Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 85 The Awakened Song
"Snapped."

Bai Yu slowly closed the old nautical logbook with a dull thud. In the deathly silent captain's cabin, the sound was incredibly abrupt, striking a chord deep within the two men's already tense hearts.

The moment he closed the diary, Bai Yu's body swayed slightly uncontrollably, and his pale face became as transparent as snowflake paper.

A massive, almost tangible torrent of resentment surged from that thin diary, flowing down his fingertips and into the sea of ​​his soul!
For centuries, countless souls swallowed by this sea have cried out in collective agony. The fear of being forgotten, the hatred of being abandoned, and the infinite longing for life are enough to completely crush anyone with a weak will in an instant, turning them into a walking corpse driven only by instinct.

Bai Yu let out a suppressed groan, and a brief darkness fell before his eyes. Countless fragments of memories filled with pain and despair flashed wildly through his mind like a revolving lantern.

He felt as if he had personally experienced the horrific shipwreck, feeling the biting cold and boundless despair.

"Bai Yu!" Lu Yueqi noticed his abnormality immediately. She let out a worried exclamation and subconsciously reached out to support his swaying body.

The surface she touched was icy cold, as if she were holding not a living person, but a block of ice that had been submerged in the deep sea for thousands of years.

"I'm fine." Bai Yu's voice was a little hoarse. He forcibly suppressed the turmoil churning in the depths of his soul, and his deep eyes regained focus.

Just then, the temperature in the captain's cabin suddenly dropped to freezing.

The faint phosphorescent light flickering in the corner was extinguished by an invisible gust of cold wind, plunging the entire space into absolute darkness where one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

The ancient boat song, filled with sorrow and despair, echoed in their ears once more. The song was no longer ethereal; it became incredibly clear and real, as if the choir of the dead were standing beside them, chanting a malicious hymn into their ears.

As the song played, a shadow, deeper than the surrounding darkness, began to slowly gather at the head of the huge wooden table in front of them, like living ink.

In the shadows, the silhouette of a figure wearing a captain's hat bearing the marks of time slowly materialized. He wore a captain's uniform, tattered and corroded by seawater, with buttons of a dull brass color.

He sat there quietly, like a silent sculpture that had been waiting for them for hundreds of years.

He had no facial features; his face was a blurry darkness. But Bai Yu and Lu Yueqi could clearly sense that a pair of "eyes" filled with endless sorrow and weariness were quietly gazing at them from that darkness.

He is the captain of this "ghost ship" and the core will of this "forgotten realm".

"...Welcome...to my ship..."

A hoarse, dry voice, as if its throat were entangled by countless seaweeds, slowly emerged from the blurry darkness.

"...You...heard my song too, didn't you..."

The captain tilted his head slightly to one side, the movement stiff and unnatural.

"...This is a song full of sadness...a song about being forgotten..."

"...We...are lost souls adrift on this merciless sea...We have lost our homeland, our loved ones, and even...our own names..."

"...Memory...what a heavy burden it is...like a rusty anchor, it locks us firmly in this painful past, preventing us from ever being reborn..."

His voice was filled with weariness, like a traveler who had trekked for thousands of years on an endless journey, telling those who came after him about a despairing loneliness.

"...But, children...you don't have to suffer this pain anymore..."

The captain's gaze slowly fell on Bai Yu.

"...I can feel...that your soul also carries a similarly heavy memory...that memory...is like a series of wounds that can never heal...causing you to endure tearing pain every moment..."

As he spoke, a series of illusions appeared before Bai Yu's eyes without warning.

The painful memories he had buried deep in the depths of his soul were forcibly unearthed by the captain in a brutal manner and laid bare before him.

"...Give up...child..." The captain's voice was like a devil's whisper, filled with an irresistible allure, "...as long as you're willing to stay on this ship...as long as you're willing to become one of us...you can completely 'forget' all of this..."

"...Forgetting...is the most merciful gift of this sea...it can wash away all your pain, soothe all your wounds...and grant you...eternal peace..."

Bai Yu's body trembled violently and uncontrollably. The weariness and pain from the depths of his soul, catalyzed by the captain's seductive whispers, surged like a flood bursting its banks, almost completely overwhelming his reason.

yes……

forget……

If only I could forget all of this...

Just as his will was about to be swallowed up by the temptation of that "peace," an unusually firm little hand tightly grasped his hand.

It's Lu Yueqi.

The girl's face was equally pale, devoid of any color, and her body trembled slightly. Clearly, she too had been affected by the captain's whispered instructions. But in her bright eyes burned a faint yet exceptionally stubborn flame.

"No...no..." Her voice trembled slightly, but was unusually clear, "...This isn't peace...this is escapism..."

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes burning with flames, and fearlessly met the terrifying figure sitting in the main seat.

"True peace is not about forgetting the pain! It's about carrying the pain and continuing to move forward bravely! You simply don't understand!"

