The roads in the countryside were hard to travel, especially the ridges between the fields. Few people ever came this way, leaving the path covered in loose stones and weeds. Whenever Zhao Mingyue visited here during the holidays in past years, she usually wore sportswear and sneakers to make things easier.
But this time was different. After paying her respects, she was still going to hang out with Bai Yu, so naturally, she had to dress up.
“This place used to be quite nice. There were still a good number of people living in my old Village. These fields had someone farming them back then, not left barren and empty like this.” Zhao Mingyue walked ahead, gesturing toward the abandoned fields in the distance, nostalgia in her eyes.
“In my childhood memories, this place was really beautiful. It’s a pity. I don’t know what happened afterward, but the people in the Village just got fewer and fewer. The young people all left, and the elderly either moved away or passed on. It isn’t just these fields; even the Village itself is abandoned now.”
“Look, see that willow tree up ahead? The one that’s about to die. I used to play there all the time. There was a Small Pond there before.”
“I didn’t dare play with the other kids, so I’d go by myself, sit under the willow tree, and in the summer, I’d even fish for crayfish there.”
Zhao Mingyue’s eyes held a complex mix of emotions, though mostly happiness.
She finally didn’t have to make this trip alone. She had someone by her side to talk to along the way.
“Isn’t there a Village missing around here?” Bai Yu scanned the surroundings. The nearest village was still quite far away.
“Yes, the village from my childhood is over that way, but it’s also quite a walk. We won’t go there today; there’s probably no one left living there anyway.”
“Do you want to know why I would come all the way out here? It’s because only by coming here could the other children not find me. It let me play all by myself.”
“The kids in the Village were all very nice. They never ostracized me just because I seemed strange. That’s exactly why I was afraid to be around them.”
“Let me tell you something. That Small Pond next to the willow tree I just mentioned? I was afraid to go near it for a long, long time afterward because of something. It’s the reason I never went back there to play.”
“What happened?” Bai Yu glanced sideways at her. From Zhao Mingyue’s tone, she could tell this memory brought her regret and pain.
“Mm… It’s actually quite simple. I had a very good friend who drowned in that Small Pond.”
“I can still remember his name: Zhao Bin.”
“He was a boy from our Village. One time, I met him when he was out working in the fields with his family. I was bored playing alone with no one to join me, and since I was really into playing, we got along quite well.”
“After that, unless it rained or snowed, I would go wait for him under that tree every day.”
“At that time, I was ten, and he was twelve, a little older than me. I followed him around all day calling him ‘Big Brother.’”
“Then one day, I went over very early in the morning. Before I even got there, I saw from a distance that a huge crowd had gathered around the pond, pointing and murmuring about something. I didn’t know what.”
“I was curious, so I squeezed through to take a look. I saw Big Brother Zhao’s parents kneeling there, crying while holding something. I couldn’t see what they were holding at first. It wasn’t until the Village Chief pulled them apart that I saw Big Brother Zhao’s corpse.”
“His skin was so, so white. There wasn’t the slightest color of a living person. He was still wearing his usual brown short-sleeved shirt and black shorts. He was soaking wet, covered in water plants, and his mouth was full of mud. Even his stomach was hugely bloated with water. It was absolutely terrifying.”
“I remember seeing that his eyes were open, staring dead in my direction.”
“And then, I fainted. When I woke up, I was already back home, being held by my mother.”
Zhao Mingyue casually kicked a small stone away. Holding the Carnation in her arms, her eyes seemed a little out of focus.
“I knew. I must have been the one who caused harm to Big Brother Zhao again.”
“Back then, I was really heartbroken and full of self-blame. I really wanted to know: why, of all people, did the star of calamity have to be me?”
Hearing this, Bai Yu’s brow furrowed deeply. “How many times have things like this happened?”
“There were four times in total. I remember them very clearly.”
“Four times…”
Once could be a coincidence. Twice could also be a coincidence. But three times? Four times?
Bai Yu didn’t really believe in coincidences. Especially since four incidents involved what happened to her friends.
“How long did this situation continue?”
“Mm… I’m not sure. But my last friend died when I was thirteen. After that, my parents went missing, and it never happened again. It might also be because I stopped playing with other kids my age.”
“Then during that time, did you ever encounter any strange events? Like, having the same Nightmare repeatedly, dreaming about a specific person every time?”
