Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

Cheng Caijun was caught off guard and almost bumped into it, his heart skipping a beat from the sudden stop.

He followed Lu Changsheng's gaze and saw shadowy figures in the water ahead, seemingly no different from other places, still layers upon layers of pale corpses.

Lu Changsheng paused for a moment, seemingly confirming his direction, but just a second later, he swam to the right.

Without hesitation, Cheng Caijun immediately adjusted his direction and followed Lu Changsheng to swim towards the relatively sparse area on the right.

After swimming for about ten meters, the visibility around me became even lower, the water pressure became even greater, and my ears started ringing.

What made Cheng Caijun even more uneasy was that Lu Changsheng seemed to be swimming a little faster ahead.

A flicker of doubt rose in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it. But the next second, a detail he had overlooked pierced his mind like an ice pick—

The Soul-Binding Rope on my wrist hasn't felt a clear pull for a long time!

Previously, even if Lu Changsheng only made a slight adjustment to the direction, he could feel a clear change in the force transmitted through the rope on his wrist.

But ever since they turned to the right, the rope seemed to have become just an ordinary, floating line, loosely connecting the two of them.

Cheng Caijun subconsciously lowered his head, wanting to check the state of the Soul-Binding Rope.

This sight made his blood freeze instantly!

He saw that the Soul-Binding Rope, which should have been firmly tied to his right wrist, incredibly strong, and emitting a faint red light, had broken off!

The break wasn't a clean cut, but rather a jagged, uneven mark, as if it had been corroded and gnawed by something. A small section of the broken rope hung limply, swaying slightly with the current.

The long rope that was originally connected to Lu Changsheng's wrist has long since disappeared!

When did it break?

A wave of panic instantly gripped Cheng Caijun's heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. He abruptly raised his head, looking frantically at the back of "Lu Changsheng" in front of him.

"Brother Lu! The rope! The rope broke!"

He silently cried out in his heart, desperately paddling to catch up.

The person in front of him, "Lu Changsheng," who had been facing away from him, suddenly and abruptly stopped without warning.

Then, with an extremely slow speed, with a kind of inhuman stiffness and eerie rhythm, it began to turn around.

Cheng Caijun froze instantly, gripped by a premonition even colder than the black waters of Ghost Cry Bay.

The first thing that catches the eye is the profile.

The profile of that face still vaguely resembled Lu Changsheng's, but the skin had an abnormal, bluish-gray tint, as if it had been soaked for too long, and was covered with fine, spiderweb-like black lines.

Then, her entire face turned around.

That's not Lu Changsheng!

It was a completely unfamiliar, extremely twisted and rotting ghost face! The flesh on one side of the cheek had rotted through, revealing the pale cheekbone and the dark, gaping gums underneath.

His eyes were sunken, with no pupils inside, only two eerie, burning green phosphorescent flames, which were staring intently at Cheng Caijun, filled with endless resentment, hunger, and a kind of cat-and-mouse mockery.

Its mouth was torn upwards at an angle that no normal person could possibly achieve, stretching all the way to its ears, revealing jagged, charred, and sharp teeth, as if it were laughing silently.

And the object it had previously held in its hand, which Cheng Caijun had mistaken for a glowing soul-binding rope, was now clearly visible—

What kind of rope was that? It was clearly a piece of pale intestine wrapped around its fingers, still throbbing and twitching slightly!

"Heh...heh heh..."

A low, hoarse laugh, like the churning of a broken bellows, pierced through the water and resounded clearly in the depths of Cheng Caijun's mind, carrying with it icy moisture and intense malice.

fake!

This person is fake!

Where is the real Brother Lu?

Boundless fear and utter despair overwhelmed Cheng Caijun in an instant. He turned to run away, but the vengeful ghost's long, sharp, black fingernails were already pressed against Cheng Caijun's neck.

At the critical moment—

"Buzz—!"

A streak of dark light suddenly shot out from the side, striking the water ghost's claw with perfect accuracy!

Immediately afterwards, a figure swiftly grabbed Cheng Caijun by the back of his collar and yanked him backward, pulling the terrified Cheng Caijun away from the ghost's claws.

Cheng Caijun was overjoyed when he saw it; it was actually Lu Changsheng.

He was soaking wet, and his face looked even paler underwater, but his eyes became even more profound.

What really cheered Cheng Caijun up was that Lu Changsheng had somehow acquired a black peach wood sword, only about three feet long, that exuded a chilling aura.

"Brother Lu!"

Cheng Caijun was overjoyed, almost to the point of tears. He was saved! Brother Lu could actually use a peach wood sword!

Lu Changsheng didn't even glance at him, his eyes fixed on the water ghost that had regained its footing and was now roaring angrily. He quickly whispered to Cheng Caijun:

"Come on! Stay close to me!"

As he spoke, he held the peach wood sword in one hand and grabbed Cheng Caijun's arm again with the other, about to swim diagonally downwards with him.

Having survived the ordeal, Cheng Caijun dared not hesitate for a moment and immediately prepared to desperately catch up, using both his hands and feet.

However, just as he turned to look at Lu Changsheng, preparing to paddle with all his might, his gaze inadvertently swept over Lu Changsheng's face and arms...

His movements suddenly froze.

A chill, even colder and more eerie than when the water ghost had targeted him, shot up from his spine to the top of his head!

wrong!

The "Lu Changsheng" in front of me... doesn't have "eye-opening sand" on his eyelids!

Before setting off, Lu Changsheng personally applied the dark green powder to their eyelids, instructing them that it was crucial for underwater vision.

He could still feel the cool, slippery residue and faint scent of mugwort on his own eyelids. But the "Lu Changsheng" who had just saved him had clean eyelids, without any trace of any makeup!

There was also the black peach wood sword in his hand, but Cheng Caijun had never seen Lu Changsheng use it, and Lu Changsheng did not put the peach wood sword in his backpack before he left!

A terrifying thought, like a venomous snake, burrowed into Cheng Caijun's mind:

Could this "Lu Changsheng" in front of me be a fake too?

A tremendous fear gripped Cheng Caijun once again. He could even feel the hand of "Lu Changsheng" gripping his arm, so cold that it had no warmth at all, and the force was so great that it almost crushed his bones!

Cheng Caijun stared intently at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before him. He wanted to struggle, to question, to escape, but his wrist was firmly gripped by "Lu Changsheng"...

Underwater, two "Lu Changsheng"?

Which one is true?

Or... are they both fake?