《Abnormal Days》


 Dreams with a Water Ghost Chapter 1

    The Beginning


    I suppose I should start from the very beginning of my supernatural encounters. This is the story of my first brush with the supernatural as well as the first time I got to know the existence of the girl known as Li Jun Ling.


    (...)


    It¡¯s over. My high school days are over. No more. All of that is going to be left behind now.


    What do I do now? ... Well I never did complete that graduating student survey form. Although I don¡¯t think the teacher would be pleased with my late submission, it wouldn''t hurt just to give it a look.


    Further education. Nope.


    3 Colleges of Choice. None.


    3 Future Aspirations. Non- Actually¡­ Artist.


    God, my parents are gonna kill me if they see this form.


    Your youngest child is going to pursue a life of mediocrity and little pay! That¡¯s what this form basically says.


    I let out a huge sigh. And that¡¯s when I see it.


    Despite it being a 100 meters away with people walking by almost obstructing my vision. Dodging through numerous pillars, iron bars, glazed glass whilst fighting off bad eyesight, I see it.


    The girl¡¯s changing room.


    I¡¯m sorry but really what were you expecting?


    This is a completely normal world, with nothing at all abnormal about it. The most abnormal thing to have happened was me actually graduating. On the dot, with 50 in my Math, I barely grazed the finish line. By passing Math, albeit in not so flying colours, I barely secured 2 A¡¯s, 1B and 2 C¡¯s and barely caught the minimum requirement train to the local universities.


    According to the plan, I am now supposed to attend university, pass with not so flying colours again for another 4 years and then I¡¯ll become a run of the mill accountant to fit into my family¡¯s image¡­ Wait a second, this isn¡¯t my plan! That is the plan set out for me by my family!


    Well enough of loitering around my old school. Time to go home and hit the sack. But¡­ Maybe just for a bit longer, I¡¯ll loiter for the last time.


    So, I walk from my peeping spot inspiring, female form appreciating location and go towards the court in the back of the school. It¡¯s almost evening so the wind is cool and the sun is hidden behind several buildings. Perfect temperature. Huh. I won¡¯t be able to play basketball here anymore. It¡¯s kind of sad. Sad that I¡¯ll have to pay entrance fees to have to play in basketball gymnasiums now, that is.


    What? No I don¡¯t have any emotional attachment to this place. I will merely miss the ease of access and location.


    Ah. Someone left their basketball in the hedges. What the heck. That¡¯s pretty careless, treating their ball this roughly.


    It¡¯s been there for quite a while it seems. It¡¯s bruised, beaten and weathered. The leather is peeling off and the colour which I guess was once orange, was now a mud brown. This ball won''t ever return to pristine condition.


    Well if he¡¯s treating his ball that badly now, he won¡¯t be missing it, it seems¡­ I guess I¡¯ll be borrowing it indefinitely.


    And so I played for a solid three hours. The sun was completely down now but here I was still. Hammering out my last shots, just because from tomorrow onwards, I will never get another chance.


    Ah. This place at night. I¡¯ve never seen it before like this. To be honest it¡¯s a little unnerving.


    Urgh. Now that I¡¯ve slowed down to rest and think, I realize just how badly my body¡¯s aching. I can barely move anything. Why have I even stayed here this long? Ah¡­ don¡¯t close your eyes, idiot. You¡¯re gonna fall asleep out here, it¡¯s a death sentence with how many mosquitoes there are. But¡­ I can¡¯t fight it anymore. Just for a little bit¡­


    (¡­)


    Hmm? Who¡¯s shaking me? What the hell, I¡¯m finally graduated there¡¯s no more school. Let me sleep in¡­This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I lazily open one eye to see the red, angry face of my teacher. Oh. I stayed overnight in the school. Yeah he¡¯s probably pissed. Wait I¡¯m not in the basketball court. This is the classroom- And everyone¡¯s looking at me. Everyone? Eh? Everyone is wearing their uniforms¡­ Is this a prank?


    ¡°Hahaha, good joke everyone.¡±


    I go back to sleep.


    ¡°As if I¡¯d let you sleep!¡±


    My head is smacked with a book.


    Ah. I can¡¯t wake up. This is a nightmare, please let me wake up now. Please, please, please you can¡¯t force me to go through exams a second time. I was just lucky the first time! This is pure torture! My sanity is at stake here!


    I know this is a dream! Let me wake up! Lucid dreaming save me! Let me start to fly! Laser beams! Pew pew pew!


    ...


    No? Okay then. My conclusion is¡­


    This is one tough nightmare!


    (¡­)


    So after gathering myself, it seems that I¡¯ve time traveled. Or that I¡¯ve wandered into another reality. Or I¡¯m just really damn stubborn at waking up and this is all a dream.


    Anyways I ignore all the stares and rude looks from the teachers, as I think and think. The date on the whiteboard is February XXXX. 7 months before graduation. Everyone¡¯s worked up and studying hard, except yours truly. I¡¯m actually pretty relaxed.


    Or could the real dream have been me graduating? Hmm that seems plausible. Me graduating, kind of impossible when you think about it. So maybe that is the answer. And it was all a dream. The end.


    AS IF THAT''S THE CASE!


    Ah who cares? I can¡¯t find out anything by just thinking. It¡¯s physical education next. I¡¯ll get in some fun now.


    Ah the physical education teacher is giving a long, drawn out speech in the beginning as usual. I just want to play before I nod off¡­ Zzz.


    ¡°Gasp!¡±


    That was close. Nearly fell asleep standing up.


    Alright today we have free time. Let¡¯s play some basketball.


    Form teams. Inbound ball. Lob pass to (*%^$).


    Me on defense.


    Dribble move, my stance is ruined but I recover quickly to get back on defense.


    I jump to block the shot. Successful block.


    I land slightly awkwardly. Krak. Krak? What kind of sound is that supposed to be? Oh it¡¯s the sound of my ankle.


    My ankle. It hits me.


    Ah now I remember what today was. XX February XXXX. The day I broke my ankle. The day I ruined my dream and career.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­AHHHHHHHH!¡±


    A dream should not be allowed to hurt this much! If this was a virtual reality game, the pain tolerance must be set all the way to zero! Was it really this bad the first time?


    (¡­)


    In the infirmary now. Just chilling. And hurting.


    Thank goodness I¡¯m underweight. Made it super easy for my classmates to carry me.


    But seriously, is there any meaning to me going through this pain for a second time? Was the first time supposed to be a rehearsal? And this is the now the real performance?


    Ah. I¡¯ll just go to sleep now. Maybe that will make me wake up? Or will I just fall deeper into the dream? I don¡¯t know but it¡¯s better than sitting around and doing nothing.


    ¡­


    Damn. It¡¯s pretty hard to sleep.


    The bed¡¯s comfy, my foot¡¯s warm and wrapped up and the air conditioning is cooling.


    And yet.


    Trying to purposefully sleep is so stressful. I can¡¯t relax at all. Thinking of what will happen when I wake up. It¡¯s like a child trying to sleep after you tell him stories of Santa going down the chimney. Of course he won¡¯t be able to sleep when he¡¯s that hyper. Guess I¡¯ll drown my consciousness with lots of thoughts as usual.


    You know. When I graduated, I was feeling pretty lost but being back here¡­ It¡¯s oddly comforting. To have the usual. Getting teachers to shout at me. Playing basketball in teams. Trying to sleep during classes. Actually aren''t 2 of the 3 things I just said, really bad things to do?...


    Oh. I''m feeling groggy. This is it.


    (¡­)


    Gasp!


    ¡°...and so today we will be having free time. Go and play whatever games you like.¡±


    We¡¯re back to physical education class? It seems this is an important part. I mean of course it¡¯s important. It¡¯s the period I ruined any hopes of being a pro athlete.


    It¡¯s also how I got into art. With a ruined ankle, I couldn¡¯t play my beloved sport. So during art class, for the first time, I seriously tried to draw a basketball.


    It turned out better than expected.


    Maybe I have some talent for this, I thought. From then on, basketball become a secondary hobby while art became my foremost important.


    So I¡¯m guessing this dream won¡¯t end unless I change something huh. Hmph but I¡¯m not like most protagonists. Going to play basketball again is a mistake. Repeating the same activities will be setting myself up for failure. But¡­ then again I kind of need to test basketball again huh?


    No¡­ No. It¡¯s not that I enjoy playing basketball at my full strength once again. I just need to make sure it¡¯s basketball which is causing the dream to repeat.


    Form teams. Pass. Lob. Dribble. Shot block. Krak.


    Okay so basketball does cause the dream to repeat. I even tried to change things up but I still got hurt. Ouch ouch. It¡¯s as if the dream forces me to repeat the same movements each time.


    My classmates are deciding who to carry me to the infirmary. Hmm. You¡¯d think friends would immediately carry me without discussing about it, huh? Well that¡¯s because they aren¡¯t friends. They are merely people I share a class with. And that¡¯s perfectly fine with me. I didn¡¯t need it then and I certainly don¡¯t need it now.


    So I look at their direction, waiting for someone to carry me. That was when I noticed it.


    A small girl, what was her name again, went up to the group. Then they all came to carry me to the infirmary. Ah so she was the one that convinced them to carry me? I should thank her. I never noticed it the first time or second time, I was injured. The pain had me unable to focus on anything else. But by the third time, I''m just kind of nonchalantly used to it.


    She came to help carry me too. Her hands were like marshmallows, soft. In fact her not helping to carry me probably would have had the same result.


    When they set me down and left, she lingered a little and I found my chance.


    ¡°Thank you, umm¡­¡±


    I forgot her name.


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re welcome!¡±


    She ran off. The sight of her running out the infirmary and down the corridor. That was undeniably cute. Like a shy stray cat, who runs off with a slight pat?


    Ah... I can¡¯t wait to drift off and meet her again. Please don''t let this dream end yet... Let me get the girl and reach the happy ending first at least.

 Dreams with a Water Ghost Chapter 2

    ¡°Gasp!¡±


    Alright I¡¯ve gone back in time again. Ah! I immediately spot the girl I¡¯m looking for. Her hairstyle is rather unique isn¡¯t it? I can¡¯t quite describe it properly.


    Long bangs at the front but the back of her hair is like a regular bob cut. What would you call a haircut like this? Half bob?


    It¡¯s rare that I¡¯m ever fixated on someone like this. There¡¯s something about her, I can¡¯t look away.


    And does she seem to be getting bigger? No wait, it''s my field of vision that''s shrinking. She¡¯s just coming closer. No it¡¯s not her that¡¯s coming closer. It¡¯s me that¡¯s approaching her?! GACK!


    I couldn¡¯t see her clearly from far away so I instinctively walked towards her. Hurry! Think of something!


    ¡°Umm do you want to play basketball?¡±


    Not good but not bad. Good recovery me. Self-five.


    ¡°I¡¯d be glad to if you could teach me.¡±


    Eh? Somehow we¡¯re going to play basketball in the court at the back of the school. Away from the rest of the class. How did I get into such a situation? Calm down, me. It¡¯s just a dream!


    ¡°Umm we¡¯re here now.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Yeah! Let¡¯s play!¡±


    My voice cracked. I feel like dying. Please end me now.


    ¡°You¡¯re funny. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    I made a fool of myself¡­


    ¡°I-I¡¯m Zhang Shun, Zhang meaning Archer and Shun meaning good natured.¡±


    ¡°So are you a good swimmer, Archer?¡±


    Swimmer? What¡¯s with that sudden question? Is this how people break the ice? She called me Archer... That¡¯s a pretty cool nickname I guess.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at it¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh. I asked because your name is Zhang Shun. Like the Zhang Shun from Water Margin, the White Stripe in the Waves, one of the 36 Heavenly Spirits and a great swimmer¡±


    I am unworthy of so much praise. She¡¯s looking at me expectantly now. I think this is the cue for me to say something? Ah.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡±


    Nice recovery Shun.


    ¡°My name is Li Jun Ling. Li meaning plum, Jun meaning truthful and Ling meaning spiritual being.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s. Not a name you hear every day.¡±


    Her surname fits her though. She¡¯s small like a plum.


    ¡°Right?¡±


    She seems to be in good spirits. Alright, continuing this good mood!


    ¡°So you wanted to learn how to play basketball?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes. I wanted to play with the others but I couldn¡¯t ask them. Thank you for going out of your way.¡±


    Shy to boot. She¡¯s an honest to goodness angel on Earth. This wave of cuteness, it almost swept me off my feet.


    ¡°To start off, I suppose I should ask what you can do.¡±


    ¡°I can dribble the ball and shoot a little¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright then let¡¯s have a 1 versus 1 practice match here. We¡¯ll know what to practice after seeing you perform. You can go first.¡±


    She starts to dribble. She¡¯s stiff but she doesn¡¯t lose the ball when I pressure her. Her speed is decent, she can post up. She probably could be a starter for the girls¡¯ team if she practices more. And as for her shooting¡­


    Swish. A great fade away jump shot with excellent form.


    ¡°How did I do?¡±


    She has such an excited look on her face again. This is cuteness given human form! She is the embodiment of CUTE!


    ¡°Great! You¡¯re really good. You could be a starter for the girls¡¯ basketball team right now! Nationals wouldn¡¯t be a dream with you on their team.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t exaggerating just because she was cute. Few guys could post up like that and nail such a closely defended fade away like that. Her height would make her one of the shorter ones but that was alright. Her skills are the real thing.


    ¡°Thank you, Archer! I¡¯ve had lots of time to practice by myself.¡±


    By herself, meaning she has never had someone defending her shot before. And yet she could swish that?! So this is true talent. No. I can¡¯t disrespect her skill and hard work by calling it talent. Now that I notice it, her ball is really battered and the leather¡¯s almost gone. She must have practiced a whole lot for that to have happened.


    Did this girl really exist in my class before? Why didn¡¯t anyone take notice of her? Maybe this is why I¡¯m stuck in this dream. To enjoy the times that never happened. All because I was always self-absorbed in my own world.


    Before I knew it class was over. I managed to snag her number just before I left for home. It seems she was staying back for more practice.


    Bye Archer, she said. Such a cute girl calling me by a nickname. My heart might stop.


    When I went home, I immediately hopped in bed, eager for the next day. I hope this time sleeping doesn¡¯t reset me.


    It didn¡¯t. The next day came. It was still February XXXX. Thank you for this wonderful dream!


    Today we have physical education for first period! People in our class complain that our physical education classes are too close together but I don¡¯t mind it at all. I can¡¯t wait to play with Li again!


    Right now, I barely even remember that this is all supposed to be a dream. Because if it is a dream, I want to enjoy it to its fullest. This dream where I have a friend and I haven¡¯t broken my ankle.


    Today, I¡¯m going to compete with her for real. Yesterday was just practice matches. I can¡¯t let a girl, a full head shorter than me, keep beating me.


    Coming into the gym, I spot her sitting by herself on a bench, already dressed in her gym clothes.


    ¡°Li! Let¡¯s play some basketball to warm up before P.E¡±


    ¡°Mnn!¡±


    That sound she just made in agreement and that cute little nod¡­ my heart can¡¯t take much more of that.


    Today, for first period, we don¡¯t have any juniors using the gymnasium so we have free rein. Juniors have priority for the gym because of a heat stroke incident involving a grade schooler.


    But today, our timetables don¡¯t clash and the seniors get to avoid the scorching sun.


    In other words, today Li can show off her skills in front of the class since everyone will be gathered in one spot. She¡¯ll get noticed and she can get the chance to join the basketball team.


    We talked to a few classmates and found a few girls who were part of the basketball club and asked if she could join. She got a tryout game and had a break out. She scorched the other team for 50 points. 50!


    She was accepted into the team of course.


    Somehow joining in the last year, she and her team went on to win Nationals¡­


    Then we graduated. She became a national basketball athlete, I became a renowned artist. We got married, we got jobs and we had children. We were a family.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    But that never happened. This is just a dream after all. Lately I¡¯ve felt as if everything is a lie. I realized something. I might have friends and family in this dream world, I might even have everything. But what is the point of all that if it isn¡¯t real?


    I have to wake up. Sometime after meeting her, I began to stop thinking about going back to the real world. How could I dream of someone that I can¡¯t even remember? There¡¯s clearly something wrong going on here. I have to get out! Let me out!


    As I was running to school, I saw an ambulance pass me by. Wait running to school? Where was I before? How am I here now? But all I feel is that I need to reach the school. But as I approached the school and saw the ambulance parked there, I felt a strange sense of foreboding.


    There was a body. Teachers were called to identify the body. I volunteered but was turned down. She wasn¡¯t in class either¡­ Class? Weren¡¯t we graduated? I can¡¯t make any sense of what¡¯s happening. My mind really, really hurts...


    I left class to go look at the basketball court where we played. It was taped off. I snuck through the tape around the area. Each step I took seemed to get heavier and heavier. As if I were weighed down. No. It was as if there was a current pushing against me.


    I noticed something in the hedges. Its colour was very similar to the hedges so I almost didn¡¯t see it.


    It was her basketball. That same beaten, weathered ball of hers. The same one I picked up on the last day of high school. I pushed my way through the medics and teachers to look at the body.


    It was her.


    Please let me out of this nightmare! I DON¡¯T WANT TO STAY HERE ANYMORE! LET ME WAKE UP! Upon my wish, the world around me shattered and I woke up. This time for real. I woke up in the basketball court of my high school, clutching her basketball. No it was a dream. This could be anyone else¡¯s ball.


    That was a nightmare. I never want to go through that ever again.


    ¡°Thank you Archer.¡±


    Huh? No way, that voice. Where is it coming from? I¡¯m awake now aren¡¯t I?


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Archer¡­¡±


    I¡¯ve gone completely insane haven¡¯t I?


    Wandering left, wandering right. Slowly her voice got louder. No her voice wasn¡¯t getting louder. I was getting closer. I was approaching her.


    ¡°Archer!¡±


    By now I had wandered past the fence, past the hedges and had reached the river bank. Her voice drew me towards her, I couldn¡¯t resist it.


    And there she was, still in her P.E uniform, cute as ever. Could I still be dreaming? No. Li Jun Ling is real, she is not a figment of my imagination. It wasn¡¯t just a dream. I just know it! But how, why?!


    I run to embrace her but she pulls back immediately.


    It hurts me slightly that she would react like that to me. But she must have a good reason.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer! If you touch me, I¡¯ll possess you. If you¡¯re confused, I¡¯ll explain but please just stay there. I don¡¯t want to hurt you¡­¡±


    Hurt me? Why? How are you here? I don¡¯t, can¡¯t understand anything right now. What day is it? What time is it? What has happened?


    ¡°I, Li Jun Ling, drowned in February XXXX and became a water ghost, capable of possessing bodies. In order to fulfill my wish to play basketball, I entered your dreamscape while you were passed out on the court by the river. After I played one round of basketball with you, my dreams were fulfilled but you kept me there, trapped. Just because you wanted me to stay with you. In time though, I started to feel the same way too. But you got scared. Scared that I didn¡¯t love you. Scared that everything was a lie and that your dreams were never really going to come true. So with no choice, I showed you the truth, Archer.¡±


    I was the one who trapped us. I was the warden and she, my willing prisoner.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Archer. I¡¯m sorry for deceiving you.¡±


    She¡¯s on the verge of tears. With my selfishness, I did this to her.


    ¡°No you weren¡¯t tricking me at all. I knew it was fake all along but I just wanted to enjoy it.¡±


    It¡¯s true. Somewhere along the way, I thought it wouldn¡¯t have been bad to live in it forever. Just being able to spend every day with her and play basketball without an injured ankle, I thought I would be happy. Then it somehow became even better. Marriage, dream job, children and a family. It was never messy or difficult and all my wishes come true.


    But that is not how reality works. Reality hurts, reality stings and reality demands hard work. I realized it was impossible to truly fulfill my dreams while trapped in a place, where everything was handed to me for free and I panicked. But even after I panicked I still sorely bemoaned the thought of losing everything in my dream, especially her. Like a petulant child, I stubbornly refused reality and desperately clung on as long as I could. So to save me, she turned the dream to a nightmare and showed me the truth that allowed me to leave. The truth of her death and her dreams that would never come true.


    With that, the door to the dreamscape was unlocked and both of us could escape from the dream world. After remembering my weakness, I slumped down not in relief but in utter exhaustion.


    My head¡¯s spinning so hard, and a migraine so extreme that I had never ever experienced in my life, hit me. I threw up. Not only do I feel physically ill, I¡¯m disgusted at my own attitude as well. I ran away from reality and I ran away from the dream world as well when I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯m¡­ pathetic.


    It feels like I just ran a marathon across the Earth and back.


    ¡°You¡¯re exhausted because we were within the dreamscape for too long. Our spirits could have died.¡±


    She just read my mind!


    ¡°We¡¯re still connected mentally because of how long we spent in the dreamscape.¡±


    So this separate feeling within me, this is Li? It¡¯s oddly comforting while being slightly disturbing all at once.


    I laid on the river bank for an undiscernible amount of time, trying to balance my thoughts and my gut. She seemed to be suffering too. She is just resting on the water surface, unmoving. She really is a ghost. Or I¡¯ve gone completely mad. Honestly I¡¯m scared of having to face either of those two scenarios.


    ¡­ The atmosphere is really tense now. I don¡¯t like having this atmosphere between us. My time spent with Li is supposed to be fun and carefree, not this gloomy and brooding.


    ¡°By the way, that was a pretty morbid question to ask in our first meeting, don¡¯t you think? Asking me whether I was a good swimmer.¡±


    I tried to alleviate the tense feeling between us. It isn¡¯t working. The exhaustion and stress both of us are feeling, are feeding off of each other in some vicious cycle.


    ¡°Haha¡­ It was pretty morbid, wasn¡¯t it? But isn¡¯t it kind of funny now that you¡¯re in on the joke?¡±


    She still banters back however.


    ¡°Yeah in a sick, twisted way, the joke is kind of funny.¡±


    ¡°Right? Hahaha¡­¡±


    Where are we finding the energy to even talk?


    After that slight banter we completely clammed up.


    This is painful. I can¡¯t find any approach. No open routes to her. I spent at least 40 years with her in that dream world, but I have no idea what to say now. In fact what exactly is our relationship at this point of time?


    She is someone I¡¯ve spent 40 years¡¯ worth of time with. But on the other hand, she is someone I¡¯ve hurt for over 40 years.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Li.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for what, silly? Don¡¯t apologize for things that aren¡¯t your fault. It was my fault for dragging you in in the first place, I got my just deserts for hurting you.¡±


    No. In the end it was my fault. I placed the most burden on her for refusing to confront my lies. I kept lying to myself for over 40 years. And by doing that, forced her to keep lying to maintain the delusion of our dream world until I myself couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I had been dodging my responsibilities and letting her shoulder all the weight.


    ¡°There was no helping it, Archer. Nobody wants to wake up from a good dream. To be honest, if you never wanted to wake up, I would¡¯ve been fine with dying a second time by your side, trapped in that dream world forever. Thank you for finding my ball, for playing basketball with me, for marrying me and for making a family with me. All my wishes and more have been granted. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful dream with me.¡±


    In sync, the same words slip from our lips.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to have met you.¡±


    Despite how horrible both of us are feeling right now, it¡¯s kind of refreshing isn¡¯t it? Better than that sickly sweet fantasy.


    ¡­There isn¡¯t much left to say is there. She¡¯s dead and I can¡¯t cause her any more problems than I already have.


    ¡°Are there any last things I can do for you?¡±


    I can feel the tears welling up but I don¡¯t want to cry in front of her. I can¡¯t be the first to cry. I¡¯m not the one who should be crying. I¡¯m the only one here who can still make their dreams come true after all.


    ¡°Go have lots more fun, Archer...¡±


    ¡°I will have lots more fun¡­ More than enough fun for both of us. And Li?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for saving me. I was feeling really lost after graduating and I felt like I didn¡¯t know what to do. But you saved me from that. You gave me purpose.¡±


    I need to say it. It¡¯s now or never.


    ¡°Li Jun Ling, you are an honest to goodness real angel right now, lying on the water like that. You are the first person I ever loved. There was never a boring moment to be had with you around.¡±


    ¡°Archer¡­ I know how much you wanted to say those words to me in real life but that¡¯s a really cruel thing to say to a girl who can¡¯t return those feelings. Well it¡¯s almost time for me to go¡­¡±


    ¡°But what if I really want you to stay? Can¡¯t God let this go just once?¡±


    Why do I have to be so stubborn? Why can¡¯t I let her go gracefully like a real hero?


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Go finish your dreams for real this time, Shun. I¡¯ll be waiting. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Please. Please. Please no. I¡¯ve grown to rely on you for over 40 years, I¡¯m not willing to let you go now.¡±


    I can¡¯t see anything out of my blurry vision anymore. All I can tell is that she is looking at me too. No¡­ I need to reach her hand. If she possesses my body, she¡¯ll be able to stay, won¡¯t she? Take me instead! Don¡¯t take this girl please! God! Are you listening?!


    ¡°I do love you, Shun. Please find true happiness this time because we were never meant to be. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t-¡±


    And with that she disappeared. Before finishing her sentence. Before finishing her goodbyes. Not even a puff of smoke or a gust of wind.


    Aaaa¡­. aaaAAAHHHHHHH!!!


    I don¡¯t care how pathetic I look. Please come back! Please! PLEASE! Don¡¯t leave me!


    I crawl towards the water where she was just lying. She was just here! SHE WAS JUST HERE!


