Chapter 31: Who Am I?
Normally, ghosts don’t dream.
This was Qin Liu’s own understanding, and also what she had learned from others.
Ghosts don’t need to sleep, and they certainly can’t dream.
But Qin Liu had always been an exception.
Whether she retained human habits or was inherently like this, she didn’t know.
Once she fell asleep, she would often dream of very strange things.
For example, the current situation.
Walking alone in the desolate mountain forest, holding a lantern and silently moving forward.
Qin Liu had never even seen this place before.
But she could dream of it… it was truly bizarre.
“Mmm… this should be Panwang Mountain, right?”
Qin Liu opened her eyes hazily, regaining her consciousness.
But even after regaining consciousness, she still felt as if she were dreaming, unable to control her body.
Everything was just a spectator’s view, silently watching her body move towards an unknown destination.
Although this feeling was a bit terrifying, it wasn’t the first or second time for Qin Liu; she was already used to it.
But every time, she would be a little puzzled, what exactly was she doing?
Qin Liu watched herself walking through the mountains and forests like an emotionless machine, and she couldn’t help but sigh.
“Speaking of which, it seems that ever since I met Liu Haoyu, these strange dreams have become more frequent.”
“Before, I used to dream at most once a month.”
Because she was dreaming, Qin Liu wasn’t afraid in her heart; instead, she curiously observed her surroundings.
At this moment, she finally noticed.
She seemed to be walking along a path she had never taken before, arriving at that small mountain village.
Facing these familiar houses, Qin Liu was startled.
She hadn’t forgotten that this place was haunted!
Thinking of those police officers who were eating human flesh, Qin Liu couldn’t help but feel her scalp tingle.
But no matter how scared she was, her body’s control was still not in her hands.
The young girl could only watch as she walked into the mountain village.
“No… this seems to be a dream, so why should I be afraid?”
Qin Liu calmed herself down and turned her gaze back to the mountain village.
She walked step by step into the mountain village.
Note… walking, not floating.
Like a night watchman, Qin Liu ambled through the silent mountain village.
For some reason, when she entered the mountain village, it was eerily quiet.
The mud-brick houses that were restless in front of Liu Haoyu last night were now tightly shut.
There was no movement.
It felt like… the houses were all closed up as if bloodthirsty mountain bandits had entered the village, and everyone was closing their doors to prevent thieves from breaking in.
Despite the silence, the air was filled with a sense of panic.
However, this panic didn’t belong to Qin Liu, but to something unseen and intangible.
They were afraid, they were trembling, but Qin Liu wouldn’t stop.
The young girl raised the lantern in her hand high, and as the firelight swayed slightly.
An invisible wave instantly swept through the entire mountain village.
Immediately after, sounds arose from the village.
Qin Liu could clearly see some black shadows being sucked out of the houses by the lantern.
They struggled, they wailed, they clung tightly to their hosts in the house, and the black shadows were stretched infinitely like noodles, being pulled into the lantern emitting a faint yellow glow.
Qin Liu watched all this silently.
In her memory, she often saw this scene in her dreams, but at that time, it was very blurry, and her memory wasn’t deep.
In her dreams, she would forget it soon after waking up.
But now…
The wails of the souls being pulled into the lantern,
The constant pleas heard in her ears,
And the black shadows trying to escape.
Everything she saw was extremely real, as if it were happening right now.
“I want to stay here… this is my home…”
“I don’t want to leave here! I don’t want to!”
“Spare me, please spare me…”
“I don’t want to go in! I don’t want to go in!”
But even when faced with those pleading souls, Qin Liu’s own eyes looked like a machine lover who only executed commands, utterly emotionless.
She remained silent, only continuing to raise the lantern in her hand.
As the firelight became brighter, all the sounds in the village vanished.
The aura of fear and coldness no longer permeated the village, leaving only desolation and silence.
“Your home is not here…”
“This is the world of the living…”
“Sleep… sleep…”
Qin Liu then realized that the version of herself in the dream was speaking with an unfaltering, extremely cold voice.
This was the first time she had heard her dreaming self speak.
And this voice sounded extremely chilling and terrifying.
It was as if… it wasn’t her!
But this was indeed her body. If she wasn’t herself…
Then who was she?
Qin Liu couldn’t help but feel creeped out.
As Qin Liu was puzzling over this, she saw the young girl leaving the village, carrying the lantern.
She began to walk towards a darker, more terrifying place.
Countless tombstones lined both sides of the road, blue mist swirled above the cemetery, and everything in front of her began to turn blood red.
Qin Liu clearly knew that this was definitely not a place for the living.
She could only watch helplessly as this strange and terrifying version of herself walked slowly along this hair-raising path.
The deeper she went, the sparser the tombstones on both sides became.
Until she discovered that not far away from her, there was a very calm black river.
There was a broken wooden bridge over the river, for reasons unknown.
And for some reason, it presented an appearance of long abandonment.
It was like a house that had been left empty for a very long time.
Qin Liu did not walk onto the broken bridge; she simply came to the side of the black river and raised the lantern in her hand.
Then, those black shadows began to drift towards the opposite bank, until finally, the lantern’s firelight dimmed again, as if a gust of wind could blow it out.
After doing all this, Qin Liu’s gaze shifted downwards; she quietly looked at the water surface.
However, beneath the calm water surface were countless ferocious and terrifying faces, letting out mournful cries underwater, ceaselessly.
Seeing such a horrifying sight, Qin Liu was greatly startled, but because she couldn’t control her body, she was forced to stare at these dead spirits.
After waiting for a while, the water surface returned to calmness, and the girl’s reflection appeared on the water.
Qin Liu finally saw her own appearance.
The reflection on the water had vacant eyes and a dazed expression, appearing very strange.
