Ji Leshui was so shocked that he passed out on the spot. This reaction gave Lin Banxia quite a scare. He quickly squatted down, pinching his philtrum and patting his forehead. Just as he was considering whether to call for an ambulance, Ji Leshui finally woke up.

However, Ji Leshui’s condition after waking up was not good either. His face was pale as he huddled on the sofa, staring blankly at the window located in the corner of the room.

Lin Banxia softly called his name a few times before Ji Leshui came back to his senses. He stared at Lin Banxia with a pleading look and said with a trembling voice, "Banxia, I'm still scared of that window. Is it really a window?"

"Yes, it is." Lin Banxia comforted his friend, "It's just a window..." He was a little worried Ji Leshui wouldn't believe him, so he stood up, walked towards the window, then undid the latch and pushed the window open. As soon as the glass window opened, the sound of the wind outside became even more piercing. The cold wind howled, swirling and lashing against Lin Banxia's cheeks.

It was pitch-black outside the window, and nothing could be seen. There were no stars, no bright moon, only the dark sky, like a giant, devouring mouth.

Lin Banxia opened the window and turned his head to look at Ji Leshui.

Seeing Lin Banxia open the window, Ji Leshui was startled. With a trembling voice, he asked Lin Banxia to close it, saying that thing would get in.

Seeing his agitated expression, Lin Banxia didn't dare to argue and just nodded, grabbing the glass pane and closing the window again. However, as he was closing the window, he felt his fingers touch something sticky, but before he had time to think about what it was, he had already shut the window tight.

"See, there's nothing there." Lin Banxia closed the window, walked to Ji Leshui's side, and continued to soothe his friend. "Did you see it wrong? I'm not leaving, I'll stay here at home. You have to work tomorrow, so go to sleep first."

Ji Leshui gave a bitter smile, "How could I have seen it wrong? This house is seriously creepy... Banxia, what made you decide to buy a place here?"

"It was cheap, and it's close to my workplace," Lin Banxia said. "I couldn't afford anywhere else."

Ji Leshui said, "Sorry, that's not what I meant..."

Lin Banxia said, "I know. Go get some rest. I'll be in the living room, call me if you need anything." He crossed his arms, his tone calm, which gave Ji Leshui a sense of security. Back in college, he always felt that Lin Banxia was very brave; there was almost nothing that could scare him. Whether it was snakes and bugs or demons and ghosts, Lin Banxia would always have a nonchalant expression after seeing them.

It was already close to two in the morning. Having been scared all night, Ji Leshui was indeed tired. He dragged his exhausted body to the bedroom, and after lying down on the bed, he listened to the sound of the TV from the living room and wearily closed his eyes.

After Ji Leshui went into the bedroom, Lin Banxia tiptoed to the bathroom. He hadn't dared to say it earlier, but after closing the window, his hand had felt sticky. He glanced down and found his fingers were covered in many red stains.

At first, Lin Banxia thought it was paint or something. After entering the bathroom, he brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed, only to smell the stench of blood.

'The smell of blood? Could Ji Leshui have accidentally bumped into the window?' Lin Banxia turned on the tap, washed the stains off his hands, then walked back towards the window.

This time, he didn't push the window open but observed it carefully. It had been too dark earlier for him to notice, but upon re-examination, he discovered there was indeed something on the window pane. At first glance, it looked like strange patterns, but after careful observation, Lin Banxia finally identified what it was.

They were actually blood-red fingerprints, starkly printed on the glass pane. A casual glance might mistake them for patterns on the window.

Lin Banxia frowned at these fingerprints, turned and went into the kitchen, and came out again with a rag in his hand.

Carefully pushing the window open, Lin Banxia leaned out, intending to wipe off the marks on the outside of the window. But after wiping the glass back and forth for a moment with the damp rag, his movements froze. He pulled his hand back, looked at the clean rag, and suddenly realized something.

The bloody handprints weren't on the outside of the window, but on the inside.

Lin Banxia turned around and looked at the room behind him.

The light was on in the room, so it wasn't too dark. There wasn't much furniture, so the entire room could be seen at a glance. Normally, seeing something like this would make a person panic immediately, but Lin Banxia's expression was calm. He just went to the bathroom and washed the rag clean.

When he first bought this apartment, Lin Banxia had found it a bit strange because the price was surprisingly cheap. For the same location, apartments in different complexes cost a full two to three hundred thousand more. Lin Banxia had also asked the real estate agent why the price here was so low. The agent's reply was that the previous owner was in a hurry to go abroad and wanted to sell it cheap and leave quickly.

