"Another fish is biting the hook!"
Feeling a slight tremor from the fishing rod in his hand, the float on the river surface sank in harmony. At this moment, Wang Qiang no longer felt the joy he used to have when a fish bit the bait during fishing.
He turned to look at Sun Yan, somewhat at a loss, afraid that he might catch another dead fish.
"Pull it up." Sun Yan stared at the river surface expressionlessly.
Since Sun Yan said so, Wang Qiang had no choice but to lift the fishing rod and began to struggle with whatever was under the river surface once again.
Swoosh!
A dark shadow broke through the water, swaying back towards the shore with the pull of the fishing line. Wang Qiang quickly shone his flashlight at it, only to see that it was a piece of flesh-colored tattered cloth, which finally made him breathe a sigh of relief.
If he were to encounter strange phenomena one after another at night, his ordinary heart wouldn't be able to take it.
"What is this thing? It looks so strange."
When Wang Qiang pulled the flesh-colored cloth ashore, Sun Yan stared at it in curiosity, subconsciously voicing his doubts.
The flesh-colored cloth was over 1.6 meters long, perfectly preserved and intact, looking very much like a piece of pigskin from the market.
Moreover, it had four elongated parts stretching out from its main body, making Sun Yan unable to discern what it was for the moment.
"Who knows?"
Seeing that what he caught wasn't a dead fish or something eerie, Wang Qiang, shedding his previous panicked demeanor, carelessly approached to observe with Sun Yan: "It should be garbage. People often throw things into the river, so fishing up garbage isn't unusual. Last time I even caught a rain boot."
"No, this looks a bit like..."
Sun Yan frowned, quickly fetched a fishing net, and carefully spread out the twisted flesh-colored cloth on the ground with the net's end.
Immediately, a complete human skin with hands and feet appeared before Sun Yan and Wang Qiang.
The atmosphere became suddenly silent; the riverside was quiet and soundless.
Sun Yan could even hear Wang Qiang's rapid breathing. Who would have thought they would fish up something like this in the middle of the night?
The face of the human skin was a swollen and bloated face of a white woman. Since only a skin remained, Sun Yan could see only some holes of varying sizes on her face.
It was hard to imagine what kind of method could peel off such an intact skin from a human being.
"No, I can't do this anymore. I really need to go back. It's so damn creepy. If I stay any longer, I'll definitely go crazy!" Wang Qiang shouted nervously, clutching his hair.
Ignoring Sun Yan's persuasion, he didn't even bother to pack up his fishing rod and immediately turned and ran towards Dongmu Town.
"Hey! Mr. Wang, don't be scared."
Sun Yan stood up, trying to call him back, but Wang Qiang couldn't hear any comfort at this moment. He only wanted to go home; staying at home could make him feel slightly safer.
The riverside was suddenly left with only Sun Yan. He looked at the human skin on the ground, quietly lit a cigarette, and sat down again.
The exorcism was unfinished, so naturally, he couldn't leave like Wang Qiang did.
Money is hard to earn, sh*t is hard to eat; once you've taken someone's money, you must show work quality.
"Could it be that the water ghosts in this river are not just Wang Qiang's father, but also other victims who died in the river and turned into water ghosts?" Sun Yan contemplated while looking at the river surface.
If that's the case, exorcising them would become more troublesome.
...
"Crazy! This is insane. I shouldn't have agreed to fish by the river in the middle of the night."
Wang Qiang cursed as he strode along the path, trying to vent his inner fear.
Catching dead fish and human skin consecutively couldn't be something any normal person could accept. At this moment, Wang Qiang only wanted to go home, as far away from the river as possible.
Just then, a flicker of firelight by the river not far ahead caught Wang Qiang's attention.
He slowed his pace and turned to look, only to see several figures standing by the river below the path. Due to the darkness, Wang Qiang couldn't see their faces clearly.
He could only see that they were gathering around a fire pit, throwing something into it.
The river breeze brushed past, and a round object flew gently with the wind. Wang Qiang instinctively reached out to catch it and brought it close to see it was a waterweed.
Slick and slippery, it felt very clammy in his hand.
"Wang Qiang."
"Wang Qiang!"
Suddenly, it seemed like someone was calling his name. Wang Qiang found himself momentarily dazed and involuntarily walked towards the figures.
He couldn't remember why he was here or what he originally intended to do.
At this moment, the figures by the river were waving their hands at him, as if drawing him with some sort of magic power. Wang Qiang stepped out, wanting to see what they were burning.
"Wang Qiang!"
A hand suddenly pressed firmly on Wang Qiang's shoulder, accompanied by an urgent call, instantly snapping him out of his daze.
Looking down, his face turned pale with fright—he was shocked to realize he had unknowingly wandered into the river.
His lower body was already submerged in the icy river water. If that hand hadn't appeared to intercept him in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
He quickly turned to look behind him, only to find no one there. The terrifying silence was overwhelming.
This time, Wang Qiang dared not even go home. He hurried back to the bank, looked at his soaked pants, and wondered who could guarantee that the home he returned to would truly be his.
If he hallucinated again, luck might not strike twice.
Only Sun Yan gave Wang Qiang a sense of security at this moment. Ignoring everything else, he raced back in the opposite direction, away from Dongmu Town. Perhaps staying by Sun Yan's side might be safer.
...
"Mr. Wang, what's happened to you?"
Sitting by the river fishing, Sun Yan looked in surprise at Wang Qiang, who returned in a sorry state.
After a short absence, Wang Qiang appeared like a drowned rat, with even a few strands of waterweed sticking to his pant legs.
"I saw a ghost. I really did." Wang Qiang grabbed a chair, sat down impatiently, and eagerly recounted his recent experience to Sun Yan.
"Someone stopped you?" Sun Yan pulled down Wang Qiang's collar to reveal a faint black palm seal on his shoulder.
Seeing this, Sun Yan contemplated: "Mr. Wang, does that voice sound familiar to you?"
"I was too scared just now to notice, but now that you mention it, it does sound a bit familiar, like something I've heard before."
Sun Yan nodded: "You were under a ghost's eye. Ever since you caught that dead fish, the water ghost in this river has been watching you. It was trying to drag you down as a substitute ghost."
"But there were two of us here. Why only me?" Wang Qiang complained discontentedly.
Sun Yan smiled without answering. He had a magical artifact on him. If a water ghost dared to have designs on him, it would learn the true meaning of total annihilation.
As an ordinary person, Wang Qiang didn't possess such deterrent power. Perhaps the water ghost sensed this.
"The one who saved you should be your father's spirit. It seems he is nearby. Mr. Wang, since you're back, let's wait a bit longer. I believe he will reveal himself tonight." Returning the fishing rod to Wang Qiang, Sun Yan spoke calmly.
Though his tone was calm, his eyes unconsciously glanced a few meters behind Wang Qiang, where several unidentifiable black silhouettes stood silently, watching Wang Qiang.
Despite narrowly escaping from the river, he had inadvertently brought something unclean back with him as well.