Chapter 21: The Opportunity for the White Dress Ghost to Kill
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Faced with the hooded young man’s urging, the bespectacled youth became even more composed.
He was in no hurry at all.
But he did need the hooded young man to test whether his deduction was correct, so he slowly began:
“The Red-Clad Ghost has lost its eyes. The bald uncle who died earlier and all of you had one thing in common when you were marked by the White-Dressed Ghost, and that was…”
“You could see it.”
“So I dare to speculate that if someone marked by the White-Dressed Ghost loses their eyes, they may be able to evade its attack… Of course, this is only my personal guess. You can decide for yourselves whether to believe me. But I think you don’t have much time left.”
The hooded young man interrupted him in a strangled voice.
“What do you mean?”
“The White-Dressed Ghost is about to make its move. That’s what I mean.”
The bespectacled youth raised a mocking smile, like a spectator watching a show.
Those words drove the hooded young man’s reason to the brink. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Suddenly, he remembered that he was not the only one present threatened by the White-Dressed Ghost.
“Little sister, what do you think?”
His bloodshot eyes fixed tightly on Huan Xiao’s, as though he wanted to find the same fear in them that filled his own.
Huan Xiao had heard the bespectacled youth as well. After thinking for a moment, she spoke.
“I’m sitting here watching. Would you like to sit down too?”
“…”
Huan Xiao’s interruption somehow eased the hooded young man’s tension.
“Little sister, aren’t you afraid? You’re going to die!”
Seeing him like this, Huan Xiao caught sight of the White-Dressed Female Ghost standing behind him from the corner of her eye, and for a moment she did not know what to say.
She was not sure whether she would die, but the hooded young man would certainly die before she did.
Seeing that he had completely lost any sense of danger, Huan Xiao said ambiguously:
“Is it possible that the White-Dressed Ghost will come for you first?”
“What do you mean by that?!”
The hooded young man glared at Huan Xiao furiously, thinking she was cursing him.
Before Huan Xiao could say anything, the bespectacled youth spoke first:
“This newcomer did not see the White-Dressed Ghost smile at her. According to the order of danger, she comes after you.”
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“How do you know that?”
Huan Xiao was astonished. She had never said anything about it.
“I guessed. No matter how bold you are, you wouldn’t remain unmoved after learning that you were about to die. I suspect you discovered the trigger that causes the White-Dressed Ghost to kill, which is why you’ve remained so calm.”
The bespectacled youth had arrived at this conclusion because no one was truly unafraid of death.
Even those desperate to die would hesitate before the end—let alone an ordinary person like Huan Xiao, who plainly still held hope for the future.
Players who entered this game developed an instinctive fear of ghosts. Even Qi wielders capable of dealing with some weaker ghosts would turn pale at the mention of them.
Rather than fear of ghosts, it was more accurate to call it dread of death.
“You’re right.”
Huan Xiao nodded in agreement. He had only guessed half the truth, but the bespectacled youth was indeed impressive.
“So you’re saying that I’m the only one here who’ll be killed by the ghost right now?!”
The hooded young man’s eyes bulged until they looked like two round longans.
“Then what am I supposed to do…? Do I really have to dig out my eyes?”
Even now, the hooded young man still hesitated.
If he gouged out his eyes, then even if he survived this game, he would still die in the next one. It was merely a question of sooner or later.
“You could try. As it happens, I have a pair of scissors among the vessels I brought with me. Would you like to borrow them?”
The bespectacled youth tapped his phone, and a large pair of rusty scissors appeared in his hand.
They looked as though they had once been used to prune plants. The blades, which should have been sharp, had long since gone dull, and a thin layer of ghostly energy clung to them.
When the bespectacled youth held out the scissors, the hooded young man instinctively reached out and took them.
Huan Xiao saw that his hands were trembling violently. He seemed unable to bring himself to use them.
Perhaps the White-Dressed Ghost was waiting for the hooded young man to make his decision as well. It simply stood there behind him in silence.
As though noticing Huan Xiao watching it, the White-Dressed Female Ghost gave her an eerie smile over the hooded young man’s shoulder.
“If you’ve made up your mind, hurry up.”
The bespectacled youth adjusted his glasses and urged him impatiently.
Huan Xiao watched them while quietly eating the roasted chestnuts in her arms, which were nearly cold by now.
She had to admit, the chestnut seller had given her quite a lot. Perhaps he had been moved by her determination to go out for food even in the rain.
The rain outside the window continued to pour. Amid its deafening roar, Huan Xiao heard the hooded young man reply:
“All right. I—I’ll listen to you.”
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“It’ll definitely be fine. They’re only eyes. I’m sure I can find a way before the next game begins.”
As he spoke, he pointed the tips of the scissors at his eyes, yet no matter what, he could not convince himself to strike.
Suddenly, as though no longer under his control, the scissors plunged into his eye sockets. Blood sprayed into the air at once.
“Ah!”
The hooded young man doubled over from the sudden pain.
He desperately tried to pull the scissors out, only to find the force gripping them growing heavier and heavier. He was completely powerless to resist.
Before long, both of the hooded young man’s eyeballs had been pried out by the scissors—and then vanished.
In Huan Xiao’s field of vision, the White-Dressed Female Ghost was holding the scissors. After digging out the hooded young man’s bloody eyeballs, it tossed them into its mouth and chewed, its face filled with near-ecstatic delight.
“Glasses! My eyes!”
The hooded young man screamed like a madman.
But soon, he could no longer make a sound.
His throat seemed to have been blocked. Not the slightest noise escaped him, and his body became as rigid as wood, unable to move.
In the end, the hooded young man met the same fate as the bald uncle. The White-Dressed Ghost ate him bite by bite and swallowed him into its ghostly belly.
“Ding! White Bay has arrived. Passengers getting off, please disembark promptly.”
Bus 404 came to a stop, and, just as before, the White-Dressed Ghost got off.
Now only Huan Xiao and the bespectacled youth remained inside the bus, along with a floor scattered with blood, scraps of flesh, and torn clothing.
Huan Xiao looked outside. The crowd beyond the station was still bustling.
Many people passed by in groups, while others walked alone, yet not a single one could see them.
A person holding an umbrella walked straight toward the bus from outside. The instant he touched it, he disappeared. A short while later, he reappeared on the opposite side of the vehicle. Bus 404 was like a separate dimension.
At the previous few stops, people had still been able to see the bus. Now, however, it had become completely invisible to them.
“Your deduction seems to have been wrong.”
Huan Xiao leaned against the window and glanced at the scenery outside before turning to speak to the bespectacled youth.
Unexpectedly, he showed not the slightest surprise. He seemed to have known all along that this would happen.
“The White-Dressed Ghost should have gotten off just now. My deduction cannot be said to have been entirely wrong.”
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