A streak of crimson stained the lead-gray horizon.
It was dusk.
Du Meiqin had tightly locked the courtyard gate. The fence around the yard was relatively low, so she could only secure all the doors and windows inside the house.
She did not cook dinner that evening. Instead, she took out some dried mushrooms she had stored away and stayed in the bedroom with her daughter.
Her daughter’s name was Du Xing.
Only seven years old, Du Xing sat obediently on a small stool, holding a piece of dried mushroom in her hand as she quietly asked,
“Mom, why can’t we talk loudly?”
Du Meiqin’s entire body was tense as she kept a vigilant eye on the doors and windows. Hearing the question, she shifted some of her attention to her daughter and answered softly,
“Because Mommy wants to play a quiet game with Xiaoxing. Don’t you want to play?”
Du Xing smiled brightly.
“Xiaoxing wants to play!”
Du Meiqin wiped away the food crumbs at the corner of her daughter’s mouth and was about to ask whether she had eaten enough when someone knocked on the courtyard gate outside.
Her heart trembled.
She quickly stood up, hid her daughter beneath the bed, and whispered,
“No matter who talks to you, don’t answer. Stay here quietly. Mommy will be right back.”
Du Xing nodded obediently.
“Xiaoxing is very good. Xiaoxing listens to Mommy.”
Only then did Du Meiqin cautiously approach the window and peek outside.
The courtyard gate blocked her view of the visitor.
At first, she thought Jiang Li had returned.
But then she heard a familiar voice.
“Sister Meiqin, are you home?”
It was one of Huang Tao’s three women, Zhou Xiaocui.
She didn’t live nearby but in a brick house on the southern side of the village.
Because they all served Huang Tao, the three women had formed a deep bond. Zhou Xiaocui was the youngest among them, so both Du Meiqin and the other woman took special care of her.
Zhou Xiaocui often visited her home.
She had no parents and only a young younger brother. Whenever Huang Tao was away acquiring supplies, she would bring her brother over.
Du Meiqin instinctively took a step toward the door.
Dusk was approaching.
The Gray Mist would soon descend.
Even if there were no evil wraiths around, it was still dangerous outside.
She wanted to warn Xiaocui.
But her feet stopped.
The patrol soldier’s warning echoed continuously in her mind.
Du Meiqin had no way of knowing whether the person knocking outside was truly Zhou Xiaocui—
or an evil wraith wearing Zhou Xiaocui’s skin.
She neither moved nor responded.
She assumed Zhou Xiaocui would leave after receiving no answer.
Unexpectedly, a sudden scream erupted from the neighboring mud house.
The scream shattered the silence.
It pierced through the walls and reached Du Meiqin’s ears with ease.
Her heart pounded wildly.
Looking through the window, she saw Zhou Xiaocui, who had been standing outside her courtyard gate, turn toward the source of the scream and begin walking in that direction.
Du Meiqin no longer hesitated.
Throwing open the door, she shouted at Zhou Xiaocui’s retreating figure.
“Xiaocui, don’t go!”
As if possessed, Zhou Xiaocui continued forward without responding.
Watching her approach the neighbor’s courtyard gate, Du Meiqin’s mind exploded into chaos.
Everything went blank.
Forgetting all caution, she rushed out and grabbed her.
“Xiaocui!”
Du Meiqin wasn’t cold-hearted.
During the years she had served Huang Tao, she had endured humiliation and suffering.
The only reason she had persevered was because of the two women who had suffered alongside her.
All of them were orphans.
They encouraged each other.
They took care of each other.
They were each other’s family.
There was no way Du Meiqin could stand by and watch Zhou Xiaocui walk to her death.
But the moment she grabbed Zhou Xiaocui’s hand, she shuddered violently.
The skin was ice-cold.
A chilling sensation traveled up her arm and down her spine.
An overwhelming sense of dread settled over her heart like dark storm clouds.
Then Du Meiqin realized what she had overlooked.
Zhou Xiaocui never came alone.
Even when Huang Tao was at the trading station, she always brought her younger brother with her.
She worried about leaving him home alone, so she would bring him to play with Du Xing.
And Zhou Xiaocui never visited at dusk.
Once the crimson sky faded, the dangerous Gray Mist would arrive.
She would always light her oil lamp early and stay home with her brother.
At first, Du Meiqin felt fear.
Then came grief.
Her suspicion was confirmed in the very next second.
Zhou Xiaocui turned around.
A dagger gleamed in her hand as she viciously stabbed toward Du Meiqin’s chest.
Du Meiqin had no time to react.
Just as she thought she was about to die—
the “Zhou Xiaocui” before her was kicked to the ground.
…
The newcomer was Jiang Li.
He had come intending to borrow an oil lamp from Du Meiqin.
If she refused, he planned to search the village himself. Many villagers were trapped at the mining site, leaving their homes empty. There were bound to be oil lamps somewhere.
Night was approaching.
He needed to prepare for surviving safely until morning.
He had not expected to stumble upon such a scene.
“Zhou Xiaocui” fell to the ground before rising again in a grotesquely twisted, inhuman posture.
It seemed to realize that, while wearing a human body, it was no match for Jiang Li.
The moment it got up, it tried to flee.
Naturally, Jiang Li had no intention of letting it escape.
Reacting instantly, he swung his axe.
The blade descended.
With strength beyond human limits, the axe split through flesh as easily as cutting vegetables.
Its head was cleaved into two halves.
The strike continued through the neck and all the way down to the chest.
“Zhou Xiaocui” collapsed to the ground.
Blood erupted from the wound like a fountain.
Jiang Li moved quickly and avoided being splattered.
A line of text appeared before his eyes.
[Spark Village Side Quest Triggered]
[Kill all Skin-Wearing Wraiths hidden within Spark Village.]
[Completion Progress: 1/9]
The sudden system notification revealed a crucial piece of information.
There were nine Skin-Wearing Wraiths hidden within Spark Village.
…
Du Meiqin stared at the monster wearing Xiaocui’s skin as it died before her eyes.
Her reddened eyes filled with tears.
Her face turned pale.
She nearly collapsed.
“X-Xiaocui…”
Seeing the grief overflowing from her eyes, Jiang Li said nothing.
When a Skin-Wearing Wraith put on someone’s skin, it meant the original owner had already been devoured.
Although Jiang Li did not know who this woman had been, it was obvious she had been very important to Du Meiqin.
Du Meiqin quickly forced herself out of her grief.
She could not collapse here.
Her daughter was still waiting for her at home.
“Th-Thank you, Guest,” she said gratefully.
She knew very well that if Jiang Li had not intervened, she would have become a new Skin-Wearing Wraith herself.
Jiang Li said,
“I came to borrow an oil lamp to repel the Gray Mist. Do you have any extras?”
Du Meiqin gave one final look at Xiaocui’s corpse, which was gradually dissolving into a pool of blood.
Her voice was hoarse as she nodded.
“Yes. Yes, I do.”
A Skin-Wearing Wraith was still an evil wraith wearing human skin.
Once it died, it became nothing more than a puddle of blood.
The original body was gone.
There was nothing left to bury.
There was nothing she could do.
Staggering slightly, she returned to the house.
Du Meiqin had quite a few oil lamps stored away for emergencies.
To prevent thieves from stealing them, she hid them inside the stove.
A thief who broke in would search the bedroom and other obvious places first.
Even if they entered the kitchen, they would never think to look inside the stove.
She took out five oil lamps and handed them to Jiang Li.
“Guest, you saved my life. These five oil lamps are my gift to you.”
Jiang Li did not refuse.
He accepted all five and placed them into his inventory.