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| Author: Why Does It Cost Money To Change Your Name |
Original Source: SFACG |
| Translator: Ainsel |
English Source: Re:Library |
As night fell, Pingshan Village seemed motionless under the dark veil, yet also as if undergoing an earth-shattering transformation. In the darkness, something was slowly awakening.
Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue remained in the courtyard, in no hurry to leave.
“It’s 6 PM, how did it get dark so quickly?” Zhao Mingyue checked the time on her phone.
She hadn’t looked at her phone much all afternoon, mainly because she was afraid of running out of battery. The phone she used was already old, a second-hand one with low battery capacity.
“Wait for me here.”
Bai Yu disappeared from the spot, reappearing on the roof.
She looked out over the village. In places like this, only after dark would the most real and terrifying side gradually reveal itself, when the evil gods’ malice would also reach its peak.
The night wind blew, carrying a lingering chill, damp and icy cold, accompanied by an indescribable foul stench that assaulted every nerve.
Suddenly, Bai Yu heard a sound, someone speaking softly. Carried by the wind, it drifted to her ears. Vaguely, she seemed to hear her name mentioned, but the rest was unclear. She had to listen carefully to make out what the person was saying.
“A curse…” Bai Yu roughly knew what this was. The barely audible voice was a curse. When the curse’s power first drifted over, she could hear a few keywords related to herself.
These keywords would draw a person in to listen carefully, wanting to hear more and more, feeling like they were getting closer to the truth, like the person was talking about something very important related to them.
Little did they know that in the process of carefully listening, they had already fallen under the curse’s influence.
“Mingyue, no matter what voices you hear later, ignore them all. Don’t listen carefully. If someone calls you, don’t answer, including my voice. If I call you, it will only be in your mind.”
Bai Yu gave a reminder, leaving a precaution.
The evil gods’ power was formidable, but their limitations were equally strong. Since the evil god here was related to the ears, ignoring those voices would maximize avoidance of the curse’s entanglement.
She suspected that the curse’s power accumulated gradually. The moment one heard the voice, they had already been afflicted. But at this stage, the curse’s power hadn’t penetrated deeply, only tempting the heart, which was why one could hear their own name.
In reality, the evil god didn’t know them at all and wouldn’t know their secrets.
But if they listened carefully at this point, they would be in real trouble.
Zhao Mingyue nodded below, having indeed heard whispering by her ear, the voice soft, deliberately luring her to listen closely.
Coming down from the roof, Bai Yu still wasn’t in a hurry to go out, silently waiting for the right time.
She held Zhao Mingyue’s phone, glancing at the time every now and then.
Just then, a message from Lu Liangting arrived.
“Mingyue, where are you? I’ll come find you now.”
“Don’t come looking for me. I’m safe for now.”
Bai Yu quickly replied and then turned off the phone screen, not responding further.
She had notified Shen Shuyun to spread the news, timing it so that those lunatics would only arrive after ensuring Lu Liangting had reached the village. Otherwise, Lu Liangting might be intercepted halfway.
Time ticked by second by second. Suddenly, Zhao Mingyue tugged on Bai Yu’s sleeve, pointing towards the house while communicating mentally.
“There’s a sound, different from that previous voice.”
The curse’s voice appeared directly by the ear, while the sound she heard came from inside the house, a constant rustling, like some small animal or someone moving around.
The surroundings were extremely quiet, amplifying any sound of the wind or rustling grass, with the curse’s power interfering with their senses. Looking at the small courtyard, only the center was visible under the moonlight.
The rest of the rooms, those that were originally locked but now open, were filled with darkness.
Zhao Mingyue’s physical abilities had been enhanced, and her eyesight had improved significantly.
She had gained night vision, allowing her to see her surroundings in the dark.
But as she looked into the room now, she saw nothing but a mass of darkness.
Bai Yu also heard those sounds. She took two steps forward, adjusting her position, and scanned the room. As a ghost, she could basically ignore the darkness. In her vision, something inside was slowly rising from the ground, its movements extremely stiff.
To be precise, it was a corpse.
This thing could no longer be called human, nor even a ghost.
