chapter 7
Several seconds passed.
Lin Dayao remained Lin Dayao. She did not turn into a water ghost.
She looked at me in despair. “It’s over. Neither of us is making it out tonight.”
I instinctively turned to Xiaomei.
She looked just as bewildered.
Dayao swore furiously. “Lin Xiaomei, why are you still pretending? It’s almost midnight. Drop the act!”
Then Xiaomei had been lying all along. She was the real water ghost.
She was feigning confusion while waiting for midnight, when she could shed her skin and reveal her true form.
Fortunately, I had planned ahead.
I pulled a second handful of earth from my right pocket and threw it at Xiaomei.
The truth was, I had never watered the cactus in my room. When Lingfengzi told me not to call the police, I became suspicious and saved some earth as insurance.
Whether Dayao or Xiaomei was the water ghost, I would be safe.
Several more seconds passed.
Xiaomei remained Xiaomei.
The three of us stared at one another. A deathly silence filled the room.
Xiaomei broke it first.
“Qingqing, are you sure you put your blood in the earth?”
I nodded firmly. “Of course I followed the instructions when our lives were at stake!”
The twins looked at each other and spoke in unison.
“You’re really not the water ghost?”
They answered at the same time too.
“Of course not!”
Then they both wheeled toward me, horror in their eyes.
“Qingqing, don’t tell me you’re the water ghost.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. “You’d rather suspect me than consider Zheng Rou?”
Xiaomei shook her head. “Zheng Rou can’t be it. I tested her again and again today.
“I took strands of hair from her room and from her head several times. Garlic juice did nothing to any of them.”
Dayao nodded. “I tested her too. Water monkeys have rough, pallid skin and webbed hands and feet.”
Confusion crossed my face at the word webbed.
“Think of a duck’s feet,” Dayao explained. “Except a water monkey’s webbing is at least ten times larger.
“This morning, I dissolved a talisman my father sent me in water, then pretended to spill it on her feet. She was wearing socks, but I could still see that her feet did not turn webbed.”
My heart seemed to become a stone sinking through my chest.
“We’re finished,” I said with a bitter smile. “None of us is making it out tonight.
“Zheng Rou is the water monkey.”
The apartment’s smart speaker announced the hour.
[This is your midnight reminder. The time is now 12:00 a.m.]
Every light in the apartment went out.
The water monkey crawled slowly out of Xiaomei’s room.
Its head was enormous, with a deep hollow at the crown and a ring of waterweed growing around its brow. Empty sockets formed its eyes, and a huge mouth split its face. It had no neck. Black-green, thornlike scales covered its entire body.
Dayao stared. “So water ghosts really do look like kappa.”
Xiaomei gagged loudly.
Even between retches, she remembered to warn me. “Qingqing, find somewhere to hide. My sister and I will try to fight it, but we probably don’t stand a chance. At least you might live a little longer.”
The water monkey gave us no chance. One sweep of its arm sent both twins flying. Then it flashed in front of me.
“You false-hearted bitch. You should be honored that I chose your skin!”
A scream tore from my throat. “Get away from me, you filthy kappa!”
The insult seemed to enrage it. Its claws stabbed toward my skull.
Just as despair swallowed me, the apartment door crashed open.
Two police officers stood outside with a young woman.
She wore a pale, moon-white Taoist robe, her black hair arranged in a neat priest’s knot. Her features were fine and handsome, her presence fresh and otherworldly.
Before any of us could react, she began to chant.
“The Supreme Lord commands me to slay all ghosts and grants me his divine art. I summon the Jade Maidens to bind all ill. Mountains split beneath my tread; the sacred seal hangs at my side. The canopy crowns my head, the Dipper guides my feet. The Six Jia guard my left, the Six Ding defend my right.”
Golden flames roared across the water monkey’s body, so bright I could not keep my eyes open.
It released a shriek sharp as a needle and lunged at the Taoist woman. Before it took two steps, the fire reduced it to ash.
It ended almost as quickly as it began.
I ran to help Dayao and Xiaomei sit up.
“Are you both all right? I’ll take you to the hospital.”
The Taoist approached. “They’re fine. Just some superficial injuries. Clean them with alcohol and they’ll recover.”
My stomach twisted with worry. “Are you sure?”
She nodded with absolute confidence. “I am Li Yulian, the three-hundred-and-thirty-third prospective abbot of White Cloud Temple. I know a little physiognomy.”
Dayao coughed twice. “Thank you for saving us, Priest Yulian. How did you know there was a water monkey here?”
One of the young officers spoke.
“I’m Li Chengyi, an officer assigned to this precinct. A Ms. Lin Qingqing called the police about a supernatural incident, so I brought Priest Yulian with us.”
Xiaomei turned to me. “When did you call the police?”
“Right after the hair turned into waterweed.” I gave an embarrassed laugh. “You told me not to, so I kept suspecting you were the villain.”
Xiaomei exhaled in relief. “Thank goodness you called. Otherwise, the three of us would have been toast.”
After we rested for a while, two staff members from the Paranormal Affairs Bureau arrived to take our statements.
Only after all three of us had told our sides did we realize how absurd the entire affair had been.