156 Uncanny

 

Frost came from his finger tip and it seeped into his body before slowly freezing his mind. He lowered his head and the dark mouth of the can started to yawn. The water at the bottom of the can rippled as a pale human face surfaced. The face hid at the bottom of the can. It looked at Han Fei expressionlessly as its facial features started to change. “What is it that you want? What do you desire?”

A strange voice came from a far and then echoed inside Han Fei’s heart. He refused to answer but he found his lips moving. The human face inside the water took on a more defined feature as the voice listed out some common human desires like beauty, money, fame. Han Fei did not react to any of these things. But when the human face uttered the word, truth, Han Fei could feel his spirit being drawn towards the water. He raised his hands to grab at something but there was only himself in the darkness.

“You desire the truth?” Han Fei felt enveloped by a chill. The room fell away. Instead Han Fei found himself falling down a dark hole, his mind tumbling into an icy cold pond. He could feel the oxygen drying out in his lungs. Despite struggling hard, he continued to sink. Han Fei lifted his head and the face which was previously floating on the surface of the water was now looking down at him who was underwater. It was still staring at Han Fei but the facial feature was becoming more like Han Fei’s.

The lips moved as if wanting to tell Han Fei something. However, it only managed to utter one word when a ghastly wound split across the human face. At that moment, Han Fei’s consciousness cleared for a second. He lowered his head to look deeper into the water. Many people were sunken down there. They were like mannequins without soul. They were piled on top of each other, their hairs flowing with the current. There was no light in their eyes. Han Fei’s body continued to submerge. Han Fei tried to swim upwards but his limbs felt leaden.

Pain, suffocation, lethargy, his mind started to slow down. If Han Fei was to close his eyes and give up the struggle, he’d be released from all these torments. There were voices in the pond welcoming Han Fei. The pale hands reached out towards him. They were like humanity’s endless desire. They closed around Han Fei and refused to let go. His lungs were burning and his head spinning. His limbs were going numb. But even in that state, Han Fei refused to succumb. He needed to survive!

Using the last bit of consciousness, Han Fei tried to open the menu. Since he was in an unusual mental state, other than the two talents, Spirit Farer and Resurrection, everything else was greyed out. Just to do something, Han Fei attempted to use Spirit Farer inside the can but before he could trigger it, the human face on the surface of the water suddenly grimaced in pain. The human face inside the can had to satisfy its victims’ desire before it could trap their souls. Han Fei’s desire though was very special, it was an adamant yearning for truth.

To satisfy Han Fei’s desire, the human face appeared to have spoken the name of an Unmentionable. More cracks appeared on its face. The human face finally decided to abandon its own rules. Without giving the truth to Han Fei, it controlled the bodies at the bottom of the pond and used them to drag Han Fei down. The moment the human face in the can violated its own rules, the lull over Han Fei’s mind slowly loosened. The shackles over him gradually weakened. Gritting his teeth, Han Fei made for the surface!

When his fingers broke through the surface, a strand of blackness immediately curled around his arm and yanked him out from the water!

Ping! A spidery splinter appeared on the black can. Life returned to the eyes of the man who stood beside the table. Han Fei’s back was cold. His upper body was tightly wrapped together by Xu Qin’s pet while the other half of the snake was extended into the can. ‘That was too dangerous!’ Han Fei’s body was still shaking from the cold. If his desire was not the truth but something else, he wouldn’t even have the chance to resist. He remembered that just as he was about to yield, a wound appeared on the human face. It was due to the damage to the human face that Han Fei managed to regain his consciousness. There were not many who desired truth and even less when that truth involved an Unmentionable.

The human face in the can was scammed and accidentally incurred the wrath of an Unmentionable.

Han Fei pulled Xu Qin’s pet out from the can. To Han Fei’s surprise, the shadow drew out a string of old paper notes with it. The notes contained many wishes like I hope xx will love me, let me place number 1 in class, I don’t want to fail, I need xxx to die. Wrapped within the layer of notes, there was a small piece of bone.

“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve completed Grade G Hidden Mission—The Can. Obtained 1 free skill point and special reward, The Can of Wishes.

“The Can of Wishes (Grade G Cursed Item): There is a can buried at the school garden. According to legend, if you whisper your desire into the can, your wish will come true. It was a female student who started this legend. She said she used to despise her younger brother. One day, she shared her wish with the can and the next day her little brother disappeared.

“You’ve completed the challenge of 1 tales of horrors at the school. Completion rate of Jin Sheng’s Tales of Horror: 1/7.”

After combining the object description and the items he had found, Han Fei believed the girl probably had murdered her younger brother and stuffed part of his body into the can. It was not the can that fulfilled her wish, the so-called Can of Wishes was merely an excuse to hide her malice. ‘This can is essentially someone’s grave.’ Han Fei frowned as he studied the can. The shadow though stuffed itself on the negative energy on the notes. The creature never seemed to be picky with its food.

“Sir, are you alright?” Zhang Guanxing asked nervously as he used the broom to poke the back of Han Fei’s waist.

“My consciousness was sucked into the earlier but I’m fine now.”

“Then did you see my friend inside the can?”

“I’m afraid that your friend has been consumed by the can.” Han Fei picked up the lid and closed the black can. In a way, this Can of Wishes could be turned into a good weapon.