Small town mystery and the traces of the corpse girl
Late at night, the hotel's wooden floorboards creaked softly, as if someone were tiptoeing down the corridor. Lin Shen leaned back in his chair, the stabbing pain in his chest growing more intense. The Heart Guardian Gu surged through his body, like countless tiny worms gnawing at his internal organs. He forced his eyes open and looked out the window—the town's streetlights flickered, and in the shadows, a small figure seemed to sway, hunched over like a child, yet its head was unusually large, its proportions unsettling.
"Tap, tap, tap." Slow footsteps echoed down the hallway, stopping at their door. Lin Shen instantly gripped his shovel, staring at the door with vigilance. There was no movement outside, only a faint, fishy odor, similar to that of rotting leaves, seeping in through the crack of the door—exactly the same scent as the vines in the alleys of Qingwu Town.
"Who?" Li Ye was awakened by the sound of footsteps. He rubbed his eyes and was about to stand up when Lin Shen held him down. Lin Shen pointed at the door and then at his nose, prompting him to smell the fishy odor. Li Ye's face changed instantly. He quietly grabbed the trekking pole beside the bed and held his breath.
After a while, a childish voice came from outside the door. It sounded like a five or six-year-old child, but with an indescribable coldness: "Uncle, have you seen my ball? The red one with patterns on it..."
Lin Shen and Li Ye exchanged a glance, neither speaking. This town was remote; why would a child be out looking for a ball so late at night? Furthermore, the voice was somewhat similar to Shui Xie Tong's, only hoarser, as if his throat had been eroded by water.
"Uncle, please open the door quickly. My ball seems to have rolled into your room..." The child's voice was filled with tears. Suddenly, a small handprint appeared on the door panel. The handprint was black, as if it was stained with ink, but it also emitted the smell of rotten leaves.
Li Ye's hands began to tremble. He thought of the water evil boy in the old well in Qingwu Town and the hands that stretched out from the well. Lin took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and shouted outside, "Your ball is not here. Go back to your parents!"
The crying outside the door suddenly stopped, and then there was a burst of "chuckles" that were sharp and exactly the same as Shui Xietong's laughter: "Uncle, you are lying! My ball is in your room! I saw it! It's in that sister's bag!"
Lin Shen's heart tightened. Meng Yao and Su Wan lived in the next room. The "sisters" the child was referring to must be them. He was about to get up and knock on the next door when he heard Meng Yao screaming, "Ah! There's something! Something's moving in my bag!"
"Not good!" Lin Shen stood up suddenly and kicked the door. The door opened with a clang. The corridor was empty, without the child in sight. Only a series of black footprints stretched from the door of their room to the door of the next room. The footprints were very small, exactly the footprints of the child from before.
Lin Shen and Li Ye rushed into the next room and saw Meng Yao huddled in the corner of the bed, clutching her backpack tightly. The bag was bulging and rustling, as if something was struggling inside. Su Wan raised her flashlight, shining the beam on the backpack, her face pale.
"Throw away the backpack quickly!" Lin Shen shouted.
Meng Yao reacted and threw her backpack to the ground. The moment the backpack hit the ground, it cracked with a loud bang, and a red leather ball rolled out. The ball was printed with black patterns. Upon closer inspection, those patterns turned out to be distorted human faces, with eyes and mouths moving slightly, as if they were alive.
"What is this thing!" Li Ye raised his trekking pole and tried to knock the ball away, but the ball suddenly bounced up by itself and rolled towards Meng Yao. The human face on the ball suddenly opened its mouth and let out a shrill scream, like countless children crying at the same time.
Meng Yao was trembling with fear. Su Wan suddenly remembered something and pulled the map Zhou Tang had left from her pocket and threw it at the ball. The map landed on the ball, instantly igniting a faint blue flame. The ball sizzled like melted plastic, quickly turning into a pool of black goo that emitted a burnt odor.
The blue flame gradually died down, and the map turned into ashes, leaving only a pool of black slime on the ground, which was still slowly wriggling, as if it had life.
"This is Shui Xietong's 'Grudge Ball'!" Chen Ba's voice suddenly came from the doorway. She had woken up without realizing it, holding a black pottery jar in her hand, her face solemn. "He's attached his resentment to the ball. Anyone who touches it will be entangled by him and eventually become his 'playmate.'"
Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect that Shui Xietong's residual soul would actually chase them into the town.
"Why is he staring at Meng Yao?" Su Wan asked puzzledly.
