Chapter 253: The Redemption of the Sickly Young Girl
When Zhao Mingyue arrived, she was half-expecting to find Li Tianan face down in the dirt—dead as a doornail. But nope! Li Tianan was alive and well, mingling with his kidnappers as if he just stepped out for a cup of coffee. His “ab*se” looked more like a vacation at a five-star resort!
“Store Manager, weren’t you supposed to be…?” Zhao Mingyue took a couple of steps forward, pointing at Li Tianan with a look that could only be described as utterly perplexed.
“Put this on first, and I’ll fill you in on what’s been happening here in just a bit.” Li Tianan tossed a couple of masks their way, “You two showing up is perfect! You can hear the scoop and decide if you want to stick around or peace out.”
Mainly, he was addressing Bai Yu with that last bit. Sure, he thought about getting Zhao Mingyue and Lu Liangting to help him out, but he was terrified that before he could finish his sentence, Bai Yu would whip out her sword and slice him up. That girl had a knack for being overly protective—getting Zhao Mingyue on board would need her approval!
If a fight broke out, that gigantic spider behind him wasn’t going to save him.
Zhao Mingyue caught sight of the masks—one was an evil ghost face that would scare the socks off a toddler, and not in the cute way. Lu Liangting’s mask looked just as horrifying. Confused, she watched as Li Tianan donned his own mask.
She had a million questions swirling in her mind, none of which were answered right away.
“Here’s the deal,” Li Tianan leaned in, pointing at his mask, “That little girl we just saw? Yeah, she’s got some issues.”
“Poor kid.” Li Tianan’s tone dropped a notch, “She’s cursed. In her eyes, the world’s upside down. Regular folks look like monsters, and the monsters look like angels. Her view of reality is as twisted as a pretzel.”
“So we’ve got to wear these masks, or else she’ll freak out.”
“If not, you saw it yourself, you’re a stunner. In her eyes? The scariest ghost around. And she’s fragile; if we scare her, it could be a disaster.”
“But hey, thanks for coming all this way to rescue me. Honestly, I’m starting to feel my age—hanging out with ghosts and such isn’t doing my health any favors.”
Zhao Mingyue glanced back at Bai Yu, who was hiding behind her snowy-haired self. No wonder she freaked out earlier—it was all about how reality looked in that little girl’s skewed world.
“What about her life?” Zhao asked, concern etched on her features.
“Well, during the day, she keeps her eyes covered. Only at night does she take them off. See that ghost? It’s her guide, telling her where to go and what to do. I just took her from the market; I was her bodyguard, if you will.”
Li Tianan sighed, “That kid has been deeply affected by the ghost gate; she’s nothing like us normal folk. She’s got an ability to see spirits, and in the ghost world, she’s like a walking buffet—impossible to resist!”
“And to her, the scary ones are actually her loved ones, while the pretty ones are after her life.”
“Her family keeps her locked up tight, either in the house during the day or with everyone wearing masks, even covering her eyes and ears at night.”
“Surviving this long is a miracle. But then some bad stuff happened, and her family met a tragic end—thanks to that ghost gate. Word is, their heads were used as offerings but failed. It was only after the culprits fled that she dared to come out.”
“You know what she did next?”
“She didn’t call the cops or look for help. No, she sewed her family’s heads back on—”
“Being a weakling, she just laid the bodies out on the floor. For months, she pretended they were alive, living amidst a bunch of corpses.”
“She can’t care for herself at all; her survival hinges on that ghost.”
“Actually, the killer’s ritual succeeded, re-opening the ghost gate, but it only took a few days to kick in.”
“That ghost is here because of the gate, and once it came out, it stuck by her side. To her, it’s like having an angel around.”
Li Tianan wrapped up the tragic tale of the little girl’s life and experiences, also explaining the spider ghost’s presence and the reason for the ghost gate. Once everything was laid out, Li Tianan continued, “So yeah, my kidnapping is linked to that ghost gate too. You might’ve figured that part out already. Those sisters wanted to seal the gate but couldn’t figure out how, so they came knocking on my door since I’m the gatekeeper.”
“They sought me out before, but after assessing their predicament, it was way too complicated. I just said no.”
“Let’s head into the other side of the yard; here’s all the creepy stuff, but over there? All clean and ghost-free.”
Li Tianan led them to the other half of the yard, and true to his word, the place was spotless, devoid of corpses or ghost gates—it mirrored the layout of the spooky side quite well.
