Chapter 116: Lotus Emerging from Water

Beneath the ginkgo tree burning with heartfire, Ji Taimei, covered in bite wounds, stood beside the Tudimiao, silently watching the imposter—whether man or ghost—lead his sister away, hand in hand.

His sister looked happy; the imposter who had stolen his identity seemed to know well how to soothe her.

“What does that thing want? What are its intentions toward my sister?” Ji Taimei glanced at his grandmother, kneeling before the Tudimiao and pounding her forehead into the ground like a pestle, hesitating whether to follow the imposter who had taken his sister.

Ji Taimei did not understand his own current state—whether his grandfather, grandmother, or anyone else in the village, even the “thing” impersonating him, seemed utterly unable to perceive his presence.

He felt as though he had become one of the lonely wandering ghosts of folk tales, spirits drifting after death—but if he was a ghost, then what was the thing that had replaced him?

And the woman in red who had just appeared beneath the ginkgo tree…

Ji Taimei swallowed hard, but his throat had been torn open—he could no longer perform the motion of swallowing; the hollow, eerie sensation made him scan his surroundings. Since rising from his coffin after “death,” the village of Yanglao had transformed utterly in his eyes.

He had followed the imposter—whether man or ghost—from his grandmother’s house all the way to the Tudimiao, and now saw the empty streets teeming with people: strange, grotesque “figures” wandered before and behind the village homes, yet neither his grandfather nor his grandmother seemed to notice them, just as they could not see him.

The state of those “figures” was hard to describe; perhaps it was more accurate to call them outright “ghosts.”

Ji Taimei lifted his gaze slightly, watching Ning Zhe and Yin Lishang walk farther and farther away; he saw four eerie ghostly shadows trailing closely behind them, yet the two seemed utterly unaware, chatting and laughing as they moved forward.

The four ghostly shadows following Ning Zhe were:

One was an old ghost, rotten teeth, face crammed with smiles, left hand holding a human skull.

One was a thin ghost, tall and spindly like a stalk of hemp, each hand gripping a human shinbone.

One was a fat ghost, broad face and bloated belly, right hand holding a human heart and lungs.

One was a hunchback ghost, very young, his back burdened with a large sack stuffed full of human bones, his mouth crunching loudly as he gnawed.

Originally there had been five ghostly shadows; one more had been a serpent made of human bones with Wang Nainai’s head—the very one that had killed Ji Taimei last night.

But just now, the imposter had done something—suddenly, a young maiden in a red bridal gown appeared beneath the ginkgo tree, her snow-white face devoid of features, slender hands holding an almanac.

Like a great fish rising from an endless abyss, the woman in red surfaced before the Tudimiao and gently opened the almanac in her hands.

At the same moment, Ji Taimei saw the bone-serpent trailing the imposter suddenly flare its eyes, charging wildly forward, gaping with its black, toothless mouth to tear off delicate flesh from the pale maiden… but in the next instant, Wang Nainai shrieked and vanished.

All of this happened too swiftly—Ji Taimei caught only a blurred glimpse of the “himself” holding his grandmother’s body flickering momentarily out of focus, then snapping back into place; when he stared again, what he saw was the bone-serpent, fallen to the ground, writhing in agony, its form peeled away from the bridal woman.

“Wang Nainai” was dead.

“That imposter… he killed Wang Nainai? He has the power to destroy these ghosts?”

The horrifying scene before his eyes made Ji Taimei even more hesitant—the imposter could not see ghosts, yet could kill them?

If I reveal myself, can he kill me too?

And what exactly is that woman in red? Is she also a ghost?

Unlike the peaceful, tranquil village seen by Ning Zhe, Feng Yushu, and other living humans, Ji Taimei’s Yanglao village swarmed with all manner of eerie ghosts—or rather, monstrous figures. These monsters did not harm him, seemingly uninterested in him, yet they were drawn to and trailed the few living people in the village, doing nothing.

As Ji Taimei hesitated, Ning Zhe had already walked far away with Yin Lishang; after much deliberation, he ultimately did not follow.

Although his mother’s letter had instructed him to return home and care for his sister, instinct told Ji Taimei that man was dangerous—extremely dangerous. “I must find a way to warn my grandmother… that man isn’t me—he’s an imposter.” Ji Taimei clenched his teeth inwardly; he had already tried smashing bowls in the cabinet, but it had failed. What method could he use to warn his family safely without the imposter ghost noticing?

Thinking through this problem required time—but Ning Zhe gave him none.

Not long after Ning Zhe and Yin Lishang departed, several flickering, indistinct ghostly shadows suddenly appeared in the alley across from the Tudimiao.

The village ghosts were drawn to the living; where ghosts gathered, someone alive must be present. Ji Taimei stepped closer and saw, indeed, a stranger hiding in the alley—a dignified, elegant lady as radiant as a lotus emerging from water, dressed in a deep purple long gown, adorned with precious jewelry, her hair coiled into an intricate cloud-style coiffure.

Ji Taimei had seen this woman before—on the bus coming to the village.

“Is it her?”

She came to the village too?… Of course—on the bus, he had heard her tell the ticket seller she was heading to Yanglao; she had always intended to come here.

The lady carefully returned her phone to her pocket, sat cross-legged against the wall atop a pile of firewood, her long skirt draped over her legs; then, a black shadow shot out from beneath her feet.

Ji Taimei’s vision was too poor to catch the shadow’s speed; he instinctively turned his head in its direction and saw his grandmother’s body stiffen, then collapse to the ground.

His grandmother was dead.

=9+ Shu _ Ba

Shock flooded Ji Taimei’s mind, but an even more terrifying scene followed immediately.

After killing his grandmother, the woman pulled out her phone again, pursed her lips, and began typing on the screen; her face bore an expression of eager delight, as if reporting success to someone, and when she imagined receiving praise, her radiant features bloomed into a beautiful smile before she hurried off, running swiftly from the hidden alley.

Ji Taimei did not pursue her; only his grandmother’s corpse lay still before the Tudimiao, the fire within the ginkgo tree still burning, the July heat of Yunzhou radiating searing intensity.

Crack—crack—the sound of burning wood echoed; time passed, second by second, until the corpse on the ground slowly stirred. Ji Taimei finally confirmed the suspicion forming in his mind.

The corpse’s chest rose and fell relentlessly, as if countless restless hands were clawing inside the ribcage, desperate to break free.

Gathering courage, Ji Taimei stepped forward, watching his grandmother’s body writhe and twist like a living serpent; her neck skin stretched and tore under violent struggle, snapping clean, lymphatic tissue and blood vessels dangling below the severed neck, white bone joints emerging from her chest cavity.

Ribs sprouted like fangs from the chest, a bloody, sinuous tail flicked gently, and on the wrinkled, aged face appeared a gentle smile:

“Good grandson…”

(End of Chapter)