Chapter 445: Chapter 381: Scarecrow_2
The rest of the major families, already estranged from the tycoon’s family, did not miss such a perfect opportunity to kick them when they were down, dubbing them the lords of the Painted Boat fire. The name spread far and wide, angering the old patriarch so much that he passed away within a few years, and thus, the once great family dispersed in all directions.
"Miss Tong..." Cheng Cha called out to Tong Han several times without a response and reluctantly touched her.
Tong Han, her thoughts interrupted, withdrew her gaze. She had been lost in memories, greatly affected by that particular mission.
"Miss Tong, shall we... shall we continue the pursuit?" Liu Haiping, gripping the oar, looked at her anxiously. They had already chased that corpse several times as per Tong Han’s instructions, but each time, the corpse "escaped."
"Pursue." Tong Han made up her mind, but the current problem was that every time they touched the corpse of the woman with the Golden Hairpin, it would eerily sink into the water, only to appear mysteriously in other places.
Tonight’s crucial task was to "catch" this corpse; best if they could drag the woman’s body onto the boat.
Tong Han took off her outer garment, directing the others to row and search for the corpse. She planned to jump into the water and swim towards the woman’s corpse once the boat was close enough.
This task must be undertaken by a woman; men who tried had died in numerous attempts.
"No, you can’t go." Cheng Cha analyzed seriously, "We almost perished at Chaos Burial Mound last time, all because the only one who knew the ins and outs, Wuma Haoming, had died. This situation is even more complex than the last; we can’t risk you."
Cheng Cha and Lu Youdao’s gaze then settled on Liu Haiping. Though forcing a woman to take a risk was dishonorable, this was now the best choice.
"Sorry, we can’t do it for you." Lu Youdao looked at her earnestly.
Understanding the urgency of the situation, Liu Haiping gritted her teeth and agreed. According to Tong Han, she needed to jump into the water, drag the corpse onto the boat as quickly as possible, and be careful not to flip the body over or touch the woman’s hair—just pull by her feet.
Soon, Cheng Cha and Lu Youdao rowed the boat close to the woman, but now, besides the woman’s corpse, many other floating bodies surrounded them.
Quickly undressing, Liu Haiping took a deep breath, her eyes hardened, and then, grabbing the side of the boat, she gradually descended into the icy lake water.
But the next second, as if she had discovered something horrifying, her entire body almost leapt out of the water. Lu Youcheng, who was closest, grabbed her, "What’s wrong?"
Liu Haiping’s lips trembled, and she frantically gestured underwater. Seeing this, Tong Han sighed, comforting her by explaining that there were indeed more corpses under the lake than above. Those were the drowned patrons of the Painted Boat and people who had come for a marriage procession. The reason she hadn’t mentioned it before was for fear that Liu Haiping would panic.
But Tong Han assured her that those things were all dormant; as long as they didn’t make too much noise, there would be no problem. She urged Liu Haiping to pretend those floating underwater corpses didn’t exist.
Convinced by Tong Han’s adamance, Liu Haiping no longer hesitated and slowly swam towards the woman’s corpse, carefully avoiding the other bodies as she went.
Everything was going smoothly. Liu Haiping grabbed the feet of the woman’s corpse and started dragging it back. Just as success was within reach, an accident occurred. A floating corpse unfortunately blocked the way. Liu Haiping, quick with her eyes and hands, dodged it, but the woman’s corpse she was dragging wasn’t so lucky. It collided, and in the next second, the long-silent corpse suddenly twitched. The tangled hair unfurled instantly, growing longer and writhing in the dark lake water like a sea snake, creating a terrifying scene.
"Quick, turn the corpse over!" Tong Han shouted. "Go kiss her, quickly, and make sure your heart is sincere!"
Liu Haiping in the water didn’t dare delay. She could sense that the nearby corpses were gathering towards her, and the long hair was curling up around her.
She flipped the corpse forcefully and leaned in to kiss it as Tong Han had instructed. But when she saw the face of the corpse clearly, she hesitated. The corpse had completely transformed—its slender limbs had become bloated and rotten, and the once delicately made-up face was now unrecognizably swollen by the water, twice the size of a normal face, with eyes squished into the rotting flesh, almost disappearing, yet she could feel a chilling, resentful gaze emanating from the gaps in the decaying flesh.
"Kiss her, don’t hesitate!" Tong Han shouted.
But it was already too late. Countless strands of hair had entwined Liu Haiping’s limbs and waist, securing her firmly. As the hair tightened and twisted, Liu Haiping’s limbs and waist were severed, and the life slowly faded from her eyes.
Lu Youcheng, observing everything from the boat, was dumbfounded, not solely because Liu Haiping was dead. What shocked him was watching Liu Haiping’s head sink into the water while her severed limbs bizarrely floated up, the severed ends not showing flesh but bunches of straw!
How is that possible?
How could Liu Haiping have turned into a scarecrow!
In that instant, his thoughts raced back, and Lu Youdao suddenly remembered something. Previously at Chaos Burial Mound, he too was hit by a coffin, right on his leg. He remembered the impact was heavy and thought his leg was surely gone. But unexpectedly, later he was running and jumping with no issues, even when trying to escape the ghost, he had dismissed this. Now thinking about it, how could that be possible?
He suddenly rolled up his pant leg. His leg was unnaturally smooth, the skin so perfect it looked fake. Not to mention a broken leg, there wasn’t even a bruise.
This leg, as if it opened a new door for him, led him to uncontrollably start recalling more memories. The more he remembered, the more holes appeared in his recollections, and the stronger the terror grew in his heart. He grabbed his head, breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot, feeling like he was about to explode.
Meanwhile, Tong Han Cheng Cha on the same boat also fell into fear. In their eyes, Lu Youcheng had completely changed his appearance, with straw emerging from his neck, hands, feet, and any exposed areas. The paper-like skin was punctured, and more and more straw appeared. His body was clearly made of straw, and now, it finally revealed its true form!
"It can’t be, I am still alive, I am a human!" Lu Youcheng’s whole body itched terribly. He couldn’t stop scratching, tearing more and more of the paper skin, his eyes bloodshot, his whole head seeming about to fall apart—rather than describing him as a human, he seemed more like a ghost.
Cheng Cha, standing behind him, suddenly lunged forward, trying to knock Lu Youcheng into the water, but he wasn’t strong enough and only staggered him, failing to knock him into the lake.
Cheng Cha immediately panicked. When he looked up, Lu Youcheng’s gaze had completely changed. He extended his straw-filled hand to grab him. In a critical moment, a sudden powerful kick came from behind, hitting Lu Youcheng in the waist and knocking the unsteady man off the boat.
"Steady the boat!" Tong Han shouted.
