I didn't dare look back until I'd sprinted out of the alley. The dark, gaping mouth of the lane revealed nothing.
Xiang Lili's voice didn't sound again.
Standing at the alley entrance, I still didn't feel safe. I took a few more steps back. Just as I moved, a sudden, icy gust of wind blew out from the alley, making my hair stand on end. I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself, shivering violently.
I didn't dare linger at the alley mouth any longer. I turned and bolted towards the streetlight. But as I instinctively glanced up at the lamp, I saw a naked woman hanging upside down from it. Her movements were agile, monkey-like, but her face was unmistakably Xiang Lili's.
"Ah!"
I froze in terror for a split second. When I looked back at the streetlight, there was nothing there.
I swallowed hard and hurried forward. I felt only by putting as much distance as possible between me and my home would I be safe. But after a few steps, I felt a chilling coldness on my shoulder. Instinctively, I looked down and saw a pale, ghostly hand resting there.
I jolted with fright, whipping my head around to look behind me – nothing. When I looked back at my shoulder, the hand was gone too.
What's happening to me? Have I already been ensnared by a ghost?
Taking a deep breath, I tried to keep walking. But when I tried to lift my foot, it felt rooted to the ground.
My legs felt as if they were weighed down by ten thousand pounds. No matter how hard I strained, I couldn't lift them.
Suddenly, I remembered a story my grandfather had told me.
He said there was a small town in the northeast with a railway track leading deep into the mountains, used to transport timber. One day, two brothers from the town decided to test their courage. They stood on the tracks, betting on who would be the last to jump off when the train came. The one who jumped first would be the coward and have to marry the ugliest girl in the village.
Later, the train came, blaring its horn. The brothers stood there sweating, locked in their standoff. As the train got closer, the elder brother couldn't hold out anymore and jumped off the tracks.
After jumping, he admitted defeat and shouted at his younger brother to get off too. But the younger brother burst into tears. He said his legs wouldn't move; he couldn't take a single step. The elder brother tried to pull him, but it was too late. The train slammed on its emergency brakes, but not in time. The younger brother was cut in two by the train…
The elder brother, terrified, ran back to the village for help. There, he learned that the ugliest girl in the village had hanged herself at home the day before. The reason? The younger brother had mocked her viciously the previous day, saying things that deeply wounded her pride.
After that, rumors spread in the village. The younger brother couldn't move on the tracks because he was carrying a ghost on his back – the ghost of that ugly village girl.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but wonder: Could there be a ghost on my back too?
I didn't dare look back. I kept straining to lift my legs, but they felt glued to the pavement, utterly immobile. Panic instantly broke me out in a cold sweat.
Despite sweating profusely, I didn't feel hot. Instead, I felt chilled to the bone, especially on my back.
Could that hand on my shoulder have been the ghost climbing onto my back? The prelude to making me carry her?
My mind was already convinced. If I was truly carrying a ghost, it must be Xiang Lili.
I desperately tried to recall any methods my grandfather had taught me for dealing with a ghost on your back. What was it?
I've already sealed my forehead's fate palace, I thought, so it can't possess me or control my mind. That's why it's hanging on my back. Is it making me unable to move because it wants me to stay?
No time to dwell on that now. Did Grandpa ever mention a way to handle this?
My thoughts raced. Suddenly, I remembered the little rhyme Grandpa recited after finishing the "Courage Test" story: "When a ghost hangs on your back, scratch your throat till it cracks. Once the ghost falls and goes, never turn where it goes."
That was roughly it. When a ghost hangs on a person's back, it usually wraps its arms around their neck. If a ghost gets on your back, you need to frantically scratch your own throat. This scrapes off the ghost's hands. Once its hands are gone, it falls off. If you can move again, you must flee immediately. Absolutely do not look back.
Thinking of this, I immediately started scratching my neck. As I scratched, I felt an icy coldness on my throat, but strangely, I couldn't feel the touch of my own fingers.
My neck seemed to have gone numb.
This…
My alarm grew. Am I really going to get played to death by a ghost right here on the street?
No time to overthink. I scratched desperately with both hands. After a while, I faintly sensed a bit of warmth returning to my neck. Then, I could finally feel the scrape of my fingernails.
Progress!
