A Night Awake, Corpse Spots All Over My Body

Zhang Qiang muttered to himself and tiptoed toward the lakeshore.

Before long, he plunged headfirst into the lake.

The lake water did not even ripple. It was as though his entire body had instantly melted into the water.

Watching this, I drew a long, sharp breath.

The Delivery Guy's method really worked. Otherwise, Zhang Qiang, that Drowned Ghost, would definitely have recognized me.

At that moment, I was the only one left in the pavilion.

But I did not dare relax or let my guard down in the slightest.

Because I did not know whether Zhang Qiang's ghost would come back for me.

If he really recognized me, then even if I was willing to risk everything, I could not guarantee that I would survive.

The rain kept falling, so all I could do was squat in the pavilion.

With my eyes wide open, I kept watch on my surroundings.

That was how I endured until dawn, trembling with fear.

By then, the rain that had fallen all night had stopped, and I finally prepared to leave.

After squatting there all night, my whole body ached.

I stretched my body and headed out of the pavilion.

But the moment I stepped outside, the white porcelain bowl in my hand suddenly cracked with a sharp "crack" and shattered in my grip.

Porcelain shards scattered all over the ground.

"How did it break?!"

I stared at the fragments on the ground and said in alarm.

If I had not used that white porcelain bowl as a weapon last night, I definitely would not have been able to fend off those filthy things in the pavilion that wanted to steal my clothes.

But now, the bowl had suddenly shattered.

I had lost another major means of protecting myself.

What if Zhang Qiang came looking for me again tonight?

As I thought about it, worry crept back into my heart.

As I walked forward, I kept thinking of a solution.

Leave the city early in the morning? Go back to my hometown and hide for a while?

But I could hide for a time, not forever.

Who knew whether he would follow me there?

I had narrowly escaped tonight, but I might not be so lucky next time...

If I wanted lasting peace, I had to solve the trouble and deal with the problem.

Either send Zhang Qiang away, or send him to the grave.

But I definitely could not handle this Drowned Ghost on my own.

I had to find someone.

Someone with real ability.

But there was no one like that among my friends.

As for whether Feng Shui Street had anyone with genuine skills, I could not be sure.

The only person who seemed to know what he was doing was probably that uncle selling squid whom I had met yesterday.

Thinking of this, I decided to go find him again today.

And he had said that if I could make it back alive today, he would take this coin from me.

The implication might have been that he intended to help me...

However, the vendors on West Gate Street did not set up until the afternoon.

So there was no point in going there that morning. I planned to find somewhere to rest.

Dragging my exhausted body along, I left People's Park.

I did not dare return to school or the dormitory.

I ate breakfast nearby and found a very cheap little hotel.

After borrowing a phone charger from the front desk, I returned to my room.

But when I took off my clothes and prepared to wash up, I was shocked to discover something.

Not only did I look terrible, my face was so pale that it was completely bloodless.

Even worse, many bruiselike patches had inexplicably appeared all over my body.

They came in patches, covering my chest, back, thighs, and arms.

Such bruises were generally patchy lesions caused by bleeding beneath the skin or mucous membranes.

But I had only squatted in the pavilion for one night. Why had these patches appeared all over my body?

I nervously examined myself.

But the more I looked, the more wrong it seemed. I realized that the patches on my body were not the normal bluish-purple kind.

They were dark red and black, like corpse spots that appeared on the dead.

These sudden abnormalities appearing on my body overnight made me panic even more.

I could feel that my physical condition was rapidly changing.

And this change was not caused by any normal illness. It had to be related to those filthy things.

If I did not resolve what was happening to my body,

I felt that even if those filthy things did not kill me, I might still suddenly die for some inexplicable reason.

After taking a shower, I lay on the bed and thought back over everything that had happened these past few days.

All of it was related to the coin in my hand.

The coin had turned even blacker than yesterday, and it was the kind of black that would not rub off.

Squid Master had called it Ghost-Falling Money.

I had searched online as well, but there was no relevant information.

Still, judging by the name, it was definitely nothing good.

If it turned completely black, perhaps I would lose my life...

The more I thought, the sleepier I became.

Before long, I fell asleep.

By the time my alarm woke me up, it was already three thirty in the afternoon.

The vendors on West Gate Street began setting up at four.

So I had to hurry over there.

Before leaving, I looked at the bruises on my body again.

They had spread over a larger area, and looked terrifying when I took off my clothes.

Even my neck had developed some tiny bruiselike patches.

They did not hurt or itch, but they were definitely not normal.

I took several deep breaths to calm myself down.

Then, taking the blackened coin with me, I hurried out of the hotel.

By the time I reached the west gate of the school, the vendors had already arrived one after another.

But after searching the street twice, I still did not see the uncle who had sold squid last night.

Just as I was wondering whether the old man had decided to close up for the day, when I was utterly screwed,

A deep voice sounded behind me.

"Kid, you're not dead yet?"

The moment I heard that voice, my heart gave a violent shudder, and I hurriedly turned around.

There he was—the uncle who sold squid.

He was eating squid as he looked at me with a half-smile.

"Uncle!"

I cried out in delight.

Uncle Squid gave me a once-over.

He casually tossed the bamboo skewer into a trash can and said,

"You're one lucky kid to still be alive.

My stall is over here. Come with me!"