WATCS Chapter 8: Save Me
“What’s wrong?”
Before Lin Ming could grasp Bo Si’s words, he screamed again, “Bai… Bai Nuo!”
Bai Nuo reappeared in front of the car!
Still the same as before, still in the same spot!
Her face remained utterly bloodless, still staring fixedly at them.
“How can this be?” Lin Ming cried in disbelief, slumping in his seat.
Bo Si sneered, “That’s why I told you not to look back.”
Gu Yi asked, “Is this the ghost wall phenomenon?”
He recalled from a novel that if you keep wandering in the same place at night without being able to escape, it might very well be a ghost wall.
Bo Si said, “Maybe she’s trying to stop us. Kid, try cursing.”
“...Huh?” Gu Yi was taken aback. “Why curse?”
Bo Si glared at him. “It’s for ‘damn ghost wall’.”
“…Boss, you should do the cursing. I don’t know what to curse.”
“Damn it—do you think I’m the kind of guy who curses?”
Gu Yi just shook his head in disbelief.
Not just “like” it—he really wasn’t.
“Alright, I’m really scared of you young folks.”
Bo Si pulled a talisman from his pocket, rolled down the car window, and casually tossed it out.
As soon as the talisman touched the outside air, a pale blue flame quickly ignited. In the night, it looked rather beautiful.
But Gu Yi noticed that Bo Si’s talisman paper was different from those he’d seen in movies or novels—others were usually yellow, or sometimes gold and silver. Only Bo Si’s talisman paper was… pink.
And it was that girlish kind of pink, with an adorable, chibi strawberry graphic in the lower right corner.
Recalling that the talisman water he’d given him before also had a strawberry flavor, Gu Yi wondered if this man had some sort of obsession with strawberries.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked ahead and sure enough—after the talisman’s flame died out, the Bai Nuo in front of the car had vanished.
Gu Yi felt a twinge of disappointment, but in the end, Bai Nuo was dead.
As Bo Si drove, he said, “Kid, remember this: when you see stuff like that at night, don’t look back. I’m telling you—don’t look back. If you run into a ghost wall, that’s nothing; but if your yang fire is extinguished, you’ll be haunted by ghostly energy. And then, I’ll have no choice but to fire you.”
After a moment’s thought, Gu Yi asked in a low voice, “If it’s Bai Nuo, would she hurt me too?”
Bo Si laughed. “Don’t think that ghosts and people are the same. A ghost is nothing but an attachment—if someone gets in its way, it’ll try to eliminate them. It might even have feelings, but when those feelings are outweighed by hatred, it’ll disregard everything—even its kin. Otherwise, how could people be so afraid of ghosts?”
By the time he finished speaking, they had arrived at the cemetery.
The three got out of the car and walked straight inside.
This cemetery was located in the outskirts, surrounded almost entirely by barren land. In the distance, an abandoned railway ran across the field.
The wind here was noticeably stronger than in the city. The trees on either side rustled, their sounds like the cries of children.
Passing through a wrought-iron gate, they entered the cemetery—a neat row of tombstones, and below them, likely an equally orderly row of urns.
As soon as the three stepped into the cemetery, Bo Si felt the chill of swirling, ominous winds. Gu Yi, too, felt a deep cold. Fortunately, after leaving the mortuary, he had changed back into his own clothes and even put on a thin jacket; otherwise, walking here at night would have been unbearable.
There wasn’t a single star in the sky; everything was pitch-black, with only the sounds of insects chirping. Bo Si led the way, and soon enough, he found Bai Nuo’s tombstone.
It was a brand-new tombstone, recently erected, with a photo of Bai Nuo smiling—a picture of pure, unspoiled beauty.
Standing in front of the tombstone, Bo Si said, “We’re here.”
Gu Yi walked up and looked at Bai Nuo’s photo. A fresh wave of sadness filled his heart.
Lin Ming, on the other hand, didn’t dare to come closer. He stood at a distance—not too far, not too near. Ever since they’d entered the cemetery, he’d felt deeply uneasy. Perhaps it was guilt over what he’d done, or perhaps because he knew that Bai Nuo’s ghost had already attached itself to him. In any case, until things were resolved, he couldn’t bear to face her.
Bo Si cast a sidelong glance at the timid Lin Ming and sneered, “The girl you’ve dreamed about is right here. Aren’t you going to at least come and take a look?”
