Kuang Feifan had no choice but to summon his utmost alertness to meet the counter-attack from the man in the grey jacket. He Shaoqing, meanwhile, was forced to dedicate all his energy to evading the assaults of the phantom claws, utterly unable to disengage to smash the wall. With a grim face, he suddenly launched himself towards the grey jacket, dropping low to execute a "Sweeping Kick" aimed straight at the man's shins.

With a dull thud, He Shaoqing’s leg collided violently with the grey jacket’s calf. He instantly felt as if he had kicked a concrete pillar; the pain in that leg was excruciating, ripping through his core. He couldn't help but let out an "Ouch!" and, forcefully suppressing the urge to clutch his leg and cry out, he rolled aside to dodge.

Yet, the kick was not entirely without effect. The grey jacket stumbled, his leg momentarily unsteady, causing the frantic, head-smashing blows aimed at Kuang Feifan's hands to pause slightly. Seizing this opportunity, Kuang Feifan sprang forward, his palms driving down directly onto the grey jacket's head. He followed up with a rapid barrage, unleashing a combination of punches that rained down like machine-gun fire onto the opponent's face and body, finally capitalizing on the momentum with a forceful "Uppercut" delivered squarely to the grey jacket’s jaw.

Struck by the relentless sequence of attacks, the grey jacket staggered backward, head tilted up, desperately attempting to regain his footing. Kuang Feifan was not about to relinquish this advantage. He pressed close to the staggering figure and, putting all his strength behind it, hammered his fist, which held the pendant, viciously into the grey jacket’s throat.

A choked, gurgling sound escaped the grey jacket's throat. Seeing this, He Shaoqing bit down hard on his tongue. The sudden surge of salty, metallic blood instantly shocked a moment of clarity into his mind. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the ground with one hand, launching himself into the air. Mid-flight, he spread his legs and clamped them around the grey jacket's neck from the side, twisting and wrenching with force. With a sharp crack, both men tumbled to the ground. The grey jacket’s head flopped limply to one side, his body convulsed uncontrollably, but he did not rise again.

The Big-Headed Monster Infant shrieked, "You broke my new toy!" Following this cry, the wrinkles on its face seemed to deepen as its eyes instantly flushed a furious, bloody red, bursting with savage light. Kuang Feifan dared not cease his movements, continuing to strike the spectral shadows that circled them relentlessly, though his gaze remained fixed on the Big-Headed Monster Infant.

The infant tilted its enormous head, and with a sickening squelch, the head, trailing a string of dark, viscous viscera, detached and flew into the air. Spinning with its black maw agape, it hurtled toward Kuang Feifan. Simultaneously, a pair of small hands ripped away from their wrists and shot out like electric darts toward He Shaoqing, who was still struggling on the ground.

Kuang Feifan avoided the incoming monstrous head rather than meeting it head-on. He Shaoqing, sprawled on the floor, instinctively knew he could not dodge the small hands in time. Gritting his teeth, he curled his body on the ground, adjusting his posture to meet the incoming withered, skin-and-bone little hands with his rear shoulder.

Though the small hands were not large, the force with which they struck He Shaoqing’s back felt like being hit by a sledgehammer. The impact sent a chaotic surge of energy through his body, actually lifting him off the ground. For a split second, he felt utterly weightless, before crashing heavily against the wall, leaving him dizzy and nauseous, on the verge of vomiting blood, his head ringing, stars bursting behind his eyes—he nearly lost consciousness.

Kuang Feifan gasped in horror, crying out involuntarily, "He Shaoqing…!" He could no longer spare a thought for the large head circling him, trying to take a bite. He spun around and bolted toward He Shaoqing.

Dazed, He Shaoqing saw Kuang Feifan rush to his side and desperately forced out two words: "Look... the wall..."

Startled, Kuang Feifan’s gaze instinctively swept to the wall. Sure enough, a distinct section of the surface had caved inward, crisscrossed with spiderweb cracks. He instantly understood He Shaoqing’s preceding actions: adjusting his position, taking the blow, and using the force of the small hands to drive his shoulder into the hollow wall to break it open. He gripped He Shaoqing's arm tightly and articulated each word, "It cracked."

With that, he spun violently backward on the spot and roared, "Lin Bing…!" He launched a punch directly at the monster infant’s head, which had just caught up to him. This blow landed solidly. The large head let out a mournful howl, tracing a parabola in the air before being slammed hard onto the floorboards.

The withered little hands arrived before Kuang Feifan next, but he ignored them, paying no mind either to the fractured wall. Instead, he crouched low and lunged forward, making a tiger's spring toward the location of the Big-Headed Monster Infant’s body near the wall. Just then, the red-clothed female ghost, seemingly forgotten until now, finally moved. Her target, however, was He Shaoqing, who was attempting to struggle back up by the wall.

