First Encounter with the Water Ghost

The rain outside fell harder and harder, hissing like meat on a grill.

"When it comes to God and ghosts, better to believe they exist than to assume they don't."

Old Li tapped the horn, then asked mysteriously, "Mr. Chen, want to hear a story?"

"Here we go again."

Zhang Ruobing rolled her eyes and covered her ears. "Not listening, not listening. Same old droning."

Who asked you?

Chen Feng nodded. "Sure. Let's hear it."

"What I'm about to tell you is absolutely true. Believe it or don't." Old Li's voice dropped. "Years ago, there was a wealthy businessman who married a tall, beautiful woman who looked as if she'd stepped out of a painting."

"They hadn't enjoyed their riches for more than a few years when strange things started happening. The businessman grew weaker by the day. He looked ready to collapse, and all the neighbors said his wife was a jinx who'd be the death of him!"

"But the businessman was so bewitched by her that he refused to believe it... until one day!" Old Li's voice shot up. "He came home early, and what do you think he found? That's right! He caught his gorgeous wife with another man!"

Holy shit. He got cheated on.

Chen Feng's heart skipped a beat. Isn't this just the story of Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian?

As if he had read Chen Feng's mind, Old Li laughed. "You're thinking the businessman got weaker because his heartless wife poisoned him every day, and when he caught her, she and her lover killed him?"

Chen Feng nodded without thinking.

"No!" Old Li said.

Chen Feng blinked. "Huh? Then did the businessman fly into a rage and kill his wife and her lover?"

Old Li bared a few teeth yellowed and blackened by smoking. "Nope. Wrong again!"

What the hell? Is there a third possibility?

Chen Feng was stumped. Don't tell me the businessman got excited and joined them?

Old Li revealed the answer. "The businessman opened the door and saw two people locked in an embrace. He thought he'd caught his wife and her lover, but when he looked closer, he saw his lovely wife holding a corpse drained of blood and vitality, with nothing left but skin and bones!"

"Ah!" Chen Feng cried out.

Seeing Chen Feng's reaction, Old Li grinned. "Ever seen a human skin?"

I've not only seen one, I've been one.

Chen Feng hurriedly asked, "What happened next?"

"The businessman was so terrified by that hellish sight that he passed out on the spot!"

Old Li pointed ahead. "When he opened his eyes again, his wife had thrown him off Cihang Bridge. The icy river water filled his mouth and nose, and he drowned!"

"And when the businessman died, things took a turn for the worse."

Old Li told Chen Feng, "People who die violent deaths in the water, or take their own lives there, are filled with resentment. They can't ascend to heaven or descend into the earth. All they can do is wander the cold riverbed, never to be reborn."

"And the businessman died horribly. His resentment stuck in his chest, so he became a vengeful ghost!"

"They say that when people cross the bridge at night, they hear the Water Ghost say that one day he'll climb out of the river and take his demon wife's life!"

Chen Feng understood. "So there's a Water Ghost under this bridge?"

Old Li nodded firmly. "Exactly. If there weren't, why would so many people have jumped off this bridge or fallen into the water in recent years?"

"He's looking for someone to take his place so he can break free and get revenge on that woman!"

The moment Old Li finished speaking, a mechanical voice sounded in Chen Feng's ear.

The Great Benefactor System had issued a new mission:

[Beneath Cihang Bridge, a Water Ghost is causing trouble. This creature has a transparent body and indistinct features. Whenever someone falls into the water, he assaults them with sinister cold energy and drags them into the depths to drown.]

[Mission objective: eliminate the Water Ghost.]

[Mission reward: 1–3 system Points, depending on performance.]

Chen Feng's scalp prickled.

A tall woman. A lover reduced to skin and bones. A Water Ghost husband.

Putting those clues together, Chen Feng thought he knew what that invisible thing that had barged into the Internet Cafe was!

Noticing Chen Feng's distraction, Old Li reassured him. "Don't be scared. No matter how fierce that Water Ghost is, he can't leave the water or come ashore. As long as you don't do anything foolish like swim in the river or fish from the bank, you'll be fine."

That's exactly the problem!

Chen Feng stammered, "Uncle Li, did you know Water Ghosts can actually come ashore?"

"Oh? Some places do say that. They say Water Ghosts can come ashore when it rains or floods. Mr. Chen, I didn't expect you to know so much."

How could I not? I've seen one with my own eyes.

All Chen Feng wanted now was for the car to stop so he could run. "Uncle Li, I'm suddenly not hungry. Could you let me out?"

"Hold on. We're here."

Old Li eased onto the brake, slowing the car.

