Chapter 2

The SUV crawled along the road, shrouded on both sides by a thick fog and darkness that seemed impenetrable, with no strange women hailing for a ride anymore-because she was already in his car.

Bi Heng couldn’t help but constantly glance at the rear-view mirror, more accurately, to be on guard against the Long-haired Woman. He was worried she might suddenly leap forward and bite his head off. However, after getting into the car, the Long-haired Woman didn’t exhibit any peculiar behavior. Instead, she seemed exceptionally alert. Every time he covertly glanced at the rear-view mirror, he could see her eyes meeting his through the mirror, followed by a strange smile that, oddly enough, seemed somewhat friendly to him.

During another exchange of looks, he saw the Long-haired Woman grinning, which unexpectedly made Bi Heng break out in a cold sweat. He forced a chuckle, trying to think of something to say to divert his attention, yet fearing he might say something wrong.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make.

Suddenly, the Long-haired Woman asked, “Do you know where Mu Mountain is?”

Bi Heng remained silent. Mu Mountain? Where was that? He hadn’t even heard of the place before. Would this ghostly woman get angry and take his life if he said he didn’t know?

Seeing his silence, the Long-haired Woman’s expression darkened, her already pale face now looking even more sinister, her voice heavy, “You don’t know either?”

Bi Heng hesitated, “It sounds familiar. Let me think where I might have heard it.”

Her expression changed slightly, a look of surprise appearing on her face. Her pitch-black eyes gleamed as if she had spotted prey, “Really? Then please try to remember. I’ve asked many people, and no one seems to know. I’m so lucky to have met someone like you, not only giving me a ride but also knowing where Mu Mountain is.”

Bi Heng chuckled nervously. He feared if he said he knew, the ghostly woman might coerce him into taking her there, leading him straight into danger. He was even more afraid of saying he didn’t know, which could mean the end of his life.

For now, he could only stall for time.

Bi Heng wiped the sweat off his forehead and glanced at Jiang Long, who had fainted beside him. At this moment, he actually envied him; at least being unconscious meant not having to face this terrifying ghost.

Moreover, Bi Heng sensed that after revealing he might know about Mu Mountain, the Long-haired Woman’s smile became increasingly friendly and yet, more chillingly filled with Yin Energy¹, as if she was truly pleased with him as her prey.

Could it really be that he was going to meet his end today?

Outside, the snow fell heavier, mirroring the growing heaviness in his heart.

He glanced at his phone surreptitiously-still no signal. There was no way to call for help. His face darkened as he drove, careful not to go too fast or too slow, afraid of drawing the Long-haired Woman’s attention. Just as he was growing increasingly agitated, he heard Jiang Long’s irregular, rapid breathing from the passenger seat. He glanced over and saw that although Jiang Long’s eyes were tightly shut, his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Clearly, he had woken up at some point but was pretending to sleep, likely having already plotted an escape route.

Bi Heng gritted his teeth. Though he was annoyed, he didn’t expose Jiang Long immediately. After all, having one person awake and the other pretending to sleep might work to their advantage in their current predicament.

The car drove for about twenty minutes, and just as Bi Heng’s despair was about to consume him, a sliver of hope emerged. They weren’t repeating the same road as before-it seemed they were moving forward. He suppressed his excitement, feeling that there might still be a chance for survival. After another ten minutes, faint lights appeared in the distance. Bi Heng couldn’t hold back any longer and slammed on the accelerator-where there was light, there had to be people!

People. He had never thought of humans as such endearing creatures before. Normally, he found it annoying when people crowded around him, but now he wished everyone would swarm to him-the more, the better.

He was practically bursting with anticipation.

Jiang Long, who had been secretly peeking through half-closed eyes, also saw the lights. He nearly let out an excited yell but managed to hold it back, thanks to the overwhelming fear of the ghost in the back seat. Still, his face turned red with excitement, and every pore in his body was urging Bi Heng to drive faster, even faster!

Bi Heng was just as anxious. He casually glanced back and saw the Long-haired Woman’s pale face, her dark eyes fixed on the road ahead. She had clearly noticed the lights too.

Bi Heng’s heart sank. Sure enough, the Long-haired Woman spoke up, “The road ahead isn’t good. Let’s take a different route.”

Take a different route? No way!

The ghost was probably afraid of being around too many people, which would make it harder for her to act. How could he let go of such a perfect opportunity?

Bi Heng tried to sound as calm and natural as possible, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, “This road is the shortest to City A. We’ll be there in an hour. If we take a different route, we’ll have to turn back, and it’ll take much longer-we might not get there until dawn. Besides, aren’t you in a hurry to get home?”

