WBICDPH Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Crane Is Short, the Duck Is Long

“Uh…”

A strange sound slipped from Lin Jin’s throat, drawing a puzzled look from Hua Nanzhi. But when she turned to him, she saw that his face had suddenly gone deathly pale.

She frowned. “What’s wro—”

When someone is overwhelmed by extreme fear, they can’t make a sound. Lin Jin stared at the ghostly hand, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

He nearly jumped straight up from the ground. The only reason he held back was that he didn’t dare move the foot that was being gripped. He was terrified that the young lady with blood-red nails below might get angry and yank his entire leg off, along with his foot.

So he remained frozen in that stiff, bizarre posture. No one else could see the hand wrapped around his ankle. They had no idea what was happening to Lin Jin, and naturally, they couldn’t help him at all.

It wasn’t until the little round pup tucked in Lin Jin’s arms poked its head out. It wriggled free from his robes and jumped down to the ground.

Lin Jin saw it clearly—the puppy’s jade-green eyes flickered faintly. It bared the tips of its teeth slightly in the direction of the ghost hand. In the next instant, the grip around Lin Jin’s ankle loosened a little.

After hesitating for a moment, before the pup could make another threatening move, the hand released him entirely. It dissolved into smoke and sank into the earth in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Lin Jin finally let out a breath.

His entire body tingled from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His legs were so weak he staggered a few steps before barely managing to steady himself.

Hua Nanzhi quickly reached out and caught him.

She looked him over, utterly baffled. “What on earth happened to you? Why are you suddenly this scared?”

“There… there’s a ghost…” It took Lin Jin a long time to recover enough to speak. “I asked you to check if there was something on my foot because there was a ghost—a ghost was grabbing it.”

He was so shaken he could barely form a coherent sentence. He bent down to pick up the puppy again, then glanced at his right foot with lingering fear.

He was wearing white boots. Faint, bloody fingerprints were still visible on the surface.

“But I really didn’t see anything just now,” Hua Nanzhi said, tilting her head as she studied his ankle. “Strange. If you say it’s weak, you could see it and even sense it. But if you say it’s strong, I couldn’t see even the slightest trace of it.”

She was just about to ask Xiao Yunkong whether he had ever encountered something like this when the village chief, Zhao Kang, suddenly cut in from the side.

“You saw a ghostly figure, young immortal? Was it a young woman?”

By now, Lin Jin had finally calmed down a little.

Hearing this, he pressed his lips together. “I didn’t see her whole appearance, but judging from that hand alone, she should be a young woman. Her fingertips were stained with red nail polish.”

“Just as I thought.” Zhao Kang nodded thoughtfully. “That would be the malicious ghost that has plagued our village for years. I was just about to tell you about her, young immortals, but I didn’t expect her to come to you first—she truly can’t restrain herself. Over the years, she has harmed quite a few young immortals who came to help us. Fortunately, you’re unharmed. But now that she’s set her sights on you, I’m afraid she won’t give up easily. You must be on your guard.”

While Zhao Kang was speaking, the little pup in Lin Jin’s arms had quietly climbed up along his arm and settled on his shoulder.

At those words, it glanced at Zhao Kang, something flickering in its eyes.

Lin Jin didn’t notice the puppy’s movement. He simply followed up, “Village Chief, may I ask—who exactly was that young woman? Why is her resentment so deep? And how did she end up like this?”

Zhao Kang let out a heavy sigh.

He raised a hand and pointed toward two adjoining courtyards at the end of the main road in Shuangxi Village.

“That young woman’s name was Zhu Eryao. She used to live there. The Zhu family wasn’t originally from Shuangxi Village. Old Zhu was once a teacher in town. After he got married, he moved here with his wife. Our villagers are warm and hospitable—everyone helped them build that courtyard. You see, the neighboring family is surnamed Zhou. Back then, it was the Zhou family who contributed the most to helping the Zhus settle here quickly.”

At the words “warm and hospitable,” Hua Nanzhi curled her lips dramatically, clearly unconvinced.

“The Zhou family admired scholars, and Old Zhu was a teacher, so the two families became close. Later, when Old Zhu’s wife became pregnant, they agreed that if it was a boy, he would become sworn brothers with the Zhou family’s son. If it were a girl, they would arrange a childhood betrothal. That child was Zhu Eryao. She and the Zhou boy grew up together. From a young age, she liked him. Whenever adults asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would always answer that she wanted to marry Young Master Zhou and become his wife.

“As for that Zhou boy, he truly had promise. Good-looking and intelligent. He studied under Old Zhu and passed the county-level exam at twelve, first place that year! Unfortunately, that same year, Old Zhu and his wife were attacked by bandits on their way back from Sishui Town and were killed. Only ten-year-old Zhu Eryao was left. The Zhou family was kind-hearted. Seeing that she had lost her parents, they took her in and raised her as their own daughter.

“Later, after becoming a scholar, the Zhou boy left the village to study in a bigger town. He was truly capable—he passed the top exam at every level and became the youngest top scholar of the dynasty!

“When Zhu Eryao heard the news, she was overjoyed. After all, she had always wanted to marry him. Now that he had risen to prominence, it would bring her honor too. But alas—her feelings were unreturned. He always saw her as a sister and never intended to marry her. That childhood betrothal was merely a joke between the parents, never formally arranged.

