Her clawed fingers pressed gently against his neck. Threatening to slit and bleed Mo Yu to death. He couldn't move nor could he breathe. His entire body locked in fear. Behind him, the stranger snarled through his teeth.
"Hang on!"
The blade screamed through the air once more. A silver arc of light tore through the darkness as the stranger leapt towards them, slicing at the shadow tendrils binding Mo Yu.
But the spirit was faster, dodging the energy wave shot at her, she released Mo Yu and vanished, her figure disintegrating into smoke, then - instantly reappearing above them, floating midair with her red umbrella.
Its red fabric stretched, distorting and swelling into a massive disc that cast a blood-soaked glow over the alley. The shadows lengthened again, this time twisting downward like black rain. The now hardened tendrils, filled with thorn, slammed between Mo Yu and the stranger. Weapons clattered from their hands.
Then –
* Drip.* Drip.* Drip.
From under the umbrella, sharp crimson droplets began to fall.
"You refused me?"Her voice echoed—warped, layered like ten people whispering in sync.
"Since you're no different…I'll take your name instead."
She raised one hand and then, hundreds of sharp objects—nails, scissors, pens, needles, broken mirror shards—rose around them, aiming in perfect synchrony. Shooting towards the duo like bullets, shadows hissed, and Mo Yu's breath was caught. Just as the projectiles lunged,
"好, 我答应你, 我答应你!" 墨玉喊道.
"Fine! I accept! I accept!" Mo Yu screamed.
Everything stopped.
The bulleted shards stopped in place, inches away from their death. Slowly, they crumbled in ash, dissolving into thin air.
Reappearing between Mo Yu and the stranger, the ghost wore a wide grin. she asked,
"真的?""Really?" she asked, tilting her head.
"真的, 我们答应你," 墨玉再次强道.
"Really. We'll help you," Mo Yu repeated, firmer now.
同时,他看到了陌生人那威胁及愤怒的眼神, 带着一点点的疑惑,仿佛在心理质问他,到底在干嘛,. 墨玉摆了一个: ' '我有分寸.别吵' 的样子,安抚了陌生人, 然后继续说道:
"您这仇,得报,必须报. 您就放心,包在我们身上. 保证这群禽兽必死,而且死得无葬身之地."
The ghost girl's smile remained—but her eyes narrowed.
"好狂妄的一句话呀, 你就怎么自信, 自己能够杀掉一个活? 且不还能不留痕迹?" 幽女质问道.
Mo Yu faltered. : shit.
突如其来的质疑使得墨玉,不知所措. 转头看着陌生人,明显的想向他求助. 然而,陌生人并未做出他的请求, 甚至连一举一动都没有,只是呆在哪,看着墨玉.
被气到想掐死他的墨玉,骂骂咧咧的在心里道: 屌你阿妈㞓, 你望㞗住我做乜杘, 講嘢啦大佬!
"看来你这情人...不行呀, 哈哈哈哈哈哈" 幽女笑道.
幽女句子里的"情人"瞬间引起了双人的注意.
"他不是——!"
"我们不是——!"
They both started at once. Voices overlapping, eyes wide. 两人争吵着, 想要澄清幽女,不知从哪只眼睛看出"情侣"的意义.但在要反驳的那一刹那, 幽女懒洋洋地举起了手又道:
"好啦~,他不帮你,我来帮.反正这忙本来就是我要求的."
Closing the umbrella with a smooth twist, she held it by the handle. Then, with sudden force, she slammed the tip of it onto the ground.
* Crack.
The impact sent a ripple through the air. The ground beneath them fractured like glass. Tendrils seeped from the cracks, spiderwebbing outwards. The glow of her umbrella pulsed once, and from her outstretched palm, objects began to manifest. One after another, drawn from within the cracks,
A rusted Silver Chinese Hairpin, trailing black hair like smoke.
A folded Bloodstained School Page, edges burned to ash.
A flickering Talisman — its ink crawling like worms.
And finally,
A thin, pulsing Red Thread, coiling in midair towards Mo Yu's wrist.
She offered them wordlessly. Only her voice, cold and exact, followed:
"既然你们答应了,就拿着这些."