The Long-haired Woman’s dark eyes bore into him, as if she were considering his words. Bi Heng felt cold sweat forming on his forehead. Pretending to be relaxed, he suddenly pressed down on the accelerator, and the car shot forward like an arrow!

At this moment, the lights in the distance grew closer. It seemed like several cars had stopped by the roadside, and a few people were gathered around them, standing or crouching, as if engaged in conversation.

Jiang Long, who had been pretending to be unconscious, suddenly feigned surprise and said, “There are people up ahead! What are they doing? Let’s go see what’s going on!”

Bi Heng nodded, “Alright, let’s check it out.”

The Long-haired Woman remained silent.

Her dark, piercing gaze shifted from Bi Heng to the group of people ahead. Bi Heng shivered, sensing that the Long-haired Woman had suddenly become displeased, as if some long-awaited opportunity had been ruined.

What opportunity? The opportunity to devour them?

…

The SUV eagerly pulled over to the side of the road.

As they got closer, Bi Heng realized there were six people in total-two men, three women, and a little boy. It seemed they had been in a car accident. Three vehicles were smashed beyond recognition on the roadside, and the group bore numerous injuries, though thankfully, they were still alive. Unfortunately, there was no sign of police or an ambulance, which Bi Heng found regrettable.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and said, “It looks like something’s happened over there. I’ll go take a look.”

Right now, all he wanted was to get as far away from this ghostly woman as possible.

The Long-haired Woman’s voice drifted eerily, “You’re such a kind person. I’ve been waving for so long, and no one was willing to give me a ride. Only you were kind enough to help me.”

Bi Heng: “…”

Jiang Long: “…”

Both men’s hearts sank, and their bodies stiffened. They couldn’t help but recall the countless times they had tried to escape the Long-haired Woman, only to see her reappear no matter how far they drove.

…Why was she bringing this up? Was she mocking them? Or was she planning to settle the score and exact revenge?

Bi Heng broke into a cold sweat. Jiang Long, unable to endure the suffocating atmosphere in the car any longer, frantically unbuckled his seatbelt, flung the door open, and bolted out, slamming the door shut behind him. Seeing this, Bi Heng cursed under his breath, yanked open his own door, and sprinted away as fast as he could!

Neither dared to look back.

…

The saying “strength in numbers” held true. Seeing six living people here, two of whom were men passionately arguing with each other, Bi Heng felt a surge of courage. One man was shouting, “If you hadn’t blinded me with your high beams, I wouldn’t have crashed into the car ahead! This is your fault!” The other retorted, “You knew the roads were slippery after the snow and that night driving is dangerous, yet you sped like a maniac! Isn’t that your own fault?”

The little boy seemed terrified, crying incessantly. He was wrapped in a down jacket and being comforted by his mother. Another woman was trying to mediate the argument, while a third woman crouched by the roadside, her head buried in her knees, clearly in distress. Blood was visible on the back of her hand from the impact, but since she was conscious, it likely wasn’t serious.

Jiang Long’s eyes lit up, feeling a glimmer of hope. “Stop arguing! The priority now is to call the police and an ambulance. Have you called them? When will they arrive?”

The woman mediating the argument replied, “We’ve already called. They said they’re on their way.”

Jiang Long rubbed his hands together excitedly and said to Bi Heng, “Heng-Ge, we’re saved! Just stall for a bit. When the police arrive, we’ll leave with them!”

Bi Heng shared the same thought. He never wanted to go back to that car-no, he didn’t even want the car anymore.

“Why do I have to stall?”

“I thought you were getting along with… her pretty well. I didn’t want to mess things up for you.”

“Get lost.”

Jiang Long chuckled nervously, about to relax, when he suddenly noticed that the Long-haired Woman had also gotten out of the car. She stood stiffly beside the vehicle, her long hair swaying in the wind and snow, staring at them from a distance. Her already gloomy aura now seemed even more sinister, as if she were deeply displeased.

Holy crap!

Jiang Long felt a chilling breeze and couldn’t help but shiver.

Bi Heng also saw her and instinctively took a step back.

The Long-haired Woman stretched out her arm, waving at them, her eerie voice carried by the wind, “Come back, come back, hurry back…”

Bi Heng and Jiang Long exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other’s eyes.

Going back was out of the question-never, ever going back!

Not only did they not return, but they also took a step back, pretending to mediate the argument while offering words of comfort. However, this didn’t ease their anxiety, as they were horrified to see the Long-haired Woman begin to walk toward them with stiff, unnatural movements.

The distance between them was only about ten meters. It would take her no time to reach them. What would happen then?

