The sky, the color of a blazing sunset, began to shed blood-rain. If you ever wondered what a "bloodbath" truly meant, you were witnessing it now. The moment I arrived at the funeral home, the smell of rendered corpse oil had nearly made me vomit; now, with this rain falling on my skin, I felt nothing at all. I suspected the sights and sounds along the way had simply numbed my senses entirely.

At first, the droplets fell large, like spilled beads. Soon after, they were pearls broken from a string, and then, finally, it became a torrential downpour. The crimson lake gradually began to churn with rising waves. Following Hou Dayong’s peculiar theory, this spectacle unfolding before us might just be the essence and blood of the departed merging into the Lake of the Dead Souls.

Wang Jue and I stood in the downpour, soaked through like drowned chickens. Spain hosts a Tomato Festival every last Wednesday in August—the La Tomatina—where pedestrians are constantly ambushed by tomatoes flying from all directions, often leaving participants completely drenched in red. If one could just ignore the metallic, coppery tang of the rain, our current state would be indistinguishable from those returning from the festival. I mentally substituted the viscous fluid coating me for tomato pulp; that’s the subtle genius of the "Ah Q spiritual victory method."

Wang Jue quipped, "Well, we’re already washed, jumping in makes little difference; we’re covered in blood either way."

Right, go with the flow. Wang Jue and I exchanged a look, and together we plunged into the heaving expanse of scarlet water.

Beneath the surface was a world distinct from what we saw above. I had assumed swimming in this pool of blood would mean near-zero visibility. It turned out things weren't quite as we imagined. From the shore, the blood-lake looked thick and foul. Once submerged, however, the interior was surprisingly clear. Opening my eyes, the surrounding scenery was distinct, not much different from a regular lake. The only anomaly was that we dove down over ten meters and felt absolutely no sensation of oxygen deprivation; it seemed breathing wasn't necessary here.

The lakebed boasted mountains and stones, thick with aquatic vegetation. Schools of small fish darted between the rocks, most only the size of my hand—none of the monstrous, man-swallowing beasts Hou Dayong had warned us about.

Hou Dayong was waiting for us, perched on a boulder at the bottom. Just as Wang Jue and I started swimming toward him, a mermaid suddenly flashed into view. She had large eyes, dark hair, small lips, delicate brows, and a satiny waist that transitioned into sleek scales starting at her hips, streamlining down into a powerful tail. She watched us with curiosity, occasionally flicking her tail as she swam circles around us. Every so often, she’d playfully poke Wang Jue or me on the back with a finger. When we turned to look, she’d dart away, repeating the game as if playing hide-and-seek. Wang Jue was utterly delighted by her antics; he began chasing her, completely forgetting about Hou Dayong and me. After a while, the mermaid beckoned him, and Wang Jue, obediently, swam after her, ignoring my attempts to stop him, drifting further and further away.

Watching Wang Jue's receding silhouette, a sudden anxiety gripped me; I couldn't understand what had gotten into him. I made countless frantic gestures toward Hou Dayong, but he seemed not to notice. With no other choice, I swam up to him and discovered he had slumped over on the rock, fast asleep. I shook him awake, pointed toward the receding figures of Wang Jue and the mermaid. Hou Dayong jolted off the stone, grabbed a trident he’d retrieved from the base of the rock, and swam off in pursuit of Wang Jue and the mermaid.

Seeing Hou Dayong approaching with the trident, the mermaid showed a flash of panic, speeding up and leading Wang Jue toward the deeper heart of the lake. I followed behind them, kicking my limbs desperately, and noticed the schools of fish around us were growing denser, their sizes significantly larger than before, some even displaying jagged teeth.