Chapter 48
Chapter 48
When people grew smug, they forgot themselves. And once they forgot themselves, they became easy to manipulate.
The same went for ghosts.
Just look at the wretched state Xie Qingling was in now.
Wearing three-inch lotus shoes, driven to flee every which way by the Bride in Red’s curse, she had nowhere to hide in a world vast enough to hold everything. Like a fledgling that had lost its mother, she could only find a moment’s peace to catch her breath by slipping into a warm nest.
But the Bride in Red meant to take her life before she could flee back to the office! The gates of hell would soon open for Xie Qingling, and the cold mists that shrouded the River of Forgetfulness year-round would close around her, layer upon layer.
With Xie Qingling’s life almost hers to reap, with Xie Qingling on the verge of becoming a soul slain by her curse, with Xie Qingling about to become the first gift of her marriage…
How could the Bride in Red not give chase?
She would certainly press her advantage and pursue Xie Qingling to the bitter end.
And that was Xie Qingling’s opportunity: a chance that might well turn defeat into victory and settle this once and for all.
Ling Fang’s plan was not unsound or unsuitable. It was simply too slow.
Speed was essential in battle. She must not give the Bride in Red a chance to calm down and think. An unconventional move worked by being unpredictable. The harder it was for an opponent to anticipate her actions, the better her chances of victory.
Wind roared past her ears as Xie Qingling sped forward at a velocity no human body could attain.
She seemed to have become a rushing gale, or a bolt of lightning. She moved so fast that, through her eyes, the chasing lights flashing between the high-rises blurred into a riot of colors. Everything around her existed only as lines in her field of vision, streaking rapidly backward.
At last, the wind abruptly stopped. The world of nothing but lines regained its original appearance, and everything came to a standstill. Xie Qingling had finally completed her first Swiftstride and was standing at her chosen landing point.
She had not been too greedy. The place she chose was not far away; it was merely high enough to let her see a long way – the lofty top of the television tower.
From here, she could take in everything around the television tower and the nightscape of the entire city.
As her toes touched the surface beneath her, piercing pain shot through them. Xie Qingling’s face went white, but she kept her balance and immediately looked into the distance, scattered lights reflected in her eyes.
[Unpredictable Spirit Wielder. Your unexpected move has driven the Bride in Red to furious curses. But do not be too pleased with yourself. The same trick can only work once. She has sensed the call of her curse again and is hurrying toward you.]
[Moving through the night, the Bride in Red is faster than you imagine – and more terrifying.]
[The Bride in Red now knows your trick. Next time, she will dig her long black nails firmly into your shoulders, leaving you nowhere to run.]
In an instant, that cold yin presence, as though wreathed in the mists of the River of Forgetfulness, swept up the moonlight once more and gathered around Xie Qingling.
Xie Qingling knew the Bride in Red was coming.
Calm and unhurried, she held the Swiftstride Ghost’s clay bound-ghost statue and said crisply, “Swiftstride!”
Xie Qingling quickly became a blur again and vanished from the television tower in an instant.
This time, she traveled a great distance with Swiftstride.
She went straight to the Changying section of the city’s outer ring road.
From here, a little farther on would take her out of the urban area, almost into the outskirts.
Xie Qingling now had three uses of Swiftstride left.
There was still some distance to go before she reached her intended destination.
She could not waste a single use. Before the next one, she had to decide exactly where to go.
This time, once she stood still, the pain in her toes was even worse, even harder to endure.
Besides the stabbing pain, her feet felt as though they were soaking in ice water. A bone-deep chill was seeping into the spaces between her bones.
Xie Qingling looked down and discovered that, at some point, a layer of white frost had formed over the asphalt road.
The cold yin presence around her grew denser, as though deep winter had arrived in an instant.
[Ice formed from the Bride in Red’s condensed yin energy can pierce a human’s padded cotton coat. This yin energy from the banks of the River of Forgetfulness is cold to the bone, and human flesh cannot withstand it. The Bride in Red cannot wait to reap the Spirit Wielder’s life. She has decided to end this game of cat and mouse here.]
[This sinister yin energy alone is enough to leave the Spirit Wielder at her wits’ end. Without a protective spell, this cold, clinging like maggots to your bones, will freeze all your senses numb.]
[…The Bride in Red has been careless. She does not know that you are Houtu’s Chosen. A little yin energy from the banks of the River of Forgetfulness is not enough to take your life. The Bride in Red reassesses her opponent. You are more precious than she thought. She finds that using your blood merely to dye a wedding robe red would be rather wasteful.]
[She has decided to fashion your bones into a pipa lute and play it every day, delighting her beloved with its lovely, lilting melodies.]
While the Bride in Red was considering what to do with Xie Qingling, Xie Qingling was not idle either.
She walked over the frosty ground. Once the initial bone-deep cold and pain passed, her toes gradually went numb, leaving her unable to feel the pain.
That actually made her much more comfortable.
Xie Qingling tried to climb onto an overpass.
She wanted the better view from up there to determine the direction and route of her next Swiftstride.