Chen Ba squatted down and poked the slime on the ground with a silver hairpin. The slime instantly shrank into a ball, transforming into a small human figure. It was exactly like Shui Xietong, though very blurry, as if it would dissipate at any moment. "Because Meng Yao's yang energy is the weakest, and she was captured by Shui Xietong in Qingwu Town, she has his resentment on her body, so he can easily find her."
The figure chuckled, the sound becoming smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared completely, leaving only a pool of black trace, like ink spilled on the ground.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Meng Yao's face was still pale. She looked at the marks on the ground and her voice trembled: "When...when can we get rid of these evil things?"
Chen Ba stood up, put away the silver hairpin, and sighed: "Unless the evil witch god disappears completely, the remaining souls of these evil creatures will continue to follow us until we all become their 'companions'."
"Isn't the Evil Witch God suppressed by Zhou Tang's Soul-Calming Gu?" Lin Shen asked doubtfully.
"The Soul-Suppressing Gu can only suppress him for a while," Chen Ba's eyes became complicated. "Plus, Zhou Tang's Yang Qi has been completely drained by the Soul-Suppressing Gu. Her corpse will likely become a new vessel for the Evil Witch God. By then, the Evil Witch God will be even more powerful."
Everyone was silent. No one spoke. The sky outside the window gradually brightened, and the sound of roosters crowing could be heard in the town. However, this crowing did not bring a sense of security, but instead made people feel nervous. A new day had begun, which meant that new dangers could also come at any time.
After breakfast, the old lady at the hotel suddenly called them over, handed them a cloth bag, and said with a serious expression, "Are you from Qingwu Town?"
Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect the old lady to know about Qingwu Town. Lin Shen nodded and asked, "How did you know?"
The old woman sighed and opened the cloth bag. Inside was a small wooden plaque with the word "Xiu" engraved on it and a red string hanging from it. "This is my granddaughter's plaque. Her name is Xiu Xiu. Ten years ago, she went on an adventure to Qingwu Town and never returned. Some say she became a ghost hunter and specializes in activities near Qingwu Town. If you encounter her, give her this plaque so she can return home soon."
Everyone looked at the word "袖" on the wooden sign, and they all understood in their hearts - the "袖袖" the old lady was talking about was most likely the corpse girl.
"Do you know where Xiuxiu is now?" Su Wan asked hurriedly.
The old lady shook her head. "I don't know. Some say she's active near the mass graves in the west of town, while others say she's near the stage in Qingwu Town. No one knows exactly where she is. But you have to be careful. Although she catches ghosts, she's not human herself. She has a strange temper and can hurt you if you mess with her."
Everyone thanked the old lady, took the wooden sign, and left the inn. After some discussion, they decided to go to the mass grave in the west of the town to look for Xiuxiu—if they could find her, perhaps they could use her power to fight against the evil witch god and the remaining spirits of those evil creatures.
The mass grave in the west of the town was halfway up a hill, filled with piles of graves. Some had collapsed, revealing the coffins within. The coffins were covered in vines, identical to those in the alleys of Qingwu Town. The mass grave was filled with a nauseating, putrid odor.
"Are there really Xiuxiu here?" Meng Yao's voice trembled. She followed Su Wan closely, not daring to look at the graves.
"I don't know," Chen Ba glanced around vigilantly, "but the yin energy here is very strong, and there may be evil creatures. Everyone, be careful."
As they entered the mass grave, they heard a burst of laughter, like a child's, yet with an indescribable strangeness. The laughter came from deep within the mass grave, sometimes far away, sometimes near, making it impossible to find its source.
"Who is laughing?" Li Ye raised his trekking pole and stared vigilantly at the direction where the laughter came from.
The laughter suddenly stopped, and then a small figure jumped out from behind the grave. She looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a red dress, with her hair tied into two pigtails. She held a small peach wood sword in her hand and had an innocent smile on her face. However, her eyes had no whites, but were completely black, exactly like Shui Xietong's.
"Who are you? Why are you coming to my territory?" The little girl's voice was crisp, but with a cold aura. It was the corpse girl Xiu Xiu.
Lin Shen took out the wooden sign given by the old lady and handed it to Xiuxiu: "We are here to help your grandmother find you. She asked you to go home early."
Xiuxiu took the wooden sign and looked at the word "Xiu" on it. The smile on her face disappeared and her eyes became complicated: "Grandma is still waiting for me..." She was silent for a moment, raised her head and looked at everyone, "Are you in trouble? I just smelled the scent of evil, it's on you."
Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Xiuxiu to be able to smell evil. Lin Shen nodded and told Xiuxiu everything they had encountered in Qingwu Town, including the story of the evil witch god and the remaining spirits of the evil creatures.