Qin Liu felt even more unnerved now; she couldn’t understand the scene before her at all.
However, although she couldn’t control it, she could feel that this was indeed her body.
So… was it really her?
Qin Liu’s confusion didn’t last long. She saw the young girl stand up again.
As if fulfilling her duty, she began to turn back, heading perhaps to pick up the next batch of souls wandering in the world.
After walking for a distance, a very familiar voice appeared behind her.
“Qin Liu?”
Hearing this voice, Qin Liu was startled, and then her body slowly turned around to look. She saw the familiar man, who ran up to her and asked.
“Where are you going?”
Facing the man’s question, Qin Liu’s voice remained the same cold and emotionless one.
“To guide the dead across the river of the underworld.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t forget to raise the lantern in her hand. The faint yellow firelight illuminated Liu Haoyu’s face.
It also made Qin Liu, who was watching all this, extremely shocked. She hadn’t forgotten that this lantern could absorb souls.
Could it be that Liu Haoyu’s soul would also be absorbed?!
But fortunately, none of this happened. The girl continued to speak in that emotionless voice.
“Please leave this place. This is not a place for the living.”
After speaking, the girl was about to leave, but Liu Haoyu stopped her.
Qin Liu watched this scene and felt an immense urgency.
This thing doesn’t look like her at all!
Why are you stopping this thing for no reason?!
And in the next second, Qin Liu heard the man speak in a very calm and serious tone.
He said something completely inappropriate.
“Can I touch your white stockings?”
“…?”
Qin Liu’s mind was filled with question marks.
Seriously, buddy?
Humans can’t, at least they shouldn’t…
Never mind, this guy is Liu Haoyu, thinking this way, everything made more sense.
In response to Liu Haoyu’s question, the emotionless Qin Liu remained silent for a moment.
Almost thinking what Qin Liu was thinking, she said in a dazed and cold tone.
“No… buddy…”
“Humans can’t, at least… they shouldn’t.”
Hearing this, Qin Liu froze completely.
These were all her words!
And upon hearing this, Liu Haoyu also paused. He vaguely sensed something was wrong and tentatively asked.
“Are you really Qin Liu?”
“I am.”
Saying this, under Qin Liu’s shocked gaze, she began to pull up her JK school uniform skirt…
Wo Ri!
This is absolutely not allowed!
Qin Liu, feeling extremely ashamed and angry, wanted to stop it, but in the next second, she felt herself stumble.
It seemed… the control of her body was restored.
But it seemed like everything was too late…
Qin Liu looked at her completely revealed body with eyes that seemed broken.
Why did she have to encounter such a thing?
Why did things turn out this way?
Liu Haoyu looked at the large expanse of emptiness revealed by Qin Liu, pondered for a moment, and said.
“Indeed, it’s Qin Liu.”
“I’m your ghost!”
The dream collapsed at this moment.
Returning to reality, Qin Liu immediately opened her eyes, sat up quickly, and frantically checked her clothes.
So close… so close…
It should just be a dream.
Although the end was a bit shameful and infuriating, it should be a dream… right?
She covered her head. Everything that had just happened felt so real, not like a dream.
“Forget it, forget it, it’s just a dream, why bother with it? Let’s just consider it a spring dream.”
The optimistic Qin Liu was ultimately unwilling to face reality.
As the saying goes, doesn’t it say something like…
A girl who smiles often has good luck.
Anyway, it was probably just a very realistic dream. How could Liu Haoyu see her through a dream?
He wasn’t some dream demon or anything.
Hahaha…
Qin Liu forced a faint smile.
To make the blush in her mind disappear, she decided to find something to distract herself.
Like the black book that Liu Haoyu was always reading.
Qin Liu saw this black book on the first night she met Liu Haoyu.
At first, she thought it was just a collection of “Liu Haoyu’s Picks” adult comics.
But later she realized that as expected of a Daoist, this book was not just a simple adult comic.
It was like an omniscient and all-knowing god.
No matter what question Liu Haoyu asked it, it could answer easily.
“If this were a web novel, Liu Haoyu might be the protagonist, and this book would be his system, right?”
Qin Liu muttered softly and picked up the book.
When she turned it open, the first thing that greeted her eyes were those inappropriate images.
However, Qin Liu had already seen them many, many times, so she had them memorized.
She had to admit, the quality of Liu Haoyu’s selection of comics was indeed good.
Full-color white-stockinged loli, you can never get tired of looking at them.
Even though Qin Liu was now a girl, she felt that this thing was very stimulating.
Of course, she wasn’t looking at the comic books now.
She wanted to ask the black book a question.
Although her mind was a bit slow to turn, she wasn’t stupid.
The previous dreams, once or twice, were understandable.
If it happened every time, it would be too much of a coincidence.
Since the black book was so powerful, Qin Liu naturally wanted to ask about her origins.
But at this point, she was a little scared.
She was afraid that the black book would know her background.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the secret of reincarnation must be taken to the grave, and must never be told to anyone.
So, should she ask or not?
After agonizing for a full three minutes, Qin Liu took a deep breath and held the black book in her hand.
Mimicking Liu Haoyu, she bit her own finger fiercely.
“Ouch!!”
The poor girl winced in pain from her bite.
They say fingers are connected to the heart; she couldn’t understand how Liu Haoyu could bite his finger without changing his expression.
Did he really not feel any pain?
Looking at the blood oozing from her delicate finger, Qin Liu wrote on the black book with tears in her eyes.
“Who am I?”
“…”
Faced with Qin Liu’s question, the black book trembled incessantly, it was in fear, it was terrified.
Finally, it wrote a line of text on the blank page.
“You are a cute, naive, white-haired little loli.”
