Chapter 7: Minding One

Cold moonlight spilled across the river, shimmering in tiny ripples; the corpse floating on the water bore a face whiter than the moon—Xie Sining’s face.

Feng Yu looked at the female corpse drifting downstream beneath the bridge, then at her phone screen—the call had already ended.

“If the body in the river is Xie Sining, then who just called me?” Feng Yu’s voice trembled slightly; the terrifying possibility sent chills down her spine.

“Calm down,” Ning Zhe reassured her. “Though Hejia Village is strange, no actual supernatural demons or ghosts have ever appeared. Maybe Zhang Yangxu used her phone to call you. Let’s return to the ancestral hall first—you redial the call and see what’s going on.”

Since he had already broken a taboo today, Ning Zhe dared not enter the water to retrieve Xie Sining’s corpse for further confirmation, fearing bad luck.

The two left the bridgehead and hurried back.

“No one answered,” Feng Yu exhaled in relief as they walked. “I called Xie Sining three times—each time, no one answered.”

“Try calling Zhang Yangxu?” Ning Zhe suggested as he quickened his pace—he was having terrible luck today and didn’t dare run freely.

Feng Yu tensed again: “I… I’ll try.”

But before she could scroll through her contacts to find Zhang Yangxu’s number, they passed through a narrow alley beside the river, turned a corner, and a relatively wide street appeared before them.

On the street, two figures—a man and a woman—walked slowly under the moonlight. The man was not tall but stood upright, dressed in a suit and polished shoes, with a slightly loose beer belly. The woman wore a full office suit and high heels, walking a step behind him, slightly to his side.

“That!…”

“Quiet,” Ning Zhe clamped his forearm around Feng Yu’s neck, his palm pressing over her mouth, pinning her against the wall.

After restraining the terrified Feng Yu, Ning Zhe cautiously peered out from the alley, observing the two figures walking down the street. The cold moonlight fell upon them, stretching their shadows long and thin. “Zhang Yangxu and Xie Sining? What’s going on?”

If Xie Sining was dead, then who was the woman beside Zhang Yangxu?

If Xie Sining was alive, then whose corpse floated in the river? The pair were heading toward the ancestral hall. Seeing Feng Yu gradually calm down and stop struggling, Ning Zhe whispered “Quiet,” then released her. A crimson lip print remained on his right palm.

“Puh—” Feng Yu leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. “Ning… Ning Zhe, who just walked past us…?”

“I know,” Ning Zhe kept his eyes locked on the two figures retreating down the street. “Call Zhang Yangxu now. Immediately.”

“Ah, okay.” Feng Yu quickly opened her contacts and found Zhang Yangxu’s number.

Moments after Feng Yu dialed Zhang Yangxu’s number, the two figures on the street paused briefly, then continued walking forward.

As they walked, Zhang Yangxu pulled his vibrating phone from inside his suit jacket.

“Feng Yu?” The caller ID’s annotation puzzled him. He swiftly answered: “What is it, Lady Bai? What’s wrong?”

“Watch out for Xie Sining!” Feng Yu hurriedly warned. “I just passed the Gongqiao Bridge with Ning Zhe—we saw—”

“Saw what? Lady Bai, be clear—what exactly did you see by the river?” Zhang Yangxu’s nerves tightened instantly. He was about to press further when he saw a red line on his screen: “Call Ended.”

“What…?”

In the alley, Feng Yu stared at Ning Zhe in confusion—her phone was in his hand. He had snatched it from her and forcibly ended the call, stopping her from warning Zhang Yangxu further. “Ning Zhe, why did you hang up?” she whispered.

As he blocked Zhang Yangxu’s incoming call with Feng Yu’s phone, Ning Zhe said: “Don’t invite trouble.”

“Trouble?” Feng Yu was even more confused.

Ning Zhe took a deep breath; the terrifying scene still chilled him to the bone.

“When you called Zhang Yangxu, I was calling Xie Sining at the same time.”

He held up his own phone, showing one missed call marked “Unanswered”—Xie Sining’s number. “While Zhang Yangxu answered your call, Xie Sining didn’t answer mine. She just stood there, motionless.”

Feng Yu’s face turned deathly pale: “Xie Sining…?”

Ning Zhe continued: “When you said over the phone, ‘I was with Ning Zhe at the Gongqiao Bridge,’ I saw Xie Sining—who had been facing away from us—suddenly turn around. Her gaze locked directly onto my head, unblinking, like a targeting reticle, expressionless, staring at my face.”

“When you said, ‘I was with Ning Zhe at the Gongqiao Bridge,’ she kept staring at me—then smiled silently.”

Feng Yu’s legs buckled; the sheer terror nearly made her collapse. Her face grew even paler. “How… how could this happen…?”

Ning Zhe steadied his breathing, then said: “Xie Sining is dead. The woman walking beside Zhang Yangxu is something else—a ghost wearing her identity, with unknown intentions. I can’t predict what will happen if we expose it.”

That’s why he snatched Feng Yu’s phone and hung up without hesitation—to avoid drawing trouble to himself.

“Then what should we do now?” Feng Yu asked urgently.

Seeing her helpless, animal-like gaze, Ning Zhe understood: “As I thought before—Feng Yu is timid, indecisive, accustomed to relying on others… easy to control.”

Now there was only one thing left to do.

“Auntie, call Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing. Warn them Xie Sining has been replaced.”

“And what about you?” Feng Yu asked.

“Get them both. Don’t return to the ancestral hall. The four of us will go into the river together to retrieve Xie Sining’s corpse.” Ning Zhe wiped the lip print from his palm with his sleeve, speaking softly: “I hope we can find clues to how she died. I think it might be connected to how we leave Hejia Village.”

As for Zhang Yangxu’s fate—that was up to him. Ning Zhe chose to mind his own business.

Had he not broken a taboo today, he wouldn’t have even called Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing—he’d have gone alone. But now, with his luck this bad, going into the river alone to retrieve a corpse could easily drown him—even though he was actually an excellent swimmer.

After dialing, Feng Yu followed Ning Zhe out of the alley.

Down the distant street, Zhang Yangxu lowered his phone—several times showing “Unanswered”—and silently turned his gaze toward the woman beside him.

(End of Chapter)