Under the pale, waterfall-like daylight, Qin Changsheng stared silently at the ancient well where a female ghost with her own face had emerged. After a long while, she slowly raised her head.
Yu Yin, standing opposite her, continued to gaze at her with a playful grin. Qin Changsheng watched her expressionlessly.
After a moment, a strange, almost mocking smile flickered across Qin Changsheng’s face, though her voice remained eerily calm. “Do you really want me dead that badly, Yu Yin?”
Yu Yin said nothing. Holding the little girl’s hand, she tilted her head and looked at Qin Changsheng, her expression innocent and naive, like a carefree young girl who knew nothing of the world. She responded to the accusation with a harmless, guileless smile.
Qin Changsheng sighed after a long silence. “So, you’re dead after all. Tell me, what is it you want to convey to me through this dream?”
The Yu Yin by the ancient well remained silent. A ghost, after all, is still a ghost.
Qin Changsheng lowered her head and looked into the well again, her tone thoughtful as she asked, “Do you think I’m going to die in this well?”
The Yu Yin before her did not answer. Faced with the chilling well and the woman submerged in its dark waters, Qin Changsheng fell into deep contemplation.
She was genuinely puzzled. Only now did she realize that the matter she was dealing with wasn’t something that could be resolved by simply coming to Jishan. Logically, her brother wouldn’t assign her such a heavy task just for practice. When she first accepted the mission, she had assumed that with her ghost-seeing eyes, she could easily handle it. But she never expected to encounter the “Eagle Eye” on her very first outing, nor did she anticipate that her companion would be Jiang Zhongxue, a person of few words but unfathomable abilities.
Was it because her brother had too much confidence in her abilities?
Come to think of it, Jiang Zhongxue likely knew a great deal, but she never shared anything. As for Yu Yin, or more accurately, her ghostly employer, she seemed intent on making Qin Changsheng her substitute in death.
A ghost’s desire is to find someone to take their place. Revenge might be part of it, but wouldn’t it be more satisfying for them to personally exact vengeance using a body driven by resentment?
The conditions for a ghost to possess someone are extremely strict, but for Qin Changsheng, who was born with a natural connection to the spirit world, it was all too easy.
Ghosts were both a sharp blade in her hands and a slow-acting poison that forced her to live in constant vigilance.
The little girl holding Yu Yin’s hand looked up at her. Chubby and no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, she stood hand in hand with Yu Yin. Qin Changsheng was certain she had never seen this girl before. She seemed like an outsider, unrelated to the matter at hand. Yet, since she appeared here, she was almost certainly involved in some way.
But who was she? In the events at Jishan, Qin Changsheng had never heard of any other victims besides “Yu Mingming.”
Qin Changsheng woke up feeling hungry.
The bed beneath her was soft, and the slightest movement produced a rustling sound. She opened her eyes to find herself in a dim, shadowy space. Beside her was an earthen door, and above, a yellow lantern hung from a low beam.
Her expression went blank for a long moment, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. Qin Changsheng sat up, her palms pressing against the flattened blanket beneath, which was laid over dried straw. She then looked down at herself, her body was completely unharmed, and even her clothes were exactly as they had been before she fell asleep the night before, with no hint of anything out of place.
Judging by the surroundings, it seemed to be a low, rustic farmhouse. Above her hung an old, white mosquito net, reminiscent of rural interiors from twenty or thirty years ago.
Qin Changsheng scrambled up, hurriedly putting on her shoes and stepping off the bed. The floor of the room was uneven black earth, and the space also held a simple, worn dressing table and a wardrobe. Old posters were pasted on them, featuring beauties from old Shanghai, their eyes bright and lively, their gazes captivating.
Qin Changsheng was startled, her mind racing with caution about the situation. Just then, a foot stepped through the nearby doorway, and Jiang Zhongxue leaned against the doorframe, giving her a slight nod. “Awake?”
Her legs were long and pale, one foot resting on the room’s threshold, starkly out of place in the dark, dilapidated surroundings.
They seemed to glow with an almost luminous whiteness.
Seeing Jiang Zhongxue so calm and composed, Qin Changsheng felt an inexplicable wave of relief wash over her. She asked, “What’s going on? Where is this? How did we get here?”
Jiang Zhongxue looked at her, her tone indifferent. “You slept for too long.”
Qin Changsheng unzipped her pocket and pulled out her phone.
11:10, it was indeed quite late. She hadn’t even realized she’d slept for so long.
But wasn’t that just normal sleep? After all, she had stayed up late traveling the night before.
Jiang Zhongxue, noticing her staring at her phone, continued, “We couldn’t afford to delay on the road. There’s something wrong with that forest, so I brought you out.”
A dim, yellowish light bulb hung overhead. Qin Changsheng remembered that she had only seen such incandescent bulbs in her childhood. Back then, her home had few major electrical appliances, just a color television.
Though there weren’t many forms of entertainment, the Qin family was never short on money. As a child, Qin Changsheng would often pick up the landline and openly call the request hotline, happily ordering her favorite show, Inuyasha, every day.
It had once been her favorite anime, but in the end, she never got the chance to see how it concluded.
She had once been such an ordinary person, yet now she found herself dealing with spirits, ghosts using her, and she using them in return.
Thinking about it now, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Qin Changsheng asked, “Something wrong with the forest? What kind of problem?”
Jiang Zhongxue’s expression was serene, even composed. “That forest is enchanted with the Eight Trigrams Dunjia. Anyone who enters can’t find their way out.”
Qin Changsheng’s words caught in her throat.
