Eating Ghost Feast

Wu Zi looked at Xu Yi's hand passing through his body and sensed Xu Yi's anxiety, so he lazily got up and took a look.

It was pitch black outside, and you could barely see the red blush and lips on the paper figure's face. The red, wooden lips were opening and closing, and the paper figure's hands were waving. The movements were mechanical and rhythmic, which looked rather eerie.

Wu Zi guessed that Xu Yi had seen the exact same scene as him, which was why he was so panicked, so he told Xu Yi: "Don't look with human eyes, look with ghost eyes."

"Ghost eyes?" Xu Yi asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

“You are a ghost, yet you are also in the human world, so you can use both human eyes and ghost eyes. Try using your ghost eyes.” Wu Zi then whispered a series of things into Xu Yi’s ear. Xu Yi didn’t understand a single word, but she already knew how to activate her ghost eyes. When she reopened her eyes as Wu Zi instructed, she saw a completely different scene.

Although it was pitch black all around, Xu Yi, with her ghostly eyes, could see everything clearly. The moonlight was as bright and gentle as the sun, and she genuinely liked it, wanting to go outside and bask in its glow. The paper figure that had been waving at her earlier had transformed into a clean and tidy little girl. The little girl waved happily at Xu Yi, her voice much more normal: "Come out and play!"

She was about to tell Wu Zi about this amazing phenomenon when she turned around and found that Wu Zi was surrounded by a dazzling yellow light. Xu Yi unconsciously took a step back.

She heard Wu Zi sigh, his voice deep and resonant: "Don't be afraid, it won't affect you. Go have fun by yourself, and call me if you need anything."

"What should I call you?"

Wu Zi handed her a small bell and said, "Rock this."

Xu Yi shook the bell, and a distant, tinkling sound came from it. It had spread like a wisp of smoke, but it exploded into a deafening roar right next to Xu Yi's ears. Startled, Xu Yi instinctively dropped the bell, crouched down, covered her ears, and even unconsciously closed her "ghost eyes."

Once the Ghost Eye closed, the deafening bell sound in her ears turned into a wisp of smoke-like voice. Xu Yi slowly removed her hands from her ears and looked at Wu Zi. Wu Zi had returned to normal. Wu Zi picked up the bell that had fallen to the ground, and painedly patted off the non-existent dust on it, looking distressed: "When you open the Ghost Eye, don't shake it, and definitely don't throw it away. It will be sad."

Can objects feel sadness?

"Of course, it almost cried." Wu Zi said very seriously.

Xu Yi carefully picked up the little bell and apologized to it earnestly: "I'm sorry, little bell, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Wu Zi watched Xu Yi earnestly coaxing the bell, and tried to suppress the smile on his face, but couldn't. His voice was filled with laughter: "Alright... haha, go find your friends to play."

"I apologized so sincerely, what are you laughing at?"

"Hmm... Hehehe, I'm not laughing. Go on, your friend is waiting for you!"

Xu Yi glanced at Wu Zi, carefully placed the little bell in her arms, and then walked out step by step. As she walked out of the house, she saw the eerie paper figure running towards her. Startled, she unconsciously took a step back. Remembering that she hadn't opened her ghost eyes, she opened them and saw a pink and tender little girl running towards her with a smile. She happily took Xu Yi's arm and pulled her into a normal-sized carriage.

Just as Xu Yi saw the bright moon outside the carriage window, she turned around and saw a paper face approaching. The huge shock made Xu Yi quickly back away, pressing herself against the paper sedan chair behind her.

Seeing Xu Yi step back, the paper figure leaned closer and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xu Yi realized that she had accidentally turned off the Ghost Eye, so she quickly turned her head and stared at the paper sedan chair in front of her, saying vaguely, "It's nothing, I'm just a little carsick, let me rest for a bit."

The paper figure chuckled, a sharp, piercing laugh that was also long and drawn out: "Heh... motion sickness?"

Xu Yi quickly activated his Ghost Eye again before turning to the little girl and saying, "I've never ridden in a carriage like this before, so I'm a little dizzy."

"Oh? Do you want me to walk with you after you get off the bus? But it's quite far, it'll take a long time."

Xu Yi thought about her unstable ghost eyes and how she might encounter many creepy scenes if she went out. She quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no, let's take the car. I should be able to get used to it."

“Mmm,” the little girl nodded, “Tell me if you feel unwell.”

"Okay." Xu Yi nodded.

Xu Yi deliberately maintained her ghostly vision state the entire time, so the journey was relatively smooth. Upon arriving at her destination, Xu Yi relaxed and reverted to her human vision state. She saw a vast expanse of ruins before her, with paper figures of various shapes and sizes moving about. Startled, she took a step back, just as a small paper figure alighted from the carriage behind her. Turning around, she saw an enlarged paper face, and the carriage behind her transformed back into a paper sedan chair, causing Xu Yi to take another step back... Already on edge, the paper figure at the door behind her, seeing a guest arrive, quickly went to greet her, calling out, "Honored guest!" Xu Yi felt a weight on her shoulder and turned her head to see a pale paper hand. Terrified, Xu Yi couldn't hold back any longer and jumped away, screaming wildly. She crouched down to the side, covered her ears with her hands, and quickly focused all her attention to reactivate her ghostly vision.

