Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 328: Chapter 282: The Six-Fingered Handprint

"Six fingers..." This immediately confirmed the identity of the individual to Yang Xiao—it was the Red-clothed Old Ghost from Granny Hong’s Resentful Eye.

Contrary to what Yang Xiao had anticipated, Elder Yang only asked him to return to his room to change his clothes and then accompanied them to the bar where Beibei had gone missing.

"Elder Yang, the red-clothed ghost is still in my room!" Yang Xiao panicked.

"Don’t worry, Captain Yang, it’s not there anymore. You have been cursed and it has latched onto you," Elder Yang looked at Yang Xiao’s left shoulder, "That is, the black handprint on your shoulder."

Yang Xiao pulled down the clothes on his left shoulder but didn’t see any handprint. Ximen Xiu and Da Xiong didn’t see it either. Yang Xiao knew this was one of Elder Yang’s abilities; he could see things that ordinary people couldn’t.

Ximen Xiu and Da Xiong went with Yang Xiao to his room to get his things. Indeed, the figure of "Red" was no longer in the room. They carefully pushed the door open. The bathroom was spotless, with no water in the shower area and no signs that the showerhead had been used, just like the scene of Su Guoxin’s disappearance, without leaving any traces.

Upon hearing Yang Xiao’s account, Ximen Xiu and Da Xiong felt a chill down their spines. Temporarily modifying memories and conjuring up an intimate figure that didn’t exist—the capability was too terrifying. If it had been either of them, they probably would have met the same fate as Su Guoxin.

Just as he had packed away the Drama Robe and slung his backpack on, Yang Xiao was startled, "Su Guoxin has been found?"

At these words, Da Xiong’s face became extremely unsightly, but in the end, it was Ximen Xiu who reluctantly spoke, "He’s been found. Elder Yang led the team. The person was in his house, but invisible to the naked eye. The ghost had created a ’Ghost Hitting the Wall’ illusion, hiding the body inside."

"He’s dead." Yang Xiao felt a tightness in his heart.

Ximen Xiu nodded and exhaled slowly, "The death was gruesome; he was completely dehydrated... he’s become a mummified corpse now."

Like Beibei, Su Guoxin had turned into a mummified corpse, which only increased the worry of Yang Xiao and the others about Beibei’s safety. Leaving the apartment, the group hurried to the bar, where Yu Shu had already received the news and had arrived early to secure the location.

Yang Xiao followed closely behind Elder Yang, who was dressed in a Zhongshan suit. Before they could get close to the bar’s restroom door, they were stopped by a middle-aged man from Elder Yang’s team, "Captain Yang, please wait outside and do not disturb Elder Yang’s work."

Elder Yang entered the bathroom alone and closed the door. After just a few minutes or perhaps even less, the door suddenly opened, and Elder Yang emerged, holding Beibei in his arms.

Seeing that their teammate had not turned into a mummified corpse, Yang Xiao and his colleagues finally relaxed. Yu Shu called in a stretcher that had been prepared in advance and laid Beibei on it. At that moment, Beibei seemed to be without any serious harm, at least with no visible wounds, just smelling strongly of alcohol, as if she were hungover and not yet awake.

"Elder Yang, is she alright?" Concerned there might be lingering effects, Yang Xiao asked.

"She’s fine, just drank too much and fell asleep. You might say fools have their own kind of luck; otherwise, if she were sober and bewitched by Granny Hong, the outcome would likely have been less fortunate." Elder Yang looked at the unconscious Beibei and couldn’t help but laugh, marveling at the child’s good fortune to have escaped such peril intact.

"Will... will that red-clothed ghost come after us again?" It was essential to clarify this matter; otherwise, being sent a girlfriend time and again would be more than anyone could bear.

Hearing this, Elder Yang’s expression became serious, "Not for you, the curse only takes effect once. However, others are still in danger. Follow me."

Leaving the bar, the group rushed to the prefecture’s office where Director Nalan personally greeted them at the front door of the office building. Arriving at a large conference room and pushing open the door, Yang Xiao saw that those who had been involved in the mission were all there: Wu Zhe, Wu Zhengwu, and the female deputy captain. The three of them looked rather tense.

A clearing out of unrelated personnel left only Elder Yang, Nalan Shuo, and a few involved individuals in the conference room, creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

Elder Yang gave a brief overview of the situation to everyone. They had all been cursed by Granny Hong, and apart from Yang Xiao and Beibei, the rest had a six-fingered ghostly handprint on their left shoulders. This served as a kind of marker. The Red-clad Old Ghost would seek each one of them out, and quickly at that—tonight, or at the latest, before the following night.

"Elder Yang, please make the decision for us. We will follow your lead," Wu Zhe was very cooperative. His left hand was bandaged up like a zongzi, as Granny Hong had directly crushed his hand bones when she struck.

"One of you three must be chosen. I will arrange for that person to stay alone in a room. The likelihood of being attacked is highest when one is isolated. As soon as the attack happens, I will act immediately to restrain this Red-clad Old Ghost and retrieve the Resentful Eye, resolving the curse at its root."

"However, the abilities of this Red-clad Old Ghost are very strange, and I can’t guarantee that I can intervene in time. Therefore, the chosen one will have to take some risks," Elder Yang said candidly, not mincing words even in front of Nalan Shuo.

After Elder Yang finished, Nalan Shuo took out a small square box and placed it on the table, speaking evenly, "If there are no objections, then we shall decide by drawing lots."