The Mystical Gates and Eight Trigrams, the formations within could vary drastically, with endless permutations. Though Qin Changsheng was an amateur in such matters, she understood that the Eight Trigrams Dunjia involved thousands of ever-changing configurations. The sequence of the eight gates, Rest, Life, Injury, Obstruction, View, Death, Fear, if altered even slightly, could lead to catastrophic consequences. It wasn’t something easily unraveled.
It was like a friend casually mentioning over the phone that she had just won a hundred billion dollars, her tone so calm and collected, as if she hadn’t won a hundred billion, but a hundred billion dimes.
She felt terribly uncomfortable, her expression complex. “If it’s such a dangerous place, don’t describe it so casually!”
Jiang Zhongxue gave a noncommittal hum, her expression still calm. “It is dangerous, but fortunately, we made it through unscathed.”
Qin Changsheng shook her head helplessly and glanced around. “So where are we now?”
Jiang Zhongxue replied crisply, “In the village below the cliff.”
Qin Changsheng felt a slight sense of relief. At least this place was inhabited. If Jiang Zhongxue had brought her to some desolate, godforsaken spot where she couldn’t even find food, that would have been truly miserable.
Seeing the obvious relaxation in Qin Changsheng’s expression, a shadow flickered in Jiang Zhongxue’s eyes. She said coolly, “This place is not what you imagine.”
Qin Changsheng was taken aback but continued, “Is it a resort? Or a farm stay?”
Jiang Zhongxue frowned as if she had heard some unfamiliar terms. With a hint of confusion in her tone, she repeated Qin Changsheng’s words, “Resort? Farm stay?”
She searched her mind for the meanings of these words and said hesitantly, “In a way, it does resemble a resort. The way this place is decorated and the lifestyle here don’t align with the urban norms you’re used to. They…”
After a moment’s thought, she added vaguely, “If civilization regressed by thirty years, it would probably look something like this.”
Qin Changsheng understood now. So this place was shabby and backward. No wonder there was an incandescent bulb hanging from the ceiling beam.
In the city, such things had long been replaced by energy-saving, brighter LED lights.
Qin Changsheng nodded and said, “I think I get it. This must be a rundown little mountain village, right?”
After a moment’s thought, she added, “The kind so poor there’s no running water, and the only electrical appliance in the entire village is an incandescent bulb, right?”
Jiang Zhongxue gave an inscrutable nod.
This kind of village, so impoverished it lacked running water and had only incandescent bulbs as its sole electrical appliances, Qin Changsheng had only ever seen such places on TV or in newspapers before.
A fragrant aroma drifted in from outside. Qin Changsheng sniffed the air and said, “I think I understand the situation now. But no matter how poor the village is, paper money should still be accepted, right? I’m starving. I want to eat.”
Jiang Zhongxue remained silent.
Qin Changsheng picked up her backpack from the bed, weighed it in her hand, and asked Jiang Zhongxue with a smile, “Are we staying in the only room of the only guesthouse in this village?”
Jiang Zhongxue nodded.
After a moment, she added, “There’s no guesthouse here. This is just an ordinary farmhouse. The price is high, and their conscience is black.”
If not for Jiang Zhongxue’s deadpan expression, Qin Changsheng felt she would have burst out laughing.
But Jiang Zhongxue’s cold demeanor promptly stifled the smile that threatened to surface. Qin Changsheng suppressed her amusement and said calmly, “Then I’ll go out and order the only dish at the only restaurant in this village.”
Jiang Zhongxue gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and continued, “We came out from that haunted forest. When I brought you out, a few people nearby happened to see us. They are very wary of us, so be cautious in everything.”
After a night of deep, restful sleep, Qin Changsheng’s heart was once again filled with vibrant enthusiasm. She nodded to show she was listening attentively and then asked, “Aren’t you coming to eat with me?”
If she didn’t eat soon, would her body even hold up?
Jiang Zhongxue shook her head. “Behind this village, there’s a mountain path leading to the cliff. I want to go take a look. It’s daytime now, and we’re here openly. This village is definitely strange, and these people are wary of us. But it’s fine, just say you’re a tourist who got lost. You have money; if you buy their goods, they won’t easily harm you.”
Since she had said so, even though Qin Changsheng had her doubts, she still had to follow Jiang Zhongxue’s wishes.
Qin Changsheng nodded.
She picked up her backpack and walked past Jiang Zhongxue.
The doorframe was low and narrow, and she almost brushed shoulders with Jiang Zhongxue as she passed.
Jiang Zhongxue carried a faint, peculiar scent, unlike any perfume Qin Changsheng had ever encountered in department stores. It was subtle, unique, impossible to compare to any flower or spice.
Jiang Zhongxue remained leaning against the doorframe, expressionless, but upon closer inspection, Qin Changsheng noticed she wasn’t actually touching it.
It was merely a deceptive posture.
As Qin Changsheng walked past her, Jiang Zhongxue’s voice was soft: “One more thing, stay away from the well.”
Qin Changsheng stiffened.
Before she could ask why, Jiang Zhongxue turned her head and said, “Last night in your dreams, you kept saying, ‘the well.’ I don’t think it was a good dream, so keep your distance. I don’t know if you remember what you dreamed, but thoughts shape reality, it doesn’t hurt to remind you.”
Qin Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought Jiang Zhongxue had shared the same dream or possessed some prophetic ability, but it turned out it was just because she had spoken in her sleep.
Exhaling softly, a sense of calm washed over her. “Alright, you be careful too.”