Chapter 44: Sleep Paralysis

I was already eager to leave this horrific crime scene, so I immediately accepted the police’s suggestion to stay at a hotel.
Thus, two police officers drove me to a nearby hotel.
The police were quite generous, booking me into a rather high-class hotel.
Perhaps they thought I was Xia Yubing, accustomed to living in grand mansions since childhood.
But in truth, even an ordinary hotel would be better than my home.

“Please accept our deepest condolences, Miss Xia.
We will soon provide the case investigation report and arrange for the probate of your inheritance.
Please rest assured.
Additionally, if you need anything, you can call us, and we will dispatch someone immediately.”
Perhaps the police felt sorry for me; their attitude towards me was exceptionally good.
Not only did they comfort me throughout the journey, but they also gave me many assurances and finally left me a phone number.

After expressing my profuse thanks, I saw off the two police officers, and then I was left in the hotel, unsure what to do.
The life-threatening Painted Skin Ghost had been dealt with, and I suddenly lost the previous sense of urgent crisis, as if a taut string had suddenly loosened.
I didn’t know what I should do.

Bored, I could only open Xia Yubing’s phone to look.
In my heart, I apologized to Xia Yubing, and then began to browse.
There was quite a lot of information inside.
First, Xia Yubing’s phone actually contained a large number of indescribable videos and novels.
And judging by the themes and protagonists, this aloof school beauty was actually an M!
I never would have guessed!
The phone even contained some of her naked selfies, posed in extremely alluring ways.
Even though I now looked exactly like her, with the same figure and appearance as Xia Yubing, seeing these naked photos still made my heart race.

But a subsequent photo made my heart stop.
It was a selfie Xia Yubing took in her bedroom.
On the window behind her, a bloody handprint clung to the pane.
Judging by the shape of the sharp bony claws, it was indeed the Painted Skin Ghost.
I checked the photo’s date in the album: it was three days ago.
After that, Xia Yubing never updated her photos, and group chats received no replies.
Several groups had people @-ing her, seemingly noticing she hadn’t appeared for three days.

Since I had decided to live as Xia Yubing, I needed to learn how to become Xia Yubing.
I first checked her chat logs to see how Xia Yubing usually spoke, then mimicked her tone to reply to some messages in several group chats.
Then I looked at her payment app and group wallet.
Wow, as expected of a rich young lady!
She had over 500,000 in her payment account, and even 60,000 in her group chat wallet.
And this was just Xia Yubing’s pocket money.

Although I didn’t know her payment password, the phone was in my hand, and a single verification code could change it.
Now, I could roughly access Xia Yubing’s personal stash.
Over 500,000 was enough for me for a very long time.
In fact, my family’s savings had never even reached that number.
After that, I kept studying the novels and videos Xia Yubing collected on various platforms, the posts she wrote, and the Weibo updates and comments she made, trying to reconstruct what kind of person she was.

But I quickly felt sleepy.
Having been hunted by the Painted Skin Ghost twice today, my mind was in a highly stressed state.
Now that I finally relaxed, an irresistible drowsiness washed over me.
I immediately got into bed and quickly fell asleep.
In my hazy dream, I seemed to hear someone calling: “Bing’er, Bing’er, we died so terribly!
Save us!”

A cold sweat broke out all over me.
I abruptly opened my eyes and tried to get up, but found that my entire body was paralyzed.
Not only that, but I also felt as if something was pressing down on me, preventing me from getting up.
Ghost pressing on the bed!
I immediately understood this famous supernatural phenomenon.
Many people had experienced it, but for me, it was the first time.
As time passed minute by minute, the pressure on my body grew heavier.
I opened my eyes wide in terror, cold sweat drenching me, soaking the hotel sheets.

Just as I was in a state of panic and helplessness, the jade pendant on my chest suddenly burst forth with a bright light.
I immediately felt my body lighten, my hands and feet could move again, and I quickly sat up.

“Huff!Huff!Huff!” I gasped for air.
The jade pendant had saved me again.
Fortunately, I had kept it close to my body and forgotten to take it off before going to sleep.
From now on, I decided the jade pendant would never leave me.

I looked around nervously, but everything in the hotel’s luxurious room was perfectly calm, with no traces of anything unusual.
Unlike when the Painted Skin Ghost appeared and attacked me, no ghost appeared this time.
I cautiously stood up to check my surroundings.
I even clutched the Rejuvenation Talisman Yi Zhiqiu gave me.
After walking around, I didn’t see any supernatural phenomena.
Could it really just be a simple ghost pressing on the bed, just like a ghost labyrinth, merely a “natural phenomenon”?

Just then, I came to the bathroom.
When I stood in front of the mirror, I looked up, and my heart instantly stopped in terror.
Behind me, on either side, stood a man and a woman.
They were emaciated, their faces ashen, their clothes covered in so much blood that their original colors and styles were unrecognizable.
Their heads were bowed, and their hair hung loose.

“Ah!!!” I screamed, waving the jade pendant frantically, but found no man or woman beside me, not even in the mirror.
Only I was wildly waving the jade pendant.
I immediately ran out of the bathroom, no longer daring to look in the mirror.
Instead, I huddled back on the bed, trembling, clutching the jade pendant tightly, not daring to let go, constantly wary of any spirits or monsters that might attack me.

But after that, no further supernatural occurrences happened.
My mind grew increasingly tired and sleepy.
Although I desperately wanted to stay alert for possible attacks, my body told me it couldn’t go on.
Finally, I once again fell into a deep sleep, clutching the jade pendant.
This time, I neither had nightmares nor heard calls, nor did I encounter ghost pressing on the bed again.
I slept soundly until dawn, until I was woken up by a phone call.
It was a voice call from a group chat, labeled Ou Zhiqin.
I didn’t expect Xiao Qing to call me in the morning.
I quickly answered: “Hello?
Xiao Qing?”

“I figured you’d pick up if I called Xia Yubing.
How are things?
Did the police get rid of the Painted Skin Ghost?” Ou Zhiqin asked with concern.

“Yeah, kind of solved.
The Painted Skin Ghost was cut into two by that Master, but I still seem to be haunted by a ghost,” I said, feeling helpless.

“Ah?
Still a ghost?
What kind of ghost?” Ou Zhiqin asked in surprise.

“I don’t know what kind of ghost it was, just a fleeting glimpse.
How about this, I’ll tell you clearly when I get to school,” I said.

I considered it for a moment.
I could ask the police for help, or I could consult Xiao Qing and Senior Sister Mo.
After thinking for a while, I decided to consult Xiao Qing and Senior Sister Mo first.
If that didn’t work, then I’d go to the police for help.