Wu Zhengwu suddenly laughed, placing the black hunting knife he never parted with on the table and looking up at Wu Zhe, "Brother Wu, we’re both men; it’s not good to involve women in such dangerous things. I think it should just be between you and me to draw lots."

"No, all three of us have to draw." Elder Yang’s expression darkened, his gaze stern as he looked at Wu Zhengwu, "I detest assuming others are as willing to take risks as oneself. If your deputy captain ends up drawing the lot, whether you’re willing to go in her stead is your own affair. Don’t drag others into this."

Under Elder Yang’s intense scrutiny, Wu Zhengwu immediately faltered, having no choice but to follow the rules and draw lots among the three of them, with the result ironically being Wu Zhengwu himself.

Nothing else to say, everyone went their separate ways to prepare. Although Wu Zhengwu, being assigned to a single room, had the highest chance of being attacked, the other two could not afford to relax their vigilance either.

As for Yang Xiao and the still hungover Beibei, they were also kept within the station for observation; Nalan Shuo had ordered that until the situation was resolved, no one was allowed to leave.

Yang Xiao and Beibei were arranged into a separate office with a bed—for the still unconscious Beibei of course—while Yang Xiao pulled over a chair, leaned against the wall, and simply passed the time.

Based on the previous night’s experience, the most likely time for the next attack would be around 2 a.m. Checking his phone, it was just past midnight—roughly two hours to go.

Currently, Beibei, hooked up to an IV with a hangover remedy, slowly opened her eyes from her slumber.

A moment later, her dazed gaze slowly focused, eventually clearly making out the face of Yang Xiao in front of her, "Capt... Captain? Why are you drinking too?"

"Drinking, my ass. Look around you, where do you think this is?" Seeing Beibei awaken, Yang Xiao finally let out a sigh of relief, realizing she was oblivious to what had transpired.

Looking around with still somewhat dull eyes, Beibei’s cloudy mind finally began to clear slightly, "This is... the station. Why did you bring me back here? I was so drunk, and you still force me to work? Is there no law?"

Yang Xiao patiently recounted to Beibei the events that had occurred during her unconsciousness as quickly as possible. Listening, Beibei couldn’t help but gape in astonishment—she would have never imagined so much happening in just one day, and that she herself had nearly crossed over to the other side.

"What about my friends?" Beibei asked nervously.

"Don’t worry, Yu Shu arranged for them to be sent home after the investigation cleared up, they’re already at home by now." Yang Xiao shifted to a more comfortable sitting position.

The two chatted sporadically, with both understandably preoccupied about the potential attack that night. Suddenly, Yang Xiao remembered the Resentful Eye on Beibei’s body—that ghost wearing the Doraemon mascot suit had left a deep impression on him, with that purplish, cold, and numb face hiding within.

"Um... Beibei, can I ask you a question?" Yang Xiao hesitantly spoke up, "About that Resentful Eye of yours."

"I’m not asking where it came from; I’m just curious if there’s any story behind that ghost?" The playwright’s curiosity was piqued, as Yang Xiao instinctively sensed there was a story worth uncovering behind that Puppet Ghost.

Beibei was taken aback, her expression growing complex. After a long pause, she slowly began, "His name was Yu Wen. He played a mascot at a water park, you know, interacting with the visitors. It was hard work; he’d often volunteer for overtime just to earn a bit more because his sister was sick and the overwhelming medical costs were crushing him."

"But because of this, the leadership at the water park knew he couldn’t afford to quit, so they schemed to dock his pay and repeatedly delayed his salary, eventually refusing to pay him altogether. When Yu Wen demanded his wages, he was publicly humiliated by the management, and none of his colleagues, who he worked with daily, were willing to stand up for him; they even sabotaged him behind his back."

"Yu Wen broke down, and after transferring all the money he had left to his sister, he quietly left the park one night in his favorite mascot suit and came to a secluded pond to drown himself."

Beibei sighed softly, "Do you know why he didn’t just end his life at the water park, choosing instead a secluded pond?"

"It’s because he didn’t want to scare the happy children who came to the park to play. He loved children, and he cherished his job," Beibei answered herself.

Yang Xiao fell silent. Now, thinking back, the ghost face inside the mascot costume didn’t seem as sinister and terrifying. Behind every Resentful Eye was a story from the past.

Beibei sat up, took out a pack of cigarettes from her clothes, drew one out and put it in her mouth, and after lighting it, took a deep drag, "I got this Resentful Eye through a nightmare mission. According to the original plot of the mission, Yu Wen turned into a Fierce Ghost for revenge, killing the management that wronged him, and that was the end. But I just couldn’t stand those former colleagues of his who still tried to harm him behind the scenes."

"You have no idea, when the police came to investigate, these bastards actually lied through their teeth, perjured themselves, and detached the park management completely from any relationship with them, resulting in Yu Wen’s sister getting not a penny of compensation, and his unpaid wages were never recovered!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"I helped that weakling Yu Wen, gave him a chance to see those people’s true faces. I assisted him in killing all those former colleagues who had signed the perjury, and we got a large sum of money from the park, enough for his sister’s treatment," Beibei exhaled a puff of smoke and suddenly smiled, "After it was all done, this Resentful Eye came to me. Just looking at the progression of the main story, I wasn’t qualified to have this Resentful Eye, but I guess... that’s fate."