Chapter 14: Night Play

Gradually, the sound of pitter-pattering began outside, and an unexpected nocturnal downpour arrived.

A thin mist appeared over the lake's surface at some point, coming so suddenly that by the time Yang Xiao and the others noticed it, it had nearly engulfed the entire lake.

Against the backdrop of the night, the fog assumed an eerie leaden hue, as if with intent, enveloping the compartment where they were, swiftly plunging the surroundings into a dim grey world.

Looking out through the crack in the window, the other room was submerged in the mist, not even the candlelight was visible anymore, as if it had vanished from this world.

"We can't see them anymore," Xu Su turned his face, his fair complexion looking somewhat unsightly.

"Check all doors and windows, don't let the fog blow in." The sudden appearance of the fog was too strange to think there wasn't a problem; Kuang Hongyi stood behind the door, staring intently outside.

Outside, the mist pervaded, rain whistled, and inside, the candlelight flickered. Everyone ceased talking, and only the light from the flames offered a sliver of security.

Su Tingting huddled close to the candle, wishing she could embrace the small flame in her arms.

An indeterminate amount of time passed, and Su Tingting's eyebrows raised slightly as she thought she heard a strange sound, alternately far and near, ethereal. She could only vaguely determine that it was coming from the lake.

Slowly, as the sound became clearer, Su Tingting shivered, the color draining from her face bit by bit.

She understood; it was the sound of singing opera, yiyiyaya, coming from the direction of the lake—the melody was extremely mournful, with a heavy tune that was indescribably eerie.

Yang Xiao, having watched many horror films, was reminded of a similar melody; he seemed to have heard a voice that bore a slight resemblance to this one somewhere before.

It came to him quickly; he had once seen an old-school horror movie named "Ghost of Mountain Village," and the singing voice of the female ghost in it was similar to this.

He faintly recalled that the ghost's name was Chu Renmei.

The eerie scene of the female ghost in blue opera costume standing with her back in the lake waters haunted many a childhood; growing up, one thought they had overcome it. But rewatching it for revenge as an adult, it evolved into an adult's nightmare.

Su Tingting curled herself into a ball, desperately trying to cover her ears with her hands, only to find it utterly useless. That eerie singing seemed to pierce through her palms, straight into her mind.

"Don't, don't come for me!" Su Tingting buried her head, her body couldn't stop trembling, praying in a low, uncontrollable voice. She was just an ordinary college student, had never done any harm; her life was just starting, no, she didn't want to die here!

But things did not go as she wished; that eerie singing voice seemingly heard her prayers, drawing closer and closer, accompanied by a "swoosh, swoosh" sound.

It was as if... as if it was the sound of rowing, that was Yang Xiao's first reaction. But as the sound of water grew clearer, Yang Xiao knew he was mistaken—it was indeed the sound of rowing, oars stirring the water, propelling the boat forward, and judging by the sound of the water... this boat was not small.

The image in his mind grew clearer; there was a sizable boat in the lake, and moreover... moreover, there was someone on it, singing opera in a high-pitched voice.

Yet, in the evening, Yang Xiao had seen clearly that the vast lake had no boat in sight, not even a small raft was to be found.

Just as Yang Xiao pondered where this boat had appeared from, someone touched him from behind. He instinctively turned around to face Kuang Hongyi.

Using the faint candlelight, it was possible to see the cold sweat on Kuang Hongyi's forehead. He pointed towards the rear window then gestured a semi-circle with his hand.

Moments later, Yang Xiao suddenly understood, followed by a chill rushing over him. Kuang Hongyi had indicated the arc of the boat's trajectory, and now, that eerie singing had circled from the direction of their front door to the rear window.

But the key point was that there wasn't a lake near the rear window, but a forested area shrouded by trees.

There was no water, so how had the boat gotten there?

Moreover... moreover, the eerie singing was becoming clearer and clearer. It was evident that a woman was performing the opera, and the sound was drawing ever closer, accompanied by the noise of water and a scraping sound. The boat seemed to be heading straight for them.

"It's the candles, quick, extinguish the candles!" Kuang Hongyi blew out the candle beside him, and the nimble Xu Su stood up to put out the candles on the table.

They could not wait any longer, as they had been exposed. Yang Xiao crouched on the ground and moved lightly before reaching out to touch Su Tingting, who was facing away from him, the last candle still burning in front of her, "Quick, extinguish the candle," he whispered.

But Su Tingting seemed not to hear, her body quivering, and from the back, her arms were seen cradling something at her chest, no other movement made.

Yang Xiao was panicked and went around to extinguish the candle himself, but before he could, what he saw made him freeze in shock.

In the dim candlelight, Su Tingting was looking down, holding a white candle, gnawing on it, her mouth and fingers smeared with wax fragments. What was more terrifying were Su Tingting's eyes, which were now only whites within their sockets.

Kuang Hongyi realized something was wrong and didn't care about being exposed anymore. He yanked Su Tingting, "Damn it, she's been possessed!"

"It's her who drew that thing outside here!" Now Xu Su also understood why that creature didn't go after the people in another room but targeted them instead.

Without hesitation, Kuang Hongyi grabbed Su Tingting's chin, about to slap her awake, only to be stopped by Xu Su, "Don't hit her, the noise is too loud."

"Then how do we wake her up?" Kuang Hongyi was also desperate. The singing outside was becoming more bizarre, as if the performer was crying and laughing at the same time.

The next second, Yang Xiao broke the candle that was on the candlestick and covered Su Tingting's mouth with one hand, while stabbing her buttocks viciously with the sharp end of the candlestick.

"Mmm...!"

The intense pain instantly caused her body to tighten, arching like a shrimp, and her eyes suddenly rolled back, but she finally came to her senses.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

"Mmm...! Mmm...."

To be safe, Yang Xiao stabbed her three times, not stopping until he saw tears streaming from Su Tingting's eyes, then gently set down the candlestick.

A bizarre scene unfolded: as Su Tingting woke up, the singing outside disappeared, and at the same time, the sounds of water and scraping vanished too. It was but a moment, and then the night was as silent as death.

Everyone held their breath. Yang Xiao still didn't let go of Su Tingting's mouth, holding it tightly. Everyone was waiting, but they didn't know what they were waiting for.

All the candles were extinguished, the room pitch-black, only the sound of suppressed breathing could be heard. After who knew how long, a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, quickly followed by a clap of thunder.

The next second, Yang Xiao and the others were all stunned. By the brief illumination of the lightning, they saw a huge silhouette appear at the rear window.

The figure was extremely bloated, its head twice the size of a normal person, and by its movements, it was evident it was pressing dead against the window from the outside, peering inside.