Stranger Danger

Chapter 281: Tiny Shoulder Ghost

“I haven’t sensed anything either.” Qingge frowned a little. “Tell me your thoughts.”

Ye Qing was about to pull her shirt back again when Ye Qing stopped her. “Wait! I want you to tap me on my shoulder.”

Qingge frowned in puzzlement, but she still did as he said.

The next moment, she was treated to a stunning sight. As soon as she tapped Ye Qing on the shoulder, the handprint began disappearing at a visible rate.

“What just happened?” Qingge exclaimed in disbelief.

Ye Qing’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “I thought this might happen. I think I know what this Stranger is now.”

“Hmm?” Qingge looked at him inquiringly.

“Not yet. Allow me to perform one more experiment,” Ye Qing implored. First, he pulled apart his own shirt and checked his shoulder. As expected, there was now a handprint on it. It was exactly the same as the one on Qingge’s shoulder, and it was as faint as when it appeared on her shoulder for the first time.

Ye Qing tapped Qingge on the shoulder next. They watched as the handprint on his shoulder slowly disappeared.

“Heh. Now I know for certain what we’re dealing with!” Ye Qing grinned and clapped his hands triumphantly.

Qingge looked at again with her beautiful eyes, and this time he didn’t keep her waiting. “I’m pretty sure that the Stranger that tapped our shoulders is a type of Tiny Shoulder People.”

“Tiny Shoulder People?” Qingge frowned. “You mean the one that taps people’s shoulder for fun? I’m pretty sure they don’t harm humans though, and they definitely didn’t possess such a potent and bizarre power.”

The Tiny Shoulder People Qingge spoke of was a Malice-class Stranger. It was shaped like an infant with two wings, and it loved nothing more than to tap someone\'s shoulder from behind. When the victim turned around, they would make a scary face and attempt to scare them. If the victim was scared, they would fly away with pride and satisfaction. If not, they would roll their eyes at the victim and leave huffing and puffing.

The Little Shoulder People were pranksters, but their pranks were completely harmless. They would never harm a human intentionally.

Ye Qing shook his head. “You’re right, but you’re also wrong.” He waited a moment thinking that Qingge would prod him like a proper audience would, but she just stared at him and waited patiently for him to reveal the answer.

How disappointing. I bet most conversations with her end in awkward silence.

Disappointed he might be, Ye Qing had no choice but to resume his explanation, “It is true that the average Little Shoulder People is only a Malice-class Stranger, but there is another kind of Little Shoulder People who can only be found is places of extreme yin and coldness such as this graveyard. Born from yin energy and resentment, their nature differs drastically from the average Little Shoulder People. Not only that, they are Phenomenon-class Strangers.”

“In fact, I personally think they should be differentiated from the average Little Shoulder People and named Little Shoulder Ghost, especially since they couldn’t be seen during the night. According to the legends, only those who could see through yin and yang—someone with the Dark Seeing Spell Eyes for example—could see the Little Shoulder Ghost at night.”

“The Little Shoulder Ghost loves to prank people as well, but they play their games differently from the average Little Shoulder People. If a person is tapped on the shoulder by the Little Shoulder Ghost, they must seek out another person and tap them on the shoulder as soon as possible. This would convince the Little Shoulder Ghost to shift their focus to the other person.”

“If they don’t do so, then the Little Shoulder Ghost would haunt them and tap their shoulders for eternity.”

Ye Qing took a break and gave Qingge another chance to say something like, “Interesting” or “go on”, but she remained as silent and indifferent as ever. Left with no choice, he continued, “But of course, when I say ‘eternity’, I really mean three chances. Because the Little Shoulder Ghost is born from yin energy and resentment, they are quite the resentful creatures. If they tapped a victim three times, and the victim still couldn’t find another person to transfer the ‘curse’ so to speak, they would think that the victim wasn’t willing to play with them and get angry. They would lean across the victim’s shoulder, pin them down and immobilize them.”

“When the victim turns around to look, the Little Shoulder Ghost would transform into their worst nightmare and scare them to death.”

“Ah. That would explain how Ge Xin died,” Qingge exclaimed in realization. “This is the first time I heard such a Stranger. How did you learn this?”

