Chen Xiaoqiu's figure flashed past my eyes. Fishing line was wrapped around her, and she was dragged straight out of the water, dangling in midair.
The line tightened, cutting into her body. Blood streamed from her wounds, dripping onto the water and blending into it.
The old man grinned. He raised his fishing rod and hauled Chen Xiaoqiu onto the bank.
In just one minute, Chen Xiaoqiu's body was dismembered in midair. By the time it hit the ground, only her flesh remained. Her intact skeleton was tossed into the river, where the current scattered it in every direction.
The faceless female ghosts in the water had gathered into a crowd, filling the river. Guo Yujie's figure was obscured, and I could no longer find her.
It was as if I could see white bones and human faces floating in the water. The bones belonged to Chen Xiaoqiu, and the face belonged to Guo Yujie.
I tried to reach out, but my hand grasped at empty air.
All the light vanished. I was surrounded by darkness, unable to see even a glimmer.
Only then did the pain begin.
My face hurt terribly, as if someone were tearing at my skin, peeling it off while I was still alive. It also felt as though someone were slicing through my body with tough fishing line, shaving off my flesh piece by piece.
No one came to save me.
Faceless female ghosts gathered around me. They faced me with blood-smeared faces, their bulging eyes devoid of emotion.
In the blink of an eye, the female ghosts disappeared. Only an old man remained beside me, grinning viciously as he raised the small knife in his hand.
A great flood swallowed me, and all those images vanished.
I drifted up and down in the water.