Chapter 17
Before the boy could react, the fatty turned and left. The next second, the hair tied to the umbrella could no longer hold on and snapped. An arm, scarred and slashed by knives, suddenly stretched out from the umbrella and plunged fiercely into the boy's mouth, widened in fear.

Listening to the horrifying sound of internal organs being churned behind him, the fatty didn't dare look back. He just quickened his pace, thinking that it was only because he had encountered it, that he had good character and hadn't done anything ungrateful. If it had been a doctor, there would probably be another new umbrella in the bamboo basket.

Continuing to walk along the bridge towards higher ground, the higher he went, the heavier the icy chill became. The fatty wrapped his clothes tighter, but they were already soaked through. The cold wind made him shiver.

The bridge was shrouded in fog. For safety reasons and out of habit, the fatty chose to walk on the right side. Both sides of the bridge had railings, made of a different material than the bridge, black and gleaming with a strange luster in the gloomy green light of the lanterns.

The sound of water came from under the bridge. One could imagine that beneath him was a very wide river with a turbulent current, and legend had it that this river was filled with residual limbs and pus. Even if a soul stepped into it, it would never float back up.

The fatty was full of curiosity about this river that only existed in legends. He really wanted to lean over the bridge and take a look, but reason stopped him. It would only create trouble out of thin air.

A glance out of the corner of his eye suddenly made the fatty's eyes widen, and his pupils slowly contracted. He saw a pair of feet on the railing, a pair of very large bare feet, not standing on the railing, but hooked on it with the backs of the feet, hanging upside down under the bridge like a bat.

Of course, with Gao Yanqing's example, the fatty suspected that it might just be a pair of severed legs.

But reality quickly shattered his imagination. He saw the pair of feet move, moving in a way that ordinary people couldn't understand. Finally, a dry body flipped up from under the bridge.

This person was tattered, with sparse hair, and looked as if all the moisture had been sucked out of him. His skin was chapped, and through the cracks, one could see the dry, white flesh inside.

"Water, give me... give me water! Water!"

The person, shaped like a dried corpse, opened his mouth wide and roared at the fatty, his voice rough like countless grains of sand rubbing together.

The fatty remembered a story he had heard a long time ago, that some people who liked to gossip and spread rumors could not enter reincarnation after death. Their souls could only stay on the Naihe Bridge (Bridge of Helplessness), unable to drink a single mouthful of the water below, forced to watch, which was a punishment for their sins of the tongue in life.

"Water! Give me water!"

The dried corpse roared at the fatty with all his might, and at the same time, took steps to approach him.

Looking at the other party's hungry eyes, the fatty suspected that if he couldn't get water, the dried corpse would tear him apart and drink his blood.

But where could he find water for him to drink?

This was so far above the water surface below the bridge. If he wanted to find water, he would have to jump down.

Just as the fatty was thinking about how to escape, another figure appeared in the mist not far away, an old woman with her head lowered.

What made the fatty's eyes light up was that there was a copper basin placed in front of the old woman's feet.

"Don't worry, I'll go ask the old woman."

The fatty turned and walked towards the old woman, who was wearing a green embroidered funeral gown, with her head lowered, and her white hair hanging down, completely covering her face.

As he approached, the fatty was pleasantly surprised to find that the copper basin was faintly glowing, and there was water in the basin!

"Old woman, can you spare some of the water in your basin for me?"

After a long while, the fatty heard a slow reply, with a slightly crying sound mixed in with the heavy voice, "Yes, but you have to do me a favor first."

At this time, the fatty had already walked up to the old woman. He had determined that there was water in the copper basin, and the water was very clear. Through the calm water surface, he could see the old woman's wrinkled face reflected.

The old woman seemed to be in extreme pain, her twisted mouth opening and closing, but the words she said next made the fatty's blood run cold. "This old woman accidentally dropped her face in the water while washing it, so I'll have to trouble you to help me pick it up."

At the same time, the old woman tremblingly raised her head, and behind her white hair was a bloody face.

Judging from the exposed flesh, the entire face looked as if it had been carefully torn off bit by bit, with flesh and pale bones exposed. The fatty didn't run away or scream because he was calm, but purely because he was so frightened that he hadn't reacted yet.

The face in the water suddenly moved, its mouth grinning, making a creepy laugh, the sound extremely shrill, "Quickly pick up my face! Pick up my face from the water!"

The moon in the mirror and the flowers in the water are all ethereal things. With the vibration, ripples appeared on the water surface, and the old woman's face in the water became more and more illusory.

It was impossible to pick up the face from the water, and the fatty was sure that the moment he put his hand into the water, he would be attacked by the ghost face in the water. The old woman looked weak, but the teeth of the ghost face in the water were very neat and sharp.

But under the old woman's pressure, the fatty still had to bend down and make a gesture of reaching out to pick up the face, while the ghost face in the water kept warning, "Hurry up! Move faster! Don't try to be clever with me. This old woman has crossed more bridges than you have walked roads!"

Suddenly, the fatty seemed to notice something and suddenly raised his head to look behind the old woman, "Who?!"

The old woman's body quickly turned around, and then she raised her hands, revealing black and sharp nails.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the fatty picked up the basin and ran, shouting towards the dry ghost, "Come and get me! I found water for you to drink!"

The ghost face in the water then reacted and immediately cursed at the fatty, who got annoyed and spat fiercely into the basin.

Rapid footsteps came from behind, and the fatty had no doubt that if he was caught, he would definitely not escape death today.

The fatty's body dodged to the left without warning. The next second, a sharp claw directly grabbed at the position where he had just been, so fast that it almost created an afterimage.

At the critical moment, the dried ghost also arrived, and without saying a word, picked up the basin and drained it. The water swirled in the air and was sucked into the dried ghost's throat, along with the old woman's ghost face.

A piercing scream came from the dried ghost's throat. When the fatty looked back, the old woman's body, which had been chasing after him, had turned into a twisted mass of flesh and blood, staggering and rolling towards the edge of the bridge, falling headfirst.

After a long time, he heard a muffled sound of falling into the water from under the bridge.

The dried ghost standing in front of the fatty regained some moisture, then walked back to the edge of the bridge and continued to hang upside down on the railing.