    Couldn¡¯t what? Why did you leave me with such a cliffhanger? Please, tell me. PLEASE TELL ME! What did you want to say?!


    I bawled like a child, although that should be expected. I may have spent 40 years in the dreamscape but my physical age hasn¡¯t changed, my mentality is also still as immature as a child.


    The best way to describe the current state I was in would be uncool, pathetic, childish, selfish and sad.


    I can¡¯t believe it ends like this.


    All her likes, her dislikes, her hopes and dreams. She shared all of those with me. But did she ever love me? No, that is the one thing I am sure of. If she hated me, she couldn¡¯t possibly have gone against her inherently good nature and kept up her white lie as long as she did. The white lie that was our reality. She and I, were both hopelessly in love. That at the very least was real.


    The fact that I had to continue living in a world without her¡­ frightened me. If I died right here, right now, I¡¯d be okay with that. But I might not be able to visit her in Heaven if I do that huh¡­ so I¡¯ll keep living, keep struggling. To respect her last wish. Hopefully one day we can meet again, fall in love again and make a family again, but for real this time.


    In conclusion, nothing had really changed since yesterday. A lover was there and a lover was gone. One minus one. Nothing was truly lost. Everything had just gone back to normal.


    This story which started with me going to sleep had ended with ¡®it was all just a dream¡¯. The lesson for today? Learning to let go. And fulfill your dreams but don¡¯t run away from reality.


    But asides from those not so happy lessons, there is no happy ending with all loose strings tied today. No hero. No villain. Just a girl, her not really fulfilled dreams and her last wish: Make my own dreams a reality. How can such an unselfish angel actually exist?


    To fulfill your wish, I will accomplish my dreams. That¡¯s a promise I intend to keep.

 A story about Confronting The Supernatural Chapter 1

    Since the events of graduation day, a month has passed by unremarkably. Asides from a 1000% increase in daily local supernatural sightings of course. So far, I''ve been actively trying to avoid looking at ''the things''. I haven''t seen anything truely bad yet though.


    But more importantly, a problem''s been plaguing me. I¡¯ve been suffering from migraines and losing vision in my eyes lately. The world goes black momentarily and quickly returns to normal. As if flicking a light switch on and off.


    Perhaps it''s really nothing major to worry about but it is affecting my quality of sleep and my quality of life. It¡¯s kind of hard to concentrate on work when the light is flickering and someone has set up a jackhammer inside your skull.


    Speaking about work. After a lot of poking, proding and abusing my status as the family''s youngest and losing a bit of my dignity, I convinced my beloved mother to pull some favors and I got contracted by the town council to be the town painter. They¡¯re not really rich bigshots, they¡¯re just the old people appointed to take care of this town. This may not have been exactly what I was dreaming of but it''s a start. Plus this job does make the town a bit nicer to live in.


    I made sure that the town square''s disgusting graffiti was covered. Of course, I left the better graffiti up though. Just no profanity.


    Today I was planning to cover up the dirty graffiti, mainly around the tourist attractions with either clean paint or murals. I¡¯m getting a hefty weekly wage for this since new graffiti always seems to pop up out of nowhere.


    However plans change.


    So I¡¯m down by the river instead, the same one where Jun Ling¡­ Well let¡¯s try not to think about that for now. A few hours before my work hours started, I got specific instructions to paint over the graffiti on the bridge and the outside walls of the public toilet close to the river.


    I guess I¡¯ll make the bridge a bright orange? And the toilet can get either a mint green or baby blue colour. Maybe I¡¯ll toss in a few nice green leaves on the public toilet to make it look a bit more natural and welcoming.


    I¡¯m kind of feeling satisfied with my job right now even if it isn¡¯t the most glamorous. The dreamscape was sickeningly full of fame and glamour. It churns my stomach just by thinking about it now. I think I would be fine with living the slow life in this town now. I used to detest the idea of having to stay here forever. This boring town where nothing ever happens. But things have changed. I have changed. Or at least I''d like to think I have.


    When the sun set, I was just about finished with the bridge and water loo. This place doesn¡¯t look so dark and grim anymore with these two brightly painted structures. It helps to lift my mood a bit, just by looking at my finished work. It gives me a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment. Jun Ling, are you watching? I''m doing my best down here.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Packing my gear, I am almost ready to leave when I see a hooded figure walking down the paved sidewalk. I feel it. The same feeling as when I found Jun Ling¡¯s basketball.


    It''s here.


    What''s here?


    A supernatural event about to occur.


    This isn¡¯t the first or even the second time I¡¯ve seen a supernatural being. After my mind got briefly connected to Jun Ling¡¯s during the dream world event, my eyes have been able to see numerous supernatural occurrences. Most of the time, its harmless creatures stealing food and money from oblivious humans or wandering spirits with no form. Harmless is the last thing I¡¯d describe this thing as though.


    How do I say this?


    This thing.


    It was just bad through and through.


    Do I run? Do I hide? Do I fight?


    All of those? None of those?


    Option D? What is my option D?


    Despite the fact that it¡¯s shambling as if it¡¯s got a broken foot, I knew that this was not something I could outrun. This thing cared not for how fast its prey was. It would catch up. That was guaranteed. I could outrun it initially but it would catch up anyways. It was an existence as illogical, as irrational as that. How do I know these things? I wish to ask myself that too. Jun Ling? Is she...?


    No I don''t have time to think about those things right now. I can see it¡¯s holding something in its right hand. Something that reflects light. It¡¯s metal. List of metallic objects cycle through my mind, most of which are highly dangerous. This is one of the worst situation he could have caught me in. Unarmed, in the middle of basically nowhere with no one to help me. Fighting it is not recommended. Every bone in my body told me so. Get out of there! Run! But my instinct also tells me not to turn tail or else I would already be dead.


    It feels as if my body might get torn into two just by deciding what to do. One side which runs and one side which stays. Fortunately my body wasn¡¯t split in half by my indecision, I chose compromise between the two sides. I would not turn tail and run. I would not fight but I would maintain a distance at all times. Since no matter how fast I moved it would not matter, then the opposite must also be true. No matter how slow I moved, it would not matter.


    And so I walked backwards slowly, half step at a time, using the river trail at all times to maintain a sense of direction. All the while maintaining eye contact with the figure. Walking backwards along the river trail like this, sort of reminds me of the moonwalk. Maybe if I break out in song and dance, the monster might be tempted to let me go. Or perhaps it will be enraged and chase me down with a ferocity unlike before. You know, I¡¯m happy with the status quo. I won¡¯t be dancing anytime soon.


    For every step I took, the monster took two. I can feel the urgency to escape with every passing moment, but the moment I ran, it would all be over for me. The only hope I had was that, my vision would not flicker while this thing was approaching. I¡¯m scared enough just to blink. To have my vision go out like a burnt lightbulb for a few seconds, the fear itself might kill me.


    A half hour passed, when I finally got an idea. I¡¯ll use the river. For every step I take it makes two. So what if I don¡¯t take a step? It¡¯s crazy but even with my bad eyesight, I can already start to make out the number of jaws on the monster¡¯s serrated blade, that¡¯s how close it was. It might pursue me into the water but it¡¯s now or never.


    Zhang Shun, is taking a leap of faith now. In the name my parents gave me. Meaning good natured archer. Also the name of the 30<sup>th</sup> Heavenly spirit, nicknamed White Stripe in the Waves.


    I didn¡¯t dive headfirst in a cool hero like fashion. Urgently I put one foot into the water, purposefully lost balance and let myself get taken by the currents.


    As the river drags me away, I take one last look at it.


    It¡¯s still standing there on the riverbank, staring intently.

 A story about Confronting The Supernatural Chapter 2

    It rained yesterday. The water current''s heavy and the water''s deep... I can''t find a foothold and I can''t swim out. Is this how Jun Ling felt when she drowned? Am I going to die here too?


    No. Not yet. I have to live. So many things... so many things left to do...


    It''s not just the current. There''s something else in the water with me.


    Malice.


    Directed at me.


    I felt a tug on my leg, and suddenly I''m dragged deep under water. I see it. A person''s face. The look they had on their face. It was a look of desperation and longing. It terrified me because I knew what it was immediately.


    Shui Gui. Water ghost. The same type of ghost as Jun Ling. Except this one wasn''t kind. It wants to drown me and then possess my body.


    It was dragging me deeper and I couldn''t resist it. But that was alright. Maybe dying here, I could meet her again. The thought of dying was... comforting and...If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I couldn''t help but feel disgusted at that.


    You suicidal maniac. Jun Ling didn''t entrust you with her last wish so that you could just up and die here.


    We had reached the bottom of the river. But all hope isn''t lost. I still have air. And at the bottom of the river, there is ground. I won''t hand over my body that easily! You''re dead so how about you just... STAY DEAD!


    I thrashed, spinning around in the water, trying to break its grip on me. And once I felt it loosened up the slightest, I kicked out at the ground. That sent me rocketing away a good distance. Just as it was coming again, I threw silt at it.


    Silt I had collected in my hand while trashing around.


    That seemed to stun it momentarily and I took off as quickly as I could. My head broke the surface of the water and I gasped for air. The current had carried me all the way down to the next town''s bridge. I raised my hand through the air, grabbed the bridge and pulled myself upwards to safety.


    After I was safe on land, I looked down into the water and saw it.


    A few dozen ghosts glaring at me as if beckoning me to enter the water. So many... If I had to fight off that many it would have been impossible. How many people have drowned in this river?...


    I''m going to ask the old men at the town hall next meeting to fence off the river. It''s too dangerous. In fact why haven''t they fenced it off yet? That''s the real question.

 A story about Confronting The Supernatural Chapter 3

    I can still feel the scrapes of the ghost''s nails on my back and legs. The same ankle I broke is bruised and my right hip is dislocated from kicking so forcefully. Asides from those inflicted injuries, I got cut up by the rocks and twigs in the river too. Struggling to even crawl, I somehow get myself underneath a street lamp. This way people passing by will be able to see me.


    As I began to assess my whereabouts, I heard something drop. I look around.


    The sound came from groceries being dropped on the floor. A girl was looking at me. Ah. My wet, dirty apperance combined with my bloodied, torn clothes, I must be quite the sight.


    "Please don''t run. I need someone to bring me to the hospital."


    She just stands there. Frozen in fear?


    "I''m not a ghost you know."


    She still doesn''t say anything. Was my joke not funny? Wait, someone looking like me who says they aren''t a ghost. Couldn''t that be easily taken the wrong way? Rather, doesn''t that sound exactly like something a ghost would say?


    At this point, desperately saying and repeating, ''please help me'' would probably scare away anyone who sees me in this state. So I decided to keep my trap shut and pretend to be completely incapacitated, in hopes of garnering sympathy. Hopefully eventually she''ll call the ambulance.


    "Are you alright?"


    Operation Shut My Trap is successful. The Golf has taken the bait, I repeat, the Golf has taken the bait.


    "Hospital. Pain."


    Keep your words short and brief, while breathing shallowly and saying things in a raspy way to further enforce the idea that you are severely injured and need help.


    After all, a chatty patient is a healthy patient. So I just need to restrain my talkative self for a moment and fit into the person in dire need role.


    She pokes my cheek, irritating me.


    "Are you human?"


    No. I''m a robot sent from the distant future to destroy humanity- Of course, I''m a human!


    "No, I''m fish. Didn''t you see me come from the river?"


    Why did I say that? Am I stupid? Is something wrong with my head? This is the only person around to help me right now. Why couldn''t I restrain my sarcastic mouth for just a few more seconds?


    "Hahaha~"


    She laughed. That''s good. She took that as a joke.


    "I''ll help you out, Fish."


    Does she genuinely believe that is my name or is she joking? I honestly can''t tell.


    "I''ll call an ambulance, hang on alright."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    She takes off her jacket and puts it on me.


    She runs off.


    She ran off.


    She has run off.


    And I waited. Waited until my eyes were about to completely shut and then.


    "Fish? Are you okay?"


    She returned and is standing over me. And she''s still calling me by that. All I can see is her silhouette with the street lamp shining overhead.


    "Not really."


    "Of course, you wouldn''t be. You''re Fish out of water. Heehee"


    Ah was that a pun? That was a pun wasn''t it?


    "Maybe I should put you back in the river?"


    Unbeknownst to her, she had just made a really terrifying joke.


    "No thank you. I''m actually really enjoying my time on land."


    I don''t mind going along with the gag. It is a good idea to entertain an injured person.


    "So do you mind explaining what you''re doing out of the river, Fish? Heehee"


    She giggled at her own joke again.


    "Ah you know, I wanted to get some fresh air."


    She giggles uncontrollably again. These fish jokes are really hitting her funny bone I see.


    "Well you can stay as long as you like, Fish."


    "Yeah as soon as I''m healed up, I''ll be able to swimmingly get home."


    She giggles even harder than the last time. Is this really that funny to her? It''s amusing don''t get me wrong but in my opinion, it''s not good enough to stir up laughter.


    "So where did you come from, Fish?"


    "The next town upstream of here."


    "Is it fun there?"


    "Ah I guess it is fun. I have something to do every day there."


    "But just because you have something to do every day doesn''t mean it''s something fun. I have to work every day and it certainly isn''t fun at all."


    "Well what do you think is fun?"


    "Fish."


    What? Is she saying I''m fun or the fish that swims.


    "Being able to chit chat like this is fun, I mean."


    "Don''t you chit chat with other people besides me?"


    "No. Not really."


    The mood''s kinda dimmed a bit. I stepped on a landmine there. That was a bad question on my part.


    "It''s been fun chit chatting with you too."


    Nice recovery, Fish.


    Ah I can hear sirens in the distance. Good timing, the pain''s getting worse.


    "Thanks for the help... I never asked for your name did I?"


    "Ho ho... Are you asking me for my personal information, Fish? Perhaps you want to see me again? Want my number as well?"


    "...Not really."


    I had an inkling of this before with her constant fish puns but she''s kind of obnoxious. A good kind of obnoxious though.


    "Aww don''t be so cold to your savior, Fish. Here''s your savior''s name and phone number."


    She takes a piece of paper and pen out from her skirt and writes on it. She stuffs the paper inside the pocket of her jacket.


    "Keep the jacket. Call me when you''re dismissed from the hospital and I can send you back to your school. Heehee. Get it, ''school''?"


    ''School'', another fish pun. I''m fresh out of fish related puns though.


    "I''m a fresh graduate from high school though. I''d rather you send me home instead."


    "You want me to send you home, oh my, the way you''re phrasing that makes me think you have some interior motives."


    "You mean ulterior motives."


    "Hmm yes. Bye Fish~"


    She left and the medics put me into the back of the ambulance


    Two days later, I was dismissed after getting a cast put on my right leg. Apparently I cracked one of my ribs and my right leg as well.


    I called up my savior, ''Amelia Earhart''... to be my ride home. Seriously no joke. That was the name she wrote on the paper. What kind of person names themselves after a famous person? And so now I''m waiting in front of the hospital for my mystery savior to come pick me up.


    After a short wait of...


    120 minutes.


    A two seater rental car pulled into the hospital driveway.


    "Hop in Fish!"


    My brain took a bit longer to process what was before me than I would like to admit.


    Inside the car, was a demure looking girl with long brown locks, wearing a dress, who seemed to be around my age. The disparity between voice and body was large. Huge even. Such disparity that my brain could not comprehend that the voice and body belonged to the same person. I had imagined a large breasted, twenty plus year old woman, black clothing with tattoos rolling in on a monster truck or a bike.


    It''s not that I was looking forward to the latter description in actuality I much prefer this one. It was just that her personality and voice had given me that sorely mistaken impression.


    "It''s me, Amelia! Hop in!"


    She opened the passenger door, beckoning me to enter.


    Unsure of what to say, I quietly enter the vehicle, close the door and strap myself in. I hope she''s a good driver.

 A story about Confronting The Supernatural Chapter 4

    "So your name is Amelia Braggart huh?"


    "Hmm did I just hear some ungrateful person sass his savior? Also you pronounced braggart wrong."


    "Sorry English names are just really difficult to pronounce, Amelia Airhead."


    Now that I am feeling better after two days rest in the hospital, my sass levels have returned to max. Heheh.


    "Sassing your savior and the one who paid your hospital bills?"


    "... I sincerely apologize Miss Amelia. I hope you can forgive me for my insolence."


    "Hmm~."


    She let out a noise akin to satisfaction at beating me in our sass contest.


    "Okay. My name is really Amelia but I just added the Earhart because I look up to her."


    "That is understandable. We want to be the people we look up to the most."


    "So Fish, what were you doing in that river?"


    A normal question with the words ''fish'' and ''river'' and there is no pun or punchline? Impossible. This is out of character for this girl whom I''ve gotten know these past two days. Perhaps she''s just setting herself up for a bigger punchline.


    "I was being chased by a monster and so I smartly jumped into the flooding river to escape."


    Heh. I''m pretty sure you''ll be so shocked, you won''t be able to say anything witty in return. And that''s when I''ll come in with a "Haha you thought I was serious".


    "Hmm so what did this monster look like?"


    Eh? So she''s going along with my half true joke? But she went a completely different route, I can''t think of any good gags to finish with.


    "Umm well, it looked like a human, but you couldn''t see its face. It was wearing a hoodie and holding a serrated knife and..."


    I ended up just describing it seriously. The look on her face, though! She looks so surprised, bewildered to say the least. If I can''t out pun or out wit her, I guess a crazy story is enough to surprise her.


    "It seemed to get faster, the faster you ran."


    ... she ended my sentence before I could.


    ...


    Who is this girl?


    She''s Amelia


    No I mean. What does she know about that monster?


    Come to think of it, I don''t even really know this girl that well. And she''s saved me, paid my hospital bills and even offered to drive me home. This seems exactly like the string of events that lead someone into financial trouble and then they have to sell their organs to the black market to pay back their debt. Please don''t take my kidney!


    My stranger danger awareness is sorely lacking.


    The road we''re on. I decided to ignore this but I haven''t been able to recognise the roads or scenery for quite a while now... Is this actually an abduction? The alarms in my head are really ringing now.


    "Where are we going?"


    "To a temple."


    To take my kidney?


    "For?"


    "Exorcism."


    Exorcising my kidney? Wait that doesn''t make sense.


    Okay calm down, me! Think calmly...


    ... and I don''t like the way this is heading. Following the conversation we''ve had up to this point, cutting out all the puns, it is possible she''s bringing me to help exorcise the monster that chased me. No, wait. Judging by the road, we''ve been on it for quite a while now and it definitely doesn''t lead home. That means instead of going to my town, she had planned from the beginning to bring me to the temple before I told her about the monster.


    The more questions I ask, the more confused I get. She knew about that monster, how, why? Could she have known about the Shui gui in the river? She even saw me crawl out of the river to boot! Does she know I can see the supernatural? I want to ask questions but...Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    I have a feeling she isn''t planning anything malicious... I can''t help but go along because I have questions I want to ask and she probably knows that. I''m not naively believing in her but I can only adapt as the situation changes.


    Urgh. My migraine is acting up from thinking too hard about all this. I''m getting black spots in my vision too...


    The rest of the trip is continued in silence and after two hours, we finally reach the temple.


    "Alright let''s go, Fish. Don''t get cold feet now."


    "Saying that when you haven''t properly explained what we''re here for..."


    "Like I said exorcism."


    She isn''t answering my question...


    On the terrace of the temple, there was a man sweeping the steps. Judging by his calm visage, bald head, facial hair and robe, I assume he is a monk.


    "Well don''t just stand there and look."


    Amelia nudges me forward.


    As we approach the monk, he looks up from sweeping and shoots me an unfriendly look. He does not look happy to see me.


    "Amelia I told you not to bring friends over."


    "No. This is the guy I told you about. The one who climbed out of the river."


    Almost immediately the old monk shot forward and punched me in the stomach.


    "W-what was that for?"


    "Checking whether you''re a shui gui."


    He points to my stomach. There is a paper talisman stuck on my shirt.


    "That''s a relief. I was worried you might be one of those shui gui''s when you first came out of the river."


    Ah so that''s why she was scared of approaching me at first. Come to think of it, she did ask whether I was human. Though at the time I was too tired to think of the implications.


    "Hey so that means this whole time, you were a bit wary of me?"


    "Heehee you found out. But I was quite convinced you were human too. That sense of humor can''t possibly belong to a ghost. I actually brought you here to confirm it with gramps."


    Yeah, I imagine a violent water ghost would not be that likely to joke around.


    "Well, Fish. How would you like to assist yours truly with a little bit of ghost hunting?"


    "Ghost hunting?"


    "Yup, we''re hunting one in particular. It so happens to be the same one that chased you and forced you to jump into the river. We want to exorcise it before there are any more victims."


    "There have been victims?"


    And she''s asking me to help? What could I possibly do? I''m just a ordinary boy who escaped through pure luck.


    "Mhmm. Some of them lived to tell the tale."


    "But why do I have to help you?"


    "Didn''t I save you from the chilling cold and send you to the hospital before you succumbed to your wounds? Shouldn''t you return the favour to your savior? You''ll be at ease as well if that thing is gone right?"


    "But I''m not..."


    "Hospital bills~"


    She says that line in a sing song voice and dangles the bill in front of my face. I can feel the blood drain from my face instantly. I can''t believe that a two day hospital visit would cost that much... Her eyes shaped like dollar bills light up, happy that I understood the circumstances. I was not in a financial position to argue.


    "Don''t worry grandpa and I will do most of the heavy lifting, and it''s not as if we''ll send you in without any protection at all."


    "Boy you best give up and let her have her way."


    The old man shot me a look that seemed to say," There''s nothing you or I can do, let''s just give in". That sort of specific look.


    "Don''t worry, Fish. I never make a mistake. So you can rest assured, you''re in good fins. Heehee. Fins. Get it?"


    She starts to giggle at her joke once again. Actually aren''t her puns getting worse and worse? She''s really scraping the bottom of the fish jokes barrel.


    "Alright Grandpa, I''ll go prepare the stuff. You tell Fish everything okay?"


    Oh no. The grandpa who''s not happy with me and I are both alone now.


    He''s glaring at me. Is that a signal for me to start the conversation? I don''t know what to say though. The atmosphere is getting awkward.


    He glares at me even harder. I blink.


    He just sighs. I win. He initiated the conversation.


    "There is no changing her mind once she''s decided on something. And I''m sure you want an explanation on why she wants to drag you into this ghost hunting business."


    I nod overeagerly. I may actually have overdone it because I felt something in my neck crack. I clutch my neck in pain.


    He ignores my silly overreaction and proceeds to explain things to me seriously.


    "You could see how the monster looked, am I right? That''s why she brought you here."


    "Yeah. Is that important?"


    "Very much so. The clearer an image we are able to see of a monster, the less power it holds over us because we are able to perceive its true nature. Most of the victims were only able to describe that some dark figure attacked them out of nowhere, or out of thin air. So describe the monster for me."


    So if I were to get involved, I would have a higher chance of surviving than anyone else.


    "Well it looked like a human, but its face was shrouded with darkness. And it was wearing a hoodie and holding a serrated knife."


    "Very good. You described just as much as me and Amelia have been able to see. You have good eyes."


    "Wait. So you have seen that monster before?"


    "Yes, at the time we were not ready however and it slipped out of our grasps. This time, we plan on baiting it before destroying it."


    "Then my role is... Am I the bait?"


    "It appears that is what Amelia has planned for you."


    "You guys are going to be protecting me right?"


    "...If it comes down to it, my priority would be Amelia first and you second. I hope you find this satisfactory."


    He saw through what I was asking and cut straight to the heart of my question. This old man''s sharp.


    What I was really asking was whether they would be willing to put their lives on the line to rescue me, if it all went to hell. Call me cowardly or weak but I don''t like pain and I definitely don''t want to die. Killing this monster and saving both of our towns is important, but I refuse to die for anyone.


    With the monk''s word, I am convinced I won''t die. He could be lying of course and he might prioritise his own behind when it comes to it. But I don''t think he is. Call it my gut feeling or a sixth sense.


    But yeah, I can''t really argue against his order of priorities. Amelia is his granddaughter and I am a random civillian who got dragged into this by Amelia. Well in actuality, I was involved from the very beginning. The monster had attacked me after all. And as the only person able to see it clearest, I have an unspoken responsibility to help out.

 A story about Confronting The Supernatural Chapter 5

    Just as the monk and I had finished our conversation, Amelia returned.


    "Now just because you''re the bait doesn''t mean we can leave you out to dry and salt, can we, Fish? Look what I brought you."


    Dry and salt... What am I? A dead fish? I really don''t like the implications of that.


    "Look at what, exactly?."


    She literally wasn''t carrying anything.


    "Really? Look real carefully."


    She leans in, intruding on my personal space. I could feel her breathing on my face in fact, that''s how close she was. In fact I could see down her dress... Is that a bulletproof vest she''s wearing underneath? Not mystical invisible chainmail as one in my position might have imagined. Just regular old body armor.


    "So that vest you''re wearing. I assume I''m going to be wearing one of those as well?"


    "Oh my, FIsh did you just look down a lady''s dress? How crude of you~"


    She has her hands on her hips in an overly exaggerated manner. My eye twitched. This obnoxious girl...


    You were the one who chose to lean in that close to begin with, of course my eyes are going to naturally drift there. It is a man''s pride!


    "Yes. I could not avert my gaze from thy beauty."


