Chapter 62: Setting Sail

Chu Ning cast a teasing glance at Tanya, who sat in the back pretending to admire the scenery. “Maybe I accidentally hit the guardrail just now. You know, during a car accident, gravel on the road can sometimes fly up and crack the window.”

He shrugged helplessly, as if to say he truly had no control over these accidents. After all, it was hard enough to stop Tanya from venting her emotions, let alone prevent her from damaging someone else’s property.

Li Han shrank into himself, his body trembling as he stared straight ahead. Who hadn’t been young and reckless once? He, too, had been young, and he certainly wouldn’t admit he was living the life of an old man now.

He could swear the crack on the window wasn’t caused by flying gravel. He’d seen gravel burst against a car window before—once, on a bumpy road, dust flying and stones everywhere, the car speeding along, an accident had happened just like that!

What’s more, he’d smashed a car window himself before, and the crack was exactly the same as this one. Li Han could tell the person who’d done this was inexperienced. If it had been him, the glass would have shattered in just a few blows.

“Let’s hope this trip passes without incident,” Li Han prayed silently.

Seeing that the two passengers had no intention of speaking further, Li Han felt a bit awkward and forced a smile. He knew if he didn’t say something, things might take a turn for the worse. He’d thought Tanya might take the opportunity to extort him, demanding compensation for psychological distress or some other trouble.

He decided to take the initiative. “Do you need me to give you a ride for a bit? We’re quite far from the city center, and it’s not easy to catch a cab out here. I can drop you somewhere more crowded so it’s easier to get a ride.”

“Driver, could you take us to North Suburb Villas?” Tanya’s soft voice drifted from the backseat.

At that inauspicious name, Li Han shuddered, sinking deeper into his seat. After a long thirty seconds, he returned to himself, trembling as he tried to pick up the radio to call for help—only to be dissuaded by Chu Ning’s sharp gaze.

He was wide awake now; the dizziness from the earlier impact had vanished. He’d been longing for a nap, but now he felt more alert than after a smoke at the end of a tiring night shift.

“North Suburb Villas? What are you doing there? Rumor has it several people have died in that place. Young folks shouldn’t seek thrills in such a place—it’s not somewhere you want to be.”

A wave of unease washed over Li Han. He hastily grabbed his pack of cigarettes, clumsily pulling one out and sticking it in his mouth. The familiar scent brought him a momentary sense of peace.

Tanya pressed her lips together, her face turned slightly toward the window, giving her an air of mystery. She found playing the ghost more taxing than expected; it may have required no real acting, but she didn’t see herself as someone who frightened others.

“Yes, I’m going home,” she said.

Before she’d finished speaking, Li Han fumbled for his fallen cigarette, feeling his toes sink deep into the brown carpet of the car. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift his legs—he couldn’t even escape! This had to be the sorcery of the woman in white behind him, his heart pounded with dread.

“Sorry, driver! My girlfriend is just joking, don’t listen to her. We’re going to 364 Tianhe Road—thanks for the trouble!” Chu Ning reached out to steady Li Han, who was panicking in the driver’s seat. He noticed right away that Li Han’s legs seemed to have gone numb; the man was pounding his calves in desperation, tears streaming down his face.

“What’s wrong, driver?” Chu Ning asked with concern, shooting a covert glare at Tanya, signaling her to stop the act for now. Couldn’t she see the driver’s legs weren’t working? They still needed him to get them to their destination!

After a series of reassurances, Chu Ning understood what Li Han was experiencing and said comfortingly, “It’s nothing serious—you just compressed the nerves in your legs, causing temporary numbness. Just rest a bit and you’ll be fine.”

Li Han froze at the explanation. He knew what it felt like for a leg to go numb—it happened to everyone now and then. But this wasn’t just one leg, both his legs were completely paralyzed! That couldn’t be normal.

He looked at the two passengers in the car, a mix of fear and anxiety welling in him. That strange sensation was all too familiar. Over five years ago, he’d touched skin just like that—icy cold, chilling to the bone. He’d seen someone with the same pallor as Chu Ning.

Someone with that color of skin, that bone-deep cold, was dead—a person long dead.

His teeth chattered as he asked, “Why is your hand so cold?” If not for the faint sound of breathing from Chu Ning, he wouldn’t have dared to ask; the young man looked too much like a wandering corpse.

Chu Ning’s face was expressionless as he looked at Li Han. “Maybe my vitality is just too weak—the doctor says so, at least. Especially ever since I met my girlfriend, it’s gotten worse.”

Through the rearview mirror, Li Han sneaked a look at Tanya, hesitated, and finally made up his mind upon seeing Chu Ning’s bloodless cheeks.

He beckoned Chu Ning to lean in and whispered, “Your girlfriend may not be human…” Suddenly, a wave of icy air washed over him, cutting his words short. Terrified, he glanced behind him.

But the back seat was perfectly normal.

Chu Ning widened his eyes in a show of mock horror, clutching Li Han’s hand with trembling sincerity, his gaze pleading as he looked toward the back seat at Tanya.

Tonight, Li Han felt he was finally about to be released from his torment; fate seemed close at hand, and death was near. Perhaps it was true that, on the brink of death, a man’s words are kind. He tried to warn the young man whose vitality was being drained.

“I never thought I’d have a day where my conscience wakes up,” Li Han thought, wanting to caution Chu Ning further. He didn’t want to let the young man down.

Once conscience has been eroded, it’s hard to restore it to its former state.

By chance, he saw Tanya in the back seat, her gloved left hand gently tracing her crimson lips. The color seemed to deepen, becoming even glossier.

At the sight, terror surged in Li Han again—especially when Tanya smiled at him meaningfully, pressing her lips together to spread the red more evenly, then licking the blush with her tongue.

The urge to tell Chu Ning the truth vanished completely. Hands shaking, Li Han gripped the steering wheel, started the engine, and the feeling returned to his legs just as Tanya parted her lips and said, “Drive quickly, dawn is coming.”

Fueled by terror, Li Han’s once-stiff limbs regained their strength—perhaps even more than before.