The Hand of Confession – Chapter 413

Epilogue: The Final Instance

Big Eyes

In the dead of night, a thing like that could scare you to death.

Lou Jingmo was trying to scare her away.

            

Shen Maomao understood this with perfect clarity.

Mother Lou was already dead, yet Lou Jingmo showed no surprise at seeing her again. Clearly, this hadn’t just started today.

This younger Lou Jingmo was far less of a cunning dog than her twenty-something self would be; a small act of kindness was still enough to make her act human.

            

Tears of gratitude streamed down Shen Maomao’s face.

Of course, mixed with that gratitude was a pang of heartache for Lou Jingmo. She had thought that in this dungeon, at least, Lou Jingmo had someone who cared for her. But in the end, it turned out Mother Lou had passed away long ago.

She hugged the blanket-wrapped Lou Jingmo a little tighter. “When did she start appearing?”

            

When did it start?

Young Lou Jingmo couldn’t quite remember.

She thought it was one day when she had a fever so high she’d lost consciousness.​¹ She had missed her mother so, so much, and then this Mother Lou had appeared.

            

She was the same as her real mother, yet not quite the same.

Her appearance and voice were identical, but the difference was… Lou Jingmo could see no love for her in the woman’s eyes.

She was like a robot manufactured to meet a need, devoid of thought or feeling, only able to act according to a pre-set program. And she was invisible to that man.

            

Lou Jingmo knew she was a fake and never ate the food she made, but she coveted the feeling of having her mother by her side again.

Her mind raced, but she didn’t move or speak. She just stared up at the ceiling in the darkness, even though she couldn’t see a thing.

With another person there, the space under the covers quickly warmed. The girl beside her patted her arm intermittently.

            

Lou Jingmo found the gesture childish, like someone trying to lull a toddler to sleep.

But her eyelids betrayed her, drooping heavily as drowsiness crept in.

This continued for a long time, until a distinctly rhythmic tapping came from the window outside. The two children, who had just closed their eyes, snapped them open in the same instant.

            

Shen Maomao rolled over gently, her gaze fixed on the window.

The curtains were still drawn, obscuring whatever was outside, but the tapping was unnervingly clear in the silent night. Paired with the sound of gnawing from the kitchen, it created a chilling melody.

It seems like that thing can’t get in.

            

Shen Maomao relaxed and turned to look at Lou Jingmo. Unfortunately, the room was too dark to see her expression.

But she must be terrified! What kid has ever been through something like this? Lou Jingmo must be in desperate need of a comforting, warm hug!

Shen Maomao fumbled for a moment before successfully finding and grabbing Lou Jingmo’s hand under the blanket.

            

Lou Jingmo’s body went rigid for a second, but she quickly relaxed, letting her hand be held.

Shen Maomao whispered, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”

Lou Jingmo didn’t reply, but she rolled over in the dark to face Shen Maomao.

            

Shen Maomao’s heart melted.

If circumstances were different, I’d really love to raise her myself.

The tapping continued, one knock after another, unhurried. It reminded her of her very first dungeon, many years ago. A similar scene had occurred there: a player’s corpse had been hung outside the window, and whenever the wind blew, the tips of his shoes would kick against the glass, making a thump… thump… sound.

            

If that was what was happening now, who was hanging outside? Was it someone Lou Jingmo knew?

Shen Maomao felt around the edge of the pillow with her free hand and found a small, soundly sleeping spirit.

With a complete lack of consideration, she tossed the little spirit out. The movement was a bit too large and caught Lou Jingmo’s attention. Snapped out of her daze, Lou Jingmo yanked her hand back, rolled over to face the wall, and refused any further contact.

            

Shen Maomao cursed inwardly and mentally added the transgression to Puck’s tab.

Puck, still unaware that blame had just fallen on him from the heavens​² while he slept, was already used to being a tool spirit.​³ Even without Shen Maomao’s instruction, he knew what to do.

He flew to the window and slipped under the curtain. A moment later, he flew back. “There’s someone outside with really round eyes.”

            

“Round?”

Puck continued. “Yeah… not just round, but big.”

Shen Maomao’s brow furrowed.

            

Puck elaborated. “It’s a male. His eyes are really, really big. There’s a foul smell coming from the window crack, like a dumpster. That thump-thump-thump sound is him hitting the glass with his head.”

Shen Maomao couldn’t picture the scene.

Puck understood she probably couldn’t talk to him right now, so he pressed on. “You two better get up. The glass is already cracked. He’ll probably break in any minute!”

            

Shen Maomao shot up. She gently patted Lou Jingmo’s back. “We have to get out of here.”

Lou Jingmo sat up too. “What’s wrong?”

“The thing outside the window is about to get in.”

            

As if to prove her point, the words had barely left her mouth when the sound of glass shattering echoed from the window. Shards fell to pieces, clattering onto the windowsill and the floor. The sound then moved inward, striking the second pane of glass.

Lou Jingmo realized she wasn’t joking. “You were serious about attracting ghosts?”

