Chapter 65: Zhang Lian Lost Her Mind in an Instant

That night, at the cabin on the mountainside.

Two furtive figures crept slowly toward the cabin steps. It was Zhang Lian and San Lai-zi, the same two who had been hiding in the woods earlier that day.

“Did you bring everything we need?” Zhang Lian whispered.

“No need for anything,” San Lai-zi replied. “I’ve got some medicine; it’ll work even better.”

Zhang Lian was dissatisfied. “Didn’t I tell you to bring a thick stick? You have to hit the back of her head to make her pass out. What if the medicine doesn’t work?”

She had no intention of letting Lin Xiaodou lose consciousness so easily—ideally, a blow to the head would leave her senseless for good.

“What do you know? I bought this stuff from the black market this afternoon, guaranteed to work.” San Lai-zi snorted. “Besides, Lin Xiaodou is my future wife. If you hurt her, you couldn’t pay me back if you tried!”

Zhang Lian was speechless. That was a little too harsh.

“Fine, but she’s locked the main door. Can you get it open?”

San Lai-zi grinned. “That’s nothing. Watch me.” He fished a bit of wire from his pocket and fiddled with the lock.

In no time, the door swung open.

“You go upstairs and bring her down. I’ll keep watch down here,” Zhang Lian instructed.

“Got it,” San Lai-zi nodded, then tiptoed toward the stairs in the dark.

In the living room, Zhang Lian stood against the wall, arms folded.

Suddenly, a shadow darted past her side.

“What was that?” she frowned.

In the darkness, two yellow, glimmering eyes suddenly appeared, followed by a chorus of piercing, wretched screams.

“Waa, waa, waa—”

“Aah!” Zhang Lian’s hair stood on end as she collapsed to the floor in terror.

As she sat there, something felt odd. What was her hand touching? It was cold and slimy...

She lifted it up, and in the moonlight saw—it was a writhing snake!

“Oh my god!” she shrieked, leaping up and flinging it away.

A sickening squelch sounded underfoot.

Zhang Lian looked down. The ground was crawling, teeming with snakes!

“Ahhh!” Her pupils contracted in horror, and she screamed, scrambling for the exit.

But at that moment, the main door slammed shut on its own.

“Waa, waa, waa—” The terrible cries echoed in her ears.

Zhang Lian was petrified, screaming at the top of her lungs, “San Lai-zi, help! Ghosts—there’s a ghost!”

...

But San Lai-zi had his own problems and couldn’t care less about her.

Ten minutes earlier.

San Lai-zi had crept up the stairs to the second floor. Not knowing which room Lin Xiaodou was in, he searched them one by one.

He found someone in the room at the farthest corner.

Seeing the bulge beneath the quilt on the bed, San Lai-zi nearly drooled.

“Wife, I’m coming,” he muttered, leaping onto the bed and hugging the figure beneath the quilt.

“Heh heh heh, let me give you a kiss...” He puckered his foul-smelling lips and pressed them to the pillow.

But after just one kiss, he sensed something was wrong. There was no response at all.

His face changed; he threw back the quilt to find—nothing. The bed was empty.

No one had been sleeping there at all!

Bang!

As San Lai-zi hesitated, the wardrobe beside him swung open by itself. A gust of wind swept through, and a female ghost in red drifted out.

She wore her long hair loose, her face deathly pale, her eyes bulging grotesquely. Her mouth gaped wide, red with blood, and she smiled wickedly.

“Excuse me... were you looking for me?”

“Aah!” San Lai-zi screamed in terror and bolted for the door.

“Trying to run? Not so easy!” the ghost cackled, reaching out with long claws to seize him by the throat.

“Mmmph, mmmph...” San Lai-zi’s neck was clamped tight; he couldn’t breathe.

He struggled desperately, his face turning a ghastly shade of purple.

But the ghost was not satisfied. She flung him aside with effortless strength, sending him crashing into the wall.

Just then, Zhang Lian’s screams rang out from downstairs: “San Lai-zi, help! Ghosts—there’s a ghost!”

In the next instant, the ghost in red disappeared.

San Lai-zi scrambled to his feet and rushed downstairs as fast as he could.

“Run! There’s a ghost!” he shouted.

Zhang Lian, hearing this, hurried after him.

Together, they wrenched the door open and fled outside.

But before they could catch their breath, a chilling voice floated from behind them.

“I haven’t given you permission to leave yet...”

Both Zhang Lian and San Lai-zi froze, faces drained of color. Neither dared look back.

They stood rooted in place for a long time; nothing happened behind them.

At last, they exchanged glances and slowly turned—only to see nothing.

Relief flooded their eyes. But as they turned back, they came face to face with a ghastly white visage.

“Aah!” Their shrieks echoed throughout the cabin.

San Lai-zi and Zhang Lian scattered, trying desperately to hide.

They took refuge in the kitchen, only to be chased by the ghost wielding a kitchen knife.

They ran to the vegetable garden and were dragged across the ground by vines that wrapped around their necks.

This happened several times, until both were driven to the brink of collapse.

Finally, they managed to escape the ghost’s clutches and hid by the latrine pit behind the outhouse, pinching their noses against the stench.

But the ghost found them anyway.

With a crash, she kicked them straight into the cesspit.

The reeking pit was filled with filthy waste.

San Lai-zi and Zhang Lian struggled for ages before finally crawling out, covered in excrement.

“Ugh!” The stench was unbearable.

No longer caring about fear, they searched everywhere for water to wash themselves.

At last, they found a small stream in the woods by the cabin.

San Lai-zi stripped off his foul clothes and plunged in without hesitation.

Zhang Lian hesitated for a moment, then ran to a secluded spot, undressed, and entered the water as well.

Just as they were scrubbing themselves clean, a clear, piercing voice rang out nearby.

“Captain, it was in this river! I heard strange noises here—it kept me awake all night!”

Soon, the team captain appeared at the riverbank with a torch, leading a group of villagers.

When they saw San Lai-zi and Zhang Lian standing naked in the water, everyone was stunned.

“Heavens, isn’t that Zhang Lian from the Youth Camp? Why is she here with San Lai-zi?”

“What else could it be? Must be that Zhang Lian was lonely and invited a man to meet her at night.”

“Good grief, sneaking out here naked in the middle of the night—what a disgrace!”

“Indeed! This is a stain on the reputation of Blackstone Village. They should be dragged out and publicly shamed!”

...

“No, no! It’s not what you think!” Zhang Lian shrieked, driven to the edge of madness.