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墨書 Inktalez
“What did you hear?” Dali chuckled to himself. “Is it ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!”
The Yellow Witch shot him a quick glare. “Idiot! Shut up! It’s the screams of animals!”
Everyone fell silent, the only sound left was the rushing water. They held their breath and listened intently, as if they could faintly hear a few sharp, elongated sounds in the distance—faint and blurry, as if coming from deep within the forest… No, it seemed closer now, getting nearer… The sound was as if someone was tearing their throat apart!
All the flashlights turned toward the dark forest where the water flowed. Suddenly, waves surged on the inky surface of the water. As broad waves leapt high into the air, several dark shapes emerged from the crests, only to sink back down with the waves again and again… But it was too far away to see clearly what they were—perhaps fish, very large fish.
But could fish make such sounds? Heart-wrenching? Almost piercing through a person’s eardrum?
Wait, isn’t that sound… “It’s the thing from the water earlier!” I shouted in disbelief.
Everyone stared at me blankly, and two of them couldn’t bear it any longer, covering their ears and rolling on the ground in agony. Third Granduncle Master immediately commanded, “Quick! Everyone block your ears!”
Only then did they snap out of it, hurriedly searching for anything to plug their ears with. Those who couldn’t find anything simply tore off a piece of their sleeve and stuffed it into their ear canals.
The thing in the water was swift; she was a tyrant there. In just a blink of an eye, several of them were right before our eyes.
My goodness! I hardly knew how to describe such a creature! A mermaid? No, no! Absolutely not! A Millennium Serpent Demon? No, no, that’s not it either! A human?! Unless I was blind.
Oh dear! It’s just my fault for being uneducated and ignorant; I couldn’t even find an appropriate comparison. I could only describe her plainly—her face looked like that of a thousand-year-old Gan Shi drained of blood and essence, with deep grooves etched into her skin, prominent cheekbones, sharp teeth protruding, eyes yellow like amber with pupils like darts. My goodness, when I locked eyes with her, I felt as if my very soul was being drawn away… I could only try my best not to look at those two beads…
Her hair was longer than that of an ordinary woman—no! It seemed she could control its length freely. It was dark and dull like a millipede crawling out from underground. Her hairline was high and even somewhat receding, yet her hair was so thick… I truly couldn’t describe it further or explain it at all.
As they continued onward, the body connected to her neck transformed into a massive flesh serpent, adorned with hard, dense scales. Its enormous, powerful tail thrashed through the water, leaping miles at a time. It evoked memories of Bai Suzhen in her incomplete human form—her head atop a serpent's body! Yet, how could this creature's face compare to that of Bai Niang Niang? One was a stunning beauty, breathtakingly exquisite, while the other resembled a repulsive insect; even a glance felt like it would shorten one's lifespan.
Of course, the most grotesque feature was not the face but the hands that grew from either side of its body. Those were unmistakably feminine hands, delicate fingers like finely sliced scallions, as if all the creature's good flesh had grown into its hands. However, these hands were far from normal; one side bore a long string of appendages resembling centipede legs.
"My goodness! What on earth is that?!" someone stammered, their teeth chattering as the flashlight flickered ominously in the boundless darkness, heightening the atmosphere of terror.
The sound of crashing waves echoed across the water's surface, each wave louder than the last, as countless tentacled monsters surged from the western riverbank. The group instinctively recoiled, but their bodies felt stiff and their tongues numb; they couldn't run fast or even scream. Damn it! It felt like waiting to die!
At that moment, the Yellow Witch calmly stated, "This creature is called Shui Lai Tou. It is the offspring of the Water Centipede and Dihuang Python. Having fed on human brains for years, it has gradually taken on a humanoid form and holds grudges. It's definitely here for revenge! Everyone retreat; do not enter the water! This creature only hunts in water!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stepped back but kept their eyes fixed on Shui Lai Tou, ready to react if anything changed.
I couldn't comprehend what madness possessed me at such a life-and-death moment; I suddenly recalled the Yellow Witch's earlier criticisms of me. Now that Shui Lai Tou had appeared as my testimony, wasn't that a slap in her face? But seeing her smug expression made it clear she believed she had achieved something significant at this moment. She seemed to have completely forgotten (or deliberately ignored) her earlier harsh words directed at me. Meanwhile, everyone else was so terrified by Shui Lai Tou that they couldn't care less about our previous argument—who was right or wrong?
I am not typically one to hold grudges, but today, seeing the Yellow Witch's demeanor ignited a fire within me. If I didn't clarify our dispute now, I felt I would be consumed by that blazing inferno!
Yet as a man, I knew arguments should be conducted with dignity; I couldn't act like a shrew scolding in the streets. Raising my chin slightly, I said, "Is this what you Min Nan women are like too?"
The Yellow Witch seemed to have anticipated my retort; she had prepared her response and remained calm. "We Min Nan women are certainly not like this." She raised her voice as if afraid someone might miss her point. "I know you were upset when I refuted your argument earlier. However, you have serious biases against women. I was merely stating facts on behalf of us women and not intentionally targeting you. Moreover, your arguments are fundamentally flawed. If you had described its head, serpent body, and centipede-like hands earlier, how could I not have guessed this was Shui Lai Tou?"
Just then, one of the Shui Lai Tous in the river let out a shriek in response and sprayed water all over me as if blaming me for nearly tarnishing its name.
What a foolish creature! Ugly and stupid!
I shot a glare at her, my heart burning with anger as I retorted to the Yellow Witch, “Why should I have a bias against women? I’m just speaking the truth, describing what I saw and felt at that moment! If you hear something else in it, that’s your own issue. Don’t blame me for your twisted interpretation!”
“Hmph!” The Yellow Witch huffed, clearly irritated. “If you don’t want anyone to know, then don’t do anything shameful! You know exactly what you’ve done!”
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at me, their expressions reminiscent of those watching Chen Shimei. Liuzi, always eager for drama, came over and patted my shoulder with a smirk. “Hey, Qian Yi! Who would have thought? You look so innocent, but behind the scenes, you’re even more of a rogue than I am!” He leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “You even went after this old hag? Tsk tsk, your taste is really something!”
“Stop talking nonsense!” I pushed him away, feeling utterly confused. This accusation was too outrageous for me to bear. “Huang Fuzi, if you have something to say, say it clearly! Don’t throw around vague accusations!”
The Yellow Witch snapped back, “Fine! This was originally your private matter that I didn’t want to get involved in, but you’ve been pushing too hard and crossing the line. We women are not just here for you to trample on!” She walked over to A Li, lifted her chin with one hand, and pushed aside her collar. Instantly, a large patch of blood-red bruises appeared on her fair skin. Upon closer inspection, the wound had dark edges with fresh blood showing through; it looked like… it had been burned by a cigarette butt.
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