I Return From Hell

Chapter 89: Chapter 83: Little Flower Looking for Something (2)

But now...

”You! You! You!”

”Little Flower!”

Zhao Huan’s heart pounded in his chest as he turned and ran.

He was sure he was taking the same path back, but as he ran, he realized he couldn’t find the courtyard where Xia Yu was. It felt like all the courtyards looked exactly the same.

He glanced back.

The little girl was walking backward. At some point, a handmade paper pinwheel had appeared in her hand.

No matter how fast Zhao Huan ran, the little girl kept pace with him. The distance between them didn’t grow; it shrank.

The strange thing was,

the pinwheel barely spun.

This defiance of the laws of physics terrified Zhao Huan even more, pushing him to the brink of collapse.

As time passed, his stamina drained away, and he began to gasp for breath. Just as the little girl was about to press against his back, he shoved open the gate to a nearby courtyard, slammed it shut, and rushed into the main hall, closing that door as well.

He entered an inner room and shut the door again.

”HUFF.”

Zhao Huan gasped for air, straining his ears for any sound from outside.

Fortunately, there was no sound of the door being pushed open, nor any footsteps.

’Please, don’t come in,’ he thought.

For some reason, the room felt a little cold. It was as if a chilly draft was blowing against the back of his neck. Zhao Huan shivered and pulled his clothes tighter around him.

But after a moment, the temperature in the room dropped even lower. It was unnaturally cold.

The cold air kept blasting his neck, making him extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t dare turn on his flashlight to inspect the room, so he could only pull up the hood built into his jacket.

Instantly, the cold draft on his neck vanished.

”Phew.”

’If I can solve it, that means it’s nothing.’ Zhao Huan had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief when his neck suddenly felt cold again. This time, it was accompanied by a faint sound, like someone whispering in his ear.

His body stiffened.

Fear spread through him.

’Any normal person would know something was wrong here. I’m a normal person, so...’

Zhao Huan decided to leave. He crept step by step toward the door, thankfully meeting no resistance.

CREAK.

The door opened.

By the faint moonlight, he saw someone much shorter than him standing just outside, their back to the door.

”AH!”

Fear exploded in his heart.

BANG.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Zhao Huan slammed the door shut and, this time, bolted it.

The whole sequence of actions was smooth and practiced.

The cold draft returned to his neck.

The low murmurs started up again inside the room.

And this time, it sounded like it wasn’t just one person, but many!

”To hell with it!”

”Let’s see what the hell is in here!”

In his desperation, a surge of courage washed over Zhao Huan, and he boldly switched on his flashlight.

The beam of light revealed an antique-style room. He was about to look closer when, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed someone pressed against his ear, whispering.

This time, he heard the voice clearly: ”Zhao Huan, save me. I’m begging you.”

”Who’s there!”

Zhao Huan yelped in fright and dodged away.

He took a closer look.

”Huh? Brother Chen? Aren’t you dead?”

The face belonged to his good friend; he couldn’t have been more familiar with it. But he’d just seen that same friend get bitten to death by a monster with his own eyes. How was he alive again?

His gaze traveled down.

Where was his neck and body?

Where were his hair and ears?

It was just a face!

A human face, floating in midair!

And it wasn’t alone. There were many other faces floating in the air—some human, some not.

All of these faces were staring at him!

Some with fear, some with hope, some with resentment...

”AHHHH!”

”No.”

”Why are you all coming after me? Why?”

”SOB SOB.”

Zhao Huan completely broke down. A grown man, crying hysterically.

The next moment,

”CREAK.”

The bolt slid back, and the door swung open.

Pigtails, a flower-print cotton jacket, red cotton shoes, and a spinning paper pinwheel came into view.

The faces of Brother Chen and the other beings showed looks of terror. They all flew backward in unison, huddling in the corner.

Zhao Huan’s scalp went numb. Perhaps crying had released his inner fear, because his thoughts were now extremely clear, and his words came out smoothly. ”Little Flower, your mom is calling you home.”

”I’ll take you home. Just let me go, okay?”

The little girl shook her head frantically, like a pellet drum.

”I’m not going home.”

”Mama lost my most precious thing. I have to get it back.”

”Mama doesn’t love me. I want to leave that place.”

She was getting very agitated. ”Big brother, you’re a bad person. You’re on Mama’s side. You all deserve to die.”

STEP.

As she spoke, Little Flower started walking backward toward him.

Zhao Huan hadn’t expected her to really be Little Flower, and he certainly hadn’t expected her to harbor such resentment toward her own mother. He’d just said the exact wrong thing.

Thinking fast, he blurted out, ”What did you lose? I can help you find it! I’m great at finding things. I’ll definitely be able to find it for you.”

Hearing this, Little Flower paused. ”Really?” she asked.

”Really!”

Like a drowning man clutching at a straw, Zhao Huan nodded frantically. ”I promise!”

”What’s your most precious thing?”

Little Flower pointed to the ’faces’ in the corner. ”They look like my most precious thing, but unfortunately, none of them are. In the end, I could only abandon them here.”

Erk.

Zhao Huan froze, a premonition of doom washing over him.

The next moment, Little Flower turned around.

Zhao Huan’s eyes flew wide open. What was he seeing?

Little Flower’s face had no skin, just raw flesh and blood!

Where was her face?

”Your... your most precious thing... it couldn’t be a face, could it?”

He asked, as if compelled by some unseen force.

”Yup.”

The corners of Little Flower’s mouth curved up, as if in a smile. Her pure black eyes stared at Zhao Huan as she said, ”Big brother’s face looks like my face. Can I borrow it to wear for a while?”

With that, she began to approach him, one step at a time.

”This old face of mine is too big, it’s not yours.”

”How will we know if we don’t try it on? What if you’re tricking Little Flower?”

”I... Screw you!”

With a sudden burst of courage from God knows where, Zhao Huan kicked Little Flower’s body, then unleashed every last ounce of his strength to smash through the window.

The flesh on Little Flower’s face twisted, and her voice turned cold. ”You hit Little Flower. You’re a bad person.”

”Bad people must die.”

”They all must die.”