He abruptly stopped in his tracks, leaning against the cold, damp wall, gasping heavily while cautiously glancing around into the darkness behind him.
In his line of sight, there were only the distorted, swaying shadows of trees and the wind-swept debris of garbage.
Thankfully, he didn't see the ghost shadow of [Mask], nor the figure of the Night Watcher.
This time, he should have truly shaken them off.
But this brief safety didn't bring any relief; the footsteps of death rang in his ears, and he had to use this last bit of time.
He stumbled into a narrow alley beside him, the putrid, damp air nearly suffocating.
Deep in the alley, at the base of the wall, a homeless man wrapped in tattered felt lay curled up in sleep, snoring, his entire body reeking with the stench of rot and grime.
Xiaojiu's intrusion startled the homeless man, who drowsily opened his bleary eyes, his murky gaze falling upon the intruder.
The next moment, the homeless man was fully awake.