Bai Yu suspected that perhaps when Zhao Mingyue was young, a Ghost had been following her. The Ghost had been the one killing her friends.
“Dreams… I think there was one. But it couldn’t really be called a nightmare. And it wasn’t about a specific person; it was about a group of people.”
“A group of people!?”
“Yes. I dreamed about a bunch of strange people jumping and dancing around in front of a small building. These people were basically split into three types: one kind had their eyes covered with strips of Red Cloth, another had their ears plugged, and the last kind had their mouths covered.”
Zhao Mingyue thought carefully for a moment before replying.
“And when was the last time you had this dream?”
“About a week ago?”
“…”
Bai Yu’s pace slowed down considerably. The fact that Zhao Mingyue’s identity was far from simple was only within her expectations.
How could the background of the Female Lead possibly be a blank sheet of paper?
“Is this a dream you have often?”
“No.” Zhao Mingyue shook her head. “I haven’t had it much these past few years, especially after my sister and I moved away.”
By now, Bai Yu was certain there was something wrong with the village Zhao Mingyue used to live in. Her parents and older sister likely knew something but had kept her in the dark all along. Her parents had probably done something before they died, and afterward, her sister took her away, which was why those few years had been relatively safe.
The problem was that her sister had also disappeared. And what was worse, whatever was in that village had very likely come looking for her again recently.
As for what kind of entity it was, Bai Yu couldn’t say. Her guess was some type of Evil God.
The reason she thought it was an Evil God rather than an Evil Ghost was that these entities were exceedingly strange and terrifying, and their strength was often immense, beyond what ordinary Ghostly Monsters could match.
The biggest issue wasn’t even that Zhao Mingyue was targeted by an Evil God. The real issue was that, despite being targeted, Bai Yu herself hadn’t sensed a thing.
This situation held only two possibilities: either the entity’s methods were highly concealed and hard to detect, or its power overwhelmingly eclipsed her own.
A casual chat had unearthed such a massive problem. Bai Yu felt a headache brewing. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to resolve this matter, but she was getting a headache because of Zhao Mingyue’s attitude. This girl might have felt pain and regret, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Mingyue, this matter of yours… It’s not simple.” Bai Yu offered a resigned warning.
“I know. I might not have believed it before, but now that I’ve come into contact with your world, I believe it. But so what if that’s the case? Even if I know, I can’t change anything, can I? I’ve already moved out of the Village. As long as I don’t go back, everything should be fine.”
Zhao Mingyue was rather philosophical about it. She gazed into the distance toward the Village. “Also, I don’t want to bring you trouble. I have a feeling this matter might be very difficult to handle.”
She wasn’t stupid. Her parents had gone missing and even died because of it. Her sister’s disappearance was absolutely connected to this as well. Wasn’t that proof enough?
It was so dangerous, with not a single clue and no way of knowing who the enemy was. She had only known before that this thing was terrifying, having seen it once. Naturally, she didn’t want Bai Yu stepping in.
Bai Yu’s strength was immense, yes. The problem was, the other side was completely unknown.
The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.
“Mingyue, I can understand your line of thinking.” Bai Yu stopped. Zhao Mingyue, walking ahead, seemed to sense something, and turned around.
“This is a hidden threat, a very big one. You can’t run from it just because you’re scared. Running away is useless. One day, the thing you’re running from will find you and take away everything you have…” Bai Yu paused briefly. “I know this from deep personal experience.”
“But, Mingyue, you are different from me…”
Zhao Mingyue opened her mouth as if to speak but hesitated. She was silent for a long while, then suddenly smiled. Not mockery, nor a joke, but a very sweet smile.
“I know. Back then, you had no one to rely on. But I… I have you.”
Behind her Sunglasses, Bai Yu’s eyes flickered.
Was that what she had meant just now?
Probably, yes.
This girl spoke the truth. She had someone to depend on. She, Bai Yu, was that person she could depend on.
“It’s also for this exact reason that I don’t want to take risks.” Zhao Mingyue’s smile faded, replaced by a trace of wistfulness. “Even though the time we’ve known each other is very short, in my heart, you are my family. And my only family, at that.”
“Sometimes, I really feel like we’re alike. You are a wandering wraith without a home, drifting everywhere. And me? I’m a pitiful creature who doesn’t even have a place to go during the New Year.”
