Death Is Everywhere

In mid-air, two children, a boy and a girl, appearing to be seven or eight years old, with braided hair and rosy cheeks, grinned, revealing small, sharp canine teeth. They looked quite cute.

But upon closer inspection, under the red light surrounding them, their reflections were absent from the calm, undisturbed surface of the lake.

Zhao Ke's pupils contracted. He quickly closed the black curtain he had pulled aside, leaving only an almost imperceptible gap. He lowered himself, concealing his figure as much as possible, and peered out through the slit in the curtain.

These two children were holding flower baskets and had bells on their feet. As they walked, they grabbed handfuls of white paper from the baskets and scattered them. Zhao Ke realized these white papers were actually paper money with square holes.

In moments, the entire lake surface was covered. The white spirit money, under the eerie red light, looked indescribably strange.

While the two children scattered paper money, a cacophony of gongs and drums sounded from behind them. A low suona played a melody. The rhythm of the music was fast, yet it always carried a sense of lifelessness, more like the funeral dirge played at a wake.

A black, square palanquin, carried by four men, followed closely behind the two children.

Zhao Ke observed that the four men looked robust. However, when he looked up, he found they had no faces at all. Their faces were blank, just like the white tiles in mahjong.

Zhao Ke glanced at the river surface beneath their feet. Indeed, except for the hovering palanquin, the four men were completely invisible. Following them was a band playing funeral music. It seemed lively, but on the river, nothing could be seen except the shadow of the black palanquin.

Could they be ghosts?

They say only ghosts have no shadows. But if they were truly ghosts, why were they carrying a palanquin?

Watching the approaching procession, Zhao Ke remained crouched on the boat, holding his breath. His hands gripped his dagger tightly, his knuckles turning white. His legs were slightly curled, and he lay prone in the boat's shelter, like a coiled frog ready to strike. A cold killing intent flickered in his eyes, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

"Dong..."

Just then, Zhao Ke noticed that a small boat not far from his side suddenly shook violently. Although it quickly subsided, the gentle rocking of the hull created ripples on the calm river.

This would normally be insignificant, but with all the boats floating still, it felt like a frozen image. The sudden disturbance of the water became the most discordant element.

Instantly, the suona and drum music stopped abruptly. The previously lively river fell into dead silence. Pairs of cold eyes fixed on that small boat, and the air seemed to freeze.

"Run!"

At this moment, a scream erupted from the boat's shelter. Two dark figures leaped out, one after the other.

The sudden appearance of the two startled Zhao Ke.

One of them tapped the water with his toe, leaping three to four yards horizontally before landing on a small boat. Using it for leverage, he sprang again, and by the time his figure was clear, he had already jumped onto another boat.

The other person was even more decisive, diving straight into the water. A splash erupted on the surface, and then the person vanished.

"Postmen!"

The two moved with incredible speed, but Zhao Ke watched closely. As they acted, a flash of light flickered behind them, seemingly the mark of activating their Stamp abilities.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke's heart sank. If those two were Postmen, then... were there other Postmen on the surrounding boats? Had his every move just now been noticed by other Postmen?

"Living people! Kill them!"

The flower children, floating in mid-air, their joyful smiles vanished instantly, replaced by a sinister look. They bared fangs and, with a wave of their hands, a black mist suddenly emerged around them.

"Kill them!"

Rotten human faces emerged from the black mist, entwined like goo. They swirled across the lake, splitting into two, and pursued the two escapees.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the black mist rolling in behind him, the figure's expression changed drastically. He spun around, and a black gun barrel appeared in his hand.

"Bang bang bang..."

Flames erupted from the muzzle, and the black mist was instantly pierced in mid-air, creating three fist-sized holes. Moreover, the edges of each hole smoldered with black smoke, suggesting the bullets were no ordinary ones.

"A gun!"

Zhao Ke frowned. He had considered before whether modern weapons could be converted into the Post Album, but such items were strictly controlled in China.

