Ghost Town 2

Ouyang Xueqing's back crashed against something as she heard the sound of wood, glass and many things breaking. She shut her eyes and groaned as she felt excruciating pain throughout her body. She lowered her gaze and discovered the source of the pain. The right side of her body where she used to land were stabbed with broken pieces of glass and ceramics.

She observed her surroundings and slowly try to get up. It seems like she crashed against a restaurant's wooden door and slammed against the table that still had cups and plates on it. The broken shards came from them.

Without any hesitation, she pulled out the pieces stuck to her skin one by one, flinching at each of them. Fresh blood poured out as she felt the stinging and burning pain. She was recovering slowly than normal, undoubtedly due to the ghost qi around.

She didn't have any choice but to stick Meridian Protecting Talismans on her wound. It glowed instantly and she felt the pain slightly dissipated. She kept them around even if it was soaked with her blood.

She raised her gaze and limped out. The wind gale decreased in which she guessed that she was thrown slightly far away from where they were. She recalled to have seen this restaurant on their way here. That means if she followed the straight road, she could surely met up with An Zhengnan and Ling Xiaochen.

The only thing she wished was for them not to panic and be separated. They have to stay together in this.

She walked out quite a distance and called out. "An Zhengnan! Ling Xiaochen!" Her voice echoed, with silence accompanying her. It felt a little creepy but she forced herself not to overthink. She tried again, this time louder. "An Zhengnan! Xiaochen!"

Weird. Why did nobody answer her?

Her voice was loud enough for them to catch, especially with An Zhengnan's hearing ability. She was sure that both of them must be searching for her too, but she had walked quite a long way, yet no shadow of a person was seen.

Ouyang Xueqing grew anxious. She clenched her fist and started sprinting. "Xiaochen! Zhengnan!" She should have realized right then and there that something was wrong, but she was too absorbed in observing the road around her in search for them that she didn't realize that the wind had completely stopped.

Not even a breeze was felt.

Sweat formed on her forehead, dampening her hair. Her mask felt itchy as it kept on scratching against her face when she ran, but she kept on running and called out to them. From time to time, she checked her talismans to see that they were still working just fine.

Finally, after her voice almost got hoarse, she caught sight of a girl crouching down. She wore the same robes as Ling Xiaochen was. Her eyes brightened and she dashed forward without any hesitation nor doubt.

"Xiaochen! What are you doing here…" Her voice died down in her throat as she heard the alarm going off inside her brain. Something was wrong. Ling Xiaochen couldn't have been here alone waiting for her and didn't answer her call. Her outstretch hand froze mid-air as she forced herself to turn around.

But it was too late.

The crouching girl turned her head back and Ouyang Xueqing froze.

The girl's face was as pale as sheet, and in the place where her eyes should have been, there was nothing, only an empty void. Black blood trickling down from her empty sockets. "Sister, I want to go home. Want to go home! Please don't leave me!"

The girl screeched and sprang up to chase her. Her hands reached out with sharp nails clawing. The mouth that was gaping were filled with sharp fangs, and moreover she could see many worms squirming inside.

Ouyang Xueqing suppressed the scream on the tip of her tongue and ran away desperately.

She fled in the direction where she came from. But she was still a step too late. The girl dissipated into air and turned up in front of her in the blink of an eye. Ouyang Xueqing shrieked in shock, her feet almost tripped and she ran in the opposite direction again.

This time, before she could ran far, the girl caught hold of her hair, pulled her backward and without a moment of delay, bit her neck intensely and greedily. Ouyang Xueqing blacked out the moment those fangs pierced her skin. She could feel some kind of substance being transferred to her veins.

She spasm around and struggled with all her might, she shook her head hard which made the girl's hold on her head tighter and her fangs pierced deeper. Because of that, stream of blood seeping through the open wound on her neck, it was red mixed with black. Her eyes welled up in tears as she fought back, her nails scratched on the girl's clasp and it slightly loosened.

Using that opportunity, she crawled away in despair. Run away! That was the only thing on her mind. Her whole body was trembling and her robes were soaked in blood. 

Alas, the girl caught hold of her ankle. "Don't go...don't go sister." Her voice was akin to nightmare, it echoed in her mind like a sturdy trap. Ouyang Xueqing squirmed in terror and her head went blank. She couldn't even think straight anymore. It was as if there were chains binding her limbs. Strength were slipping out of her body as her temperature rose sharply and her breath uneven.

Amidst her struggle, her mask fell off and her blue orbs with golden slits were shown. There were red glint flashing on them, flickering weakly as it fought to shine. Her eyes blurred with tears by the pain stabbing her whole body.

Helplessly, she could only clawed on the ground as her body was dragged further. Her nails buried on the ground, leaving a trail of blood. Slowly but surely, she could feel something stirring inside her, something wild, fierce and bloodthirsty.

"No, no!" She knew what happened. She was turning. "I don't want! Let me go! Help! Help me, Zhengnan! Xiaochen!" She cried out loud. Her voice were weak and laced with helplessness and despair. The leaves were rustling and branches crackling as if they were all laughing at her futile attempt. Her cry reverberated through the air and echoed in every direction.

The last thing she noticed before her consciousness faded away was her nails that were morphing into a sharp claws and then, the eternal darkness embraced her.