A rustling sound behind me?!
Little Sam shivered, thinking of a bad situation.
Could it be... the farm owner’s ghost, right behind him.
He turned his head trembling.
There was nothing behind him, only the desk shaking slightly, making a crisp creaking sound.
Looking down, he saw that the mat under the desk leg had been knocked aside.
The desk in this house is an old piece of furniture, said to have been used for decades, existing even when little Sam’s mother was alive. Regular waxing kept it outwardly intact; but the nearby lake means damp air seeped into the desk over the years, making its core somewhat soft and erosive, causing a desk leg to be missing, making it wobble. After moving in, little Sam put paper mats under the desk leg to keep it steady for reading.
Now, the mat had been knocked aside. Perhaps he knocked it over when he tripped earlier.
The missing mat, combined with his bump, is what caused the eerie rustling earlier.
Little Sam looked at the wobbling desk and sighed with slight relief; he earlier thought the farm owner’s ghost was up to mischief behind him.
Speaking of the farm owner’s ghost, little Sam couldn’t help but look back towards the window. But now, there was no shadow, let alone a face, reflected on it.
Perhaps he’s too tired from reading and is having hallucinations?
Little Sam shook his head and stood up, cautiously looking around; he saw nothing unusual. Considering the Knights’ Order and Wizard Druid had both examined the room and declared it fine, little Sam thought to himself, maybe he’s overthinking.
Having twisted his ankle in the fall earlier, little Sam limped to the chair behind the desk and sat down.
Rubbing his painful ankle, little Sam inadvertently glanced at the wind-blown open "Soul Chronicle" on the desk.
Moments ago, at a glance, he saw an illustration in the book, remembering the crimson-eyed phantom appearing in the floor mirror.
This was somewhat similar to his earlier experience.
He, too, saw a phantom on a mirror-like glass.
Little Sam looked at the explanation next to the illustration, instinctively reading it out: "Special Undead... Mirror Grudge..."
As little Sam uttered "Mirror Grudge," he felt a chill around him.
"Possessing special interference abilities, it can directly affect the Material Realm through mirrors."
"Mirrors are both its hiding place and its transfer route. It can use the mirror for special spatial leap transition."
"The best prevention is to cover all mirrors with cloth and take them away..."
Gulp, little Sam swallowed down hard. When he saw this, he suddenly recalled the scene he saw earlier downstairs: Drue, with the Knights’ Order, grandly searching Star Lake Castle for mirrors, covering them with velvet, and taking them away. This situation was just as described in the book; could it be that the Knights’ Order’s actions were to prevent the Mirror Grudge?
"If you’ve seen the Mirror Grudge, you better be careful, as it may already be lurking around you, maybe behind you, or even above your head..."
The chill around grew even more intense. Whether it was just psychological or truly colder, he couldn’t tell.
"Maybe behind you, or above your head."
Looking at these words, little Sam swallowed again and slowly turned his head, finding nothing but silence behind him; he then looked up at the ceiling, which was just as peaceful.
"Seems I truly am being too sensitive." Little Sam sighed with relief.
Yet before he could finish, he felt an even cooler, piercing sinister aura emanating from below. Meanwhile, his ankle under the desk seemed to be grabbed by a pair of hands.
Little Sam froze, looking down.
He saw an unclear shadow form under the desk. As little Sam looked over, the shadow raised its head.
Frightening red eyes, a wicked face, with eerie heavy breathing...
The sight before him made little Sam’s heart seem to stop for a few seconds, then reverse and explode with a pounding beat echoing in his ears.
Little Sam became restless.
Or rather, anyone who suddenly saw a terrifying ghost face under a desk wouldn’t remain calm.
Not to mention, this ghost face was the farm owner’s face!
The farm owner’s ghost hadn’t disappeared. The phantom he saw on the window earlier wasn’t an illusion; everything truly happened, he just didn’t notice it at the time, the farm owner’s ghost had actually left the window and entered this room!
Though little Sam’s heart was pounding rapidly, he had experienced ghost encounters before, even sparred with the Spider Ghost Lady Cilla.
Even though his face was pale from fright, he still immediately took defensive and evasive action.
However, just as little Sam kicked the chair and tried to escape backward, a massive force pulled him back by the ankle.
It was indeed the farm owner’s ghost holding onto his ankle.
His ankle was already twisted, and now targeted and pulled back, little Sam could no longer keep his balance and once again sat back in the chair.
Though his ankle was restrained, little Sam wasn’t one to await doom. Especially in such moments, he mustn’t panic; he forced himself to ignore all external factors and think about how to deal with the current situation.
The speed of his thoughts surpassed all else.
Perhaps it was subconscious thinking, or perhaps strategizing before acting.
In under a second, little Sam formulated a new response.
During the initial fight with the Spider Ghost, since Lady Cilla was his kin, he could use his own blood to attack, but with the farm owner’s ghost, they were unrelated, making this tactic useless. So, what little Sam did was pick up the oil lamp on the desk, uncover the shade, and fiercely throw it at the undead under his feet.
The flame was a kind of intense energy. While energy collisions might not harm the undead, little Sam never intended to harm the ghost with the oil lamp’s flame; he sought only a brief chance.
A chance to escape.