Yang City.
Yang City is a beautiful, bustling, rich and peaceful tropolis, but it has never belonged to Lu Guo.
Standing at the head of Yunyang Bridge, watching the bustling crowd in front of him, Lu Guo suddenly found it a bit amusing, yet sowhat sad.
Originally, he was just one of the multitude of beings in front of him.
For the sake of living, he sold everything about himself at a low price.
But after that door opened, many things changed.
Fierce ghosts, curses, abnormalities, grotesqueness—Lu Guo felt as if he was living in a fantasy world, and he only felt a bit of reality when his companions beside him died.
"Passerby, you’ve not been in touch with us lately, staying in all day, what are you up to?" Several pairs of eyes were on Lu Guo.
"Passerby" was Lu Guo’s nickna, used by friends who had played with him since childhood, like the one speaking now, nad Zhen Cheng, one of Lu Guo’s close friends.
A few n were smoking and leaning on the bridgehead with Lu Guo.
Lu Guo didn’t like smoking; he hated anything that could lead to dependency.
Upon hearing the questions from his friends, he just looked toward the sky and didn’t answer.
"You can’t go on like this; you’re not getting any younger. You need a job, a wife, you need to support a family." Zhen Cheng stubbed out his cigarette and rudely tossed it into the Yunyang River below the bridge, "Why not co to my company? With your education, landing a cushy job with good perks shouldn’t be a problem."
Lu Guo shook his head and turned to look at the friends he had grown up with.
"I’m leaving."
"Going ho again? You lately..." Before Zhen Cheng could finish his sentence, he saw Lu Guo quietly watching him.
"To another city, possibly... not coming back."
"..."
The n stood there staring at him blankly, suddenly at a loss for words.
Lu Guo waved his hand in farewell.
Having witnessed departures and separations in life and death, even an ordinary goodbye was still hard to say.
"Wait!" Zhen Cheng shouted, "Where are you going?"
Lu Guo slightly turned his head, wanting to say sothing but ultimately remained silent.
He quickened his pace, his figure soon disappearing from their view.
From then on, the person "Lu Guo" would vanish from their lives. So even if they heard nothing of him in the future, they wouldn’t find it strange.
Lu Guo got off the bridge and walked along the riverbank.
The decision to leave Yang City wasn’t a spur-of-the-mont choice, but because... of it.
He opened his palm, revealing a black hook jade lying quietly in it.
The existence of this thing, Lu Guo had told no one, but there was one person who knew.
Because another white hook jade was with her—Qi Nian.
During the last mission, he and Qi Nian were part of a group that survived, but while others were clueless, only Lu Guo and Qi Nian knew that the mission... wasn’t successful.
The black and white hook jades they held were items cursed with fierce ghosts.
The solution was quite simple: as long as these two hook jades didn’t rge, the fierce ghost couldn’t break free from them.
But this was only temporary; the fierce ghost’s power would ultimately grow stronger, until... the day the hook jade could no longer contain it.
Recently, both Lu Guo and Qi Nian had the sa dream: they saw the two hook jades rging into one, but just as they rged, they quickly shattered into pieces.
After discussing, Lu Guo and Qi Nian both believed it might be a sign for survival.
Even if they guessed wrong, it was better than waiting for death.
The curse within these two hook jades had already entangled them, making it impossible to break free.
Lu Guo had tried throwing it into the river, but co midnight, the hook jade would automatically return to his palm, no matter where he was or how far he had thrown it.
Qi Nian shared nearly the sa experience, so... they decided to try their luck at the place in their dreams.
After so investigation, Lu Guo had finally found the real location from his dream.
Ye City, Ghost Head Mountain.
Ghost Head Mountain... just the na was unsettling, but Lu Guo thought this might indicate that sothing unusual was there, maybe it could indeed solve the curse.
As he thought about this, Lu Guo instinctively kicked a stone, sending it in a graceful arc into the river.
The spring breeze continually rustled the ripples made by the stone, which persisted for a long ti.
Gradually, Lu Guo sensed sothing was amiss; the surrounding wind... seed to be growing stronger.
"Let’s leave here first..."
Ever since getting tangled with this inescapable hook jade, Lu Guo’s nerves had beco exceptionally sensitive. He always felt like, even in the real world, a fierce ghost could suddenly spring from any corner and take his life.
However, just then, Lu Guo instinctively glanced forward.
There... stood a woman in a white dress.
The bank of Yunyang River lacked railings, allowing people to easily stroll along the riverside. Lu Guo initially thought the woman in the white dress not far ahead was just another person like him, wandering by the river.
But unexpectedly, just as she was gazing into the river, she suddenly started walking, stepping right into the river!
Lu Guo was startled at first, but quickly realized... this woman intended to commit suicide!
Lu Guo was no stranger to suicide; in Fog Gathering, news of mbers choosing suicide due to an inability to withstand fear and tornt surfaced intermittently.
But it was the first ti he had experienced such an event before his eyes.
While Lu Guo stood in shock, the woman in the white dress continued stepping toward the river’s center.
The non-turbulent water soaked her dress; the river gradually enveloped her knees, her thighs, her waist...
By the ti Lu Guo snapped back to reality, instinctively rushing toward her, the water had already covered her shoulders!
"Hey! Don’t do anything foolish!"
Lu Guo dashed into the water. Though he could swim, he wasn’t proficient; if this woman really reached the deep center, he had no confidence he could bring her back alive.
Although he couldn’t just watch soone commit suicide in front of him, he also wouldn’t sacrifice his life for her.
So, Lu Guo could only tentatively advance, shouting, "What could possibly be so insurmountable? If you’re not afraid to die, what else is there to fear?"
The woman seed persuaded by his words, standing quietly in the water, not going further.
At this mont, the river had subrged her neck, reaching her chin. From afar, it looked as if a head floated on the water.
Lu Guo finally sighed in relief, hastily quickening his pace to swim toward her, but suddenly... he inadvertently saw the reflection on the river’s surface.
What was that!
Lu Guo was chilled to the bone, goosebumps breaking out all over his body.
Even though the reflection on the water was blurry, Lu Guo could still ascertain that the face on the water’s surface... wasn’t human!
Because the woman in the white dress had completely inverted facial features!
Her mouth was on her forehead, while her eyebrows and eyes were positioned above her chin—how could that be human?
This was a ghost!
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