Folk Strange Stories Part 1: Miao Township Witch Ancestor Chapter 11 Section 1: Living Corpse Informer

The motor on the boat collapsed as the explosives detonated, and despite searching thoroughly, we couldn't find any oars. We had no choice but to use rifle butts as makeshift oars to paddle. After rowing forward for just a few steps, a cool breeze brushed against the back of my neck, making me shiver. An ominous feeling surged in my heart.

Li Yan poked me in the arm from behind. I turned around and saw someone "walking" towards us from about twenty meters away on the water's surface. He stood on the water and moved very slowly, leaving ripples on the surface with every step.

This person was dressed in a police uniform, hands in his pockets. His expression was slightly awkward; I recognized that bastard even if he turned into ashes. I had given him a pack of cigarettes not too long ago.

"I told you all not to come to the Death Pool, but you didn't listen. Sigh, regretting it now, aren't you?" Lao Lin sighed, as if the scene before him was something he didn't want to witness.

The chubby guy whispered to me, "Who is he? Do you know him?"

"He's the one who led Mort and us in. Probably one of those descendants of the reanimated corpses with white hair that was mentioned," I replied.

Song Erlengzi had already aimed his gun at Lao Lin's head, saying, "Don't pretend! Wasn't this all your arrangement?"

"You're mistaken," Lao Lin sighed, "At first, I didn't plan on harming you all. My target was Mort's gang. They dealt drugs and hurt people. Bringing them here could be considered protecting the public."

Upon hearing this, the chubby guy exploded, "What about me, damn it? I didn't provoke anyone. Why should I be dragged into this mess?"

Lao Lin's voice turned cold, "Which temple doesn't have lingering ghosts? In significant matters, trifles don't count. Besides, you're still alive, aren't you?"

I couldn't contain my rage anymore and lashed out, "What about Old Wang? And my comrades who died here? How do you account for them?"

Lao Lin fell silent for a moment before saying, "That was their misfortune. I never thought you'd enter that death gate. Sigh, it's all fate, isn't it? Once you're in, you can't get out alive. Just accept it."

The last sentence was clearly directed at us. Seizing the initiative, Li Yan couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Why waste words with him! Let's do it!" With that, the four of us simultaneously pulled the triggers aimed at Lao Lin's head.

A volley of bullets went off, and Lao Lin remained standing in place. Well, it turned out that the version of him on the water's surface was different from the reanimated corpses. After being shot, he showed no reaction whatsoever. The bullets had hit him perfectly, but had no effect. He still wore a worried expression. The bullets seemed to pass through his body, leaving no trace.

"Why go through all this trouble?" Lao Lin shook his head with a sigh. "Since you've come in, learned the secret of this place, you can't possibly leave alive. Accept it. It's all part of the... "

Lao Lin froze halfway through his sentence, like he had just seen a living ghost. He stared at us with wide eyes, "No, impossible. I saw you fall into the water myself. With the blessing of the ancestral spirits, you can't possibly escape!"

The chubby guy, clearly confused, said, "What's he gone mad about? Who fell into the water?" This guy was slow on the uptake; I couldn't be bothered with him. I turned around to look behind us, and there was a white figure holding something standing on the water's surface. This person was white from head to toe. It couldn't be anyone other than the white-haired man who fell into the water just now.

"Ancestral spirits?" the white-haired man sneered, "And you people from Yunnan still take that seriously. Here, I'll return your ancestral spirits to you!" He finished speaking and tossed the object he was holding in front of Lao Lin. I don't know what method the white-haired man used, but the object stayed afloat on the water's surface without sinking.

"Ancestral spirits!" Lao Lin recognized that the object was the upper half of a person's body, with a head on top that looked like a blood gourd, its eye sockets hollow, and its eyeballs gouged out.

After seeing this half of a body, Lao Lin became somewhat hysterical. "Impossible, I know you. Your abilities can't kill ancestral spirits. This is your diversion, isn't it?"