Shen Maomao sighed. “Why would I lie to you?”

            

Lou Jingmo threw off the covers and quickly dressed in the dark, then sat on the edge of the bed to find her shoes.

Shen Maomao leaned down, using the faint glow from Puck’s wings to guide Lou Jingmo’s shoes to her feet.

“Hurry up!” Puck urged. “He’s almost in!”

            

Shen Maomao asked Lou Jingmo, “Do you have a back door?”

“No back door,” Lou Jingmo said. “But there’s a window.”

Shen Maomao made a prompt decision.​⁴ “The window it is!”

            

Lou Jingmo put on her shoes, slung her small backpack over her shoulder, and felt along the wall until she found a stool. She picked it up and started stumbling out of the room.

Shen Maomao quickly took the stool from her. “You lead the way. I’ll carry this.”

Suspecting Shen Maomao could see in the dark, Lou Jingmo obediently handed over the stool and led her toward the kitchen.

            

The closer they got to the kitchen, the clearer the sounds from within became.

Shen Maomao found the sound hard to describe. It was a rustling, scraping noise, like someone eating, or maybe rats scurrying about. If it weren’t the middle of the night, most people wouldn’t have paid it any mind.

The kitchen light was off, but there was a window.

            

Moonlight streamed through it, illuminating a figure crouched before the counter, head bowed, gnawing on something held in both hands.

The figure either didn’t notice the two children behind her or simply didn’t care to acknowledge them.

Shen Maomao placed the stool in front of the window, and Lou Jingmo unlatched it.

            

A night breeze carrying the scent of flowers rushed in, dispersing the smell of blood and other odors in the kitchen.

Lou Jingmo climbed onto the stool first. She poked her head out the window, and only after confirming the coast was clear did she slip outside.

Shen Maomao followed right behind her.

            

Just as she was climbing through, she heard the second pane of glass shatter in the other room. That man was inside.

Mother Lou, still gnawing on her meal, seemed to hear it too. She suddenly looked up. In the moonlight, Shen Maomao saw her face, smeared with blood. As the woman turned, she also saw what was cupped in her hands: a dead rat.

Shen Maomao immediately leaped from the windowsill to join Lou Jingmo. “Are we worried about your mom?”

            

“She’ll be fine,” Lou Jingmo said.

“Alright then. Do you have somewhere to go?”

Lou Jingmo started walking. “I do. But don’t follow me.”

            

Shen Maomao, feeling deeply wronged, hurried to walk beside her. “Why not?!”

Lou Jingmo stated the plain truth. “Because you’ll be a burden.”

Shen Maomao was speechless. Fuck, she actually has a point.

            

“Let’s each run our own way,”​⁵ Lou Jingmo added. “There are plenty of intersections around here. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m afraid something will happen to you!” The words tumbled out of Shen Maomao’s mouth. She grabbed the girl’s hand, her expression earnest. “Trust me. I’m begging you, please?”

Lou Jingmo remembered seeing the female lead in 《Let’s Go Watch the Meteor Shower》​⁶ trying to win back the male lead with the exact same lines. A strange feeling washed over her.

            

She shook off Shen Maomao’s hand. “Just worry about yourself. I don’t need you to save me. Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to meddle in my life?”

Tears immediately welled in Shen Maomao’s eyes. “I don’t want to meddle! I just… I just love you too much.”

Now she sounds even more like the pitiful heroine in a romance drama, abandoned by some scumbag.

            

Young Lou Jingmo didn’t know the first thing about acting; she just found the whole display bizarre.

Why does this person cry so much? She cried when we first met, she cried when she couldn’t catch up to me, she cried just looking at me. And now that I won’t let her follow me, all she can do is cry.

But for some strange reason… seeing her cry made Lou Jingmo’s own heart ache, and she was at a loss for what to do.

            

While the two of them were busy filming their romance drama, Puck shrieked, “I’m begging you two! You can dawdle​⁷ once you’re safe! That man is coming after you!”

“Holy shit,” Shen Maomao glanced back. The man Puck had mentioned was already halfway out of Lou Jingmo’s window.

This time, she got a clear look at him. Puck hadn’t been exaggerating. His eyes were fucking huge. They were massive and round, taking up half his face, as if someone had used Huitu Xiuxiu​⁸ to max out the eye-enlarging tool several times over. They were mostly sclera, the pupils darting wildly. When he spotted them, a strange, eerie laugh escaped his lips.

            

In the dead of night, a thing like that could really scare you to death.

Shen Maomao forgot all about her tears. She grabbed Lou Jingmo’s hand, picked a direction, and ran.

Lou Jingmo looked back and saw it, too. Her face went deathly pale. For a moment, she was too terrified to even think about running, stumbling forward only because Shen Maomao was dragging her. It took her a few frantic steps to come to her senses, but she never mentioned splitting up again.

            

Shen Maomao wanted to laugh, but her heart ached.

Her Lou-jie shouldn’t have to endure things no child should ever have to face…

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