Gu Yunqing's lifeless body toppled headfirst into the water, icy droplets splashing onto Ye Miaozhu's face and sending her reeling.
"Yunqing… is he dead?"
Ye Miaozhu murmured vacant-eyed. Ning Zhe reacted instantly, vaulting forward to seize Gu Yunqing's sleeve and keep his body from drifting downstream.
Hauling Gu Yunqing's corpse ashore, Ning Zhe cast a swift glance at Feng Yushu—shaking so violently she could not move—and at Ye Miaozhu, whose mind seemed to have slipped away. He realized that he could rely on no one but himself.
Unfastening Gu Yunqing's buttons, Ning Zhe ran a quick examination. Although no medical training, he could make basic assessments. "Like Xie Sining, Gu Yunqing shows no external wounds, no internal hemorrhaging, no signs of drowning, and no poisoning…"
Aside from still-warm residual body heat—indicating Gu Yunqing had only just died—the manner of death matched Xie Sining's exactly.
"Their deaths are identical. Were they both slain by that thing which impersonates others, or is the river itself deadly?"
Ning Zhe had no answer and dared not take the risk. He laid Gu Yunqing's body gently on the ground and backed away a few paces from the riverbank. Shaken nearly to madness, Feng Yushu hurried after him, leaving Ye Miaozhu slumped by the water, staring blankly.
"How… how did Yunqing die like this?" Ye Miaozhu's gaze drifted in confusion. "We broke no taboos, went nowhere, performed no burial rites, held no funeral procession, offered no sacrifices… so why did Yunqing die?"
She clutched her head, tangling her once-neat hair. "Even if examining a corpse counts as holding a procession, why did Yunqing die while I remain unharmed?"
"I don't know," Ning Zhe shook his head. "How would I know…?"
"Really? You don't know either." Ye Miaozhu bent down and refastened Gu Yunqing's buttons one by one. Holding his corpse, she turned to watch the moonlight dancing on the river's surface.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Ning Zhe frowned. "I noticed Yunqing's last movements. In the seconds before he died, he was staring at the water at the bank. I don't know if the danger lies in the corpse or the river itself, but you mimicking his final act is definitely tempting fate."
"Then what?" Ye Miaozhu raised her head, her lifeless eyes fixed upon him. "I'm done."
Ning Zhe was silent a moment and then said softly, "I understand, but I do not approve."
They were ordinary people, studying, working, living honest lives, believing that life was just countless mundane days stacked one after another. Yet with the push of a door, they found themselves in this inexplicable place, forced to obey absurd rules and endure senseless terror.
Death weighed so heavily it took everyone's breath away. Ever-changing edicts tortured fragile nerves, making every step feel like walking on thin ice.
Ning Zhe did not know the bond between Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing, but in this precarious limbo they had grown accustomed to leaning on each other. Ye Miaozhu was no pillar of strength; without someone familiar by her side, she would have long been crushed by the ever-looming specter of death, unable to endure this eerie village. Now that Gu Yunqing was gone, she had lost the courage and will to keep fighting.
Ning Zhe disapproved of her reckless surrender, yet he did not stop her from seeking death—because it served his purposes.
"If Ye Miaozhu dies here, we'll have three death samples ready," he mused. "One or two strange deaths reveal no pattern; what about three? Four? There must be clues… every puzzle can be solved."
Others might break, give up, or throw themselves away, but he would not.
Seeing the indifference in his eyes, Ye Miaozhu suddenly laughed. "I wanted to lash out at you—if you hadn't made us examine Xie Sining's corpse, Yunqing wouldn't have died. But feeling his body grow cold, I realize I don't even have the strength to be angry."
"Good thing you don't." Ning Zhe replied casually. "If you throw a tantrum at me, I'll kill you."
"Pervert." Ye Miaozhu spat the word venomously.
Then she seemed to find peace. "Perhaps only an inhuman pervert like you can survive in this inhuman place—like a fish in water."
"In honor of your impending death, I'll let your insult slide," Ning Zhe said without a care.
Silence fell by the riverbank, their fragmented words lost to the clear water. Ye Miaozhu held Gu Yunqing's body close, gazing at their reflected figures on the surface like a prisoner awaiting execution.
Minutes passed—five, ten, fifteen—Ning Zhe checked his phone again and again. Ye Miaozhu remained by the bank, letting the cold night breeze steal her warmth, and nothing else happened.
"Looks like the Snake God decided your life isn't over yet." Ning Zhe stepped down the mossy slope and offered his hand to the slumped Ye Miaozhu. "If whatever that thing is returned your life, cherish it."
Ye Miaozhu lowered her head, silent for a long while, then let Ning Zhe pull her to her feet without protest.
Ning Zhe quickly sorted the known facts in his mind:
The Snake God suffers periodic bouts of madness each month—cause and symptoms unknown.
Beyond the bad luck predicted by the almanac's auspicious-inauspicious entries, Hejia Village harbors other hidden rules that result in instant death, such as reading tomorrow's almanac.
Xie Sining and Gu Yunqing seemingly violated a hidden rule and died in the same manner as Lin Zhiyuan.
Though their bodies were found in the river, Ye Miaozhu proved their deaths were unrelated to the water itself.
A shapeshifting entity impersonates villagers' identities, likely linked to the lethal hidden rules.
As his information coalesced, Ning Zhe found his first breakthrough: Why did the ghost that took Xie Sining's form follow Zhang Yangxu so long without killing him? And why did it spare him after spotting me? Does it choose not to kill us, or simply cannot kill directly?
Or consider this: the ghost need not approach to kill—it requires certain conditions, certain triggers, certain rules we must violate.
Through the tangled mess, Ning Zhe seized a thread leading to the truth.
Just then, Feng Yushu's phone vibrated with an incoming call—from Zhang Yangxu.
"Answer it—hang up if it feels wrong." Ning Zhe murmured.
Feng Yushu dared not refuse. Her pale hand trembled as she tapped "accept."
The call connected and a voice nearly screamed through the speaker:
"Be careful of Gu Yunqing!"
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild
Reference Glossary:
Burial rites – Traditional Chinese practice of interring the deceased, including preparation and placement of the body.
Funeral procession – Formal mourning ritual marking the passage of the coffin from home to burial site.
Snake God – Local deity in rural Chinese folklore, often revered for controlling water and fertility.
Huangli – Traditional Chinese lunar almanac listing auspicious and inauspicious days for various activities.