    I just felt a cold shiver down my spine. The monk is glaring a hole in my back, I can feel it... I better take my banter down a notch.


    "Oh you flatter me! That is a surprisingly pleasant thing for you to say, Fish. I have a new opinion of you!"


    "Wait, wait. What kind of opinion did you hold of me before?"


    "I thought you were kind of dumb."


    What the heck gave her that impression?


    "...That''s all?"


    "That''s all."


    "..."


    "..."


    The audacity of this airhead. The worst part is that she isn''t even trying to insult me, there''s no malicious intent behind it. She''s doing it on accident! No. This is on a whole nother level higher. It''s automatic! Insulting me comes to her as easy as breathing air! It''s an action that she''s completely unaware of!This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Ahem! The two of you, please continue your two man comedy skit at an appropriate time. Boy, go put on the vest and we can go hunting immediately."


    That''s right. This isn''t the time for fooling around. There''s a monster on the loose. I understand that they want to be as quick as possible too. Even if this is all so sudden, I''ll endure it.


    "We''ve been keeping track of its location with a talisman. We''ll be departing immediately."


    I put on the vest and ready myself mentally. I''m the bait. I am bait.


    "There''s no need grandpa. It''s here. It was following us this whole time."


    No way. Wait a sec-This is too sudden. I''m still not mentally ready.


    The monster stood still at the steps of the terrace. A mere 10 steps away from me. Too close. A mere ten steps from death.


    It drags one of its feet forward. 9 steps left.


    A small shuffle at a time.


    When I don''t move it shuffles along at a snail''s pace.


    "The monster ties itself to its target''s pace. While it''s still bound to the boy, let''s cut it down. No matter what, boy, do not move from that spot."


    "I understand."


    If I run, that thing will speed up and everyone will be in danger. Even if I''m attacked, that''s the one thing I absolutely can''t do.


    The old monk and Amelia both drew their swords.


    The humanoid monster began to erratically scratch at its head. What was it doing? That was when its head snapped in my direction and locked eyes with me.


    I shifted my right foot. The sheer intimidation caused irrational fear in me and forced me to move a step.


    From its previous shuffling motion, it suddenly slid fowards towards the old monk and struck out with its knife. The monk parried the blow and moved back several steps.


    7 steps left.


    Swiftly Amelia stepped between me and the monster, cutting the line of sight.


    "Don''t be scared, Fish! That''s just its ability to scare you into moving. Either close your eyes or keep your gaze on this pretty girl over here."


    Though she kept facing forwards the whole time, I could tell. She had a smile on her face that said ''Everything''s alright''.


    Alright I''ll keep my eyes closed. I trust you, Amelia.


    From then on, my ears were the only thing I had left to tell what was going in the battle.


    ...The sound of metal striking metal. A shredding and clanging sound.


    Another shredding noise but this time it''s loud and really close in front of me. But ignoring it, I keep my eyes shut tight.


    Suddenly, I''m knocked down to the ground by a rough movement. I open my eyes.


    Directly in my face, the monster had an outstretched arm, knife in hand about to slash my face. And then it suddenly turned to dust. A sword embedded in the monster''s back fell out. And there she was.


    "We''re done, Fish."


    Amelia was standing above me, just like when we first met, parts of her dress slashed open exposing her bulletproof vest. And this time I could clearly see her panties without the glaring light of a lamp overhead shining in my eyes.


    My shirt and the jacket I borrowed from Amelia was shredded at the chest area, revealing my own vest underneath as well. That was a close call.


    And so, the impossible to escape monster, was dead.


    A sense of relief washed over me. I wouldn''t constantly be looking over my shoulders now. To be honest, sleeping in the hospital alone at night had been nerve wracking. Trapped in a bed with my foot suspended by cloth in the air, it was a vulnerable position to be in, mentally and physically. But because she was there, I felt safer.


    "Thank you, Amelia. For more things than one. But I hope I can burden you with one last favour."


    "Well spit it out then~"

 A Ghost Ghosted Me Chapter 1

    Stolen


    Shui gui. Literal translation, water ghost. They are the spirits of people who drowned.


    My first encounter of the supernatural was with one of these water ghosts. Long story short, I helped that ghost complete her last dreams on Earth and in return she gave me a reason to follow my own dreams. Sounds pretty romantic, doesn''t it? However shortly after, that ghost disappeared right in front of me without finishing her last sentence. You could say that she... ghosted me! Pftt!


    Sigh...


    However do not be misled by that story. My experience was an exception. It is only now, I truly realize how special she was. Special not only for being able to fight her urge to possess me but for also being able to move on to the afterlife.


    Most water ghosts lurk in the place of their death, waiting to drown any unsuspecting person, in order to possess them. Rather it is a Shui gui''s nature to seek out and drown the living in order to obtain living bodies, while their victims take their place and become new Shui gui.


    This process is called t¨¬ sh¨¥n which translates to ''replace the body''.


    This information on Shui gui, is incredibly important because approximately 3 days ago, I discovered that the river of my hometown was filled with Shui gui, numbering at least a dozen or more. In other words, the danger was off the charts for anyone strayed too far into the river. I''m not the tallest guy out there but even on dry days, the river could reach up to my chin. Luckily it is always summer here but it is also very humid. When it rains, the river increases around a few inches in height, the currents become deadly fast and someone could easily be dragged under. Add Shui gui''s to the mix and you have a lot of potential trouble brewing.


    And that is why I wish to prevent anything from happening to the towns folk. How? I''ll use my position as the friendly neighbourhood painter to achieve that. Since I''m allowed to sit in on town council meetings, that means my words have at least a minor influence on their decisions. At the very least, I hope they''ll decide to fence off the deepest areas of the river.


    And so I''m currently being given a ride home by Amelia Airhead, my savior. After confirming my status as a living human and not a shui gui, she has gotten even more talkative than before. I speak like that but I don''t hate it or anything. Rather, having a fellow punster who knows about the supernatural as well, is kind of fun.


    Why don''t I ask her to help exorcise the Shui gui? I did. But her grandfather adamantly refused. Going to exorcise an unknown number of Shui gui within their territory, the river where movement is limited, is suicide, he said.


    It''s true and I realized beforehand how irresponsible of a request I made. But I had to try.


    Amelia seemed to get frustrated when her grandfather turned down my request, but she didn''t pursue the matter. She truly is kind, willing to risk her life again to help. She was gambling with the probability that I might have been a Shui gui when she helped me the first time too. Does she not fear death?


    I myself regret requesting something dangerous of them so I was actually relieved when he declined. I can''t put my saviors'' lives at risk again to protect the townsfolk. Call me self-centered but accumulating debts you can''t repay to help people you don''t even know that well, just because you feel some sort of responsibility, is foolish. Not to mention, requesting to put my saviors'' lives at risk once again, is to me at least, a selfish thing of me to ask. Or if I were to start speaking in a more emotional manner, to me at the present time, Amelia and gramp''s safety outweighs the safety of my townsfolk.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "... hellooooo? Anyone in there, Fish?"


    Inadvertently, I had been ignoring Amelia while deep within my own monologue.


    "Oh my bad. I was just thinking to myself."


    "Miss many of my fish puns, you did!"


    Yoda?


    "I can''t believe you would ignore me, your savior."


    She lets out an exasperated sigh.


    Yes, I know you''re my savior. I remind myself of that everyday.


    "So what did I miss?"


    "Well you didn''t miss that many puns actually. I just wanted to say your name."


    "Umm okay."


    Do normal people just get an inexplicable urge to call other people''s names at random? Or is this one of her quirks? I can''t tell.


    We arrive at our destination.


    "So you''re really going back to your town now?"


    "Yeah, it is my home after all."


    "Be careful, Fish."


    "Hmm? Oh yeah I definitely won''t be going near the river anymore hahaha."


    "That''s not what I meant..."


    She didn''t further expand on what she said and clammed up.


    I was bit worried about the implications of what she said but I didn''t pressure her to answer. If she feels like saying it, she will and if she doesn''t, I don''t intend on making her uncomfortable. I trust that she will eventually open up when the time is right.


    We arrive at the gates of the town.


    "Kay, bye Amelia."


    "Listen up, Fish I have something I need to tell you."


    "Hmm? Go ahead, shoot."


    "I want you to stay with me. I don''t want you to stay here in this town."


    "A confession from the great Amelia herself? I''m honored."


    "No! That''s not what I meant!"


    Hahaha she''s acting like a real life tsundere! But she looks genuinely upset. Was that not our usual banter? Was it an actual confession and I just crushed her feelings? I should reassure her.


    "It''s not as if this goodbyes forever, Amelia. We can hang out sometime after I''m done with what I plan to do. I''ll properly respond to you then."


    "Go die for all I care, you idiot!"


    Red in the face, she storms into her car and speeds off, foot on the gas the whole time.


    Wow, Amelia was a tsundere this whole time. That makes me really happy for some reason. But maybe I shouldn''t have pushed it that far, those were actual tears.


    Seeing the normally tough, obnoxious Amelia cry like that was unsettling.


    Maybe it''s because of that I felt a sense of foreboding as I stepped back into my home town.


    I did make sure to call my parents so they wouldn''t be worried about me. I lied and said I was at a friend''s place in the next town.


    Today''s Tuesday. The day for the town council to convene and talk over tea about what their granddaughter made for art class- Wait no, I meant that Tuesday is the day the town council convenes to talk about serious matters regarding their town.


    I had a seat prepared for me there as well. A handmade wood chair by one of the gramps at the council who used to be a carpenter. They treated me like I was one of their own children- I mean a fellow dignified member of the council.


    So... I was going to be bringing up something serious today. I hope they didn''t mind.


    "... and that''s why I feel we should fence up the river."


    ...The atmosphere was a bit weird today. The normally cheerful old folk who treated me so well, were looking at me as if I commited a grave sin.


    "How about we talk about this some other time, dear?"


    Were they trying to avoid the matter? What was wrong? I didn''t make any invalid points, did I? Or is this because I was viewed as too young and my word really didn''t mean that much?


    "But the river is dangerous, I fell in it myself. Don''t you see the cast?"


    That was when I felt it, the hostility emanating from them. It felt similar to the hostility generated by the supernatural monster that pursued me but this hostility most closely resembled... the Shui gui''s hate.


    "You fell in the river, you say? Will you not let this matter slide, Zhang Shun?"


    My eyes began to flicker again, with black spots appearing and disappearing in my field of vision. My stress was triggering it.


    "No, I won''t."


    I must have been mistaken. There''s nothing supernatural nearby, it''s just a bad vibe.


    That was the last thing I thought as I was knocked unconscious.

 A Ghost Ghosted Me Chapter 2

    Stolen Part Two


    As I woke up, I immediately assess my surroundings.


    Sound of rushing water, I''m close to the river.


    The feeling of lying on my side, rocks, this is the river bank. My hands are tied. My mouth is gagged.


    And there''s a cloth around my head, I can''t see.


    Someone just picked me up. I felt the world spin as I crashed into water.


    I''m in a river of ghosts, tied up, gagged and blind.


    It was a violent struggle. I felt numerous hands grab me and push me under. All in order to drown me. The sheer malice was choking me. It was inevitably coming closer.


    Then I woke up. The first thing I felt was that I felt nothing. For the first time, in my life that I woke up, I felt nothing.


    Normally you would feel the pillow supporting your head, or the sweat on your forehead, or the mattress underneath. But today I felt nothing.


    I stood up and I realized. I was standing in the river. My head was under the whole time. How am I still alive?


    The answer: I''m not.


    In the distance, I saw someone coming out of the river. It was a body I was all to familiar with but had never seen from this perspective before.


    "That''s my body! That belongs to me! It does not belong to you! Give it back!"


    Everything clicked at once for me. T¨¬ sh¨¥n, the process by which a Shui gui steals the body of the living and their victim becomes new Shui gui. Amelia, said she needed to tell me something. She asked- No, she was begging me to stay with her, not to go home. She was crying.


    "Go die for all I care, you idiot!"


    It was right in front of me this whole time. She was trying to protect me. From this scenario. She knew. Why didn''t she tell me? No, she was trying to tell me.


    They tossed me in the river to die. For what? For asking to fence up the river, for protecting the town from Shui gui. The only reason you wouldn''t want that would be... If you wanted the Shui gui to possess the people. Or, an even more sinister reason, if you were a Shui gui yourself.


    I... I need to get out of here! I waded through the water but I never made it past the river bank. I was tied here to the water. Bound to where I lost my body. No I can''t stay here... I have to talk to her. She''ll have a solution! She can bring my body back here to repossess it!


    "Let me out! I have to speak to her! Amelia!"


    When escaping from the water wasn''t possible, I decided to follow the river instead. I used the current to reach the next town, the town where I met her. It''s a strange feeling being a ghost. You still interact with the world around you, but there''s no sensation, no feeling to it. It didn''t feel at all like the water was carrying me. It was like some unexplainable force was acting on me instead.


    Having the water carry you, but still not being able to feel it, does a lot to ruin your stability. I flopped into the water and turned upside down many times. It felt as if the world wasn''t in sync. Or like the controller wasn''t plugged in.


    I passed by numerous Shui gui on my way but they all ignored me. They were all just looking out to land. Waiting. Waiting for someone to come by.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Struggling through all that, I finally made it to the next town''s bridge again. Once there I yelled for her and I kept yelling. A day, two days, three days, four, five, six, eight, eleven, twenty.


    Thirty days had passed. Not having to eat, sleep and being unable to feel anything was taking its toll on my mind. But I was unmoving, fighting the water current, I stayed. Hoping and hoping, she would pass by this river again.


    Until the thirty first day, I saw it. The two seater rental car, belonging to her.


    "Amelia! Help! I''m over here! AMELIA!"


    The car stopped. She heard me! She had stopped! Yes! I''m over here!


    She came out of the car and walked to the bridge''s edge.


    "Fish... I''m so sorry..."


    Yeah, I forgive you. No hard feelings. I don''t know why you didn''t tell me but since it''s you, you must have had a good reason!


    "Please, Amelia! You have to find my body. It was taken! The last time I saw my body, it was headed towards my town. You have to find it!"


    "Fish, I can''t..."


    "WHY NOT?! It''s my body, it belongs to me! I grew up in it, I trained it! It is mine!"


    "Fish, I have to go. I can''t help a  Shui gui, a demon, it''s one of the rules."


    "I''m not a demon! I''m a person, a human!"


    "Can you really say that now, Fish? Maniacal behavior, irrational, angry and an uncontrollable obsession over one''s old body. It''s all things a Shui gui experiences. You are a demon."


    "Then why didn''t you tell me?! That you knew! You knew that they were helping the Shui gui!"


    "We had an agreement with your town, Fish. Everyone in your town is either a water ghost or an offspring of one. A long time ago, the temple promised not to interfere with them as long as they stayed away from other towns. It was necessary for peace. The temple would keep it a secret and they wouldn''t hurt other towns. Sounds great in theory, doesn''t it?"


    That didn''t matter to me. What''s important is my body! Not anything else!


    Amelia walks away.


    "Forgive me, Fish."


    "No, no, no nono nono! Amelia come back! Don''t leave me here like this! AAAAAAHHHH!"


    ...Weren''t you supposed to be my savior?


    Day a hundred and some irrelevant number. I''m still waiting by the bridge. I see people pass by but no one has been able to see me except Amelia that one time. I''m losing it. My sanity and slowly... my humanity. I refuse to accept that I''m a demon.


    Now I spend my days doing what I used to do in highschool to pass the time. I''m amusing myself. Making puns and word play by myself.


    Wanna hear one?


    In my situation, I guess you could say... a ghost ghosted me! Badum tss. HAHAHAHA! Get it? Cause I got turned into a ghost! I got turned into a ghost... I am a ghost. I''m talking to myself... I''m going insane aren''t I?


    No- Wait. I used to talk to myself when I was human too. Was? Was? Was?! I am human! What am I talking about! Hahaha.


    I''m crazy. I''m talking crazy!


    Where''s Amelia? I''m bored. It''s boring without having someone else to share puns with. Amelia... she left me here. She abandoned me. In the end, she left me out to dry... No, no. You can''t hate her, she gave me ample clues. Even my sixth sense was telling me something bad was going on. But did I listen? Noooope.


    So here I am... Fish in the river. All alone. No one to talk to. The other Shui gui completely ignore me. It''s as if their one goal in ''life''... Pfft! See what I did there? It''s as if their one goal is to drown some innocent poor sucker like me and obtain their body. Like they''re not even picky about it. Whether it''s an old man, a child, an ugly person or their opposite gender, they''ll just possess them, they really don''t give a flying fish.


    ...


    I''m. I''m lonely. For the first time, in a long time. I feel really lonely.


    Ever since graduating high school, I have never felt this lonely. Was this how, Jun Ling felt too? All alone, in this river. And I can''t even do any cool stuff like her! She could stand on the water and enter my dreamscape, like wow. Meanwhile I''m just trying to hang on from being dragged further down the river by the currents.


    This... this is pathetic. I should have never gone out of my way to help people then this never would have happened. But... I had to. What kind of person would I be if I abandoned innocent people to this fate? Jun Ling could never approve of a man who does that. I wanted to live up to her expectations... I wanted to live...

 Enjoying my life as a supernatural being

    Hello, Zhang Fish Shun here. It is currently day 200 since I became a ghost and I am currently enjoying my ''life'' as a member of the exclusive supernatural beings club. No humans allowed, only supernatural beings.


    It''s great not having a body you know! No more migraines, your eyesight is basically 20/20 and my the dark spots in my vision have vanished completely!


    I''ve had lots of time lately, in fact, I now have an infinite amount of time. Since I can no longer die, I''ve just been practicing all the time with my ethereal body.


    One particular activity I''ve gotten really good at is swimming. Yes, swimming. After all I am a water ghost. I can swim against the river, following the river, doggy paddle, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. I''ve mastered all of those. Fish is truly a nickname which suits me now!


    The second fun activity to pass my infinite time and in my opinion, the most fun, is stone throwing!


    To throw a stone, go to the shallow edge of the river, reach to the riverbed, pick out a stone, get into your stance and throw as hard as you can! You can throw the stone anywhere! You could skip it along the water surface, annoy innocent passersby while your ghostly comrades watch said innocent passersby, blow out windows on the convenience store by the river and bonus points for hitting fast moving objects such as birds and cars.


    I''m such a good stone thrower that I bet if I was a human, I would be playing in the major league for baseball. I can pitch with my right, my left and hit just about any target. The other day, a cat was looking at me and my comrades funny, so I showed it a thing or two with a soft right handed pitch. It ran off terrified, mwahahaha!


    Another favourite ghostly activity and my ghostly friends'' favourite, is to watch humans passing by the river. I dubbed it "human watching". All my ghost friends do it all the time! I myself like to go real up close and peek up skirts. The best part is we won''t ever get caught, cause we''re invisible!This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Day 250.


    Recently, me and my friends have been trying to come up with a new game. "Human watching", is still their favourite by far but I thought it was a bit lacking. So I''ve been thinking about what to do.


    Another idea that came to mind was using my ghostly powers to stand on the water and enter the humans'' dreams. However that failed miserably. Only Jun Ling could do those sorts of things because she''s special. All the other ghosts and me, on the otherhand...


    Sigh...


    So I''ve just been dedicating my time to stone throwing ever since. And I am proud to say, that even major league baseball pitchers stand no chance against me. I can knock out an entire flock of migrating birds within seconds with my dominant left hand. And I can skip a stone up to ten times off the water surface when it''s calm.


    Also, I successfully came up with a new game. I''m trying to get the other ghosts to join in on my new way to pass the time, juggling.


    I daresay, I''m pretty skillful. I can juggle four stones. Four! That''s like twice as many hands as I''ve got!


    But that got boring after about day 300.


    So now I''m getting into ethereal body building! What? Body building doesn''t work for ghosts? And who told you that? Our spirits can get stronger too you know! Ethereal muscle!


    Underwater pushups! Underwater situps! Underwater squats!


    And when you feel like training with weights, hope you get lucky and that a plastic bag happens to be floating down the river. Fill that with rocks and you have a dumbbell!


    Ah the plastic tore and all the rocks fell out.


    Okay maybe making a dumbbell is a bit hard but you just need to keep trying.


    It''s now day 365. My ghost birthday anniversary! All the other ghosts didn''t celebrate with me but they''re just preoccupied with their favourite activity, ''human watching''. I don''t blame them, humans are pretty fun to watch. The ghosts are always so single mindedly focused in their hobby of ''human watching'' though. I wish some humans would celebrate my birthday with me instead. I wish Amelia could come celebrate with me.


    Amelia? Who''s Amelia? She''s my savior. Savior? Savior of what? Savior of...


    Ah no. She''s the one who abandoned me here. Why would I want to celebrate my ghost birthday with her then?


    Well she is the best punster I know. It would be fun to talk with her again. The other ghosts never talk to me.


    I''m... I''m so alone. And so lonely.


    I wonder how she''s doing... what she''s doing? My savior... didn''t you say you''d rescue me? Why have you abandoned me?

 Resolve

    Day 366.


    Wouldn''t it be so easy if I just possessed someone? What the other Shui gui are doing, maybe they aren''t wrong. Shouldn''t I be looking for someone to possess too?


    But what about my real body?


    My real body is probably long gone. This is all you can hope to do. Look, aren''t those kids straying awfully close to the river? Easy pickings~! Plenty to go around and share amongst you and your ghostly comrades!


    Pickings? Just what do you think humans are?


    Vessels waiting to be stolen.


    ...


    Hurry up! If you don''t hurry and possess one, your friends are going to finish them off with or without you.


    ...


    Jun Ling, would be sooo~ disappointed if you couldn''t fulfill your dreams, now wouldn''t she?


    ... Don''t you dare bring her up.


    Oh but poor Amelia right? Boohoo, she''ll be so disappointed in you if you did possess someone wouldn''t she? She might even be forced to exorcise you just for being a Shui gui who possessed a child from her town. Listen... she left you for dead in this river. She wouldn''t risk sinning, breaking the rules, ruining and damning herself to hell for someone like you. So why do you have to care about what she thinks?Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Shut up!


    Oh but it''s the truth. Don''t you see gullible, naive, Zhang Shun?


    I''ll kill you. You''re just the Shui gui nature within me. Once I go back to my original body, you will cease to exist. I''d already decided since a long time ago. That''s why I''ve been waiting for this moment. First I''ll kill all the Shui gui in the river. Then you.


    "Stupid kids! Get out of the water!"


    With all the time I''ve had to hone my spiritual body, it''s stronger now.


    Pick a rock out from the riverbed, get into your stance... and throw.


    The first rock connects with the closest Shui gui to the children. The hurtling rock rockets through, scattering its spirit apart killing it.


    The rock shatters into tiny pieces after landing, scaring off the children and they run to safety.


    The Shui gui are beyond angry. Most of them have been waiting here for decades, centuries even. And I just ruined their chance at freedom. I understand how some of them have already given up long ago. Their original bodies no longer exist. They can no longer return to being humans. I understand and I sympathise.


    But it is when they willingly choose to damn others to the same fate. That is when they truly lose their humanity.


    And that''s why I can''t, I WON''T GIVE IN!


    "I am still a human!"


    Amelia, I''ll prove that you were wrong! I''m not a demon and I''m not a monster. I''ll show that I''m still worth saving!


    As the Shui gui rush towards me, I calmly pick up a few rocks, take my stance and throw again.


    None are taken down. The one from earlier was just taken by surprise. With their guard up and their century old anger on full display, I stand no chance. Now that my spirit is basically that of a monster, I wonder where I will go when I die? Heaven or Hell? I really don''t like pain... I hope I can go to Heaven. But I''d be fine with going to Hell too. If Jun Ling is waiting there for me, I''d go anywhere to see her.


    This is the end. Goodbye. Sorry for dying before you, Mum and Dad.

 The Fake and The Real Monster Chapter 1

    Savior


    But this isn''t fair. Mom, dad... do you know your son has been suffering for the past year? Why haven''t you come looking for him? Are you Shui gui too? Why was I born to you, in that town? I hate you... for giving birth to me in such a ruined town.


    It''s their fault.


    Or is this my karma? DId I really do something so bad in the past, that I have to die for the second time?


    Oh god. This isn''t fair. Please, I need help.


    I''m just a stupid kid too... I don''t want to die... I don''t want to meet Jun Ling when I haven''t even accomplished half of my dreams yet...


    This kind of death... I don''t want it. I''m not dying as a hero but as a cry baby. On the inside I''m still a big cry baby. Always whining, always complaining. But I deserve to complain, don''t I? I didn''t deserve to have my body taken away from me by a monster.


    That''s why I''m asking. One more day... One more day as a human. That''s all I''m asking... I have so much I want to do.


    The only thing I can do is cry for help.


    "Amelia! Amelia! Please help me! Someone! I don''t want to die here!"


    This is futile but I swim further down the stream. If only for a little bit longer, a second, a minute, an hour. I wish to live.


    By a miracle, or perhaps something ordained by fate, just after I passed under the bridge, I saw a person walking along the river bank. She was looking at me, she saw me, she could see me. The sun shining brightly behind her, cast a shadow on her face. But I don''t care what she looks like as long as she saves me.


    No matter if you''re an angel or the devil.


    Right now, as long as you can save me, that''s fine by me. I already owe debts which I can''t repay even with an infinite lifespan, what''s one more debt?


    Desperately I stretch my hand out.


