Chapter 13: The Vengeful Spirit in the Water
Volume 1: Ghostwater Village
Li Yin was more shocked than he had ever been in his life.
“What... what’s going on?” Li Bing looked at Li Yin and Kexin’s stunned expressions, puzzled at first, then seemed to realize something. “Oh, I get it. The villagers must’ve told you I died, right? Back then, I really was about to jump off the waterfall—I even took off my shoes. But when I stood at the edge, I suddenly felt that dying like that was too pathetic. So, I walked away and decided to go find my father…”
Looking back, the villagers had never actually said they found Li Bing’s body. They just assumed she committed suicide by jumping, based on the shoes she left behind.
Given how fast the river flowed, it wasn’t surprising they couldn’t find a body. No wonder everyone believed she was dead.
“You… you said you wrote to the village chief two months ago?” Li Yin asked suddenly. “Then why didn’t he say anything?”
“Ah… I told him to keep it a secret. After I left the village, I couldn’t find my father, but I started working in the city. Eventually, I opened a small restaurant, and somehow it grew into a chain. I formed a company and became the CEO… I made so much money, and the first thing I thought about was the village. Even though I had painful memories, this was still where my parents, Axiu, Su Yue… all my dearest memories were. So, I decided to come back and invest in the village, to help it prosper. But I wanted to surprise Axiu, to show up in person and tell her I was still alive. Ah, Axiu is…”
“I know,” Li Yin interrupted her. “Axiu missed you deeply.”
“Really… is she doing okay?”
Was she? Could anyone say Axiu was truly okay now?
“I even told the chief I might send a few managers ahead to assess the area for potential investment. But to avoid gossip, they’d pretend to be tourists experiencing rural life. I told him not to mention me at all, even to act like they were really just tourists… But in the end, I decided to come myself.”
So that was the truth!
The village chief had mistaken them for Li Bing’s representatives! And the “boss” he kept referring to… was Li Bing herself! That explained why he was so hospitable, encouraging them to explore the village…
But that led to a chilling question.
Who was the towering woman who had killed Heng Yan and Shou Tian?
Who was she?
At that moment, Axiu still stood in front of the towering ghostly woman, tears streaming down her face as she joyfully called out, “Bing’er jie…”
Then, in an instant, the massive ghost seized Axiu, pulling her whole body into the water vat!
Even as she died, Axiu never understood—why had her beloved “Bing’er jie” killed her?
“Run!!” Li Yin shouted, body trembling in terror.
Li Bing was alive—so that ghost, whatever it was, clearly wasn’t Li Bing. And it certainly wouldn’t spare them just because of Axiu!
Right then, the hands of the watch struck midnight.
Zero hour.
“Run, Kexin!”
Startled, Li Bing gasped as Li Yin and Kexin bolted forward at full speed.
In the apartment, they had spent much of their physical training time on running. Honestly, if a ghost was determined to kill you, it wouldn’t matter if you could outrun an Olympic athlete. Still, being fast did improve your odds.
Li Bing was confused but pressed on. She had rushed to the village this late out of desperation to see Axiu. But as she entered the village, she suddenly felt a pale shadow brush past her.
“What… what was that?”
Her body instantly turned cold.
“Kexin, be careful around water! Don’t go near any water!” Li Yin gripped her hand tightly as they hurried along the mountain path. They weren’t sprinting yet—just taking long, deliberate strides. The journey was far from over, and if they exhausted themselves now, they’d never make it.
The path was rugged and treacherous. Li Yin remained hyper-alert. One slip, and they might lose their lives.
Survive.
They had to survive.
Kexin, like a frightened bird, kept looking around nervously. She had almost died multiple times over the last three years. The most terrifying time was in a haunted house—she’d been hung by a rope from a ceiling beam and was about to suffocate before Xia Yuan burst in and cut her down just in time.
That near-death experience made her even more determined to live.
After nearly twenty minutes of hiking without incident, she finally started to relax. But Li Yin stayed cautious.
Xia Yuan had warned him: many residents who survived the blood-letter task still died on their way back to the apartment. Some died literally on the doorstep.
Suddenly, between two trees up ahead, Li Yin caught a glimpse of a pale figure flashing by!
“There—there it is!” Kexin saw it too and nearly collapsed in fear.
Li Yin yanked her up, and they both sprinted again. Even while running, he kept his eyes fixed on the compass in his hand. One wrong turn, and all would be lost.
After five or six minutes, both were gasping for breath, utterly spent.
“Li… Li Yin…” Kexin panted. “She… she’s not following us, right?”
“I… I don’t know…” Li Yin scanned the area—just forest and rocks, no movement.
“Seems like… we’re safe for now…”
Their hearts thudded so violently that any relaxation felt dangerous. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down.
Just then, Li Yin spotted the white shadow appear—right behind Kexin!
“K-Kexin! Behind you!”
Kexin whipped around in terror—but saw nothing.
“What are you doing?! Trying to scare me to death?!”
But Li Yin was certain he’d seen it.
The once-peaceful forest now seemed like a malevolent entity out to consume them. And there were still three hours to go. Could they endure that long?
But staying in place would only be more dangerous.
“Let’s keep moving, Kexin!” Li Yin gritted his teeth, pulling her along.
We must not die.
Every step felt like treading on thin ice.
Thankfully, nothing else happened for over two hours. They made it to the outer mountains—almost at the base.
But nowhere outside the apartment was truly safe. They couldn’t relax yet.
“Kexin…”
“What is it, Li Yin?”
He took a deep breath. “If we make it back alive… you should confess to Xia Yuan. Don’t leave regrets in your life. You care deeply about him, don’t you?”
Kexin blushed deeply.
“…Okay. I’ll… I’ll think about it.”
They reached their car. Li Yin had worried it might vanish—but no, it was still there.
He unlocked the door, got in, and started the engine.
Kexin climbed in and buckled up.
The car drove smoothly, which surprised Li Yin. He had expected something to go wrong.
But neither of them noticed… the large pool of water on the back seat.
“You came too, huh?”
Back at the K City apartment lobby…
Two people were gathered: surgeon Tang Lanxuan and the ever-gloomy Tang Wenshan.
Lanxuan couldn’t sleep, worried sick about the others. So she got dressed and came down to wait.
She was surprised to find Wenshan already there, still cold and silent. She sat beside him.
“I wonder… how many of them will make it back?”
Just then, the elevator doors opened. Hua Liancheng and his wife Yi Weng stepped out.
“Liancheng, Yi Weng!” Lanxuan greeted them. “You couldn’t sleep either?”
They nodded, worry etched across their faces.
“I just hope Li Yin and Kexin survive,” Yi Weng said.
The three of them sat together, trying to chat, but the heavy atmosphere made it difficult.
“Xia Yuan will probably come down soon too,” Lanxuan muttered, checking the wall clock. “He cares about all of us…”
“I’m sure they’ll make it,” Yi Weng said firmly. “They will.”
On the highway, Li Yin gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Don’t appear… at least not yet…
In the back seat, five pale, ghostly fingers slowly emerged from the water.
Then a hand… then another.
A hideous, rage-filled face rose from the puddle. It twisted and shrank, forming the ghostly woman’s shape.
Still, Li Yin and Kexin noticed nothing.
Because the rearview mirror—often the thing that reveals ghosts—reflected nothing at all.
Then, her wet hands reached toward Kexin…