"Bang bang bang!!"
The rhythmic knocking continued incessantly—one after another, wave after wave, like a death warrant, King Yan's death knell, ceaselessly striking at Su Zijin and the three other women's hearts.
It made them feel like their hearts were unconsciously following the rhythm of the knocking, beat after beat, faster and faster, more and more urgent, as if their hearts were about to burst.
"What...what's...happening?"
Gu Xiyan's breathing was rapid, her face flushed red, barely able to speak, about to die from an excessively high heart rate!
Su Zijin and the other women began to realize that owning the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument did not guarantee survival from this cataclysmic disaster.
The Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument could only protect them from the erosion of the catastrophe, preventing them from turning into demons, but it couldn't keep them safe from other demonic and strange attacks.
"Bang!"
At that moment, the special alloy door that had been knocked on hundreds of times by demons finally could not bear the weight any longer, and was destroyed by the demonic knocking.
"Huff...huff..."
Suddenly, Gu Xiyan and the other three women felt their heartbeats slow down, no longer feeling as if they were about to leap out of their throats, and their breathing gradually calmed down.
But before they could relax,
they sensed an extremely cold, despairing, deathly still, and decayed aura seeping in from the outside through the now-opened door.
"This...this..."
Gu Xiyan and the women's heartbeats suddenly sped up a notch.
They were shocked to realize that though it should have been sunny outside, it was pitch-dark instead—not the kind of dark blue haze, but true darkness.
And within that darkness, devoid of any light, there was an unbearable feeling of suffocation.
And a figure, shrouded in darkness, stood rigidly in the doorway, silent and still. If not for a pair of eyes shining with a red glow, intently staring at them,
they might not have noticed that a demon had arrived at the door.
"Creak creak..."
Being just ordinary women, Gu Xiyan and the others held their breath at the sight of this terrifying scene, not daring to even take a deep breath for fear of provoking the demon at the door into attacking.
Whether it was because they held their breath, remained quiet, still, or for some other reason, the terrifying figure standing rigidly at the door finally turned and left with hurried, heavy footsteps.
Who knows how much time passed!
"Ah!!"
The vicinity again began to echo with bursts of shrill screams, filled with hysteria, despair, helplessness, breakdown...
And quickly, these screams stopped abruptly.
"Wuu wuu wuu..."
At this point, Wen Rou could no longer hold back, and started crying in a breakdown.
"Don't cry! Keep calm!"
Although Su Zijin and Gu Xiyan were also scared to death, they knew under these circumstances they couldn't just let Wen Rou cry out loud, venting her fear, as it might attract the knocking demon once again.
So when Wen Rou started crying bitterly, they quickly reached out and covered her mouth to keep her from making any noise.
"Wuu wuu wuu..."
Wen Rou also knew that crying in breakdown was futile and offered no benefit at such a time.
But she really couldn't control her emotions, because she understood that with every abrupt end to those screams, another group of people had died.
She knew that if she weren't wearing the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument that Mu Jinyu had given her, her own fate would not have been much better.
Wen Rou managed to control her sobbing, but the fear in her heart kept spreading. There was only one thought on her mind.
"Jinyu! Jinyu...where are you? Please come back and save us..."
After what seemed like an eternity, Wen Rou finally suppressed the feeling of collapse within her and could, like Gu Xiyan and the others, forcibly remain calm while curled up in the corner, quietly waiting for Mu Jinyu's return.
At that moment...
"Swing, swing, swing to grandma's bridge..."
A naive childlike voice sang the most classic nursery rhyme, leisurely rising from outside.
It was as if a child had just finished school and was hopping and skipping home while humming a tune.
"This is?"
Gu Xiyan and the other women frowned upon hearing the song, a wave of worry washing over them.
Su Zijin and Wen Rou hesitated whether they should go out and bring the child inside.
After all, it's a child...
And considering how the environment had always been very quiet, they guessed that the terrifying door-knocking demon must have already left the Capital City.
Going out to rescue people now, although risky, wouldn't be too dangerous.
It was not the kind of situation where death was certain!
However,
Just as they were hesitating...
"Rocking, rocking..."
The nursery rhyme continued to sound off, and the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instruments they were clutching tightly in their hands suddenly burst forth with dazzling Huaguang, enveloping each of them tightly.
"What is this?!"
Su Zijin and Wen Rou immediately abandoned the idea of going out to rescue people.
Looking at the sudden change in the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instruments, it was impossible that the disaster struck all four of them at once; more likely, the nursery rhyme carried a great threat, and those who heard it could drop dead!
That meant the wandering little girl outside was actually an extremely vicious demon.
And potentially more dangerous than the door-knocking demon!
"Crack, crack..."
At that moment, a brittle cracking sound rang out.
To their horror, Gu Xiyan and her friends discovered that their magical instruments were showing fine cracks, as if they were about to shatter.
They didn't know if it was from overuse, or if they couldn't withstand the erosion of the nursery rhyme.
"We're done for, did we escape the overwhelming disaster and the attack of the door-knocking demon only to die to the tune of a nursery rhyme?"
Gu Xiyan and her friends thought in despair.
At that moment, however, they suddenly noticed that the cracks in their magical instruments had stopped spreading.
They looked up in a daze, only to find that the nursery rhyme had vanished into thin air.
Its source was unknown.
"We've been spared once again."
Gu Xiyan and her friends let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that the world had indeed changed dramatically, and the power of the devastating disaster was gradually becoming evident.
"Ehhhh-rouuugh!"
However, before they could relax for long, a series of roars sounded from outside the courtyard.
"What's this?"
The faces of Gu Xiyan and her companions changed dramatically, recognizing the sound as that of Little Zhang, who had just been corrupted by the disaster and turned into a demon.
Little Zhang had been intercepted by members of the Dragon King Hall earlier, but in their panic, they had all forgotten this matter.
Gu Xiyan remembered making a call to Mu Hongchen to bring a Golden Weapon to handle it.
It seemed that had also failed.
Whether that was because of the door-knocking demon, or the nursery rhyme demon, was unknown.
And now, the demonized Little Zhang was groping her way toward them again.
"AOOOOOUGH!"
The terrifying roar rose once more, but this time it was at the door.
It would come inside any moment now.
"BANG!!"
Then, at that instant.
A deep, thunderous roar sounded, and along with it, the hissing stopped.
Gu Xiyan and Su Zijin were even more frightened.
They thought a more terrible demon had appeared.
"Jinyu, come back quickly!"
In their hearts, Gu Xiyan and her friends silently called out.
"Sorry, I've arrived late..."
A familiar voice, laden with endless apology, suddenly rose next to the door.