Yin Yang Diviner

In the early summer in the north, the weather can change in an instant.

The day before, the sky was clear and blue, but in the middle of the night, a light spring rain began to fall.

The rain was light but persistent, pattering on the black tiles of the old house, making a pattering sound, and dripping down the eaves, forming a fine curtain of rain that wove a hazy mist in the courtyard.

I hadn't slept well all night, and the sound of the rain made me even more drowsy, half-asleep and half-awake.

The side room was even colder, the blankets felt like they were soaked in water, icy cold. I huddled under the covers, only my head sticking out, my eyelids felt as heavy as lead, my consciousness torn between wakefulness and sleep, but in the end I couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.

I had a dream.

A dream that was both incredibly real and incredibly bizarre.

In my dream, I was still in my second grandfather's old house, but the house had changed. Gone was the old and worn-out house of the day, gone was the smoke from the incense table. In its place was an antique pavilion, with carved beams and painted rafters, vermilion doors and windows, and the air was filled with a faint scent of rouge, mixed with the dampness of the rain, so sweet that it made me dizzy.

I stood in the courtyard of the attic. The spring rain was still falling, wetting my hair and clothes, but I didn't feel cold. Instead, I felt light and airy, as if I were walking on clouds.

The courtyard was filled with crabapple blossoms, in full bloom. The pink and white petals, beaten down by the rain, carpeted the ground like a soft rug. In the center of the courtyard stood a woman.

A woman whose beauty is breathtaking.

She wore a light green cheongsam that accentuated her shapely figure. Her long hair was styled into an elegant updo, adorned with a jade hairpin. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows were curved, her lips were red and her teeth were white. A gentle smile played on her lips as she quietly looked at me.

Her beauty was the kind that was utterly captivating; every smile and gesture was mesmerizing, making it impossible to look away. I had never seen such a beautiful woman in my entire life; I was so mesmerized that I forgot to breathe.

She walked towards me, her steps light and graceful, like a feather landing on a crabapple petal without making a sound. The rain soaked the hem of her cheongsam, but it did not diminish her beauty in the slightest; instead, it added a touch of pitiful charm.

"Young master," she said, her voice soft and sweet like cotton candy, "you've finally come."

I was taken aback for a moment, and instinctively asked, "You know me?"

I'm sure I've never seen her, neither in reality nor in my dreams.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and gently touched my cheek. Her hand was icy cold, like a block of ice, and its touch on my skin made me shiver involuntarily, yet I couldn't bear to pull away.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Her voice was so gentle it could melt your heart. "Come with me, okay?"

Her fingertips gently traced my cheek, carrying a strange allure that left my mind blank, filled only with her gentle voice and stunning beauty. I was completely unprepared, even feeling an urge to follow her immediately, no matter where she was taking me.

I nodded almost unconsciously: "Okay."

She laughed even harder, took my hand, and led me into the attic. Her hand was cold, yet soft. I was led by her, step by step, up the wooden stairs of the attic. The stairs creaked, their sound particularly clear in the quiet, rainy night.

There were no lights in the attic, but a hazy light emanated from it. The light was dim, and the furnishings inside were not clearly visible. All that could be smelled was the increasingly strong scent of rouge, so sweet that it was suffocating.

She pulled me to the edge of a bed, gently pushed me to sit down, then leaned down, brought her breath close to my ear, and said in a soft, seductive voice, "Young master, come closer, I have something to tell you."

I instinctively leaned forward, my nose almost touching her cheek.

Just then, the gentle smile on her face suddenly disappeared.

It was as fast as an illusion.

Before I could react, I saw her stunningly beautiful face wither and rot at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Her fair skin turned ashen and withered, covered with wrinkles and dark spots. Her once moist red lips turned purplish-black, dry and cracked. Her once bright almond-shaped eyes instantly sunken into two dark holes, with no whites or pupils, only endless darkness.

The jade hairpin in her hair fell off, and her long hair fell down, dry and yellow, like a clump of withered grass. Her light green cheongsam instantly became tattered and worn, covered with mud and dark red stains, emitting a putrid smell that overpowered the original fragrance of rouge.

The woman who was just a moment ago was beautiful and charming, but in the blink of an eye, she turned into a hideous and terrifying skeleton!

Only that tattered cheongsam remained, hanging on the withered bones, swaying gently in the wind.

"ah--!"

I was so terrified that I let out a piercing scream and tried to back away, but I tripped over the edge of the bed and fell heavily to the ground.

The skeleton stood before me, its empty eye sockets staring intently at me. Its bony hand reached out towards me, its nails sharp and long, as black as ink, exuding a chilling aura.

"Young master... don't go..."

Her voice had lost its gentleness, becoming hoarse and grating, like a broken gong, each word carrying a stench of decay, "Stay with me...stay with me..."

I was so terrified that my whole body convulsed, my limbs went weak, and I couldn't get up at all. I could only watch helplessly as that withered hand got closer and closer, and it was about to grab my neck.

Boundless fear overwhelmed me like a tidal wave. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out; I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. I could only let that chilling aura completely envelop me.

I could feel the coldness of those withered hands clinging to my skin, freezing me stiff all over.

I'm dying!

I'm going to be taken away by this skeleton ghost!

The moment that thought popped into my head, I suddenly opened my eyes.

Outside the window, the spring rain was still falling softly, pattering on the eaves.

I lay on the wooden bed in the side room, drenched in sweat. My clothes and blankets were soaked through and stuck to my body, making me extremely uncomfortable. My heart was pounding wildly, as if it would burst out of my chest. I was breathing rapidly, gasping for air, and my throat was so dry and painful.

It was just a dream.

It was just a nightmare.

I propped myself up and sat up against the headboard, panting heavily. My back was soaked with cold sweat, icy and bone-chilling. The face that instantly rotted in my dream, the hideous skull, and the hoarse, grating voice were still vividly imprinted in my mind, refusing to leave.

That's so true.

It felt so real that I can still feel the coldness of that withered hand, so real that I can still smell the stench of decay, so real that I thought I was really going to die in my dream.

I wiped the cold sweat from my face; my hands were trembling slightly.

I've had countless nightmares since I was a child, but none of them have ever been as terrifying, as real, or as despairing as this one.

I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself down.

It was just a nightmare. What you think about during the day, you dream about at night. I must have been too scared in the old house this afternoon, that's why I had this strange dream. It has nothing to do with demons or monsters, nothing to do with the house; I was just scaring myself.

I tried to reassure myself over and over again, but the panic in my heart did not lessen at all.

I glanced instinctively at the foot of the bed, and that one glance made my blood freeze instantly.

There was a string of water stains on the floor at the foot of the bed.

The water stretched from the doorway of the side room all the way to my bedside, damp and shimmering faintly in the dim light.

As for me, I was clearly lying in bed, I didn't get out of bed at all, and my shoes were neatly placed next to the bed, without getting wet.

Where did this string of water stains come from?