"Remember, don't tell anyone you've seen me."
I glanced back once more at the small mud hut halfway up the mountain. Granny Zinian had warned me three times before she left—not to mention her presence here to anyone.
I just felt that she and the blind old couple were alike: both kept to themselves, and both seemed afraid their whereabouts might be exposed.
I walked down the stairs. I already knew how to find the source. Just as I was about to reach the edge of the village, I looked back again—and was stunned. There was no sign of any hut halfway up the mountain.
Thinking back carefully, I hadn’t seen any house when I first arrived either.
Back in the car, I took out the small cloth pouch Granny Zinian had just given me. Next, I’d have to head back to the county to prepare a few things, and then wait until 4 a.m. tomorrow before I could set out.
The car had barely driven a short distance when my phone rang. I answered right away—it was Hugh Thompson calling.
"Ethan, we've found the body—Sophie Su’s remains were in an underground river over ten kilometers outside the city. She’s already been placed in an urn, and Sophie’s coming with me. How’s everything on your end? We should arrive around eight tonight—let’s eat together."
"Got it, Hugh. Are you okay? Why come in person?"
"Everything’s pretty much set up. Only five days until the Feast of Ten Thousand Ghosts. I’m hanging up now—I need to head out of town."
After entering the county, I headed straight for the market, bought a huge fish weighing over ten jin, and went to a restaurant. I paid the owner to marinate the fish, planning to have it sliced and stir-fried later. Then, under the owner's puzzled gaze, I took out the fish eyes, smiled, and left with them.
After that, I bought some tools and rented a hotel room. As soon as I entered, I put the fish eyes into a small jar and started grinding them with a little iron pestle. Instantly, the room was filled with a strong fishy smell.
I could barely stand the stench. Granny Zinian once said that animal eyes often see more than human ones, so you need special eyeballs to make a kind of spirit water. I still don’t know what she put in the small pouch she gave me.
The fish eyes had to be thoroughly crushed. It was simple enough—just crush them, add the powder from the pouch, then pour in boiling water. The amount couldn’t be too much or too little, exactly three liang and three fen.
After working for quite a while, I measured exactly three liang and three fen of boiling water in a test tube, poured it in, and stirred with a chopstick. The liquid was milky white with a yellow tinge, and aside from the fishy smell, it didn’t have any other obvious odor.
Once I finished, I poured the liquid into a small glass bottle, took off my clothes, and started running the bath. The final step was to soak the bottle in the bathwater, then fish it out when I was ready.
Luckily, this hotel had a bathtub. I filled it to the brim and took a comfortable bath, waiting for Hugh Thompson to arrive.
At 8:11, I got a call from Hugh Thompson—they’d arrived. I went to a restaurant downstairs and asked the owner to start cooking. It wasn’t until 8:43 that I saw Hugh’s car pull up. Sophie Su was with him, holding an urn, her face grave.
“Sophie, have you remembered anything? What exactly happened back then?”
I asked, but Sophie Su just shook her head.
“Qingyuan, I really can’t remember. It’s just... this place feels so familiar.” Sophie Su said, resting her head on the table.
“Can ghosts lose their memories too?”
Hugh Thompson gave a small smile.
“We wouldn’t have found her body this time if it weren’t for your family’s Spirit-Eating Ghost, Hong Shi.”
As Hugh spoke, he picked up some food. We sat upstairs, in a room by the window, a table full of dishes slowly filling the space.
“Old Mr. Wei said it’s probably because she experienced something terrifying before she died. It’s normal she can’t remember—maybe…”
Hugh had just started to speak when, suddenly, Sophie Su’s face twisted in pain. She clutched her mouth and floated upward. There was a gurgling sound—water. Drops began to fall from her body, her expression twisted in agony, legs kicking as if she were drowning.
“What’s happening?”
“Sigh, she’s been made a ghost’s substitute. This is the twenty-seventh time—it keeps happening, forcing her to relive the pain of her death over and over.”
Watching Sophie Su suffer like that tore at my heart. After a few minutes, she finally collapsed to the floor, sobbing. I went over and helped her up.
“Qingyuan, help me, help me, I feel awful... it hurts so much...”
I clenched my fists and stared out the window.
