It wouldn't have been surprising if there were footsteps outside; inevitably, some people would be traveling late at night past this point. What was strange, though, was that these sporadic footsteps paced back and forth just outside the sluice gate shack where I was staying; that was highly suspicious.

Glancing at my phone, it was already past three in the morning, and I wondered who could be walking around out there. Was it some water wraith lingering from the river, or perhaps that white-haired old man’s vengeful spirit trailing me again?

Feeling deeply uneasy, I slowly rose to my feet. The fire in the room had long since died out, leaving only embers occasionally spitting sparks, still offering a faint warmth.

But there was absolutely no light around, only the weak ambient light filtering in from the broken window. I listened intently to the sounds outside, clenching my fists tightly, and crept carefully to the edge of the bed.

Outside was the small path alongside the river I had followed to get here. A small concrete path connected the shack I was in to that main path.

In the distance stretched endless fields, punctuated occasionally by a tree or two at the edge of the farmland, standing as silent as specters lurking in the darkness. I looked left and right; absolutely no one was passing on that small path.

I couldn't fathom what had been walking around earlier. Honestly, if I had seen a vagrant pacing back and forth, it would have been understandable.

It was this complete lack of visual confirmation that made me so suspicious. There were no stars tonight; the sky outside was intensely dark, and a low wind whistled continuously.

The crops in the fields rippled in the breeze, and the small trees swayed from side to side. Occasionally, gusts of wind blew fine raindrops onto my face, the cold touch sending an icy chill through me.

I instinctively pulled my neck down, and seeing nothing suspicious, I concluded I must have imagined the sounds. Just as I was about to turn back to sleep, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from the path.

I looked, and from the left side of the path, a round, dark shadow was rolling, dripping, toward me. At first glance, it startled me, making me think it was some kind of ghost.

Only when it rolled closer did I realize it was just an old, broken basket being blown along by the wind. "Was that what was making those strange noises?" I murmured to myself, then shook my head in resignation.

But just as I prepared to turn back and resume sleeping, a deathly pale face suddenly appeared directly above me. I hadn't seen where the face came from at all!

It just materialized before my eyes, dangling upside down from the eaves of the roof. My heart nearly stopped instantly because the person's soaking wet hair cascaded entirely over my forehead.

That slick, damp sensation, combined with the vacant eyes, nearly made me faint on the spot. Due to the extreme shock to my nerves, I shot up from the ground.

Only then did I realize it had all been a dream. Wiping the cold sweat from my brow, I felt utterly chilled, as if I had just been pulled out of an ice cavern.

It was pitch black before me. The wind outside was much stronger than in the dream, howling relentlessly.

"Why did I have such a strange dream?" I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. "Could it really be that the water ghost is lingering nearby, coming to frighten me in my sleep?" I muttered.

But thinking it over, a sudden clue struck me. Because I was so terrified in the dream, I never dared to look closely at that pale face.

Now, remembering it, how could it be so similar to Zhao Jiajia? My heart sank.

I wondered if (Boss Tong) had already killed Zhao Jiajia, and she was trying to send me a message in my sleep? If Zhao Jiajia was truly dead, it wouldn't be surprising.

That Boss Tong was ruthless and cruel; he likely had countless lives on his hands. If Zhao Jiajia had discovered Boss Tong's life-threatening secret, the possibility of her murder was high.

Moreover, recently, Zhao Jiajia had done several things that greatly displeased Boss Tong: being distant with him, running off with me so casually, and seeking refuge at my place at night—all reasons to anger Boss Tong. Zhao Jiajia was clearly someone from outside Beijing studying here.

Her family wasn't wealthy, and she relied on her looks to play the role of a mistress, following others' examples. This was something she couldn't tell her family about, and perhaps because of this, she had lost many friends and become terribly lonely.

The only person she had contacted recently who might help her was me, which is why she would send me a dream message. Judging by Zhao Jiajia’s state in the dream, she appeared to have drowned.

The thought sparked an idea. Ignoring the strong wind outside, I scrambled out through the window.

I went to the riverbank and shone my phone's flashlight into the water. While doing this, I was terrified of seeing a corpse or anything similar, but the dream's hint compelled me to act.

Shining the light into the river, I actually spotted a suspicious-looking sack floating down from upstream, bulging heavily, seemingly containing something. I quickly started moving along the riverbank, trying to catch the sack.

However, because the grass was too thick, I got my leg tangled halfway through. As the suspicious sack was swept away by the current, I could only watch.