A tiny sliver of relief washed over me. I kept scratching furiously, while periodically trying to lift my legs to see if I could move.
Standing there scratching my neck like a madman, passersby probably thought I was insane. They all shot me strange looks.
Forget scratching my neck now; even if I had to strip naked on the street, I'd probably do it.
I scratched and scratched. Suddenly, my legs felt lighter. I was just straining to lift one when the resistance vanished. Thrown off balance by my own force, I lurched forward.
Thud!
Completely unprepared, I face-planted onto the asphalt. Thankfully, the road outside my alley wasn't busy. Few people, few cars.
As I looked around, I realized… there was no one around anymore. The street had become eerily deserted. Moments ago, people were mocking my scratching. Now, the entire road held only me.
I couldn't find a single mocking face. Worse than embarrassment was the pure terror gripping me…
After falling, I instinctively glanced behind me. There she was – Xiang Lili, naked, crawling on the ground, staring straight at me. Her deathly pale hand was slowly reaching out… aiming for my ankle.
I wasn't about to give her that chance. I scrambled to my feet and took off running. Ahead was a main road. If I could reach it, with its crowds and traffic, I wouldn't be so scared.
I ran, constantly looking back over my shoulder. In my panic, I'd completely forgotten the second half of Grandpa's rhyme – "Once the ghost falls and goes, never turn where it goes!"
I didn't know the consequences of looking back. Grandpa hadn't told me. But it was too late now. The damage was done.
Worse, every time I looked back, I saw Xiang Lili right behind me. Naked, slithering like a snake down the road, incredibly fast, always just two or three meters away.
Damn it! I cursed inwardly. I didn't kill you! Why the hell are you following me?!
Finally, I reached the small T-junction and turned right onto the main road. I kept sprinting. When I looked back again, Xiang Lili was gone.
I still didn't dare stop. I ran until my lungs screamed, then finally staggered to a halt, gasping for air while frantically scanning behind me. No sign of Xiang Lili. I must have shaken her off.
I rested a bit longer. Still no pursuit. My pounding heart finally began to slow.
What's going on? Why is Xiang Lili fixated on me? Her death has nothing to do with me!
My house is haunted. Does that mean I can never go back?
This thought brought Wang Junhui back to mind. I quickly pulled out my phone and called him. He answered almost immediately.
"I knew you'd call," he said. "Changed your mind?" He assumed I was ready to take him up on his offer.
I gave a bitter laugh. "Forget that for now. I've got more trouble."
I quickly summarized the night's events over the phone. When I finished, he paused, then said, "Why didn't you divine your own fortune? Check your luck?"
I sighed. "Not that I didn't want to, I can't. It's a rule in our tradition. We never divine for ourselves. It brings relentless bad luck."
Cutting off whatever he might say next, I asked him what I should do.
Wang Junhui thought for a moment. "I'm not in the city. Back in two days. Look, head into the city center now. Stay there for a couple of days. You can't stay in the county town. When I get back, I'll go with you to deal with whatever's in your house."
Going to the city was exactly what I had in mind. I readily agreed. "But what about tonight?" I pressed. "What if that female ghost comes back? What do I do?"
Wang Junhui advised, "Take a taxi to the city. It'll cost a hundred or two. Now's not the time to be stingy. Once you leave the county town, that ghost won't be able to follow you. She's a new ghost. She can't go far from where she died."
A cheap hostel cost 20 bucks a night. A taxi cost a hundred or two. I hesitated briefly, but quickly made up my mind. Compared to the sting of spending money, I was far more terrified of Xiang Lili catching up.
These past few days, encountering ghosts one after another… it made me seriously doubt my own fortune. Am I in a streak of bad luck? Or is this divine punishment for telling fortunes too often, saying too much? Is Heaven punishing me?
I recalled my grandfather saying that fortune-telling also depended on fateful opportunity. Those who seek a reading come with that opportunity; they can be told. But people you encounter by chance, if you insist on telling their fortunes unprompted – that's not fateful opportunity. Revealing too much leaks divine secrets and invites disaster.
Could Grandpa's warning be coming true for me? These past few days, I've been telling fortunes for everyone I met! And none of them were seekers! I even gave free readings to those fortune-tellers by the Minxin River!
If that's the case… my current predicament is entirely brought on myself?!