Chapter 18: Water Ghost

When the two of us ran to the riverbank, we saw a child sinking at a visible speed. He opened his mouth wide, trying to call for help from people on shore, but in just a moment his cries turned into gurgling sounds. Around the child, a ring of black water weeds spread.

Having witnessed the child sink, a group of girls turned pale; those with weaker dispositions nearly fainted from fright. Nearby, several little girls looked for shoulders to lean on, but the new generation of men are too effeminate, lacking the demeanor of me and Pangzi.

Two middle-aged farmers who heard the news quickly jumped into the water, hoping to rescue the child.

The river wasn't deep, only up to the farmers' necks. But when the two farmers felt their way to the middle of the river, they seemed to be grabbed by something, their hands flailing wildly, and they shouted in terror toward the people on shore: "Help, something is pulling my leg"

In less than half a minute, the two middle-aged farmers sank just like the child earlier, at a visible speed, and a ring of black-green water weeds spread around them.

At this point, several people on the shore who were preparing to go into the water hesitated. Even a fool could tell that what was happening was not ordinary.

Everyone looked at each other, and the same two words came to mind simultaneously: "Water Ghost."

The legend of the water ghost has existed since ancient times, especially in the countryside; those who hear of water ghost disturbances are never few. Rumor has it that some have seen what a water ghost looks like: eyes blood-red, resembling a duck, a dog, a rat…

In the 1990s, someone came forward to debunk the myth, claiming that the water ghost is actually an animal, which they called a water lai or water monkey, because this creature's trait is having limitless strength in water, so it often hides in rivers or dams, dragging people underwater to suck blood from their soles.

But in fact, water ghost and water monkey are two different concepts. The water monkey is indeed an animal, but the water ghost is absolutely not.

A water ghost refers to a solitary soul that died unjustly in a river or dam; over time, unresolved resentment turns it into a drowned corpse ghost. Whenever the seventh month fourteenth arrives and the gates of hell open wide, these drowned corpse ghosts emerge to wander, or transform into animals or human forms, luring people to the riverside and then dragging them down to serve as substitutes.

Water monkeys drag people to suck blood for survival. Water ghosts, however, only drag people to serve as substitutes; they do not drink blood.

At this moment I finally believed that Pangzi's divination was actually correct—was it just his dumb luck, or has he been hiding his talent all along?

"Hai Sheng, what do we do? There really is a water ghost—should we run?" Pangzi tugged at my sleeve in a flustered manner.

"Run your sister, we're Daoists—if we see a ghost and run, who would take us seriously?" I shoved him away with force.

After I pushed him, Pangzi finally realized blankly: "Right, we're Daoists, the nemesis of all demons and monsters."

"However, this water ghost has limitless strength in water; we can't do anything about it." Pangzi gave a silly grin and withdrew his hand.

Actually, it's not Wang Pangzi's fault; ordinary wild ghosts, even evil ones, he normally isn't afraid of.

But as soon as water is mentioned, Wang Pangzi loses his composure. Because his innate eight characters contain a water disaster, after nearly drowning as a child, any mention of water turns him into a lost red deer, a startled bird.

Moreover, Pangzi is quite right: the water ghost has limitless strength in water; in water, no matter how high your magic, you can't overcome it. On the contrary, it's very likely to drag you under.

However, all things in the world mutually generate and overcome; nothing is absolutely strong without weakness. But where is the water ghost's weakness?

My thoughts raced, and suddenly a flash of insight struck: yes, a yellow ox, it's a yellow ox.

"Don't just stand there, quickly go find a yellow ox, hurry!" I shouted anxiously at the crowd.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment; perhaps they didn't know why I suddenly wanted a yellow ox.

"Isn't there a yellow cow right behind you?" a villager pointed behind me.

I turned my head and saw, under a tree two meters away, an old yellow ox tied up, its head lowered, grazing beneath the tree.

"Pangzi, come help…" I waved at Pangzi and sprinted toward that yellow ox.

The year before last, QingSongShu took us to Guangxi to examine feng shui; likewise, in a river we personally witnessed a child being pulled into the water by a water ghost. Similarly, we saw the same black-green water weeds in the river; the difference was that last time the child had already drowned for over an hour, and people were merely fishing out the corpse, whereas this time they were trying to figure out how to save the person.

When the yellow ox was driven into the middle of the river, the corpses that people had struggled in vain to retrieve for a long time suddenly floated up on their own. We all found this utterly puzzling.

This was a minor incident that occurred in Guangxi; it left no deep impression in our minds. Moreover, earlier we two—one panicked from fear of water, the other startled by Pangzi's divination—couldn't recall it at the moment.

Seeing the situation grow increasingly urgent, I finally remembered this incident. Upon my reminder, Pangzi also recalled it and hurried over to help me drive the ox into the river.

However, the ox seemed to sense something in the water; no matter how I pulled the rope, it only walked to the riverbank and refused to take another step into the water, even to death.

The longer time dragged on, the more perilous the people in the water became, leaving us no room to delay; yet the old yellow ox simply would not go into the water, even at the cost of its life, and for a moment Pangzi and I had no idea what to do.

"Hai Sheng, you get on the ox's back; I'll beat it from behind with a stick." Wang Da Pang gripped a stick and assumed a mountain-splitting staff pose.

I thought, that's also a method; in my haste I climbed onto the ox's back and tightened the rope.

Pangzi let out a "heh" from behind; there was no cracking sound, but rather a noise like a bone stabbing into flesh—a puck sound—and the yellow ox suddenly lunged forward, charging into the middle of the water.

Instantly, I felt a great force from beneath my buttocks, then a whirl of dizziness, and the yellow ox flung me into the water.

I… damn it, why must I climb onto the ox's back to drive it into the water?

At this moment I realized how stupid I was, blindly believing the dead Pangzi's words. Driving the ox into the water should just be driving it; why must I climb onto its back—this clearly looks like a trap set for me? And what method did he use, why did the ox react so violently?

Fortunately, my swimming is decent; I just choked on a few mouthfuls of water when I first fell in, unable to react immediately.

When I crawled ashore, soaked through, Pangzi was hiding in a corner, laughing hysterically at my sorry state, and the stick in his hand had vanished.

When I turned to look at the river, my face instantly turned ashen.

Three bodies floated up in the river, unknown whether dead or alive, their legs entangled in a clump of black-green water weeds. Everyone scrambled to lift them onto the shore.

But that's not the point. The point is I saw a stick inserted into the yellow ox's… anal opening,

Instantly I finally understood what that puck sound I heard was, and also finally grasped exactly how Pangzi managed to drive the ox into the water.

"Dead Pangzi, if I don't beat you to death, I won't call myself Chen Hai Sheng."

Damn it. Only Pangzi would be so lewd as to think of using an anal thrust to drive the ox—if it's going to blast, let it blast; why drag me along?

I caught Pangzi and gave him a hard beating.

But Pangzi is thick-skinned and muscular; my punches on him felt like hitting stone, hurting only myself. I kept beating until my hands turned red and swollen, unable to continue, then I leisurely clapped my hands.

Indeed, as I had expected, after Pangzi took the beating he bounced back as if nothing happened, dusting off his clothes and standing up nonchalantly, picking his nostrils with a provocative look at me.

Regarding this, I could only feel indignant, gazing skyward and sighing long, blaming my mother for giving me a body too thin, lacking even a couple ounces of meat.

ps (new book first release, hoping everyone gives more support) cast your vote etc.,.