Lin Ming shook his head frantically, “No… I’m fine just looking from here.”
Bo Si snorted coldly. “Pathetic. You’re not afraid of the living, yet you tremble before someone dead. After what you did to a girl, do you have any idea—you’re scarier than a ghost.”
Lin Ming was mortified with shame. “I…”
“Save it. No words can fix this.”
Bo Si raised his palm, and out of nowhere, a blue flame burst into existence in Lin Ming’s open hand. The flame burned fiercer and fiercer until, all at once, a wild wind whipped around them, thick with ghostly energy.
The sound of rustling leaves grew even more intense, like a series of agonizing wails. Lin Ming couldn’t take it any longer; he collapsed to the ground, a warm fluid oozing from his crotch.
The ferocious wind seemed capable of tossing a person around. Gu Yi, standing behind Bo Si, braved the gusts and asked, “Boss, what are you doing?”
“I’m summoning a ghost. Didn’t you feel it? Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Lin Ming let out a piercing scream. Pointing at Bai Nuo’s tombstone, his voice twisted with terror, he shouted, “Blood… There’s blood! The tombstone—it’s bleeding!”
Gu Yi and Bo Si looked over. Sure enough, the brand-new black tombstone was now oozing fresh blood in a steady trickle.
The blood stood out strikingly in the darkness. With the sky completely black and the leaves wailing like an endless tide, Lin Ming couldn’t bear it any longer; he clutched his head and curled up in agony.
The wind tore at Gu Yi’s body. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his left eye—just like that pain he’d felt before, a pain worse than death.
“Ah!”
Gu Yi screamed, trying to cover his eye with his hand, but it was too late. Blood began streaming from his left eye, staining his iris red. In the searing pain, Gu Yi seemed to catch fleeting, fragmented images—scenes drenched in vivid red. He strained to see more clearly, and gradually, the images in his vision became sharper.
He saw it—he saw that day, in the small grove behind the school on the hillside.
There, around Bai Nuo, stood several people: Lin Ming, Zhang Qiang, Wang Hao, and Du Ran.
Leading them all, Lin Ming had cornered Bai Nuo under a tree. Dressed in the same clothes as Gu Yi, his face was a mask of anger and sorrow as he bellowed, “Why! I love you so much! And yet you choose to love a monster! That Gu Yi—he’s so ugly! His family is poor, and he doesn’t do well in school! Why would you rather be friends with him than give me a chance? Why!”
“I don’t want to talk to you. Get out of my way—I have class to attend!” Bai Nuo, seemingly unafraid, glared back and shouted in response.
Bo Si said, “Maybe it’s because she wants to stop us. Kid, try cursing.”
“…Huh?” Gu Yi was taken aback. “Why curse?”
Bo Si glared at him. “For ‘damn ghost wall’.”
“…Boss, you should do the cursing. I don’t know what to curse.”
“Damn it—do you think I’m the kind of person who curses?”
Gu Yi’s head must have been on fire with embarrassment.
Not just “like” it—he really wasn’t.
“Alright, I’m truly scared of you young folks.”
Bo Si pulled a talisman from his pocket, rolled down the car window, and casually tossed it outside.
The talisman, upon meeting the outside air, quickly burst into a pale blue flame. In the dark night, it looked rather beautiful.
However, Gu Yi noticed that Bo Si’s talisman paper was different from the ones he’d seen in movies or novels. Other talisman papers were usually yellow—or sometimes a mix of gold and silver—but Bo Si’s was… pink.
And not just any pink, but a girlish, pretty shade with an adorable chibi strawberry graphic in the lower right corner.
Recalling that the talisman water Bo Si had given him last time also tasted like strawberry, Gu Yi wondered if this man had some kind of fixation on strawberries.
Snapping back to his thoughts, he glanced ahead and, sure enough, once the talisman’s flame died out, the Bai Nuo in front of the car had vanished.
Gu Yi felt a twinge of disappointment, but after all, Bai Nuo was dead.
As Bo Si drove, he said, “Kid, remember this: when you see these things at night, don’t look back. I’m telling you—don’t look back. Encountering a ghost wall is one thing, but if it extinguishes your yang fire, you’ll be haunted by ghostly energy. Then, I’ll have no choice but to fire you.”
After a moment’s thought, Gu Yi asked in a low voice, “If it’s Bai Nuo, will she hurt me too?”
