Upon hearing the voices outside, my heart immediately skipped a beat.
The "fierce woman" outside was looking for me.
Who was this fierce woman outside?
I could guess with my toes that it was the female ghost who had been pestering me.
If I went out now, I would surely die at the hands of that foul entity.
So I hid beneath the offering table, curled up, and made no sound.
When I left Wan Fu Hall, Master Gu had specifically instructed me.
I could only come out at six o'clock the next morning.
One minute more was acceptable, but not one second less.
Furthermore, apart from the two specific sentences Master Gu had designated, I was not to engage in any further communication with people outside.
I remained silent, hiding beneath the offering table without a word.
Seeing that I wasn't speaking, the old man in black cloth shoes appeared very angry.
He let out another cold snort:
"Hmph! The merchants these days are truly insolent.
They've occupied my house and now they ignore me..."
After speaking, he tiptoed away.
When I saw the old man in black cloth shoes leave, I breathed a long sigh of relief.
But I still didn't dare to relax, quietly pressing myself against the base of the divine statue behind me, my nerves on edge.
The sounds of chewing rice and eating eggs in the temple gradually faded away.
The entire temple gradually became quiet again.
Aside from the occasional "cough, cough," there was not a single sound.
Hiding beneath the offering table, I felt as if days were passing like years.
Every minute, every second felt like an ordeal.
I thought it would continue like this until dawn.
But these foul entities living in the temple still wanted to drive me away.
At this moment, the woman in red cloth shoes tiptoed up to the offering table.
She spoke in a very sharp, high-pitched voice:
"Merchant! That fierce woman is looking for you!
The old and young gentlemen in the house all have opinions of you."
I hunched my neck, trembling as I listened.
But tonight, I wouldn't come out even if my throat was sore from shouting.
Seeing that I didn't respond or move, the woman in red cloth shoes suddenly patted the yellow cloth covering the offering table.
"Pat, pat!"
She kicked up a cloud of dust, which made my throat very uncomfortable.
I covered my mouth and involuntarily let out a soft cough.
"Cough, cough..."
But with just these soft coughs.
I found that the atmosphere in the temple had become a little strange.
I could clearly feel that it had become colder.
Rustling sounds echoed around me, as if people were whispering.
"Huh! He doesn't seem to be a merchant?"
"He seems edible?"
"This aura is wrong, he's edible!"
"..."
Seven or eight conversations suddenly arose from the left and right of the temple.
The voices were very small, very thin, and very indistinct.
I didn't know if I had heard correctly, but I clearly understood the word "eat."
A chill ran down my spine, and I broke out in a cold sweat.
I felt like a lamb entering a tiger's den.
At this moment, I covered my mouth, afraid to even cough lightly even if my throat itched terribly.
However, even so, I had already discovered through the gaps under the yellow cloth.
Outside the offering table, more than a dozen pairs of feet were now standing.
They wore black cloth shoes, gray cloth shoes, red cloth shoes, and some were even stark white and barefoot.
Without exception, all of them were on their tiptoes, their toes pointing in the direction of my hiding place.
My heart pounded wildly, almost leaping out of my throat.
Even being the focus of attention from a crowd of people outside made me uncomfortable.
Let alone being surrounded by a group of foul entities under the offering table.
I was truly terrified, fearing they would suddenly rush under the offering table and drag me out.
But what I feared most was happening.
At this moment, the old man's voice sounded again:
"Merchant, I'll give you one more chance, come out quickly.
Otherwise, we'll have to take matters into our own hands."
As soon as I heard the words "take matters into our own hands."
I went completely cold, "This is bad, this is really bad."
If these foul entities really took matters into their own hands, how could I, an ordinary person, resist them?
I crouched against the stone wall, covering my mouth and gasping in cold air.
I made no sound, my eyes filled with terror.
But who would have thought that at this moment, a pale, white human hand slowly stretched out from under the gap of the yellow cloth hanging in front of the offering table.
That hand slowly extended towards me.
Although it wasn't very clear, I was absolutely certain that this was a human hand.
No, it was a ghost's hand.
Outside, the old man's voice continued:
"Merchant, where are you? Let me feel around..."
As he spoke, the hand groped around indiscriminately.
It scared me so much that I couldn't call out, and I couldn't dodge.
And, most terrifying of all.
A second pale, white human hand also slowly reached in from the other side at this moment.
Frightened, my body recoiled, and my head hit the bottom of the offering table.
Making a "clang" sound.
Because of the pain, I instinctively let out a cry of "Ouch!"
But as soon as the sound left my mouth.
The old man outside spoke with great anger:
"Damn it! You're not a merchant, you're here to buy longevity!"
The human hands reaching under the offering table began to grab frantically.
Not only that, but three more human hands suddenly reached in from the side.
All of them were abnormally pale, and as soon as they reached under the offering table, they began to grope around.
The offering table wasn't large, and there was only so much space underneath.
With hands reaching in from the front, left, and right, how could I possibly evade them?
With one wrong move, one of my feet was grabbed by the ankle by a foul entity's hand.
"Ah!"
I cried out, terrified, and kicked desperately.
Wanting to break free, but the foul entity's strength was astonishing.
The hand that grabbed me was like a vise.
It yanked my ankle and began to drag me outside.
At the same time, the old man, with excitement, drawled:
"Heh heh heh! I've got you, let me see, you lifefrauder!"