Chapter 36: Nightmare Terror

After thinking for a moment, Yang Xiao shuddered violently, then dismissed the thought; given the temperaments of those Script fans, their little mouths would chatter on and on, spinning tales out of nothing.

Yang Xiao could already imagine what everyone would say, including but not limited to: "Strange excuse for taking leave +1," "I suspect the author is preparing to slack off," "Are you planning to enter the world tournament as a coach?" "Are you even cut out for that?"

And some more aggressive ones: "If you don't write the Script, I'll make you play real-life Battle Royale (angry)."

Of course, there were also those who feigned weakness and threatened the author with their own health: "Pigeon-pigeon~, I can't stand seeing the words 'taking leave' in your book right now, otherwise I'll get triggered."

Yang Xiao was most susceptible to this; after thinking it over, he decided to wrong himself instead, planning to squeeze in time for exercise in the gaps between writing the Script. If he knew there was a group of hungry Script fans waiting for him outside, he probably wouldn't have the heart to do himself in.

At the mention of the Script, Yang Xiao's mind was filled with wild thoughts, but this also had its benefits, greatly relieving his psychological pressure.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but sleepiness began to beat against Yang Xiao's psychological defenses like ocean waves. Unable to hold on any longer, he got up and woke Kuang Hongyi.

After Kuang Hongyi climbed up, he didn't stand on ceremony and immediately woke Su Tingting. The two of them just stared at each other, keeping watch until dawn.

Perhaps he was exhausted, but Yang Xiao slept surprisingly soundly. He even had a dream where a female ghost was slamming against the door, and Yang Xiao was bracing it from behind, nearly scared to tears.

"Don't, don't kill me, I'm still just a child!"

After waking up with a start, he saw Kuang Hongyi and Su Tingting both looking at him with strange expressions, while Liu Guanjia's voice came from outside the door, his tone urgent and hoarse, "Honored Lucky Guests, something has happened! You... you must come out and see!"

"Mr. Chu, you are..." Su Tingting blinked curiously, "Having a nightmare?"

Yang Xiao defended himself with some embarrassment, "It's nothing, don't take it to heart. I had sleepwalking disorder when I was very young, and it's easy to relapse when I get nervous during the day. It's been... it's been many years since it last recurred."

Kuang Hongyi opened the door, and Liu Guanjia was standing outside, his dead-pan face filled with grief. Shi Dali and Shi Guanming, who were staying in another room, also hurried over.

Judging by the heavy dark circles under their eyes, neither of them had rested well either.

Soon, led by Liu Guanjia, the group returned to the lakeside. At this moment, the weather outside was also very gloomy; dark clouds hung low, and sparse raindrops were falling. The atmosphere was oppressive, feeling much like it had just after dusk, and some mist still lingered over the blackened lake surface.

By now, many servants from the manor were already standing by the lake, gazing at the water and gathering together from time to time to whisper.

"Everyone, move aside!"

At Liu Guanjia's shout, the crowd hurriedly cleared a path. Following the direction of Liu Guanjia's finger, Yang Xiao and the others suddenly discovered a corpse floating in the center of the lake.

The corpse swayed gently with the ripples, and judging by the silk clothing it wore, it was indeed the Third Young Master they had seen last night!

Shi Dali sneered and looked at Liu Guanjia, "Now that the person is dead, don't tell me you expect us to go into the lake to fish out your Third Young Master's corpse, Liu Guanjia?"

Liu Guanjia shook his head, his face showing grief, "The corpse must be retrieved, but not now. I'm afraid no one can cross the lake at this moment."

Hearing Liu Guanjia say this, everyone became curious. Liu Guanjia beckoned, and a sturdy, shirtless man ran over.

"Tell them, what did you just see?"

Seeing Liu Guanjia speak, the man, whose face was still clearly filled with fear, shuddered, "I just rowed the boat over, wanting to bring back the Third Young Master's corpse, but... but before I could even get close, I saw many faces floating around the Third Young Master... around him!"

"Floating faces?" Shi Guanming didn't understand what kind of scene this was.

"It's a Water Walking Corpse." At the mention of this, Shi Dali's expression also turned ugly. He cast his gaze toward the area around the Third Young Master's corpse, but at this distance, he could only see the pitch-black lake surface.

Liu Guanjia looked at Shi Dali with some surprise and nodded, "This Lucky Guest is indeed knowledgeable; we suspect it is that filthy thing as well."

"Then... what is that thing?" Su Tingting asked, plucking up her courage.

"It is a type of corpse that can stand in water. It is said they are all Resentful Souls who refused to be reincarnated after drowning." Shi Dali seemed quite fearful of this thing, a trace of panic appearing in the depths of his eyes, "These walking corpses are attracted by the aura of the living. They walk freely under the water, and once they get close, they will even climb onto a living person's boat to drag them down as a substitute."

"This thing is extremely vicious. Even professional corpse-salvagers won't touch them; let alone running into one, even catching a glimpse from afar will bring three years of bad luck."

"A long time ago, the boatmen on the Yellow River feared these things the most. They would leave rows of footprints in the silt at the bottom of the river. If anyone on a boat saw these footprints, they would immediately steer clear. The old men of the boat guilds gave it a name: Yellow River Walking Corpse."

"By the way, these things have another habit: they unconsciously gather toward places with heavy resentment. Generally speaking, where a Yellow River Walking Corpse is found underwater... there will be a large shipwreck." Shi Dali said this while looking at Liu Guanjia.

Liu Guanjia took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The atmosphere at the scene immediately became tense, and Yang Xiao also held his breath.

Shi Dali had practically laid his cards on the table; this man was certainly no pushover.

Liu Guanjia turned and walked away, "Follow me."

The group exchanged glances and quickly followed. It seemed there were things inconvenient to say in front of the servants. As Liu Guanjia walked further and further, everyone recognized that this was the path to Master Feng's residence.

"Sigh!" Liu Guanjia sighed heavily, his pace slowing down, "Some things should not be spoken by a servant like me, but... but the Old Master... he has truly committed a grave sin!"

No one dared to respond, but Liu Guanjia seemed to have opened the floodgates, "Back then, the Master and I both tried to persuade the Old Master, but he was as if possessed by a ghost. He insisted on believing in some method to defy heaven and change fate, and was determined to choose a woman whose Birth Date and Time matched his own to marry on the day of his own 'first seven' memorial, saying that this would protect the family's prosperity and ensure the continuation of his descendants!"