In the main hall, the wax corpse that had been leaning against the wall slowly stood up. Just straightening its body seemed twisted and horrifying, yet it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was strange about it.
Taking a step forward, its joints were stiff and difficult to bend, its legs straight as it walked one step at a time towards the exit.
The commotion inside the room grew louder, the rustling turning into clear footsteps.
Just as Zhao Mingyue turned to look towards her own room, a face suddenly appeared from the bottom corner of the window covered in newspaper.
That spot happened to be uncovered, allowing Zhao Mingyue to see it clearly.
It was a child, gender unknown, their entire face coated in wax, eyes tightly shut with only two black slits visible through the wax layer, their mouth similarly sealed, leaving only a lip crease.
Whether dead or alive, as long as the person hadn’t been dead for too long, their skin texture would appear the same, differing only in color.
But wax corpses were completely different, lacking the pallor of a corpse yet not the normal flesh color either. It was impossible to tell if the color was from the wax or the skin.
This color, combined with the unique grainy texture of the wax corpse’s skin, was nothing short of horrifying.
After all, this wasn’t a wax figure, but a corpse with a layer of wax poured over it.
Time reached 7 PM.
Creeak~
The wooden door was blown open by a gust of wind, and a wax corpse stepped out.
Zhao Mingyue’s gaze shifted over, watching with her own eyes as the wax corpse emerged from the darkness and into the moonlight, exposed to her vision.
After being sealed in wax, the difference between a wax corpse and an ordinary corpse was immediately apparent.
The hair was also encased in wax, a solid mass. The wrinkles and tears in the clothes were all fixed in place, as if frozen at the moment of death, except for the facial expression.
The first one appeared, followed closely by the second, then the third, fourth, all the way to the sixth.
Six corpses walked out from the rooms, all strangers. Their clothes were from different eras, some dressed in styles from twenty years ago, others in trendy new clothes from recent years.
Among these six, there were men, women, the elderly, and children, the oldest around fifty, the youngest not even ten years old.
Without exception, they were all wax corpses.
Eyes tightly shut, expressionless, or rather, their expressions were indiscernible beneath the wax seal.
Zhao Mingyue hesitated, unsure whether to speak. Among the six corpses, the fashionably dressed man, woman, and child were clearly a family of three, most likely not from this village.
The man had a hole where his left eye should be, no blood flowing out, only the dark red of internal organs—the color of long-preserved jerky.
Just looking at the man’s head, it was like the Apple phone icon, jarringly missing a chunk. It didn’t seem to be from a gunshot, as the wound was smooth and even. Zhao Mingyue couldn’t imagine what weapon had caused it.
The woman’s clothes were disheveled, her neck unnaturally twisted, likely strangled or hanged. Even with her face sealed, one could tell she had been beautiful in life.
The wax corpses moved slowly, all heading towards the exit.
Suddenly, their movements paused as they collectively turned to face Zhao Mingyue.
Shhing!
A blood sword materialized as Bai Yu raised her hand and flicked her wrist, sending out a crescent-shaped blade of blood threads that sliced two corpses in half.
She used to be very skilled with sword lights, but not anymore. After all, it wasn’t her own body. No matter how she swung, she couldn’t produce the same effect. 1
But she could use other methods, like just now, using the sword-flicking motion to send out the blood threads to attack the enemy. That could be considered a “sword light,” right?
After a few slashes, the wax corpses fell to the ground, their heads rolling away.
“It’s too dangerous outside. I’ll possess you first, and come out again when it’s safer.”
The blood threads returned to her body as Bai Yu looked at Zhao Mingyue.
Zhao Mingyue nodded without refusing, opening her arms in a hugging gesture.
Bai Yu paused for a moment, hesitating half a second before going along with Zhao Mingyue’s intent and gently embracing her. She then entered Zhao Mingyue’s body.
Zhao Mingyue’s eyes glazed over slightly. When she looked up again, her eyes had turned pure black, the slight anticipation on her face replaced by Bai Yu’s usual expressionless demeanor.
Blood threads spread from Zhao Mingyue’s back, covering her entire body, slowly forming a black leather coat, leather pants, and long combat boots.
