Chapter 161 - 148: Autumn Tomb - Doll

[This is a short story set in the Autumn Tomb World, serving as a prelude before the transmigration.]

At ten o’clock at night, Qiao Mu walked out of her tutor’s house with her backpack.

The streetlights outside the old residential complex had been broken for over half a month with no one coming to fix them. Cursing silently, she unconsciously quickened her pace. The dim yellow light stretched her shadow long and thin against the wet ground.

There was hardly anyone left outside the complex. The air hung heavy with the dampness of a recent rain, mixed with the faint, sour stench of garbage bins. Taking the main road home would add half an hour to her trip, whereas the alley cutting through the back street would get her there in just ten minutes.

Qiao Mu hesitated for a second before turning into the alley to take the shortcut.

There were no lights in the alley. Only a few faint rays escaping from distant residential buildings managed to illuminate a narrow path at her feet. Discarded cardboard boxes and several overflowing garbage bins piled up against the base of the wall, making the sour smell even stronger. Her canvas shoes stepped into puddles.

SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH...

The sound echoed in the silent alley, making it seem as if she wasn’t the only one walking. She had the lingering feeling that someone was behind her—a feeling that had persisted for several days. Every time she walked into this alley, a chill would creep up the back of her neck. It felt like something was staring at her from the darkness, standing very close.

Qiao Mu didn’t dare to look back. She could only walk faster and faster, her pace shifting from a brisk walk to a hurried stride, until she was almost running. Her backpack went RUSTLE and CLACK against her back, intertwining with the frantic beating of her heart.

Last night, a missing person poster had been put up on the bulletin board in her tutor’s residential complex. A woman who lived alone had gone missing on her way home from work three days ago. The police had come to ask questions, stating that two similar cases had already occurred nearby, and reminded everyone to avoid going out alone at night. Qiao Mu’s heart beat even faster.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.

"I LOVE U."

Qiao Mu’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. The voice was very soft, carrying a cheap, mechanical quality, like something produced by an old toy.

"I LOVE U."

Qiao Mu’s scalp instantly went numb. She held up her phone and looked toward the source of the sound, only to see a pink rabbit plushie sitting on top of a garbage bin. The rabbit was extremely dirty and tattered. Its fur was covered in dark red stains, and the dirty cotton stuffing in its belly was half-exposed. Its eyes were two black buttons; one was about to fall off, dangling from its face by a thin thread.

"I LOVE U."

Qiao Mu felt goosebumps erupt all over her body. The plushie sat there quietly, its black button eyes staring unblinking at her as its mouth endlessly repeated that phrase.

She turned around and sprinted toward the end of the alley. Her backpack bounced up and down against her back, the books inside going CLATTER and THUD. She didn’t dare to look back. She could only run for her life, her ears filled entirely with the sound of her own heartbeat and that haunting voice following her like a shadow.

It wasn’t until she burst out of the alley, threw herself into her own apartment building, and slammed the security door shut behind her that the voice finally seemed completely cut off. Qiao Mu gasped for air, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The house was empty. Her parents were both working the night shift at the hospital. Qiao Mu changed her shoes and first checked all the doors and windows. Only after confirming they were all securely locked did she head into the bathroom to wash up. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, then returned to her bedroom and got into bed, wrapping herself tightly in her thin summer quilt.

The room was very quiet, save for the occasional HONK of a car passing by outside the window. Qiao Mu stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. She didn’t feel sleepy in the slightest, unable to stop thinking about that bizarre plushie.

After an unknown amount of time, drowsiness finally began to creep in. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Just as she was about to fall asleep...

"I LOVE U."

Qiao Mu’s eyes snapped open. The room was pitch black. Moonlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, casting a long, thin shadow on the floor. Covered in goosebumps, she slowly turned her head and looked toward the window.

Behind the curtains, there was a blurry silhouette. The silhouette of a rabbit. It was leaning against the windowsill, watching her.

"I LOVE U."

That mechanical voice transmitted through the glass, echoing in the silent room. Qiao Mu trembled all over and wanted to scream, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, rendering her completely mute.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside. Her mom and dad were back! As if clutching at a lifeline, Qiao Mu screamed with all her might. "Dad! Mom!"

Her bedroom door was violently pushed open, and her parents rushed in. Qiao Mu threw herself into her mother’s arms, pointing toward the window as she cried out incoherently, "The plushie! That plushie is outside the window! It keeps saying ’I LOVE U!’"

Her father immediately walked over to the window and yanked the curtains open. There was nothing outside. Only the empty balcony and the dim yellow streetlights downstairs. Her parents exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with worry.

Her mother gently patted Qiao Mu’s back and said softly, "Mumu, are you under too much stress from your studies? Did you have a nightmare? There’s nothing outside the window."

"It wasn’t a nightmare! I really saw it!" Qiao Mu sobbed. "When I came back from tutoring tonight, I saw it in the alley too! It was sitting on a garbage bin, just staring at me!"

Her father sighed. "Mumu, we live on the fourth floor. How could there be anything outside the window? There, there, don’t be afraid. I’ve already rearranged my work schedule. From now on, Dad will pick you up after class every day, okay?"

That night, Qiao Mu slept with her mother. She kept her eyes open until dawn, feeling as if she could still hear the plushie’s voice echoing in her ears.

For the next few days, her father indeed came to pick her up every day. That pink rabbit plushie never appeared in the alley again, nor did she hear that eerie voice. Qiao Mu gradually relaxed, thinking that perhaps she really had been too stressed and had simply hallucinated the whole thing.

That was until Saturday night. It had rained all day, leaving the air heavy and stifling.

When she got back from class, her mother, who rarely had a day off, had cooked her a late-night snack. Her parents were watching a soccer match together. After eating, she washed up early and went back to her bedroom. Perhaps because she had been so exhausted these past few days, she quickly fell asleep.

She didn’t know how long she had slept...

"I LOVE U."

Qiao Mu’s eyes snapped open instantly. This time, the voice wasn’t in the alley, nor was it outside the window. It was right next to her ear! She could feel something pressing against her pillow—something cold and soft, carrying a mixed scent of rotting flesh and rusty iron.

Qiao Mu’s body instantly went rigid. She slowly moved her eyes, looking toward the edge of her pillow. That pink rabbit plushie was lying quietly right there, mere centimeters from her face. Its two black button eyes stared blankly at her in the darkness.

"I LOVE U."

"I LOVE U."

Overwhelming terror left Qiao Mu’s entire body freezing and stiff. Right at that moment, she felt the edge of the mattress sink. Someone had sat down at the foot of her bed!

Qiao Mu threw off her blanket and bolted for the door. Yanking it open, she screamed in a trembling voice.

"Dad! In my room, there’s..."

Qiao Mu froze in her tracks. Her cry for help came to an abrupt halt. The soccer match on the TV was still playing at a low volume. In the glow of the screen, she saw her mother and father lying in a pool of blood. Their eyes were wide open in despair, their hands still reaching desperately toward her bedroom.

The living room lights flickered, and she saw another shadow on the ground. It was right behind her. Tall, pitch black, approaching with a freezing aura.

"Help..."

THWACK!

A cold iron rod smashed heavily into the back of Qiao Mu’s head. An agonizing pain flared. Before her consciousness sank entirely into darkness, the last thing Qiao Mu heard was that plushie, repeating mechanically over and over again.

"I LOVE U."

"I LOVE U."

"I LOVE U."