Even if Lei Ke hadn't resigned, the difficulty and risk of obtaining a handgun for himself would have been too much for either Zhao Ke or Lei Ke to bear.

And the opponent was clearly a master marksman. From drawing the gun to firing, every movement was nearly flawless.

"So painful!"

Injured by the opponent's special bullets, the faces in the black mist contorted. Screams, seemingly from men, women, old, and young, mingled together, like a crowd of women and children wailing.

"Hmph!"

Seeing this, the person let out a cold laugh. While darting rapidly between boats with his superior speed, he raised his pistol and continuously fired at the black mist.

"Bang bang bang..."

The bullets traced peculiar trajectories through the air. Even while moving at high speed, each shot accurately hit the black mist. The tricky angles and elusive movements made it nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.

Each bullet blasted a hole in the black mist. What was once a waist-high mist was quickly torn to shreds.

But at this moment, Zhao Ke suddenly heard a "hehehe" laugh from above him. He looked up and saw the pair of flower children, suspended in mid-air, lightly clapping their hands.

"Clap clap..."

A gust of cold wind blew, and the large red lanterns lining the riverbanks instantly extinguished, plunging the entire river into darkness.

However, soon the extinguished lanterns relit. But while the previous lanterns were red, now... they were all white.

For some reason, seeing the lanterns relight around him, Zhao Ke immediately felt a sense of extreme danger.

He instinctively drew his body tighter into the boat's shelter, clenching his fists. Glancing sideways at the pair of flower children in mid-air, Zhao Ke froze.

Where there had been two flower children, there was now only the girl suspended in the air. Under the lamplight, her small face was illuminated a deathly pale. She hung in the air, emitting a silvery tinkling laugh.

The laughter sent shivers down one's spine.

Clearly, the Postman, who had been swiftly moving between the boats, was unaware that a flower child had disappeared. He was momentarily blinded by the bright, daylight-like lamps surrounding him. The sudden, intense light made it difficult for his eyes to adjust, causing him to pause and slow his pace.

The instant he stopped, a chilling "hee hee hee" laughter suddenly echoed from behind him. Hearing the laugh, the Postman's face instantly stiffened, as if a poisonous snake had been stuffed into his collar. Every hair on his body stood on end.

He spun around abruptly and saw a small boy, about half his height, standing behind him. Even more bizarrely, the boy was holding a fresh, red heart in his hand, which was beating powerfully against his palm.

He looked down and saw that a hole the size of a bowl had appeared in his chest.

He blinked in surprise, then threw his head back and with a "plop!" fell straight into the river. After splashing water, only a face filled with bewilderment floated on the surface.

The blood dyed the surrounding river water a dark red. It was evident that this guy was deader than dead.

At the same time, a stream of bubbles suddenly emerged from the river on the other side.

"Gurgle gurgle..."

It seemed as if someone was struggling desperately underwater. A hand reached out from the water, flailing in the air a few times before being pulled back under.

Soon after, a mass of black mist emerged from the riverbed. This black mist had a fresh human face on it, with vacant eyes, weakly groaning.

Zhao Ke, hidden in the boat shed, took a deep breath. He felt a cold sweat drenching his back!

The moment the boy attacked, Zhao Ke felt a suffocating sensation, as if his throat was being choked.

The strength of the two Postmen he had just witnessed was far beyond his own. With their bizarre gun skills, if it were him, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape before being riddled with bullets.

Yet, such a formidable expert had become a corpse in the span of just a few breaths.

This made Zhao Ke realize that even with the abilities of special stamps, thinking he could dominate the horror space was simply a joke.

With the two troublemaking living people dead, the two flower children's faces once again lit up with joyous smiles, their leg bells jingling.

Behind the sedan chair, the band resumed playing music, slowly passing over Zhao Ke's head and continuing along the river.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. He reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and at that moment, a purple sweat towel was offered before him.

Zhao Ke instinctively reached back to take it, but halfway through, his face suddenly turned pale. His eyes fixed on the sweat towel, and he looked up. Behind him, a woman had appeared without him knowing.