Chapter 163
Chapter 163
The girl’s large eyes were bright, watery, and innocent.
The male streamer swallowed and nodded. “You’re pretty.”
The girl pulled down her red scarf, then removed the mask hidden beneath it. In an eerie voice, she asked, “Then… what about now?”
Beneath the mask, her face was split open from the corners of her mouth, as if some sharp weapon had carved through it, leaving flesh peeled back on either side.
The male streamer sucked in a cold breath, unsure how to answer.
But the female ghost refused to let the matter drop. “What about now? Am I still pretty?”
As she spoke, the gashes on either side of her mouth widened. Drops of blood slowly slid down her jaw, and her eyes urged him to answer.
“Pretty! You’re pretty!”
The female ghost smiled. She produced an enormous pair of scissors, gripped the male streamer’s chin, and cruelly cut his mouth open.
He struggled wildly but could not escape her grasp. In the end, pain covered his forehead in beads of sweat.
With a thud, the force holding his chin abruptly vanished, and he collapsed to the ground.
The female ghost’s sinister laughter sounded above him. “And now… you’re as pretty as I am.”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman…
It was the Slit-Mouthed Woman!
With the appearance of a third Ghost, fear crept into everyone’s heart, bringing with it a profound sense of isolation and helplessness.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman stood ahead, Director Qiao Shihui waited behind them, and a group of man-eating little ghosts watched hungrily from all sides.
How were they supposed to play this game? Would it only end once all ten of them were dead?
If this happened every night, they would not last four days, much less survive for seven!
What could they do?
How were they supposed to break this deadlock?!
So this was… a Red Name Instance!
Everyone was terrified by the figure on the ground, clutching his mouth as his whole body convulsed in pain.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman pulled her red scarf back into place, turned around, and resumed the unfinished game. “We are all wooden dolls…”
What could they do? Approaching her meant disfigurement. Refusing to approach meant waiting for death.
What could they possibly do?
They realized the Slit-Mouthed Woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Whenever they sped up, she chanted faster. No matter what they tried, anyone who came close would be caught.
Everyone hesitated, uncertain whether to advance or retreat.
Move too quickly and the Slit-Mouthed Woman would catch them. Call her pretty and she would cut their mouths open; call her ugly and she would hunt them down. Moving slowly offered a few moments of peace, but eventually their turn would come.
No matter how they played, the best possible outcome was having their mouths cut open by the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Good heavens!
There was no solution…
“We are all wooden dolls. No talking, no moving. One, two, three-freeze!”
Acting entirely out of character, Qiao Yu shot forward. He stopped beside the streamer who had already fainted from the pain and, unsurprisingly, received a pat on the shoulder from the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
She gazed at him eerily. “Am I pretty?”
Everyone held their breath. Some even looked away. Sympathy born from the thought that they might share his fate spread through the group, and the scene became unnaturally quiet.
Qiao Yu stroked his chin as though carefully considering her question, then nodded. “Pretty.”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman pulled down her red scarf.
“But not as pretty as me.”
Her pallid fingers stopped at the edge of her mask. The Slit-Mouthed Woman looked up in confusion. “What?”
Qiao Yu repeated himself seriously. “I said… you’re not as pretty as I am.”
Everyone: …??
Then he even stole the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s line. “Would you like to be as pretty as me?”
-Pfft! Steal the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s path and leave her nowhere to go.
-I’m dying! (Those are all my lines.jpg)
-I don’t really understand, but I’m deeply impressed.
-Is the person upstairs an international ghost who climbed over the firewall?
-I’m Mary.
-No wonder. Watch a little longer, then make sure you avoid this streamer in the future, got it?
-No. I like him. He’s adorable.
-A born rebel. Congratulations, you’ve found your people…
The Slit-Mouthed Woman could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Then the little boy before her curled his lips into a wicked smile. “Tao Zhuyue, you’ve got work.”
The faint breeze around them abruptly turned bone-chilling. A red bridal sedan appeared without warning in the center of the courtyard.
A bluish-white hand slowly lifted its curtain, and a female ghost in red wedding robes stepped out. Everyone’s heart skipped half a beat.
The female ghost concealed half her face behind her sleeve. Two paper effigies abruptly appeared before her.
They carried white lanterns, making the bleak backyard even more sinister and terrifying.
Lucia involuntarily took a step back.
This streamer was downright bizarre. Why had he summoned another ghost? Was the Slit-Mouthed Woman not frightening enough? Did he want to make the Instance even harder?
Three ghosts were already enough of a headache, and now a fourth had appeared. What were they supposed to do?
The Bridal Ghost said nothing. She merely tapped the space between each paper effigy’s brows. They immediately seemed to come alive. One holding a needle and the other carrying thread, they charged at the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman retreated until her back hit the wall, terror filling her large eyes. “What are you doing?!”
She swung her scissors so fiercely that they whistled through the air and snipped off one paper effigy’s arm. It did no good… The arm instantly grew back.
Two fists could not defeat four hands. When the paper effigies tore away her mask, the Slit-Mouthed Woman hurriedly shouted, “I’m done! I’m done! The game is over!”
Qiao Yu sneered. “That’s unacceptable. If the game ends just because you say so, wouldn’t I lose face?”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman fell silent.
The paper effigy’s hands stopped in midair and turned eerily toward the Bridal Ghost. After she nodded, the paper effigy expertly seized the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s mouth again and prepared to sew it shut.
“Wait.”
Qiao Yu suddenly stopped it and instructed, “Don’t stitch the whole thing closed. Leave her a gap so she can talk.”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman: …!
-How pitiful.
-How pitiful. +1
-How adorable~
-Upstairs, hmm?
-I’m Bloody Mary.
-Oh, never mind then.
-You might as well not have hidden your ID.
-That’s exactly the effect I wanted.
-Once again, congratulations on finding your people.
“No… The game is over! I’m not playing anymore!” Waving her scissors, the Slit-Mouthed Woman fled wildly around the courtyard. Everyone scrambled out of her way, creating a pursuit unlike any other.
Amid the total chaos, an announcement sounded. “Ding, ding, ding! The game is over. All children, please line up and return to the children’s dormitories. All children, please line up and return to the children’s dormitories.”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman sighed in relief and vanished strangely.
Just then, the obese Aunt Deng charged through the gate and roared at them, “Why are you all running around the backyard instead of sleeping in the middle of the night? You disobedient brats! As punishment, none of you get breakfast tomorrow!”
After speaking, she picked up the male streamer whose mouth had been cut open. Regret flashed through her eyes. “That face of yours is ruined. The orphanage doesn’t support idlers, so you’re coming with me to work.”
Her rough handling shook the streamer awake. The first thing he heard was that he was being taken away to work, and his mind went blank.
He wanted to ask what kind of work, but his split mouth hurt unbearably. Even moving his lips made cold sweat pour from him, much less speaking.
Perhaps blood loss had left him too weak to resist. Aunt Deng carried him away with ease.
The head guarding the outside of the courtyard swayed slowly through the air like a python. Only after a long while did it successfully retract through the window. At the same time, Director Qiao Shihui opened her eyes.