Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“What the hell is this?”

I reached up and dug a finger into my ear.

“If you say another word of that bad luck nonsense to me, watch out or I’ll punch you.”

I ignored him and circled the small island twice. There was nothing on it but sand. The man raised an eyebrow in surprise, then walked toward me, unwilling to give up.

When he reached me, he reached out his hand again.

His lips curled slightly into a charming smile, and his voice was low and husky, as if it possessed some soul-bewitching power.

“Qiao Moyu, marry me.”

I didn’t react, so he continued speaking in that forced, gravelly bedroom voice.

“Look into my eyes.”

It was too much. I couldn’t stand the cringe. Rolling my eyes, I curled two fingers and jabbed them straight toward his eyes.

“Look at your mother! Did your tonsils get caught in a door or something?”

The scene before me dissolved like mist. My hand passed through his face and slammed hard against the cabin wall. I snapped my eyes open.

It was pitch black outside the window. Everything had gone completely silent, save for the muffled thud of waves occasionally slapping against the hull.

I wiped away a handful of sweat and grabbed my phone from the side. The clock pointed to three in the morning.

Still early. Back to sleep.

I rolled over, only to find the spot beside me empty. Ling Ling was gone.

“Ling Ling? Ling Ling?”

I called out softly. The cabin had its own bathroom, but the door was open, the interior was dark, and no one was inside.

Thinking back to that hand I’d seen at Ling Ling’s door earlier that day, I couldn’t rest easy. I decided to get up and look for her.

The cruise ship was anchored not far from the shore. The deck was lit, but the buildings on land had turned into a massive cluster of black shadows that made my skin crawl.

What made my skin crawl even more was Ling Ling.

She was wearing a white nightgown, dancing gracefully on the deck.

Ling Ling was famous for her lack of coordination; back during freshman military training, she was known throughout the department for moving the same arm and leg together while marching. Now, her eyes were closed as she stiffly kicked her legs, extended her arms, and spun in circles. A look of intoxicated bliss was plastered on her face, making the scene as eerie as could be.

I felt goosebumps break out all over my body. Ling Ling suddenly spun a few more times and came pirouetting toward me.

I stood my ground, my hand already forming a Ghost-Subduing Fan Seal.

A Hand Seal, also known as a Hand Formula, is a type of manual sign language with unique systems in both Taoism and Buddhism. For instance, in temples, you can see the hands of different Buddha statues posed in specific gestures; those are actually Hand Seals.

In Taoism, the parts of the palm correspond to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Different Hand Seals can channel different energies, and the Ghost-Subduing Fan Seal is specifically for exorcising evil.

Just as I finished the gesture, someone suddenly slapped me hard on the shoulder.

“Qiao Moyu, what are you doing here? You scared the life out of me!”

Zhang Yu, the Class Monitor, was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

“Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night? What are you looking at-wait, what is Ling Ling doing?”

“She’s pos-”

Before I could get the word “possessed” out, the Class Monitor interrupted me.

“‘She always leaves only her phone number, never lets me walk her home… I heard you once loved her too…'”

Humming an old pop song, the Class Monitor walked over enthusiastically, took Ling Ling’s hand, and led her in a spin.

“Dancing under the moonlight, how romantic! Ling Ling, can I join you?”

I was speechless.

The two of them spun around the deck hand-in-hand. Perhaps influenced by the Class Monitor’s masculine yang energy, a white shadow gradually materialized behind Ling Ling after a moment.

That shadow was a middle-aged woman, soaking wet from head to toe. She was pressed against Ling Ling-hand to hand, leg to leg. Ling Ling was actually stepping on the Female Ghost’s feet, which was why she appeared to be dancing on her tiptoes the entire time.