Chapter 1266: Chapter 838: The Cycle of Karma (6,000 Words) (Part 2)
This scene sent a chill down Musa’s spine. Just as he picked up the candle to take a closer look, "poof," the flame went out, releasing a puff of blue smoke.
It was now that Musa realized the candle’s wick had been tampered with. Only a small portion at the top had a proper wick.
Meanwhile, the corpses of ghosts nearby were closing in. In his panic, Musa frantically reached for another candle from his pocket, but it was already too late.
Struggling desperately, Musa twisted his body. Just as he was completely surrounded by the corpse ghosts, he understood the truth—in hindsight, it was indeed Hafeez who gave him the candles, but it was Adila and Hafeez who originally went to collect them.
It must have been Adila who tampered with the candles. He knew that if he had given them directly, Musa would have been cautious, so he used Hafeez, the newcomer, to lower his guard.
"Damn it..."
...
Ghost Island.
"River Immortal Village."
At that moment, the entire island was filled with the heart-piercing cries of ghosts. Yang Xiao and his group, led by the tavern owner, narrowly avoided several waves of Ghost Village People.
Fortunately, arriving at the lakeshore, they first found the boat they had taken to the island.
At that moment, the lake water began to bubble ominously, with plenty of bubbles rising from the bottom. It seemed the Ghost Island was about to undergo significant changes soon.
They had to leave immediately.
But just at this critical juncture, they faced trouble—the tavern owner insisted on leaving with them, even though Yang Xiao showed his mother’s token, it was no use.
It seemed the tavern owner had set his sights on Yang Xiao, who held his mother’s token.
As tensions rose, the tavern owner’s demeanor became increasingly agitated, with a faint ligature mark appearing on his neck, as if he had been strangled by Buddha Beads. His expression grew sinister and terrifying, with his bulging eyes giving away his transformation.
If they continued to argue, the tavern owner would turn into a ghost and attack them first.
"You can’t leave. If you don’t take me, then none of you will leave!" exclaimed the tavern owner, grabbing a large stone from the ground and raising it over his head, about to smash the boat.
At the crucial moment, Yang Xiao intercepted him, pushing Sopa and Hafeez onto the boat, saying, "You go first. I’ll stay with him to find another boat!"
"No, we leave together!" Sopa insisted, taking out a candle from her pocket and lighting it, but frustratingly, it had no effect on the tavern owner—it only agitated him further.
Before Yang Xiao could intervene, Datou slapped the candle out of her hand and gestured to his sister, "Go! You go first! Hurry!"
"I’m not leaving. I want to leave with you!" Sopa persisted, making an attempt to jump off the boat.
But Datou gave her no chance, slapping her hard across the face, knocking her back onto the boat. The strike was so forceful that Sopa was left stunned, and then he kicked the boat away from the lakeshore.
As soon as Sopa regained her senses, she wanted to resist, but Hafeez held her firmly in place as the small boat shot forward like an arrow, quickly disappearing into the mist.
Listening to the cries emerging from the fog, Datou’s eyes involuntarily reddened, staring vacantly at the mist-covered lake, but it was in vain—Sopa’s figure was lost to sight.
"We’ll find another boat, and we’ll go back together. My mother is still waiting for me!"
Seeing that Yang Xiao hadn’t left, Datou stayed put as well. The tavern owner finally relaxed, reverting to his normal demeanor, eagerly leading them to another part of the shore.
Yang Xiao had nearly lost hope when, to his surprise, they did find another boat not far from the lake’s edge.
Even more astonishing, the boat turned out to be the very one they had sailed in last night.
Reality and illusion merged at that moment, leaving Yang Xiao momentarily bewildered, uncertain about the reality of their situation—time seemed jumbled here.
Yet he knew well that this task was almost concluded, and now all he needed to do was return to shore alive, as soon as possible.
But this time was different from before; the tavern owner was successfully on board, and the boat, carrying Yang Xiao, the tavern owner, and Datou, sailed away from Ghost Island, swiftly heading towards the other side of the lake.
Throughout the journey, the tavern owner’s mouth never stopped moving—his excitement was indescribable. But as the distance from Ghost Island increased, horrifying things began to happen.
The tavern owner’s body was decaying and putrefying at a visible pace, his eyes bulging while his tongue lolled, his face transforming into a deathly visage—but he remained oblivious, continuing to speak by himself.
Not only the tavern owner; Datou’s body changed too, though the decay process wasn’t as swift.
Yang Xiao leaned against the boat’s side, feeling nearly hopeless—he was now virtually incapacitated, sharing the boat with two ghosts.
By his calculations, they should have reached the shore by now, but the lake remained shrouded in mist, and the journey seemed endlessly long.
Struggling to turn his head, Yang Xiao saw, not far behind, the faint outlines of Ghost Island.
They were still within the bounds of Ghost Island and hadn’t truly left.
The presence of ghosts onboard caused them to be trapped, never allowed to leave Ghost Island.
And now, Yang Xiao was doomed to remain with them, forever bound.
"Why? Why can’t we escape?" The tavern owner’s frustration grew, "Why can’t we see the shore, the town? I want to go home, I want to go home!!"
Following his futile raging, the tavern owner, now almost a complete corpse, turned his wrath toward Yang Xiao, standing up to strangle him, "Liar, you’re a liar! You promised to take me home!!"
