The Lantern Festival of the Dead

1. The Eerie Town

Night had fallen as Jamie and Sandra drove along a desolate mountain road. Their car headlights pierced through the mist, revealing the outline of a small, isolated town.

This was Baidu Town—a place not found on any map.

Every year, the town hosted a mysterious festival known as the Lantern Festival of the Dead.

There was one ironclad rule:

"Anyone who enters must leave before the ritual ends. Otherwise… they become the offering."

"Ridiculous," Sandra muttered, her fingers idly tapping the steering wheel. "This reeks of outdated superstition. The whole 'offering' thing is probably just a scare tactic for tourists."

Jamie, however, kept her gaze fixed on the town square.

A massive shrine loomed at the center, adorned with countless red lanterns that swayed gently in the evening breeze. They resembled an intricate web of blood, encasing the town in an unseen grip.

"Then how do you explain the disappearances?" Jamie asked softly. "Last year, several people vanished after the festival. The police never even found their bodies."

Sandra didn't reply. She believed in rational explanations—human actions over supernatural forces.

They were here to uncover the truth behind the festival.

What they didn't know was…

They had already stepped into a forbidden land.

2. The Lanterns Appear

The air in Baidu Town was thick with the scent of burning incense, mingled with a faint, sickly sweet undertone that made Jamie's throat tighten.

The townspeople watched them with peculiar expressions—half pity, half… resignation.

Like they were gazing at animals being led to slaughter.

An old, hunched woman suddenly blocked their path. Deep wrinkles carved across her face, her cloudy eyes filled with unease.

"Strangers?" the old woman murmured. "The Lantern Festival is beginning. You must leave at once."

Jamie frowned. "Can you tell us what this festival is really about?"

The woman fell silent for a few moments before slowly lifting her gaze.

"They are coming…" she rasped. "They must take someone away…"

Without another word, she hobbled away, disappearing into the shadows of a narrow alley.

Around them, townsfolk were lighting red lanterns, hanging them outside their doors.

Beneath each lantern sat a bowl of white rice—with three tall black incense sticks planted inside.

Sandra's sharp eyes narrowed.

"That incense… it's not ordinary."

Jamie turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Sandra reached out, rubbing her fingers over the incense's surface. A fine layer of white powder clung to her fingertips.

Her expression darkened.

"This is… bone ash."

Jamie felt a chill crawl up her spine.

At that moment, a deep drumming sound resonated through the air—

Boom… Boom… Boom…

The Lantern Festival of the Dead had begun.

3. The Ritual's Taboo

As the drums echoed, every single light in town flickered out.

Only the red lanterns remained, casting eerie, swaying glows in the darkness.

The temperature plummeted.

A cold shiver ran down Jamie's spine, an inexplicable dread creeping over her.

At the town square, the village chief stood before the massive shrine, clad in traditional dark robes. Hands clasped, he began chanting in an ancient, guttural language.

Behind him, several black-robed figures emerged, carefully carrying a large crimson coffin toward the shrine.

The entire town lowered their heads… waiting.

Then—

Creeeak—

The coffin lid slowly opened on its own.

Jamie's breath hitched.

Inside the coffin lay a pale, withered woman dressed in a bloodstained wedding gown. Her long, black hair cascaded over the coffin's edge, and within her hollow eye sockets… something writhed.

Jamie's throat tightened. "Who… is she?"

The village chief's voice was hoarse:

"She is the Soul-Ferrying Bride. Every year, she awakens… to claim new sacrifices."

Before Jamie could react, the corpse abruptly sat up.

All around them, the townspeople fell to their knees, chanting in unison.

A deep whispering filled Jamie's mind, pressing against her skull like unseen hands, pulling at the edges of her consciousness.

A hallucination—

She saw distorted, grinning figures, their mouths split unnaturally wide, black tears streaming from their empty eyes…

"Jamie!"

Sandra's vice-like grip snapped her back to reality.

Jamie gasped, realizing—

Her body had been moving on its own.

She had unknowingly taken one step toward the coffin.

"Run!" Sandra yanked her arm, dragging her through the crowd.

But before they could escape, the village chief's voice rang out—

"The ritual is not yet complete. Strangers may not leave."

All at once, every red lantern in town extinguished.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

"They are here."

4. Marked for Death

In the suffocating blackness, Jamie heard a strange sound.

Not footsteps.

But something… crawling.

A grotesque, bone-twisting skitter, moving unnaturally through the shadows.

She did not dare look back.

She remembered the old woman's warning—

During the Lantern Festival, never turn around.

Yet, behind her…

A soft, familiar voice spoke.

"Jamie… do you remember me?"

Jamie's heart nearly stopped.

It was the voice of a young girl, gentle and eerily familiar—like a nightmare resurfacing from the depths of her memory.

A lost memory.

Years ago, Jamie had visited this town.

During the Lantern Festival, she had played hide-and-seek with a girl named Xiao Nan.

But Xiao Nan had disappeared that night.

And never returned.

Jamie's voice trembled. "Xiao Nan…?"

"It's me." The voice was closer now. "That night, you left. You left me here alone… But now, it's your turn."

Jamie's pulse pounded violently.

No.

She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her hands against her ears.

"You are not her."

A cold hand suddenly clamped onto her shoulder.

Jamie could no longer resist—

She turned around.

And what she saw was—

(To be continued…)