The Man in the Water

Hey lady, are you trying to scam me here?

Yu Xing was silent for a moment, then squatted down to take a look. To be honest, the wound was very deep, and blood was seeping out quickly, with a small strip of flesh being taken away.

The grass beside them was tough and serrated, easily cutting people's skin, and the meat strands were stuck on it.

Along the way, this kind of grass was not uncommon. However, Yu Xing was wearing long pants, so at most she felt her clothes being pulled. But the Witch Doctor was different. Today, she was wearing a black embroidered cheongsam, and her legs lacked protection from the external environment.

The Witch Doctor looked pained, like a delicate, fragile woman who had never been hurt, frozen in place.

After reading it, Yu Xing roughly knew what the Witch Doctor was trying to do, and quickly answered, "The wound seems a bit serious. Can't you move?"

"Ugh, it hurts so much..." the Witch Doctor replied in a hoarse voice, her eyes welling up with tears. She looked up at him and said, "There's a lot of sawgrass here, which often scratches people's skin. I'm usually very careful, but I wasn't paying attention while talking to you today."

Does this mean you want me to feel guilty?

Yu Xing cooperated, saying, "It's all my fault. How about I carry you back?"

"I don't want to go back. It hurts... I feel safer by the lake. Or... could you go back and get me the first-aid kit? I can go upstream and wash my wound to prevent infection." Although the Witch Doctor felt that Yu Xing's apology didn't seem very sincere, she still chimed in.

"Okay, then go upstream. Once you reach a water-accessible area, don't move. I'll go get the first-aid kit and then find you along the river." Yu Xing was very decisive, and after saying that, she hurriedly left, as if she was really worried about the Witch Doctor.

As she watched his figure disappear into the jungle, the mist in the Witch Doctor's eyes cleared, her expression turning indifferent. She slowly looked into the lake, completely unaffected by the wounds on her legs.

"Shiwei... what do you think of him?" she whispered, squatting down and dipping her fingers into the dirty water, creating ripples.

Ripples also appeared in another part of the lake, as if in response.

The Witch Doctor continued murmuring, "The moment I saw him, I knew he would be the perfect fit for your body. Gentle, handsome, young, and his long hair is just like yours. I brought him here today specifically to show you. If you're satisfied..."

Suddenly, a long wave rippled across the calm lake, and something swam towards her from the center of the lake. A smile appeared in the Witch Doctor's eyes.

"Brush--"

The sound of water breaking rang out, and a black head was the first to emerge from the water.

Gradually, the black hair grew thicker and thicker, revealing a pale face beneath it.

This is a man's face, slightly swollen and rotting, even covered with unknown dead spots, but you can still vaguely see that he was a handsome man when he was alive.

The human head on the water's surface was expressionless, coldly watching the smiling Witch Doctor, before it abruptly rose higher, its entire upper body floating to the surface.

A wide, black robe hung wetly over his body, and his long hair cascaded down from his head, spreading out on the water's surface for several meters, tangled and covered in filth.

It gives the feeling of a clump of a woman's hair clogging a bathroom drain, making people feel uncomfortable for no reason.

But upon closer inspection, the way the person emerged from the water looked exactly like the stone statue of the "Immortal Lord" enshrined in the villagers' homes!

The Witch Doctor remained crouched, looking up at him with a hint of infatuation in her eyes as she gazed at his face, which was now so different from that of a human.

"He's an outsider with amnesia. I've been calling him Shiwei these past two days, just like I'm calling you."

"Shiwei, I just saw his reflection in the water, and it was like seeing our future. You will wear the most beautiful skin and stay with me forever..."

Before she could finish speaking, the person in the water suddenly grabbed her by the neck, lifted her up, and suspended her in mid-air.

The person in the water looked at her with such indifference, as if she were a stranger, a stark contrast to the Witch Doctor's gaze.

"You want me to switch bodies with his? Is it because you think I like him, or do you find someone like him attractive?" His voice rang out in the Witch Doctor's mind without her lips moving.

His tone was full of suspicion, offering absolutely no trust.

Then, he suddenly flew into a rage, causing the entire lake to ripple slightly and emit strange, mournful sounds. His hoarse voice boomed in the Witch Doctor's mind. "You like good-looking people, don't you!? You think I'm ugly right now!"

The Witch Doctor struggled to breathe, her eyes filled with panic and sorrow. She involuntarily stammered, "You... no... I... of course I want you to have the best... appearance... if you don't like it, I'll keep looking... I don't want him anymore..."

"You'll remember this!" The person in the water's face turned cruel, their thin, bony fingers tightening suddenly. "You're uglier than me, you have no right to despise me, you yourself are the ugliest thing! If you betray me, no one in this world will ever like you again, never!"

The Witch Doctor could barely speak, only managing breathy, intermittent attempts to explain, "Cough cough... I, I won't betray you... I'll never... despise you..."

The person in the water stared at her, seemingly wondering if what she said was true.

A few seconds later, the Witch Doctor's face turned bluish-purple, her eyes rolled back, and her struggles gradually weakened, at which point the person in the water finally let go.

"Cough cough cough..." The Witch Doctor suddenly fell to the ground, coughing violently, looking disheveled.

The man in the water withdrew his hand, his entire wrist once again hidden under his black sleeve. He stepped back slightly and said coldly, "It's him."

The Witch Doctor's eyes lit up.

Even though she hadn't recovered from the suffocation, she couldn't hide her joy.

After searching for so many years, she has finally found a body that satisfies Shi Wei. Soon she will be able to walk side by side with Shi Wei in a place beyond the lake!

However, the man in the water interrupted her thoughts with his next words, "I'm hungry."

"Hungry, hungry?" the Witch Doctor repeated softly, asking in confusion, "Didn't we just eat the little girl offered by the neighboring village a few days ago? And these past few days, I've used illusion magic to get quite a few people to voluntarily offer flesh and blood. If there's any more, some villagers will die, and I can't explain the matter of immortality..."

"I'm hungry, so find me some more food." The man in the water had no intention of being considerate of the Witch Doctor. After saying this without room for argument, he fell backward and disappeared into the water.

The Witch Doctor pursed her lips. She never disobeyed any of Shiwei's requests. If he wanted to eat, it didn't matter if there were loopholes in the God Official rituals she had painstakingly built up.

Yu Xing leaned against the trunk of a thick tree and took in the whole scene.

He didn't go to the village to get the first-aid kit; instead, he walked a little further away, circled back, and hid behind a tree.

At this moment, his suspicions were confirmed. "Ha, the so-called immortal is just a Water Ghost has cultivated for a while."