The fat man's perspective was completely different from everyone else's. The instant he stepped onto the paper bridge, everything before his eyes changed. First, there was darkness, followed by a chilling cold. The sound of a rushing river filled his ears. A wide, extremely long bridge appeared before him, arching upwards with steps that seemed to stretch endlessly.

The bridge had clearly existed for a very long time. Cracks crisscrossed the stone steps, which were also covered in patches of moss. The steps were wide, exuding a sense of historical weight, but also a feeling of oppression.

The bridge was shrouded in a misty haze, reducing visibility to less than five meters. Vague shapes lurked within the mist, concealing unknown things.

At the same time, the color of the lantern he carried changed from a normal orange-yellow to a ghastly green. Carrying such a lantern filled the fat man with a sense of immersion. He even began to wonder if he was already dead and would be reincarnated after crossing this bridge.

The fat man groped his way onto the bridge, his feet treading on the cold stone steps, which seemed to freeze him to the bone. But even more terrifying than this was what was behind him.

"Da."

"Da."

"Da."

…

Footsteps echoed behind him. Every step the fat man took was matched by a step behind him. He didn't dare look back, because he knew it was Gao Yanqing, who was following closely behind him, and whose wronged soul he was tasked with delivering to the underworld.

To distract himself, the fat man curiously gazed around. Aside from the misty bridge, there seemed to be nothing else in this world. There was no light, and the ghostly night sky held neither moon nor stars. The fat man only had the faint light of the paper lantern in his hand.

The light seemed to slightly disperse the mist. Step by step, the fat man remained vigilant. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a pair of legs standing near the edge of the bridge.

"Umbrellas for sale—"

"Umbrellas for sale—"

The fat man shuddered. This was the first human voice he had heard in this world, but it was chillingly cold. Upon closer listening, the volume and tone of each utterance were exactly the same, as if it were not a person, but a cold machine.

As the mist gradually dissipated, a woman appeared before the fat man. She was dressed in red, soaked from head to toe. Her wet, long hair hung down, obscuring most of her face.

If he encountered such a situation in real life, the fat man would have turned and run, but he couldn't now. He remembered the warnings of Tang Qisheng and the others. Having entered this world, he was essentially a dead man and mustn't reveal his true identity.

Another thing: the woman appeared to be right next to the bridge, but the fat man felt that he couldn't avoid her. He had no choice but to brace himself and approach her.

The woman continued to call out, one cry after another. Beside her was a bamboo basket, which was very deep. Only when the fat man got closer did he notice that it was filled with many umbrellas.

They were old, very old oil-paper umbrellas, the kind the fat man had only seen in old movies.

"The bridge is damp and filled with yin energy. Buy an umbrella for protection," the woman said in a monotonous, mechanical voice.

The fat man suppressed his inner fear and tried to appear confident. First, he praised the woman's skill, saying that the oil-paper umbrellas were exquisitely made and beautiful. Then, he tactfully explained that while he liked them, he had no money, so... perhaps they would meet again someday.

"Take one if you like," the woman said again, her voice growing impatient.

The fat man understood that he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed an umbrella from the basket. It was very heavy, made of some unknown material. The umbrella surface was pitch black, and when he touched it, it had a sticky, greasy texture, as if coated with a thick layer of oil.

After thanking the woman, the fat man quickly left. But after taking a few steps, he vaguely heard the woman's voice from the mist behind him, "Umbrellas for sale—Umbrellas for faithless men—A pitiful daughter's life, wasted on a scholar, an umbrella of betrayal, to summon my soul in the next life~"

The voice grew more and more mournful, and with this ethereal song, the fat man realized that the umbrella in his hand was different. At the same time, it began to drizzle.

The rain instantly soaked his clothes, chilling him to the bone, as if pouring directly onto his heart. The fat man suddenly felt an indescribable sadness, as if he were the one abandoned by a faithless lover.

He gradually slowed his pace, several times feeling the urge to plunge off the bridge and drown himself in the river, but he managed to suppress the impulse each time. He wanted to open the umbrella to shield himself from the rain, which was clearly problematic.

But when he raised the umbrella again, the sight before him nearly stopped his heart. The black grease on the umbrella surface was gradually washed away by the rain, revealing the true surface.

The color and texture were clearly that of human skin!

This was a human skin umbrella!

But that wasn't all. The umbrella was tied with long strands of women’s hair, fastened like buttons, and knotted. Now, several fingers were squeezing out from under the tightly closed umbrella. The fingers were covered in scars left by cleaver chops, a shocking sight, and the thick finger joints clearly indicated that they belonged to a man.

The umbrella of betrayal…

Combining this with the woman's lyrics, a bold guess suddenly emerged in the fat man's mind. Had the woman been abandoned by a scholar, then in a rage committed suicide by drowning, transforming into a vengeful ghost who found the faithless man? Had she not only killed him in the most cruel way, but also carefully prepared his corpse, skinning and dismembering him, turning her once beloved man into an umbrella, an umbrella of betrayal, which she then took to the bridge to sell?

Women are terrifying when they become ruthless. Never offend a woman!

The fat man gripped the umbrella tightly, preventing the wronged soul of the faithless man from crawling out. At the same time, he quickened his pace, hurrying across the bridge. He reasoned that if he was fast enough, he could complete his mission before the soul could fully escape. sudanxs.com

But alas, the scene before him quickly shattered his fantasy. Another obstacle appeared in front of him, this time a child with a limp. The child was about five or six years old, with decent looks, a boy. But the smile on his face gave a feeling of extreme hypocrisy, as if he had torn off a fake face and stuck it on his own.

"It's raining, I'm so cold, big brother, will you take me home? Hehe." The boy looked at the fat man with innocent eyes, grabbing the fat man's lapel, but the cunning in his eyes betrayed him.

"Don't be afraid, child. It's raining. Uncle will lend you his umbrella." The fat man stroked the child's head, then eagerly shoved the umbrella of betrayal into the boy's hand.