Her actions startled both ghosts. They exchanged a glance and cautiously approached. The welcoming ghost used the gentlest voice he could muster to ask Xu Yi, "Were you frightened, esteemed guest? I am truly sorry for my rudeness."

Xu Yi heard that the sound in her ears was normal, so she carefully and slowly lifted her feet from between her knees. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw two normal feet in front of her. At this moment, the little girl who had brought her over squatted down next to Xu Yi, gently patted Xu Yi's back, and asked with concern in a high-pitched voice, "What's wrong?"

Xu Yi wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and smiled faintly, "I, I just saw a hallucination. It's alright, it's alright." Then she helped the little girl to her feet, and only when she saw that the person in front of her was a polite old man did she finally relax.

The old man said with a kind face, "I was really being presumptuous and startled our distinguished guest. I am very sorry."

Xu Yi quickly waved his hand and lied, "No, no, it wasn't you. I've often seen terrifying hallucinations since I was little, so I'm often startled. It's my problem. I'm the one who scared you. I'm really sorry."

The old man chuckled twice and comforted them, saying, "People are always afraid of sickness and death. Don't worry about it. As long as you didn't frighten our distinguished guest." Then he gestured forward with his right hand and said, "Distinguished guest, please come in."

Xu Yi smiled and replied, "Thank you for your understanding, thank you for your understanding." Then she entered the yard with the little girl.

The courtyard was bustling with people. The groom, dressed in a red wedding suit with a large red flower on his chest, was fair-skinned, clean-shaven, and very polite. He walked around the courtyard greeting relatives and friends. People were serving tea and dishes, and everything was in good order.

Xu Yi had never attended anyone else's wedding banquet before, and only dared to follow behind the little girl. The little girl was very enthusiastic, pulling her around to introduce her to everyone, saying that she was a good friend she had just met. Everyone was polite and chatted with each other. After a short while, they witnessed the newlyweds' three bows, and everyone applauded to celebrate. Then, Xu Yi was pulled by the little girl to the banquet and found a seat.

After the emcee finished saying the auspicious words, he invited everyone to start eating.

Xu Yi looked at the simple yet delicious dishes on the table with great curiosity and joined everyone in eating. The food looked varied, but it all melted in her mouth, more like a source of energy. Moreover, this energy was very compatible with her body. Xu Yi found it novel and picked up different dishes each time, experiencing the same texture and taste. She found it very interesting.

Unexpectedly, joy turned to sorrow. Xu Yi was so happy eating that her mind became distracted, and she suddenly switched back to human vision. Looking at the uniform paper table, paper bowls, paper chopsticks, and paper figures constantly serving her food, she almost dropped her chopsticks. She barely managed to hold them back from slipping.

The little paper figure beside Xu Yi kept putting food on her plate, introducing it repeatedly: "This is delicious, that is delicious too."

Xu Yi glanced at the dark clumps of matter in the bowl, and hesitated to eat them, almost vomiting up everything she had eaten before... She quickly concentrated to open her Ghost Eye, but for some reason, she couldn't open it.

On this special day for others, she didn't want to disturb the banquet. She forced herself to put her chopsticks on the table with trembling hands and said with her head down, "I...I'm full."

"You only ate this much? Why didn't you eat more?" The voice, which was originally soft and sweet, now sounded incredibly chilling. Xu Yi wiped the cold sweat from her brow and whispered, "I, I really, really am full. I, I'll leave now..."

She had just stood up when she was pulled back down by the pale paper figure beside her. The paper figure approached her and said, "The groom hasn't come to thank you yet, so you can't leave now."

She stared at the crumpled, grayish-white, stiff, lifeless object in her hand, too afraid to lift it. She could only twist her arm, trying to free it. Unexpectedly, the paper figure, thinking she was still trying to leave, tightened its grip, making Xu Yi's hand even more immobile… A chilling sensation spread from her arm, so cold that Xu Yi's heartbeat weakened, and she unconsciously held her breath…

She tried to resist a little longer, but then she heard a greeting: "Thank you all for gracing this young man with your presence and giving me this wedding gift..."

Just then, everyone at the table stood up, and Xu Yi could only stand up along with the other paper figures. Unfortunately, the groom was standing to her right and slightly behind, so everyone at the banquet looked over… Xu Yi stared at the identical paper faces in front of her, all turning around and staring intently at her… Xu Yi knew they were looking at the groom behind him, but she just couldn't relax… She didn't hear exactly what the groom said, and even her hand trembled uncontrollably as she raised her glass… spilling a lot of the black substance from the glass…

Everyone noticed Xu Yi's unusual behavior and turned to look at her. Xu Yi instantly felt locked under dozens of gazes, her heart pounding even harder. She could only manage a forced explanation: "I... my hands are shaking, it's... a childhood problem." She even managed a forced smile... Then, exaggerated laughter echoed from all directions, distant and shrill. Everyone tried to comfort her, but Xu Yi heard various shrill voices: "It's alright, it's alright," "It's nothing, it's nothing..."

The shock nearly made Xu Yi faint; she felt her entire body drenched in cold sweat…