Stolen

Shui gui. Literal translation, water ghost. They are the spirits of people who drowned.

My first encounter of the supernatural was with one of these water ghosts. Long story short, I helped that ghost complete her last dreams on Earth and in return she gave me a reason to follow my own dreams. Sounds pretty romantic, doesn't it? However shortly after, that ghost disappeared right in front of me without finishing her last sentence. You could say that she... ghosted me! Pftt!

Sigh...

However do not be misled by that story. My experience was an exception. It is only now, I truly realize how special she was. Special not only for being able to fight her urge to possess me but for also being able to move on to the afterlife.

Most water ghosts lurk in the place of their death, waiting to drown any unsuspecting person, in order to possess them. Rather it is a Shui gui's nature to seek out and drown the living in order to obtain living bodies, while their victims take their place and become new Shui gui.

This process is called tì shēn which translates to 'replace the body'.

This information on Shui gui, is incredibly important because approximately 3 days ago, I discovered that the river of my hometown was filled with Shui gui, numbering at least a dozen or more. In other words, the danger was off the charts for anyone strayed too far into the river. I'm not the tallest guy out there but even on dry days, the river could reach up to my chin. Luckily it is always summer here but it is also very humid. When it rains, the river increases around a few inches in height, the currents become deadly fast and someone could easily be dragged under. Add Shui gui's to the mix and you have a lot of potential trouble brewing.

And that is why I wish to prevent anything from happening to the towns folk. How? I'll use my position as the friendly neighbourhood painter to achieve that. Since I'm allowed to sit in on town council meetings, that means my words have at least a minor influence on their decisions. At the very least, I hope they'll decide to fence off the deepest areas of the river.

And so I'm currently being given a ride home by Amelia Airhead, my savior. After confirming my status as a living human and not a shui gui, she has gotten even more talkative than before. I speak like that but I don't hate it or anything. Rather, having a fellow punster who knows about the supernatural as well, is kind of fun.

Why don't I ask her to help exorcise the Shui gui? I did. But her grandfather adamantly refused. Going to exorcise an unknown number of Shui gui within their territory, the river where movement is limited, is suicide, he said.

It's true and I realized beforehand how irresponsible of a request I made. But I had to try.

Amelia seemed to get frustrated when her grandfather turned down my request, but she didn't pursue the matter. She truly is kind, willing to risk her life again to help. She was gambling with the probability that I might have been a Shui gui when she helped me the first time too. Does she not fear death?

I myself regret requesting something dangerous of them so I was actually relieved when he declined. I can't put my saviors' lives at risk again to protect the townsfolk. Call me self-centered but accumulating debts you can't repay to help people you don't even know that well, just because you feel some sort of responsibility, is foolish. Not to mention, requesting to put my saviors' lives at risk once again, is to me at least, a selfish thing of me to ask. Or if I were to start speaking in a more emotional manner, to me at the present time, Amelia and gramp's safety outweighs the safety of my townsfolk.

"... hellooooo? Anyone in there, Fish?"

Inadvertently, I had been ignoring Amelia while deep within my own monologue.

"Oh my bad. I was just thinking to myself."

"Miss many of my fish puns, you did!"

Yoda?

"I can't believe you would ignore me, your savior."

She lets out an exasperated sigh.

Yes, I know you're my savior. I remind myself of that everyday.

"So what did I miss?"

"Well you didn't miss that many puns actually. I just wanted to say your name."

"Umm okay."

Do normal people just get an inexplicable urge to call other people's names at random? Or is this one of her quirks? I can't tell.

We arrive at our destination.

"So you're really going back to your town now?"

"Yeah, it is my home after all."

"Be careful, Fish."

"Hmm? Oh yeah I definitely won't be going near the river anymore hahaha."

"That's not what I meant..."

She didn't further expand on what she said and clammed up.

I was bit worried about the implications of what she said but I didn't pressure her to answer. If she feels like saying it, she will and if she doesn't, I don't intend on making her uncomfortable. I trust that she will eventually open up when the time is right.

We arrive at the gates of the town.

"Kay, bye Amelia."

"Listen up, Fish I have something I need to tell you."

"Hmm? Go ahead, shoot."

"I want you to stay with me. I don't want you to stay here in this town."

"A confession from the great Amelia herself? I'm honored."

"No! That's not what I meant!"

Hahaha she's acting like a real life tsundere! But she looks genuinely upset. Was that not our usual banter? Was it an actual confession and I just crushed her feelings? I should reassure her.

"It's not as if this goodbyes forever, Amelia. We can hang out sometime after I'm done with what I plan to do. I'll properly respond to you then."

"Go die for all I care, you idiot!"

Red in the face, she storms into her car and speeds off, foot on the gas the whole time.

Wow, Amelia was a tsundere this whole time. That makes me really happy for some reason. But maybe I shouldn't have pushed it that far, those were actual tears.

Seeing the normally tough, obnoxious Amelia cry like that was unsettling.

Maybe it's because of that I felt a sense of foreboding as I stepped back into my home town.

I did make sure to call my parents so they wouldn't be worried about me. I lied and said I was at a friend's place in the next town.

Today's Tuesday. The day for the town council to convene and talk over tea about what their granddaughter made for art class- Wait no, I meant that Tuesday is the day the town council convenes to talk about serious matters regarding their town.

I had a seat prepared for me there as well. A handmade wood chair by one of the gramps at the council who used to be a carpenter. They treated me like I was one of their own children- I mean a fellow dignified member of the council.

So... I was going to be bringing up something serious today. I hope they didn't mind.

"... and that's why I feel we should fence up the river."

...The atmosphere was a bit weird today. The normally cheerful old folk who treated me so well, were looking at me as if I commited a grave sin.

"How about we talk about this some other time, dear?"

Were they trying to avoid the matter? What was wrong? I didn't make any invalid points, did I? Or is this because I was viewed as too young and my word really didn't mean that much?

"But the river is dangerous, I fell in it myself. Don't you see the cast?"

That was when I felt it, the hostility emanating from them. It felt similar to the hostility generated by the supernatural monster that pursued me but this hostility most closely resembled... the Shui gui's hate.

"You fell in the river, you say? Will you not let this matter slide, Zhang Shun?"

My eyes began to flicker again, with black spots appearing and disappearing in my field of vision. My stress was triggering it.

"No, I won't."

I must have been mistaken. There's nothing supernatural nearby, it's just a bad vibe.

That was the last thing I thought as I was knocked unconscious.