chapter 6

“Why did you stop halfway, Qingqing?” Xiaomei folded her arms, her expression hovering between amusement and menace. “What is Zheng Rou actually?”

I swallowed and fought to remain calm. “Nothing. I was mistaken. Go back to sleep.”

I turned to leave, but she seized my left arm.

“Why don’t you come inside and tell me?”

I instinctively tried to pull away. I had not expected her to be so strong. I could not break her grip.

Fine sweat broke across my forehead. My right hand tightened around the hammer. If she tried to drag me into the room, I would have no choice but to hit her.

“Lin Xiaomei, why are you grabbing Qingqing?”

Dayao had emerged from her room. She fixed Xiaomei with a measuring glare, breaking our deadlock at last.

“It’s nothing. Qingqing and I were fooling around.” Xiaomei seemed almost afraid of her sister. She released me at once.

I ran back to my room without looking behind me.

I could not afford to provoke any of my three roommates. Every single one was terrifying.

I locked the door and waited. In three minutes, I would go out and destroy the water monkey.

Ten seconds later, my door crashed open.

Dayao rushed in.

I glared at her, gripping the hammer in my right hand. My left hand remained hidden in my pocket around the bloodied earth, waiting for the critical moment.

Dayao gave me a bitter smile.

“Is that hammer meant for me, Qingqing?

“I came here to protect you.”

My head jerked up in confusion.

“There’s no time, so I’ll keep this short,” Dayao said. “My father – your uncle Lin Jun – calculated that you would face a deadly calamity this year. He sent me to protect you in secret.”

I opened my mouth, hesitating. “You’re a Taoist practitioner?”

Dayao shook her head. “I only know scraps. I wouldn’t even call myself a beginner. The reason I can shield you from evil is that I was born with both my Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches aligned to Water. People with this innate Water fate are natural banes of evil spirits.

“But I cast a divination just now. The signs predict disaster for both of us. My innate Water fate is already showing signs of damage, which means I won’t be able to protect you much longer.”

My thoughts tangled.

Her Water fate was about to be damaged. Was it because I was going to throw bloodied earth at her?

Only half convinced, I asked, “What do we do now?”

Dayao held up her phone, showing me her call log.

“I called the police, but they won’t arrive for another twenty minutes. We can’t wait that long.

“I know you can’t believe all this at once. So come to the police station with me. You may not trust me, but surely you trust the police.”

Of course. I did not have to trust anyone else, but I could trust the police.

Especially tonight, when all three of my roommates appeared to be villains.

I agreed to go with her, though the hammer in my hand made me hesitate.

Dayao smiled helplessly. “I know you still don’t trust me completely. Bring it. Just put it in a bag, or the police may question why you’re carrying it.”

My trust in her grew. I was about to close and lock my door before leaving when a gust of wind caught it.

Bang!

The door slammed. Across the hall, Xiaomei immediately opened hers.

“Where are you two going?” she asked with a smile.

A vicious glint flashed across Dayao’s face. Her voice carried a threat.

“Qingqing and I have somewhere to be. Go back to bed, Xiaomei.”

Xiaomei ignored her and looked straight into my eyes. “There’s a violent storm outside. Are you sure it’s safe to leave?”

Her warning cleared my head.

I had almost forgotten what Lingfengzi said: a water ghost’s power doubled in water.

If Dayao truly was the water ghost, the earth in my pocket would become useless once I followed her outside.

The chill in Dayao’s eyes sharpened. Killing intent seemed to roll from her body.

“Lin Xiaomei, get out of the way.”

Xiaomei clenched both fists until her knuckles cracked.

“Why are you still pretending, Lin Dayao?

“No. You haven’t been Lin Dayao for a long time!”

In a flash, Xiaomei wrapped both arms around her sister, pinning her in place.

“It’s 11:58!” she shouted at me. “Where’s the earth? Throw it at her! She’s the water monkey!”

Dayao’s face reddened with panic. Sweat gathered at her hairline.

“If you listen to her, you’ll be walking into the trap! Throw it at Lin Xiaomei. She’s the real water ghost!”

My left hand trembled around the earth. I had no idea which twin to hit.

Xiaomei frowned desperately.

“I’m Lingfengzi. I went into Zheng Rou’s room to save you on purpose. Trust me! There’s only one minute left. Once the water monkey sheds its skin, we’ll all die!”

She was Lingfengzi.

I no longer hesitated.

With a sweep of my arm, I flung the entire fistful of earth at Lin Dayao.