43. Ghost Arts Based on Poetry

Hearing Chen Sheng say this, Yu Youxin couldn't help but ponder for a moment, then realized he was absolutely right—calling her a "silly girl" did sound much more affectionate.

Just then, she saw Chen Sheng stand up and perform a series of strange movements.

These actions were extremely out of place.

Anyone imitating them would only feel stifled and uncomfortable, their whole body aching.

She instantly guessed what these movements were.

However, what she said out loud was, "Old Chen, what are you doing?"

"An old family farming technique," Chen Sheng replied, using a tried and true excuse.

"Oh, I see."

Hearing this, the young girl wanted nothing more than to roll her eyes just like Chen Sheng had before, but she restrained herself, and instead, nodded casually as if by accident.

Rubbing his sore shoulders, Chen Sheng prepared to take a shower.

He had deliberately practiced these strange exercises in front of Yu Youxin, just as he had in the past, hoping she would unwittingly provide the excuse he needed to make his training seem unintentional.

After all, this little girl was living off him for free, like a white rice worm—may as well put her to some use.

Night deepened, and Chen Sheng had already fallen asleep.

He was still sleeping on the couch.

Meanwhile, the young girl stealthily climbed out of bed, preparing to once again cause trouble for Chen Sheng.

But just as she was about to slip into bed beside him, she suddenly glanced toward the door.

Moments later, a faint sound of footsteps could be heard.

It was the sound of high heels on the floor.

The girl immediately sensed something was wrong, though it wasn't because she was particularly observant or had noticed a flaw. Instead, a wave of malice had accompanied the newcomer's arrival, causing the very air in the room to chill by several degrees.

There was a ghost!

A strange expression flickered across the girl's delicate features.

Then, in an instant, her figure became faint and blurry.

Out in the corridor—though it was indoors—an unusual thick fog had appeared, obscuring all sight.

From the mist, a figure emerged.

Her posture was graceful.

It was a woman with a striking, voluptuous figure.

This woman walked all the way to Chen Sheng's door, and apparently sensing that only Chen Sheng was inside, she reached out a deathly pale hand and grasped the doorknob.

In an instant, a thin layer of frost formed over the handle.

The malice was spreading!

But just as she was about to open the door, a hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder. At the same time, a soft, sweet voice sounded behind her: "Why have you come again?"

The voluptuous woman turned around, revealing a face that would have been very familiar to Chen Sheng.

Because she was Liu Susu.

This time, when Liu Susu saw the young girl before her, fear instantly flashed in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

No sooner had she blurted this out than Liu Susu realized her mistake and quickly said, "I was just passing by, thought I’d have a look, that's all..."

The bright-eyed young girl regarded Liu Susu expressionlessly. Her delicate face, for no apparent reason, now carried a chilling aura, and the malice gathering around her far exceeded Liu Susu’s own.

"You’re not here to look—you came to hunt," the girl's voice remained soft and sweet, but carried an icy chill to the bone.

Just as women know women best, so do ghosts know ghosts.

Though she was special—her heart still beat, she had a pulse, she could eat—she was nonetheless a ghost.

Liu Susu turned and fled.

The girl did not chase her; she simply stood in the mist, expressionless, watching.

Only when Liu Susu's figure had vanished entirely did the girl's lips move: "A lifetime is but a fleeting guest, vanishing like dust in the wind."

All at once, the surrounding fog seemed to turn solid, then shattered into countless fragments.

...

Below the apartment building, Liu Susu—so elegant in life—now appeared utterly wretched.

Her once-beautiful face began to grow horrifying.

It wasn't corpse spots, but rather a series of cuts, the edges of which curled back to reveal flesh, like the gills of a shark, but spread over her entire body.

After all, she had been dismembered after death.

Obvious signs of decay appeared on her as well.

"Why is she still here?"

Fleeing in terror, Liu Susu's eyes were full of confusion.

Her attempt tonight had not been reckless.

The first time Chen Sheng had encountered her, the moment she spoke and Chen Sheng responded, he had become her target!

She had planned to act then.

But something unexpected happened.

After she lured Chen Sheng to the street that had been burned in the great fire, the young girl suddenly appeared, not only blocking her way, but also asking her to deliver a rope to Chen Sheng.

Of course, the girl hadn't asked for her help for nothing.

Afterward, the girl had immediately fulfilled her promise.

Her own death was completely concealed!

Under the influence of a mysterious force, everyone who knew she was dead forgot: the police working her case, the people who reported finding her body parts, the journalists who broke the story, her parents, her closest friends, her coworkers at the hospital... and the very man who had killed her!

This let her continue to be with the man she loved.

Though he had killed her, she believed he still loved her; that day had just been a momentary lapse. As for dismembering her, that was simply because he was afraid.

She had found every excuse for him.

But even though her death was concealed, she could no longer live as the living do.

Fortunately, she had learned a trick from her own "kind"—a kind-hearted mother and daughter who ran a shop—if she absorbed enough human essence, she could continue to pass as a living person.

But not just anyone's essence would do—it had to be from someone who could see her!

That was why Liu Susu had sought out Chen Sheng again.

But at that time, the young girl was still in the hospital, so Liu Susu had to give up.

Liu Susu had even considered abandoning Chen Sheng and finding someone else. Yet there were so few people she could absorb from—in this entire city, aside from Chen Sheng, she had only encountered one other.

It was a sweet little girl.

After Liu Susu drained her essence, the girl died a painful death, but managed to live for several days as if she were alive.

Those were Liu Susu's happiest days since her death.

Once she tasted it, she craved more.

So tonight, she came again.

No ghost can refuse the joy of being human again.

Especially since she had heard from the man she loved that the girl from Room 12 at the hospital had been discharged two days ago.

Yet she never imagined that, though the girl was no longer in the hospital, she was now living at Chen Sheng’s place!

Suddenly, Liu Susu froze.

Her eyes widened as she tried to take another step, but her entire body suddenly disintegrated like a sand castle swept away by the tide. A car passed by, its wheels stirring a light breeze, and the last traces of Liu Susu vanished completely.

Gone in a flash, like dust before the wind!

This was the power of ghostly arts!