Chapter 45: Going Into the Water

Returning along the original path, Yang Xiao no longer let his mind wander; after all, there was still a fellow hiding among the pile of Paper Persons to deal with. But when he looked with his left eye, there was only a group of strangely shaped Paper Persons beneath the stage.

Moving his feet carefully, now with his back to the 4th Sacrificial Altar, Yang Xiao closed his left eye and quietly opened his right. In this glance, the scene beneath the stage changed completely: a group of waterlogged, drowned ghosts were huddled together, water constantly dripping down along their hair, staring straight at the stage.

And just three meters in front of Yang Xiao, a ghostly face poked out from the middle, staring dead at him, and even stretched out a leg, blocking the path Yang Xiao had to take.

This was the very fellow who had tripped him just now!

If he were to walk past normally, it would be inevitable that he would be tripped again. For a moment, the old man's warning flashed through Yang Xiao's mind: wealth and honor are sought amidst danger.

Worried about being noticed by the drowned ghosts, Yang Xiao opened his left eye and, as if nothing had happened, carefully moved forward, rubbing his feet step by step. When he estimated he was close to that leg, he suddenly closed his left eye tight and opened his right. That bruised, rotting leg was positioned right in front of his feet, and the ghost sitting there in a strange posture was looking up, a hideous smile pulling across its rotting face.

But the next second, it could no longer smile, for Yang Xiao suddenly lifted his foot and stomped down hard on that leg.

"Crack!"

The sound was crisp—something even Yang Xiao hadn't expected. It felt just like stepping on and breaking the paper leg of a real Paper Person, the bamboo strips supporting it inside also snapping. A painful wail immediately rang in his ears, but Yang Xiao, like a heartless machine, ignored it and walked straight back to his seat to sit down.

Tilting his head slightly to observe with the corner of his left eye, he saw half a Paper Person's leg lying on the ground; the scene was quite miserable.

At this moment, the Ghost Opera on stage grew increasingly lively. Su Tingting performed several high-difficulty movements in succession, and her singing grew more melodic and resonant. As a series of "yi-ya" tones rang out, the strange feeling in Yang Xiao's heart finally erupted inevitably.

Although he didn't understand opera, he could still distinguish tone and timbre. This singing voice... why was it not quite the same as what he had heard by the lake earlier?

Although the skill was equally superb, and the turns and high points of the singing were handled just right, it really didn't sound like the same person.

This guess frightened Yang Xiao. After thinking for a moment, he decided to risk opening his right eye to take a look at what kind of ghost was actually singing on stage.

Even though he was mentally prepared, this glance still shocked him. Su Tingting was gone from the stage, replaced by a bloated, rotting corpse.

The rotting corpse was dressed in a bright red Costume and wore a Phoenix Coronet covered in pearls and jewels. It kept changing poses on stage, performing weird movements, while thick, milky-yellow corpse fluid dripped onto the ground along its sleeves and trouser legs. That soaked, dead face actually revealed an expression of extreme satisfaction.

Wearing a Costume, able to sing, and having died by drowning—this had to be Xi Yao!

Before Yang Xiao could think any further, the rotting corpse on stage suddenly paused, and those eyes hidden within the folds of flesh stared fiercely at Yang Xiao.

Realizing he had been discovered, Yang Xiao immediately opened his left eye. After returning to reality, everything returned to normal.

On stage, Su Tingting's steps were light and her singing was melodic; the Paper Persons beneath the stage were all sitting obediently.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao tried to calm his mood. Since coming to this world, he had remained vigilant at all times, but it hadn't been without gains. After he got out, his new Script would have material; his fellow writers would certainly love these things.

"Yi—, ya—!"

A shout from the stage startled Yang Xiao into looking up abruptly. This voice was off-key, the vocal line trembling. The key was that Su Tingting was staring at him with a terrified expression.

No, she was warning him—warning him to pay attention to his surroundings!

But... what was wrong with his surroundings?

Su Tingting looked like she was about to cry. Yang Xiao did not hesitate; he closed his left eye and opened his right. The next second, Yang Xiao saw the most terrifying scene he had encountered to date.

Just 10 centimeters in front of his face, several rotting ghostly faces were pressed close. A dozen ghosts, some squatting and some standing, had him completely surrounded.

In an instant, Yang Xiao's heartbeat stopped, but as a cold wind blew, Yang Xiao's body swayed with the wind. As if nothing had happened, his expression remained normal, and he continued to look up at the opera.

By the lake.

Shi Dali looked up at the pitch-black sky. Tonight was truly not good weather; there were no stars and no moon, and the sky was like a lake turned upside down.

Shi Guanming stared at the lake water under the boat with some fear, swallowing with difficulty. "Shi... Brother Shi, we're only going into the water now—wouldn't that be too late?"

At this moment, a long time had passed since they saw the rising red Lantern, and only now did Shi Dali order them to take the boat into the water.

Shi Dali was already annoyed, but he still explained with patience: "Brother Shi, you don't understand. Who knows if that red Lantern is real or fake? If it was something created by a ghost, and the Lantern disappeared the moment we entered the water, that would be terrible."

Shi Dali had his own plans. He was waiting—waiting for the Ghost Opera of the other group to stabilize; that was the right time to enter the water. Otherwise, once something went wrong with the Ghost Opera, they would be out on the lake, far from any village or shop, and if Xi Yao came back for a surprise attack, they wouldn't even have a place to run.

"Brother Shi, you have the experience, so I'll listen to you, but what do we do now?" At this moment, the two could already see the corpse of Feng Third Young Master, face down, floating in the pitch-black lake water, swaying slightly with the waves.

"Enter the water first."

The two grabbed the ropes along the edge of the boat and slowly entered the water. Only when submerged did they realize how cold the lake water was, making Shi Guanming shiver uncontrollably.

Shi Dali buried his face into the lake water. The water was murky and visibility was very low, but strangely, there was a faint glimmer of light underwater—a dark red light.

"The sunken boat is right under the corpse." Lifting his head, Shi Dali wiped the water from his face and looked at Shi Guanming with an earnest expression. "You have no experience, so follow me in a moment."

Hearing that Shi Dali would take the lead, Shi Guanming felt much more at ease, thinking that Brother Shi was indeed a kind person; after surviving this time, he must visit to thank him.

"Remember, be prepared before you dive down. Once you enter the water, you must never surface to catch your breath, or you will be targeted by ghosts. We must do this in one go and find Xi Yao's corpse." Shi Dali's expression turned serious. "Visibility underwater is very low; don't panic if you can't see each other. Focusing on completing the mission is the ultimate goal."

"Right." Shi Guanming also understood the stakes.

Adjusting his breathing, Shi Dali took a deep breath and was the first to dive underwater. A few seconds later, Shi Guanming also took a deep breath and dove into the water.

Sure enough, just as Brother Shi said, visibility in the water was very poor. Shi Guanming could barely keep his eyes open, but there was a faint, ghostly red light underwater, as if it were a guide. Thinking that Brother Shi must have already gone ahead, Shi Guanming swam hard toward the red light.

A moment later, a splash of water suddenly erupted from the surface not far away. Shi Dali wiped the water from his face and observed his surroundings. Sure enough, he didn't find a trace of Shi Guanming. No longer hesitating, he swam hard toward the small boat parked on the lake.