The frost-covered ground seemed alive. Wherever Xie Qingling went, it followed, like a living thing waiting to swallow her at any moment.
In the darkness, Xie Qingling saw a bright flame swaying.
…It looked as though someone was burning paper.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The scent of burning paper money and incense offerings drifted to her on the night wind, mingling into a curious sensation.
Through the wavering, curling flames, Xie Qingling could faintly make out three figures. They crouched at the Changying intersection, feeding stacks of paper money into a copper basin. The leaping flames carried their longing for the dead.
At the same time, the cold beneath Xie Qingling’s feet gradually dispersed. The eerie yin energy vanished, and patches of white frost melted away.
[The living light incense, candles, and paper money for the dead, honoring lives already lost. These incense offerings hold a mysterious power, drawing nearby ghosts to linger here.]
[After so many silent years on the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, the Bride in Red no longer receives incense offerings from worshippers. She, too, seems afraid of this power through which the living honor the dead.]
[Frost recedes, ice and snow melt. Yin energy cannot withstand the power of incense offerings. The Bride in Red has decided to reap your life by other means.]
Without waiting for the Bride in Red to act, Xie Qingling took out the Swiftstride bound ghost and shouted again, “Swiftstride!”
In an instant, everything around her became simple lines that shot rapidly backward. Xie Qingling had left her previous location once more.
She had already chosen where to land.
It was a cluster of low buildings. Before the urban redevelopment, this place had been a paper mill.
Because of its severe pollution, the mill had been ordered to suspend operations and make improvements.
The owner had not wanted to deal with the pollution. Instead, they had paid a sum in compensation, declared bankruptcy, and quit.
Beyond these factory buildings, she would soon reach the boundary between the New and Old Districts.
Xie Qingling stood on a factory roof. The moon hung high in the sky, and from a distance, she seemed imprinted upon it, leaving a black silhouette.
[The Bride in Red has already arrived without a sound. She is faster than she was at the beginning. This mortal realm may be unfamiliar, but she has learned how to find her way. This time, brimming with confidence, she will give you no chance to resist.]
[Her long hair, trailing sinuously along the ground, has been woven into a long rope. The rope has already passed around your neck and could end your life at any moment.]
[With only a little force, the Bride in Red’s black hair will become your noose.]
A cold touch at her neck raised goose bumps. Frowning, Xie Qingling drew Bloodsworn and slashed hard across her neck.
She felt the blade meet something tough, as though she were cutting a hemp rope. It would not be easy to cut through quickly.
Xie Qingling’s gaze hardened. Keeping Bloodsworn against the skin of her neck, she worked it beneath the hair, then sliced outward.
The force left a faint, bloody cut on her skin. But at the same time, it severed the Bride in Red’s long hair.
[The Bride in Red grips the fallen hair and lets out a furious howl. She bars your way, her enlarged body blocking your vision so that you cannot escape with Swiftstride.]
[This time, you will no longer have any advantage.]
Her way was blocked.
Xie Qingling’s expression showed neither joy nor sorrow.
She took out the other clay bound-ghost statue and said softly, “Lost Path!”
This was the Four-Way Crossroads Ghost’s ability. Within a certain area, it could transport someone to an unfamiliar place, leaving them unable to recognize the route and forever lost along the way.
Except…
Xie Qingling did not teleport the Bride in Red away. She used the skill on herself.
In the next instant, she vanished from the Bride in Red’s sight.
Xie Qingling arrived on a desolate street. Few people ever came here. A mournful air of decline hung even over the streetlights, as though no one had passed this way for years.
Stillness. Not a soul. Not a sound.
An intensely cold yin presence swept toward her from behind again. Xie Qingling could almost hear the Bride in Red roaring in exasperation.
[You have toyed with the Bride in Red too many times. She has decided to take your life at any cost. Her pride and resolve are at stake.]
[Mandarin ducks play upon the water; may the couple enjoy a hundred years of harmony. The Bride in Red removes the red bridal veil that has rested on her head for years and lays it over your face. Now, with embroidered shoes on your feet and a red bridal veil over your head, you look like a bride about to board her sedan.]
[When the bronze gong sounds and the suona urges her onward, the bride who has just left her home must enter the sedan that belongs to her. Then the Bride in Red will appear before you and take away your feet and your head.]
It was as though a red filter had been placed before Xie Qingling’s eyes. Whatever she looked at was overlaid with blood-red color.
In the darkness, that uncanny scarlet haze was shadowy and indistinct, blurred and obscure, as though it might bring tidings of death and misfortune at any moment.
Xie Qingling picked up both clay bound-ghost statues and used Swiftstride and Lost Path at the same time.
The world seemed to twist. After a moment of disarray, her vision settled. The only thing before Xie Qingling’s eyes was the old locust tree, its canopy blotting out the sky and sun.
“Here,” Xie Qingling said.
[Once again, the Spirit Wielder walking on a knife’s edge has recklessly charged her way into another chance at life. The furious Bride in Red has yet to realize that danger for her has already arrived without a sound.]