After hearing this, Xiuxiu's expression turned serious. "The Evil Witch God is the most powerful evil creature in Qingwu Town. He has killed many people. I have been searching for him for ten years, hoping to eliminate him. However, he is very powerful, and I am no match for him alone. If you are willing to help me, we can deal with him together."
"We do!" everyone said in unison.
Xiuxiu showed an innocent smile on her face: "Great! Then let's go to Qingwu Town now. The evil witch god may have already possessed Zhou Tang's body. We must get rid of him before he completely controls Zhou Tang's body!"
Everyone nodded and followed Xiuxiu toward Qingwu Town. The wind in the mass grave grew stronger, rustling the paper streamers on the graves like someone weeping. Everyone knew that this trip to Qingwu Town would likely lead to even greater danger, and they might even never return. But they had no choice but to move forward.
After walking for about two hours, they finally saw the archway of Qingwu Town. The three words "Qingwu Town" on the archway were still as dilapidated, and the copper bells on the eaves were still as rusty. But this time, there was a figure standing under the archway, wearing a pink skirt and with red thread wrapped around her hands. It was Hua Liang.
When Hua Liang saw them, a strange smile appeared on his face: "You are finally back... I have been waiting for you for a long time... This time, none of you can escape!"
Xiuxiu raised the peach wood sword, her eyes becoming cold and gloomy: "Hua Liang, don't think you are powerful just because you are attached to Zhao Lei's body. I will get rid of you today!"
Hua Liang giggled sharply: "Just you? A little corpse girl, you want to get rid of me? I think you are looking for death!" As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, and the red thread on her fingers wrapped around her sleeves.
Xiuxiu nimbly dodged the red line, raised the peach wood sword, and stabbed towards Hua Liang. The moment the peach wood sword stabbed Hua Liang's body, a "sizzling" sound was heard, and Hua Liang let out a shrill scream, and his body became a little transparent.
"What are you still standing there for? Help me!" Xiuxiu shouted.
Everyone reacted. Lin Shen swung his shovel, Li Ye raised his hiking pole, and Su Wan and Meng Yao picked up rocks and threw them at Hua Liang. Hua Liang was beaten back step by step, his body becoming increasingly transparent. Finally, with a shrill scream, he completely disappeared. Only a few red threads fell to the ground, quickly turning into black ash.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Xiuxiu put away her peach wood sword and smiled innocently, "Great! We've gotten rid of Hua Liang! But the Evil Witch God is still in Qingwu Town, so we need to keep working hard!"
Everyone nodded, stood up, and followed Xiuxiu into Qingwu Town. The fog in Qingwu Town was still thick, but this time, it had turned black, like ink, with visibility less than a meter. The town was eerily quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the alleys, as if striking at everyone's heartstrings.
After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at the Qingwu Town stage. It was still shabby, its roof half collapsed and the surface clogged with fallen leaves and rainwater. But this time, a figure stood on the stage, dressed in costume and with a thick layer of greasepaint on its face. It was none other than the Ghost Actor.
When the ghost actor saw them, a strange smile appeared on his face: "You are finally here... I have been waiting for you for a long time... This time, I want to sing this play with you..."
Xiuxiu raised the peach wood sword, her eyes becoming cold and gloomy: "Ghost actor, don't think you can fool us, I will get rid of you today!"
The ghost actor chuckled sharply: "Just you? A little corpse girl, you want to get rid of me? I think you are looking for death!" As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, and the sleeves of her costume suddenly became very long and wrapped around her sleeves.
Xiuxiu nimbly dodged the sleeve, raised the peach wood sword, and stabbed at the ghost actor. The moment the peach wood sword stabbed the ghost actor, it made a "sizzling" sound, and the ghost actor let out a shrill scream, and his body became a little transparent.
"What are you still standing there for? Help me!" Xiuxiu shouted.
Everyone reacted. Lin Shen swung his shovel, Li Ye raised his hiking pole, and Su Wan and Meng Yao picked up rocks and threw them at the ghost actor. The ghost actor was beaten back step by step, his body becoming increasingly transparent. Finally, with a shrill scream, he completely disappeared. Only his costume fell to the ground, quickly turning into black ash.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. Xiuxiu put away the peach wood sword and smiled innocently, "Great! We've gotten rid of the Ghost Actor! But the Evil Witch God is still in Qingwu Town, so we need to keep working hard!"
Everyone nodded, stood up, and followed Xiuxiu toward the center of Qingwu Town. They knew the Evil Witch God was likely inside the Wang Family Ancestral Hall in the town center, waiting to trap them. A greater battle was about to begin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