Kuang Feifan's eyes blazed with fury, yet he steeled his heart. Without sparing the female ghost a single glance, he resolutely charged straight in front of the infant, throwing his hand out and slapping down. Yet, he was not striking the infant’s body, but the doll’s head. As the pendant in his palm made contact with the top of the doll’s head, the "Lin Bing" he had been shouting left his mouth. This time, the instant the pendant touched the doll's head, a blinding flash of white light erupted. Kuang Feifan instinctively shut his eyes, feeling as if his hand had made contact with rotten mud—a sensation more revolting than swallowing flies.

When Kuang Feifan opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find that everything in the attic seemed to have returned to normal. Gone was the wailing and spectral shrieks, gone were the terrifying black silhouettes floating in the air, and even the moonlight had vanished. The room was utterly silent. He pulled out his phone, illuminated the screen, and scanned his surroundings. Bathed in the pale blue light, he saw that the red-clothed female ghost, the Big-Headed Monster Infant, and the doll were all gone. He let out a breath; it seemed his gamble had paid off again—that doll was the key to everything.

He scrambled over to He Shaoqing, seeing him curled up tightly, eyes squeezed shut in a posture of resignation, awaiting death.

Even amidst the immediate danger, Kuang Feifan couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter. Hearing the sound, He Shaoqing visibly froze. The eyes beneath his lids flickered, and he slowly opened a narrow slit, tilting his head to survey the surroundings.

Kuang Feifan helplessly raised his hand and lightly patted He Shaoqing’s mouth twice. "Hey, open your eyes. It's over."

"Uh…" He Shaoqing slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Kuang Feifan kneeling beside him on one knee, staring at him with concern, he frowned and blurted out, "Your Excellency, rise."

Hearing that old college prank repeated, Kuang Feifan was both annoyed and amused, and retorted, "Get lost…" If He Shaoqing hadn't looked like such a beaten dog, he probably would have kicked him.

He Shaoqing composed himself and grinned broadly, "Heh heh, looks like we really have immense fortune and destiny on our side."

Kuang Feifan ignored him and asked, "How are you? Can you move?"

He Shaoqing tested himself, then sighed, "My arms and legs shouldn't be broken, but I feel like I’ve been shaken apart."

"Come on, I'll help you get over to rest. I need to check what’s behind the wall." Kuang Feifan said, assisting him in moving toward the wall before illuminating the cracks with his phone to examine the damaged area closely.

He Shaoqing’s collision had only caused the wall to crack; it hadn't revealed whatever was hidden behind it. Kuang Feifan took a deep breath, shook off his fatigue, bent his arm, and drove his elbow into the cracked section again.

Once, twice, three times... With a distinct snap, the recessed section of the wall finally gave way. Kuang Feifan suppressed his rising excitement and hastily began peeling away the plaster fragments. Under the phone's light, he saw shattered wooden boards revealed behind the broken wall.

Kuang Feifan carefully avoided the sharp edges and began prying away the exposed boards little by little. As more and more planks were removed, he deduced that what was hidden behind the wall was an old cabinet with double sliding doors in the front. The spot he had smashed was right in the middle of one of the cabinet doors—arguably the thinnest part of the fixture. Otherwise, smashing it open so easily would have been quite difficult.

Finally managing to pry open a hole large enough to admit half a shoulder, Kuang Feifan let out a long breath. But immediately, he sensed something amiss. It looked as though this cabinet had been built into the wall for a considerable time, yet after breaking through, there was no smell of mildew or decay. Staring into the dark opening, he felt a flicker of hesitation. What if it was empty? Or what if there was some unforeseen danger inside?

"Find anything?" A sudden question from within the room startled the contemplative Kuang Feifan. He then remembered He Shaoqing was leaning nearby.

"It's a cabinet back here," Kuang Feifan replied after a moment of thought.

He Shaoqing scrambled over with a swish, brought his head close, peered in, and then turned to ask, "See what's inside?" As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, turned on the light, and shone it inside.

Kuang Feifan started to reach out to stop him, but then thought better of it. They were this far; failing to investigate thoroughly would offer no help regarding their current predicament. He leaned in too, peering intently into the hole.

Although the phone's light was limited, once they reached inside, both men could see what was stored in the cabinet. He Shaoqing whispered in surprise, "A rotten quilt? A bedroll?"

Kuang Feifan was thinking further than that. He wasn't just surprised by the immediate discovery, but by the sheer size of the cabinet. The phone light couldn't reach either end; it seemed this section of the wall contained not just one cabinet, but a whole series. But why did only this one spot sound hollow when struck?

"Are you feeling any better?" Kuang Feifan asked.

When He Shaoqing had leaned against the wall, he hadn't just been gasping for air. Instead, he had been diligently employing the breathing regulation technique they had learned together—a method that had greatly benefited them during their 'Ironman Triathlon' competitions. Thus, without needing a prompt from Kuang Feifan, he knew this was the necessary way to restore his energy.

As it turned out, it was indeed very effective. He stood up, straightened his back, and asked, "What? Any orders?"

"Get the cabinet doors completely open. We need to see what exactly is hidden in here," Kuang Feifan analyzed calmly. "I doubt there’s only a single quilt inside."

He Shaoqing knelt beside him, helping to further dismantle the cabinet door, and asked, "Are the things in the cabinet really more important than us escaping?"