Eric Bennett and the others saw a Buddha statue, but anyone who went in alone saw a woman—a woman with a strange smile, holding an axe.

"They must be wrong. We followed the carpenter's clue..." Someone, after realizing this, began to break down emotionally, muttering nonstop, "It can't be wrong, we can't be wrong, the idol must be that woman... Yes, it's the woman."

Eric Bennett could only comfort them: "It's really not certain yet, so don't be too nervous."

In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that the woman could never be the temple's idol. What kind of temple would enshrine something like that?

"Yeah, it's not certain yet." Grace Cooper laughed, reaching up to brush her hair aside, speaking softly, "Besides, with so many people entering the temple together, even if someone has to die, it might not be you."

"Can you stop laughing?" Little Scott said bluntly from the side.

"Why shouldn't I laugh?" Grace Cooper retorted coldly, "Dying with a smile is better than dying in tears, isn't it?"

As soon as she finished, someone shouted, "Look at the pillar!!!"

Eric Bennett looked up at the sound, only to find that the relief carvings on the pillar had started to slowly writhe.

Chapter 7 Woman

The scene in the darkness wasn't clear, but because it was so horrifying, everyone focused all their attention on it.

They saw the relief carvings on the pillar begin to twist and distort, as if something inside was trying to break free. This lasted only a moment before everyone saw a pale hand forcibly squeeze out from the relief. The hand was enormous, with bright red nails, groping around in the air before finally grabbing onto the wooden railing beside it.

Once it grabbed the railing, the hand seemed to find leverage, pulling hard on the railing, little by little dragging its body and head out of the pillar.

The whole scene was bizarre and terrifying, making everyone almost stop breathing.

"What are you waiting for! Run!" Grace Cooper's voice snapped everyone out of their trance. Eric Bennett also came to his senses, and when he looked again, he saw that thing was already more than halfway out of the pillar.

"Run!!" Grace Cooper shouted, "Run!!"

At her command, everyone bolted. Eric Bennett didn't dare waste another second, running with all his might toward home.

But the sound behind them grew louder and louder. That thing seemed to have broken free from the pillar and was now chasing after them.

Eric Bennett heard something crawling through the snow. He knew he shouldn't look back, but he couldn't help himself and glanced over his shoulder.

The sight made him stumble in fright. The monster had indeed squeezed out of the pillar. It looked like a woman, completely naked, with long black hair hanging loose, but her body was several times larger than a normal person's. Her long limbs crawled along the ground in a strange, insect-like motion. Her face was unclear, but the most striking thing was the long-handled axe in her hand, covered in red liquid.

"Shit!!!" Eric Bennett finally couldn't help but curse. Before, it had always felt a bit like a hallucination, but now that everyone could see this thing so clearly, it finally felt like they were truly in another dimension.

Others in the group also turned to look. Anyone who saw the thing was scared out of their wits.

The instinct to survive made everyone run faster, but the snowy road was slippery, and it was just a small path at the edge of the village. No matter how fast they ran, they couldn't get far. In the blink of an eye, they were about to be caught.

"Help—" Little Scott, perhaps running too fast, missed a step and fell into the snow. She tried to get up, but fear made her hands and feet weak, and she couldn't muster any strength. "Mr. Grant—help—"

Everyone thought Little Scott was doomed. At such a critical moment, it was hard enough to save yourself, let alone help someone else. But after Little Scott's desperate cry, Adam Grant actually gritted his teeth, stopped, turned around, and pulled Little Scott up from the snow. "Go!"

"Mr. Grant." Little Scott sobbed, tears streaming down her face. She was about to thank Adam Grant when she felt a shadow fall over her head.

The woman with the axe had arrived. She looked down at the two of them, who were frozen in terror, and grinned. Her mouth was enormous, filled with rows and rows of teeth. Her extremely long hands gripped a rusty axe. She raised it and swung it down at the two of them.

"Aaaah!!!" Little Scott screamed shrilly, clinging tightly to Adam Grant, not daring to look at what was happening.

Adam Grant gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, as if giving up all resistance.

But at the very instant the axe fell, a faint golden light rose from their bodies. The axe struck the golden light, producing a crisp, metallic clang.

The towering woman let out a dissatisfied screech, ignored Little Scott and Adam Grant, and continued chasing after the others.

Little Scott and Adam Grant narrowly escaped death, both collapsing weakly into the snow.