It wasn't until the day of the transfer that Lin Banxia met the landlord. He was a somewhat neurotic middle-aged man, with a pale face and a thin body, constantly muttering something. He didn't seem to be in a good state of mind.

After the transfer, the landlord completely disappeared, not even taking his belongings from the house. Thinking back on it now, there were indeed some things that were not quite right.

Lin Banxia closed the window, returned to the sofa, sat down quietly, and turned up the volume of the TV a little.

In the bedroom, Ji Leshui lay in the dark with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling above him. After staring for a long time, he developed a strange sense of dizziness. His body felt as if it were at the center of a vortex, rising and falling, constantly twisting and deforming. He closed his eyes, and the sound of the wind in his ears grew more shrill. Amidst the wind, there was a discordant, soft creak—the door of the wardrobe next to the bed suddenly opened a crack.

This wardrobe had been left by the previous owner. It was a bit old, but they couldn't bear to throw it away, so they continued to use it. It was just that the door seemed to have a problem; it would always open by itself.

If it had been a few days ago, Ji Leshui probably wouldn't have thought anything of this wardrobe. But today, he had encountered too many things, and his sensitive nerves could not withstand any more stimulation.

The moment the wardrobe door opened, dense goosebumps erupted all over his body. He didn't dare to sleep anymore and sat bolt upright.

"Banxia..." Ji Leshui called out his friend's name. He wanted to call Lin Banxia into the bedroom to help him close the wardrobe.

But he called Lin Banxia's name, and the person outside didn't respond. Just then, Ji Leshui heard a strange sound, which seemed to be coming from inside the wardrobe.

It was a sticky, chewing sound, as if something inside the wardrobe was feasting heartily.

"Lin Banxia." Ji Leshui's voice had a tearful quality to it. As a grown man, he wanted to stand up, but it was as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he couldn't move at all.

The chewing sound grew louder. In the corner of his eye, Ji Leshui saw a blood-red eye appear in the dark crack of the wardrobe, peering out greedily. It seemed to notice Ji Leshui sitting motionless on the bed and let out a bone-chilling chuckle...

Ji Leshui's mouth fell open. His throat felt as if it were being tightly strangled. Using all his strength, he managed to force out two words: "Help me..."

The bedroom light turned on.

The cold, stiffness, and fear receded like a tide. Ji Leshui raised his head and saw Lin Banxia standing by the bed. Lin Banxia looked at him worriedly, his mouth opening and closing as if he were saying something, but Ji Leshui couldn't hear anything. He was like a petrified statue, frozen stiffly in place, unable to make an expression or utter a single word.

"Leshui?" Lin Banxia called out worriedly to his pale-faced friend.

"Banxia..." Ji Leshui finally spoke, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz and filled with an uncontrollable tremor. He said, "Banxia... I'm moving out."

Lin Banxia said, "Alright, when?"

"As soon as possible," Ji Leshui said. "You should move out with me too. This place, this house, there's really something wrong with it."

Lin Banxia didn't answer. He sighed, sat down beside Ji Leshui, and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop his trembling. Only then did he continue, "I'll stay a few more days and see."

Ji Leshui said, "Did you hear that sound?"

"What sound?" Lin Banxia asked.

"Someone was eating in the wardrobe," Ji Leshui said woodenly. "It sounded like they were eating meat, lots and lots of meat."

Lin Banxia got up and checked the wardrobe. Naturally, there was nothing inside. He looked at Ji Leshui's dazed expression, unable to determine if Ji Leshui had really heard something or if it was an aftereffect of his poor mental state.

"If I stay here any longer, I'll definitely go crazy." Ji Leshui grabbed Lin Banxia's arm and said in a pleading tone, "You shouldn't stay here either, this place is really not right—"

Lin Banxia said, "I'll help you find a new place first."

"Okay," Ji Leshui said. "I'm not going to work tomorrow. I'll start looking for a place right away..."

Lin Banxia agreed.

Although Ji Leshui looked extremely exhausted, he didn't dare to go back to sleep for the next few hours. Instead, he sat in the living room and watched TV with Lin Banxia.

At a little after six in the morning, the sky finally began to show the faint light of dawn.

Ji Leshui stared blankly at his phone, the screen filled with all sorts of housing listings. Around eight in the morning, he began to eagerly dial numbers, making appointments with agents to view apartments.

While Ji Leshui was doing this, Lin Banxia stayed by his side. He didn't say much, just watched Ji Leshui's unusual behavior with a hint of worry appearing between his brows.