Rain was pouring down outside. In the brief moment after the wipers swept across the windshield, Chen Feng made out a blurry figure sitting on the slick railing, legs dangling over the edge.

"That's the one."

"Wait in the car for us."

The doors opened, and the two police officers rushed into the downpour.

"Don't do anything rash!" Old Li shouted. "Come down and we'll talk!"

But those words only made things worse. The person dove straight off.

"Don't! Don't jump!" Zhang Ruobing cried.

"We have to save them!"

There was no time to hesitate. Old Li stripped off his gear and shoes and began climbing over the railing.

Zhang Ruobing went pale. "Master! I can swim too! I'm coming down!"

"Like hell you are!"

Old Li knew that being able to swim was not the same as being able to rescue someone.

A drowning person would grab at their rescuer with no thought for anything else. Without rescue experience, even an excellent swimmer could be dragged under.

So he shouted, "Get the rescue rope from the trunk! Hurry!"

With that, Old Li leaped into the river.

Meanwhile, Chen Feng had quietly slipped into the driver's seat, ready to flee at any moment. When Zhang Ruobing came back with red-rimmed eyes, he quickly asked, "What happened? Where's your master?"

Zhang Ruobing tried to stay calm, but her voice trembled uncontrollably. "He jumped in to save someone."

What?

Chen Feng's heart lurched.

He jumped in? Doesn't he know there's a Water Ghost down there? Does he have a death wish?

Zhang Ruobing opened the trunk and took out the rescue rope.

Chen Feng hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "Wait. I'll help too."

Zhang Ruobing glanced at him. "Thank you."

Only after stepping outside did Chen Feng realize how hard it was raining. Unless he wiped his face, he couldn't see the road ahead.

They reached the bridge railing. After searching the river below, Chen Feng finally spotted the two people in the water. Old Li was thrashing his arms, dragging a young woman toward shore, but she struggled desperately and even shoved his head underwater at one point.

This is bad.

The rain was too heavy, the current too strong, and Old Li had someone to save.

Chen Feng's heart sank. With everything working against Old Li, his strokes were already growing erratic. If this went on, he would run out of strength. It was only a matter of time.

Beside him, Zhang Ruobing quickly tied one end of the rescue rope to the steel rebar in a bridge pier, securing it.

"Throw it!"

After taking aim, Zhang Ruobing tossed the rescue rope down.

At the sight of the rope, a spark of hope flared in Old Li's despair. He swam toward it with all his strength. Just then, the young woman beside him cried for help. Her face contorted in pain, and she began struggling wildly. She seemed to have swallowed water.

Come on! Come on!

Old Li stopped conserving his strength. He caught the rescue rope and tucked it against his chest, then reached for the young woman.

Chen Feng wiped the rain from his face, ready to use the rope to guide them toward shore.

Then, without warning, everything changed!

The young woman suddenly reached out and snatched the rescue rope. With her other hand, she shoved Old Li hard in the chest.

That shove was devastating.

Caught off guard, Old Li inhaled a lungful of water. Even so, he pushed the young woman back, sending her toward shore.

He pushed her toward life, and she pushed him toward death!

Old Li vanished from sight and did not surface again. Zhang Ruobing's mind went blank. She broke down completely. "No!!! Master!!!"

"Animal."

Chen Feng saw the problem at once.

From the start, the young woman had flailed and grabbed wildly, draining Old Li's strength like someone who couldn't swim. But the moment Old Li was swept away, she went still, conserving her energy as she floated faceup on the surface.

There was no doubt about it. That bitch could swim!

Watching the young woman cling to the rescue rope, Chen Feng grew angrier by the second. He rushed to the railing, ready to untie the rope and let that animal die.

But Zhang Ruobing stopped him. "I know you're angry. I am too. But saving people is our duty. What you're doing is wrong."

Chen Feng let out a disbelieving laugh. "You call her a person?"

While they argued, the young woman below let out a shrill, distorted scream. "What is that? Something in the water is grabbing my feet! Pull me up! Hurry!"

Playing tricks again?

"Cut it out!" Chen Feng shouted down.

But instead of stopping, the young woman screamed louder and thrashed harder, churning up huge splashes. "I'm not lying! There really is something down there! Help! I know I was wrong! I really do! Pull me up! Please..."

Her cries stopped abruptly.

Something had dragged her underwater.

Zhang Ruobing felt the pull on the rope change in a way that made her skin crawl. That was not the weight of a young woman.

Chen Feng wiped his face and looked down along the taut rescue rope. There was nothing at its far end, yet the entire rope jerked in a steady rhythm!

Some ghostly thing was climbing up the rescue rope!