Si Teng (Rattan) – CH 005

Chapter 5

Perhaps because he was already dead, Qin Fang felt no nervousness or fear. He listened calmly to the rhythmic heartbeat beneath him, and a strange thought suddenly occurred to him.

Humans truly knew so little about this world.

Anything that happened to him after his death, if presented to others, would surely be dismissed as “nonsense,” “absurd,” or “superstition.” How could a dead person think? How could a non-functioning organ suddenly start beating, and how could there be a heartbeat underground? Did you have a scientific explanation? Any reasonable evidence to support it?

By insisting on science and rationality, so much was missed. People thought the world of the dead was just a long, silent, and peaceful rest; who would believe there could be so many unexpected events and twists and turns?

Qin Fang tried to smile, but just then, a woman’s sigh came from behind him.

It wasn’t exactly a sigh, more like a groan of pain and anger, as if someone was about to awaken.

Qin Fang thought he had heard wrong and tried to listen more carefully. Then, a powerful gust of air swept over him, hurling him and the car into the air before they crashed to the ground several meters away.

Qin Fang rolled around inside the car, his vision blurred with stars. The night birds in the forest, which had finally quieted down, flapped their wings again. The echo of the crash reverberated off the mountainside, swirling upwards. Qin Fang pushed open the damaged car door and stumbled out, gasping for breath. Just as he stood up, he suddenly realized something and slumped back to the ground.

A person who had been dead for several days, struggling to open the car door and then standing up…wasn’t that like a zombie? Not far away stood the pointed stake that had pierced his heart, about half a meter high. The surrounding ground was cracked and raised, as if from a small earthquake. Qin Fang suddenly felt nervous, staring intently at the raised ground…

Very slowly, some soil crumbled from the top of the stake, causing it to sway slightly. Then, someone sat up from the ground…

Qin Fang hesitated between calling her a “person” and a “skeleton,” but neither was entirely accurate…

To be precise, it was a complete skeleton. Unlike a typical skeletal display in a laboratory, this one was covered in skin. He called it “she” because it had two feminine characteristics.

First, it had long hair, reaching down to its waist, though the hair was dry and looked like coarse grass.

Second, it was wearing…a cheongsam. Even though the cheongsam was stained black with blood and frayed at the edges, it was still a high-slit cheongsam.

How sexy such a cheongsam would look on a woman with a beautiful figure! But if the high slit revealed a thigh bone covered in skin…

Qin Fang sighed inwardly.

“How ugly…”

Yes, he was dead. He had suffered a terrible fate. He died mysteriously. He worried about An Man’s safety. He was shocked and bewildered by everything. But he was still a man, even in death. Men had their weaknesses. So when faced with someone of the opposite sex, whether a skeleton or a body covered in skin, he couldn’t help but make a comment.

However, his attention was soon drawn elsewhere. Three sharp stakes were impaled into the woman’s body; two shorter ones were under her ribs, and a longer one pierced her chest, near her heart. She struggled to stand, her frail frame swaying precariously under the weight of the stakes. This clearly enraged her—a high-pitched, guttural sound escaped her throat, and she reached out, grabbed one of the stakes under her left rib, and yanked it out forcefully.

Qin Fang felt his skin prickle with apprehension; he instinctively knew that pulling out those stakes must have been incredibly painful. After removing all the stakes, the woman collapsed to her knees, her arms supporting her weight, and then remained motionless.

Qin Fang couldn’t help but wonder what kind of “creature” this was.

Was it, like himself, a “resurrected corpse”? But since it was practically nothing but bones, it must have been dead for quite some time. Someone crawling back to life after so many years was only seen in movies like Resident Evil or alien radiation. It couldn’t be a ghost, anyway. Ghosts were nicknamed “Piao,” drifting masses of air, and they wouldn’t be pierced by stakes. Or maybe a Chinese zombie? Whether it was or not depended on whether she’d be able to bounce and walk when she stands up…

Thinking this way, Qin Fang glanced at her again. The moonlight was brilliant, and a silvery-white light cascaded through her long, black, satin-like hair…

Wait a minute, satin? Wasn’t it just matted and rough?

Qin Fang watched the woman slowly rise to her feet again, finally realizing that, in the brief moment he’d been distracted, after she’d pulled out the stakes, her appearance had changed.

The young woman before him was truly stunning. However, since she wasn’t human at all, any form of beauty wouldn’t be surprising—not a zombie, not the living dead, not a ghost. The only other possible explanation was that she was a monster, and monsters, by their very nature, were extremely dangerous yet possessed a seductive, alluring appearance.

Qin Fang had several theories about her.

First, she must have been a powerful figure, and her death must have been extraordinary. He didn’t understand what the three sharp stakes represented; perhaps they were a seal or a ward, but if someone’s death caused such fear and embarrassment, they were definitely not ordinary. Furthermore, the state and expression of a person upon waking in an unfamiliar environment largely betrayed their true nature. Most people would be confused or timid, but few, like her, had an unusually calm gaze, even barely concealing their anger.

Secondly, she must be inherently arrogant and difficult to get along with. This was evident in her posture and slightly raised chin. Her eyelids drooped, indicating a tendency to look down upon others. A sneer permeated the corners of her lips as she surveyed the mountain wall. She could disdain something as inert as rocks. How arrogant would she be when truly in front of others?