Bo Si laughed, “Don’t think ghosts are like people. A ghost is just a manifestation of attachment—if someone gets in its way, it will try to eliminate them. It might have feelings, but when hatred overpowers those feelings, it disregards everything—even its kin. Otherwise, why would people be so afraid of ghosts?”
By then, they had arrived at the cemetery.
The three of them got out of the car and walked straight inside.
This cemetery was located on the outskirts, surrounded almost entirely by barren land; in the distance, an abandoned railway ran across the fields.
The wind here was noticeably stronger than in the city, and the trees on either side rustled like the cries of children.
Passing through a wrought-iron gate, they entered the cemetery, where neat rows of tombstones stood, and below them, likely orderly rows of urns.
As soon as the three stepped into the cemetery, Bo Si felt the chill of swirling, ominous winds. Gu Yi also felt an intense cold—fortunately, after leaving the mortuary, he had changed back into his own clothes and even added a thin jacket; otherwise, walking here at night would have been unbearable.
There wasn’t a single star in the sky; everything was pitch black, and the sound of insects chirping filled the air. Bo Si led the way, and soon he found Bai Nuo’s tombstone.
It was a brand-new tombstone, recently erected, with a photo of Bai Nuo smiling—a picture of pure, unspoiled beauty.
Standing before the tombstone, Bo Si said, “We’re here.”
Gu Yi walked up and looked at Bai Nuo’s photo. A fresh wave of sadness overwhelmed him.
Lin Ming, on the other hand, didn’t dare to come closer. He stood at a distance—not too far, not too near. Ever since they’d entered the cemetery, he’d felt deeply uneasy. Perhaps it was guilt over what he had done, or maybe he knew that Bai Nuo’s ghost had already attached itself to him. In any case, until the matter was resolved, he couldn’t bear to face her.
Bo Si glanced sideways at the timid Lin Ming and sneered, “The girl you’ve dreamed about is right here. Aren’t you going to at least come and look at her?”
Lin Ming frantically shook his head, “No… I’ll just watch from here.”
Bo Si snorted, “Pathetic. You’re not afraid of the living, yet you tremble before someone dead. After what you did to a girl, do you have any idea—you’re scarier than a ghost.”
Lin Ming was mortified. “I…”
“No need to say more. More words won’t change a thing.”
Bo Si raised his palm, and out of nowhere, a blue flame blossomed in Lin Ming’s open hand. The flame burned fiercer and fiercer until, all at once, a wild wind arose, laden with ghostly energy.
The rustling of the leaves grew more intense, like agonizing wails echoing through the night. Lin Ming couldn’t bear it any longer; he collapsed to the ground, and warm fluid began seeping from his groin.
The fierce wind seemed capable of tossing a person about. Gu Yi, standing behind Bo Si, braved the gusts and asked, “Boss, what are you doing?”
“I’m summoning a ghost. Didn’t you feel it? Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Lin Ming let out a piercing scream. Pointing at Bai Nuo’s tombstone, his voice twisted in terror, he cried, “Blood… There’s blood! The tombstone—it’s bleeding!”
Gu Yi and Bo Si looked over. Sure enough, the brand-new black tombstone was now oozing fresh blood in a slow, steady stream.
The blood was strikingly vivid against the dark night. With the sky completely black and the leaves wailing like an endless tide, Lin Ming couldn’t take it anymore; he clutched his head and curled up in agony.
The wind tugged at Gu Yi’s body, and suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his left eye—just like the pain he had felt before, a pain worse than death.
“Ah!”
Gu Yi screamed, trying to cover his eye with his hand, but it was too late. Blood began streaming from his left eye, staining his iris red. Amidst the burning pain, Gu Yi caught fleeting, fragmented images—scenes drenched in vivid red. He strained to see more clearly, and gradually, the images in his vision became sharper.
He saw it: that day in the small grove behind the school on the hillside.
There, around Bai Nuo, stood several people: Lin Ming, Zhang Qiang, Wang Hao, and Du Ran.
Lin Ming led them, cornering Bai Nuo under a tree. Wearing the same clothes as Gu Yi, his face was contorted with anger and sorrow as he bellowed, “Why! I love you so much, yet you choose to love a monster! That Gu Yi—he’s so ugly! His family is poor, and his grades are terrible! Why would you rather be friends with him than give me a chance? Why!”
“I don’t want to talk to you. Get out of my way—I have class to attend!” Bai Nuo, seemingly unafraid, glared back and shouted in response.
