Chapter 21: You Foretold Death

Li Tianque sat in the elevator, his mind reeling, still caught up in the events that had just transpired.

The elevator sped downward, the numbers on the display steadily decreasing. With each floor, a soft beep sounded, drawing out Li Tianque’s thoughts further and further.

His mind was a tangle of emotions. Sometimes, working in a big city, there was an inescapable sense of urgency. Every person seemed like a moving gear, turning in their own place, serving their own purpose. Yet, if one gear vanished, another would take its place. In the end, everyone was just a useless cog in the machine.

What on earth am I even thinking...?

Now, I’m a freelancer, an enviable content creator who explores new places for a living...

Li Tianque tried to pull himself out of his spiraling emotions, doing his best to shake off the negative thoughts clouding his mind.

Soon, the elevator reached the tenth floor.

Just as he expected the elevator to keep descending, Li Tianque suddenly noticed something resembling a clump of hair at his feet.

His nerves immediately tensed—this hadn’t been there before. Why had it suddenly appeared?

On closer inspection, Li Tianque was utterly petrified.

To his horror, the blood-soaked child he had seen earlier began to emerge slowly from beneath his feet. That cold, sinister face rose up, floating until it was level with his own.

“Oh my god...” Li Tianque screamed uncontrollably.

At that very moment, the elevator stopped at the eighth floor. The child, drenched in blood, floated up into the air, looking down at him from above, those bloodshot eyes filled with icy malice.

They stared, unblinking, directly at Li Tianque...

Shrieking, Li Tianque bolted from the elevator. The people who entered after him stared in astonishment at the man who had just run wildly down the stairs.

Puzzled, they lingered at the elevator door for a while, hesitating, but after confirming there was nothing unusual inside, they finally stepped in, albeit reluctantly.

Li Tianque sprinted all the way downstairs, gasping for breath, his heart pounding wildly in his ears.

Now he was even more certain: the strange, bloody child he had seen earlier was Shen Jiayun’s son, Xiao Dong.

But why had Xiao Dong appeared covered in blood, as though he’d been in a terrible accident?

Li Tianque’s mind was a mess. He was, after all, an educated man—he’d never believed in superstitions. Besides, he rarely even watched horror movies; surely, even if he were hallucinating, it wouldn’t be anything this terrifying.

Wait, could it be...

Suddenly, a thought struck Li Tianque. He remembered a video he had scrolled past recently.

Could it be... that he had unknowingly broken one of the “Exploring Forbidden Stores” taboos?

Li Tianque opened his favorites and clicked on the video posted by Tundao.

Comparing the content, he realized he hadn’t violated any of the taboos mentioned, and many people in the comments claimed the video was pure fabrication—there was no such thing as these so-called taboos.

So what was really going on?

Distracted and unsettled, Li Tianque returned home. He couldn’t shake the image of that terrifying, bloodied child, so he ordered takeout and a dozen beers, only managing to fall into a drunken, uneasy sleep.

For the next day, he was completely out of sorts and didn’t dare to continue his exploration livestreams.

Fortunately, he no longer saw the bloody child. This eased his mind somewhat—perhaps he really had just been overtired and not sleeping well.

He thought the ordeal was over, but he hadn’t anticipated that something else would happen.

Three days after seeing the bloody child, Li Tianque realized his portable mic for livestreaming was missing.

Thinking back, he remembered dropping it the day he first saw the child by the window—it had fallen into the crevice in the corner of the room. In his rush to help, he hadn’t picked it up. Distracted as he left, he’d forgotten all about it.

Li Tianque immediately called Shen Jiayun, hoping she could help him look for it.

But no matter how many times he called, no one answered.

Though the place gave him a bad feeling, the mic was expensive and specially tuned—he couldn’t just abandon it. Bracing himself, he decided to go back.

Taking the subway to Tiedong Complex, Li Tianque found the area lively and peaceful, which eased his nerves a bit. Maybe he really had just imagined things.

Even so, he waited for a group of people heading up in the elevator and entered with them, mustering his courage.

As he gazed at the blurry reflection in the elevator’s mirror, his mind involuntarily replayed the image of the horrifying child rising from beneath his feet, and a chill ran down his spine.

Luckily, this time nothing unusual happened, and the elevator arrived smoothly at the sixteenth floor.

Throughout the ride, Li Tianque’s obvious nervousness drew the attention of everyone in the elevator. They all stared at him, thinking there was something very odd about this man.

At first, Li Tianque didn’t notice his own strange behavior, but when he realized everyone was looking at him, he tried to compose himself. Taking a few deep breaths at the door, he finally pressed the doorbell.

Once again, the melody of “The Little Box from Memory” played. This time, the gentle, lilting music felt strangely hollow and eerie.

When the tune ended, there was no response from inside, and the atmosphere grew heavier.

Li Tianque thought it odd, and his unease intensified.

He rang the doorbell again, but still no one answered after the music ended.

Could no one be home?

Finding it strange, Li Tianque pulled out his phone and tried calling Shen Jiayun again.

This time, after a long wait, the call was finally answered. But Shen Jiayun’s voice startled him—it was hoarse and tinged with tears.

“Hello...” Shen Jiayun’s voice was raspy, almost sobbing.

“Sister Shen... this is Li Tianque, the one who came to film the other day. I think I left my mic at your place. I’m at your door now, but it seems like no one’s home.”

On the other end, Shen Jiayun choked back sobs. He could hear crying and words of comfort in the background. After a long moment, she managed to speak through her tears.

“Alright... I’ll go back in a few days... Xiao Dong... he’s dead...”

“Dead?” Li Tianque’s eyes widened, cold sweat breaking out across his back.

“He was playing on the drop tower ride with his friends at the amusement park. His hair got caught at the top... and...” Shen Jiayun was now weeping uncontrollably.

At that moment, it was as if something suddenly dawned on her. Her voice shifted from hoarse to a strange, piercing shriek.

“My god! It was you, that day—it was you who said my son jumped to his death. It was you, you must be the one with the problem! You killed my son!”

Her voice grew shriller and more anguished with every word, sending chills down to the very bone.