“After I first met you and got to understand you, I started thinking… We are probably each other’s only one. That’s why I treasure every single second we spend together. The facts have proven this very effective. I feel like we’re just like partners who have lived together for many, many years.”
“It’s just like you said. The risk of ignoring a hidden threat is huge.”
“But this also buys us time, doesn’t it? During this time, we can have an absolutely wonderful stretch of days.”
Zhao Mingyue often only appeared to be silly. In reality, she was very perceptive inside and had strong opinions of her own, just like what she was saying now.
Most of the time, she would defer to Bai Yu’s wishes. But on certain special occasions, she would refuse.
“People only double their treasure for things that are stolen, because they either never owned it, or once owned it and lost it for all sorts of reasons. That’s how they know its value.”
“I’ve always been an excellent thief. I can even steal time.”
“So, during this stolen time right now, I will treasure it twice over.”
After that speech, Bai Yu also fell silent. The Zhao Mingyue of today was different from the one she knew. This was the real her. Or rather, Bai Yu had never truly understood her completely.
She had always been caught between two thoughts: Keep a distance, yet maintain intimacy.
Keeping a distance so she wouldn’t truly develop feelings. Maintaining intimacy for the sake of the Quest.
With that kind of mentality, how could she possibly have understood the true Zhao Mingyue?
Furthermore, Bai Yu had never considered herself someone who understood emotions very well. She only knew how to kill.
For some reason, at this moment, she didn’t quite dare to look Zhao Mingyue directly in the eyes.
Her words were sincere. The eyes didn’t lie. And what about herself?
It wasn’t that because Zhao Mingyue valued her, she was obligated to value Zhao Mingyue in return, or that not doing so would be betraying her. That wasn’t the meaning at all.
She was just thinking… she should probably pay a bit more attention to the girl’s feelings.
So…
“Mingyue, you are afraid.” Bai Yu took a few steps forward, coming to stand before Zhao Mingyue. “I think you might know the horror of that thing, and that’s created some feelings of despair.”
“You believe that all the time before that thing finally finds you counts as stolen, don’t you?”
Zhao Mingyue froze. Bai Yu had hit the core of her heart.
Lifting a hand to remove her Sunglasses, Bai Yu tilted her head slightly upward and gazed into her eyes. “Why not give it a try?”
“You can try placing a little more faith in me.”
“After all… once upon a time, I was quite capable.”
If Shen Shuyun were standing here and understood the full ins and outs of this matter, she would definitely remain silent, cast a baffled look at Zhao Mingyue, give a slight, tiny nod, and not say a single word.
Regarding this Evil God entity… If she remembered correctly, back when she bought that head from the booth of the being called the “Doctor,” that head had a clear expression of crying and even some remorse.
Before the grave, Zhao Mingyue carefully wiped the dust from the headstone with a handkerchief. She then placed the light-colored Carnations she had taken from Bai Yu’s arms in front of the tombstone. Casually, she pulled a stack of Spirit Money from her pocket—leftovers she had bought on sale from some app a year ago—and took out the Soul Lighter she had won in a raffle previously.
As the Spirit Money burned, Zhao Mingyue knelt and kowtowed once.
She stood, brushed the dirt from her knees, and whispered, “Little Sister Yu, do you think there might be any Wraiths lingering around here? Can they receive the spirit money I’m burning?”
Carnations, paired with spirit money that was fifty percent off a year ago. When it came to tomb-sweeping, Zhao Mingyue was probably the only person capable of making these choices.
“What Soul could possibly remain? Only a decaying shell is left behind.”
“Mm. That’s actually a good thing.” Zhao Mingyue nodded. “If you don’t become a Ghost, at least you can avoid some torment.”
“Hey… I’m sorry.”
“Hm?” Bai Yu looked back at her.
“I meant about what happened earlier. It isn’t that I don’t trust you. I just want you to be well. I can’t bear to lose anything again.”
To err is human. Zhao Mingyue was a living, breathing person and naturally had her own ideas. Besides, Bai Yu didn’t mind it. It was a perfectly normal thing. In the face of a terrifying unknown, fear was the most common emotion. Zhao Mingyue had even suffered psychological trauma because of all this. It was impossible for her not to be worried.
“It’s fine. I will make sure this time you’ve stolen… becomes time you genuinely own.”
“Mm-hmm. I believe you. Whenever I have free time, I’ll tell you in more detail.”