    "Please help me!"


    She took my hand, pulling on me.


    The water seemed to tug on me too as if refusing to let me escape.


    However the girl didn''t give up. She leaned back and put her weight into the pull.


    "Get out of the water, come onto land!"


    The instant she finished her sentence, the water released me. And for the first time, in a year, I was out of the river.


    I guess you could say she fished me out of the river. Hahaha...


    The only thing the Shui gui could do now was glare at me unrelentlessly. Their anger seemed to increase tenfold as if they had gotten even angrier at the fact that I, a relatively new Shui gui, had escaped the water before them. As if I had skipped a queue.


    "Are you okay? You''re a shui gui right? How can you still talk? Shui gui are supposed to lose their sanity, memories and become incapable of speech."


    I turned to look at the face of my savior. I froze.


    "Hey, say something. I know you''re a shui gui but it''s alright. You can talk to me, Zhang Shun."


    Her face, voice and appearance was all too familiar to me. A bob hair cut with really long bangs. Petite and short.


    "Please, don''t be scared, Zhang Shun. It''s me Jun Ling. And I know all about shui gui too. You could say I''m like an expert!"


    I wasn''t scared about that. It was her face that was causing this horrible gut wrenching feeling in my stomach. That face belongs to someone I had spent so long with. Or would ''belonged'' be a more fitting tense in this scenario?


    Also she knows me? This fake? No. She''s pretending to know me. Pretending to be Jun Ling.


    "Jun Ling."


    Shit. I let her name slip.


    "Ah. You remember me! That''s great! So you wanna explain how you became a water ghost?"


    "Not really."


    I would''ve explained it to anyone. But not to this fake. I understood the instant I saw this girl. She is not my Li Jun Ling. She''s a shui gui who stole her body. But how? Jun Ling was drowned I thought? They even had an ambulance sent, her body was in the bag... I saw it. Are shui gui capable of possessing dead bodies?


    That''s the only rational explanation left.


    This monster stole her corpse. Somehow, someway.


    I''ll keep silent for now and follow along. This time I''ll get the answers to all my questions. And once I''m done I''ll end this charade. My town full of nothing but fakes pretending to be human, I''ll end all of it.


    "Aww... but I understand. It must have been painful right? Let''s go to my house, there we can get comfortable for a long talk."Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    It was painful. Getting my spirit ripped out, seeing a monster with my appearance and being trapped here for so long. But I don''t need a monster like you to console me. You fake. Don''t touch me. I''m gonna hurl.


    Following the river down stream, we reach a stilted wooden house.


    "Okay, home sweet home. Come on in, Zhang Shun!"


    Is this poor looking wooden house actually Jun Ling''s home?


    She goes to sit down on the couch but I remain standing.


    "Well let''s start. I know you might have a lot of questions but I''ll do my best to answer all of them."


    ...Where do I start?


    I''ll have to play dumb. Ask questions I already know the answer to. That way I can test how truthful this monster is as well. But what if she''s putting on a show for me? What if she''s working with the town council? What if I''m dancing to her tune?


    No, that couldn''t be true. Why save me in the first place then? That seems like a roundabout way to do things. The town council have no reason to try and save me when my mission goes against their whole farce.


    "What is a shui gui?"


    Answered truthfully in excruciating detail. I felt like tuning it out but I had to listen to it to look for any lies.


    "Why couldn''t I leave the river?"


    "Shui gui, like most supernatural beings cannot enter places they''re not allowed without expressed verbal permission. In their case, it happens to be water they''re tied to so anywhere on land is considered a restricted area."


    I can''t know whether that''s true. But she did say something akin to an invitation, when she pulled me out.


    "Why did you help me? I''m a dangerous shui gui, aren''t I?"


    It''s a bit risky but I phrased my questions to ask several things at once. She might slip up and give more valuable information this way.


    ''Why did you help me'', can be interpreted in many different ways. But combined with the second question, ''I''m a shui gui, aren''t I'', it creates two different interpretations of me. One, I am a naive person who genuinely doesn''t understand why one would risk herself to save me. Two, I am suspicious of her ulterior motives and might be catching on to her.


    The chances that she catches onto the fact that I''m probing for information is low.


    Either way, no matter how she responds, it will give me insight and information.


    "True, you might have been a shui gui pretending to be in trouble to drown me. But you looked like you were still coherent and the fact that you were capable of speaking at all, it spoke volumes about your sanity. Most shui gui lose their memories of being human and just go on their base urge to drown humans. So I tossed the dice and decided to save you and I was right. You weren''t a bad shui gui."


    It''s true. She couldn''t have known that I wouldn''t try to drown her. Why would a shui gui who already has a body, risk it by exposing themselves to another shui gui encounter? If she knew the town council, why put herself in this dangerous situation to begin with? There are no possible logical reasons I can come up with to explain this. Other than... she genuinely wanted to help me.


    But no... this could all still be an act for some other irrational reason that I can''t come up with. She is still pretending to be Jun Ling, after all.


    Wait a second. I''ve been going about this the wrong way.


    She is pretending to be Jun Ling, from my class, who died. That wouldn''t make sense. The town council would know that we were in the same class and realize that I will be able to draw the conclusion that this is a fake Jun Ling.


    So... either this fake isn''t connected to the council or... Ahhhh. None of this is making any sense to me. I''m thinking too fast. Let''s return to reality and try to probe for more information.


    Let''s skip the tiny details and go with the most important question.


    "Can you help me get my body back?"


    "Yes! Of course I''m going to. Once I pulled you out of the river, it was my obligation to continue and finish helping you."


    Just what in the heck is this monster planning? I can''t think of any possible reason. Nothing she''s said links up with the knowledge in my head.


    As far as I know, the shui gui in my town are all cooperating with each other to possess innocent townsfolk. So just what is this ghost thinking exactly? She can''t possibly want to kill me or she would''ve let the river shui gui kill me.


    "Would you really help me get my body back?"


    "Yup! It''s a Li''s promise, swear on my ancestors. Any more questions?"


    Yeah. Just two more.


    "What happens after a shui gui possesses someone?"


    "Huh? What do you mean? The victim becomes a water ghost and the water ghost takes over their body. I thought I''d already-"


    "No, what I mean is, what do the shui gui do after getting their bodies?"


    "Well, I don''t really get what you mean but the shui gui just become human again. That''s it, pretty much."


    "No! What do they do after becoming human again? That''s the question I''m asking!"


    She backed off. She was scared of my outburst... She should be.


    "W-well some decide to come to our town for safety from the exorcists, some go off to live in far away places while others continue the life of their victims. And some lucky ones might even return to find their old families from before they became shui gui."


    "Wait, continue the lives of their victims?"


    "Umm yeah, they''ll continue their lives. With their memories."


    "Shui gui can obtain the memories of their victims?"


    "Yes. I thought that didn''t need to be explained. Same body, same brain after all. Their feelings are the same as well."


    "Okay, last question. Can shui gui possess dead bodies?"


    "No, for shui gui, they have to target living people. It''s so strange right? Unlike other ghosts, shui gui are one of the few with this exception."


    She''s finally slipped up. What she just said contradicts what I know. Shui gui can possess dead bodies otherwise you, the fake couldn''t be standing here right now.


    "Then how are you in Jun Ling''s body?"


    "W-what? What are you talking about?"


    She''s finally sounding nervous. I''ve hit a jackpot. I''ll make her spill everything now.


    "The fact that you are referring to yourself as Jun Ling. The fact that Jun Ling is supposed to be dead. It''s obvious isn''t it? You''re a fake with her memories."


    "No, I am Li Jun Ling. I''m not lying..."


    "Jun Ling, is no longer in this world! I saw her body in the ambulance!"


    "Ambulance?"


    "Yeah! When she died in February! I saw it!"


    "There was never an ambulance called..."


    "Don''t lie to me! I know what I saw!"


    "There was no ambulance and there was no body! How could I have died in February if I graduated with you?"


    ...what?


    "That''s impossible... Jun Ling died seven months before graduation. I know that."


    "I know you''re scared, Shun but don''t worry. You''re just confused after becoming a ghost... I''m not an enemy. I''ll prove it to you."


    She gets up from the couch to a bookshelf. She pulls out a book, it''s our school year book, the one specially made for seniors in their last year of high school.


    "Look, I''m in our graduation ceremony photo. And there''s me in our class photo and another one of me in the girls group photo. And here''s the 9 photos taken of us each month. Our class thought it would be cool to take pictures of us every month and compare them with our last graduation photo. I''m in every single photo!"


    "No! None of that matters! The ambulance was called and I confirmed it with my eyes, your drowned body! You''re a shui gui, pretending to be Jun Ling and you killed her!"


    "T-think rationally, Zhang Shun... If an ambulance was called and I was confirmed dead, how would I appear in every photo after February? And wouldn''t our classmates have known about it too?"


    ... I couldn''t deny what she had just said. But if shui gui could possess dead bodies, everything she just said, would be made irrelevant. And I''d know the truth.


    "You''re lying about shui gui not being able to possess dead bodies. And I''ll prove it to you."


    I grab her by the arm.


    "Zhang Shun? Please... you''re hurting me. Where are you taking me?"


    The sight of Jun Ling crying made my heart jerk in pain but I reminded myself that this was a mere monster. I cast aside my doubt and doubled down on my conviction. This was a fake and I was going to prove it no matter what.


    "The morgue."


    "No, please... Zhang Shun, please don''t."


    My heart is tearing apart at the seams, hearing her voice sound so hurt but my mind is made up. I can''t turn back. If I turn back now, I won''t know what to think.

 The Fake and The Real Monster Chapter 2

    After a walk, that seemed like eternity.


    We''re here. The morgue. No more lies, no more questions. This will settle the question of whether shui gui can possess dead people and it will confirm the truth, that Jun Ling is dead.


    At some point, while I was dragging the fake, she gave up resisting and allowed herself to be taken.


    If all goes well I might even be able to return Jun Ling to her real body. I don''t know how I''m going to do it but I will. She can come back to life!


    I won''t let the tears on the false Jun Ling''s face to dissuade me.


    Monsters are all about deception and greed. They''ll do anything to retain control of a human body.


    I pull open the closest fridge. It has a body.


    I put my hands on it and wait.


    Nothing happens.


    No sudden transfer of consciousness to body.


    No bright light.


    Just my hands on a dead body.


    "Tell me how to possess a dead body!"


    "...hic... you can''t, Zhang Shun..."


    "Stop lying to me!"


    I slam my hand on the fridge and it''s as if the sound of the metal cut through my consciousness. Mentally my tunnel vision cleared and my eyes truly began to see everything clearly. I noticed her appearance.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    She was crying.


    Of course she would. Her arm was severely bruised from me dragging her the whole way. All the way, from her wrist to her forearm, it was covered in blue and purple marks. And her eyes, blinded by and overflowing with tears, tears and more tears. She had cried so much that even her clothes had streams of water on them. Her sleeve was soaked with tears even though she had given up on wiping her tears at some point. In between her sobs, were her feeble attempts to breathe normally, and hiccups.


    Even now, she still patiently stood there. Not running away, just tolerating me acting insane.


    What am I doing here? In a morgue, dragging an unwilling crying girl with me, with my hands on a dead body. What was I trying to prove?


    This girl took the risk of getting possessed by shui gui to save me from certain death, someone who she barely knows. She put her life on the line to save me and here I am, doubting her and abusing her trust as well as physically.


    Just who''s the real monster here?


    Maybe I''ve gone insane for real this time. Just think about it, the girl who I met in a dream, happened to be a girl from my class in reality. What are the chances I dreamt up the whole ordeal? Could this all be one big misunderstanding? That night on the court. Did it really happen? Couldn''t that dream be the false story here?


    Thinking about it, this girl here looks like Jun Ling, has her memories, was definitely a part of my class for the last seven months of school, she saved me from death''s clutches and she even offered to risk herself again to retrieve my body.


    Like she said. After a water ghost obtains a body, they become human again, capable of thinking, capable of feeling. They regain their sanity and gain their victim''s memories. I shouldn''t hold the actions of someone as a water ghost against them. Whether she is the real Jun Ling or not. I shouldn''t have treated her this way.


    "I... I don''t want to think anymore. I just want to be able to feel again. The clothes on my back, the cool breeze, the warm sunlight and my beating heart. I just want those back. I''m sorry, Jun Ling! I am so so sorry. I have no idea what I was thinking!"


    "It''s okay... hic... You''re just angry because you''re a shui gui. I won''t hold it against you."


    That''s right. If we were to debate who''s the monster here... shetheoretically could be one in spirit but I''m 100% definitely a monster, in spirit, my thoughts, my behaviour and my actions. As of right now, I''m nothing but a selfish monster, believing in only what he thinks to be the truth. Not what is the truth.


    Am I still worth saving, I wonder? Amelia was right. I have become a demon.

 Acceptance That Truth Isnt Black or White

    After I had calmed down, Jun Ling had fallen asleep. So I carried Jun Ling on my back, back to her home.


    I wasn''t worried whether she was fake or real anymore. A lot of inconsistencies within my memory still remained but I''ve decided to just adapt and handle things as they come. I was too concerned over whether she was real or fake, that I forgot the implications of what she had done for me. I forgot how to feel gratitude.


    Worse than losing the physical sensation of the world, I had forgotten how to feel gratitude for what she had done for me.


    She was the only one who told them to send me to the infirmary. Otherwise my ankle would''ve worsened as time passed by. She was also the only one who saved me from the river. The one who taught me more about shui gui. And the only who said she would help me regain my body.


    Even if our dream wasn''t real, those other things are definitely real.


    I was still wary of meeting anyone from town so I walked along the river bank away from the paths and trails whilst being careful not to step in the water.


    During the walk, she woke up.


    "Zhang Shun?..."


    "Yeah?"


    "Thank you for believing in me. I''ll always be on your side."


    Despite everything I had said and done, she not only forgave me but she''s thanking me. Li Jun Ling truly is an angel.


    "Zhang Shun? Do you mind if we drop by the school later?"


    "Why?"


    "I want to play basketball."


    Hearing that evoke a lot of memories in me. Happy, happy memories. As well as unhappy ones. But this time, I''ll be playing basketball with Jun Ling in the real world. Not the dream world. I''ll be properly fulfilling her dreams this time.


    Reaching her home, I gingerly walked up the creaky wooden steps to her front door.


    "Hang on tight, Jun Ling. I''m opening the door and I don''t want to drop you."


    "Hnn." She affirms.


    I couldn''t tell if she was gripping tighter so I waited a while before carefully untucking one hand to twist the door knob open.


    After making sure the door was wide open, I make sure both hands are holding her properly.


    "Kyaa!"


    ? An enemy?


    "What''s wrong?!"


    "Umm y-your hand is on my..."


    "Sorry! I can''t feel anything right now so it''s my bad."


    It really was an accident and I was sad I didn''t have a physical body to feel... you know.


    But more importantly, I can''t feel her warmth on my back, her breathing on my neck or her body pressing into me.


    Being a ghost really sucks at times.


    "Should I bring you to your room?"


    "N-no! I mean... the couch is fine."


    She''s really protective of her secrets I see. It''s true. I never saw Jun Ling''s house at all in the dreamscape world too. As if she wanted to hide these living conditions away from me. I shouldn''t delve any deeper into that.


    I carefully lower her down to the couch.


    "Are you sitting?"


    "Hnn." She affirms.


    "I''ll go get my basketball, wait here and don''t come in my room okay!"


    I sit on the couch and wait patiently for her.


    "Okay, I''m dressed up. We can go now."


    Jun Ling in her P.E uniform never fails to make my heart skip a beat. It''s the same uniform I saw her first in, short shorts, and white t-shirt tucked in.


    She brought out her old weathered ball too. The same one as the one I had picked up in that bush. Everything''s confusing me right now. Jun Ling''s alive and there are two of the exact same mud brown, bruised, and beaten basketball.


    But somehow I''ve stopped questioning the oddities. I''m simply going to enjoy this basketball date with her.


    Her left arm, the same arm I had grabbed is all bandaged up. I feel a constant stream of guilt whenever I look at it. I was really angry... I didn''t realize how much strength I was putting in my grip. I sorely wish I was a human again.


    "Do you want me to piggy back you again?"


    "No, I''m feeling better now."


    "We''re going out rather late, aren''t your parents going to be worried?"


    "My parents are out on a work trip so we''ll be alone for the whole week."


    We. She said we. This angel is letting me stay with her overnight for a whole week? No. Control yourself Zhang Shun. Remember your name, good natured, good natured, good natured.


    With only the moonlight, we traveled alone the riverbank towards the school''s rear basketball court. I kept a watchful eye the whole time in case we strayed too close to the water.


    I''m not gonna let her get taken. I''d rather die a second time before I let that happen.


    We reach the school. Gently taking her hand, we carefully scale the dirt cliff together and enter the court.


    "So show me what you''ve got!"


    The competitiveness which died a long time ago within me flared up again, expecting a good 1 on 1 duel with the real Li Jun Ling.


    I pass the ball to her for her to start on offense.


    She fumbles the pass...


    Maybe she''s not actually as good in reality?


    "Sorry!"


    "It''s fine! Just come at me!"


    Nope. She dribbles just as well as I remember. In fact she might be even better than I remember because her dribble move trips me up and I fall.


    "Umm... Shun."


    "Yeah?"


    "I know you want to build my confidence up but please take this seriously."


    "But I am though?"


    "No, you aren''t and I can see that. You''re purposefully putting too much weight on your left side and neglecting your right, then you pretended to fall."


    I''m putting too much weight on my left leg? But I really was taking her seriously. Maybe this whole time I''ve actually been unconsciously protecting my right leg.


    "Okay. Let''s do that again."


    "Seriously this time?"


    She''s pouting and her tiny brows are slightly furrowed... S-so cute.


    "Mhm. Seriously."


    "Okay..."


    She doesn''t sound like she believes me.


    Okay. Keep myself balanced, stay light on my toes. I may not be able to feel anything right now but my mind remembers, the practiced motions I went through. The thousands of hours spent practicing.


    She does a different dribble move this time, faking left, going right then attempting to go left again while turning the ball behind her back.


    I tap the ball out of her hands.


    I did it.


    "That''s the basketball star I know."


    "Star? I haven''t heard that line in a long time."


    My injury early on in my last year of playing, cut our trip to Nationals short. The last year we had placed fifth in our state and just needed to get fourth to have a chance to go the Regional tournaments and finally Nationals. But with me injured, their run ended at eleventh place.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    I had talked a pretty big game back then. But when it came down to it I just wasn''t up to stuff. If I had put on a bit more muscle, or practiced a bit harder. Maybe I wouldn''t have shattered my ankle. My relationships with the coaches and teammates all soured. And my college offers all dried up. People had already disliked me for being so self-centered and purely focused on basketball. When my basketball career went down the drain, so did my social status within the school.


    Talks a big game but can''t walk off an injured ankle.


    Guess he wasn''t as good as we thought.


    "Shun? Are you upset?"


    She''s observant and caring as always.


    "A bit, hearing ''star'' just brought back some bad memories."


    "No. I''m sorry... I should have told them to carry you faster to the infirmary back then. Maybe your ankle would have healed faster."


    She shouldn''t have to apologize.


    She did tell them to carry me back then. If she hadn''t when she did, maybe I wouldn''t have been able to walk for life. Just because she hesitated a little in helping, doesn''t mean my ankle not recovering quickly is solely her responsibilty. Even now she''s helping me because she still feels responsible. She shouldn''t have to shoulder that burden.


    Let''s lighten the mood.


    "No. You did your best. And right now a broken ankle wouldn''t faze me anyways! I have no physical body!"


    "Hahaha~ I guess you''re right about that."


    ...


    "So what are you going to do when you get your body back?"


    "Abandon this god forsaken crazy town first of all. They threw me into the river and got me into this mess in the first place."


    "I see... You want to go far away."


    "Yup. And.. umm I think it''s time we talk about certain things. I''ve been trying to sort through it all in my own mind but it isn''t any use."


    "Okay, so where do we start?"


    "How''d you come to know about the supernatural? And why were you by the river today?"


    "To be honest, I have no clear idea why I know about these things and today I just felt like I had to wait by the bridge no matter what."


    "But you referred to yourself as an expert?"


    "I did didn''t I? I myself don''t know why."


    This feeling. Where have I felt it before?


    That''s right. Truth is only what you know. Not what actually is.


    She knows her truth. And I know my truth.


    But that''s not all there is to it.


    We are both being deceived here.


    I trust her words and I trust her. But I feel like there''s something missing here. Something very important that both of us don''t know. The key to finding it all out lies somewhere within our conversations here.


    Rather, our conversations are the keys. But only one key can fit the lock and solve the mystery.


    Keep a calm mind, open your eyes and speak what comes to mind.


    "Then let''s sort through our memories of events that happened this year. Let''s start with after I broke my ankle. What happened between us?"


    "I remember telling the boys to quickly send you to the infirmary... Then after that, you said thank you to me in the hallway. Then, you invited me to play basketball for the first time."


    "Wait, there. How did I invite you to play basketball if my ankle healed a few months before graduation?"


    "I don''t know... but you did. I''m sure of it."


    It may have contradicted itself but it matched with both of our versions of events.


    In reality, I don''t remember doing it but in the dream we definitely played basketball together after I broke my ankle.


    If you say it like that, then things makes sense.


    The dream did happen and she remembers it as well. But how much does she remember?


    "What else happened after that?"


    "Well the next day, we had P.E in the gym and you introduced me to the girls basketball club. I joined the team and that year we reached Nationals."


    "Did anything else happen between us?"


    "Well... I kept playing basketball with you every week and then at graduation you..."


    "I?"


    "p-pr-"


    "Go on?"


    "Pr-pro-Proposed!"


    "...I did?!"


    "Yeah, with a ring and flowers too."


    "Then umm what happened after graduation?"


    "Well... for a month you disappeared then you became the town''s painter. The old men at the town hall told me about you. I saw you painting the bridge. And suddenly you started limping slowly backwards and then you went into the river! I was so worried."


    Yeah, that one month I was cooped up inside the house drawing all the time. Then I begged my mother to hook me up with that painting job. And also her choice of words there, limping. I was limping backwards?


    "So you didn''t see the monster chasing me?"


    "There was no monster there. Only you."


    Here it is.


    "But... I''m sure of what I saw."


    And she is sure of what she saw.


    How can there be such a discrepancy?


    Suddenly the door slams open and my non existent heart almost ceased beating. Both Jun Ling and I jump in shock.


    It''s Amelia standing in the doorway... But how? Why is she here? Is she for Jun Ling? Is she here to exorcise me?


    "I''m sure you want to know about that monster now huh? Okay then I''ve been listening in and observing you guys for quite some time so I''ve finally decided to help out."


    I''m a bit thrown off by the sudden appearance but I go with the flow.


    "...So was there a monster that chased me into the river?"


    "Yup but... Judging by what she said, it was all in your head."


    "My head?"


    "Yup."


    "But Amelia you helped me kill it. How could it have been in my head?"


    "Oh yeah, by the time you reached our town, it definitely became real. Because the moment you entered our town was when it arrived and victims started appearing. That two day time period in the hospital, you said you were constantly looking behind your shoulders and scared stiff."


    "Yeah?"


    "Why were you scared?"


    "I was scared because I thought it might show up."


    "Exactly there it is. Now let me explain a little about our town. Our town is called the place where dreams are realized."


    "And what has that got to do with it?"


    "Oh come on, use your creativity a little, dreams can be bad too. Surely that''s a big enough hint for you."


    "No it isn''t."


    "Tell me when did you first encounter the supernatural?"


    "Graduation day, when I met her, Jun Ling in a dream."


    "Hahaha, no silly your first physical encounter with something dangerous... It was the shui gui in the river."


    "So... I was hallucinating at the beginning. Went into the river, fought a shui gui, and then you exorcised the monster which had become real in your town."


    "Correct! Now prepare to use your brain a lot for this one~ What do you think that monster was?"


    "An inescapable monster?"


    "Nuh-uh. Think more along the lines of, what does it represent in you?"


    "My fear?"


    "And what fear is that?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Ah you''re lame. Can''t believe you''re this weak! When did that monster first start to show up? You should know this."


    "Before I fell into the river-"


    "No! What were you doing at the time when you fell into the river?"


    "Painting..."


    "There it is~ And according to your Jun Ling here, what happened to you that you an athlete decided to be an artist?"


    "I broke my ankle."


    "Correct~ See you do have a brain."


    No. Wasn''t that obvious?


    Actually it was obvious the whole time.


    "Now time for a really big clue. Fish, me and gramps were lying when we said we couldn''t see its face. We could. It was all bullshit we made up to get you to confront it. Now guess whose face did the monster have?"


    "...Mine."


    "Woohooo, we have a winner! You are absolutely right! And it wasn''t that the monster''s face was shrouded... after all... what victim would want to admit that the one who had attacked them was...?"


    It all falls together now. The monster incident cause was me. The one who got myself involved with the shui gui was me.


    Town of dreams come true. Bad dreams too.


    No. I refuse to accept that. Not this again...


    "Need anymore hints? How about this? Why didn''t you run from the monster? Why did you only walk slowly?"


    "Because it was twice as fast as me. It took two steps for every one step I made."


