Forbidden Land – CH 053

Zhang Chao checked into the hotel. Just as he was about to get up to go to the bathroom, the black cat suddenly woke up, rolled over, and leaped up. Its ears stood up, its emerald green eyes flashed with intense aggression, and it stared intently at the doorway. Its body arched slightly, and in a leaping motion, it meowed fiercely at the door.

The bathroom was on the right-hand side as you entered. Before Zhang Chao even entered, the sudden meow from behind startled him, jolting him slightly.

Turning around, he saw the black cat staring intently in his direction. He couldn’t help but curse, “You little beast! I’ve been giving you good food and drink. What the hell are you doing? Trying to bite me?!”

Already seething with anger, and now with nowhere to vent, he wasn’t afraid the cat would dare attack its owner. He grabbed a paper slipper from beside the door and threw it at the cat.

The black cat nimbly jumped aside, dodging the slipper, but still stared at him with undiminished aggression.

Zhang Chao was furious. He grabbed another paper slipper and went to hit the black cat.

Seeing its owner coming, the black cat nimbly darted aside and stood about a meter from the door, letting out a low growl.

This time, Zhang Chao realized the cat wasn’t targeting him.

Zhang Chao turned around and looked towards the door.

The door was still securely locked, but the black cat showed no sign of aggression.

Was someone walking by outside? Cats and dogs were alike; dogs usually bark when someone passes by on their way upstairs. He’d never owned a cat before and didn’t know if cats behaved this way.

He calmed himself and listened intently for a while, but there was no sound of footsteps outside.

But the black cat’s aggression didn’t lessen at all.

Then, a thought suddenly popped into Zhang Chao’s mind: Was someone hiding outside the door?

Only animals with keen hearing could detect that.

Zhang Chao crept to the door, pushed aside the metal-plate-covered peephole, and looked out.

He was in the room at the end of the hallway, and he had a clear view of the whole hallway through the peephole.

He didn’t see anyone; the hallway was empty, and the lights were dim.

The black cat let out another low, deep meow, then jumped to the door and frantically scratched at it.

Zhang Chao quickly picked up the cat and put it on the ground. The door of this small hotel was made of wood, albeit reinforced wood, but it couldn’t withstand the damage from a cat’s claws. If the owner demanded compensation, it would be a huge problem.

But as soon as he picked up the cat and put it down, it made a lunge motion, its claws still outstretched.

“I’m being treated like a lunatic, and you’re the lunatic too?”

“But that doesn’t seem likely.”

“Could someone be hiding in the blind spot of the peephole?” But the blind spot of the peephole was very small; could someone really hide there?

Zhang Chao was curious about why the black cat had suddenly become so fierce. After a moment’s thought, he decided to open the door and take a look.

Fearing there might be some kind of thug outside, he decided to first lock the iron chain on the door. That way, even if the door opened, it would only be able to open about 10 centimeters, preventing anyone from getting in.

So, he locked the chain, gently turned the lock, and cursed at the door, “Damn it, which idiot is hiding outside? I’ll catch them and won’t be polite!”

He cursed to test if anyone was really hiding outside. But there was silence; no one responded.

His heart sank. He gripped the lock and gently pushed the door open.

“Meow—” A sound rang out as the door opened, and the black cat revealed its most ferocious expression, darting out and frantically scratching at the air in the doorway.

Seeing the empty doorway and the black cat scratching aimlessly at the air, Zhang Chao was completely at a loss. His heart pounded, and he frantically called the cat’s name, begging it to come back.

Just then, a gust of cold wind, seemingly from nowhere, blew in from outside. Zhang Chao shivered, released his grip, and sneezed more than ten times in a row.

After the sneezing, his head was spinning. Looking again, he saw the black cat had already run into the room.

He was about to close the door when suddenly, a gust of wind from somewhere slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”

Afterwards, an agonizing silence descended.

Zhang Chao, who had been in a daze, instantly became fully awake. His fists clenched, he looked around the silent room, desperately trying to control his wildly beating heart, his palms clammy with cold sweat.

The room had no windows open, and even the cold wind in the hallway wasn’t strong enough to slam the door shut. He was perfectly clear on this point.

But what could it be?

The black cat remained arched but didn’t meow, its gaze fixed coldly on a corner of the curtain.

It was past midnight, the curtains were drawn, and only the soft yellow light of the lamp illuminated the room. Looking at that shadowy corner of the curtain, Zhang Chao felt a chill run down his spine.

The black cat walked step by step towards the corner of the curtain. When it was less than two meters away, it arched its back and emitted a low growl.

Seeing this, Zhang Chao’s heart sank. It was said that black cats could see unclean things. Could it be that something unclean was outside the door, and when he opened the door, the unclean thing came inside?

Could it be…could it be…that the unclean thing was hiding behind the curtain?

Zhang Chao felt like he was dreaming, yet he couldn’t doubt the reality of the situation. He took a deep breath and, step by step…step by step…carefully walked to the black cat’s side, together looking at the wavy curtain hanging down.

It seemed… the more he looked at it, the more… the more this curtain looked like there was a human figure!

Was someone hiding inside?

Or was this the curtain’s original shape?

Zhang Chao’s lips twitched slightly. He mustered his courage and asked softly, “Bai Qiu, is… is that you?”