701 Preparation
“A figurine?” Han Fei knelt beside the bed to observe it. The figurine had a human face but a scaly body. The scales on its back rippled like waves.
“Is this the figurine of the Lake God mentioned by the old lady? But isn’t this supposed to be at the bottom of the lake with the orphan?” The lifeguard was curious. He moved forward but was stopped by Han Fei.
“Don’t move.” Han Fei removed a leg from the chair and knocked it against the figurine. Murky water flowed out of the figurine about one meter tall. A black bug with eight slender legs crawled out of the open mouth. It looked like a water spider but was much larger in size. Its stomach also had the pattern of a human face. It looked like a drowned victim screaming.
“Rest in Peace.” Han Fei sliced the bug into halves. Its eight legs twitched before the creature dissolved into rotting water. “The bigger the sin, the sharper my knife. This bug might look small, but it has killed at least two people already.” Han Fei’s method of discerning an object’s danger level was very simple. He would cut it and look at how deep the cut was. The lifeguard retreated in fear. If Han Fei didn’t stop him, the black bug would have crawled into his sleeves already. The cat meowed as it jumped out of Han Fei’s backpack and knelt beside the figurine. Its paw grabbed the figurine’s feet. The nine patterns on its body seemed to join with the figurine. Black water oozed out of the figurine to be absorbed by the tattoo.
About 10 seconds later, black water spiders fell out of the figurine’s nose and mouth. Their bodies were shrunken, and their eight legs curled together. The patterns on their stomachs faded away like they had been dried. Seeing the dead water spiders, Yan Yue and the lifeguard shivered. They didn’t imagine such a large group of poisonous bugs would hide inside the small figurine.
“Big Sin and Nine Lives are hiding inside my ghost tattoo. Nine Lives is prowling about in the form of a kitten. However, Big Sin is still trapped. However, it shall be able to come out after it absorbs enough energy.” Han Fei could sense the calling in the ghost tattoo getting strong. Han Fei picked up the figurine. It was only one meter tall, but it was quite heavy.
“Han Fei, we better don’t touch the things here just in case we’re sucked into them.” The lifeguard reminded him. “When I was still on my post, we heard many stories happening on the water. If you want to live, you better don’t mind these businesses.”
“Even if we don’t mind these businesses, they will come to disturb us.” Han Fei glanced out the half-open window. Outside the window was the lake. A small piece of the bloody fish scale was stuck on the windowsill. “Has the boss here turned into a fish monster? Or the fish monster turned into the boss?”
Han Fei rummaged the room and found a diary inside a hidden compartment under the study table. The front half recorded evidence of the vacation town boss swindling money and doing half-hearted projects, while the latter half contained some strange entries.
“1st November. The greedy and cowardly CEO Jia has changed. He never cared about the nearby citizens, but today, he came to find me. He wanted me to gather everyone to worship the Lake God. Is it raining blood today?”
“2nd November. It looks like I was too prejudiced against the city people. Even though CEO Jia is normally quite stingy, he is quite reliable at crucial moments. The ceremony this time is much larger than before. We’ll definitely have a good year ahead.”
“10th November. CEO Jia is being so generous, so what if I have to wait for a few more days? If he is willing to pay me money, it’s not impossible for me to ruin those accounts.”
“14th November. Something is wrong! He is not worshipping the Lake God. He is encasing his child’s carcass inside the figurine. What is that madman doing?”
“15th November. Who is CEO Jia? Why would his wife say that he had died a long time ago? Why do I keep having this nightmare that CEO Jia has morphed into a big fish and drags me underwater?”
“16th November. Are those dreams real? Why are there scales on my arms?”
“18th November. The worship ceremony is tomorrow. It feels like everyone has gone insane! Can’t they notice the strange events around town?”
“19th November. It’s all over! The whole boat of people died in the lake. Even the Lake God figurine left behind by our ancestors has sunk into the lake. The land deity is responsible for penance, and the water deity is responsible for stopping the tragedy. Tragedy will spread this time!
“The only solution now is to find another orphan to send the figurine submerged inside the water well at the old residence to the central island of the lake and complete the ritual. But where can I find a willing orphan? Everyone nearby knows about this, and no one dares to go there at night anymore. This is all because of greed. I’ve failed my ancestors!”
“22nd November. CEO Jia’s body has been found. The police said the man planned to kill the entire village to revive his child. He poisoned the ceremony. That would explain the nightmares I was having those few days.”
“25th November. Why? Why? Things have ended so many days already. Why am I still having that dream? More scales grow on my body, and the nightmare is becoming real!”
“I can’t fall asleep, or I’ll wake up at the bottom of the lake!”
“1st December. I saw it! They are all at the bottom of the lake. There is no palace of the Lake God but a massive watery grave.”
“2nd December. I need to pull off all these scales. It’s so painful! Who can save me? Who can save us?”
“4th December. We need to deliver the figurine! It is on the central island!”
The rest of the entry was written in incoherent symbols. It was like the writer had forgotten how to write by this point. “It looks like the only solution is to ascend the island at midnight and repeat the worship ceremony.” Han Fei kept the diary inside his backpack. He had the lifeguard carry the figurine. The three searched through the boat rental center but they found no one.
“Come on. Let’s inspect the other places.” The three just left the center when they heard the taxi starting. The vehicle rushed through the darkness to hit something.