“Originally, Zhu Eryao could have given up and married someone suitable in the village. But she was proud and insisted she would marry no one but Zhou. She even pestered his parents to force their son to marry her, throwing the whole village into chaos. In the end, the Zhou boy sent word that he was already engaged in the capital. He spoke kindly but firmly, and only then did Zhu Eryao finally give up.

“Everyone thought the farce would end there. But who could have expected that very night, Zhu Eryao would dress in the wedding gown her parents left her and take her own life at the Mountain God Temple in the back hills?

“Bloodshed in the Mountain God Temple is a grave taboo. Sure enough, afterward, the Mountain God grew furious and withdrew his protection. Hundreds of acres of fertile land yielded nothing and turned to wasteland. Zhu Eryao resented the Zhou family. Even in death, she found no peace. She became a malicious ghost and trapped our village here for seven years! I believe she wants to vent her unrequited love and trap us all here until we perish.”

…

After hearing the story, Lin Jin felt strangely calm.

He offered no comment, didn’t ask for clarification. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject.

“Village Chief, I do have a question. If you’ve truly been trapped here for seven years and your fields produced no crops, how have you survived all this time?”

“Oh, that…” Zhao Kang shifted aside so Lin Jin could see into his courtyard.

Lin Jin looked past him and saw piles of white flowers stacked in one corner.

“The strange happenings back then weren’t just the thick fog that surrounded the village. Overnight, white flowers bloomed across the fields. We didn’t know what they were and were afraid at first. But after we ran out of grain and vegetables, we had no choice but to try them. To our surprise, they were edible. For seven years now, we’ve survived on these flowers. Like wild greens—fried, boiled, steamed, however you like. Nearly a hundred households in our village have eaten them for years with no problems. In fact, we’re sturdier than when we lived on rice.”

“Hmm.” Lin Jin frowned slightly. “I’ve never seen such a flower. It must be rare. Village Chief, could you give me one?”

“Of course.”

Zhao Kang nodded, returned to the yard, and picked one for him.

Lin Jin didn’t examine it immediately. Instead, he asked, “We just arrived and need somewhere to stay. Is there an empty house in the village?”

Zhao Kang hesitated. “Well… if you don’t mind, you could stay at the Zhu residence. It’s the only vacant courtyard left.”

“Very well. Thank you.”

They bade Zhao Kang farewell. He stepped back and shut his wooden gate.

The road was once again empty. The villagers who had been wandering about earlier had disappeared. If not for the distant sounds of quarrels and crying drifting from all directions, the place would truly resemble an abandoned ghost village.

Lin Jin walked slowly toward the Zhu residence, studying the white flower in his hand.

When fully opened, it was nearly the size of his palm. It had seven petals, each edged with jagged serrations. The outer petals were pure white, gradually tinged with red toward the center. Seven long, vivid crimson stamens rose from the heart, like bloodstained tongues of a vengeful ghost reaching out to claim a life.

Lin Jin stared at it thoughtfully and leaned in to sniff. The strange fragrance that lingered in the village air indeed came from this flower.

His master, Moyu Zi, was the greatest beast tamer in the world and unmatched in his knowledge of flora and fauna. Lin Jin still had six notebooks in his storage ring—three detailing spirit beasts and demonic creatures, three recording rare and bizarre plants of the cultivation world.

“Angered the Mountain God, so the fields failed? There’s no such thing as a Mountain God. Crops failing can be blamed on the girl in red? How strange.”

Hua Nanzhi was still mulling over Zhao Kang’s story. She glanced sideways at the flower in Lin Jin’s hand.

“They’ve lived on this for seven years? Can that even work? Is it really edible? What kind of flower is it anyway? If it sprouted overnight across the fields, it can’t be anything good.”

Lin Jin nodded and examined it carefully. “If I remember correctly, it’s called a ‘Death Spirit Flower.’ It only grows in places thick with ghostly energy. As for what happens when people eat it… I don’t know. I’ve never tried. I’ll give it a taste.”

“Okay—wait, what???”

By the time Hua Nanzhi realized what he’d said, Lin Jin had already stuffed the flower into his mouth and swallowed it.

“Are you insane? You just eat whatever you find?!” She grabbed his face, as if trying to pry the flower back out of his throat. “Spit it out! You’re already frail—what if it kills you?!”

“It won’t. My instincts tell me it’s not too dangerous. And even if it is poisonous, my master packed detox pills for me.” Lin Jin waved a finger casually. “In ancient times, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs. If we don’t try it ourselves, what if we miss some crucial clue?”

“That’s not how you do it!”

Hua Nanzhi was furious. She rolled her eyes and gave up on caring whether he lived or died.

Instead, she asked, “So what do you think? How much of the village chief’s story about Zhu Eryao is believable? I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. A spirit that can become a red-clad vengeful ghost usually suffered extreme trauma in life. From what he described, it doesn’t seem enough. What kind of girl would kill herself in a wedding dress and turn into a ghost just because she couldn’t marry the man she loved?”

Lin Jin agreed.

He sighed softly. “Exactly. Miss Hua, you should know—people are inherently selfish. When they recount a story, they always polish it. They remove the parts unfavorable to themselves and exaggerate others’ faults, painting themselves as flawless victims. So…”

A faint, unreadable smile curved his lips.

“I don’t believe a single word of it.”