Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Li Mo's heart seemed to be trying to break free from the constraints of his chest, beating wildly in his throat, each beat carrying a dull pain. He stared intently at the eerie black shadow on the curtains, his pupils dilated with fear, and even subconsciously held his breath, fearing that the slightest draft would alert the unknown being outside the window.

The shadow remained motionless by the window, its outline blurred in the faint moonlight, yet radiating an indescribable sense of oppression. It had no head, only a thin, dead-branch-like neck connected to a disproportionately large body. Its form was bizarre beyond common sense. Li Mo's mind was filled with horrifying fantasies. What on earth could this thing be? Was it the "dirty creature" of the village legend, or some unknown beast?

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, each second stretching like a century. Li Mo's back was already drenched in cold sweat, the icy sweat sticking to his skin, bringing waves of piercing chills. He clutched the bed sheet tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, his nails practically digging into his palms.

After several full minutes, the shadow finally moved. Instead of moving forward, it slowly retreated, its movements stiff and slow, as unnatural as a puppet on a string. As the shadow retreated, its outline on the curtains gradually faded, finally disappearing completely into the thick fog. Then, a series of soft footsteps could be heard: "Dong... Dong..." The rhythm was slow and heavy, like someone wearing heavy boots walking on the wet ground, each step feeling like it was stepping on Li Mo's heartbeat. The footsteps grew farther and farther away, and were finally swallowed by the fog, and no sound could be heard anymore.

Li Mo felt as if all his strength had been drained from him. He collapsed onto the bed, gasping for breath. His body was still shaking uncontrollably. The fear brought on by the previous scene was like a brand, etched in his mind, lingering. He dared not allow himself to fall asleep any more. He struggled to get out of bed and stumbled to the table.

He trembled as he picked up his phone. The screen lit up, a faint light illuminating his pale face. However, the signal on the phone screen was only one bar, so weak that it seemed like it would disappear at any moment. He tried to send a message to his mother, his fingers tapping clumsily on the screen, but the message bar kept showing "Sending" before finally popping up a "Send Failed" message.

Li Mo was unwilling to give up and tried to call his mother again. When the call was connected, his heart instantly jumped into his throat. But before he could hear his mother's voice, the phone screen suddenly flashed and then went completely black - the phone was out of battery and turned off.

"Damn it!" Li Mo cursed, throwing his phone feebly onto the table. He looked around. The room was dark, with only a faint moonlight filtering through the window, illuminating the outlines of the furniture. Fear surged through him once again. He had a feeling that there was something else in the room, hiding in the darkness, staring at him with cold eyes.

Helpless, Li Mo pulled up a chair and sat by the door, his eyes fixed on it. His ears pricked up, listening attentively to every sound around him. Even the slightest movement would make his heart tighten. Thus, he endured fear and anxiety, waiting for dawn.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky outside the window finally began to turn pale, and the thick fog dissipated a little, with faint traces of sunlight penetrating the fog. Li Mo rubbed his bloodshot eyes, stood up, walked to the window, and carefully lifted a corner of the curtain.

The scene outside gradually became clearer. The small courtyard of the inn was paved with bluestone slabs. There were still condensed water droplets on the slabs from the mist, reflecting the weak sunlight. The innkeeper was sweeping the yard slowly with a broom. The broom made a rustling sound as it passed through the ground. This ordinary and everyday sound instantly relaxed Li Mo's tense nerves.

He let out a long sigh, walked to the bathroom, and washed his face with cold water. The cool water stimulated his skin, clearing his chaotic mind. He washed up briefly, tidied his messy clothes, took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked downstairs.

The lights in the inn's lobby were already on, the warm yellow light dispelling the remaining chill. The boss had already finished sweeping the floor and was sitting behind the counter, polishing an old abacus. Li Mo walked up to the counter, hesitated for a moment, and then couldn't help but ask, "Boss, last night I heard strange crying sounds from next door, and then a strange black shadow appeared outside the window. What's going on?"

The boss paused for a moment when he heard his words, then looked up and glanced around warily. After confirming that no one else was in the lobby, he lowered his voice and leaned closer to Li Mo and said, "Are you talking about Room 302? That room has been empty for several years and is usually unoccupied."

"No one lives there?" Li Mo's eyes widened in surprise, and his voice rose a few degrees involuntarily. "But I clearly heard crying in that room last night, and there were also knocks on the door. How can this be explained?"

The boss sighed, lowering the rag. A complex emotion flashed across his eyes, a mix of sympathy and fear. He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "That room was previously occupied by a woman named Xiulian, a villager. Three years ago, her husband, while collecting herbs in the mountains, accidentally fell off a cliff. His body wasn't found until several days later. Xiulian and her husband had always had a good relationship. After his death, she felt like she had lost her soul, she spent her days in tears. Not long after, she took advantage of the dead of night and hanged herself in room 302."

At this point, the innkeeper's voice lowered, with a barely perceptible tremor: "Since then, every night, people often heard a woman crying in Room 302, and sometimes there was a knock on the door. The villagers said it was Xiulian's ghost haunting the room, but no one dared to check. Over time, that room became a taboo in the inn, and no one dared to approach it anymore."

After hearing his boss's words, Li Mo felt a chill run from his feet to his head, and his blood seemed to freeze at that moment. The crying and knocking he heard last night were actually coming from the ghost of a woman who had committed suicide? This realization made his scalp tingle, and cold sweat broke out on his back again. He didn't dare to think about it anymore, and could only stand there stiffly, his face as pale as paper.

Just as Li Mo was immersed in fear, the boss suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, your grandmother Zhang Lan, do you know how she died?"