“…”
He really hadn’t seen her before.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Qiao learned that Mr. Qin was also an avid night fisherman.
Mr. Qin was curious—why had Mr. Yang brought a young girl along?
Unless…
Was she a fellow angler?
Excited, Mr. Qin pointed to a spot and said eagerly, “Young friend… this is a great fishing spot!”
As he spoke, he began preparing bait.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yang kept glancing at Li Qiao. She said, “I’ll stay here. You two go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Li Qiao surveyed their surroundings. They were by a lakeside, and tonight, not a single star was visible.
No matter how she looked—
Everything seemed calm, with nothing out of the ordinary. She sat down casually, gazing at the lake.
“Hey—”
Mr. Qin’s voice caught her attention.
“Fellow angler? New here?” Mr. Qin took a few steps forward and spotted someone sitting beside a patch of reeds.
The night was dark, with no lights around.
Could he even see properly?
“Fellow angler…”
Mr. Qin seemed intrigued by the person’s fishing technique and strode closer. The figure neither spoke nor moved.
What was he looking at?
Driven by curiosity, Mr. Qin was about to approach when Li Qiao suddenly called out, “Stop.”
“Wha…?” Mr. Qin froze, confused—until he felt a hand land on his shoulder.
“Hey, fellow angler, you—”
The face that suddenly appeared before him was fully illuminated by the light.
Pale, deathly pale. Then, it grinned.
Mr. Qin’s eyes widened in terror. His entire body trembled, his legs rooted to the spot as if welded in place.
He couldn’t move!
“H… help… hel—”
“Old Qin!”
Suddenly, a blinding golden light flashed before Mr. Qin’s eyes, so intense he couldn’t keep them open.
A faint voice—Li Qiao’s—drifted into his ears, clear and melodious but distant and indistinct, as if coming from far away. He couldn’t pinpoint its direction, let alone make out the words.
“Ah—!”
Mr. Qin jerked his head back and realized he was still standing in the same spot. The ghastly face had vanished.
Terrified, he collapsed onto the ground.
Only then did he notice his back was drenched in cold sweat, clinging uncomfortably to his skin. A chilly breeze made him shiver violently.
Gasping for air, Mr. Qin slowly got up and dusted himself off.
“Old Qin, are you okay?” Mr. Yang approached cautiously.
Mr. Qin shook his head. “I’m fine.” Then, gripping Mr. Yang’s arm, he asked urgently, “Where’s Li Qiao?”
“Right here.”
The two men hurried over to Li Qiao. Mr. Yang had just witnessed her flick her wrist—and the figure instantly disappeared.
He had his suspicions but didn’t dare voice them.
Mr. Qin, however, was frantic. “That… that person—”
“To be precise, not a person,” Li Qiao said, her eyes scanning their faces. Both men now had dark auras hovering over their brows. Mr. Qin gulped.
“Let’s leave first. We’ll talk later.”
The three turned to go—but after a few dozen steps, Mr. Qin sensed something wrong.
The path was too quiet. Eerily quiet.
He glanced back and froze.
The once-empty reed patch was now crowded with figures.
All of them stared at them with sinister expressions.
“Who… who are they?” Mr. Yang’s voice trembled.
Were these… ghosts?
Mr. Qin took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. “Don’t panic. Li Qiao’s here.”
“Wait.”
Li Qiao stopped them.
“What now?” Mr. Qin swallowed hard, his voice shaky.
“Do you smell that…?”
Li Qiao frowned, scanning the area. “A very peculiar fragrance.”
“Fragrance?” Mr. Qin and Mr. Yang exchanged confused looks.
“Not just any fragrance. The scent of death.” Li Qiao raised her right hand to her lips, biting her index finger lightly. A drop of blood welled up.
She flicked it onto the ground.
Mr. Qin stared. “What are you doing?”
Li Qiao didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up a leaf, held it to her nose, and inhaled deeply. A moment later, she smiled.
“Just as I thought. The scent of death.”
Death?
Corpses?
“Then… what do we do?” Mr. Yang stammered. “Should we call the police?”
Li Qiao glanced at Mr. Qin, then at their surroundings. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“No need.” She smirked. “If they want to play, we’ll play along.”
With that, she kicked a stone into the lake, sending ripples across the surface. Seizing the moment, she leaped into the reeds, leaving the two men staring at her retreating figure.
Mr. Qin and Mr. Yang stood frozen.
What just happened?
What did she mean by “play along”?
“Keh heh heh…”
The moment Li Qiao approached the figures, their heads snapped up in unison, their hollow eyes locking onto her.
These weren’t ordinary ghosts. Their bodies were stiff, movements rigid—more like zombies.
Suddenly, their lips curled into grotesque smiles, revealing sharp, glistening teeth.
Mr. Qin and Mr. Yang trembled in fear.
The zombies’ eyes darted around, brimming with bloodlust.
Then, the one at the front took a step forward—slow, deliberate, as if gathering strength. It inched closer to Li Qiao.
The two men clutched each other.
Li Qiao couldn’t help but chuckle.
At that moment, the zombies suddenly lunged at her, swarming like ravenous wolves, claws outstretched.
They were vicious, frenzied.
Li Qiao dodged and weaved, looking for openings to strike back.
Though formidable, zombies were still mindless corpses—soulless, witless, driven only by the urge to kill.
She studied their movements: clumsy, unrefined, yet every attack carried a bone-chilling malice.
“This isn’t good, Old Qin. We have to help. If something happens to her, how will we face the Li family?” Mr. Yang tightened his grip on his fishing rod.
Mr. Qin, though terrified, grabbed an axe from the car and charged at the zombies.
They couldn’t die here. Neither could Li Qiao.
They punched a zombie in the chest—but it didn’t budge. Instead, pain shot through their arms.
Seeing this, Li Qiao swiftly pulled out several talismans from her pocket and scattered them over the zombies.
“Heavenly Thunder, descend!”
Instantly, flames erupted from the zombies’ feet, licking up their bodies, incinerating their clothes, heads, and hair—until nothing but ashes remained.
“Li Qiao…”
Mr. Qin was speechless. The scene was more spectacular than any movie.
Calmly, Li Qiao said, “Let’s go.”
As she turned to leave, Mr. Yang tugged at her sleeve.
“You… you’re a master of the occult?”
