Chapter 9 You had better let me go now.

All the suffocating, painful memories abruptly ceased.

Qiao Ruyi lowered her gaze to her fingers, feeling a tingling sensation at her fingertips, as if slender worms were crawling across them. The creature on her wrist, Shengqing, grew increasingly restless, raising half its body and hissing into the dark air behind her, emitting rapid, sibilant sounds.

“Don’t panic,” she said, reaching out to soothe it gently.

Shengqing coiled around her wrist for a while longer before settling down again, lying flat. The darker the surroundings, the more vividly translucent and green it glowed, faintly refracting dim light—at a glance, it looked like a rare jade bracelet.

The potion had solidified. Qiao Ruyi began carefully peeling away the rice paper, ignoring the situation behind her.

Until footsteps drew nearer...

She didn’t turn around but continued peeling the paper with a calm, indifferent tone. “If you take two more steps forward, you’ll lose your lives.”

The footsteps abruptly stopped.

There was a low murmur, followed by a loud, angry snort. “You say we’ll die if we move forward? Do you think we’re fools?”

Qiao Ruyi’s voice remained steady. “If you don’t believe me, just take two steps.”

There was shuffling behind her, as if they were pushing each other, but no one dared step forward. Soon, an exclamation rang out. “Brother Yu! Our feet!”

It was pitch dark; the only light was in front of the woman. Earlier that day, the Fishman had heard from the hotel staff that something strange and deadly had happened here. The whole way here, he’d been uneasy, and Ah Hu’s sudden shout made him startle.

“Damn it—” The Fishman cursed, then looked down in shock. “What is this?”

Their feet seemed to have stepped on some kind of glowing paint, fluorescent and patchy. The Fishman clearly remembered that it had been dark all the way in, and they hadn’t seen anything on the ground that could cause this.

Ah Hu thought it was just paint and wiped it with his hand. Unexpectedly, his hand was covered with large patches of the same glow, which quickly spread across his palm. It wasn’t paint at all! The fluorescent color rapidly expanded from a small spot to his entire hand.

“Brother Yu! Th-this is a living thing!” Ah Hu was terrified; his voice cracked.

Ah Long stayed somewhat calm and cleared his throat. “Don’t touch it recklessly!”

Ah Hu froze like a statue.

The Fishman was shocked by the scene. In all his years of roaming the world, he’d never faced danger like this. Being trapped by a little girl’s trick made him angrier, and he bellowed at Qiao Ruyi, “Who the hell are you? What did you do to us? I warn you, don’t pretend to be some kind of spirit with me!”

Qiao Ruyi’s fingers remained steady, completely unaffected. After he finished shouting, she smoothly peeled off the entire rubbing. She didn’t rush to collect it but set it aside to disperse the potion’s scent, then slowly turned around.

Light shone from her direction, illuminating her features.

Thus, the three Fishmen clearly saw her face.

The first impression was stunning.

All three were struck dumb simultaneously.

But beyond her beauty, there was a sinister aura about her, especially when she looked at them with a faint, enigmatic smile. It was as if her beautiful eyes concealed an unfathomable demon, sending chills down one’s spine the longer one looked.

She appeared to be in her twenties. Most girls that age were naive and pure, but this woman seemed like she had stepped out from an ancient painting—mysterious and unfathomable, certainly not one to be trifled with.

The Fishman instinctively felt they had met their match.

He couldn’t explain why he felt this way. She looked fragile but exuded an aura that warned not to provoke her, overwhelmingly strong.

Qiao Ruyi held a flashlight, raising her hand slightly so the beam shone on the three men a few steps away. They all raised their hands to shield their eyes from the light. After seeing their faces clearly, she smiled. “Interesting. You’ve been following me all this way, and now you ask who I am?”

The Fishman’s expression darkened. “Cut the crap! What the hell are those things?”

“They’re not ghosts,” Qiao Ruyi said with a low laugh, “but they’re much scarier when dealing with you.”

The Fishman was hot-tempered and completely enraged. He strode towards Qiao Ruyi. “I don’t believe a blond kid like you—”

“Brother Yu!” Ah Long and Ah Hu shouted together. Ah Long, usually so steady, sounded terrified.

The Fishman suddenly stopped and shouted angrily, “Are you two crazy?!”

Ah Hu trembled, pointing at the Fishman. “Brother Yu, on your body—”

The Fishman looked down where Ah Hu pointed, then gasped. The fluorescent patches that had only covered his feet now spread to his waist, coloring half his body.

He didn’t know what this strange thing was, but he saw clearly enough that it was alive and not simple. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Why aren’t you moving?” Qiao Ruyi’s lips curved. “Scared?”

Veins bulged on the Fishman’s forehead; his face was ghastly.

“This is the Xichong,” Qiao Ruyi kindly explained. “But you don’t need to know how it came to be, just its habits.”

“H-what habits?” The Fishman panted, stammering.

Qiao Ruyi smiled. “These worms love the warmth of living creatures. The higher your body temperature, the faster they spread. How to raise your temperature? By walking or getting angry. We can’t feel it, but they’re very sensitive.”

She pointed at him. “See how bright they are? The brighter, the more active. When they cover you completely, they’ll suck your skin, blood, even bones, leaving nothing behind.”

The Fishman’s skin trembled, terrified and furious. “You’re young, how can you be so cruel?”

“You followed me with ill intentions; why would I be polite?” Qiao Ruyi’s tone suddenly turned cold. “Now tell me, who are you, and why are you following me?”

The Fishman dared not act rashly. He glanced beneath him. “W-we? Who said we followed you? We were just passing by!”

Qiao Ruyi raised an eyebrow. “And you expect me to believeI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.