She shouted that, and it completely infuriated Lin Ming. His demeanor turned vicious as he grabbed Bai Nuo’s hand and dragged her into the grove. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”
The physical strength between a boy and a girl was clearly mismatched. Realizing she couldn’t resist him, Bai Nuo suddenly grasped the gravity of the situation. Panicked and frightened, she cried out, “Lin Ming! If you don’t let go, I’ll tell the teacher!”
Lin Ming laughed arrogantly, “Go ahead, tell! Let’s see if the teacher cares, or if Gu Yi can save you. If you have any complaints, you can only blame yourself for being so blind. If you had been willing to be my girlfriend from the start, at least we’d be on a big hotel bed right now!”
“Lin Ming! Let me go! Help! Help me!”
“Ha ha! Good job, Ming Ge! Go, Ming Ge, be strong! Ming Ge, be mighty—now, go do it! We’re all cheering you on!”
Zhang Qiang and a few others jeered gleefully, whistling in support of Lin Ming.
Du Ran, with a sense of mischief, even pulled out his phone and recorded the scene.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
Although Bai Nuo’s strength was, to Lin Ming, like a mere tickle, she never ceased her struggle. Fierce by nature, her anger finally erupted as she shouted, “Lin Ming! Don’t think that just because you have money I’ll like you! I like Gu Yi, and I never will like you! No matter what you do, I won’t love you—I’ll only grow to despise and hate you more!”
Hearing this, Lin Ming merely laughed instead of getting angry, “Fine, when you become mine, you can hate me all you want.”
In the midst of her desperate struggle, Bai Nuo suddenly seemed to see someone—as if a drowning person had grasped a lifesaving straw. Her eyes lit up with hope, brimming with the promise of rescue. She reached out toward that person, and a trace of joy flickered across her pale face, “Teacher! Teacher, help me! Teacher! Teacher!”
“Teacher, help me!”
All the surrounding sounds fell silent.
Gu Yi could only see flashes of vivid red.
He couldn’t clearly discern who the teacher was that Bai Nuo was calling for. All he saw was that Zhang Qiang and the others had scattered, and Lin Ming was giving some menacing warning to that teacher. Then, Lin Ming dragged Bai Nuo—forcefully pulling her into the grove.
At that moment, Gu Yi saw in Bai Nuo’s eyes a despair as deep as death.
She watched helplessly as that teacher walked past her. She cried desperately, screaming for help. She flailed her arms wildly in the direction the teacher had gone, but no one paid attention; the teacher walked on without even turning his head. Bai Nuo never gave up hope—she trusted that teacher completely. She believed he would turn back to save her. But he didn’t.
The teacher simply vanished from her sight.
Then, all Gu Yi could hear was Bai Nuo’s heart-wrenching cries.
Her stubborn cries of “Teacher, help me!” only seemed to enrage Lin Ming further, fueling his terror and driving his subsequent actions into a crazed frenzy.
The sound of a skirt being torn, Bai Nuo’s desperate cries for help, and Lin Ming’s arrogant, self-satisfied voice—all of it shattered Gu Yi’s nerves completely.
“Kid, kid—what’s wrong, Gu Yi? Wake up!”
Bo Si gently patted Gu Yi’s face. After a long while, Gu Yi finally regained consciousness.
He found himself lying on the ground, leaning against Bo Si’s chest. As he opened his eyes, he saw that his left eye was weeping streams of liquid—sticky and, upon touch, he realized it was blood.
Seeing that Gu Yi was conscious, Bo Si finally exhaled in relief, “You little brat, you scared me to death—I nearly thought you wouldn’t wake up.”
“…What happened to me?”
Gu Yi sat up from Bo Si’s embrace, asking blankly.
Bo Si smacked his forehead and said, “Did you see something? Suddenly, your eye started bleeding, and you kept shouting ‘help me, help me!’ Was it that Bai Nuo transferring her memories to you?”
Gu Yi was silent for a moment.
Yes, he had seen what happened to Bai Nuo, but the memory was unbearably heavy and painful—so heavy that he couldn’t even bring himself to speak of it.
Suddenly, he thought of something. Lifting his eyes to look at Bo Si, his gaze looked strange. Bo Si frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Gu Yi touched his left eye and said, “The pain’s gone. Didn’t you... feed me your blood again?”
T/N: Please give support on my kofi page, thank you🥑🥑🥑
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