11.
Kim So So? Saved Qi Meng?
I was confused. “How did you save her?”
“There’s definitely something wrong with this village. Qi Meng was possessed by a demon. I fought it for a long time before I finally managed to save her.”
Me: ???
I stared in surprise, then turned to the other guests. “Weren’t you with her?”
One of the guests said, “We searched around to the south for a while. We were all exhausted, so Master Kim told us to go back to camp and rest while she kept looking. Master Kim is so brave and amazing. Thank goodness she was there.”
I said, “So you didn’t actually see her save anyone, right?”
A male guest named Phó Siêu was clearly unhappy. “Trần Tuyết Điềm, what are you getting at? Qi Meng is back now. That’s proof enough.”
I said, “But I’m the one who saved Qi Meng.”
“Hahahaha!”
Phó Siêu laughed loudly. “Trần Tuyết Điềm, there’s a limit to how much you can lie!”
“Exactly! We saw it with our own eyes. Master Kim was the one who brought Qi Meng back!”
Kim So So gave me a scornful smile. “I thought you were just stupid. I didn’t realize you were a liar, too.”
Oh!
I stopped arguing. In truth, Phó Siêu and the others had a point.
They’d seen Kim So So bring someone back with their own eyes. How could they believe me when I’d come back empty-handed?
As for Kim So So…
She must have found Qi Meng unconscious beneath a tree when I went back to the clinic to investigate.
Then she seized the opportunity and took credit for saving her.
I couldn’t blame the other guests.
But how could it be such a coincidence?
I started to suspect Kim So So.
12.
That night, we stayed at the main camp.
Kim So So said, “I’m not used to sleeping with other people. I want my own tent!”
There were only three tents in all.
If she had a tent to herself, everyone else would have to squeeze together.
But Kim So So’s status had skyrocketed, and no one dared complain.
The remaining two tents were crammed full, one for the men and one for the women.
To be safe, we zipped the tent shut.
The abandoned village was utterly silent at night.
Aside from each other’s breathing, we could hardly hear a sound.
It was eerily quiet.
In the middle of the night, a sound suddenly came from outside the tent.
It sounded like fingernails scraping against the tent fabric.
All the girls woke up and clung to one another in terror.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“It’s me, Phó Siêu.”
It really was Phó Siêu’s voice.
“What’s going on?”
“Everyone, get out! It’s not safe in the tent!”
I asked, “What do you mean, it’s not safe?”
“There’s a ghost in our tent!”
At those words, everyone went pale and began to tremble.
“What kind of ghost? Tell us.”
“I don’t know, but it can crawl up from underground! It’s really not safe here. Hurry outside, and I’ll lead you to safety.”
“Where are the others?”
“They’ve already moved ahead. Hurry! That thing couldn’t catch us, so it’s sure to come after you!”
One of the female guests screamed in terror and rushed toward the tent flap, trying to get out.
I shoved her back. “Trần Tuyết Điềm, what are you doing? Do you want us all to die here?!”
“No.”
I smiled. “If I run, I’ll be the first one out.”
“How can you be so selfish?”
But I acted as if I hadn’t heard her accusation.
I kept my eyes on the shadow against the tent fabric, pretending to work the zipper. “If I go outside, Phó Siêu, you have to give me a copy of your newly released album.”
“Of course.”
He agreed readily.
A moment later, he asked impatiently, “Why aren’t you coming out yet?”
I smiled. “Phó Siêu, you’re an actor. Since when do you release albums?”
13.
As soon as I finished speaking, the shadow outside the tent froze.
Then it grew slender and twisted.
“You found me out…”
It stopped hiding its intentions and clawed furiously at the tent fabric, trying to tear a hole big enough to crawl through.
The production crew clearly hadn’t expected something like this, because the tents they’d provided were very poor quality.
The fabric tore in no time.
The female guests screamed and cried for help.
I yawned. “I get cranky when I’m woken up. You know that?”
“If you’re dead, you won’t be cranky anymore. If you’re dead, you won’t be cranky anymore…” it repeated strangely.
“You’re absolutely right.”
I nodded. “If you die, I won’t be cranky anymore.”
“Phó Siêu”: ?
I said, “Just so you know, you have three seconds to run.”
