Cursed Memories: The List of Doom - Chapter 2
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Chapter 2: The Blood-Soaked Mask
[Translation By Divinity]
Outside the window, the rain intensified. Raindrops beat a rhythmic tattoo against the glass, their pitter-patter a chilling counterpoint to the silence within. The night, as if drenched in thick ink, was pitch black, like a demon lurking in the shadows, threatening to consume the world.
The clock on the wall ticked away, each tick seeming to bring them closer to terror.
In a daze, Lu Cheng’s consciousness hovered between dreams and wakefulness. A prickle of unease danced on his skin, an unsettling awareness of an unusual presence in the room. His intuition screamed a warning – someone was silently entering their bedroom. The figure of a woman materialized in his mind, her mere presence seemingly draining the warmth from the air, leaving a bone-chilling cold in its wake.
Lu Cheng fought to open his eyes, to confirm his suspicions, but his eyelids felt leaden, refusing to lift. His heartbeat quickened, his breath grew shallow and rapid. A nameless dread coiled around his heart as he heard the woman’s footsteps, light and deliberate, each one a thud against his chest.
In the darkness, the woman’s form sharpened. Her face was pale, bloodless, like that of a corpse. Long, unkempt hair shrouded her features, revealing only eyes filled with a chilling resentment. Her gaze, sharp as a blade, pierced Lu Cheng’s heart, and a cruel smirk twisted her lips, mocking his helplessness.
Lu Cheng sensed her moving past him, her malevolent intent fixed on his beloved girlfriend, Su Wanqing.
Despair and fear clawed at him. He wanted to scream, to shield Wanqing from this spectral figure, but his voice was trapped in his throat, stifled by an unseen force. His body was frozen, paralyzed with terror.
The lights in the room flickered and dimmed, casting grotesque shadows on the walls as if unseen entities lurked in the corners. The ticking of the clock grew louder, each beat a relentless drumroll towards doom. Lu Cheng’s heart plummeted as he felt the woman’s hand reach for Su Wanqing.
“No, don’t hurt Wanqing!” Lu Cheng’s voice ripped through the silence, a desperate cry born of fear and despair.
He bolted upright in bed, cold sweat plastering his pajamas to his skin. His heart hammered in his chest, the echo of the nightmare still reverberating in his ears, reminding him how real the dream had felt.
Su Wanqing was startled awake by Lu Cheng’s cry, her eyes wide with worry. She quickly sat up, moved closer to Lu Cheng, and wrapped her arms tightly around him, trying to offer comfort and warmth.
“Lu Cheng, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Her voice, gentle and concerned, sought to soothe his fear.
In Su Wanqing’s comforting embrace, Lu Cheng gradually found his breath returning to normal. He looked into her loving eyes, the panic in his own slowly receding.
“It’s nothing, it’s okay,” he stammered, trying to mask his lingering unease. “Maybe I’m just stressed from work.”
Under the faint glow of the bedside lamp, Lu Cheng’s face was pale, his gaze unfocused, as if still trapped in the remnants of his nightmare. His fingers clenched the sheets, knuckles white with tension.
Su Wanqing gently stroked his back, her voice a soothing balm. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Lu Cheng remained silent, his eyes scanning the room, searching for anything out of place. Suddenly, his gaze snagged on one of the windows.
A window was open, as if blown open by the wind. But that was impossible.
It was raining outside, and he distinctly remembered closing and locking all the windows before bed. Even the fiercest wind couldn’t have forced it open.
Lu Cheng stared at the window, its frame swaying ominously in the wind, his heart pounding in his chest. How could this window be open when all the others were securely shut?
Could someone have broken in? The memory of his terrifying dream, the woman with her chilling aura, flooded back. Why did she want to harm Wanqing?
Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
His phone, left in the living room, suddenly vibrated, the sound jarring in the midnight silence.
A midnight call? The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Su Wanqing stirred beside him, her brow furrowed in confusion. Who would be calling at this hour?
“It’s alright,” Lu Cheng said, pushing back the covers and rising from the bed. “I’ll go check it out.”
He hurried to the living room, the insistent buzzing of the phone growing louder with each step. The caller ID displayed an unknown number. After a moment’s hesitation, he answered.
“Hello? Who’s this?”
The other end of the line was silent. Just as Lu Cheng was puzzled, a series of beeps signaled the call had ended.
Lu Cheng put down the phone uneasily, his mind blank. After a while, he came to his senses and realized that his palm, which had been holding the phone, was sweating profusely.
He paced uneasily around the living room, but the phone remained silent. He turned off the living room light and prepared to return to the bedroom.
Just then, the phone rang again. Lu Cheng didn’t bother to turn on the light but rushed over and grabbed the phone, shouting, “Hello, who is this?”
The other end of the line remained silent, and Lu Cheng felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Tonight at the stroke of midnight, the evil spirit appears…”
Suddenly, an extremely low and terrifying woman’s voice came from the phone. This voice was exactly the same as the one that had come from the computer speakers earlier. This familiar yet terrifying voice chilled Lu Cheng to the bone.
“Who…who are you? What do you want?”
Lu Cheng asked, his voice trembling, his hand holding the phone shaking uncontrollably.
“Beep…beep…beep…”
A busy signal came through. The other party had already hung up.
Lu Cheng collapsed onto the sofa, staring at the phone. He both hoped and feared that the phone would ring again.
Suddenly, a pair of hands rested on his shoulders. He shuddered and turned around abruptly to see Su Wanqing.
“Whose phone was it?” Su Wanqing pressed her face against his head and asked gently.
“A strange call.”
“Who was it?” Su Wanqing had a vague sense of foreboding.
“A woman!”
“A woman? What did she say?” Su Wanqing turned on the living room light.
“Tonight at the stroke of midnight…”
Su Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat, a look of terror flashing in her eyes.
“This…isn’t this the same sentence that came from the speakers just now?”
“It’s okay, don’t be afraid. I think it’s just someone playing a prank.” Lu Cheng comforted Su Wanqing, but his voice was clearly trembling.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, “Wanqing, what time is it?”
“It’s three o’clock.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Let’s go back to bed.”
“I need to use the bathroom. Lu Cheng, wait for me.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you, Wanqing.”
It was already past twelve, and Lu Cheng felt a little relieved. He sat on the sofa waiting for Su Wanqing, closing his eyes, trying to escape the tension and fear he had just felt.
Outside, the rain continued to fall, and the wind-blown branches cast eerie shadows.
“Ah…help!”
Suddenly, Su Wanqing’s terrified scream came from the bathroom, filled with horror.
Lu Cheng jumped up from the sofa and rushed to the bathroom.
“What’s wrong? Wanqing, what happened?”
“Lu Cheng, come quickly, come and look!”
Lu Cheng burst into the bathroom and found Su Wanqing shivering, huddled in the corner, her face pale, her eyes filled with immense fear.
Her left hand was against the wall, her right hand trembling as she pointed at the bathroom mirror.
Lu Cheng looked and his blood ran cold.
A terrifying, blood-soaked mask appeared on the mirror…