Guanyin's Still Lake

A ghost kept repeating two names: Abyss... Qin Manjiang...

Other than Li Xijiu, Qin Manjiang could think of no one else.

"Where is Yang's ghost story taking place?" Qin Manjiang asked.

Zhong Xueran took a deep breath and said, "Guanyin Lake."

Guanyin Lake?

The name sounded familiar. In fact, anyone who had grown up in the Fu City area would probably recognize it.

It was called Guanyin Lake now, but it had once been Guanyin Village.

Twenty years ago, a small village in a mountain valley had been slated for relocation as part of the plans to build a reservoir. That village was Guanyin Village.

Though leaving one's homeland was hard, in the long run, moving out of that remote little village was not entirely a bad thing.

Most of the villagers had agreed. The few who objected had eventually been persuaded, one by one.

But just as everything was proceeding smoothly, something went wrong one night. The upstream floodgates suddenly opened, sending a torrent crashing down! Guanyin Village was completely flooded.

Only after daybreak the next morning did people discover that the mountain valley where Guanyin Village had once stood had become a still lake.

There was no trace of the village. It had been completely submerged.

It was a disaster with a staggering death toll. Not a single person in Guanyin Village survived. Divers were later sent into the lake to investigate, but not one returned. Those responsible for investigating the incident either died or went mad. Everything about it was profoundly eerie.

Guanyin Village's reputation grew more and more terrifying. Eventually, no one was willing to tempt fate by going there, and the matter was simply left unresolved.

He had never expected to hear the name Guanyin Village again, twenty years later.

Yang's Ghost Story Game actually required him to enter that old village, long submerged beneath the water. It was truly... unexpected.

The matter clearly involved Qin Manjiang himself. He could find no reason not to go.

Ever since learning that clearing a beginner level also awarded spirit pupils, Qin Manjiang had harbored a suspicion.

Li Xijiu might not have vanished completely.

Just like Liu Jingqing, as long as he was still alive, he could receive rewards.

After that single-player session, Qin Manjiang had never received any rewards. It was only when multiplayer mode opened that he learned spirit pupils and items even existed.

Li Xijiu... what state are you in now?

Qin Manjiang got into Zhong Xueran's car and went with her to a café downtown.

He saw a man and a woman. Both had been watching him ever since he got out of the car.

Sure enough, Zhong Xueran greeted them.

"We're here. Let's go!"

Then, before she could introduce them, the man stood and offered his right hand. "Hello, I'm Chen Zhiyuan."

Qin Manjiang glanced down at the offered hand and shook it.

"Qin Manjiang."

So this was the fifth of the Ten Seats-Chen Zhiyuan?

Was his real name Chen Zhiyuan too...?

Chen Zhiyuan wore black-rimmed glasses, and his hair was meticulously combed. There was a distinctly scholarly air about him. Both the brief handshake and the tone of his voice suggested that he was not a forceful person. On the contrary, he seemed rather mild-mannered and earnest.

"I'm sorry for contacting you on such short notice. It was only because Yang mentioned your name in his text." Chen Zhiyuan had a gentle, unassuming manner that made him easy to like.

Qin Manjiang shook his head. "It's all right. I have my own reasons for going."

Then he looked at the woman seated beside them.

"Xin Danchen," she said briefly.

"Qin Manjiang."

After the four exchanged a few words, Chen Zhiyuan said, "Although we're planning to go to Guanyin Village, it's already enveloped by the game's domain. We can't enter. Ordinary people who aren't players, however, can. So... I've invited Miss Xin Danchen here to go inside and check on the situation."

"Miss Xin knows about the game?" Qin Manjiang asked, puzzled.

"Yes." It was Chen Zhiyuan, not Xin Danchen herself, who answered. With a sigh, he said, "Miss Xin's older brother was a selected player. He worked with us before, but unfortunately passed away a year ago. Miss Xin discovered the existence of the Ghost Story Game through her own investigation. She knows about it."

"We shouldn't delay. Let's get going," Chen Zhiyuan continued. "Yang has never sent a message like this before. Whatever trouble he's in must be worse than we imagine."

Trouble?

Qin Manjiang felt that this went far beyond mere trouble.

A submerged village-there was simply no way to even begin clearing a Ghost Story Game in a place like that.

Most importantly, humans could not breathe underwater. So many days had already passed. Where on earth was Yang?

Or had time rewound to before the village flooded when the game began?

Everything was a mystery.

And most important of all was that ghost...

"Mr. Qin, about that ghost... do you have any leads?"

Sure enough, Chen Zhiyuan could not resist asking.

As he drove, he kept an eye on Qin Manjiang's expression.

Instead of answering immediately, Qin Manjiang asked, "Can someone retain memories of their life after becoming a ghost?"

"Impossible!"

Chen Zhiyuan and Zhong Xueran answered in unison.

Zhong Xueran looked out the car window and said, "A ghost is a ghost. Don't let yourself get emotionally attached to one. Even if they were once the person closest to you, after becoming a ghost, they'll be consumed by endless malice and turn into something we can never understand..."

She seemed to have experienced something herself. As she spoke, she sounded nothing like her usual self.

Chen Zhiyuan nodded as well. "Miss Zhong is right. The moment someone becomes a ghost, they're no longer the person you knew. Mr. Qin, you mustn't cling to false hope."

Was that really true...?

Qin Manjiang remained silent for a long time.

"That ghost might be a friend of mine."

He spoke at last.

"Your friend?" Chen Zhiyuan looked even more bewildered. "Even if your friend became a ghost, Mr. Qin, how could he have ended up in Guanyin Village?"

"I'm sorry..." Realizing that Qin Manjiang could not possibly know the answer either, Chen Zhiyuan apologized.

"May I ask a question?" Qin Manjiang said suddenly.

"Of course. It was presumptuous of me to involve you in something that had nothing to do with you in the first place, Mr. Qin," Chen Zhiyuan said sincerely. "Please, go ahead."

"Why does the Ghost Story Game always take place in Fu City?"

Qin Manjiang finally asked the question he had been unable to put out of his mind.

Starting with his beginner level in Xianyang Village, then the Murder Mystery Shop where he had learned two people survived, and now Yang's exploration mode-every location was in Fu City!

That could not possibly be a mere coincidence.

As far as Qin Manjiang was concerned, veteran players should have noticed this long ago. He expected a ready answer.

Yet both Chen Zhiyuan and Zhong Xueran fell silent.

After a long while, Chen Zhiyuan said:

"I'm sorry. I don't know the answer to that either."

Zhong Xueran looked up at the sky, where dark clouds gathered and rain threatened once again, then said:

"To us players, Fu City is like one enormous ghost story. Maybe one day, after we struggle our way out of the entire game, we'll discover that this place was only the prologue..."

At that, she gave a nonchalant smile.

"But that would make it even more interesting. Living the same life day after day is so annoying, isn't it?"

(End of chapter)