Your Dead End

The fire blazed into the sky.

Li Xijiu's voice was almost inaudible amid the roaring flames.

Qin Manjiang's eyes had gone utterly blank.

He wasn't stupid. There were simply things he had deliberately ignored.

When he first received Li Xijiu's call, Li Xijiu had still been alive.

But by the time the words "Save me" arrived, Li Xijiu was already dead.

Everyone had a completely different perspective and position. From his own perspective, Qin Manjiang knew perfectly well that Li Xijiu had encountered something supernatural, but Li Xijiu himself hadn't known.

Under those circumstances, even if he had been in danger and needed help, Li Xijiu should have called the police, who were more professional and efficient, rather than him.

Besides, the real Li Xijiu would never have put him in danger.

Li Xijiu... was already dead.

Everything after that message had been a trap to lure him into this game.

"Li Xijiu" had been guiding him all along.

Whether hiding in the last stall or watching the movie in Screening Room Three, he had seemed so frightened, yet neither of the two times the Vengeful Ghost injured him had he let out a single scream.

Then there was the diary full of work notes that Qin Manjiang had suddenly found, and the attempt to lead him straight out of the cinema, only to reveal the boundless darkness outside...

And those four utterly inexplicable instances of sensing danger.

Yet they had also saved Qin Manjiang four times.

"...I tried so hard... but I still want to... kill you..."

Tears streamed down Li Xijiu's face. Black veins spread across his entire face, and malice gradually clouded his pupils.

"I... can't hold on anymore..."

The flesh all over his body began to churn grotesquely, as though it had come alive. One eyeball, two eyeballs, three eyeballs...

Countless eyeballs emerged from his body, staring eerily and horrifically into every corner around him!

"Go!"

A hysterical howl tore from Li Xijiu's throat.

Then he charged forward and slammed into the towering, blade-wielding Vengeful Ghost.

Qin Manjiang stared blankly at the scene before him.

He understood everything now.

Li Xijiu had died after that phone call.

But his humanity hadn't been completely extinguished.

His ghostly nature, corrupted by malice, had been locked in a savage struggle with his human nature.

He wanted to drag Qin Manjiang into this Ghost Story Game. He wanted to take Qin Manjiang's life. That was the Vengeful Ghost in him.

Yet he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to help, again and again, whenever danger struck.

Even...

Now, when his humanity was completely gone.

With eyeballs covering every inch of his exposed skin, Li Xijiu grappled frantically with the Tall Wraith.

At that moment, he was every bit as terrifying as the Tall Wraith, perhaps even more so.

Qin Manjiang could still vaguely recognize traces of Li Xijiu in him, but in essence, he had already become a Vengeful Ghost...

The two Vengeful Ghosts roared and howled horribly, tearing into each other in a frenzy. But the roars of one were filled with nothing but anguish and struggle.

Suddenly, something cold touched Qin Manjiang's palm.

Qin Manjiang looked down. It was the little ghost!

It tugged hard at Qin Manjiang's hand, trying to lead him toward the restroom.

Is it trying to save me...?

Qin Manjiang stared blankly at it.

He had spent far too long amid the flames, and his consciousness was already on the verge of fading.

Still, he forced himself to keep searching for a solution.

There has to be a way...

The little ghost's icy touch cleared Qin Manjiang's head for an instant, and he suddenly realized something!

It was a ghost too, so why hadn't this child been corrupted by malice? Why had it retained its original nature?

Could it be...

There's still hope?

Li Xijiu can still be saved!

What makes this child different from Li Xijiu and the Tall Wraith?

Its age?

Is it because it's still young, because its thoughts are too simple?

Or... is it this place?

An idea flashed through Qin Manjiang's mind!

Right! This child followed us here from the real world. Can ghosts retain their sanity if they exist in the real world?

Does the ghost story world corrupt ghosts? Do we just need to leave it?

It's worth a try!

Having made up his mind, Qin Manjiang stared at the two Vengeful Ghosts still tearing into each other and shouted:

"There's still a way!"

"Follow me! Back to the real world! You'll be able to exist as a ghost!"

"Li Xijiu! You can't give up! Don't make me break my promise!"

As long as someone was alive, there was hope.

To Qin Manjiang, as long as Li Xijiu's consciousness still existed, he was still alive!

"Li Xijiu" froze in the midst of his savage assault. The Tall Wraith immediately pinned him to the floor and raised its machete high.