    "Yes but you never actually confirmed that did you? What if it was capable of walking only that amount the whole time? What if the reason you didn''t run was because some part inside you wanted to be attacked? More hints, Fish?Think about why you were intimidated by the monster. Why were you scared with it just locking eyes with you? Did it really have such a dastardly ability? My, my you''re doing rather poorly today. Another hint? Why did you close your eyes instead of looking at me, Fish? Were you really that scared by it that you didn''t even want to look at it? Or rather you didn''t want to look at its face?"


    "I understand... please you can stop now..."


    "Zhang Shun?..."


    "I''m okay, Jun. I''ll start now."


    Deep breath.


    "The monster which chased me was myself. The first incident which chased me into the river was a hallucination. The shui gui encounter was my real first physical encounter with the supernatural. From there, I entered the town of dreams come true. There, in constant fear and having nightmares because of my first true supernatural encounter, the monster came to life. The monster is the me, after breaking my ankle. That is the reason why it shambled on one foot. It is the anger towards myself and the regret that I didn''t make it to Nationals. And I didn''t run because I was ashamed of the person I had become. Relegated to such a degrading role, not even a true artist but someone to paint buildings like a public restroom. I hated myself once again as an artist. That is why it attacked me, because I as an artist and the I as an athlete both hated myself. I closed my eyes to it all because I couldn''t bear to look at the sight of myself in such an broken, angry state."


    "Congratulations! And now you know why I truly didn''t rescue you from that river. Did you know that your appearance as a ghost reflects who you truly are inside?"


    "And I looked like a monster."


    "Correct. A monster without eyes specifically because you refused to face yourself. But surprisingly during that entire year, instead of losing your memories and sanity, what did you do in that river?"


    "I threw rocks, peeked up skirts and blew out the convenience store windows."


    I just mentioned peeking up skirts in front of Jun Ling... My usual loose tongue and banter when speaking with Amelia slipped out.


    "Correct, without your physical body, you went through the motions of physical training but you were actually strengthening your mind. You vented your sexual frustrations of being unable to get with this girl here and you took out your anger of losing your body despite the fact that you didn''t believe in your body anymore."


    Oi! Don''t mention my sexual frustrations in front of Jun Ling.


    "Because I realized that my ankle had actually healed a long time ago. I was just afraid. It was all in my mind. And that''s why without a physical body I went through the motions of training and tried to fix the dissociation between my mind and body."


    "And then with little miss Jun here, you completely solved your dissociation. You were leaning too much to one side this whole time you know. Whenever you stood, it always seemed as if you were trying to prop yourself up with just one leg."


    "Jun Ling, Amelia, right now.... Do I still look like a monster?"


    "It''s all cleared up. You''re green for go. By the way, why do you think Jun Ling only appeared after you saved those children at the river?"


    "Because I knew all along I was a monster, and until I fixed myself, I could not show my face to her."


    "And so, you know what Jun Ling here is for now, don''t you?"


    "...she''s created from my desire to meet Jun Ling in the real world."


    "Oh-hoho, not just that~"


    I can''t believe you''re forcing me to say this in front of Jun Ling.


    "...because I want to make children with her."


    "Ahahha~ You actually said it! You big dummy!"


    Jun Ling is red in the face, quiet and looking down at her feet. I''m looking anywhere but at Jun. And Amelia is laughing at our expense.


    Somehow everything feels better now, everything''s been resolved. The fact that Amelia is joking around again shows that she thinks everything''s going to be alright now. Even without my physical body, I can still feel emotions. As long as I have that, it''s enough. I can let my body go. I don''t need it. It will be one less shui gui on the loose after all. And... I don''t feel like fighting anymore shui gui.


    "But doesn''t that mean I''m not the real Jun Ling? I have been lying to Zhang Shun this whole time..."


    I had forgotten. Not everything was resolved.


    But what she said isn''t true at all. I know that now. The truth isn''t so simple. It isn''t just black and white.


    "No, you''re real Jun Ling. That is the truth."


    "But-"


    "Your memories, feelings and looks are true, Jun Ling. So you are Jun Ling, that is the truth. But Jun Ling is also in the afterlife, that is also the truth."


    Jun Ling looks unassured.


    "Hey, Jun Ling do you know about the Swampman philosophical thought experiment?"


    "No..."


    "Well it basically goes like this. Suppose I go into the swamp and I''m struck by a lightning bolt, killing me. But somewhere else in the swamp another lightning bolt occurs and it just so happens to arrange a bunch of molecules and forms the exact form of me that died at the other lightning bolt. This new me, has the exact same brain, feelings, memories and thoughts. And he will behave exactly like me. Would you consider that person as still Zhang Shun?"


    "No."


    "But he acts exactly like me and has the same memories and thoughts as me. He doesn''t even know that he''s not me."


    "But that is all just so disingenuous. Doesn''t that mean that he inherently isn''t Zhang Shun and that I am not Jun Ling?"


    My words backfired. The plan backfired. No. There was never a plan. I didn''t think this through. I just wanted to make her feel safe immediately. My lack of foresight caused this.

 Disingenuous Chapter 1

    I wish I didn''t open my big fat mouth.


    There have been loads of times in the past when I shouldn''t have. But I did and I still do.


    Inherently disingenuous, she said.


    I couldn''t deny the validity of her statement.


    So I froze, stuck in my own monologue. And she noticed.


    Jun, like the meaning of her name, hates lying. Although she has told white lies to protect me before, this is something on a whole new scale.


    "Whatever I did, or whatever I thought I did. Those memories are not my own! These feelings are not my own!"


    She said that as if her existence itself was a lie.


    "Fish, perhaps you need your great savior to step in to lend a helping hand?"


    "Butt out, Amelia! I got this."


    Just sit there and watch. There''s no meaning to this if I don''t solve her problem on my own. This is a problem I exacerbated.


    "You were right all along, Zhang Shun... I am not Jun Ling."


    Calm down, Zhang Shun. Say what you really think. Be honest. You don''t have to use flowery language or overly contrived thought experiments. Just use your feelings!


    "I already know that. So why are you repeating that now?"


    "Because you don''t seem to understand, Zhang Shun! I am not the same girl you spent all that time with. All my memories, thoughts, feelings and even myself, didn''t exist until you created me."


    "So do you hate me for that?"Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "N-no! I would never hate you..."


    "Why not?! I made you a fake, didn''t I? Get angry! Shout at me! I made such an idealised copy of Li Jun Ling that she can''t even hate me, no matter what I say or do to her! A perfect girl who will never lie to me, never leave me! All so that I could live in my own little fantasy!"


    "No... no... none of that is true."


    "Oh? What isn''t true?"


    "I''m not a perfect girl and I can lie..."


    "But have you ever lied to me?"


    "I lied when I said I was the real Jun Ling. My existence... itself is a-"


    "Sham. Fake. I know. But asides from that you haven''t consciously told me a lie, have you?"


    "No... I can, I have."


    "Then tell me what did you lie about?"


    "I-I..."


    She''s fidgeting. She''s uncomfortable with the way things have gone. I''ve got an idea.


    "I wish I didn''t have to do this, Jun."


    I walk over to her bedroom door.


    "Nooo!"


    She tackled me. Soft spoken, shy, Li Jun Ling just screamed and tackled me to the ground.


    "Why are you stopping me? This isn''t your room, is it? You said you were a fake after all. Let me up."


    "Nooo! If you open it I''ll hate you!"


    She''s tugging on me like her life depends on it... This is so disorientating to have my vision shaken like this. Without any physical feeling, balancing myself is so hard with her pulling on me.


    The moment I put my hand on the doorknob, I get pulled back again.


    I heard laughter from the couch, further disrupting my train of thought shortly after being tackled and pulled around. Amelia was sitting there, on the edge of her seat, treating this like a movie in a theater. She was visibly shaking with mirth. Ignoring her, I continue to struggle with Jun.


    "Hate me for all I care, you''re just a fake right? So that hate isn''t real either. If you''re really just a fake, let me do as I wish. There''s no reason you should care whether I enter here."


    We continued grappling and struggling for control.


    Somehow, she now has her back to the door and she''s got my head buried in her chest in some sort of weird restraining hold while my hands prevents her legs from kicking me.


    This is kind of erotic, isn''t it?


    I''m holding her thighs with my head on her chest while she''s restraining and hugging me.


    Once again, another moment I wish I had my physical body to feel and touch, so I could enjoy this.


    Eventually I just slump over in her grip and give up... Not! I have a plan.


    "Jun, my head''s in your chest. Do you mind if I?..."


    Whilst I say that, I make a creepy squeezing hand gesture for emphasis.


    With a squeal, she draws back her legs and covers up with her hands.


    An opening!


    I get up quickly, twist the doorknob, she grabs me again but the doorknob has already been opened all the way.


    We both fall through the doorway.


    I''m flabbergasted.


    How do I put it? It''s like I entered the door to another world.

 Disingenuous Chapter 2

    "What the hell is this..."


    That wasn''t a question. I know what I''m looking at. But I''m having a hard time processing this.


    Hmm? How come Jun Ling isn''t attacking me or trying to push me out right now?


    S-she passed out. The impact from the fall must''ve!


    I feel for her pulse and check for breathing.


    "Amelia! She isn''t breathing and she doesn''t have a pulse! What do I do?!"


    "Oi, goldfish. Did you forget you don''t have a physical body right now? Of course you can''t feel for her pulse. Move aside."


    Oh yeah, that''s right... I wasn''t thinking straight.


    "She''s just knocked out, she''ll be fine if we put her to bed. Carry her to the bed will you? Hmm... so this is her room. Well I think you can figure this out, but I''ll hang around in the living room just in case. You kids have fun~ Call me if you have any questions about the birds and bees~"


    "Hey! Don''t even joke about that while she''s asleep."


    I pick Jun Ling up and place her on her bed, careful not to wake her.


    Getting back to serious matters now. Her room.


    No matter how good of an image I had of Jun Ling, it would''ve been impossible for me to create this room.


    The only conclusion I have is... Yeah that must be it.


    Anyways, now only one important part remains. Exploring her room for any additional information.


    This room seems like an ordinary room at first glance but I realized something the moment I stepped in. It''s too clean.


    And not clean as in like the floor was shining and reflecting and not a speck of dust was to be seen. This clean is referring to the placement of objects in the room.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    All her study books are all neatly sorted on her desk. Her teddy bears and stuffed toys are neatly arranged by her bed. Her bookshelf is all filled with books sorted painstakingly by genre, author and title number.


    In other words, it''s all too clean and too normal. Like this room was fabricated to push an image of normalcy. To conceal.


    I checked her dresser first. And I tossed out everything till I reached the back. Nothing. Secret compartment? Nope.


    Yeah, it would be obvious to hide things here.


    Next was her closet. All clothes neatly folded up or hung up. I tossed everything out again. I turned the whole wardrobe upside down. No door within the closet leading to a magical world, nothing.


    The next place is... under her bed. Nope. Instantly knew there was nothing. I even tried opening up the underside of the wooden boards to see if there was anything in between.


    The last place should be... the bookshelf. The painstakingly arranged bookshelf. The bookshelf she probably spent hours sorting through...


    God, I am sorry for the sin I am about to commit.


    I''ll try to take them out in a way that makes it easy to put back later.


    Nothing was found...


    I''m slightly peeved. I''ll leave those books there for now... I''ll totally help put them back later. Yeah...


    So is there actually nothing in this room? Is it actually normal and I''m overanalyzing this? Nope.


    There is one place that I didn''t want to check. Her drawers. Where her underwear are probably kept.


    Zhang Shun is not a pervert. I repeat, I, Zhang Shun am not a pervert.


    This is all merely to find the secret to helping solve her identity crisis.


    There are three compartments. Let''s start with the bottom one. It''s full of boardgames like chess and monopoly. Nothing.


    Second compartment. I find stationery and lots of papers. Some papers back from when we were in highschool. Damn... her grades suck just as much as mine... She even did the same thing as me where I arranged the tests from highest scoring showing first, to the lowest ones at the bottom... Okay... It''s quite embarrassing but I don''t think this is the secret she was really worried about.


    Only the top drawer left. That means... this must be the fabled treasure...


    Reverently, my shaking hand lightly pulls it open. It is... her bras, panties and stocking. Neatly folded and sorted into three columns.


    Her undergarments are all so modest and dainty with little bows on them...


    This... this is not a crime. I am merely doing this for her.... Yes... This is something I must do!


    I-I... I still can''t bring myself to touch it...


    Hurry up, you doofus! She''s gonna wake up any moment!


    No, Zhang Shun! Remember your name, it means good natured! You can''t betray the name your parents gave you!


    Come on! She''s not gonna mind! Plus you''re doing this for the greater good, right?


    Yeah... I''m not doing this for any perverted purpose or anything like that...


    I place my hands on them. That''s when I notice it. Hey, isn''t this drawer kind of shallow?


    I take out the entire compartment out from the drawer.


    There''s something inside...


    I take it out of the drawer.


    This... this is...!

 Disingenuous Chapter 3

    Lewd! Indecent! Spicy!


    Inside the secret compartment, were erotic lingerie which I could never imagine Jun Ling wearing. Boys love mangas, kinky sounding light novels with overly long titles and even R18-games about... you know! The innocent, shy, soft spoken, Li Jun Ling was hiding all of these!


    And not only that... underneath all the lingerie was...!Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Ah... this feeling. I''ve never felt this way before. I feel strange, violated, intruded upon. Even though I was the one to violate her privacy.


    Okay. Time to put everything back and get ready for her to wake up. Wait- it feels like I opened up a cliche death flag with what I just said.


    I look back making sure she wasn''t behind me, already awake and ready to strike me unconscious.


    Nope, thank god. She''s still asleep.


    But now I have a good idea on how to show that she isn''t just some imitation. And even she can''t deny it.

 Disingenuous Chapter 4

    "Amelia, I''ve got an idea. Can you help me?"


    "Hmm? Oh now, you need me hmm? What did you say again? ''Butt out'' was it?"


    "Oh come on, don''t hold it against me! I was really agitated that time!"


    "Hahaha~ Don''t take things so seriously, Fish, lighten up a little..."


    No. You should take things more seriously.


    "... I was joking around, Fish. Did you lose your sense of humour after becoming a ghost? I''m your gracious savior, as long as you''re a good boy I''ll help you."


    And so I told Amelia about my plan and the things I had found. She helped me brush up the plans a little and she gave me some tips on words and phrases to use in my next conversation with Jun Ling. She also gave me some impromptu acting lessons. To liven up my expressions, she said.


    Soon, Jun Ling awoke. In her room. And I was waiting there.


    "Shun! Get out of my room now!"


    "Hmm? And what would I do that for?"


    I put my hand on her drawer. She looks visibly upset.


    "Jun. Do you really still think you are a fake when you are able to show those kinds of reactions?"


    "Yes. Nothing has changed about that. These feelings do not belong to me. I am not Jun Ling."


    "Then you won''t mind if I open your top drawer?"


    "G-go ahead. That drawer isn''t mine, you don''t have to ask me for permission."


    She''s really forcing herself.


    "Hmm~! The drawer''s kind of shallow. Are you hiding something from me, Jun?"


    "N-no... I''m not..."


    I pull out the entire top compartment, place it on the floor then peer inside as if noticing the secret compartment.


    Suddenly she lunges at me. It surprised me although I was ready and expecting something to this degree.


    "Please, don''t look at what''s inside! I''ll do anything!"


    "He doesn''t have to look inside."


    Amelia and I blink at each other. As if communicating.


    Amelia. Do it.


    Got it. Fish.


    "No! Don''t tell him!"


    "Tell him about? Your kinky reading habits? Your perverted games? Or maybe, it''s your sexy, erotic lingerie?"


    "Aaaaaaah! Please stop!"


    Jun reaches for Amelia holding the secret compartment but I hold her down.


    "Or maybe... I should tell him about..."


    Jun starts crying as loud as she can and struggles even harder than before.


    "... your little stalker picture book of him?"


    That''s right. Li Jun Ling. Was my stalker. And I never realised it. Truthfully, I''m not too perturbed about her stalking me, I''m more worried about how I never noticed her taking pictures of me from so close up. I really was that blind and self-absorbed huh...


    "Oh look, here''s one of Jun going into the restroom, one of him in class, one of him during basketball and another of him in the infirmary!"


    Jun was still struggling to get out of my grip.


    "But this little picture book is the least of your worries isn''t it?"


    Least of her worries? But I thought that picture book was the only thing left in there?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    As soon as those words were out of Amelia''s mouth, Jun heightened her efforts to wriggle out of my grip again.


    "Ah~ I wouldn''t have to stoop this low if Fish here could''ve just convinced you normally. But we had to resort to this..."


    She had a black book in her hands.


    This was the most unsettled I''d ever seen Jun. But she wasn''t moving at all. Not struggling. The look on her face just screamed despair.


    "This is your diary, isn''t it? I took it out earlier today when you guys went on your little date. I didn''t want Shun to read it and possibly ruin my whole plan."


    What is she saying? I don''t understand.


    "Explain, Amelia."


    "Well it''s simple really. I knew that Jun Ling here would probably have a freak out realising she wasn''t the real Jun Ling so I did a little preparation when I found this little treasure trove. And to be clear. This is the real thing. I confirmed it. It''s the diary which belonged to the real Li Jun Ling who lived here before. How about I read a few passages from it? Shun, you might understand better then. Ahem."


    In a mockingly sweet tone, Amelia began.


    "Dear Diary, today I had an idea to get closer to Zhang Shun. I paid one of the boys who hated Zhang Shun to injure him just enough so that he couldn''t play any more matches. After that, I told off the other boys for stalling and they went to carry him to the infirmary. I helped to carry him too. However he didn''t notice me at all. But that was okay. Because now that he was injured, he''d stop focusing so much on basketball and would pay more attention to me who had helped him."


    No... Li Jun Ling isn''t that sort of person. Actually... what kind of person is Li Jun Ling? I can''t answer that. I thought I knew. But I didn''t.


    "That... that isn''t true. I love him. It was just a mistake..."


    Jun Ling was whimpering.


    Amelia began her tirade again.


    "What isn''t true? That Li Jun Ling sabotaged him and ruined his career? That Li Jun Ling made him suffer so that she could get closer to him? It really was retribution that she drowned in the river."


    "N-no... Shun, please don''t hate me. I''m sorry. I never should have done it. I didn''t know you would get so hurt..."


    For some reason. Right now. I feel. At ease. Calm. Disturbingly calm. Refreshed. And also a new sense of relief.


    "Hahaha!"


    No. I''ve not gone insane. But did you realise what Jun just said there?


    "Shun?"


    "You just admitted that you are Li Jun Ling."


    Amelia''s plan worked. As usual, Amelia leaves out certain bits of the plan from me though... I kind of hate that about her.


    Jun''s face clearly showed that she realised the implications of what she just said as well.


    "But that doesn''t prove..."


    "Yeah, you''re right. But it proved something else Amelia and I had thought about. No matter how well I got to know Jun Ling during the 40 year dream, there''s no way I would never have been able to replicate a side of her I had never seen. In other words, I wouldn''t have been able to create the you that is here now. The fact that you knew about this diary and its contents, it proves that it wasn''t my desire that created you. It was Jun Ling''s desire, to be alive, to be here. In fact, you are Jun Ling. Down to every last detail."


    "But I''m just a copy..."


    "No, you''re not. People aren''t so easily copied. Why do you think Fish''s anger towards himself didn''t create a human version of him to attack him? Because his soul still resided in his body. The town of dreams can only create inanimate objects, and vessels but not souls to inhabit those vessels. In fact, there has never ever been another person created in this way before. You could say that you were made from the very remnants of Li Jun Ling''s soul and desires. Probably instead of going to the afterlife, your soul attached itself to Fish and followed him till the town of dreams. You are the original."


    Jun visibly relaxed every muscle in her body, hearing that. I was relieved too.


    Everything was finally resolved at last... Phew.


    "Thank you, Amelia. You really bailed me out of a bad spot this time. You''re always helping me, someday I''ll return the favour."


    "Hmph. Return the favour once you''ve got your body back. You guys sure are crazy you know. Warping reality and reviving the dead... Oh. And you two lovebirds have fun now~ My pager is buzzing. I''m going to solve some other supernatural phenomenon elsewhere. Oh and Fish?"


    "Yeah Amelia?"


    "Call me and tell me the details later."


    She makes a vulgar stroking gesture with her hand and winks at me.


    "Oi! Despite the emotional episode we just had, you still can''t put a filter on your banter?! And I thought ghosts can''t even do that!"


    "You won''t know till you try it!"


    Jun Ling is glaring at Amelia, out of jealousy? Maybe anger? She realises I''m looking at her and stops though.


    "Shun, I''m sorry about everything up till now. Stalking you, getting you hurt and always lying about myself. But... I really, really want to keep staying with you... If you''ll accept this terrible girl."


    "It''s alright. I always had an inkling you weren''t that good. It makes me happier actually. It was tough you know. Trying to live up to the dreams and expectations of someone, that perfect. In the dreamworld, you always only showed me your good side so I did have my doubts."


    "I''m really curious, Shun. Why did you accept me again despite all the horrible things I''ve done?"


    "Well they were certainly terrible things to do. Back then I would''ve definitely hated you but I''m different now, mentally and literally. It''s all in the past so why don''t I just let it go? You regret doing it as well so I''m even more sure that you''ll never do it again. And I''m more curious to know what you see in me. What could be so possibly interesting about me?"


    "Don''t talk down about yourself like that. You''re better than you think."


    ... We sit in silence for a bit. Just enjoying each other''s presence.


    This mood. It''s pleasant. And comforting. A good time for cracking a joke!


    "So... ''Werewolf with Abs and the Muscular Lycan''."


    "S-shut up. You insensitive jerk."


    "Ahahaha! I much prefer the you now. Much more than that perfect Jun Ling who I could never figure out. This imperfect Jun Ling who shouts when she''s angry, cries when she''s sad, reads dirty books and lies to hide those imperfections. It''s so much more... human. So much more genuine."


    This town... has become a town where Jun Ling never died. Where she has lived and always lived.


    And she may not exactly remember our time spent together in the dreamscape but her feelings do.


    I can continue to live in a town like this, where she is. I want to be human again.

 Fortune Teller

    After the mystery of Jun Ling''s reappearance was solved, I stayed with her for the promised one week. My moment of felicity was brief however as I soon realised without a physical body, it was hard to even pretend to live a normal life as a human.


    Everyday chores became impossible feats as my ghost body had trouble gauging its strength and I often dropped or shattered things.


    Sooner or later, Jun Ling got really mad and forbade me from doing chores ever again. Normally I would be happy not having to do chores however being unable to help Jun Ling in her simple everyday tasks made me feel immensely useless.


    And so, after the week ended, I returned to my inital mission of seeking out my physical body. Jun Ling wanted to join me on my adventures but I decided it was too dangerous for a true blue human to get involved in shui gui matters. Just as I, as a human had gotten involved and had my body taken, the same could happen to her.


    But I knew, Jun Ling wasn''t going to simply agree to this plan.


    And so I drafted up the most complex, dastardly proposal, specially tailored to persuade her to stay at home...


    I threatened to burn her most recent volume of ''Werewolf with Abs and the Muscular Lycan''.


    Apparently it costs a lot to ship these books from overseas. A whole 30 US dollars worth of money! It costs her an entire month''s allowance to buy one of these! And she has fifty two volumes!


    I''m not a total monster, I didn''t threaten to burn everything! I''m just one over fifty two parts of a monster. Besides I can''t burn up fifty two months'' worth of allowance. For a young girl, her allowance is basically her lifeline. Her allowance allows her to buy makeup, clothes, dirty books and trips to the local theater. And she chose to spend all that on dirty books. As another human being with slightly perverted tendencies, I respect that decision and dedication.


    Anyways, on a far more important note, presently I''m lost in the city centre following Amelia''s instructions to reach a supernatural fortune teller''s location. Before Amelia left, she left me a note and told me to not let Jun Ling read it.


    Jun Ling noticed it.


    Luckily I was able to convince her that I wasn''t going to attend some secret lovers'' tryst.


    Ah, the sight of a jealous Jun Ling. A sight I never imagined I''d get to see. And so with the image of a pouting Jun Ling, I set off towards the big city. Nightlife! Partying! Excitement!


    More like what a nightmare. People jumping around, drinking booze, jumping around some more, puking and then going home.


    And there was a constant noise wherever I went. Cities never sleep. Even during the night, there were still so many people walking all around the streets. In town, even during the day there aren''t that many people.


    But getting back on track, I''m lost and don''t know where to look for a cafe. The message Amelia gave read ''Park Girl Cafe'', so here I am, wandering till I find this cafe with a weird name. Worst of all, I can''t even ask for directions. I don''t even know who here can see me...


    When I saw a bookstore, my brain came up with a brilliant idea.


    Using the infamous internet! In our little town, we couldn''t afford internet but apparently here, there''s internet everywhere!


    So I casually walked in, grabbed a seat and sat at an open computer.


    ''park girl cafe directions''...


    No relevant search results. No listed shop at all... There was a Perky Girl Cafe listed though. Close. But not quite. Maybe it could be a really obscure shop? But the name''s so unique, it''s gotta be on the net at the very least...


    "Oi! Who left their computer unattended!"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Oh crap! The bookstore attendant is here!


    "What the hell, who was searching for ''Perky Girl Cafe directions''? They even spelt perky wrong. Idiot."


    Perky? I reread the note. It did say perky.


    Ah... I am an idiot.


    And so after the attendant left, I booted up the computer again to search for directions to ''Perky Girl Cafe''.


