Chapter 2: Fearing Ghosts is Human Nature

A blood-stained hand suddenly thrust out from the pit, catching her foot unexpectedly.

Gu Liuxi screamed in terror, "Ah... let go! Don't... don't grab me! Waaa... I've never done anything wrong in my life! At most, I've only stepped on a few ants and swatted a few cockroaches!" Surely those didn't count as great sins!

Yet that hand clamped onto her foot like an octopus, refusing to let go even in death. No matter how she kicked, he wouldn't release her, stubborn as a rock.

Gu Liuxi was sweating profusely from fear, her limbs went numb, and she gasped for breath. Her overstimulated heart slowly began to accept the reality that she was being grabbed by a 'ghost.'

"Okay, Big Brother Ghost, I surrender! I admit defeat! I shouldn't have rolled down from up there, and I definitely shouldn't have crushed you, venerable elder! Seeing how sincere and earnest I am, could you please spare me this once? When I get back, I'll definitely find a grandmaster to perform a ritual for you, burn countless foreign beauties to accompany you, and burn mountains of gold and silver so you can live a glorious life in the underworld. Please, just spare me..."

She rambled on like a machine gun, delivering a massive monologue in one breath without a single pause for punctuation.

She was even impressed by her own eloquence, though that wasn't the point.

The point was whether that 'Big Brother Ghost' had actually listened. Regardless, after she finished speaking, a bloody hand reached out from beneath the grass. The hand was holding a strange object—something that looked like a stone yet like an ancient mirror. For now, let's call it a stone mirror.

What kind of ghostly thing was this! What did this 'Big Brother Ghost' want! Why give her something that looked neither like a mirror nor a stone?

With a mournful face, Gu Liuxi took the object, her expression becoming sycophantic. "Big Brother Ghost, what do you want me to do with this thing?" Surely, the deal was struck!

"Go to Xiwu... deliver this to Prince Yucha... This... this concerns the fate of the entire Cangyue Empire... Please, you must ensure this reaches his hands... I beg you..." Once the 'ghost' finished speaking, the hand that had been death-gripping her foot finally let go.

Gu Liuxi stumbled back a step, wishing she could just drop the thing and run for her life. However, she had heard people say that if you encounter a ghost and don't help fulfill its wish, it will haunt you forever.

To avoid being constantly pestered by this 'Big Brother Ghost,' she steadied her nerves and tried to appear less panicked, though in truth, she was scared to death.

"Big Brother Ghost, could you please be a bit clearer? You want me to deliver this to some Prince Yucha? May I ask where this Prince Yucha lives? How am I supposed to give it to him? Do you have his phone number, e-mail, or QQ?"

That bloody hand reached out toward Gu Liuxi again. This time, Gu Liuxi remained very calm, lacking her previous panic. After all, when asking a favor, one's attitude shouldn't be too arrogant. This 'Big Brother Ghost' was currently the one asking her for help; she was certain he wouldn't hurt her now, and her confidence surged.

"Xiwu border... *cough, cough*..."

The Xiwu border?

What kind of place was that?

Gu Liuxi had studied geography, after all; how had she never heard of such a place in China? Was it abroad? This was a huge loss—she actually had to go abroad to help this "ghost" fulfill his wish.

But wait, why had this Big Brother Ghost been speaking so strangely from beginning to end!

Huh! Why would a ghost cough?

Her lively eyes darted around. Suddenly thinking of something, she lunged forward to part the grass and, emboldened, placed her finger under the face to check for breath. Good, there was breath; so it wasn't a ghost.

Holy crap, she had been terrified for so long, and it turned out to be a person! Go to hell! What "Ghostly Xiwu" and what "Prince Yucha"! Go do it yourself! This lady isn't interested...

Annoyed, Gu Liuxi threw the stone mirror on the ground, grabbed her long skirt, and turned to leave. Seriously, this wasn't a joke—didn't people know that pretending to be a ghost to scare people could actually scare them to death!

Gu Liuxi feared nothing in heaven or earth, except ghosts. And now someone was pretending to be a ghost to scare her? She was angry. She was done playing. She was going home.