Squelch-

The blade plunged into the flesh of "Li Xijiu's" chest.

But then something bizarre happened...

The blade—and even the Tall Wraith's hand—sank into "Li Xijiu's" flesh!

The flesh of the two ghosts slowly fused together. The Tall Wraith howled frantically, but it was no use.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The scorching heat and thick smoke had left Qin Manjiang dizzy.

"Don't... give up..."

His legs buckled, and he sank to his knees beside the wall. His glasses fell to the floor.

He tried to reach for them, but his vision had already blurred.

The flames had heated the wall until it was scalding. He had no strength left, and with his back pressed against it, his skin was soon burned.

The little ghost tugged at him urgently, but it lacked the strength to move him more than a tiny distance.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Through his blurred vision, Qin Manjiang watched the horrifying fusion of the two Vengeful Ghosts.

"Li... Xijiu..."

"Come... with me..."

"Let's..."

"Go back..."

"ROAR!!!"

The Vengeful Ghost's roar seemed to quell even the flames a little.

Just as the towering, blade-wielding Tall Wraith was about to be completely devoured by "Li Xijiu," the little ghost charged forward!

Every pupil on "Li Xijiu's" body suddenly turned in the same direction!

The mass of black shadow the little ghost had become froze in midair. Flames scorched its body, and the sound it made was a piercing wail.

In the next instant, "Li Xijiu" seized the little ghost. A slit opened in the flesh of his left arm and swallowed it too!

"No..."

"Stop..."

Qin Manjiang's consciousness gradually faded. In his daze, he saw "Li Xijiu" devour the little ghost.

He must be crying.

The thought flashed through Qin Manjiang's mind.

Only the Tall Wraith's head remained, embedded in "Li Xijiu's" chest. The little ghost's face left nothing but an outline on his left arm.

His limbs had twisted beyond recognition, and horrifying pupils covered his entire body.

Qin Manjiang lay facedown on the floor. The heat and lack of oxygen had almost robbed him of consciousness.

But he dimly felt an icy hand grasp his arm.

Qin Manjiang opened his eyes a little. Through the haze, he saw three faces tangled together. The calmest belonged to Li Xijiu.

My body... feels so heavy.

Yet he felt no terror, only reassurance.

Bang-

Crash-

The cinema collapsed violently, but none of the debris struck Qin Manjiang.

Shielded by an arm, he was slowly carried toward the last stall in the restroom.

Crash-

The window shattered.

A cool breeze rushed in from outside. The fresh air instantly brought Qin Manjiang much closer to consciousness.

He struggled to open his eyes and gripped "Li Xijiu's" arm tightly.

"Come... with me..."

The Vengeful Ghost's flesh was still churning. The hideous faces of the Tall Wraith and the little ghost wailed within his flesh.

"Li Xijiu" lowered his head. Every one of his countless pupils reflected Qin Manjiang's figure.

"There is no... ghost story... world..."

"This is... also... the... real... world..."

Li Xijiu's voice sounded inside Qin Manjiang's mind, broken and halting, as though speaking took tremendous effort.

"...The child... exists because... of the game..."

"I..."

Qin Manjiang's eyes suddenly widened as he felt Li Xijiu tighten his grip on his arm.

He's going to throw me out. No...

Come with me...

No!

But how could a human's strength possibly match Li Xijiu's now that he had become a ghost?

"I..."

Li Xijiu's broken voice sounded in his mind again.

"Am... your... dead end..."

"But... I'm... so... happy..."

Within that hideous, terrifying ghost face, Qin Manjiang saw a familiar face. Li Xijiu lowered his head and looked at the limp, helpless Qin Manjiang. His terrifying pupils, now black as ink, reflected Qin Manjiang's face. He grinned and, with all his strength, hurled Qin Manjiang out the window!

"Stay alive..."

Boom-

The cinema was completely engulfed in flames, erupting in a terrifying explosion.

The fire painted more than half the night sky red.

Qin Manjiang hurtled through the air, wind rushing past his ears.

He stared blankly at the exploding blaze. Within the raging flames, he could vaguely make out a blurry figure standing quietly.

In the next instant, a horrifying roar rang out from the burning cinema.

He could no longer hear even a trace of anything familiar in that voice.

Qin Manjiang knew that Li Xijiu's consciousness... had vanished completely.

Huh? What's this?

The wind brushed his cheek, unexpectedly cold.

He raised a hand to his cheek. Tears had long since covered his face.

(End of chapter)