Blood threads also appeared on her slender, elegant neck, extending to her face and forming a white mask. The mask had no features, only intricate patterns along the edges and openings for the eyes, which were narrow and phoenix-like, the corners slightly upturned in a subtly alluring arc, adding a touch of mysterious beauty to the cold mask.
The clothes and mask were meant to protect Zhao Mingyue’s body while also conveniently concealing her identity.
After all, it wasn’t her own body, so she couldn’t carelessly let it be injured. Bai Yu didn’t want Zhao Mingyue’s body to sustain any wounds.
Opening the door, Bai Yu arrived in front of another house and, with a light leap, stepped on the wall and pushed off, successfully reaching the roof.
Running and accelerating, the blood threads hooked onto the roof of another house, connecting to her feet. Stepping on these threads, she leaped to the roof of that house.
Bathed in moonlight, Bai Yu, controlling Zhao Mingyue’s body, stood on the chimney of this household, gazing towards the east side of the village.
She had three things to do now. First, follow the wax corpses from the west village and see where they were going and what was attracting them. Second, go to the east village and do the same, following the wax corpses there and observing their final destination.
Following them was the key to finding the two statues required by the mission.
The third task was Zhao Mingyue’s family banquet.
Beneath the mask, Zhao Mingyue’s face was cold. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and looked down at her chest.
Her icy expression was replaced by an indescribable strangeness.
After possessing Zhao Mingyue, she could indeed feel the immense potential of her body. Her enhanced physical fitness was quite good too. Using Zhao Mingyue’s body felt exceptionally smooth and comfortable. But there was one aspect that neither her previous life’s body nor her current one had.
It was this chest…
Why was it so heavy…?
Almost subconsciously, she raised her hand to touch and feel it, but Bai Yu hurriedly put her hand back down.
She couldn’t be sure if Zhao Mingyue’s consciousness was dormant. If it wasn’t, and she touched and even groped her chest, she would never be able to wash away that sin.
What on earth did this girl eat to grow up with such an exaggerated size at this age?
Soon, Bai Yu discovered something that slightly shocked her.
When she lowered her head, without bending over, she couldn’t even see her own toes…
After a long silence, Bai Yu had only one thought.
“This really affects combat too much.”
Now she understood why Zhao Mingyue had so many old clothes and old underwear.
And why this girl disliked running.
It was a good thing her own body didn’t have this size. There were curves, but they didn’t affect combat at all.
At this moment, Bai Yu’s heart was filled with gratitude.
After all, a ghost’s body wouldn’t develop further.
Putting aside these messy thoughts for now, Bai Yu felt that as long as she used blood threads to tighten things up a bit, she could adapt and it wouldn’t affect much.
Continuing on her way, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she followed behind the dozens of wax corpses.
Trailing from a distance, Bai Yu noticed a difference. Not all of these wax corpses were victims of unnatural deaths. Most were elderly people dressed in burial shrouds.
This village most likely didn’t have the habit of burying the dead underground. Even if they did bury them, they wouldn’t bury the deceased’s body.
After death, these people were made into wax corpses and kept in their homes.
She wondered if there were any living people left in these houses and if so, were they living together with these wax corpses?
“Wedding, funeral.”
After following the wax corpses for a while, Bai Yu roughly knew where this group was headed.
They were going to attend a funeral at someone’s house.
If she wasn’t mistaken, then the wax corpses in the east village were attending a wedding.
“What’s the difference?”
“The mission said a wedding requires the living, while a funeral requires the dead.”
“What identity will Zhao Mingyue have in the east village this time? The bride at the wedding?”
Bai Yu glanced towards the east village. Her subconscious told her things weren’t so simple. One thing was certain—if Zhao Mingyue returned on her own and attended the banquet in the east village, she would definitely meet a gruesome end.
“Hmph, family banquet. I’ll have to see what it’s all about.”
What Bai Yu didn’t know was that at this very moment, Lu Liangting, who had just discovered the group of wax corpses while searching the village, was struck from behind and knocked unconscious.
Before losing consciousness, he vaguely heard the words:
“Found the groom.”