After walking a distance, she slowly walked back. When she had fallen from above and her mind was hazy, she thought she had heard a scream, but she had initially dismissed it as a hallucination.

Her bright eyes blinked.

Could it be that she had crushed someone?

Highly likely.

Gu Liuxi wasn't the type of irresponsible person to commit a hit-and-run after injuring someone.

Gu Liuxi went back. It took her immense effort to drag the person embedded in the dirt out. Sure enough, a large pit had been left on the ground.

Seeing this, Gu Liuxi immediately felt guilty. She helped the person up and whispered, "Hey! Mister, are you okay? You're bleeding everywhere. Come, I'll take you to the hospital."

It seemed she would definitely have to pay medical expenses. She would probably be stuck eating plain porridge and hard buns again this month. Why was her life so miserable!

The bloody hand reached out and grasped Gu Liuxi's hand. "No... I... I'm not going to make it. You... you must leave quickly, leave this place immediately..."

Gu Liuxi watched as that bloody hand rested on hers, the man wearing an expression of impending collapse. "Mister, don't... don't be like this! Don't die! If you die, I'll become a murderer! I'll take you to the hospital! At worst, I'll just pay all the medical bills myself."

Although he had many obvious knife wounds that certainly weren't caused by her fall, Gu Liuxi was a born unlucky soul. Even falling from a mountainside resulted in the coincidence of landing on someone—and a dying person at that. She was used to her bad luck, so she accepted it.

"Search quickly... search carefully... He is heavily wounded, he won't get far..."

Shouts drifted from the distance, accompanied by flickering torchlight, gradually approaching their direction.

Someone was coming; they were saved.

A look of joy appeared on Gu Liuxi's face as she said excitedly, "Mister, Mister, you don't have to die! We're saved, someone is coming..."

"Run... you must run... They aren't here to save me, they are here to kill me. I would rather die than fall into their hands. Run quickly, take the thing and leave... *cough, cough*... Remember... go to Xiwu to find Prince Yucha..."

He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, but he clamped his mouth shut tightly to prevent the sound of coughing from escaping. The bright red blood dripped through his fingers onto the grass.

Gu Liuxi felt heartache watching him. "Okay... okay... Mister, there's no rush, I'll take you to the hospital first..."

"No, it's too late. I'm finished. Run, take the thing and go..." The man struggled to reach forward, touching the strange stone mirror that Gu Liuxi had just thrown away, and pushed it into her arms. "Girl, I beg you, this old man kneels to you. Please take this and leave. Please deliver it to Prince Yucha's hands for me. Tell him... this old servant is going ahead a step..."

"Mister, Mister, don't scare me! Don't die!" Gu Liuxi's heart was in total chaos. This man reminded her of the old man who had died tragically before her; her tears nearly fell uncontrollably.

Her mood turned gloomy, and as if infected by her, the surrounding weather instantly turned overcast.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly opened his eyes again. Gu Liuxi's unshed tears froze in her eyes, hanging precariously.

Mister, are you trying to give me a heart attack?

"Run... if you don't leave now, it will be too late. You cannot let this thing fall into the hands of villains."

The determination in the man's eyes reminded Gu Liuxi of the old man. Before he died, he had looked at her with that same gaze—a look of despair mixed with hope. Her heart was suddenly struck.

Gu Liuxi understood that she could not save him at this moment.

But she did not want to fail the hope shining in his eyes.

She bit her lower lip and clenched her fists. "Fine, Mister. I will definitely help you deliver this to that Prince Yucha."

She made her promise, took the stone mirror, and stood up unsteadily. She ran toward the depths of the dense forest without looking back, her tears finally flowing uncontrollably.

A light rain began to fall from the dim sky.

The old man watched Gu Liuxi's departing figure, a relieved smile appearing on his face as he slowly closed his eyes.

*Prince, this old servant is going ahead a step. I hope this young girl can deliver the divine artifact into your hands. If she does, the Cangyue Empire will have a future, and this old servant can meet the Old Prince in peace.*