Bi Heng and Jiang Long almost instinctively pretended not to see or hear her, continuing to back away while figuring out how to escape her clutches. If it came down to it, they would just run! Since the police had already been called, they should be on their way. If they ran back, they might meet the police and could ask for help then.

No matter what, it was better than being with the Long-haired Woman. After all, they had no idea when they might meet their doom.

However, Bi Heng was too nervous and scared. As he stepped back, preparing to seize an opportunity to escape, his heel accidentally hit a hard piece of ice. Losing his balance, he was about to fall. In a panic, he turned and lunged toward the car beside him!

Jiang Long: “…” Cough.

He went over to help Bi Heng up: “Heng-Ge, watch your step.” After a moment, Bi Heng, still leaning against the car window, showed no response. “…Heng-Ge? Heng-Ge?”

Bi Heng suddenly grabbed Jiang Long’s hand with great force! His eyes widened as he looked back at Jiang Long, as if he had seen something unbelievable. His entire body began to tremble.

Jiang Long was also startled: “Wh-what’s wrong?”

Bi Heng stiffly pointed at the car window. Curious, Jiang Long leaned over to look, and when he did, he froze as well!

There were actually two people lying in the car. The driver’s seat appeared to be occupied by a man, now slumped over in a twisted position, his flesh and blood unrecognizable. However, the woman in the passenger seat was clearly visible. She had just been holding a little boy, comforting him…

A strong smell of blood wafted past their noses.

Jiang Long’s teeth chattered as he looked at Bi Heng, who was no longer composed. His face was pale, and his hand, still gripping Jiang Long’s, was shaking.

It was like escaping the tiger’s den only to fall into the wolf’s lair!

The long-haired woman had somehow appeared beside them. She seemed oblivious to everything and reached out to hold the hands of Jiang Long and Bi Heng, who were gripping each other tightly. “What are you doing standing here? It’s so cold outside. Let’s go back to the car. It’s warm inside.”

She slowly curled her lips into what she thought was a kind and gentle smile.

A perfect 45-degree angle, six teeth showing.

Bi Heng’s legs went weak at the sight of her gleaming white teeth, and he leaned against the car. At this moment, he didn’t dare move, didn’t dare shake off the long-haired woman, and didn’t dare ask what was going on with the two men still arguing. His eyes were red, and tears of fear streamed down his face.

Jiang Long was also stunned, wishing he could faint again-if only there wasn’t snow on the ground and no dead bodies in the car.

The long-haired woman was friendly, as if coaxing children: “Come on, let’s go back to the car. It’s so cold outside.”

Bi Heng: “…”

Jiang Long: “…”

The long-haired woman grinned again, smiling at them, then turned around and, with stiff steps, began pulling the two of them back toward the car.

Bi Heng and Jiang Long were dragged along. As they passed the two men who were still arguing, they instinctively kept their distance, quickening their pace. After all, the long-haired woman was just one, but here, there seemed to be a whole group!

Wait!

Bi Heng sensed something was off. Suddenly, he noticed with surprise that the long-haired woman’s hand, which was gripping his, wasn’t icy cold. Though it was somewhat cool, there was still a hint of warmth-something a ghost couldn’t possibly have.

Bi Heng widened his eyes, looked at the long-haired woman’s hand, and opened his mouth to say, “Your hand seems warm…”

Jiang Long: “???”

The long-haired woman, walking ahead, turned her head and grinned. Her smile was stiff, but there was a faint trace of gratitude and satisfaction in it. “Yes, the car was so warm that I didn’t feel as cold anymore. Before getting in, I was almost frozen stiff.”

Bi Heng: “???”

Bi Heng looked down and saw the woman’s white cotton-padded jacket, black trousers, and black cloth shoes. Her outfit was extremely old-fashioned, looking rigid and not at all warm. The jacket even had patches on it.

Bi Heng was stunned, finding it hard to believe. “Are you really that cold?”

“Yes, very cold,” the long-haired woman replied sadly, lifting her leg slightly. But it seemed she was truly freezing, as even this simple movement took a lot of effort-her shoes were soaked through from the long journey home, and she was genuinely freezing.

Bi Heng felt a bit dazed. He had always thought she was an old ghost with a sense of the past, but was it just because she was too poor?

…And was this the reason her walking, waving, and smiling were so stiff?

The long-haired woman twisted her head to smile at them. Because she was so cold, even making facial expressions was difficult, making her smile appear stiff. Her simplicity carried an eerie undertone. “You’re really good people.”

Bi Heng: “…”

Jiang Long: “…”

Footnote:

1. 1. Yin Energy(阴气): Yin represents darkness, calmness, passivity, introversion, and femininity. Places with strong yin energy are usually considered to be active with ghosts and spirits, such as cemeteries and yin dwellings.