Chapter 208: Heredity
The mission began.
The countdown designed on Lu Jinzhao’s watch began to run.
10 minutes. She certainly wouldn’t rely solely on the timer on her watch; she was also silently counting in her heart.
Where would the danger come from?
Lu Jinzhao silently counted the time while continuously observing her surroundings, observing this ancestral hall that had endured the elements for a long time.
The ancestral hall didn’t cover a large area, but because there weren’t many things placed in it, it seemed somewhat empty. Though called an ancestral hall, on the offering table in front was only a single black tablet engraved with unknown symbols. Besides that, there were only family god portraits pasted on the wall surface and a few slightly faded large characters:
【Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Kin, Teacher】
The entire room had only a tungsten filament bulb hanging from the beam as a light source. It wasn’t some special day, nor were there ancestors to worship, so no incense and candles were lit on the offering table, but the ancestral hall still carried the stale smell of incense ash, as if it had been marinated in it.
There was only one light source. This wasn’t good news.
Lu Jinzhao’s gaze swept over the ground ahead. Five meters away, less than six meters, was her blank tablet placed there. The front of the tablet had a scratch that inexplicably appeared today. This was something that was supposed to temporarily serve as a “peace talisman,” but now it was forced to be away from her side.
The tablet was very important; this was something everyone already knew. Now, the tablet’s distance inevitably made her feel a trace of anxiety and worry.
“What will happen without the tablet?”
This question might soon have an answer.
The originally calm, even eerily silent night suddenly stirred with wind.
Like some omen, this wind came in a weird and eerie way. Clearly she was indoors, yet the sound of the wind seemed to ring right by her ear.
It was as if someone was whimpering softly, or like an even gentler airflow, akin to breathing, brushing past her ear.
Weirdness, illusion, and a chill creeping up her back.
Worse still, the bulb hanging from the beam began to sway slightly, as if truly blown by the wind.
Lu Jinzhao’s shadow began to sway left and right with the bulb’s movement.
This wasn’t a good signal. Something had already begun to invade this ancestral hall.
Or perhaps, it had been there all along.
【8:24】
The countdown had a little over 8 minutes left; barely any time had passed. Would she have to share the room with a ghost for the next 8 minutes?
This was a bit difficult.
Lu Jinzhao still stood silently in place, complying with the mission’s requirements: no speaking, no random movements.
The shadow beneath her swayed slowly, like a drunkard staggering along.
Suddenly, the bulb overhead flickered twice as if having a poor connection.
Lu Jinzhao’s vision quickly darkened and brightened; light and darkness alternated rapidly. In the intervals of flickering, she seemed to see a shadow.
A shadow, thin and elongated, stretching from the ancestral hall entrance.
But the door was closed, and she hadn’t heard any sound of a “person” opening the door and coming in.
What that shadow was went without saying.
At this point, Lu Jinzhao no longer had thoughts like “maybe I saw wrong.”
Just now, in that instant when the light went dark, something had indeed stood at the entrance.
It was indeed here.
Lu Jinzhao could only pray that this bulb, which always failed during supernatural events, would hold out a bit longer this time.
But clearly, this prayer was useless.
The very next second after she thought that, the bulb began flickering again.
This time, she allocated more attention to the ground, so she saw that fleeting shadow more clearly.
A shadow so thin and tall it was nearly three meters high.
It stood at the entrance, yet its head nearly reached the ceiling.
Lu Jinzhao didn’t turn her head to see its original appearance; she only saw its shadow clinging to the ground, stretching from the entrance to behind her.
Only for an instant. When the bulb stopped flickering, the shadow vanished.
“Zzzzt——”
The old-style bulb overhead lasted less than ten seconds before becoming unstable again.
The light first dimmed by half, but it didn’t hold for even a second before completely extinguishing.
This time, the flickering lasted two or three seconds, with the light blinking on and off several times.
And the shadow at the entrance silently drew closer bit by bit in each interval of flickering.
Lu Jinzhao’s pupils contracted slightly; she slowed her breathing and, in the instant the light came on, quickly glanced at her watch.
【7:12】
Consistent with her mental estimate.
At least, time hadn’t been distorted.
It seemed not an illusion-type attack.
What was approaching was physical, though that wasn’t necessarily good news.
“Zzzt——”
The bulb made some noise from frequent poor contact, but fortunately it hadn’t completely failed.
The flickering continued.
Every time the light went out, it meant the shadow had drawn a bit closer.
It had no “walking” motion, just standing silently like Lu Jinzhao, but in the instants of flickering, like frames skipped in a movie, it devoured the distance between them bit by bit.
Lu Jinzhao could almost imagine that behind her, a tall silhouette was drawing closer inch by inch in each bout of darkness.
When the shadow first touched Lu Jinzhao’s feet, the 【Silence】 clinging to Lu Jinzhao’s skin suddenly wrinkled up like it was shrinking.
【6:47】
The shadow had completely enveloped her in its darkness; Lu Jinzhao felt discomfort.
Her skin prickled with waves of pain; her hands and feet were cold, slightly stiff. Her heartbeat, usually only a bit better than a corpse’s, “came alive” at this moment because now she sensed danger.
A sense of horror spread from the bottom of her heart. Lu Jinzhao clearly knew it was very, very close now.
Drawing closer bit by bit each time darkness fell, until now, it was probably right behind her, right?
【6:03】
The bulb seemed to stabilize, no more flickering from poor contact. Half a minute had passed since Lu Jinzhao last saw that shadow.
Lu Jinzhao didn’t relax because of this; on the contrary, she grew more tense.
The light stopped flickering, so had it disappeared?
No.
【Silence】 was clearly still taking effect; even one hand had “shrunk” to only half its original size.
And it hadn’t done anything yet.
【6:00】
“Bang——”
An ominous sound came from inside the bulb, like the tungsten filament burning out. The next moment, the ancestral hall was completely shrouded in darkness.
Lu Jinzhao had anticipated such a scene, but even so, she couldn’t help feeling a bit startled now.
Without the flickering light, she could no longer judge where that shadow was.
But… did she even need to judge anymore?
After all, it had already reached behind her, hadn’t it?
Was it still in place?
Or even closer?
Or perhaps, in the darkness, it was silently bending down, approaching her head?
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