She didn’t even notice Qin Fang. Her gaze was fixed upwards. From the valley floor, the high mountains seemed to form a small circle. The woman regarded it coldly for a moment, then suddenly took flight. She truly looked like a giant bird, instantly becoming a shrinking black dot in the sky as far as Qin Fang could see.

Qin Fang gasped. She could fly!

Where was she flying to? At the top of the valley lay the winding mountain path, where real human society lay. Would she harm anyone? Would she eat them? Would it cause public panic…?

Qin Fang hadn’t yet sorted out his string of questions when he suddenly sensed something was wrong with the wind. He subconsciously tilted his head, and at that moment, with a resounding bang, the woman fell again.

It slammed down hard, sending dust billowing into the air. It landed not far in front of him, the sound even louder than the car’s crash, creating a human-shaped dent in the ground. The fall was severe, breaking her arms and other parts. When she landed, he could clearly hear her neck fracture. More importantly…

She landed face first.

Qin Fang couldn’t understand it afterward. His first reaction wasn’t shock, fear, or sympathy, but…

He found it incredibly funny, and so he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

She had been so impressive, soaring high into the sky; as the linguistic slang would have it, she fell flat on her face. If she’d been able to stand up, her face would have been like the bottom of a frying pan.

It was hilarious. After so many days of being dead, Qin Fang finally found something to laugh about. He laughed so hard he almost cried, but as he laughed, his laughter faded.

The woman sat up again. One had to admire her fortitude. Her arms and neck were broken, yet her face remained intact. As Qin Fang’s laughter faded, she straightened her broken arms and legs. Finally, she used both hands to support her head, and with a snap, she turned her face to face Qin Fang.

Her eyes were cold, their brightness like broken diamonds. Qin Fang felt uncomfortable looking at her, and he hesitantly looked away, feeling his laughter was rather insincere.

Just then, the woman spoke. “Don’t stop. Keep laughing.”

Qin Fang stopped laughing. He felt quite embarrassed. After all, it wasn’t very respectable for a man to make such annoying jokes about a woman.

“What year was it in the Republic of China?”

Qin Fang didn’t understand, and the woman didn’t repeat herself. She just stared at him until he realized what was going on.

“We don’t use Republic of China anymore. Taiwan… uses it.”

“What year was it when the Japanese rioted at Marco Polo Bridge?”

Qin Fang wasn’t familiar with the Republic of China calendar, but he did have some basic historical knowledge. “You mean the Marco Polo Bridge Incident? July 7, 1937.”

“What year is it now?”

“2013… It’s only a few days away; just pretend it’s 2014.”

The woman fell silent. She stood up, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were lost in thought. Qin Fang looked at her tattered cheongsam and suddenly realized something. He hesitantly asked, “Did you die…in 1937?”

The woman ignored him. Under normal circumstances, Qin Fang wouldn’t have bothered to talk to her, but things were different now. What happened after death was too bizarre. They weren’t taught in school, and he didn’t know what kind of “creature” he was. This woman died before him, perhaps a senior. It wouldn’t hurt to ask her more questions.

“My name is Qin Fang. I died two days ago…”

He was stuck at the beginning, unsure what to say next: “I died not long ago. Please take care of me.”

Unexpectedly, his words piqued the woman’s interest. “Died two days ago?”

Qin Fang nodded.

“How did you die?”

He gave her a brief explanation. She didn’t seem to care about the crash but curiously asked, “Did the spike pierce your heart?”

Qin Fang paid little attention to this question. He was eager to confirm something else.

“Do people like us suddenly come back to life after death? Or is it a certain chance, but only for a few? Should we… hide away or live among the people?”

The woman glanced at him with a hint of sarcasm. Qin Fang felt uneasy and wanted to explain more clearly, but the woman spoke again.

“Who is ‘we’ to you?”

Qin Fang was stunned. “Are we different?”

“Of course we’re different. You’re human, and I… am a demon.”

We’re both resurrected dead, so how could she be a demon? Qin Fang couldn’t figure it out. Could it be because she’d been dead a long time? There were so many people in this world who’d been dead for a long time. If they all came back to life like her, wouldn’t demons be everywhere?

The woman seemed to have grasped something. She gestured at the sharp stake: “Don’t you understand yet?”

—”I’m a demon because I was a demon before I was killed. There are many steps to killing a demon, but the most important one is to drain its blood.”

—”I’ve been dead for a long time, and I shouldn’t have come back to life. But fortunately, you died too.”

—”The sharp stake pierced both my heart and yours. Your blood dripped along the sharp stake into the wound in my heart.”

—”So I’m alive, and my demonic energy is keeping you alive.”

She was in a good mood, and she actually laughed out loud as she spoke.

She said, “Your name is Qin Fang, right? Are there many like us? Not many. I might be the only resurrected demon, and you’re the only one whose life is extended by demonic energy.”

Qin Fang was silent for a long time, then asked, “After being resurrected, will you be the same as before?”

She didn’t speak immediately. After a moment, she looked up, where the high mountain line formed a small circle.

Qin Fang heard her mutter, “It’s different now. If it were before, I wouldn’t have fallen… I’m only a half-demon now, after all.”

After a moment, she looked down at Qin Fang and said, “From now on, you obey my orders. My name is Si Teng.”

Qin Fang really thought he had misheard. He grabbed the edge of the car door and stood up, so angry that it almost made him laugh.

This woman really thought he was a nobody. He would obey her orders, but for what reason?