At that moment, Stirling saw the two-headed dwarf at the door, feeling his blood freeze. In a flash, his mind went blank. The intense fear took over.

  He had only seen scenes like this in movies, but now it was happening right in front of him. How could he remain calm?

  Stirling had only one thought: To hell with fate, it inexplicably brought him to fucking here.

  His only option was to survive in this inexplicable and eerie environment.

  The two-headed dwarf stood at the doorway. After both heads had scanned the room in different directions, one of them let out a cheerful laugh.

  "Hehe, let's choose the last one against the wall. It's less noticeable."

  Upon hearing this, the other head shook its head in disagreement.

  "I prefer the first one. The last one is too far away!"

  "Trust me, the last one is safer!"

  "The first one!"

  The two heads argued, glaring at each other with expressions of anger on their greenish faces.

  "Of course, we should choose the first one. We need to finish our meal and leave without delay."

  You two idiots! If you keep arguing like this, it'll be dawn! Stirling lay at the back of the room. He cursed the monster in his heart but could do nothing about it, only worried helplessly.

  "How about we each take one?"

  As Stirling was worrying, one of the dwarfs' heads made a sudden suggestion.

  "Bravo, that's a great idea!"

  The dwarf looked thrilled by the idea and started clapping with enthusiasm. This made Stirling break into a cold sweat. Even though he wasn't last in line, who could say the dwarf wouldn't notice him while passing?

  Stirling had no better alternative at that moment. He could only slow his breathing, feign deep sleep, and keep his eyes shut.

  Pat, pat! Leather shoes echoed in the quiet room, marking the dwarf's arrival.

  Stirling lay on the bed like a dead fish. An icy chill crept in from the door and stopped right in front of him.

  Shit! His heart sank, and he mentally prepared himself for the worst.

  Before he fell asleep, Stirling put the oil lamp and wooden board close by. If the odd creature attempted to attack, he would be ready to defend himself.

  "Hey, this person has vital energy and blood of extraordinary strength."

  "Huh? That's true. It's quite rare. Let's try him; he must be yummy."

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  "Are you insane? If the priests find out, we'll be in serious trouble! The Vampire Statue is fond of people with potent energy and blood. Let's go. This person must have already been a target of the priests."

  After a quick chat, the two-headed dwarf went deeper into the room, ignoring Stirling.

  But this only caused Stirling to feel even more anxious.

  What did they mean by a target? What was the Vampire Statue? Was it the statue in the courtyard?

  A series of questions flooded his mind. As he was out of sorts, a strange sound from behind caught him off guard.

  Hiss, hiss…

  How could he describe that sound? It was like the noise made when sucking yogurt through a straw.This normal sound now felt monstrous and disgusting. It made Stirling very uncomfortable, almost making him vomit.

  Time passed in unbearable agony, second by second. He felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe and causing him to lose track of time. But soon the creepy sound stopped; another took its place.

  Creak, It was the sound of a stone slab moving aside. Given the distinct nature of stone friction, Stirling suspected a possibility. Could it be that the bed beneath them was movable?

  Stirling heard a heavy object fall, and the stone slabs closed again. He felt a cold chill return as the footsteps moved to the front of the room.

  This time, the chill didn't stop. It moved on, followed by that eerie sound again.

  Stirling now realized where the foul smell came from. He had noticed it as soon as he had entered the room.

  It was the stench of a decaying corpse. The corpses here had been drained of blood and flesh. That could explain why the smell wasn't unbearable. It smelled of rotting garbage behind the stone slabs.

  The thought of a desiccated corpse below him made Stirling's heart tighten once more. He wondered what he had done to end up in such a strange and scary place.

  After eating the first person, the two-headed dwarf left the room. Silence returned in an instant.

  Stirling dared not make the slightest sound. He remained still, pretending to be fast asleep.

  In his mind, the two-headed dwarf lay on the windowsill outside, watching him in secret. As soon as he made any movement, it would pounce in and swallow him up without delay. Time passed minute by minute. When Stirling was ready to give up and felt hazy, a ray of light flushed his cheek.

  Is it dawn?

  Stirling's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but crack his eyes. He saw the room lit by sunlight streaming through the window. This showed that the sun had risen. Until that moment, Stirling's heart, which had been tense, finally relaxed for no reason. Anyhow, this night had finally passed. Although it's uncertain that the temple is safe during the day, it's at least much better than at night. Otherwise, the demonic creature wouldn't have come at night.

  As Stirling daydreamed, the light seemed to wake the villagers, one by one.

  Also, Stirling stopped sleeping. He sat up and feigned a casual glance at the spot near the wall. There was no one in sight. Sure enough! Stirling's upper eyelid twitched. He didn't want to wait any longer, so he jumped out of bed and followed the others.

  What puzzled Stirling was that no one noticed the two people disappearing. It was as if two flies had vanished without a trace.

  Although Stirling muddled through this, he couldn't ask about it either. He had to pretend not to know. After he left the room, people from the other three rooms followed him out, one by one. The old man, who led the way, was standing in the middle of the courtyard, waiting.

  Stirling followed the others and stood in the line. He peered around and found that neither Monk White nor Monk Green was there. He did not know where they had gone.

  It wasn't long before all the villagers in the room had come out. The old man glanced at everyone, then, without a word, he strode towards the courtyard gate.

  A group of people marched in a grand procession. They went back through the corridor to the front courtyard of the temple. The courtyard gate was already open at that moment, as if it had been waiting for the group to leave all along.

  Stirling gazed at the lush green outside the courtyard gate. It felt like the past two days had been a dream. He couldn't help but turn around and look. He glimpsed a vague figure in the temple's shadow, who starting at him from a distance.

  Is it Monk White or Monk Green? Stirling was not sure and didn't dare to look any longer. He turned his head away. Then, with the others, he stepped out of the temple and went down the mountain.