Manual for Survival in a Strange World

The cold, silvery moonlight bathed the river’s surface, creating a shimmering pattern of ripples. The body floating in the water had a face even paler than the moonlight itself— that was the face of Xie Sining.

Feng Yushu glanced at the female corpse drifting downstream under the bridge, then at the screen of her phone, where the call display showed that the call had ended.

“If the body in the river is Xie Sining, then who was the one who called me just now?” Feng Yushu’s voice trembled slightly, the terrifying possibility sending chills down her spine.

“Calm down. Although Hejia Village is eerie, there’s never been any actual supernatural occurrences, no monsters or ghosts. Perhaps Zhang Yangxu used her phone to call you,” Ning Zhe reassured her. “Let’s head back to the ancestral hall. You can call back and see what happened.”

Since they had already broken a taboo today, Ning Zhe, wary of bad luck, didn’t dare go into the water to retrieve Xie Sining’s body for more information.

The two left the bridge and quickly made their way back.

“No one answered.” On the way, Feng Yushu let out a relieved sigh. “I called Xie Sining three times, but it went unanswered.”

“Why don’t you try calling Zhang Yangxu?” Ning Zhe suggested while walking briskly, though he wasn’t quite daring enough to run.

Feng Yushu grew tense again. “I… I’ll try.”

But before she could find Zhang Yangxu’s number in her contacts, the two turned a corner after crossing a narrow alley by the river and found themselves on a wider street.

On the street, a man and a woman were walking slowly under the moonlight. The man was of average height but stood tall and straight, dressed in a suit, with a slightly loosened beer belly. The woman wore a full office lady (OL) outfit and high heels, walking a step behind the man, following him at his side.

“This…”

“Quiet.” Ning Zhe suddenly grabbed Feng Yushu by the neck with his arm and covered her mouth with his palm, pressing her against the wall.

After silencing the startled Feng Yushu, Ning Zhe peeked his head slightly out from the alley, watching the figures of the two walking across the street. The cold moonlight bathed them, elongating their shadows. “Zhang Yangxu and Xie Sining? What’s going on?”

If Xie Sining is dead, then who is this person with Zhang Yangxu?

If Xie Sining isn’t dead, then whose body is floating in the river?

The two were heading in the direction of the ancestral hall. Seeing that Feng Yushu, whom he had restrained, was calming down and no longer struggling, Ning Zhe whispered, “Quiet,” before letting her go, leaving a bright red lipstick mark on her palm.

“Poof-ha—” Feng Yushu, one hand on the wall, panted heavily. “Ning… Ning Zhe, the ones who just walked by were…”

“I know.” Ning Zhe’s gaze remained fixed on the two figures growing farther away on the street. “Call Zhang Yangxu now, immediately.”

“Ah, okay.” Feng Yushu hurriedly opened her contacts and found Zhang Yangxu’s number.

After Feng Yushu dialed Zhang Yangxu’s number, not long after, the footsteps of the two on the street paused for a moment before continuing to move forward.

As they walked, Zhang Yangxu pulled his phone out of the inner lining of his suit jacket, where it had been vibrating continuously.

“Feng Yushu?” Zhang Yangxu was confused by the caller ID. He quickly answered the call. “What’s up, Madam Bai? Is something wrong?”

“Be careful of Xie Sining!” Feng Yushu immediately warned. “Just now, Ning Zhe and I passed by the arched bridge, and we saw—”

“Saw what? Madam Bai, tell me clearly, what did you see by the river?” Zhang Yangxu’s nerves instantly tensed. He was about to press her further when he noticed the phone screen displaying the red “Call Ended” message.

“What’s going on…”

In the alley, Feng Yushu looked at Ning Zhe in confusion, seeing that he was holding her phone. It was Ning Zhe who had grabbed the phone from her and forcibly ended the call, preventing her from warning Zhang Yangxu further.

“Ning Zhe, why did you hang up?” Feng Yushu asked quietly.

Ning Zhe, while hanging up the incoming call from Zhang Yangxu, replied, “Don’t bring trouble upon yourself.”

“Bring trouble?” Feng Yushu was even more confused.

Ning Zhe took a deep breath. The terrifying scene earlier still sent a chill down his spine.

“When you called Zhang Yangxu, I was calling Xie Sining at the same time.”

Ning Zhe then showed his phone, where there was one missed call—unanswered—from Xie Sining: “While Zhang Yangxu was answering your call, Xie Sining didn’t pick up mine. Instead, she stood still, motionless.”

Feng Yushu’s face turned ashen. “Xie Sining, she…”

Ning Zhe continued, “When the call connected and you warned Zhang Yangxu about Xie Sining, I saw Xie Sining, who had been facing away from us, suddenly turn around. Her eyes, locked directly on me, pierced through the street with zero delay, staring at my face without expression.”

“When you said, ‘Ning Zhe and I passed the arched bridge,’ she continued staring at me, silently smiling.”

Feng Yushu’s legs went weak, and the overwhelming fear nearly made her collapse. Her face became even paler. “How could this happen…”

Ning Zhe took another deep breath, steadying his pulse before saying, “Xie Sining is dead. The one with Zhang Yangxu now is something else entirely, a ‘ghost’ impersonating her. I’m not sure what its intentions are, and I can’t be certain what will happen if we expose its identity.”

That’s why he didn’t hesitate to grab Feng Yushu’s phone and end the call, avoiding attracting any danger.

“So what should we do now?” Feng Yushu quickly asked.

Seeing the helpless look in her eyes, Ning Zhe understood. ‘As I expected, Feng Yushu’s character is weak, lacking in decisiveness, and she’s used to relying on others… very easy to control.’

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

“Auntie, you need to call Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing, and remind them that Xie Sining has been replaced,” Ning Zhe instructed.

“What about you?” Feng Yushu asked.

“Tell them not to return to the ancestral hall. We’ll go together, the four of us, to retrieve Xie Sining’s body from the river.” Ning Zhe wiped the lipstick mark from his palm with the hem of his clothes, speaking softly. “Hopefully, we can find clues about how Xie Sining died from the body. I think this might be related to how we can leave Hejia Village.”

As for Zhang Yangxu, that would be his own fate. Ning Zhe chose to focus on himself.

If it hadn’t been for today’s bad luck, Ning Zhe wouldn’t even want to involve Ye Miaozhu and Gu Yunqing. He would’ve gone alone. But now, things were different. In bad luck, going into the river alone could easily lead to drowning, even though Ning Zhe was an excellent swimmer.

After dialing, Feng Yushu followed Ning Zhe out of the alley.

In the distance, Zhang Yangxu put his phone down, which had shown “No Answer” several times, and silently turned his gaze to the Xie Sining beside him.