Chapter 80: Atop the Cherry Blossom Tree

Accompanied by Li Miao’s instructive voice, he walked beneath the cherry blossom tree.

Squatting down, he reached out to touch the rough bark, then picked up his shovel and began digging at the base of the tree.

He unearthed a patch of soil stained with blood.

Everyone in the live-streaming room was stunned by this scene.

[Bro, are you so enchanted by the cherry blossom tree you want to take it home?]
[If you don’t like something, just tear it down—awesome.]
[Who knew this guy was so ruthless!]
[Sadako: What are you doing?]
[Sadako: Where did this lunatic come from?]
[I’m crying.]
[I’m trembling.]
Li Miao dug for a while and explained to everyone, “Blood keeps seeping from beneath these two cherry blossom trees. I think there must be something down here.”

“I suspect it might be connected to the well in the movie.” He spoke with conviction.

The blood-soaked earth soon piled into a small hill.

The bloody water had already reached Li Miao’s knees.

The courtyard was eerily silent.

Just as he felt his shovel hit something strange and was about to reach in with his hand, a sudden shriek erupted behind him.

The sound was so loud it hurt his eardrums.

He felt something slippery and cold crawling up his back.

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered overhead.

The atmosphere grew gloomy and chilling.

The phone he used for streaming flickered; a pale hand suddenly reached out from the screen, grasping at Li Miao’s neck.

Li Miao frowned slightly.

The sensation behind him made him uncomfortable.

As for the hand…

He pushed the selfie stick forward a bit.

The hand, which had almost reached him, was suddenly pulled dozens of centimeters away.

Its owner seemed startled, paused briefly, then continued reaching forward.

The hand was long.

He pushed the selfie stick forward again, and the pale, bluish hand still inched closer toward him.

“Rubber man?” Li Miao blinked.

He suddenly yanked the selfie stick back toward his chest and grabbed the hand.

It was icy cold, devoid of any warmth.

Like a sculpture of ice.

He shivered.

From the cold.

The thing on his back had already climbed onto his shoulder.

Li Miao reached out and slapped his own backside.

Smack!

The slippery feeling vanished instantly.

Even the ghostly hand he held disappeared without a trace.

The phone screen blinked, and the live-stream returned to normal.

[Why did it suddenly go dark?]
[Bro, did you find anything?]
[Isn’t Big Brave Brother being controlled by Sadako now?]
[Big Brave Brother, blink if you can see the comments.]
“There was a little accident just now,” Li Miao laughed. “Sadako took control of the phone, a hand reached out from it, but somehow it disappeared again.”

“I’ll keep digging,” he said.

He picked up the shovel and continued loosening the soil around the cherry tree.

The shovel soon struck something hard.

Li Miao reached in to feel it.

Before his hand touched it, he suddenly felt a chilling aura from behind.

“You really are brave,” a cold voice sounded in his ear.

Li Miao spun around.

Under the gloomy sky, amid a ground soaked with blood, a ghostly woman in white stood before him.

She bowed her head, her black hair obscuring her face, making her appear grotesquely terrifying.

Sadako!

Li Miao said nothing, meeting Sadako’s gaze.

Sadako’s feet did not move, but her body crept forward, inch by inch.

They were less than a meter apart; Li Miao could even smell the decaying odor wafting from her. Suddenly, he tossed aside the selfie stick, lunged forward, and hugged Sadako.

This unexpected move startled Sadako.

Her ghostly body seemed to stiffen.

A couple of days ago, someone else had done the same thing.

And that person…

Li Miao reached out and brushed aside Sadako’s hair, revealing a bluish face.

Blood streamed from her eyes, and her lips curled into a chilling smile.

“The features are well-matched. With a talented mortician and a refined makeup job, you’d be a million-follower influencer,” Li Miao commented softly.

Sadako’s smile grew darker.

If this guy dared to bite her like the last one, she swore she’d use everything in her power to destroy him.

What reassured her a little was that this skinny man seemed more gentlemanly.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Miao,” he said with a smile.

Seeing Sadako’s lips move, Li Miao, with lightning speed, performed a monkey-plucking-peach move!

Got it!

“Just as I thought!” he exclaimed with delight.

Sadako froze, then flew into a rage.

Her hands clawed at him ferociously, accompanied by a terrifying, piercing scream.

The viewers in the live-stream couldn’t see what was happening, but the sound sent chills down their spines.

[Whoa, why is Sadako screaming so horribly?]
[I’m going to have nightmares tonight.]
[So this is what a ghost’s scream sounds like?]
[Mom, I’m scared.]
[Come to daddy’s arms.]
[What did Big Brave Brother do to drive Sadako to this?]
[Let’s ask him later. I bet he’ll pass the challenge.]
[If he can’t, then no one can.]
[Rain Thief is such a coward.]
[Rain Thief, courting death live.]
…

About three minutes later, the viewers noticed the stream brightened.

Li Miao’s ordinary face appeared once more before them.

Behind Li Miao, cherry blossoms bloomed, picturesque and radiant.

The blood on the ground had vanished, and even the pit he dug was gone.

The sky was clear.

It was as if this place had been transformed from a gloomy hell to a paradise out of poetry and painting.

“Sadako has left. I wanted her to greet everyone,” Li Miao said regretfully.

When viewers asked what had happened, Li Miao only smiled mysteriously: “Just verified a few things, nothing much.”

He couldn’t possibly reveal that Sadako was a ghost of both worlds.

Back when he was writing his novel, he watched countless horror films, including the novel version of “The Ring,” and learned what was recorded in the book.

He had always wondered whether Sadako’s origin referenced the movie or the novel.

Now…

“Some scheming folks are doomed.”

He suddenly recalled the strange-faced man from Liang Xiaoyu’s live stream and his odd words.

Could it be that man had already discovered the truth?

How did he find out?

…

The viewers originally wanted to keep asking what happened, but when Li Miao turned the camera to the cherry tree, their attention shifted.

[What’s on the tree?]
[It’s glowing!]
[Big Brave Brother, go check it out.]
…

Li Miao approached with a smile.

On the two trees, clusters of white glowing orbs hung.

As he drew near, he focused the camera on the orbs.

The viewers saw a QR code carved on a leaf next to the glowing orb.

“This should be the ultimate reward,” Li Miao laughed.

He took out his personal phone and sent a message to his contact in the Security Department.

Soon, his bank card chimed with a deposit notification.

Two point three billion!

A sum he could only dream of.

End.