Two
"Alright. I'll keep you company." Ban Xia responded, reaching out to grasp the flower rope.
In Ban Xia's dictionary, there existed only calculated trade-offs and relinquishments—never retreat or fear.
"Let's start playing now. We'll agree in advance—jump as many times as you'd like to your heart's content, but first we set the rules." After arranging the rope, she spoke, meaning to establish terms with the ghostly companion.
The girl pursed her lips, hopped onto Xuan Ye's shoulder, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and didn't answer.
"Five hundred jumps. Five hundred is already plenty. After that, I'll play hide-and-seek with you."
"Okay, five hundred it is." The girl agreed, her voice soft and docile, tilting her head to rest on Xuan Ye's shoulder.
And so the game began.
Ban Xia swung the rope, and Xuan Ye, carrying the girl on his back, deftly stepped inside, knees brushing knees as they jumped rope in the pitch-black, damp cave.
"1, 2, 3... 99, 100." Ban Xia's voice was clear and resolute.
The girl, her head pressed against Xuan Ye's shoulder, remained silent all the while. Her once smooth forehead gradually began to fester, blood and pus slowly trickling down from her temple.
This was how she had looked at death—a clean, pretty little girl whose skin had ulcerated before she died, reeking of foul odor day after day.
It was her fault for not being obedient, for peeking into the basin of freshly drawn hot water.
That water had taken Mother a great deal of straw to boil, intended to be mixed with cold water for Little brother's bath first.
With the New Year approaching, the whole family needed to bathe, but there was only this one bucket of hot water.
Precious Little brother would bathe first, followed by Father, Mother, Eldest sister, Second sister... and finally, it would be her turn—the Seventh sister.
By then, the water would be murky, carrying a greasy, fishy smell that was quite unpleasant.
Her disobedience in bringing a stool to gaze at that bucket of hot water was really just to inhale the fresh steam, to imagine how delightful it would feel to bathe in such clean, clear water.
She had always been very obedient; everything was just an accident.
The stool's front leg was unsteady, and she tumbled forward into the hot water. It truly was just an accident; she hadn't meant for it to happen.
The family was poor, with no money to hire a doctor to treat her burns, and she understood that. So she never asked. If the pain became unbearable, she tried her best to endure it, only letting out very soft, very faint moans.
Ever since she realized she was the family's seventh daughter, she had always been very, very obedient.
But Father didn't see it that way.
From the day she was born, Father had considered her superfluous, and now he found her repulsive, disgusted by her stench and her constant moaning throughout the night, disturbing the family's sleep.
And so the days slowly slipped away until that one arrived.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. Mother took Little brother to see the lanterns, and the sisters went along too.
Father didn't go; he stayed behind with her, even scooping a small half-bowl of yuanxiao to feed her.
It was a delicacy only Little brother and Father could eat—something she had never dared to even dream of.
Father extended the spoon to feed her. She could hardly believe it, hurriedly propping herself up and forcing down a bite despite her discomfort.
So sweet.
The sesame blended with the fragrance of lard—this was what it tasted like.
Then Father fed her another bite, and another after that, treating her with such tenderness that it made her want to cry.
"Do you have any last wishes? Speak them. Remember, when you get to the other side, don't hold any grudges against us." After feeding her, Father asked this, crouching down and telling her to climb onto his back.
With just those words, she understood completely. A seven-year-old child already possessed a sensitive heart.Her father resented her for living too long, and now he was going to carry her on his back, personally sending her to the other side.
In that moment, she actually didn't feel any resentment.
"Father, could you carry me on your back and play Hopscotch with me? Play with me to my heart's content, please?"
Perched on her father's shoulder, she spoke these words, still docile and sweet as ever.
For a child who had lived seven years without ever playing to her heart's content, having such a wish was truly not excessive—not in the slightest.
"Father." Recalling this, the girl murmured, momentarily lost in confusion, holding Xuan Ye even tighter. "You promised me, you have to keep your word, okay?"
"What did I promise you?" Xuan Ye responded, pausing his movements, breathing heavily as he carried her.
"You promised to carry me and play until I was satisfied! You promised! I know you're going to throw me into that well, but you promised to fulfill my wish. You have to keep your word!"