“Haha, I love reading all things related to Strangers, Anomalies and more, and I happened to come across a folktale regarding the Little Shoulder Ghost in a journal titled ‘Acquiring The Strange’. The title of the chapter is, ‘When You Get Tapped On The Shoulder’.”

Ye Qing chuckled. “It’s a good thing you discovered the handprint and told me all those clues, or I wouldn’t have figured out the truth either.”

The praise bounced off Qingge’s skin like water off a duck’s back. “So, the Little Shoulder Ghost is a Phenomenon-class Stranger, and it is invisible during the night. The only way to deal with it is to have the Dark-Seeing Spell Eyes, wait until daytime arrives, or... pass its curse to another person.”

Ye Qing nodded. “Well, there’s technically a fourth way. The Little Shoulder Ghost can only take the shape of a victim’s worst nightmare. Theoretically, if you’re a purehearted or fearless person, then there is nothing it can conjure that might scare you to death.”

Qingge fell silent for a moment. “I personally believe that my martial heart is tough, and my will is strong, but the Little Shoulder Ghost is a Phenomenon-class Stranger. I cannot proclaim with certainty that I will definitely be able to withstand the nightmare it conjures.”

“What a coincidence! I think so too.” Ye Qing shrugged. “But luckily for us, we don’t need to take the risk. We just need to stick together and juggle the curse between us, and the Little Shoulder Ghost wouldn’t be able to harm us. Besides that, an opportunity to remove the curse permanently may reveal itself in the future. Even if that doesn’t happen, the Little Shoulder Ghost is a Phenomenon-class Stranger. Its presence would shield us from much danger and trouble.”

“Very well. We shall go with your plan,” Qingge agreed after careful consideration.

She knew what Ye Qing meant by “opportunity”, of course. It was simply transferring the curse to someone else that wasn’t them.

She wasn’t a good-natured woman though, so she had no qualms damning someone else to safeguard her own life.

On that note, there was a chance Ye Qing might betray her to save himself, but she wasn’t worried that might happen. For one, she thought she had a good enough handle on Ye Qing’s personality, and she was fairly certain that he wouldn’t do so.

And two, she was stronger than him. The only one who would suffer should he change his mind was misery.

Ye Qing knew Qingge wouldn’t turn him down. He took the opportunity to introduce himself, “Oh right, my name is Ye... Shi. I’m a member of Luo Shui.”

He was still using his fake name not because he didn’t believe Qingge—she was one of Hong Jianglong’s, which meant she was probably a member of the Pacification Bureau. However, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t drop his guard completely. For example, what if she was related to one of the jianghu warriors he killed? He would be digging his own grave. Sure, it was extremely unlikely that might happen, but better safe than sorry, right?

“It’s a fake name, but I don’t mind.” Qingge replied indifferently, “My name is Qingge. Chu Qingge.”

“Ahem... you jest, Miss Chu.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose awkwardly and changed the subject. “Let’s continue on our journey, shall we? I would like to remove this curse as soon as possible, but it would be a waste to go back now.”

Chu Qingge nodded in agreement. “Agreed. The Graveyard of Demons is the location where the Demon’s Tomb’s biggest opportunities are located. We shouldn’t miss it if possible.”

She then tapped Ye Qing on the shoulder and took the lead.

Ye Qing didn’t find her gesture strange. The Little Shoulder Ghost must’ve tapped her on the shoulder again. He followed closely behind Chu Qingge toward the deeper areas.

“Oh right, didn’t Senior Lu You give you a paper lantern earlier? Where did it go?” Ye Qing recalled suddenly.

“It extinguished,” Chu Qingge replied succinctly. “After we separated, I was walking past a grave when a gust of wind blew past me. Its flame went out after that.”

“I guess Senior Lu You isn’t as dependable as he looks!” Ye Qing curled his lips in disdain. He thought Chu Qingge would be able to explore the graveyard to her heart’s content after receiving a powerful boon from the Lu You, but if a simple gust of wind could dispel it just like that... like what the fuck, bro?

The barest hint of a smile crossed Chu Qingge’s lips when she heard this. “I’m not finished. It was the Weak Wind.”