“Sophie, do you really not remember? You have a father, Peter Su, and a teacher, Mandy Lou.”
But Sophie Su shook her head, unable to recall anything.
Then I asked what was going on—Sophie had never been like this before. Hugh Thompson explained it was because of the ghost domain formed by Yin Choujian; inside it, Sophie isn’t tormented. When the domain first appeared, it drew all the earth’s energy in, which is why Sophie entered the apartment building that gloomy day.
After dinner, I explained our plan to Hugh in detail. He smiled.
“Qingyuan, if I hadn’t come, you’d probably have a headache dealing with all this mess.”
I nodded. Granny Zinian had taught me about the five elements, all to help me find the source of Stagnant River.
I’d gone over it several times today before I finally memorized it. Luckily, Hugh made it in time.
We placed Sophie Su’s urn in a cabinet at the hotel, then Hugh and I lay down, planning to rest until two-thirty.
Granny Zinian said the best time is exactly four o’clock, when the rooster crows. Ghosts below the level of Spirit-Eating Ghost won’t be active, so we’ll have a chance to find the entrance and maybe solve the problem.
“Qingyuan, I can’t shake the feeling something’s off about all this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Here’s the thing: the ghost-inviting ritual that Niu Quanfa learned as a kid—I Know Where You Are—I know the process well. I used to be his instructor, and he mentioned it before. With these rituals, you’re supposed to invite the ghost and then send it away when the game ends. You can’t back out midway. But this game only has a way to invite the ghost, not a way to send it back.”
I sat up abruptly. He was right.
“Could it be?”
“Get some sleep, Qingyuan. You’ll need energy later. By the way, where did you learn that method for finding the source?”
“Sorry, Hugh. I made a promise—I can’t tell anyone.”
I barely slept the whole night. In the end, I just sat up, because not long after, Sophie Su began to moan in pain in the bathroom—again and again, reliving those final seconds of death.
Finally, I understood why the Shadow kept looking for substitutes instead of moving on.
“Qingyuan, why don’t you book another room and get some sleep? It’s only a little after midnight.”
I shook my head.
“You get some sleep, Hugh.”
Hugh sat up, lit a cigarette, and went to brew some tea. I stayed in the bathroom, comforting Sophie Su.
“It’s all right. Once this is over, we’ll go home. You won’t feel bad anymore.”
Sophie Su looked at me through tear-filled eyes, then collapsed into my arms, crying her heart out.
Finally, at two-thirty, we went downstairs. Sophie was still tormented by the pain of her death. I took out the bottle of liquid, and Hugh drove us quickly toward Stagnant River.
It was pitch black outside, not a single light. At three o’clock, we arrived. Hugh took off his shoes and stepped into the water, focusing his mind.
“This place is a mess. If you look at it from a geomantic perspective, it’s completely chaotic—you can’t tell east from west, north from south.” Hugh showed me a small compass; the needle spun wildly inside.
“Not bad, Qingyuan. Your method should work.”
Finally, at 3:40, Hugh got ready. I held the bottle of liquid, eyes wide. Hugh firmly poured it onto his eye, then closed them.
“How does it feel?” I asked.
Hugh calmly gave me a thumbs up.
“It’s fine—nothing I can’t handle.”
I grunted, held my eyelid open, and poured the liquid into one of my eyes.
“Ah—my eye!”
I cried out—the burning, stinging pain was intense. I squatted on the ground, clutching my eye. After a while, I got used to it. Hugh was laughing, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Hurry up, Qingyuan. I need to use that method.”
I blinked, held open my other eye, and reluctantly poured the liquid in. Instantly, that feeling of wanting to die came back.
Hugh pressed his palms together, extended two fingers, and half-squatted in the river.
“East is wood, west is metal, north is water, south is fire—set…”
Suddenly, as Hugh spoke, he tossed one prepared stick after another, planting them in the water at the four sides.
“Stream water, river water, lake water, sea water—four waters all flow, ha…”
As Hugh said this, he grabbed the compass and half-knelt on the ground.
“Qingyuan, come here!”
I rushed over and saw the compass needle pointing south, but realized we were actually on the north side.
“Due south is the passage—it connects people and ghosts, everything flows through… Qingyuan, follow me. Don’t trust your own eyes.”