"Perfect, two people. Let's jump rope." The childlike voice entered the cave and repeated once more.
The cave felt somewhat chilly, and Ban Xia couldn't help shivering.
Before her stood a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with a sharp chin and a blue tear mole under her right eye.
A very delicate-looking little girl.
But Ban Xia knew that the one before her was merely a spirit, a soul ordinary people couldn't see at all.
According to ghost movie logic, the earlier Half-person was actually a Zombie—the physical body remained, so ordinary people could see it.
But this one before her was just a soul, visible only to those who had opened their spirit eye.
One could imagine how terrifying it would be: in the dead of night, at an ordinary person's bedside, with no visible figure, suddenly a child's voice calls out to you, cold and eerie: "Let's play together."
"Let's play together!"
As if echoing the thought in her heart, the little girl spoke again, floating forward, her large eyes filled with longing.
Ban Xia pressed her lips together, raised her head, and took a deep breath. "You're at least seven years old, aren't you? A girl your age should learn to play by herself."
"Sister, you can see me?" The girl jumped with joy upon hearing this, eagerly drawing closer. "That's great! Sister, you carry me on your back, and that brother over there can swing the rope. Let's jump together."
"You can jump by yourself." Ban Xia continued taking deep breaths. "I heard you kicking the shuttlecock earlier. You have strong spiritual power and can already manipulate things from the mortal realm."
"Jumping alone is so tiring, so very tiring." The girl pouted, pleading pitifully. "It's really exhausting and draining for us ghosts to lift things from the mortal realm. Sister, please carry me? Let's jump together, okay? I'm begging you."
"I'm begging you, okay? Okay, okay..." These final words echoed in the cave, over and over, like a heart-piercing curse.
Ban Xia was usually iron-willed, but now she seemed to fall into a daze, involuntarily nodding her head.
"Sister is so nice!" The girl clapped her hands, hopping with delight. "Sister, remember—you agreed to it. You must stay with me and play until the very end."
After saying this, she shook her pigtails, gathered her energy, and prepared to leap onto Ban Xia's shoulders.
"I'll carry you."
A male voice sounded in the cave, still gentle and calm.
It was Xuan Ye. Ban Xia watched as he rubbed his knees, pressed his hands against the ground, and slowly stood up. Thinking he had recovered, she felt a secret thrill of joy.
"I said I'll carry you." Xuan Ye repeated, stepping forward and extending his hand.
The girl stared at him, studying him for a long time, then suddenly took a step back. "I know—you're a Taoist priest! You want to capture me."
"I do want to capture you. But I'm not a Taoist priest, and right now I have no spiritual power." Xuan Ye spoke softly. "With your level of cultivation, you should be able to see that I pose no threat to you now."
The girl blinked, studying him again for a long while. This time, she didn't shrink back but instead took a step forward.
Not shrinking back meant she wasn't afraid, confirming that Xuan Ye truly posed no threat now—he hadn't recovered his spiritual power.
Ban Xia fumed inwardly, cursing eighteen times in her heart.
"I'll carry you." Xuan Ye spoke again, his gaze gentle and focused. "I'll carry you until you've played enough and grown tired, never abandoning you, never leaving you."
Never abandoning you, never leaving you.
The girl froze, seemingly moved by these four words. Her large eyes grew misty, a layer of haze swirling within them."Fine, you carry me." She nodded and suddenly drifted into the cave: "Wait here, I'll go find my pretty jump rope."
"Where is she going to find a rope?" Ban Xia leaned in after the small figure disappeared: "This cave seems quite deep. Should we take this chance to escape?"
"She's looking for the rope inside the cave. This cave is her home. We'll wait for her here."
"Wait for her to carry her?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how heavy a ghost is!" Ban Xia finally couldn't contain herself at this point: "Carrying her while jumping rope? I think you've gone mad!"
"I'm not mad. She just wants someone to carry her and play until she's satisfied, that's all." Xuan Ye's voice remained gentle.
Ban Xia grew frantic, rubbing her forehead: "Why don't we just leave? Let her play her games. If you refuse to carry her, what can she possibly do?"
"The Barrier around this mountain hasn't been broken. Neither of us can leave." Xuan Ye slowly raised his head: "Also, would you like to know what happened to those who promised to play with her but didn't last until the end?"
Ban Xia froze, vaguely realizing the severity of the situation.
"What happened?" she couldn't help but ask, shuddering.
"The outcome is simple - those who jumped rope with her kept jumping, those who kicked shuttlecocks kept kicking, until they died." Xuan Ye said calmly.
Ban Xia shuddered for the third time.
"Play with me."
Starting about three years ago, this child's voice began appearing in Qilin Town at the mountain's foot.
In the silent deep night, when cold moonlight illuminated bedside, people would always hear this voice, mournful and pitiful.
—"Play with me."
No one could refuse. The voice could pierce the heart, shake your sanity, making you nod involuntarily.
Thus the games would begin.
Under the midnight moon, with a girl's spirit on their shoulders, some would jump rope with her, some would kick shuttlecocks, but most would play Hopscotch.
The girl was always enthusiastic, enjoying every activity, clinging to their shoulders and giggling softly.
"Just a little longer, just a bit more. You must stay with me until I don't want to play anymore." When saying this, she would usually wrap her arms around their neck, her voice both eager and desperate.
But no one could accompany her until the end.
The ghost was heavy - carrying her on one's shoulders for long was like carrying a mountain.
No one could carry a mountain and stay with her until the end.
Everyone broke their promise, stopping breathlessly halfway through, just when she was enjoying herself most, refusing to continue no matter what.
The girl was well-behaved. If they wouldn't play, she wouldn't force them, sliding down from their shoulders and remaining silent for a long time.
"You broke your promise! You said you'd play with me until the end! Those who break their promises will face retribution!"
This shrill scream always came after the long silence, like a night owl's heart-rending cry, audible to half the town's residents.
"Retribution?" Ban Xia started at this point in the story, remembering what Xuan Ye had said earlier: "The retribution is continuing forever? Those who jumped rope keep jumping, those who kicked shuttlecocks keep kicking, until they die?"
"Yes." Xuan Ye replied.
There were some scenes he didn't want to describe.
Like those who jumped rope - the promise-breakers would keep jumping. Even if tied up, they'd break free; even if knocked unconscious, they'd rise unconsciously.
Jumping and jumping, until their leg bones fractured, flesh torn and bloody, still jumping, never stopping until death.
When everyone died, their bellies were swollen, spleens ruptured, filled with blood clots."In any case, the death was gruesome." At this thought, Xuan Ye paused slightly and let out a heavy sigh.
"I found the rope!" A girl's childish voice suddenly rang out in the cave, brimming with joy. "Look, a flower rope. Isn't it pretty?"
Xuan Ye nodded, taking a step forward with his still-stiff legs. "I'll carry you while we jump. This older sister doesn't need to join."
"No!" the girl's voice instantly turned shrill. "She should play too! We'll dance with the rope—you carry me through the loops. That's how it's fun!"
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