Finally managing to free myself from the weeds, I hurriedly ran along the path, looking for any spot where I could descend to the riverbank and retrieve the sack. Fortunately, the water level at night was much higher than at dusk, so the current was considerably slower, allowing me to quickly overtake the sack.

The sack drifted past the sluice gate shack and continued downstream. I followed the direction of the current.

But after running about a hundred meters forward, I suddenly saw two bright car headlights shining ahead. I couldn't figure out why that car was parked there.

Logically, the road was too narrow for a car to easily navigate in here. Perhaps it was a couple from a nearby settlement seeking privacy for a quickie?

Or maybe they were lost and accidentally drove here. Or possibly drug deals?

Arms trading? Regardless, none of that concerned me; my target was the sack in the river.

But as I passed by the car, I froze. It was a black BMW, and the license plate seemed familiar.

Recalling it carefully, my mind went blank for a second, then thrummed. Because this car—it was Boss Tong's car that drove up to the construction site during the day!

This late at night, what was this old scoundrel doing here? It really is true that enemies always meet; running into him here of all places!

I assumed someone was inside the car, so I stood in front of it for a moment, waiting for the occupants to get out and confront me. Seeing me, Boss Tong certainly wouldn't remain calm; he would surely come looking for trouble.

But after standing there for a while, I didn't see anyone exit the vehicle. Cautiously approaching the car, I peered through the window and saw that it was empty.

A strong gust of wind swept past, sending a shiver down my spine. I knew this couldn't be a dream.

But this made no sense. Boss Tong driving here in the middle of the night was bizarre enough; now the man himself was missing—where could he have gone?

Just as I was thinking this, a muffled human voice drifted from the direction of the riverbank. A man whispered quietly, "Boss Tong is truly brilliant.

If we dump her here, no one will ever find her; nobody ever comes to this spot." Another voice chimed in agreement, "Yeah, but they're taking too long. If this woman wakes up before we drown her, won't she start screaming for help?" The first man's voice replied, "What's there to fear?

Even if she screams, no one will hear her out here. Look at how beautiful this woman is, and her figure is hot—perhaps our brothers should..." Hearing these snippets, a flicker of joy ignited in my heart.

While my guess that Boss Tong intended to kill Zhao Jiajia seemed correct, it appeared he hadn't done the deed yet. He had merely drugged Zhao Jiajia and sent two subordinates in his car to this desolate area to drown the unconscious woman in the river.

Luckily, the person clearly hadn't been dumped in yet, and one of the men was already developing sinister intentions toward Zhao Jiajia—this was the perfect chance for me to intervene and save her. I heard the two men arguing over whether to sexually assault Zhao Jiajia before proceeding, so I casually strolled toward the riverbank.

Looking down, sure enough, two men were standing by the water, carrying a sack, arguing back and forth. They were holding flashlights, so I could see them clearly: one was the long-haired man Boss Tong had brought with him during the day, and the other was Foreman Li.

The long-haired man was always stern, so he was undoubtedly the one advocating for a quick end, while Foreman Li clearly looked like a sleazy middle-aged man, strongly pushing to defile Zhao Jiajia first. While they were hotly debating, I took out my phone, switched on the flashlight function, and with a sharp click, snapped a photo of the pair.

The sudden flash of light made them both realize my presence. Foreman Li clearly hadn't expected to encounter anyone in this desolate wilderness and was mentally unprepared.

His legs buckled, and he sank to the ground, pointing at me and stammering, "You... Who are you!

Are you a... a person...

or a ghost!" Unlike him, a cold glint flashed in the long-haired man's eyes. He set the sack down and began reaching inside his clothes.

A bad feeling washed over me—this guy actually had a gun! I knew instantly that if he managed to pull out the gun, I would surely die here, as I possessed evidence of them disposing of a body; he would certainly kill me to silence me.

So, before he could fully draw his weapon, I took two swift steps forward and launched a flying kick directly toward his face. Unexpectedly, the man stopped reaching for his gun and didn't dodge.

He simply caught both my legs with his hands, spun his wrists, circled me a few times right there, and slammed me hard onto the ground. I thought to myself, this guy's skill is genuinely impressive; I didn't expect Boss Tong to have someone like this around.

For an ordinary person, a fall like that would leave them unable to get up, but my body, hardened by countless trials in ruins and ancient tombs, wasn't going to be incapacitated by a single throw. So, I rolled twice on the ground, scrambled back up, and lunged at him again.

The man reached again toward an inner pocket of his clothes, but I managed to grab his hand. However, just as we were locked in a struggle, that sleazy Foreman Li kicked the sack lying on the ground into the river.

I heard the dull splash of something hitting the water and almost spat up blood from sheer fury.