INSIDER Chapter 39

These were Lin Lin’s memories, naturally viewed entirely from her perspective, ending at the moment of her death. Throughout this process, there was indeed no appearance of “Liu Cuihe.”

Liu Cuihe, who had been controlled and followed the group with vacant eyes, now had snot and tears streaming down her face. She wanted to shake her head, to move, but she couldn’t do anything.

At this moment, Lin Lin’s corpse in the illusion started to decay, the once vibrant skin now shriveled as if it had crawled out from hell. Her hair was disheveled, her body twisted, her face unrecognizable, emitting a choking stench as she slowly approached Liu Cuihe.

Liu Cuihe trembled all over but was fixed in place by an unknown force, unable to move. She could only watch as Lin Lin’s rotten corpse crawled up her plump body.

Lin Lin’s half-rotten face, covered by her wild hair, stared directly at Liu Cuihe, and she spoke, “That person… was you.”

Liu Cuihe was so scared she wet herself, mumbling, “No… no…”

The scene shifted, showing the moment of Guo Jianping’s death, with snakes and fresh blood all around, overwhelming Liu Cuihe. Next, the scenes of the village chief and the other people’s deaths appeared before them, snakes crawling out of their mouths with the stench of blood, slowly slithering to Liu Cuihe’s feet.

One… two… three… until a small mound was formed, the snakes intertwining and writhing, accompanied by the loud hissing noise.

Liu Cuihe’s eyes had already rolled back, but she was fully conscious, unable to faint, only hearing the sound of snakes writhing around her legs.

“They’re all dead,” Lin Lin’s voice was eerie, “I killed them.”

Her voice was exceptionally hoarse, as if she had gravel in her throat: “Let me into your memory, and I’ll spare you.”

Liu Cuihe was completely terrified and could only blink frantically in response: “Yes! Yes! Let me go! Let me go!! It wasn’t me, it was Guo Jianping! It was all Guo Jianping!”

Lu Chu finally understood Lin Lin’s intention. She wanted to access Liu Cuihe’s memories to see how much Guo Jianping had deceived her and perhaps to find out who dismembered her body after her death. Maybe there were limitations to this method of probing into others’ memories, such as needing the person’s consent, which is why Lin Lin asked Liu Cuihe in this way. Once Liu Cuihe agreed, a very thin snake crawled into her mouth. Liu Cuihe, crying and trying to gag, was too scared by Lin Lin’s terrifying appearance to move and could only let the snake enter her mouth.

The scene shifted again, showing the world from Liu Cuihe’s perspective.

Liu Cuihe was a few years younger than Lin Lin and started studying under Guo Jianping after Lin Lin and Guo Jianping got married. Initially, everything was normal, but eventually, they both developed feelings and began an affair. After they started their affair, Liu Cuihe would tell her family she had to study every night, then run to the school after dinner. Guo Jianping would use the excuse of tutoring to meet with her in the rest room, where they eventually started openly placing women’s items, confident that Lin Lin, being very busy, hadn’t visited the school for a long time.

Later, when Lin Lin became suspicious and started arguing with Guo Jianping, Liu Cuihe, hearing about it, wrote a letter with her left hand claiming she was pregnant and arranged to meet Lin Lin but didn’t show up. Instead, she gossiped with some of the village’s frequent drinkers that Lin Lin could be bribed.

Then came the night when Lin Lin decided to check things out for herself. In a panic, Liu Cuihe hid under the covers while Lin Lin was forcibly dragged home by Guo Jianping.

Three days later, Guo Jianping suddenly told Liu Cuihe to come to his house. Surprised, Liu Cuihe asked if Lin Lin was there, and Guo Jianping shook his head and said she was gone.

Suspiciously, Liu Cuihe went to Guo Jianping’s house.

Upon arrival, Guo Jianping said nothing, taking Liu Cuihe to the storeroom. Curious, Liu Cuihe went in and saw Lin Lin’s corpse on the ground. Terrified, she almost screamed, but Guo Jianping quickly covered her mouth. Once she calmed down, Guo Jianping told her, “Lin Lin ran off with another man. We’ll get married soon.”

Liu Cuihe was scared, realizing she was now involved in a murder. Guo Jianping, with a scholarly look in his glasses, smiled and then picked up a sickle, eyeing Lin Lin’s corpse. Liu Cuihe, trying to flee, was pulled back and cornered by Guo Jianping. Watching his madness, she didn’t dare to speak and kept her eyes tightly shut.

It seemed like a long time before Guo Jianping, after what felt like ages of chopping sounds, finally dragged her up and said, “Lin Lin ran off with another man.”

Though Liu Cuihe knew she should be afraid, she felt a bizarre thrill, similar to the twisted pleasure she felt after starting her affair with Guo Jianping.

Looking at the storeroom, the body was gone, with only freshly turned soil in the corner, a strand of hair sticking out.

In the darkness, neither noticed a snake coiled there.

Afterwards, Liu Cuihe moved her family out of the village. Lin Lin became the woman who “ran off with another man,” and Guo Jianping married Wei Rong.

Their subsequent encounters need not be detailed. Years after Guo Jianping married Wei Rong, Lin Lin’s accumulated resentment turned her into a vengeful ghost, killing Guo Jianping.

Everything was explained.

Lin Lin released Liu Cuihe, blood tears streaming from her decayed face. Lu Chu thought she must have loved Guo Jianping deeply to have killed him so mercilessly.

Liu Cuihe had collapsed, sobbing on the ground.

She kept mumbling, “It wasn’t me… it wasn’t me… it was all Guo Jianping, please spare me…”

Lu Chu considered and then asked Lin Lin, “Yang Cheng, was it always you?”

Lin Lin glanced at him, and another illusion appeared before them.

Yang Cheng had died before the group came to the village, when they were planning their film. Yang Cheng had come to the village ahead of time to scout but fell into a well and was possessed by Lin Lin’s twenty years of accumulated resentment.

After seeing this, Li Jiapeng suddenly pointed and exclaimed, prompting everyone to look in that direction. Lin Lin’s resentment had dissipated, her soul burning away with no remaining emotions, be it love or hate, turning into nothing.

Lu Chu felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and the presence of ‘it’ gradually disappeared, no longer lingering around them.

At the same time, the illusion vanished, and they found themselves in Liu Cuihe’s home twenty years later.

They exchanged bewildered glances.

“It’s over,” Song Gui sighed.

Li Jiapeng, still scared, asked, “So Lin Lin has fulfilled her last wish?”

He Mingde nodded, “She killed those who deserved it, uncovered the truth from back then, avenged her great wrong, and her heart went cold. She’s probably gone now.”

Lu Chu pondered, “In the snake-slaying story, the snake left after avenging itself, without harming the children’s parents. I don’t feel Lin Lin’s presence anymore, so she probably doesn’t mean us any harm. But…”

But would Lin Lin really forgive Liu Cuihe?

Song Gui stretched and said, “Alright, the mission’s complete. Let’s go.”

Song Gui’s words, “mission complete,” carried an additional meaning that only Lu Chu understood—or maybe Qi Li could too.

The others agreed, “Let’s go.”

Before leaving, they took one last look at the sobbing Liu Cuihe.

Lu Chu suddenly realized that the scattered bones they had found had transformed into a complete skeleton, covered in filthy, muddy soil and terrifyingly dense bugs. A brightly colored snake peeked out from its left eye socket.

It was tightly pressed against Liu Cuihe’s back, as if sensing something, the snake and the ghastly skull turned to Lu Chu, giving him a slow, eerie smile.

None of the others noticed.