CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 34: OUT OF CONTROL (BONUS CHAPTER)

Woof woof! Woof woof woof!

In the early morning, Sang Wan was woken by Little General’s barking. It hadn’t developed a good habit for relieving itself and was temporarily kept in a kennel in the garden.

Sang Wan grabbed the railing by the bed and sat up, using the remote control to open the curtains.

Outside was shrouded in a gray mist, with no sunlight visible.

"Is it going to storm? The sky is so gloomy."

Rumble!

As soon as Sang Wan finished speaking, a torrential downpour began, with bean-sized raindrops pelting against the window, and the gale lifting the sheer curtains. A strong earthy scent quickly permeated the room.

"Little Que—come help mom close the window."

Sang Wan called out to Sang Que while grasping the railing as she got off the bed. The sound of clattering dishes came from outside, but there was no response from Sang Que.

Woof woof! Woof woof woof!

Little General was still barking incessantly. Sang Wan guessed that it was frightened by the thunder.

Sang Wan sat on her wheelchair and went outside. The room was dim, with no lights on. Sang Que, with her hair down, obscuring her face, stood motionless in front of the rice cooker, her back towards Sang Wan.

"Is Little Que making breakfast for mom today?"

Sang Wan greeted her, but Sang Que did not respond.

Rumble!

A flash of lightning split the darkness as Sang Wan turned her head towards the dining table and caught her breath.

On the round dining table were five bowls of heaping rice, each bowl with a pair of chopsticks stuck upright in them. The chairs were pulled back, as if someone was sitting there eating.

Sang Wan shivered, goosebumps rising all over her body, feeling that there was something wrong with Sang Que.

"Little Que?"

Sang Que, still with her head down, picked up a slender kitchen knife wordlessly, walked past Sang Wan into her own room, and closed the door.

Sang Wan looked at the five bowls of rice on the table and swallowed hard, then turned her wheelchair to find Sang Que for an explanation.

Rip...rip...

Just as Sang Wan opened Sang Que’s door a crack, she heard the sound of a sharp object tearing fabric inside, sending chills down her spine. Slowly, she opened the door little by little.

In the dim room, Sang Que sat on the floor with her back to the door. Scattered around her were various stuffed toys, which she was continuously slashing to pieces with the knife.

Lightning flashed, and cold wind blew in from the half-open window. Sang Que’s long hair was in disarray, radiating an eerie and sinister atmosphere.

Sang Wan’s hair stood on end, but she couldn’t help but call out tentatively, "Little Que?"

Sang Que’s slashing paused. She dropped the eyes-gouged-out toy in her hand, stood up, and slowly turned to look at Sang Wan, who was sitting in the wheelchair.

In her eyes—clear and distinct black and white—there was no trace of light, only emptiness and indifference.

Sang Wan’s heart trembled; this was not Sang Que, not her daughter.

Sang Que began to raise the knife in her hand, moving step by step closer to Sang Wan.

Sang Wan frantically tried to move the wheelchair joystick, but the wheelchair remained motionless. She could only watch as Sang Que got closer and closer, the knife’s tip shining with a cold gleam.

"Little Que!!" Sang Wan shouted with her eyes closed, as the knife tip stopped in front of her.

Rumble!

The thunder roared, and suddenly Sang Que’s vacant eyes regained their sparkle.

Seeing her pale-faced and trembling mother in front of her, then looking at the knife in her hand aimed at her mother and the toys shredded around them, Sang Que shivered and dropped the knife, retreating in fear.

No matter the situation, Sang Que could restrain herself and stay calm, but at this moment, she couldn’t suppress her terror and fear.

She clearly had locked the room door; how could it be...

Sang Que looked at her room’s door, which hadn’t been broken open, but was normally opened and exited.

She hadn’t learned to control Gui Chou, yet Gui Chou was already starting to control her?

Seeing her mother’s terrified look, the panic in Sang Que’s heart became increasingly uncontrollable.

"I...I need to go out!"

Sang Que went back to her room to grab some things and fled out the door.

"Little Que!"

Sang Wan called after her, but only heard the sound of the door shutting. Lowering her head, she looked at her uncooperative legs, hitting them forcefully, and finally couldn’t hold back her sobs.

*

At four o’clock in the afternoon, outside Xujiawan Village.

The sky was gloomy, devoid of any daylight.

In the exhibition center square, three to five old men gathered in a corner playing chess, a few children chasing each other and playing, and a group of grannies dragging stereo equipment, claiming the space ready to start their square dance time.

Unlike the lively square, behind the construction barricades on the opposite road, the village was silent as death.

Two men and two women, four young people stood in front of a phone stand used for live streaming, with their backs to Xujiawan Village, greeting the camera.

Among them, a blond lifted his own phone to the screen, "Hello, everyone. It’s now 8 PM on Mid-Autumn Festival night. I am your ghost hunter live-streamer, Huang Zhongyu, who could rely on good looks but insists on tempting fate. Next to me is..."