    The cafe was on the opposite side of the same block as the bookstore...


    Leaving the store, I heard a disgruntled shouting sound. Nah it was just my imagination, I think. I hope they were fine with me leaving the computer on for the next person though. Since someone left it on for me, I''ll do a good deed and leave it on for the next person too.


    But... oh my god! So this is what perky means?


    This is... indecent... lewd even! I will never let Jun Ling know what I witnessed here this day.


    Now what though?


    I arrived but I don''t know where the fortune teller is. Actually... is the fortune teller even in a place like this?


    "Hey~ Young boy over there!"


    "Eh? Was she talking to-"


    "Yeah, you! C''mere!"


    I walk over, slightly stunned. She can see spirits like me huh. Her outfit''s more modest than the rest. She''s wearing a suit so is she like the manager or the supervisor?


    "Wait till my shift''s over then we''ll talk. You can wait in the backroom with the nameplate Ruby."


    Assuming that she was the fortune teller, I unquestioningly follow her instructions and enter the room.


    What is this?! So much makeup... Literally a mountain made from makeup boxes of all different shapes and sizes... Is it normal for girls to have this much? Could Jun Ling have this amount if she didn''t spend her allowance so frivolously on dirty books?


    And the most noticeable and yet the one thing I''ve been trying to ignore, that huge rack of indecent clothes...


    I apologize, Jun Ling. I just imagined you in these lewd clothes. Are some of these even clothes? They''re just... cloth... and ribbons... The bras are so large. Can a human body really possess... ''things'' that large?


    If I had a physical body, I might have gotten a nose bleed. Hurrah for being a ghost!


    "Excuse me, you were here for some fortune telling I suppose?"


    Ack! She caught me off guard, staring at the clothes...


    "Y-yes!"


    "Take a seat then, we can have our talk then."


    There weren''t any chairs though? Even ghosts can''t sit on air you know.


    "Umm take a seat where exactly?"


    "Why... the bed of course."


    Is this divine punishment? Is this my retribution for harassing and embarrassing Jun Ling last week? Please let me off easy! Even if I became a ghost, I am still a hormonal teenager with emotions!


    "Amelia told me that a young shui gui would be paying me a consultation visit... So why don''t you go ahead and ask me some questions? Few conditions however. I can''t read minds. I predict fortunes, events, in other words facts. And you''ll have to pay, depending on how many questions and how difficult they are to answer."


    That''s right. I was here for important matters. I can''t get distracted now. Even if she does have large... Wait wait wait, I''m getting sidetracked again.


    "So fortune teller ma''am. Could you tell me..."


    The question''s that''s been bothering me for all this time.


    "...Whether my parents are shui gui?"


    "Ho... I was expecting your first question to be about finding your physical body. You''re quite the considerate kid. Normally I''d charge you exorbitantly but since you''re such a filial child, I''ll bring it down to half price for you. Your parents..."


    Here it is. Whether I go back to my town. Whether I run away. It all depends on this.


    "...are not shui gui."


    I fall backwards onto the bed in relief.


    "I can see you are really relieved but that will be 5000 US dollars."


    $$$


    "Hah?!"


    "Don''t worry there''s no interest rate or anything. You just have to pay it back within your lifespan~ Now your next question?"


    Her eyes were that of a shark. Waiting to attack its prey.


    Ah... maybe I should just stay a ghost?


    "Okay, my next question is... What are my girlfriend, Li Jun Ling''s three sizes?"


    "... giving out a lady''s secrets will be costly, spirit. Approximately ten..."


    ...thousand?


    "...million-"


    "It was a joke in poor tastes! Please forget I said that. What I really wanted to ask was where can I find my physical body?"


    "Hmm... it should still be in the town you came from... Try lurking around your old hunting grounds."


    "Old hunting grounds? Do you mean the places I went?"


    "The places you''re most familiar with to be exact."


    "...one last question. How many shui gui are currently possessing bodies in my town?"


    "20. Exactly."


    "Okay, thank you madam fortune teller. That is all I needed to know."


    "Alright then. Your total is 205000 dollars with half price... Do pick up your jaw before you leave. I''ll be waiting for my payment~ Oh and a word of advice, though it seems you''re a good kid so I don''t think you really need this. If you run away or don''t intend to pay up, I''ll send people after you. Money is serious business after all."


    She''s completely serious. Her tone did a 180 change from before...


    "No installments, no initial deposit?"


    "Nope. I''m a fortune teller not a bank teller."


    ...


    "But what if I die without paying up?"


    "Normally I''d let those people off, but I''ve seen the type of luck in your fortunes. So if you do somehow die before paying me back, I''ll come after your little Jun Ling instead. Think of it as retribution for betraying my good faith in you."


    Somehow in just three sentences, she managed to raise my hope sky high and bring it back down to Earth all at once.

 The King of Ghosts: Zhong Kui Chapter 1

    After receiving information from the fortune teller, I am now making my way back home.


    I wish I could make it home faster. During my time spent lost in the city, I kept thinking unsettling thoughts.


    What if they found out that I''ve left the river and that somehow Jun was responsible for it? What if someone had spotted us and waited till we were seperated to attack?


    What is the ghost who possessed my body up to right now? Could he be pretending to be me? Are my parents in danger?


    And now, during this time consuming journey between the city and my town, I''m starting to have those bad thoughts again.


    This isn''t good for my mind. When I have too much time to think, I only ever seem to think about bad things. If I keep this up, my emotions will be in disarray and I won''t be able to think clearly when the time comes. Think happy thoughts, Zhang Shun.


    By the time, I reached the town of dreams the sun was already setting and I had reached the bridge, when I saw a large figure standing on the other end of the bridge, looking in my direction. At first I ignored him but the closer I got to him I realised... He wasn''t just looking in my direction. He was looking at me. His eyes were tracking me...


    From a long distance away, I skid to a halt.


    Dark complexion, a comically large beard befitting of his large body and wielding a golden hilted sword.


    "I have been watching you, shui gui. What do you think you are doing repeatedly trespassing here?"


    "That wasn''t my intention, I''m just travelling around. I don''t mean any harm."


    "Regardless of your intentions, there is an agreement with the shui gui town. You ghosts stay away from any other towns and the exorcists stay out of your affairs. You have broken that so you will be erased."


    He raises his sword in a fighting stance blocking off the entire bridge.


    "Please let me pass. I don''t want to fight."


    He doesn''t give a response and continues staring me down. It''s not that he didn''t hear me. He purposefully listened but refused to interact.


    I don''t like these kinds of people. Stubborn. So righteously stubborn they won''t even dignify you with a response.


    Impossible to negotiate with. Impossible to reason with.


    No... maybe I just haven''t found the right circumstances to negotiate with him yet.


    He''s probably an exorcist... Maybe I should bring up Amelia? She was the one who told me to go to the city after all.


    No, I mustn''t. What if the exorcists aren''t too pleased after finding out Amelia gave me that info? I could be risking throwing her under the bus.


    ...


    I can''t think of anything else. I''ll just keep prodding at him till he gives me something.


    "Why do you have to exorcise me? I haven''t harmed anyone."


    The silence continues.


    "Why did the exorcists make that agreement anyways? Why not just send a whole bunch of exorcists to exorcise the shui gui?"


    "Things are a lot more complicated than that, shui gui. There''s a reason the exorcists decided to herd all of theshui gui in that town."Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    A reason... I guess there would be but would it kill you to give me the details? Also, I just noticed but since the beginning he has been referring to the exorcists as ''the exorcists''. As if he were addressing a separate party. Is he not connected to them?


    "And what reason would that be?"


    Silence ensues... again.


    The sun set and the sky''s almost completely darkened.


    He hasn''t moved to attack me.


    If he won''t make the first move neither will I. No need to seal my fate because I had an itchy trigger finger.


    We stood there unmovingly,unblinkingly even after the roosters had crowed and the sun rose again. Not a single word uttered between us.


    Sooner or later he will have to leave for food and rest, lest he collapse. You can''t win a war of attrition against a ghost who needs neither food nor sleep.


    Seven days passed and yet he was somehow still standing there on the bridge. Steadfast like a statue.


    What kind of human could possibly go seven days straight without food, water or sleep? In fact, how has no one noticed him?


    Unless...


    "Hey, what''s your name?"


    After seven days, he finally returns his sword to his scabbard and stands normally instead of in a stance.


    "If it will make you accept your fate, my name is Zhong Kui."


    "Zhong Kui, I''m just guessing but if you aren''t connected to the exorcists, why do you want to kill me here?"


    "That is the duty given to me by King Yama. To be the King of Ghosts and maintain discipline and order amongst all ghosts. And you,shui gui, are currently the biggest obstacle to that duty."


    King Yama... That''s the king of hell! That means this Zhong Kui guy is a ghost too... That''s why he doesn''t need to eat or sleep. He''s a ghost just like me. No... He''s on a whole different level above me.


    "Why am I obstructing that duty? If I were to return to the town now, I wouldn''t be hurting anyone right? Actually I haven''t hurt anyone at all!"


    "No. Your return is precisely what I aim to prevent."


    "Why? What will my return do to obstruct your duty?"


    "You seek to exorcise all the shui gui within that town and that will disrupt the plans the exorcists have."


    Exorcising all of them was indeed on my mind. Which is why I asked the fortune teller how many shui gui were currently possessing bodies in my town.


    "What exactly is so bad about exorcising the shui gui and what are the exorcists planning?"


    "The shui gui are gathered in that town so that their presence may use up the negative energies. Exorcising them will leave us without a way to rid the town of those negative energies. And if that happens, a bigger disaster than just shui gui will be awaiting. Will you not give up on your plan to eliminate the shui gui?"


    "So if I give up, you''ll let me go free?"


    "No. I cannot guarantee you won''t. And you should be in the afterlife anyways. I''ll just be sending you there now."


    You just said the one thing you shouldn''t have.


    "I should be in the afterlife?! The shui gui who possessed my body should be the one in the afterlife! Why should I be go to the afterlife in its place?"


    "All spirits without bodies all should be in the afterlife. We''ve just had to compromise with the shui gui. And right now the one in your body has a body. But what about you?"


    "This isn''t fair! My body belongs to me! Why should that monster be allowed to keep it?"


    "Don''t fear the afterlife. You have lived a righteous life and you have confronted your own demons."


    He''s avoiding trying to answer my question... He knows it''s wrong to kill me the way I am now. He''s making excuses to himself that spirits without bodies like me need to be sent to the afterlife, but he''s willing to compromise with theshui gui''s existence. He''s a stubborn hypocrite. He''s steadfast in his conviction that I''m a threat to the exorcists'' plans and that he is in the right.


    "With such good karma, you should be able to enter Heaven."


    Those words were said to comfort me but mostly to comfort himself, by the fact that the spirit he slayed will enter Heaven. If he had told me a few weeks ago, that I could enter the afterlife, I would probably have been overjoyed at the possibility of meeting Jun again. But Jun isn''t dead anymore. She''s living, breathing and waiting for me!


    "Entering Heaven doesn''t mean anything to me! I should still be alive right now! Both my body and spirit may be separate right now but they still exist in this world!"


    "Enough. I have given the explanation you desired. Accept your fate and depart to the afterlife, Zhang Shun. This is for the best. Rest assured. Your town will not fall to disaster."


    "I don''t really care about the town anyways! I''m not that good of a person. It''s Jun Ling and our families that I''m worried about! What if we could get rid of the negative energy in a different way? What if the shui gui aren''t needed? Actually what even is the source of all that negative energy? Let me help, I want to help!"


    "There is no other way. Give up. I don''t wish to slay a spirit who hasn''t done anything truly wicked but since you refuse to depart to the afterlife willingly, I have no other choice. I''ll be sending your soul to the afterlife now."


    He draws his sword and reverts to his fighting stance.


    This insincere, hypocritical, self-righteous, stubborn old man... But I''m equally hard headed. I won''t roll over and die so easily.


    I have my own convictions that I''m ready to fight for too!

 The King of Ghosts: Zhong Kui Chapter 2

    The King of Ghosts, deity, guardian spirit, vanquisher of evil spirits and commander of 80000 demons versus a regular old water ghost. No contest there. You''d expect the water ghost to get absolutely slaughtered a million times out of a million.


    But I''m not just a regular mindless water ghost.


    With a decent head start I run, leading the king of ghosts on a merry chase throughout the town.


    As ghosts without the limitations of our physical bodies, we are able to run at max speed continuously without ever tiring. And it seems that I am barely fast enough to maintain a good distance. Thank you extracurricular activities!


    Away from the town bridge I run towards the town centre. I''m searching for the skatepark I had once seen while visiting here.


    Whack.


    Something just landed behind me... It was an arrow!


    Even if he doesn''t catch up, the arrows he''s firing will eventually find its mark. I need to hurry and find it.


    A bicycle! A marvel of technology which allows even old people to travel at high speeds and which will allow me to easily escape.


    This may be a stupid idea but a bicycle is faster than running on foot.


    And while a good distance away from the skatepark, I see it. A bicycle without locks left there. And to top it off, it''s one of those stunt bicycles! It can definitely withstand me using my full strength.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I get on it as fast as I can and by cycling off a ramp, I''m flung into the air over several buildings. I land on the rooftops with a skid and am jumping from one building to the next. The tiles of the roofs are being torn off with each landing I make. Apologies to anyone who has to fix this later but I had good reasons!


    I thought I had a made a successful getaway when I see the king of ghosts chasing me on... a scooter?


    The king of ghosts is on a scooter pursuing a water ghost who is on a bicycle.


    This would be a weird scene to watch, if anyone could see us.


    What is this? Some comedy skit?! Or so they would think.


    I''m not even sure where to start about describing what''s currently happening!


    The king of ghosts, over 6 feet tall, large beard, stern face, is currently chasing me across the rooftops with one hand on the scooter handlebar and a sword in the other hand.


    This is horrifying. And I don''t just mean the fact that he''s chasing me to kill me. I''m talking about how badly the aesthetics of his traditional clothes and large body clash with the modern, compact scooter.


    After a lot of juking, I managed to be on the way heading back towards the bridge again.


    Soon we were already on the road towards my town, long past the bridge and he was still following close behind.


    However I had a plan. That scooter of his looked like it was just about to fall apart. How about I speed up that process a little?


    Back on the rooftops I managed to catch one of the pieces of tile which were flung off from my rough landing.


    I''m going to chuck this piece of tile right between the wheels'' spokes. That should rough it up a bit.


    On the next sharp turn, I''ll throw it then.


    I see the signs warning about a sharp right turn up ahead. This is it! On this sloped road on a hill, it''s the perfect opportunity.


    While turning on a road, vehicles are most vulnerable to lose control.


    We enter the bend and I turn around, calculate and with as much strength I can muster in my weird positioning, I toss the tile.


    It was a success. It struck the front wheel''s spoke and the sudden halt of the wheel and momentum caused the king of ghosts to be launched off the side of the hill.


    I breathe a sigh of relief. But I don''t stop pedalling. Once he gets back up, he''s going to be coming after me again. I don''t doubt that the king of ghosts has incredible durability as well.

 Human Again Chapter 1

    Returning to town, I had zero plans left. With the limited information I have, I need to do something. But what? Exorcising the shui gui by throwing rocks at them one by one is now out of the window. My encounter with Zhong Kui decided that for me. I can''t risk inviting a bigger disaster by eradicating the shui gui.


    So, I thought about seeking temporary refuge with my allies. My main threats shui gui and Zhong Kui were all still wandering out there somewhere after all.


    However Jun Ling''s currently home with her family and Amelia is somewhere in the world exorcising demons. I can''t intrude on Jun Ling''s life with her family now that she was finally alive again. And I had no means contact Amelia. Besides I couldn''t make them risk their lives for me repeatedly by staying with them.


    ...


    Despite being out of that god forsaken river now and being free to go wherever I wished, I don''t know where to go.


    Without noticing it, I walked on the path leading home. No alleys, no sneaking through the bushes, no going by the river. I naturally gravitated towards the path as if it were pulling me home.


    By the time I caught myself, I was at the front door and ringing the doorbell.


    Initially I wanted to run, but... I can''t keep running away from confronting things I don''t like. I''ve learned that lesson already from Amelia.


    There are tons of reason I didn''t want to come home. But I''m taking a chance. Whether my parents can see me. Whether they''re aware of shui gui''s existing. I''ll take that information and run with it.


    However the one to answer the front door wasn''t my parents. This was the situation I was most afraid of. It was the shui gui possessing my body.


    He looked absolutely flabbergasted, seeing me standing there. How could he be here, he must have thought.


    I was beyond livid. I was ready to choke him out right there and then. But the shock of something else prevented me from doing so.


    My parents were in the living room with a decent view of the front door, "Zhang Shun? Who''s at the door?"


    They couldn''t see me. That brought both sadness and relief to me. Sadness at the fact that my parents couldn''t see their own youngest child. And relief that they aren''t involved with the shui gui madness in this town.


    My parents can''t perceive my spirit. That means they''ve never had a supernatural encounter, meaning they are completely unaware of the trouble in this town.


    "It must''ve been a prankster! Hahahha...", the shui gui responded.


    Yeah, and I''m that prankster...


    "Meet me outside in a bit... I''ll help you", the shui gui whispered to me.


    Frankly I was a bit wary of his intentions. But my other options were either run or try to repossess him right now. Repossesion seemed very unlikely to happen while we were still in the residential area. There was too much of a chance I''d fail the repossession if he screamed for help. And running when I''ve already foolishly exposed myself, without getting some sort of information in exchange is pathetic.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ...


    He actually came.


    "Give me my body back. I won''t ask twice."


    "I''m sorry for stealing your body. But I had no other choice... I was trapped in that river for so long. And it eroded my mind and morality, causing me to do such a dreadful thing to you. I don''t want to go through that hell of being a shui gui again. Please, will you listen to me? I know that you have no reason to listen to me but please..."


    I nod. I can sympathise with not wanting to become a shui gui again. It''s a horrible thing to happen to anybody. And I also know what it does to someone''s mind. It makes them think wicked things. Makes them willing to do the same horrible things to others in order to regain a human body. But that is precisely why I don''t trust this shui gui.


    "Tell me what you''ve been doing for the past year."


    I guess I''ll hear him out though. It might help in convincing him to depart to the afterlife. Maybe just like Jun, he just wants a wish granted.


    "After possessing your body, the council helped explain the situation of this town to me. This town has people who''ve been possessed by shui gui and they have an agreement with the temple, so they''re pretending to be regular people living here. They pushed you into the river because they suspected you knew about the shui gui''s existence and they had to safeguard their secret. My safety as a shui gui was guaranteed here so I''ve been pretending to be you for the past year. And Zhang Shun, the shui gui have realised that you have escaped the river."


    "What?"


    "They had warned me to alert them if you tried to retake your body. But after thinking about it for a while, I decided not to help them. Because it would be too cruel to trap you in the river again after your escape."


    "No. What did you just say? They know I escaped? Is Jun safe?"


    "I''m sorry, they didn''t tell me the details... But isn''t Jun supposed to be in the afterlife? Your memories told me that much."


    "It''s a long story but Jun came back to life and she helped me escape the river. If they know she helped me, they might toss her into the river too! I have to make sure she''s safe!"


    "Let us go togther then! I can help."


    "And what reason would you have to help me?"


    No matter how you slice it, this is someone who has stolen my body and doesn''t wish to become a shui gui again. They have no reason to help me.


    "Not only do I have your memories, I have your feelings too! I know they don''t belong to me but I can''t help but want to listen to these feelings!"


    ... I can''t articulate a response. Sincere answers from someone you dislike are hard to react to.


    Allowing him to help, we both run towards Jun Ling''s home.


    Once there, I notice nothing strange about the house. The lights are on. You can hear cheerful conversations inside.


    I peek in through the window.


    Jun Ling is seated between her parents, smiling. Jun Ling is safe at least for now.


    "It seems that she is still safe, Zhang Shun! You were worried about nothing!"


    Just as the worrisome feeling was about to leave my body, I felt a pressure which instantly sent my mind into a state of alertness.


    Zhong Kui, the King of Ghosts was on the opposite side of the river glaring at me.


    "Umm who''s that? He doesn''t look friendly..."


    "He''s Zhong Kui, the King of Ghosts. He''s here to bring me to the afterlife because I am a spirit without a body."


    "Let us share this body then, Zhang Shun! Neither of us would be without a body then right? Two spirits in one body. We''ll be stronger and able to share our information freely between each other too. And I promise I''ll surrender main control of it to you. You don''t want to die here right? You still want to protect Jun Ling right?"


    Tsk... Such a gross suggestion.


    Who''d want to share their body with someone else? Not to mention to share it with the person who stole it away in the first place.


    Person... I referred to him as a person... Even though he''s a monster in my body, why can''t I see him as anything else other than a person? Goddamn it. Although this won''t even benefit him, he''s offering to help me...


    Only a trusting fool... like me could accept this suggestion.


    "I accept your plan."


    The risks here are huge. This could all be an attempt to deceive me. Any amount of things could go wrong. But as things stand, I''m going to die. Outrunning Zhong Kui a second time doesn''t seem likely.


    "Place your hand on my shoulder, Zhang Shun!"


    It was swift. A moment of oblivion and suddenly all sorts of information came rushing into my mind.


    The clothes on my back, the slight breeze, the smell in the air, my muscles tensing, the blood flowing in my body.


    These senses prove to me that I wasn''t deceived.


    I am human again.

 Human Again Chapter 2

    Now that I''m human again, Zhong Kui shouldn''t have a reason to chase after me.


    I hope that''s the case at least. Internally, I prepare myself for combat.


    "Your spirit and body have reunited it seems."


    "Yeah so where does that leave us?"


    "Now that you aren''t a spirit without a body, I no longer have any jurisdiction over you. I won''t pursue you any longer. As the King of Ghosts, I wish you continue your life in an upright manner so that you may reach Heaven in the long afar future. And... as Zhong Kui, I wish for you to appreciate life now that you''ve returned to being human. Farewell, Zhang Shun."


    "Wait, Zhong Kui, I have one important question. Is keeping shui gui in this town, the only method to use up the negative energies? Isn''t there a way for them to return to the afterlife while using up the negative energies?"


    "I apologize, Zhang Shun. There is no such method that I am aware of."


    ...


    "On a happier note, you''re lucky that the shui gui who possessed your body was so selfless. Not many could be so benevolent. You should thank and appreciate her sacrifice. Farewell!"


    Her?


    Without warning, Zhong Kui disappeared in a burst of light which seemed to extend beyond the clouds. Simultaneously, I hear a voice in my head.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Yo! Zhang Shun, do you hear me? Oi~ please don''t ignore me! It''s kind of lonely in here!"


    "H-hey! I know it must''ve a difficult decision for you to give up control of my body. But thank you for doing it and saving me."


    "No biggie! I knew I couldn''t keep hogging your body forever. And it''s not really all that bad of a deal for me either. I get to keep the sensations of a human body and it''s better than you forcing me out and me being trapped in the river after all."


    "How are you feeling? It must be uncomfortable having to share a body and worst of all not have control of it."


    "You know it''s not as bad as I thought it would be in here. I can freely move around. I can see what you''re seeing, sense what you''re touching, feel how you''re feeling and know what you''re thinking. It''s like a super moving picture!"


    "Moving picture? How old are you exactly?"


    "Hmph. You should have more tact than to ask a lady her age. Just kidding~ I''m probably around 50 maybe? I lost count. I don''t even remember what year I was born."


    She''s as old as my mother...


    "Oi! That actually was rude. Even if you don''t say it out loud I can still hear your thoughts you know. Change your thoughts immediately!"


    "...I''ll try my best."


    "I was kidding! Please don''t feel so depressed. It''s making me feel depressed too... Let us move on to another topic."


    "So what''s your name? You know mine but it''s a bit unfair for me not to know yours, don''t you think?"


    "Ai, the one with 14 strokes and written with the grass radical, meaning friendly! I forgot the rest of my name though..."


    "Ai... That''s a good name. Fitting for your character as well."


    "Aww~ That''s sweet of you..."


    "Thanks for taking care of my body for the past year. I was kind of scared some crazy spirit possessed it and might have landed me in prison or debt."


    "If you truly wish to thank me, feel free to treat yourself to some delicious fast food. Since I''ll be able to taste it too, it''s killing two birds with one stone!"


    "I''ll go do that right now then."


    "Off to the 24 hour McGronalds joint!", the two of us chorused.

 Joined at the stomach

    "Zhang Shun... Please stop... It hurts... I can''t take it... My stomach''s gonna break..."


    "Oi! Don''t phrase that in a weird way! I''m just making up for lost food! No wonder I felt like I lost some weight, it''s because you''ve been holding back on the food."


    "I wasn''t holding back on anything. This is overeating. Puke... I''m gonna puke. Bleurgh..."


    "Don''t talk about vomit while I''m eating. Do you have no tact? Actually, don''t vomit at all! Who knows what kind of weird side effects that could bring."


    It seems we are in our first conflict, as I predicted would happen soon, with us sharing the same body. But of all things, this conflict about food consumption is the last thing I could have expected.


    I am unable to read Ai''s mind but to a lesser degree, I am able to feel what she''s feeling as well so I understand that she does indeed feel bloated.


    Well I''ll try and help her out by drinking some coffee to wash it down.


    "Aaaah! Hot! Bitter! Yuck! Please cease drinking that monstrosity at once!"