“Phó Siêu” must have thought I was provoking it, because it tore even harder.
I raised my index finger to my lips and blew gently. “Three, two, one!”
“Go die somewhere else.”
The moment the last word left my lips, “Phó Siêu” suddenly collapsed.
A wisp of blue smoke rose from the top of his head, coiling in on itself and refusing to leave.
“It’s you… you…”
Oh, it recognized me.
This ghost could not only talk, but was also cunning and well-informed.
I clicked my tongue. “That’s right, it’s me. Want me to come out and see you off?”
It immediately “killed itself” on the spot and vanished without a trace.
Before leaving, it even smoothed down the tent fabric it had nearly torn apart.
It was safe outside now. I slowly unzipped the tent.
“Thank goodness you’re all okay!”
Kim So So rushed over at once.
“I drove the ghost away. Don’t be scared!”
Me: ???
Hey, what are you talking about?
14.
Kim So So said she’d heard us screaming and had come to check on us.
To her surprise, she found Phó Siêu possessed by a ghost, standing outside our tent.
She drove the ghost away.
Kim So So smiled reassuringly. “As long as you’re all okay, that’s all that matters. At least all my hard work exorcising it wasn’t in vain…”
“Wait!” I interrupted.
“I’m the one who drove that ghost away.”
“You?” Kim So So frowned at me.
“Trần Tuyết Điềm, did the fright make you stupid? You were hiding in there and hadn’t even seen it. How could you have driven it away?”
Me: “With words, obviously.”
Exorcising a ghost with words—anyone who’s seen it would sing its praises.
But Kim So So just shook her head with a smile. “You really were scared silly. Poor thing.”
The female guests were still frightened. They looked at me uncertainly, then at Kim So So.
“So it was So So…”
A petite model named Đỗ Linh spoke up in a trembling voice.
“Trần Tuyết Điềm, we all saw it. It seems like… you really didn’t do anything.”
“Exactly. She just pretended to say a few things.”
I said helplessly, “That ghost talked to me. Didn’t you hear it? In the end, it even recognized me.”
Kim So So sneered. “Recognized you as a fraud?”
Đỗ Linh said, “It… it might have talked to So So outside, too.”
Me: …
Kim So So laughed. “Trần Tuyết Điềm, you don’t think a few words could scare a ghost away, do you? You still had to rely on me.”
I said, “Kim So So, don’t take your lies too far.”
“Lies?” Kim So So snapped.
“Fine. From now on, I won’t save any of you!”
She really was an actress.
Kim So So pretended to be heartbroken, and her acting was incredibly convincing.
Đỗ Linh panicked at once and blamed me. “Trần Tuyết Điềm, if you don’t want to live, don’t drag the rest of us down with you!”
“That’s right. We’re so grateful to So So this time.”
“Thank you, So So—no, Master Kim.”
“Master Kim, don’t mind Trần Tuyết Điềm. She’s crazy.”
After the argument, the male guests gradually came around, too.
Seeing that Phó Siêu was still unconscious, they all grew worried.
That night, no one could sleep.
Everyone gathered around Kim So So, seeking her protection.
I, meanwhile, was exhausted.
I laid my head on the pillow and fell fast asleep.
Unexpectedly, even as I slept, people still mocked me.
“Trần Tuyết Điềm, how can you sleep?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“It’s this dangerous, and you can still sleep?”
As Kim So So said this, she suddenly drew in a sharp breath.
“Oh, right. Could you have lured those ghosts here?”
“Master Kim, what do you mean?” the guests asked.
“I’ve heard some people have extremely yin bodies and bad luck, making them easy targets for ghosts. Look at Trần Tuyết Điềm. She isn’t afraid at all—that’s not normal. It could be because of her.”
Whether my body was yin or not was unclear, but the guests all agreed I had bad luck.
After all, I had the worst luck of anyone there.
“Oh, I remember now,” Đỗ Linh said.
“Trần Tuyết Điềm talked to the ghost just now. Maybe it really is her!”
Their eyes immediately turned wary as they looked at me.
I said helplessly, “Stop staring.”
“No! You’re dangerous, so we have to keep a close eye on you!” Đỗ Linh said sternly.
I sighed and pointed behind her. “I mean… watch out for yourself. That ghost is about to possess you.”