The killer's gaze sent a chill down Wu Jiaxin's spine.
As he spoke, he advanced towards her, brandishing a hammer.
"Help!"
Her survival instinct kicked in, and she screamed, turning to grab the doorknob.
Before she could even open the door, the killer's hammer swung down, striking her hard on the back of the head.
Wu Jiaxin ducked, and the hammer thudded against the metal door.
Just as she prepared to bolt to her left, her hair was yanked fiercely, pulling her back with such force that she landed on the ground.
"Why can't you just die obediently like your sister?" the killer snarled.
Wu Jiaxin gripped the killer's hand tightly. The tugging on her hair felt like her scalp was being ripped away.
The intense strain and pain made her want to cry.
Seeing the hammer swing towards her again, Wu Jiaxin knew she was going to die.
"Bang!"
The iron pot on the electric stove suddenly fell, hitting the floor and spinning.
The killer, raising his hammer with excitement, was about to strike when the sound of the pot made him instinctively glance behind him.
Wu Jiaxin seized the opportunity, driving her knee forcefully into the killer's groin.
The impact made the killer's legs clamp shut in pain.
The grip on her hair loosened considerably. Wu Jiaxin grabbed her own hair with her right hand, quickly pulling it free. She scrambled to the door and fumbled with the latch.
"You bitch!" the killer roared, stepping forward quickly and throwing the hammer at Wu Jiaxin.
The hammer struck Wu Jiaxin's arm. The hand holding the latch instantly lost its strength, her arm throbbing with pain.
Meeting the killer's ferocious gaze, Wu Jiaxin struggled to pull the latch with one hand, her heart racing as she realized it wouldn't open.
She quickly ran towards where the hammer had landed.
As she crouched down to reach for it, her hair was grabbed again, and a strong force yanked her back.
She was dragged and tumbled onto the ground.
The killer retrieved the hammer, crouching down.
Just as Wu Jiaxin prepared to get up and run, she was kicked in the stomach, gasping for air from the pain.
"You like to cause trouble, huh? Fine! Let's see how many hammers you can take," the killer said, his eyes dark. He placed the hammer behind his back and walked towards Wu Jiaxin.
"Bang!" Just then, Wu Jiahui's memorial portrait on the table suddenly fell.
The killer turned his head, staring at the portrait with a moment of surprise.
The photograph in the portrait had originally shown Wu Jiahui with a gentle smile.
Now, the expression in the portrait had contorted into a ferocious glare, its fierce eyes fixed on the killer.
The chopsticks on the table clattered together incessantly, making a ding-ding-ding sound.
"Sister!" Wu Jiaxin exclaimed excitedly, seeing all this.
"Playing ghost games to scare me?!"
The killer strode towards Wu Jiahui's portrait and swung the hammer down with all his might.
With a "bang," the hammer struck the portrait, shattering the glass instantly.
Wu Jiaxin stood up and noticed that the previously locked iron bolt was slowly being moved backward by some unseen force.
With a click, the bolt was unlocked.
Wu Jiaxin grabbed the door, pulled it open, and ran outside.
The killer's eyes widened in astonishment. He had secured the bolt; Wu Jiaxin hadn't touched it at all. How could it have opened?
The clattering of the chopsticks on the table abruptly ceased.
The killer glanced back at Wu Jiahui's portrait before immediately giving chase.
Wu Jiaxin ran out of the room, and a chopstick floated in front of her.
She followed the chopstick as she ran.
All her hope was now placed on this single chopstick.
The commotion she had just witnessed must have been her sister.
Wu Jiaxin, enduring the pain in her arm, watched as the chopstick pointed towards a narrow alley.
She quickly darted into the alley.
This time, she immediately crouched down.
The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.
She could feel the killer was very near, fighting back the fear and anxiety within her.
The killer's footsteps suddenly stopped.
After crouching on the ground for a while, the chopstick gently tapped her shoulder.
"Sister, is that you, Sister!" Wu Jiaxin cried, grabbing the chopstick and holding it tightly.
The chopstick moved, then flew forward.
Wu Jiaxin quickly followed behind it.
When she spotted police officers on the street, she instinctively hid behind something.
She couldn't believe it.
Not that she didn't believe in the police, but she feared they might be the killer in disguise.
The only thing that gave her a sense of security was this chopstick.
Following the chopstick for a while, Wu Jiaxin looked up and saw it had stopped in front of a shop.
It tapped the door twice, then fell from mid-air.
Wu Jiaxin picked up the chopstick and looked up at the shop.
The shop had no sign, only a wind chime hanging outside.
The shop's glass door was open.
Wu Jiaxin trusted her sister.
She cautiously walked into the shop, glancing back nervously as she did.
"Is... anyone here?" Wu Jiaxin called out softly.
The moment she stepped inside, she was startled by the sight of twelve clay figurines in the room.
They seemed like twelve living dolls staring at her. As she shifted slightly to her left, the gaze of the clay figures seemed to follow.
Just then, a shoulder was tapped.
"Ah!" Wu Jiaxin screamed and quickly looked to the side.
She saw a beautiful young lady looking at her.
More accurately, she was looking behind Wu Jiaxin.
Zhao Yan placed five bowls of lamb noodles on the table: "I was right, wasn't I? We'd meet again."
Wu Jiaxin thought Zhao Yan was speaking to her, but judging by Zhao Yan's gaze, she was clearly looking behind her.
"You... you can see my sister!" Wu Jiaxin exclaimed excitedly to Zhao Yan.
"Is my sister behind me?" Wu Jiaxin quickly walked up to Zhao Yan and grabbed her arm.
"She's very weak," Zhao Yan said softly.
Looking at Wu Jiahui's soul form, it was on the verge of dissipating.
It was just a step away from shattering, a consequence of overusing her spiritual energy.
What surprised Zhao Yan was that Wu Jiahui's soul, having only emerged from her body on the seventh day, could unleash so much spiritual energy.
It seemed she was willing to dissipate her soul to protect her sister.
"Sister, I knew it was you, sob sob..." Wu Jiaxin hugged the space behind her tightly, sobbing.
"How can I see my sister?"
"Do you want to buy talismans?" Zhao Yan asked softly.
She took out five talismans from her backpack and arranged them on the table.
"Your sister's soul is very weak, so she needs four soul-nourishing talismans. And since you want to see your sister, you'll need one Yin-Yang talisman."
"Each one is five..." Zhao Yan paused, then, seeing that Wu Jiaxin didn't look wealthy, retracted her statement.
"Five hundred each. I just opened my shop today, so it's a grand opening special."