Chapter 6: Whispers from the Depths of the Ruins

  The night was as dark as ink, and the wind, thick and heavy, wove through the cracks of the ruins, emitting a low, mournful wail, as if this desolate land was whispering some unknown sorrow. Ji Tian carried Zhang Xiaoyue on his back, his steps heavy as he trudged through the rubble and broken walls, each footstep crunching on the debris. His shoulders ached from the prolonged burden, and sweat dripped from his forehead, splattering onto the dusty ground, only to be instantly absorbed. Zhang Xiaoyue's breathing grew fainter, like a flickering candle in the wind, on the verge of extinguishing. Her head hung limply against his back, her cold cheek pressing against his neck, sending a chill through him.

  "Xiaoyue, hold on..." Ji Tian murmured, his voice tinged with barely concealed anxiety. He tried to keep his tone steady, afraid that his unease would only make her weaker. Though her weight was light, it felt like a mountain pressing down on him, suffocating him. He knew her life was slipping away, and he was powerless to stop it.

  Zhang Xiaoyue's eyelids drooped heavily, as if she no longer had the strength to open them. She parted her lips slightly, her voice as faint as a whisper carried away by the wind: "So cold..." Her hands hung limply at Ji Tian's sides, her fingertips icy, as if they had just been pulled from freezing water.

  Ji Tian clenched his teeth, stopping in his tracks to adjust her position slightly, trying to warm her with his own body heat. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, rubbing her arms vigorously, but her body felt like a bottomless abyss, no matter how much warmth he poured into her, it couldn't stem the fading temperature. He looked up, scanning the surroundings. The last traces of the sunset had long disappeared, and the ruins looked even more desolate under the night sky. The broken walls and debris stood like silent skeletons, and as the wind blew, it occasionally picked up fragments of debris, sending them spiraling into the air before they fell back to the ground.

  Just then, a strange sound emerged from the depths of the ruins.

  "Thud... thud... thud..."

  The low echoes seemed to rise from deep underground, each one heavy and slow, as if pounding against his chest. Ji Tian's steps faltered, his body stiffening as he glanced around warily. The wind seemed to grow sharper, and the damp, rotting smell in the air thickened, as if something was watching them from the shadows. He held his breath, listening intently. The sound was distant, yet clear enough to send a chill down his spine.

  "Something's... not right here," Ji Tian muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed. He could feel an invisible pressure closing in, like a net slowly tightening around them. He took a deep breath, forcing down the unease in his chest, and continued forward. The metal baton in his hand was slick with sweat, but he didn't dare loosen his grip—it was his only lifeline now.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  After a few steps, his gaze was drawn to a crumbling wall. The wall leaned precariously amidst the ruins, its surface riddled with cracks, as if it might collapse at any moment. Yet, what caught his attention was the faint mural still visible on its surface. The figures in the painting were distorted and grotesque, their bodies stretched and torn by some unseen force, their faces blurred but exuding extreme pain and despair. Their hands were raised high, as if pleading to the sky or being dragged into an abyss. Even more unsettling was the "bloodstains" on the mural, which seemed fresh, glistening with a dark red hue under the faint moonlight, as if they had just been painted.

  "...What is this?" Ji Tian whispered, his voice echoing faintly in the empty ruins. He took a step closer, reaching out to touch the "bloodstains," but just as his fingertips were about to make contact, he jerked his hand back—a piercing coldness emanated from the wall, as if something was warning him.

  Zhang Xiaoyue seemed to sense the strangeness too. Despite her weakened state, she managed to lift her head slightly, her gaze falling on the mural. Her lips moved faintly, her voice fragmented, as if carried away by the wind: "...It looks like... a sacrifice..." Her eyes were clouded, but a flicker of fear passed through them, as if recalling some distant terror.

  Ji Tian's heart sank, as if plunging into icy water. He stared at the mural, the twisted figures seeming to move, their expressions of pain magnifying before his eyes. A bad premonition washed over him—this ruin might be far more dangerous than they had imagined. He scanned the surroundings, trying to find a safe path, but the end of the ruins was nothing but endless darkness, like a gaping maw ready to swallow everything.

  Just as he was about to bypass the mural and continue forward, a low murmuring sound reached his ears.

  "Stay..."

  "Return..."

  "Sacrifice..."

  The voices were distant yet close, as if countless people were whispering in his ears simultaneously, or as if the sounds were rising from the depths of the ruins, echoing hauntingly, carrying a seductive, hypnotic quality. Ji Tian's back stiffened, a cold sweat trickling down his spine. He spun around, scanning the area, but there was nothing in sight. The wind still blew, lifting fragments of debris, but the voices lingered like shadows, impossible to shake off.

  "Who's there?" he barked, his voice echoing through the ruins, but there was no response. He tightened his grip on the baton, adopting a defensive stance, his heart pounding like a drum. He knew they were being watched—by something unseen, intangible, yet omnipresent.

  "We can't stay here any longer," Ji Tian muttered through clenched teeth, hoisting Zhang Xiaoyue onto his back and heading toward the only relatively intact structure in the ruins. It was an ancient shrine, dark and foreboding in the night. The doors were slightly ajar, a few broken wooden pillars propping up the eaves, as if they might collapse at any moment. Inside the shrine, the darkness seemed to conceal something indescribable, waiting silently for their arrival. Ji Tian paused at the entrance, glancing back at the ruins. The mural still glowed faintly with an eerie red light under the moonlight, as if mocking their ignorance.

  He took a deep breath, pushed open the shrine's door, and stepped inside.