"这发簪能引出罪人的魂,纸会告诉你他们藏在哪里,符咒能让你暂时看见真相."
Her eyes fell on Mo Yu last and with a wave of her hand, she said.
"这根线...是你我之间的命.你不能断它.当然,你尽可试试看,后果是如何我可不敢担保."
The red thread floated forward on its own, wrapping itself around his wrist just nicely, a perfect fit, as if made specifically for Mo Yu.
"你听得见吗?"
Mo Yu blinked.
The voice wasn't in the air. It was inside him, through the thread, it pulsed softly, like a heartbeat in his skin.
He nodded slowly.
Then, her lips curled into a grin, one that wasn't friendly, nor kind. But satisfied.
She lifted her red umbrella again, this time more gently, and let it hang loosely from her shoulder. The air around her shimmered as if the rain were falling in reverse.
Her pale hand extended once more, this time towards the stranger.
"你们要复仇,就不能空手上路."
Her fingers twitched—then spread wide.
From her palm, a weapon began to form, drawn from shadow and sorrow. First came the handle, wrapped in faded red cloth. Then the blade—curved, thin, and jagged—like a splinter from a cursed guzheng string. The metal rippled with trapped reflections, as though it remembered every face it had struck.
When fully formed, she gripped it once and passed it to the stranger.
"这是他们留下的痛苦.它只对有罪之人出鞘."
The stranger stared at it for a moment—expression unreadable—but accepted it. Then the ghost girl turned back to Mo Yu. The ghost girl didn't speak.She simply looked at him. Then, slowly, she crouched.
Her hand pressed against the floor—pale fingers sinking into the fractured concrete. From beneath her palm, something rusted and curved emerged, drawn not from metal, but memory. A pair of scissors.
Old. Heavy. Stained.
The tips were blunted from age, but the inner blades, still sharp. Rust traced along the hinges like dried blood. The handles were smeared with something darker, something that time hadn't washed away.
She lifted them gently, almost reverently. Then placed them into Mo Yu's hands.
"这把剪刀...他们用来剪碎我的衣服."
"现在,我把它交给你."
He stared at the weapon—if it could be called that. For some reason, It felt heavier than a sword. The metal hummed under his fingertips, alive with every scream it had heard. A phantom heat clung to it, as if the ghosts of pain still breathed through the handle. Showing an " that's unfair" face to the ghost girl, Mo Yu pouted. She replied with a faint smile, a smile shown towards a child who is oblivious to the real world.
"不是每一把武器都是用来杀人的."
"有些,是用来切断回忆的."
Mo Yu's jaw tightened. He nodded. The space behind his eyes flickered and the system spoke.
★★★ Mission – 殯雨之追問 (The Funeral Rain's Inquiry)
Mission Accepted: Aid the Umbrella Maiden in delivering justice.Tools Received:– Ghost-Touched Scissors (Severs guilt-bound threads)– Umbrella Maiden's Hairpin (Reveals the aura of the guilty)– Red Thread of Communion (Allows Mo Yu to speak to the ghost across realms)
– School's Tainted Secrets (Provides users location of the guilty)
– Crimson-Tethered Talisman (A fading seal that exposes corrupted truths when burned. Single use)
– Phantom Blade of Suffering (A curved relic blade made from spirit string and grievance iron. Only harms those who've committed soul-deep sins)
>Hidden Condition: At least one player must survive>Reward: 800 Wen>Reward Failure: Your Soul Will Be Devoured
>Time Limit: 89:59:59:59
The ghost girl turned to face them one last time. Her voice was soft, less an echo now, more like wind passing through the ribs of something long buried.
"你们该走了.时辰到了."
She turned. The red umbrella opened over her head one final time.
"等一下!"
"你叫什么名字?"
Realising that the ghost girl's name was still unknown, Mo Yu shouted instantly, but the shadows only stirred slightly in response. There was no answer, the umbrella was gone and so was she.
He exhaled sharply. The stranger hadn't moved. Trying to break the awkward tension between them, Mo Yu turned to him slowly.
"嘿,我还不知道你的名字.我是——"
"墨玉."
He never finished the sentence.