Almost instantly, Fangcun Pond drew all three of their attention.
The roar of violently boiling water kept rising from Fangcun Pond, as though something was about to emerge from it!
All three stared fixedly at Fangcun Pond on the raised platform, their hearts stretched taut with tension!
"Back away!"
Bai Xiaoxiao barked in a low voice.
They slowly backed away, but soon discovered that the black algae beneath their feet had actually begun to writhe. It swiftly climbed their legs, pinning them in place!
"Shit!"
Liu Chengfeng's eyes widened.
He reached down to pull the black algae away, but it was astonishingly strong. No matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn't budge, as though it had grown into his body!
Nearby, Bai Xiaoxiao reached into her backpack, apparently intending to retrieve some item. Just then, a terrifying red figure slowly rose straight out of Fangcun Pond!
The three looked up at that red figure and felt all the blood in their bodies freeze...
It was the bloody skin of a woman!
Its entire outer surface was covered in knife wounds, as though she had suffered death by a thousand cuts!
And the algae covering the ground was actually the woman's hair!
"Fuck..."
At that moment, that was the only word Liu Chengfeng could get out.
He couldn't say anything else. Every pore on his body seemed to be radiating cold.
After the woman's skin appeared, the eyeballs dangling outside its sockets rolled a few times, then suddenly fixed on the three people below the platform!
Tap-
Tap-
Tap-
The skin's feet touched the ground, descending the stone steps one at a time. Blood flowed steadily down, staining the entire stairway red.
It slowly approached Ning Qiushui, who was closest, its eyes filled with horrifying resentment and grief.
The process wasn't long, yet it felt like years had passed, every second an ordeal!
At last, the skin stopped before Ning Qiushui.
By now, all three were completely immobilized!
Beside him, cold sweat soaked Bai Xiaoxiao's back. She had something that could save her life, so the ghost couldn't kill her. But bound by the black algae, she couldn't retrieve anything to save Ning Qiushui. All she could do was watch as the woman's skin touched a finger to the spot between his brows!
"Ngh-"
Ning Qiushui felt the threat of death. The chill on his forehead gradually spread through his whole body, and he began struggling frantically!
After the cold came terrible, searing pain!
Ning Qiushui felt as though his entire body were splitting apart, as though an invisible knife were slowly slicing open his flesh, stripping out his bones, and scooping out his organs...
At first, he could still grit his teeth and endure it. But as that horrific pain spread throughout his body, Ning Qiushui finally couldn't hold back and screamed.
That movement let him break free of the woman's hair just a little, tilting his body to one side.
Something fell from his pocket onto the ground.
Clack-
The sound wasn't loud.
Yet in the silent woods, it rang out so clearly.
They heard it.
The woman's skin heard it too.
It was the spirit tablet belonging to Guangchuan.
When its gaze fell on the tablet, the ghost froze for a moment, then actually withdrew the finger pressed against Ning Qiushui's forehead. With a flick of its hair, it swept Guangchuan's tablet off the ground and into its hand.
It stared at the tablet for a long time, as though lost in distant memories, and didn't move again.
Only then did Ning Qiushui finally get a brief respite.
Seeing the grief in the ghost's eyes, he seemed to understand something. Ignoring the pain that made his whole body feel as though it were falling apart, he shouted at it:
"I'm not from the village! I came here to investigate the truth!"
"What happened in the village during the famine?"
"How exactly... did Guang Xiu's family die?!"
"You must know something! Tell me!"
Under Ning Qiushui's questioning, the ghost actually raised its head, though its eyes still held a terrifying chill and the promise of death!
It stared at Ning Qiushui.
For a long time.
The ghost split its mouth into a horrifying grin and let out laughter that sounded both anguished and deranged:
"Bring her to me..."
"Bring her... to me!!"
After repeating those words several times, its body suddenly billowed like a kite. Finally, it floated up onto the platform and sank into Fangcun Pond...
All the black algae on the ground withdrew, returning to its original appearance.
As though... none of this had ever happened.
Thud-
Ning Qiushui dropped to one knee. Just as he was about to collapse, Bai Xiaoxiao reacted quickly and caught him.
"Qiushui, are you all right?"
Bai Xiaoxiao sounded worried.
These two newcomers belonged to their Haunted Lodge, and both showed considerable promise. She very much hoped they would survive.
Panting, Ning Qiushui waved a hand.
He felt as though every bone in his body were about to shatter. He tried to stand several times, but couldn't manage it.
"I'll carry you!"
Without another word, Liu Chengfeng stepped forward and hoisted Ning Qiushui onto his back.
"Don't worry, buddy. I won't abandon you. From now on, I'm your legs. Tell me to go east, and I won't take a single step west!"
Ning Qiushui nodded slightly. After taking a few breaths, he pointed toward the platform and said:
"Take me up to look at Fangcun Pond."
Liu Chengfeng looked at Fangcun Pond on the platform and recalled what had just happened. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly set Ning Qiushui down, then clutched his calf and began yelping in pain.
"I can't, buddy! My leg really hurts! It must be a cramp!"
At the sight of his act, both of them couldn't help rolling their eyes.
"Relax. If that ghost wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead... at least you and I would be."
"If it's willing to entrust us with something, that means it won't kill us for now."
"This is a good opportunity."
Liu Chengfeng sighed, looking at Ning Qiushui with a complicated expression.
"What sin did I commit to end up with a teammate as reckless as you...?"
Despite his complaints, he still hoisted Ning Qiushui onto his back and carefully climbed the stone steps, one at a time, onto the platform.
Bai Xiaoxiao followed behind them.
Once on the platform, all three looked into Fangcun Pond and froze.
"F-fuck..."
The horrifying sight inside made Liu Chengfeng's legs buckle, and he nearly fell!
Only after seeing what lay at the bottom of the pond did they understand what the iron chains around the stone platform were for...
In the pond, four iron chains pierced the limbs of a woman's skin, holding it in the water, faceup.
Dense knife wounds covered the skin's arms, legs, chest, abdomen, and cheeks.
On the pond floor beneath the skin lay a large number of intact bones...
This woman... had been pinned inside Fangcun Pond while she was alive, and every bone in her body had been stripped out!
PS: Fourth chapter. Good night!
Before you continue