    "This isn''t hot. It''s warm. And it''s not that bitter, I added a teaspoon of sugar just for you!"


    The way we tastes things differ as well apparently.


    But shouldn''t the things I like, she likes too? After all what she is experiencing is what I''m experiencing... No. I got an idea. What we are experiencing is indeed the same but the way we perceive it...


    How we perceive an experience, is dependent on our minds which differs from person to person. Which explains why there''s a drastic difference between how Ai and I see things.


    When I drink coffee, I look for the aroma and rich taste while she notices the more apparent bitter taste.


    "That does seem to be the case..."


    Can you turn off that mind reading ability of yours? I like having my alone time to monologue about useless things.


    "No can do."


    Sigh...


    "Zhang Shun... I''m sleepy... Let''s go home."


    Alright time to head home I guess. I am feeling a bit tired too.


    This is nice.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Being able to feel my feet touching the ground. The slight impact of each step and the way my feet push off the ground. The muscles in my lower body contracting and expanding. This is what being human feels like.


    "Having a body sure is nice... It feels great just to exist, doesn''t it, Zhang Shun?"


    Yeah. On this we can see eye to eye.


    The four kilometre walk home didn''t even seem that far with me enjoying it and Ai to accompany me.


    I open the door and I step inside. This is home.


    It''s changed but I still recognise it.


    "Welcome home, Zhang Shun. Where did you go? Were you meeting a girl this late at night perhaps?"


    My mom usually never teases me. This show of affection was a bit startling for me.


    "Ah... I might be responsible for that. I spent a lot of time with your family. They seem like very pleasant people. I hope you don''t mind that."


    I don''t mind it. Actually I''m very glad you did.


    "Nah mom. Just meeting a friend."


    And I''m technically not even lying.


    "I''ll go to bed now, mum."


    I walk up the stairs to my room.


    "Hoho... so I''m your friend? When did I allow this upgrade in relationship status?"


    What? I need permission for that? I thought all our bantering made us friends already.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You''re still far too serious, Zhang Shun. That was your cue to respond with an even better gag."


    Ah... Sorry. I''m still a bit rusty at socialising. It''s only been a week since I was able to talk with people again.


    I lie down on my bed, enjoying the soft pillow beneath my head.


    "I suppose. I will let it slide this time. But by next time, we will have beaten Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber as most iconic comedy duo and we''ll be the best comedy duo of all time!"


    I think you''re skipping quite a few years ahead in the timeline there. Actually what makes Harry and Lloyd the best comedy duo?


    "Ho? Do you have a objection to Harry and Lloyd? Would you prefer Han Solo and Chewbacca? You can be Chewbacca, of course."


    That isn''t even in the comedy genre anymore! They''re just a duo! And quit using my memories to create cheap pop cultural reference jokes!


    "So you don''t want to be Chewbacca? Then you can be Clyde and I can be Bonnie."


    Like I said, that isn''t even in the comedy genre anymore!


    "Well... that was fun but I''m tired. Good night, Zhang Shun."


    Good night... Ai.


    ...


    ...


    I have to go to the toilet.


    "... No."


    No? What do you mean by, no?


    "No means no. Just wet your bed, it''s socially acceptable, you''re still a child."


    Eh? No, it''s not socially okay to wet your bed at eighteen years of age...


    ...


    Ai, do you have something to confess?


    "S-shut up! Go to the toilet, whatever. I won''t look!"


    Great. That makes me feel a lot more relieved.


    "A-actually I changed my mind. I will look."


    Oi! Don''t embarrass yourself just to get me embarrassed as well!


    "I''m determined-"


    No. No. No. Don''t use such a positive, inspiring word like determined to describe what you were about to do.


    "But... using a word like determined makes it sound cooler and more acceptable, doesn''t it?"


    ... Just close your eyes alright. For both of our sakes.


    "I will... You don''t need to remind me. I''m just kidding..."


    How did you even manage for the past year?


    "I... I... I am not obliged to inform you."


    This incredible wave of shame, embarrassment and humility passes over both of us.


    In silence, I do what I need to do. I flush the toilet and wash my hands.


    And I go back to bed.


    "I looked, I''m sorry."


    I know you did... You should know that I knew too, you didn''t need to vocalize it. You can read my mind and our feelings are a two way street after all.


    "I just felt that I had to formally apologize."


    Let''s just go to bed and pretend none of this ever happened.


    "Agreed."

 Chicken Wuss

    "Ah, Zhang Shun, the town council''s having a get together with snacks this afternoon."


    You know that''s the last place I want to go. Please stop pestering me. Let''s not storm the demon king''s castle when we''re still in our beginner gear.


    "Demon King''s castle? Is that really what you think of that place...? What I''m saying trying to say is, they aren''t as bad as you think."


    That''s what I thought just before they knocked me out and threw me in the river...


    "They were just scared, Zhang Shun and they had other reasons as well... Just like I had reasons for possessing your body. They won''t attack you any more if you can convince them you don''t plan to harm them."


    It''s unfair to bring yourself up as a comparison. You could just be an exception.


    "Wasn''t Jun Ling a shui gui herself? Weren''t you a shui gui? Am I not a shui gui? You should know that we aren''t all just 100% evil."


    "You''re right, Ai. I do know that, but... I don''t want to end up in that river again. And this time, you''re with me. What if we both end up trapped in the river?


    "Zhang Shun... you shouldn''t have to justify yourself by including me as an excuse. That''s a little bit dishonest of you. I''d be scared of them too if I had that happen to me."


    You reading my mind is an awfully unfair way to have a conversation. I can''t even lie to you.


    ... Those old folk spent a lot of time with me while I was growing up, Ai. And they were willing to dispose of me even then. You said they aren''t 100% evil. But that doesn''t mean they are 100% good either.


    "Obviously no one''s 100% good, Zhang Shun. But can''t you bring yourself to trust them again just a little bit?! Do you have to enter a life and death scenario each and every time just to be able to trust someone? Despite knowing exactly why they decided to throw you in the river, despite knowing they had good reasons to, you''re still too scared to confront them about what they did wrong. They aren''t some last boss or demon king. You''re not being careful or wary as you might like to think. You''re just a big chicken wuss!"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Do you really have to put it like that...


    "Yes. Or else you''d just keep running away again."


    I do have my physical body again. I could just keep running away. I could run away and never come back to this town.


    "Then that just proves you truly are a big chicken wuss on the inside. And what Amelia tried to teach you was, oh so meaningless, that it was casually forgotten just like that. Everyone would be so disappointed in you for running away too. Jun Ling, Amelia and me."


    Your words really strike deep, Ai...


    I''ve decided to confront them. I won''t run away.


    "Go get em! Instead of slaying the last boss, we''ll capture their heart instead!"


    Oi! You''re making it sound like some cheesy summary to a romance visual novel. Don''t ruin such a courageous moment for me. But let''s not storm the castle today, I still need to gather myself mentally. I want to ensure I''m ready before I speak to them.


    "That''s an acceptable action. It''s fine to retreat at times. But giving up and running away is not an option, okay?"


    Yeah, I definitely won''t run. Thank you for the help, Ai. It feels like I''ve been relying on other people so often lately. I feel useless by myself... When I did lose my self-dependence, I wonder?


    "Around the time, you broke your ankle I''d say. You did become pretty useless after that. It''s no wonder you became such a wuss."


    If the past me could see the me now, he''d be so disappointed.


    "The past you was a hard headed, self-absorbed, inconsiderate jerk. Compare that with being a chicken wuss, I think being a chicken wuss is better."


    I''d prefer not being either of those two at all honestly.


    "Well you can''t just freely change your personality like that! It takes time. No worries. By the time our Sun becomes a red giant, you should have become less of a chicken wuss."


    Oi! That''s at least a hundred thousand years away! How long do you think I can live?!


    Ai, you are really considerate towards my feelings but somehow the words that come out of your mouth can be so insensitive at times. If our emotions weren''t linked, I''d think you were maliciously trying to hurt my feelings.


    That afternoon after a lot of chit chat, we ended up going to confront the town council after all.

 Two Liars Conclusion

    Hey, Ai. Don''t you think you should tell me before we enter the final dungeon?


    "About what?"


    Don''t play dumb. What''s the reason you want me to go to the town hall?


    "To help you to settle your awkward situation with the shui gui..."


    No. Your other reason for wanting me to come here. Don''t even try to lie, it''s impossible when we can sense each other''s feelings.


    "You tried to lie to me too, you... hypocrite."


    Yeah. We are all just a bunch of hypocrites, the two of us. A bunch of cheats too. We disguise our actions as good intentions to help each other when really, we are just helping ourselves.


    No one is so altruistic and perfect to help others without a hidden agenda. As soon as it benefits their situation, everyone is willing to lie a little bit. No matter how good natured, friendly, truthful or helpful they are, everyone has something they''re willing to lie for. Whether that''s lying to avoid confrontation, lying for the love of their loved one, or a white lie to help someone, everyone has something they''re willing to lie for.


    So what are you lying for, Ai? Just because you didn''t speak an untruth, doesn''t mean it isn''t dishonest. That''s what they call lying by omission.


    "..."


    I''m fighting my own urge to lie right now, Ai. Fighting the urge to turn a blind eye to your dishonesty. You told me not to run from this uncomfortable situation with the shui gui. And now I''m telling you not to run from yours as well.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    It took Ai a good while but she eventually managed to collect herself enough to tell her story.


    "I... remember. The granny carpenter, she''s my mother, I confirmed it. She had a daughter named Ai after she became a shui gui. I couldn''t bring myself to tell her I was that Ai... When I drowned that day, we left on really poor terms. We were fighting and I ran away from home. That''s when I slipped and fell into the river. That''s the real reason I spent so much time with your family. It wasn''t to better your relationship with them. I just really miss my mom..."


    Hearing her talk about her mother, made me think about mine as well. A year ago, despite her not knowing, I did leave on bad terms with her. And it took Ai, just a year to fix our relationship. Somehow, it makes me feel, jealous. Jealous of someone who''s in an even worse position than me. Someone who doesn''t even have a living body anymore.


    It''s alright to miss your mother, damn it! There''s nothing to be ashamed of! Even if you left on bad terms, it''s been so long she won''t hold it against you.


    "Are you really certain?"


    I can''t be certain. But you amended my dysfunctional relationship with my own mother! The bond between parent and child isn''t so easily destroyed. As long as you are alive, well... sort of alive, you can at least come together to agree to disagree.


    "Thank you, Zhang Shun. The fact that you honestly believe in that, makes me feel hopeful too."


    Don''t thank me. I haven''t really done anything substantial besides giving you a pep talk. And this is partially my selfish desire at work too, it isn''t altruistic at all.


    "And what kind of weird, selfish desire is that? I can read your mind but even I can''t seem to figure it out."


    A desire to help people... but that''s a pretense too. I''m really just after that feel good, fuzzy feeling, I think!


    "Can you really call that selfishness? Such an honest, sweet, harmless desire? Until we find out, we can''t really call you selfish, can we? To call yourself selfish, when you don''t even know that about yourself, that''s dishonest too."


    Before the ending of our ghost stories, Ai and I had reached a conclusion together, about lying. This conclusion and the knowledge it taught us, was the prelude to the story of how Ai and I became supernatural detectives.


    But that''s a story for another time, far off in the future.

 Answers

    "Keep calm, Shun."


    Yeah. I''ll try to.


    With a deep breath, I open the door and step inside.


    All members turned to look at me.


    "Yup, those are all the shui gui members alright. All 20 of them. Go ahead, Zhang Shun."


    "It''s me, Zhang Shun. Ai gave me back my body. She told me about the situation the shui gui are in. I know you have a lot of questions but I have questions of my own too. Can we talk?"


    ... Everyone just looked at each other, unsure of what to do until the town mayor spoke up. He didn''t look angry. He just seemed, regretful.


    "Sure thing, Zhang Shun. Take a seat."


    "No, I''m fine with standing here."


    Like hell, I''m going to take a seat. I plan on keeping a minimum of 5 metres distance between each and every person.


    "Zhang Shun... don''t get heated before you even start conversing properly."


    ... I''ll try my best.


    "I suppose we owe you an apology and an explanation for everything."


    "No, you don''t need to. The shui gui who replaced me told me everything I needed to know. I just need you to answer one question, why didn''t you accept my plan to close up the river? It wouldn''t have killed the shui gui and innocent people wouldn''t have had to be drowned or replaced."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "We needed more shui gui in the river, as it stands, the negative energy would accumulate faster than the usage rate. The shui gui replacing people is another necessary process to use up the negative energies. Just by existing, the shui gui could not quickly expend enough of the energy. We deeply regret having to allow such a horrendous thing. We suspected you knew about the shui gui. This was the first time someone has survived the shui gui and the river. Tensions were high and we were worried about our secret getting out. I made the decision to throw you in the river. I hope you can forgive us."


    "I would have understood the situation if you just explained it normally..."


    "No. No you would not have. We could not have continued to deceive you about why we did not wish to close up the river. Only now, after having a long time to think could you possibly accept it. But a few days after being almost drowned by shui gui and then being told the people closest to you were shui gui... You would have been irrational."


    I can see where he''s coming from. And he''s probably right. Right after facing the shui gui and the monster, my mind was in a pretty sorry state. Having this revealed to me probably would have been the last straw.


    "I can''t say I still agree with this method of dispersing the negative energy. But for now, I''m forced to accept it. I won''t get in the way."


    "Thank you for understanding, Zhang Shun. We are immensely sorry for the pain we have caused you."


    "In the future, I''ll definitely find a way for the negative energies to be used up, so both people and shui gui no longer have to suffer. Our town will no longer have to resort to such dreadful things... By the way, before I leave. I''m now sharing my body with the shui gui who possessed it. And she has something to say to you, granny carpenter."


    "Zhang Shun... I''m still not ready..."


    Ai... just go for it. And good luck to the both of you.


    I surrender main control of my body to Ai and I become a mere spectator.


    Out of respect for Ai''s family''s privacy, I won''t narrate the events that occured after. All I will say is both mom and daughter seemed to be greatly relieved to have reunited after so long.


    Also Ai was right about the feeling of not having main control of a body. It did feel like a super motion picture in here.

 A Return to Normal Life

    After meeting with the town council, I have returned to normal, everyday life.


    I am back to my job as a painter, working my butt off. I am still 205000 USD in debt after all. Nowadays I spend my weekends hanging out with Jun Ling, making up for lost time you could say. She hasn''t seemed to have forgiven herself yet. But that''s fine with me. Maybe I''m deluding myself but someone who''s willing to sacrifice their life for you despite having done horrible things to you, well it kind of balances things out, don''t you think?


    Jun Ling is getting recruited for the national girls basketball team, she''s training every weekday. Her memories about certain things are still a bit spotty, but we''re working through it. Her desire to come back to life wiped out most of her memories about the dreamscape event which occured after her death. I''m assuming of course. I''d need Amelia''s help to get a more reliable answer. But for now it isn''t a dire question needing to be answered.


    Amelia is still out there somewhere, exorcising supernatural beings and helping people. I haven''t had contact with her since she helped me out with Jun Ling''s identity crisis but I''m convinced she''ll be fine.


    As for Ai, she did not depart to the afterlife. I attend every town hall meeting now so that she can talk with her mother. She says it''s solely because of her mother but our link makes me suspect she has another reason for not departing. I''m not going to pry any further however. She''s not talking right now because it''s early in the morning and she''s still sleeping. Apparently even ghosts sharing a body need to sleep. So this is the only time I have to monologue without being interrupted.


    The town council and I have reached a point where we aren''t wary of each other anymore. Ai''s presence and her relationship with granny carpenter seems to be helping out with that as well. Overall I have no more supernatural problems plaguing me. Besides the shui gui. After I finish paying my debt, I plan on journeying to find a way to cleanse the negative energies in this town so that no one ever has to go through the pain of being a shui gui. I plan on finding the fortune teller again to ask for a method. For that, I need to keep working hard and earn as much money as I can. I suspect it''s going to cost another fortune to be able to afford that question.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    To be continued...


    "Shut up, Zhang Shun! It''s 4 in the morning you loon!"


    Ah, she woke up.


    "I know you''re excited for your date with little Jun but could you simmer down?"


    Today, at 11am, starting at the park. I''m going on a date with Li Jun Ling. I''ve come close to death but this has got to be the most heart stopping event I''ve ever experienced. I wonder what kind of clothes is she going to wear? I''ve seen her entire wardrobe so I have some idea of what to expect. Maybe she''s going to be wearing those ero-


    "Zhang Shun, I know you enjoy having these little fun daydreams. But... it''s embarrassing for the both of us."


    I''ll try to restrain myself in future. By the way, what kind of clothes do you think would look good on me?


    "Frankly, your own clothes don''t matter, just don''t dress like a homeless person or a gigolo."


    Not a hobo or gigolo. Those are awfully low requirements... My normal clothes should be fine then I guess. But I want to give the impression that I take this date seriously! So I should make an effort to change it up a bit I guess...


    "It''s the female''s clothes that require most attention, Zhang Shun. Surely you know what I''m hinting at."


    Sorry to disappoint you, but I don''t get what you''re hinting at.


    "In other words, remember to compliment her on her choice of clothing. Oh. A word of caution, don''t overdress lest your clothes outshine your partner''s."


    That does make sense. Thank you for thy advice, gracious senior.


    "Senior?! Watch your tongue or you do not wish to speak any longer?! The cheek!"


    Hehe... sensitive~ I''ll be careful about that from now on.


    This pleasant, normal life, I hope it continues like this from now on, Ai.


    "I hope so as well..."

 Assurance

    "Zhang Shun, are you sure you want to date Jun Ling? According to your memories, she doesn''t seem to be the most sane person around. She has a downright unhealthy obsession with you, in fact."


    You know, I might be a bit insane for saying this but I think it''s alright. All the things she has done to right those wrongs have more than made up for it, in my opinion. She risked her own life to rescue me. I believe that is more than enough.


    "Well, when you''re being carved up for Thanksgiving, don''t say I didn''t warn you."


    She''s only half serious.


    Cause we don''t even celebrate Thanksgiving here...


    Seriously though, it''s fine, Ai. If she were that insane, she would''ve tried to justify her actions as some sort of twisted love. But she didn''t, she admitted that what she did was wrong. Clearly she understood the consequences of her actions. Plus ever since high school, she''s cut back on the insane stuff quite a bit.


    "Too optimistic, 3/10 character. Will end up dying, being served as turkey."


    Pfft... Just try not to say stuff like that while we''re in the town of dreams. You might end up actually cursing us.


    I was kidding of course. But the unsettling possibility of us being cursed lingered in the back of my mind. The thought must have unnerved Ai as well because I felt waves of uneasiness from her. Eager to change topics, I hopped back to our comedy routine.


    So, Jun Ling and I plan on going on vacation for a couple of days to the town of dreams, what will the third wheel, Miss Ai be doing?


    "Hey! It''s not as if I''m being a third wheel on purpose. I have no choice but to be dragged along with you."


    Wait, I just had an epiphany. Could you really be considered a third wheel then? A third wheel is someone considered unnecessary and tagging along with a couple, disrupting the mood. But in our case, you''re only ruining the atmosphere for my side and Jun isn''t even aware of your presence. Wouldn''t it be more like two and a half of a wheel? Being half of a wheel would be even more useless than just an extra third wheel now that you think about it.


    "Zhang, I get that this is our double act but the fact that you compared me to being half of a wheel, really hurts my feelings."


    Heheh... you caught on. You''re smarter than I thought.


    "What kind of impression did you have of me before?!... Pfft. Hahahaha~"


    Hahahaha!


    She couldn''t contain her laughter and caused the both of us to crack.


    We can''t be a successful act if we''re both stooges constantly laughing at each other''s jokes. How about Jun be our straight man? We''ll be a triple act then.


    "Triple act? That sounds like an innuendo for something dangerous."


    Oi, don''t turn my innocent suggestion the opposite direction. Besides it wouldn''t be possible anyways, you don''t have a body.


    "But I am sharing yours so I''d be able to..."


    Our minds must have conjured up indecent thoughts becase the link started to convey our embarrassed feelings to each other. Have you ever wondered what would happen if two embarrassed people could feel how embarrassed the opposite party was as well? Let''s just say that it''s a vicious cycle. We both spend the rest of the walk trying to clear our thoughts and reset ourselves. I wish I had a pillow to bury my face in. She must be having it worse than me, being able to literally read my mind.


    "I''ll take a nap, Zhang Shun. Wake me when we arrive at the town, to go sightseeing."


    Ah yeah. Sure thing.


    Can''t be embarrassed if you''re not awake for it...


    Once I arrive at Jun Ling house, I attempt to forget about what occured earlier by talking to her.


    "Zhang Shun, you''re here!"


    "Yo, when''s the taxi arriving?"


    "It should be here in a few minutes."This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Are you bringing along any of your books-"


    Awkward... I can''t tease her about her books like I usually do because the earlier incident popped up inside of my mind again. Jun Ling noticed the look on my face too...


    "Did something happen?"


    I should tell her about Ai. This is a pretty serious matter, I should come clean before she finds out that I decided to share my body with a shui gui. She''d probably be really mad if I didn''t.


    "... I never told you how I got my body back, did I?"


    "Yeah. I was curious but you seemed bothered whenever the topic came up so I didn''t want to pry..."


    "It wasn''t bothering me in a bad way, in fact I didn''t even have to resort to drastic measures like drown the shui gui in my body to get it back. But... well things happened and now I''m actually sharing my body with the shui gui."


    "A-Are you okay? Is the shui gui fighting for control?"


    "No, you see. The shui gui, she surrendered control of my body back to me."


    "Eh? She?"


    "Yes. Her name''s Ai. She can read my mind and I can kind of tell how she''s feeling at any moment. And well, we kind of got into a dispute of sorts earlier. Well not really a dispute... It''s complicated."


    "..."


    The expression on her face, while it was of concern a mere second ago, it was now completely blank. I couldn''t garner a guess as to what she was thinking. Maybe she is just processing the information she had just gotten?


    "Why is she sharing your body might I ask?"


    Jun Ling asked that innocently enough but I could tell by her fist clenching her purse and her lowered head. She was trying to conceal her expression. She was furious.


    I don''t want to get Ai in trouble.


    "Well, I was in a pinch and I needed a quick way to re-enter my body. So she struck a deal with me, that''d allow her to stay in my body and in exchange I''d get full control of my own body."


    "Why couldn''t you just force her out after? Why do you allow her to stay in your body?"


    She''s clenching her purse even harder now and is still refusing to meet my eye.


    "That wouldn''t be a very nice thing to do after all. I don''t want her to be forced to wander the river as a shui gui like I did. Besides I don''t think I could, in good conscience, drown someone else just so that I could regain my body."


    She met my gaze with her fiery eyes.


    "I understand, Zhang Shun. You''re a nice person, you couldn''t do horrible things like that to someone. But I''m not happy with it. You planned on going on our date today, with her along?"


    Ah. I did. This makes me look like a terrible person, doesn''t it. No, not terrible. Just thoughtless.


    "She''s not going to get in the way..."


    "But she is! Earlier you couldn''t talk like the way you usually do because of something that happened between you two."


    In a way, she isn''t wrong...


    Briefly, I thought about bringing up the topic Ai and I were joking about but I kept my mouth shut. If Jun Ling finds out that we were joking about semi-indecent things, there''s a high chance she''d get even angrier.


    "Well so what can we do?"


    "I want to talk to her."


    "Ai, wake up. Jun wants to have a talk with you."


    "Hnn...? Ah the jealous girlfriend... What did you do this time? Ah. Wait this is about me. Damn it, Shun! You just had to keep your mouth shut about me and this would never have happened. Well do you want me to speak to her myself or do you want to repeat after me?"


    You can talk to her but try to be more considerate with your words. You can read my mind so hopefully this''ll be fine.


    "Alright, I''m Ai. You can start asking your questions now."


    "Ai, why are you forcing Shun to share a body with you? Shun is a nice person but he always tolerates things like this. You know that and you''re abusing his kindness."


    "You''re right. I am. But I want to stay in this world with my mother as long as I can. I''ll do anything for that."


    I have never seen Jun Ling make an outright resentful face at someone else before. When she glared at Amelia, it was more a joking, exaggerated, pouty faced glare. But this was genuine anger, directed at me or specifically Ai who was currently the main pilot for the vessel carrying both of our souls.


    "Do you have romantic feelings for Shun?"


    "No." A quick response by Ai. No hesitation whatsoever. It''s obvious that that neither of us would have feelings for each other. We never talk about it but Ai and I understand that.


    "I hated her for taking my body but I couldn''t bring myself to drown someone else just so I could be human again. I''d lose my humanity if I did that."


    "I could have held onto full control of Zhang Shun''s body but I decided not to. Because I''d have lost my humanity if I let him die due to my decision."


    "I wanted to be human again but I pited the situation Ai was in."


    "I pitied Zhang Shun for the situation I put him in but I couldn''t let go of being human."


    "So she came up with a way for both of our wishes to come true. And we are happy with the outcome."


    "I''m happy just being able to stay and talk with my mother."


    "I''m happy just being human and doing normal things again."


    "And we are both happy to have a companion who can instantly tell how the other''s feeling. But that doesn''t mean either of us have any sort of special feeling towards each other. It''s precisely because we can tell how the other person''s feeling that we know we don''t have any romantic feelings."