“What? The Weak Wind?!” You should’ve mentioned that first!

According to the “Journal of All Things Strange”, there existed a water to the north of Kunlun that was weaker than a speck of dust, and could not keep even a feather afloat. Hence, it was named the Weak Water. The Weak Wind was basically the wind version of the Weak Water.

If the Weak Wind blew against dust, then the dust would sink to the bottom. If it blew against a leaf, then the leaf would fall to the ground. If it blew against a cloud, then the cloud would drop like a rock. And if it blew against a human, then the human would crumble into a pool of blood and gore. Naturally, it was incredibly dangerous.

Logically speaking, no white lantern in the world could possibly block the Weak Wind. And yet, the Lu You’s did and saved Chu Qingge’s life. What an item!

The Lu You can’t hear me from outside, right? I’m so sorry, daddy Lu You. I shouldn’t have doubted you.

Unwilling to subject himself to the shame of being wrong any longer, Ye Qing hurriedly changed the subject, “Ahem. So, are we heading deeper into the graveyard?”

“Mm.” Chu Qingge nodded.

“Why though? Isn’t it safer near the periphery?”

There were fewer and fewer graves the deeper they ventured into the graveyard, but Ye Qing also noticed that those few graves that were present possessed extremely powerful and inexplicable presences. He was feeling suffocated to say the least.

Chu Qingge explained, “The Graveyard of Demons begins at the center of the Mountain of Demons and spreads outward. According to the legends, the Mountain of Demons was made of the body, organs and soul of the Progenitor Demon, Rahu, and the center of the graveyard is where his heart and soul lay. You can also find his air of Dao there.”

“This is why the followers of the Dark Ways believe it to be an honor to be buried in the Mountain of Demons. It was also said that the center of the Mountain of Demons is overflowing with demonic qi and demonic thoughts. Only the strong may venture into it.”

“That is why the closer we got to the center of the mountain, the number of graves we encountered kept decreasing, but the ‘quality’ of the graves kept increasing so to speak.”

“Although everyone who is buried in the Graveyard of Demons is strong, even the strong can be categorized from the weakest to the strongest. In other words, the ones buried at the center of the mountain are the strongest of the strong.”

“I see!” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization before shooting another question, “So, you’re aiming for the center of the Mountain of Demons?”

“Mm.”

“You seem to be very familiar with the center of the Mountain of Demons. Would you happen to know who is buried in that place?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

“And where did you get that from? This is my first time ever in the Graveyard of Demons.” Chu Qingge retorted. “I know what I know from a senior. He once entered the Graveyard of Demons and explored the center.”

“Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to obtain anything from his exploration. In fact, he only survived because he used his ultimate trump card.”

“If you don’t mind, can you go into some details?” Ye Qing asked.

“He told me that he saw only one grave at the center of the Mountain of Demons, and it was none other than the grave of the Progenitor Demon himself. However, as soon as he read the name on the gravestone, his eyes exploded, and he began bleeding from every orifice. His companions’ minds were snuffed out instantly. The only reason he hadn’t suffered their fate was because he used a secret magic art that barely protected his mind,” Chu Qingge explained.

Chu Qingge made it sound like nothing, but Ye Qing felt cold sweat dripping down his forehead. If Chu Qingge’s senior knew a secret magic art, that must mean that he was a Spirit Master at least. However, he still nearly lost his life after taking one look at the Progenitor Demon’s gravestone. He could only imagine that they would do worse.

“Er, Miss Chu. Why don’t we go anywhere but the center of the mountain?”

Chu Qingge’s lips curled into a smirk. “What, you scared?”

“A little,” Ye Qing answered honestly. How could I not? First there was One Punch Man, now there was One Look Die! This world is terrifying!

“Relax. You’ll be fine with me by your side,” Chu Qingge consoled him while patting his shoulder. It was impossible to say if she really meant the gesture, or if she was just transferring the Little Shoulder Ghost’s curse to him.

Ye Qing grumbled inside his head, I don’t feel reassured in the slightest, girl!

“Hmm? I can hear someone talking ahead of us. No wait, they’re not human. Careful!” Chu Qingge said suddenly.