SES Chapter 83 Part 2

Luo Ren drew his knife and advanced cautiously toward the spot where it had vanished. He didn’t believe in ghosts or invisibility. If it disappeared, there had to be a reason.

Sure enough, the thick tangle of vines was just a cover. Beneath it lay the entrance to an underground cave.

He hesitated, then pressed his palms to the ground, leaned his ear close.

He couldn’t hear clearly, but there were sounds.

Jaw tightening, he took a deep breath, flattened himself against the cave wall, and slipped inside.

After turning a corner, the light all but vanished—it was, after all, underground.

Luo Ren stood still for a while, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. As they did, his hearing sharpened, and soon he caught the savage’s low mutterings.

It was a string of sounds, not forming sentences. Maybe it was a language unique to the savage. Luo Ren held his breath and listened closer. Beneath that heavy muttering, there was a faint, eerie whisper—one that made his heart pound faster.

He was almost certain.

It was a woman.

A woman… could this be connected to the one who was killed all those years ago?

The savage’s muttering stopped. Heavy, labored breathing followed, growing closer, as if it was about to leave the cave.

Luo Ren quickly retreated, slipping outside before the savage emerged, hiding himself well.

This had to be an important hideout. There seemed to be only one exit. And truthfully, this cramped, low, lightless underground cavern didn’t look like a place the savage would actually live.

So that meant the savage lived elsewhere—but came here regularly, maybe even daily.

But who was inside? And what was their connection to the savage?

Luo Ren waited patiently until the savage limped far enough away, disappearing, before coming out of hiding and slipping back into the cave.

Meanwhile, Yan Hongsha finally woke. Her brows pinched tight in pain, a faint groan escaping her throat.

Mu Dai let out a long sigh of relief, leaning close with concern. “Does it still hurt?”

Hongsha stared at her, dazed, her mind slowly clearing. And with that clarity came fear—she bolted upright, eyes darting around in panic.

“Mu Dai, there was a ghost!”

Mu Dai couldn’t help but laugh. “A savage isn’t enough for you? Now you’ve got to add a ghost on top of it?”

Hongsha shivered violently. “I’m serious!”

The smile faded from Mu Dai’s face. “What did you see?”

What did she see?

At the time, she had been focused, watching the knot of the rope carefully. She hadn’t heard anyone approach.

No—that wasn’t right. Maybe that woman’s footsteps made no sound at all.

Instead, she felt it: a cold breath against the back of her neck. Her body had frozen in terror, and when she whipped around, her scream had torn itself from her throat.

“Her face—ghastly pale, skin stretched tight on bone. Not just pale, but the kind of white that comes from never seeing sunlight, with no trace of blood. Her hair was white, too. And on her neck…”

Mu Dai pressed urgently, “What about her neck?”

Hongsha touched her own throat, shuddering hard. “Her neck was broken—at least halfway through. You could see it, the flesh split open, the windpipe slashed—”

Her stomach turned; nausea rose in her chest.

Mu Dai rubbed her back to soothe her, but her voice trembled with disbelief. “A half-severed neck… and the old woman was still walking around? What is she, some kind of zombie?”

Hongsha shook her head, at a loss for words, her hand instinctively going to her throat again.

“There was something… around her neck. A layer of something transparent, the color of rouge, almost like amber, or maybe glue. It wrapped around the wound.”

She struggled to put it into words. “It was like her neck was broken, but that layer—like a transparent film of crimson glue—sealed it from the outside. That’s why she could still breathe…”

Mu Dai’s skin prickled; her whole body went cold.

What kind of monstrous thing was that?

Back in the cave, Luo Ren was starting to feel uneasy.

It was far too dark.

Anyone who lived in a place like this long-term would have unnervingly sharp night vision.

He pressed his back against the rock wall, his hand sweating around the hilt of his blade.

Something brushed lightly against his hair.

Luo Ren froze in place—but he knew.

There was a faint breath, cold and weak, drifting right above his head.