Zhao Mingyue glanced around, “Store Manager, everything here seems symmetrical. Is there some significance to it? When I was here with Lu Liangting this morning, I didn’t spot any useful clues.”
“That has to do with the little girl and her ghost. Not the main focus though; it’s just a quirky lifestyle habit, I suppose. I didn’t really pry.”
“Mmm.”
“But about the symmetry you mentioned? There’s definitely something to it.” Li Tianan pulled out a photocopied map—it was Qiugang Village and the surrounding area. “Look, if you perceive it this way, the village and the neighboring Feng Village are, in fact, symmetrical; every house matches perfectly.”
Zhao Mingyue and Lu Liangting leaned in to inspect the map closely. Sure enough, it was just as Li Tianan explained—two villages so close, separated only by wheat fields and a big road. If the road served as a dividing line, each house could overlap perfectly.
Li Tianan placed the map on the table, feeling a bit awkward as he fiddled with his mask. In the mask, he looked like anything but a good guy. His outfit was a disheveled beige coat that looked like it had seen better days, and he sported a few speckles of bl**d.
His eyes, visible beneath the mask, were bloodshot and weary—two sleepless nights had left him looking a bit wilted.
“I’ll go get that ghost to explain things to you two; you can decide if you want to stick around. Just know she won’t keep you here against your will. But I, on the other hand, can’t leave. This mess is my problem, right in my territory. If I don’t sort it out, it will blow up into something crazy.”
If he had his way, he wouldn’t involve himself with those sisters either.
At the door, Li Tianan waved his hand. Inside, Zhao Mingyue clearly heard something crawling on the roof—nails dragging against the walls made for an eerie symphony.
Sure enough, before long, the shadowy ghost crawled through the doorframe, hanging upside down from the ceiling, aiming its scrutinizing gaze directly at Bai Yu—completely ignoring Lu Liangting and Zhao Mingyue in the process.
The greatest threat to Bai Yu was this ghost; she was definitely outmatched.
This was confirmed earlier that morning.
Bai Yu, arms crossed, remained calm and collected.
The ghost had no eyes, just six gaping bl**d holes. How it sought out people was anyone’s guess, letting it guide a young girl’s way was downright terrifying.
Turns out, Bai Yu had misjudged initially. As the spider ghost flipped its eyes around, its crimson pupils emerged. It opened a mouth full of sharp teeth and spoke in a distinctly feminine voice.
“Please, what must I pay to have you intervene?”
The ghost’s voice was unexpectedly gentle, contrary to its looks. If one closed their eyes while listening, they might picture an intelligent older sister wearing glasses.
Bai Yu’s unexpected discovery wasn’t the ghost’s voice, but the rationality hiding beneath its seemingly crazed exterior.
“That depends on the specifics.”
“Very simple, your strength guarantees you can take care of it.”
“Cut the fluff, just say what you need to say.” Bai Yu narrowed her eyes, the sharp aura making the sparse remaining dark hairs on the ghost stand on end.
“You are… this…”
Before the spider ghost could finish, a thunderous crash blasted through, the doorframe bursting into splinters and debris flying everywhere, slamming the ghost hard against the ground, clouding the room in black mist. The ghost’s face caved in half from the impact; it was furious and immediately got back up.
As soon as it looked up, Bai Yu was already in front of it.
Standing nearly six and a half feet tall, Bai Yu made the ghost seem like a child.
Yet, this petite figure cast a shadow as heavy as a mountain.
“You want to k*ll me?” Bai Yu brandished her long blade, gazing up into the spider ghost’s face.
That fleeting moment had sparked the ghost’s murderous intent, thinking it could ambush Bai Yu since they were both ghosts—perhaps it could absorb her, dramatically boosting its power.
That blade, the way Bai Yu brandished it…
The ghost completely overlooked Bai Yu’s previous remark, staring fixedly at the weapon. In a panic, just before Bai Yu swung, the spider ghost blurted out two words.
“Doctor?”
The blade hovered just inches from the ghost’s head, frozen in place.
“Uh, I apologize. I acknowledge I harbored some murderous intent just now. I wanted to test the waters, but I didn’t realize it was you.” The spider was on the defense now, words tumbling out of her mouth faster than usual. “I’m a spider, ranking nineteenth. Currently, I’m a ghost—not sure how or why, really. Came out of the ghost gate, have a body now, and the mission is to k*ll the opposing party, seize their ghost gate.”
“Don’t k*ll me! I can reveal part of the secrets of this world!”
·
·
Please throw some votes my way, sob sob!
