe.”

Xiao Muyu heard its laugh again, innocent and joyful.

The sunlight had vanished from the three-story house’s entrance, and those who escaped inside hid in terror, watching Xiao Muyu on the ground with mixed expressions—fear, relief, regret, sympathy, and indifference.

Xiao Muyu didn’t know how she could read so many expressions in such a critical moment, perhaps because she had always found people’s faces fascinating in various situations, vibrant and rich, unlike hers.

She reached out for a final attempt, grabbing the tendril and pulling hard. It felt cold, delicate, and soft, sending a shiver through her.

Touching it brought a burning sensation to her palm, as if hooks were drilling into her flesh, forcing her to let go.

“Hehehe… Haha…” The thing laughed even more gleefully, and Xiao Muyu looked up to see it raising its body. Just as it prepared to lift, a familiar dagger sliced into the tendril.

“Ah!” It screamed.

Then a slender figure appeared swiftly before Xiao Muyu, grabbing her clothes and dragging her without gentleness, tossing her into the house.

The heartbeat close by became two, and Xiao Muyu felt completely drained.

The creature screeched as the prey slipped away, but luckily, those at the door had some humanity left, catching Xiao Muyu instead of letting her crash.

Xiao Muyu could finally see her rescuer, already having a guess, but still surprised to see Shen Qingqiu.

Dragging Xiao Muyu slowed Shen Qingqiu’s pace, allowing the creatures to surround her. In this moment of relative safety, the terrified people saw the things clearly for the first time.

Their horrifying texture, twisted and fluttering skinless fingers, were all exposed.

The thin layer with several holes was unmistakably human facial features, and the wide-open mouth emitted excited screams. They were laughing because there was still prey.

Some faint-hearted people immediately collapsed, a man who had narrowly escaped stammered, “Skin, human skin!”

One of the airborne skins seemed to hear him, unfolding its wrinkled face and grinning at him.

“Mom!”

This scene was like a bomb exploding among the crowd, even making Xiao Muyu’s heart shrink.

No wonder it felt that way—those flying things were human skins!

The people inside turned pale and trembled.

“Human… human skin? How many skins are there?”

Shen Qingqiu remained unaffected by this terrifying discovery, her dagger sharp and swift, preventing the skins from getting close, and rushing in at the last moment.

As everyone else retreated from the door, Xiao Muyu instead stepped towards it, extending her hand to Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu smiled and gripped Xiao Muyu’s hand tightly, using the force to leap inside.

But Xiao Muyu’s face changed.

In the final second, a skin clung to Shen Qingqiu and was brought inside, causing panic and scattering people.

“She brought the skin inside!”

The skin hugged Shen Qingqiu from behind, sticking to her, its face’s three holes forming a twisted smile as it entered.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t turn around, slicing the skin with her right hand, causing it to scream and struggle on the ground.

In seconds, the skin emitted white smoke, as if the indoor air burned it, writhing towards the door.

The scene was bizarre, making everyone’s skin crawl, as the skin danced.

No one dared approach. After freeing herself from the skin, Shen Qingqiu saw Xiao Muyu stepping forward and stomping on the skin, blocking its escape.

Shen Qingqiu showed a hint of surprise and then smiled, finding it amusing.

As Xiao Muyu stomped, the skin turned, raising its upper body, mouth wide open, and lunged at her face!

“Ah!”