“Did Lee Guo Er run into danger?” Han Fei immediately rushed toward the taxi. The black taxi stopped beside the spa hotel. The front of the taxi was dented, and fish scales stuck to it.
“Are you alright?” Han Fei glanced inside the car and realized his worry was unfounded. When Lee Guo Er spotted the monster, she didn’t run away but used the car to run into the creature.
“After you left, I felt there was something outside the car. There was water on the windscreen like it was raining.”
“Did you see the monster?”
“It looks like a human.” Lee Guo Er said calmly. “His clothes are all wet like he just came out of the water. He kept trying to get into the car. He even mimicked your voices.” Someone else would be frightened to death, but Lee Guo Er handled it perfectly.
“Where did the body land?”
“In the hotel.”
Han Fei took out Rest in Peace and headed to the spa hotel. He pushed open the rusted gate, and melodious music drifted out. There was someone playing classical music on the third floor of the hotel. The unknown song had a hypnotic effect. Han Fei looked around. The yard was grown with flowers. The owner must have used some kind of special fertilizer because all the plants looked vibrant. As he walked forward, the classical music changed. It was mixed with the sound of descaling and meat-sawing.
The monster that was knocked into the hotel was gone. Han Fei only saw the rippling on the pond in the yard.
“Is this pond connected to the lake? It looks quite deep.” The lifeguard was very scared. He was a good swimmer, but he was afraid of all the bodies of water there.
“We shan’t separate when we explore the hotel.” Han Fei led them through the yard and entered the hotel. The lanterns above the door glowed weakly. The hotel had a classical design style. For some reason, it looked like a classical coffin house.
“Is anyone here?” The candles at the counter were lit. A yellow calendar hung on the wall. A small altar was built at the corner of the long corridor, but the figurine inside was missing.
“The date for today is marked out on the calendar. Normally speaking, today is the first day of fishing. After worshiping the Lake God, everyone will go out to fish. Tonight is a celebratory night.” The lifeguard took down the calendar. He was quite familiar with these fishing villages’ culture.
“I don’t think any living humans will be celebrating tonight, but perhaps the dead will.” Han Fei just said that when coughing came from the second floor. A door slowly opened. It creaked, and a faint fishy smell flowed down from upstairs. The water dripped. The classical music suddenly stopped. Everyone stared at the staircase.
A strange sound came from the wooden staircase. Someone was coming down. However, it didn’t sound like footsteps but more like a fish slithering down the steps.
The sound came closer, and Han Fei’s heart rose. As he was about to pull on the red strings, a fully-covered old man walked out of the shadow.
“Are you here to stay the night?” The old man was similar to the old lady from the seafood restaurant. His body was all covered except for his eyes.
“Sir, why are you wearing so many layers? The weather is not that cold.” Han Fei stared at the old man’s legs. The old man wore a pair of loose pants that covered his legs. However, he would leave behind a trail of water whenever he passed.
“It’s my old age. I get the cold easily.” The old man moved behind the counter. “It costs 50 to stay here per night. This is the map of the hotel. You can pick any room you want other than the rooms near the lake. After you pick your room, stay in it until dawn.”
After the old man walked behind the counter and was thus cornered, Han Fei’s eyes changed. He had gained all the info he needed. He didn’t want to waste any more time. “Sir, let’s be frank.”
Han Fei leaped into the counter to block the old man’s only exit.
“What do you mean?”
The brilliant light shone before the old man. Han Fei stared at the old man’s face. “Remove your headscarf. I’m here to help you solve your problem. I hope you can cooperate with me.” The old man’s arms inside his sleeves trembled. He could hear the determination in Han Fei’s words. If he didn’t cooperate, he would die.
After some hesitation, the old man sighed and removed his headscarf. Pieces of fish scales fell to the ground. The old man revealed his ghastly face. He had eaten much fish in his life, but he didn’t expect one day he’d have a fish face.
“I was afraid of scaring you…”
“Is everyone here like you?” Han Fei was already expecting this, so he wasn’t that shocked.
“I don’t know.” The old man shook his head. “We’re cursed by the Lake God. This is our fault. We deserve to be punished.”
“You did worship the Lake God in the past. But you worshipped something else near the end. That thing is not a God. It is a monster who feeds on humans.” Han Fei’s words spooked the old man. “My hands can touch souls. When you walked past, I checked your soul. Despite your appearance, you still have a human soul. I can save you and everyone else, but you need to tell me everything that has happened here.”
The old man stared at the knife Han Fei held. It didn’t seem like he had a choice.
The old man’s name was Guan Miao. He was the village leader and CEO Jia’s partner. By now, almost 80 percent of the village was missing. He lived in intense guilt. He would always dream that he was under the lake where the endless villagers were waiting.
In the past, his physique was normal. However, after having that dream, his body started to grow scales. It was like the dream was affecting real life. Guan Miao helped Han Fei confirm the content of the diary. To destroy the ritual, the only way was to get on the island because the real ritual was held on the island.
Other than that, Guan Miao revealed another piece of info for Han Fei. There was a real Lake God living in the lake.
“Han Fei, you better don’t trust them so easily.” The lifeguard persuaded Han Fei. He knew how dangerous it was to get on the island at this moment.
“I understand we need a thorough plan, but we’re short on time.” Han Fei used Soul-depth Touch and ensured that the old man wasn’t lying. He asked Guan Miao to gather all the ‘sane’ villagers so that they could prepare to enter the Sea of Brain.
