Translator: Cinder Translations
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You Qi's eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had recalled something extremely horrifying.
"What did you see?" Xia Meng urged.
"A ghost!" he gasped. "It was a ghost!"
Of course, it was a ghost. How else could Qin Jian's death be explained? Suicide?
Only after seeing the puzzled looks from everyone did You Qi seem to realize something. "In the water," he added. "The ghost was in the water!"
A water ghost?
Everyone frowned.
Even if it were a water ghost, it shouldn't be that terrifying, right? You Qi wasn't a newbie. Why was he so scared...
"No," You Qi said, growing more anxious. He seemed unsure how to explain, and his habit of stuttering when nervous made it even harder for him to articulate.
"The shadow... no, not the shadow, the reflection!"
"The ghost was in the reflection on the water's surface. She was clinging to Qin Jian's back, pressing his body down, bending him further and further." You Qi shivered at the memory, his entire body exuding cold sweat. "Like a giant shrimp."
"But Qin Jian seemed completely unaware. He just kept walking forward."
"From the surface, you couldn't see it," he repeated. "You could only see it in the reflection—the reflection in the water!"
The reflection in the lake could reveal the ghost...
An Xuan's eyes gleamed. This was a new discovery, at least providing a way to identify the ghost.
"It was that woman from the painting!" You Qi suddenly exclaimed. "The female opera singer!"
Jiang Cheng, An Xuan, and the others were aware of the painting's existence and had already guessed that the woman in the painting was connected to the ghost, so their emotions remained relatively stable.
Shi Liaozhi, however, was taken aback. "Painting? What painting?"
He immediately looked at the others, but no one offered an explanation.
Everyone was more concerned about what the female ghost from the painting had done to Qin Jian and what clues they could derive from it.
"How can you be sure it was her?" An Xuan asked a crucial question. "Couldn't it have been Young Master Huang?"
Both the female ghost and Young Master Huang wore red opera costumes, making it easy to mistake one for the other at first glance.
"No, it was definitely a woman. I saw the shoes on the ghost's feet—they were those small, strange embroidered shoes!" You Qi gestured frantically. "I... I saw them in the sedan chair earlier!"
Everyone immediately thought of the paper effigy that had replaced Tang Shirou.
That must have been the one You Qi was referring to.
Moreover, according to their later investigation of the scene, that female paper effigy had walked back into the lake on its own after they left!
"So you're saying the ghost was clinging to Qin Jian's back, but he didn't react at all?" Zuo Jing suddenly spoke up.
"Exactly."
"Where did he end up going?"
"Into the lake. He walked into the lake," You Qi said quickly.
There was actually a detail he hadn't mentioned. At the time, he had instinctively wanted to warn Qin Jian to stop walking, but the female ghost on Qin Jian's back seemed to anticipate it.
In the reflection, the female ghost slowly turned her head toward You Qi and pulled her face into an extremely grotesque smile. Then, she extended a swollen, club-like finger and placed it against her lips.
"Shh—"
In that instant, You Qi's legs gave out.
After a moment of contemplation, An Xuan suddenly asked, "Did you see the ghost's face clearly?"
You Qi swallowed hard and then nodded slowly.
Jiang Cheng's gaze paused on You Qi.
"She had drowned, or maybe her body was dumped into the lake after she died," You Qi said quickly. "Her face was completely bloated and rotten, swollen to the size of two basketballs. Her eyes were squeezed into tiny slits, and her tongue hung out..."
As You Qi described the scene, everyone finally understood why he had been so terrified. Indeed, if any of them had encountered such a thing unexpectedly, they would have been scared out of their wits.
"Was Qin Jian drowned?"
"No, no," You Qi shook his head. "When half of his body was in the lake, his body began to bend backward, first returning to normal, and then... his waist started to bend backward."
"He looked like he was in extreme pain. His eyes were wide open, filled with terror, and he kept coughing up bloody foam. But... he couldn't control himself."
In the end, the outcome was what everyone had already guessed.
"Snap—"
Qin Jian's body suddenly bent backward and snapped.
He was dead.
This game had taken most people by surprise, especially after Jiang Cheng told Fatty about his own experience. Fatty's mouth hung open for a long time, unable to close.
Xia Meng sat silently by the table.
Fortunately, they still had some hot water. Xia Meng held the warm water in her hands, and her pale complexion improved slightly.
"Doctor," Fatty said nervously, "it seems An Xuan was right. There's probably only one ghost. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to separate us and deal with us one by one."
He continued, "It's just too troublesome."
"But who would have thought that jumping into the lake was the way out?" Fatty's face took on a strange expression as he recalled Qin Jian bathed in the "moonlight."
"He trusted those words too much," Xia Meng interjected, her face regaining some color. "Even in that situation, he still didn't jump into the lake. He was really brave."
By now, Xia Meng and Jiang Cheng had roughly figured out the direction of the way out.
So many people had disappeared before them, but could they all have been killed by the ghost?
There were nine people left.
How could four have died instantly?
Moreover, the four who disappeared were no ordinary individuals—they were truly formidable.
If the difficulty were really that high, they might as well give up and wait for death.
Therefore... disappearing didn't necessarily mean death.
The way out lay among those who had disappeared.
That's why Jiang Cheng and Xia Meng, upon realizing that the paper bride on their backs was problematic, immediately chose to jump off the boat and escape before the ghost could fully evolve.
Yes, evolve.
Jiang Cheng felt this term was fitting.
Because even before the ghost showed obvious changes, he had already sensed an extremely ominous premonition.
It was like an indescribable feeling. Faintly, he had even sensed a vague heartbeat through the contact with the paper bride on his back.
From that moment on, he understood what had happened to those who had disappeared.
But... he was also waiting.
Waiting for the boat to sail over the moon.
After all, he was the one being targeted by the ghost. He highly doubted the ghost's integrity, suspecting that as soon as he jumped off the boat, a full moon would appear in the water.
And he would be right at the center of it.
Then, it would be game over.
Jiang Cheng glanced at Xia Meng, who sharply returned his gaze.
"Why are you looking at me?" Xia Meng frowned.
A few seconds later, "Don't you have anything to say to me?" Jiang Cheng suddenly asked. "While there's still time?"
Xia Meng was taken aback, then sneered, "Wishing you safety, wishing you survive no matter what. How's that?"
Shrugging, Jiang Cheng gave Xia Meng another look before shifting his gaze away.
Just as Xia Meng turned her head, her expression slightly unnatural, Jiang Cheng's voice rang out again, "I gave you a chance," he said while wringing water from his clothes. "Don't forget."
TL/N: If you're wondering what's been going on these past few chapters, then you are not alone. (If any of you actually understood it then please let me know as well.)
(End of the Chapter)
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