The girl's voice suddenly turned shrill, blaming him for stopping. She tightened her arms around his neck, leaving deep bloody marks.
"Why would I throw you into the well?" Xuan Ye remained calm, his tone gentle and soothing.
"Because I was scalded, my whole body is rotting, but I just won't die." The girl trembled with fear, glanced down at Xuan Ye, and suddenly understood. Gripping his shoulders tightly, her voice rose sharply: "You're not my father! But you're all the same—you promised to play with me until I didn't want to anymore, but you broke your word!"
"Those who break their promises deserve punishment!" she added, her voice filled with unparalleled bitterness.
Xuan Ye and Ban Xia froze, exchanging glances.
The girl's story had surfaced—truly, the hateful must have their pitiable aspects, without a doubt.
"I keep my word," Xuan Ye said, rubbing his knees and taking a deep breath. "I'll stay with you till the end, without fail. Let's continue."
"199, 200, 201..."
In the cave, Ban Xia's voice remained clear and crisp, but Xuan Ye was no longer at ease.
The girl on his shoulder grew heavier and heavier, until it felt as if he were carrying a massive stone tablet, crushing him so much he could barely stand.
This wasn't just the weight of a ghost—it also carried the girl's hatred. Her spiritual power was extraordinary, and she could exert pressure on his back like a thousand-pound weight.
"I'm so good, so good, so good—just this one wish! Why did you still break your promise?" The girl shrieked on his shoulder, her body burning hot like a branding iron.
How could she not hate?
That day, on her father's shoulder, she had thought: Hopscotch requires seven rounds, but it wasn't easy for her father to carry her. If he could just carry her through three rounds, she would be satisfied and hold no grudges against anyone.
But her father grew impatient, complaining she was heavy and disgusted by her foul smell and oozing pus. After barely finishing one round, he carried her to the dry well and threw her in.
She remembered it clearly—the moment he threw her down, her father's expression was one of relief, as if discarding a rotten cabbage.
How could she not hate?
All those in the world who break their promises and don't understand loyalty should die!
"If you break your word, you should all die—die more miserably than I did." On Xuan Ye's shoulder, she murmured again, but her voice was no longer gentle; it had turned sinister and venomous.
As she spoke, Xuan Ye's shoulder grew heavier, as if another stone tablet had been added.
"249."
At this count, Xuan Ye staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"349."After another hundred passes, his leg bone finally gave way with a crisp crack, splitting a fissure at his right ankle.
This time Xuan Ye could no longer endure, falling to one knee as he spat another mouthful of blood that thoroughly soaked the lower half of his robe.
"Getting tired of playing already?!"The girl's voice turned shrill, carrying a thick smell of blood as she craned her neck: "Backing out means going back on your word.""
"Those who break their word must pay the price!" She repeated the phrase, this time with feverish intensity, brimming with vengeful satisfaction.
Xuan Ye remained silent, crouching low as he gasped urgently.
The cave was filled with a chilling aura, yet the crescent-shaped blade he always carried suddenly began to glow, like moonlight at its brightest, illuminating every corner of the cavern with perfect clarity.
Ban Xia released the long rope in her hand, distinctly sensing a sharp energy piercing forth from his body, tearing through the cave's dark and sinister atmosphere.
Finally, his power had returned!
"You deceived me! You're clearly a Taoist priest! And you obviously possess magical power!" The girl let out a piercing shriek upon seeing this, quickly sliding down from his shoulder and extending her bloodied fingers to clamp around Ban Xia's throat.
Having her throat seized twice in one day left Ban Xia utterly exasperated, this time she cursed twenty-eight times consecutively.
"If you subdue me, I'll kill her first!" The girl's voice remained shrill, her fingers growing increasingly hot as if burning with hellfire.
Ban Xia's throat soon showed a crimson mark, followed by blisters that rapidly burst and actually began to fester.
She started to smile bitterly.
Though both involved throat-grabbing, this one was clearly more skilled than the Half-person - not aiming to strangle her, but to scald her to death, roasting her neck into something resembling a spicy duck neck.
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