    Without realizing it both of our minds had connected to utter the same words. Neither of us were in the passenger seat, both of us were the pilots. What a weird feeling.


    "I understand... Zhang Shun, Ai, you two have been through a lot. I got jealous at the thought you were spending time with another girl. I''m sorry for-"


    I cut Jun Ling off. I don''t want her to apologize for being honest and open about her feelings.


    "It''s normal for girlfriends to get jealous if their boyfriends get too close to other girls. I''m just glad that you aren''t angry anymore. I don''t like seeing you upset, Jun Ling."


    That day, after Jun Ling found out about me sharing my body with the shui gui, Ai, we still decided to continue with our vacation plans.


    And finally, we''ve arrived at the next town. The town where Amelia saved me from my own monster, the place that allowed Jun to come back to life. The place which has caused a lot of trouble but has also saved me at times. A place with a lot of memories for me.


    The atmosphere''s still a bit awkward but it''s fine. This is something that will be resolved in time.

 Relaxed

    You would think that on a relaxing trip nothing troublesome would arise. The most troublesome thing to happen would most probably be having forgotten your cellphone at home, or losing belongings in certain places. Maybe even getting lost while visiting a foreign place.


    Even the most cautious people will lighten up and adopt a carefree attitude, dropping their guard while on vacation. So certain things are bound to happen. They can''t be helped... what I''m trying to say is that Jun Ling forgot her purse at home.


    Ai! Why didn''t you remind us?!


    "That''s unreasonable! If you aren''t aware about her forgetting her purse, how can I remind you about it?!"


    Right... My bad. I asked something illogical.


    If something isn''t even in my memory banks to begin with, Ai definitely can''t access it. It''s like withdrawing money that hasn''t been deposited, impossible.


    Now why is this such a big deal? Well... her parents are huge worrywarts. Before we left in the taxi, her parents came out and said this, "Make sure you behave appropriately with that boy and remember to sms us every few hours ok? Keep safe and don''t let that boy bring you to weird places. Stay where people can see you! Call us when you arrive at the hotel~"


    ''Weird places''... to say it to my face like that. It seems that her parents have a very poor view of me. My feelings are kind of hurt. Do I really come off as that sort of immoral person?


    "Shun, what do we do?"


    There''s nothing that can be done honestly... She''ll just have to use my cellphone to text her parents instead.


    "Umm for now let''s go to the hotel. You can use my phone to call your parents."


    "Hnn." She nods in affirmation.


    And so she led us towards the hotel. Ah, that''s right. I said we planned to go on this vacation but it really was more of Jun Ling''s idea.


    "Shun, I know this is none of my business but... Don''t you think you''re walking too far apart from each other?"


    I guess we are huh... Now that we''re on an actual date, I don''t really know what to do. Usually we''re playing videogames in her room or playing basketball so we haven''t done anything like this before.


    "What the heck is up with that... A young couple should be walking hand in hand, giddy from excitement! Let me give you a little help~"


    Suddenly Ai wrested control away from me and forced me to link hands with Jun Ling''s before returning to the spectator seat and throwing me back into the pilot seat.


    Both Jun Ling and I were surprised by this sudden development.


    Our gazes met momentarily before we flicked our eyes away to look at whatever mundane thing to distract us from the fact we were holding hands.


    Ai, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!


    "Oh come on... you two have done even more extreme things while you were in the dream world together. This should be nothing."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Exactly, the dream world. This is reality! It''s on a whole different level! Not to mention she doesn''t even remember everything that happened in the dream world.


    "Regardless. Isn''t the mood so much more romantic now?"


    It is... Thanks for the assist.


    "No problemo~ Consider me your wingwoman. Now go on!"


    "So where did you want to go sightseeing?"


    I asked because I was curious what plans Jun Ling had for us.


    "The waterfront. Mom and dad gave us tickets to go on the cruise. And... that''s the surprise! It''s a three day cruise on the waterfront with accommodation!"


    The water... front. Cruise. Three days on water. Water.


    Nowadays I have a severe aversion to submerging myself in any body of water because of the shui gui incident. This fear has prevented me from even filling the bathtub with water. I only take showers now.


    "Shun? Are you okay?"


    "Yeah. Just a bit spooked by the thought of going near water again."


    "Oh! It hadn''t occured to me... You don''t have to force yourself, we can do other fun stuff instead."


    Her excitement visibly deflated. Like watching a sad puppy''s ears droop from disappointment. I have to say something.


    "Nah, it''s fine. I''m not such a wimp that I absolutely have to avoid water."


    My irrational fear of water is something I have to get over and forget soon. Otherwise I''ll ruin the mood for Jun Ling. I can''t ruin our vacation for something as silly as this.


    "Let''s go! You''ve been looking forward to the cruise so obviously we must go there."


    She smiles as I say that and her excitement is renewed. Holding her hand, I can tell the spring is back in her steps.


    Glancing at the scenery, I can see why this town is called the town of dreams. Buildings are well maintained, greenery is kempt, pavement''s flat and the whole town in general is pleasant to walk around in.


    The complete opposite of our town.


    No. This is what the future of our town will look like.


    "One day, our town will become as beautiful as this."


    Ah. I said it outloud. So cheesy... I feel like crushing my own windpipe. I could, couldn''t I? Or maybe I''ll take a brick wall to my head to forget about this.


    "Yeah, we''ll make that happen." Unblinkingly, unwaveringly she locked eyes with me as she said that.


    We. She said we. Thank the gods, Jun is just as cheesy as me. And unlike me, she''s sincerely, unashamedly saying that. Hey, isn''t the mood like really, really good right now? We''ve stopped walking in front of the pier and she''s looking at me expectantly as if this is my cue for something... Is this the scene where I''m supposed to k-k-kiss her? She''s closing her eyes...


    ...


    I did it. The atmosphere has never been better... Good job for not screwing this up, me.


    Shortly after, we enter the cruise ship and settle down in our cabin.


    Currently, I''m relaxing on my bed and Jun is in the shower. I would have continued thinking about Jun in the shower but Ai chimed in.


    "Good job, Mr Protagonist. I''m impressed you caught the hints she was dropping. You''re not as dense as I thought."


    Thanks... Wait a second... How dense did you think I was before?


    "..."I could not see her but I''m pretty sure Ai had her hand on her chin, thinking hard right now.


    Oi... Don''t think so long about something to say! That makes it seem like you really thought I was a dumb person and you''re trying to spare my feelings.


    "Oh my~ You found out. You really are on top form today unlike other days. Good work, Zhang Shun."


    Oi! Don''t try to placate me with that sort of backhanded compliment... You really do look down on me, don''t you?


    "Heheh~ Jokes aside, you did a good job today, Zhang Shun. If you keep this up, world peace might be solved soon."


    Oi! What kind of magical solution would be able to solve the issue of world peace that quickly?!


    "By everyone going down to McGronalds."


    Fast food huh... Not a bad idea to solve world peace. But wouldn''t the queue be too long?


    "... I didn''t think that deeply about it."


    I know, this is just meant to be a gag after all. So, I''m assuming you wanted McGronalds since you brought it up?


    "You know me so well, Shun." I just know she has a big stupid grin on her face right now...


    I mean you''re literally living inside me with our hearts connected 24/7. It''d be harder to not know you that well. We still have a few hours till the ship leaves the harbour, going out should be fine.


    "Jun, I''m headed out for McGronalds! Do you want anything?!" I yelled so Jun could hear me from within the shower.


    "Bring me some takeout too! I want a kids meal with one of the new plush toys!"


    She even wants the toy with her kids meal, so cute... I bet she''s going to add the new toy to her collection on her bed after this trip. She really loves plushies. She even brought her favourite rhino plushy on this trip.


    Welp. Time to head out.

 The Kids Meal

    What a heavy burden I have been shouldered with! Through sheer guilt alone, this weight threatens to crush both my body and soul. The weight of this sinful deed, I am about to perform, you could say, Jun might never forgive me. A disaster such as this. What could be so devastating you ask? ''Tis a hurdle higher than any past obstacle to have obstructed my path.


    Choosing between kids meal A, B and C...


    A mere option this might initially seem but a hidden challenge lies behind these dastardly possibilities. With my severely limited budget, I must choose the plushy Jun potentially likes the best whilst going over the price requirement necessary to unlock the plushy toys. A Heruclean feat, not of strength or endurance but intelligence.


    Should I choose A, Jun may receive the elephant plushy but the options B and C will be lost. The terribly cute tiger and giraffe plushies will be both be lost to the void of choice.


    "Fear not brave hero, Zhang Shun! For I, Ai, guide of heroes have come to resolve your burning queries!"


    But an intellectual, I am not, dear Ai. No matter how much guidance I receive, I say it might be useless.


    "Rest assured! For I have already figured out the Sphinx''s riddle. You need only purchase all of the kids'' meals at the same time. That way Jun will be able to receive all the plushies! Feel free to praise my ingenuity mortal-"


    "We''re sorry, Sir. Plushies are limited to only one per customer."


    "This genius has been defeated by modern consumerism rules."


    Modern rules... are horrifyingly aware of what people might do to find a loophole around things. A lot of shenanigans in the past have taught modern companies to be ready for any future loopholes such as this one.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Zhang Shun, this never happened."


    What never happened?


    "Ahah... I see what you did there."


    Now that it has come down to this, there is only one method left.


    "Please, could you please, please give me two plushies at least? One of them''s for my girlfriend and I can''t let her down."


    The brave I, who has fought monsters and lived to tell the tale, am currently bowing my head to a part time worker at a cash register so I can buy two plush toys for my girlfriend. There is nothing shameful about this, rather this should be viewed as something admirable. Willingly sacrificing my dignity for someone else''s happiness. I could not be happier with my role in life.


    "Zhang Shun, the Shakespearean English is starting to get embarrassing, I think it''s time to stop."


    I was starting to think the same thing myself... This is getting out of hand.


    Certain hypothetically existing, mind reading people might be wondering why Ai and I are speaking in this old fashioned manner. We frequently resort to these comedy skits during long walks so that our minds are occupied by something and we aren''t bored to death. Because boredom is an extremely dangerous emotion for both of us.


    Our emotions basically feed off one another and become stronger. Let''s say, the emotion we felt was boredom. Boredom is dangerous because it constantly breeds negativity within our minds and overtime we slowly get more and more depressed. We almost tossed ourselves off the bridge into theshui gui river one time because of how depressed we were. Luckily Jun Ling was there to stop us from doing any hasty things we would regret.


    These comedy acts of ours act as stopgaps for any overflowing emotions.


    Now back to my reality of buying plushies for a certain cute girl.


    "Okay, Sir. You may choose two plushies but no more than that.


    Hurray for empathetic humans! Even in this modern world controlled by money, the power of the empathy of humans still exists.


    "Thank you, I''ll take set A and B, the elephant and the tiger plushies and two large fries."


    Farewell, giraffe plushy. Maybe in an alternate universe, Jun and you were destined to meet but not in this world.


    Time to return to the cruise ship and show Jun Ling our spoils of war.


    "Quit talking as if you live in the medieval ages!"


    Sorry, Ai. The comedy routine seems to have been stuck in my mind. Oh well. It should go away by the time we reach the ship. Let''s come up with a new comedy skit in the meantime to stave off boredom.

 Coleslaw

    Returning to the ship, I try not to look down as I walk on the gangplank.


    I enter our cabin to see Jun asleep on the bed.


    "Jun Ling? Food''s here." I whisper.


    She doesn''t even move, let alone wake from her sleep. Odd. She shouldn''t be this tired in the middle of the day.


    "Jun Ling." I say a bit louder this time, lightly shaking her for good measure.


    She groans and slowly wakes up. "Shun... Plushy... where?"


    The first thing she thinks about after waking up is the plushy. Cute.


    "Here. I got the tiger and the elephant plushies."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "Two?! You got an extra for me! Thank you~" She hugs her plushies and lies back down.


    "Oi... don''t go back to sleep, Sleeping Beauty. Your food will get cold you know."


    "Eat my food for me."


    "That doesn''t even make sense, silly." Doesn''t that just mean I''m eating your share...


    "Feed me... Too tired to move..." I had an inkling before but this confirms it, Jun is a really pampered girl. This makes me want to tease her...


    Heh. I just got a brilliant idea.


    I take the coleslaw container, bringing it to her bedside. "Alright Jun, I''ll feed you if you want me to."


    She backs away from me while still remaining in the bed, pulling up the blanket as if it would protect her. "Shun, you know I don''t like veggies..."


    Heh. I do know. That''s why I''m doing this.


    "Veggies are good for your health! After all you must be sick since you''re so tired~" This sounds like something a parent would say to their children but it works.


    After a lot of pestering and teasing from me, she reluctantly gets out of bed.


    "Can you eat my coleslaw for me, please?"


    "I don''t like vegetables either... Let''s just suffer and eat our share together."


    "How about both of us not eating it?"


    "Good idea."

 Second Dream Chapter One

    The ship has left the harbour now. Although... instead of being on the deck and watching the waves, Jun and I remained in our cabins. As it turns out, both of us are motion sick from the swaying.


    This was unexpected. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before so we weren''t ready with items to help with seasickness. It didn''t incapacitate us completely but we aren''t exactly healthy enough to run a marathon either.


    "Shun... window."


    "On it..." How do you open this thing... It''s bolted shut, I don''t think these can be opened.


    "Bad news, Jun. Can''t be opened."


    "It''s ok. Let''s lie down and hope we get better by dinner."


    I''d normally be absolutely exhilarated to be lying on the same bed as Jun. But the nausea is overpowering every other thought I might have about this situation. Attempting to alleviate my seasickness, I think of various sea related jokes and talk with Jun.


    "Jun, how are you faring? Heheh... faring. Get it?"


    She shoves her rhino plushy in my face. "Miss Jun is very ill, please stop bothering her."


    Puppetry?


    Taking the tiger plushy, I start playing along. "Move aside Rhino! Lest you be eaten."


    "Never!"


    "Then a fight to the death it is..." We move the plushies around in an exaggerated fashion.


    Eventually both our arms tire and we stop mock fighting with the plushies. But not before the tiger plushy playfully takes a nibble at Jun''s shoulder. "For today, I shall let your master live, Rhino. Next time don''t think I''ll be so pleasant." Jun has a shocked expression on her face, she had not expected a surprise attack so quickly after the play fighting just ended.


    "Fiendish Tiger! The next time we meet will be our last."


    Playing with the plushies had taken our minds off of the nausea, and soothed us slightly. Jun and I fell asleep after, plushies in hand. Shortly before I fell asleep, I sensed something odd but it was too late. My mind had already fallen prey to the sleep spell.


    Ai! What happened! This atmosphere. This hazy place, it''s the dream world, isn''t it?


    "We got caught in an supernatural event again..." Turning around, I see Ai standing there. Not in my body, not speaking from my mind but genuinely standing there. This was the first time I had seen Ai the individual.


    "Y-you..."


    "Yo! Cat got your tongue, Shun? Relax. Think it through."


    "This world is a mental space... Of course you''d be here."


    "Mhm. Correct! Our mental connection is still active in this world though it seems. It would have been nice to finally get away from you."


    "I could say the same for you. But there are more urgent matters besides that. Whose dreamworld do you think this is?"The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Probably Jun." She answered without hesitating.


    "No hesitation huh... But don''t you think this dream''s a bit weird?"


    "How so?"


    "We''re standing on the ceiling..."


    "Dreams are meant to be weird. Lets just pick a door to go through. The dream won''t progress till we do."


    "Then this door should be good. Look, it''s pink, has flowers and animal characters on it. Compared to the other doors this looks like the most friendly one."


    "Are you kidding me? That''s the most dangerous one. It''s always the least dangerous looking one that turns out to be the most deadly."


    "This isn''t a horror film, Ai. I don''t think we have to look that deep into it. Or would you rather go through the black door oozing black liquid."


    As if for emphasis, the door started rumbling and more liquid seeped out. Her eyes visibly widened at that.


    "You know what, you''re right, Shun. The pink door is fine. The pink door is fine."


    "Yes. Let''s quickly enter the pink door before the black door is broken down. Ladies first..."


    "... I hate you." She opens the door and steps into the white void but not before grabbing my arm and pulling me with her.


    Gravity suddenly turns the right side up and we both fall through the door, screaming.


    "How long are we going to be falling for?" Were my last thoughts before crash landing on a white... fluffy surface? We were saved... But Ai had also somehow ended up partially landing on top of my back.


    "Ai, get off me. You''re crushing my spine..."


    "Sorry~"


    Looking around, I realized one thing. It was hard to see. Even more than usual. This wasn''t my usual blurry eyesight either. It just seemed darker than usual...


    All I could see around us was a weird white terrain and beyond that the scenery was shrouded with darkness.


    "Hey, Ai. Can you take a look around and guess where we are?"


    "I can''t see anything though. This whole place is kind of dark... No wait. I see a bookshelf over there. And it''s huge!"


    A bookshelf?


    "How huge are we talking here?"


    "Mountain-sized."


    Mountain-sized bookshelf, hard to see, darker than usual...


    "Oh my god we''ve been shrunked."


    I can barely make out something rectangular and white in the distance. That must be a pillow. And this soft, white material we''re on must be a bed. So we''re in someone''s bedroom and we''re tiny. What are we supposed to do now? This dream world is so much stranger than what I experienced last time. This one is more... fantasy-like.


    Suddenly tremors rock the area, accompanied by an indiscernable loud noise, tossing Ai and I about. Which direction am I faced right now? Everything is shaking, my brain is splashing about in my skull, it''s hard to think... Eventually the shaking stops and I push down my lunch back into my gut.


    "Shun, you alright?"


    "Yeah, I''ll be fine in a bit."


    "Well, when you''re okay, we can go to that doll house on the bookshelf over there. It''s safer than staying on this bed where someone could flop onto, accidentally squashing us."


    "Yeah. Great idea. 10 out of 10." I''m too sick after all that shaking and just agree with everything she says.


    Getting closer to the edge of the bed, I realize something. The air... is salty?


    At the edge of the bed, there''s a body of water between us and the bookshelf. Why is there an ocean here!? There''s even sand! Sand!


    "Hey look, Shun! There''s a rubber ducky floating on the water." Ai looks at me with an excited look.


    An inflated rubber duck in an ocean bedroom. I''ve seen everything.


    "Don''t you think this is weird? I don''t trust it." How awfully convenient for a rubber duck to appear when we have to cross an ocean. I toe the rubber duck, checking for any traps.


    "Oh come on, don''t be a spoilsport!"


    After Ai spent a lot of time convincing me it would be alright, we ended up riding the rubber ducky across the water to the bookshelf island. Well, I say convincing, but it was mostly her dragging me against my will until I gave up. Uneventfully we arrived, without any sea krakens or other sea creatures dragging us down into the depths.


    "Finally we made it." I flopped onto the sand with what was probably an undignified appearance.


    "I can''t believe you''re seasick even here. My fun ride was ruined."


    "Sorry. I''ll make up for it, promise."


    "It''s fine! Let''s go inside the doll house now!"


    How is she even finding this situation exciting?


    "This isn''t an amusement park you know..."


    "Yup. But this isn''t a horror theme park either, scaredy cat Shun. Come on, let''s go in."


    Well at least someone is having fun. Actually, this is probably the most fun Ai has had for a while. She''s able to freely run around without any restrictions. For her sake, I guess I''ll try enjoying myself for the time being. But I hope we wake up soon. I don''t want to be late for dinner.

 Second Dream Chapter Two

    Entering the toy house, my first impression is... pink. The furniture is pink, the walls are pink, the ceiling is pink and even the floor is pink.


    And another thing. This whole house is big, abnormally so. Everything seemed to be scaled for a giant''s size. Even the furniture was oversized. The chairs were taller than us and I could not even see over the table.


    As I took in the environment, the door we entered from had slammed shut and evaporated, leaving behind a seamless stone wall. I took that as a sign that this was where we needed to go but it unnerved me regardless. Our only way out was gone.


    The windows were too high up. And the lower windows were barred off.


    "Let''s stick together, Ai." She nods and we quietly go about the place.


    Despite this being a toy house there were no dolls or stuffed bears as I expected. The house was not arranged like a typical toy house either. It eerily resembled a real house. The only thing that told us this is a toy house is the fact that everything is made out of plastic. From what I could see, the furniture, the walls, the whole house is made of plastic.


    We are currently in the central living room space. From here, it branches off into three paths. Behind us is where we came from. To the left, a staircase. And to our right is a corridor with several rooms. Which way do we go?


    "You have coins in your pocket, just flip one. Heads for right, tails for left."This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Is it really okay to be so lackadaisical about this? I was thinking about carefully observing the house before deciding on a path. I flip the coin. Heads.


    We approach the first door of the corridor. The doorknob''s just barely out of reach. I could jump and grab it but then I won''t be able to twist the knob. Through our mental bond we instantly know what to do though.


    Without exchanging words, I crouch down and Ai sits on my shoulder. In this position, I can''t even turn my head left or right. My posture resembles soldier standing at attention who can only keep his back straight and his gaze forward.


    Barely making contact with the doorknob, I suddenly felt Ai freeze. Did she notice something strange?


    "What''s wrong, Ai?" I struggle to look around to get a good view of what''s happening.


    I noticed it far too late.


    Isn''t the interior getting a bit strange? The pink plastic couch is now a gray and made from canvas. The table was now made of real marble. The previously plastic door had become real wood, I confirmed it with my own hands. The dusty texture of worn down wood. As if someone had been using it often. As if someone had once lived here. The toy house had become a real house.


    Gone was the bright pink aesthetic, replaced by a sombre, dull atmosphere. The whole house had turned dark. The reason I surmise is the presence with us in the corridor, watching us and moving towards us.


    By the time, Ai gets off my shoulders it''ll be too late. We can only try the door.


    "Hurry open the door!"


    "The doorknob won''t turn!"


    "Turn it the other direction!"


    "It still won''t open!"


    I should have run. Why did I insist on going through the door? I made the wrong choice. We might have made it if I ran with all my might. It''s too late. In our vulnerable position there was nothing we could do. It was already right in front of us.


    Before I passed out, the last image burned into my retinas was a sickening, perversed smile.

 Second Dream Chapter Three

    That weird out of body sensation, upon waking up is a feeling I''ve come to dislike. You''re not really in control of your limbs and your sight resembles an amateur handling a camera.


    What is this place? Why does it looks so unfamiliar? The ceiling, the sounds of the ocean... This is the ship. I am lying in bed. I''m back to reality?...Not. Because Ai was still here, lying next to me. We''re still in the dream world.


    She starts the conversation first, "Hey, you, you''re finally awake. You were caught trying to-"


    "Hush. I don''t wanna hear any game references right now."


    "Not the right situation?"


    "Definitely not the right situation. Let''s hurry up and find a way out. At least we''re in a slightly familiar place this time."


    "I see. I see. If you were to remain here too long, you might die from dehydration after all. That would be mildly bothersome."


    "Mildly bothersome? Please don''t talk as if it''s only my problem, we share the same body."


    Getting up, I notice somebody else sleeping in the bed besides Ai and me. Jun?


    "I wonder if I could repossess your body after you die of dehydra-" She notices Jun as well.


    "Oh-ho, your lady friend is here. Should I leave you two be?"


    "S-shut up... Wake up. Jun."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    I nudge her arm and she slowly wakes up.


    "Shun? Is it time for dinner..." Her words trail off as her gaze slowly drifts to Ai who is by now standing and doing morning stretches. The light in Jun''s eyes seemed to darken and it left a chill in me. Seeing the obvious way, the plot was about to swing, I quickly interrupt Jun before she could formulate any further coherent thoughts based on her limited understanding of the current, unfortunate in numerous ways, situation.


    "We''re stuck in a supernatural incident right now, she''s here to help."


    But alas, that seemed to confuse the half awake Jun even more. Her mouth slightly open, as she gathered herself and mouthed words. Cute. If only I could take a photo and save it on my computer. My brain alone would do this memory a great injustice. My brain seems to have a cap when it comes to viewing memories and they all seem to have this poor, hazy, 240p level of quality to them. Ahhh... curse the inadequacy of the human mind...


    "Shun, I believe your lady friend needs a little help. She seems to be having an internal meltdown."


    Ah, that''s right. I was too busy trying to permanently burn the visage of her cute face into my brain.


    "Something attacked us and sent us into a dreamworld sort of place. This here is Ai, the ghost girl that''s sharing my body. I told you about her before. We can''t keep staying in this dreamworld, if we stay too long, our bodies in the real world will die of dehydration."


    "Ouch!" Why did my head just get smacked? What have I done to deserve such unjust punishment? "What''d you do that for, Ai?!"


    "Too sudden! 4/10! Lack of delicacy! The poor girl''s going into shock!"


    "No... I think I get the gist of things now. We''ve gotten wrapped up into a troublesome situation again, haven''t we? Heheh... trip''s put on hold... I guess." Jun puts on a sad smile.


    "Well let''s resume this holiday as quickly as possible. Now that we aren''t downsized, and with the three of us, maybe we can put up a fight."


    "By the way, can I have a private talk with Ai before we go outside?"


    Eh? I felt like there was an extremely sudden in shift in the conversation topic that just occured. Must be my imagination.


    "Sure thing, you girls have to have some girl time I guess." Ai was frantically shaking her head but I failed to see it in time. I''m sure it''ll be fine. Jun''s a nice girl and wouldn''t even harm a fly, I''m sure Ai is just overreacting.