Lu Yueqi's words were like a thunderclap, severing the fog of temptation that had clouded Bai Yu's mind and instantly bringing him back to his senses.

He looked at the girl beside him, who, though trembling with fear, still bravely stood up to refute the nightmare, and a hint of undisguised surprise and relief appeared in his deep eyes.

She has truly grown up.

"...Oh?..." The captain's "head" slowly turned towards Lu Yueqi, and a ripple of surprise seemed to spread through the blurry darkness. "...An...interesting little fellow...your soul...also harbors a 'compulsion' that you don't want to forget..."

"...But what can your obsession bring you?...Apart from endless pursuit and disappointment...it can give you nothing..."

The captain's whisper rang out once more, this time targeting Lu Yueqi.

Lu Yueqi also experienced a similar hallucination. She saw her small live-streaming room, and her futile explorations of dangerous and eerie locations in her quest to uncover the truth behind her grandfather's disappearance. She saw herself standing before that old diary, feeling powerless and frustrated because she couldn't decipher the strange symbols.

"...Give up...little one..." The captain's voice held a hint of pity, "...The truth you seek...has long been swallowed up by the sea of ​​time...You will never find the answer...Stay...here...you can forget the pain of unfulfilled desires...you can...find liberation..."

"No!" Lu Yueqi's answer was louder and more resolute than ever before. "Perhaps I will never find the answer! Perhaps everything I have done is in vain! But that cannot be a reason for me to choose to 'forget'!"

She held Bai Yu's hand tightly, as if trying to draw strength from his cold fingertips.

"Because that obsession, that truth, is the only 'link' between me and my grandfather! If I forget even that, then I will truly... have nothing left!"

Her words were like the sharpest blade, severing the false illusion the captain had woven with the promise of "liberation."

The captain fell into a long silence. He seemed to have not expected that these two seemingly fragile humans possessed such a firm will.

"...Since...you refuse to accept my 'mercy'..." His voice turned icy and hollow in an instant, the feigned weariness and sorrow vanishing without a trace, replaced by endless resentment at being rejected, "...then...come with us...forever...on this forgotten sea...let's wander!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the resentment in the captain's cabin surged to its peak in an instant!

The "ghost sailors" that had appeared in the corridor before reappeared! This time, there were more of them, and their figures were even more solid! They slowly approached the two from the shadows from all directions, their faceless faces radiating a suffocating malice!
"Bai Yu!" Lu Yueqi exclaimed in surprise. She could clearly feel the resentment emanating from those sailors frantically eroding her mental defenses, causing the courage she had finally mustered to crumble once again.

"Don't be afraid." Bai Yu's voice rang out again. He shielded Lu Yueqi behind him even more tightly, his deep eyes calmly scanning the approaching mass of resentment.

"Black Words, its weakness!"

"Didn't I already tell you, my dear Little White Language?" Hei Yan's voice carried a hint of amusement, "Its power comes from 'forgotten sorrow,' and its weakness, of course, is 'remembered hope.' Go and sing that song, and with your laughable yet exceptionally tenacious will, compose a completely new ending for this requiem filled with despair."

A hope to be remembered...

A completely new ending...

A flash of understanding crossed Bai Yu's eyes.

He watched the approaching "ghost sailors," then glanced at the captain seated in the main seat, radiating endless resentment. Suddenly, he understood.

They could no longer sing that sorrowful ballad. That ballad itself was a vessel of resentment; singing it would only intensify the resentment here.

They need a new song.

A song that can awaken the longing for "hometown" and "life" in the hearts of these sleeping souls.

“Lu Yueqi,” he turned his head and looked at the girl beside him with an unprecedentedly solemn tone, “Do you still remember the melody of that song?”

Lu Yueqi was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. That melody was already etched into the depths of her soul like a brand.

“Forget those sad lyrics.” Bai Yu’s voice carried an undeniable power. “Now, follow me, feel with your heart, imagine. Imagine that we are not trapped on this ghost ship of despair, but are sailing on a ship full of hope returning home.”

"Imagine that at the end of that vast blue sea, there are our most missed loved ones, our warmest home, waiting for us to return."

Bai Yu slowly closed her eyes.

He concentrated all his willpower. He stopped thinking about the painful past and the dangerous future.

Only one image remained in his mind.

It was at the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau, in that noisy and bustling restaurant, where An Mu, Mo Fei, Lan Ce... his companions whom he was willing to protect with his life, were sitting around the table, waiting for him to "come home" with eyes full of expectation and worry.

An unprecedented warmth and power surged from the deepest part of his soul.

He slowly began to sing the ancient ballad anew in a low but hopeful new melody.

This time, there was no trace of sadness or despair in his singing.

There is only an infinite longing for "returning home" and an unwavering belief in "reunion".

"...Raise the white sails...and sail towards the ocean at dawn..."

"...carrying the past...lighting up all the longing..."

Lu Yueqi's body jolted violently.

Looking at the man's profile beside her, which seemed to glow in the darkness, and at his eyes that, though closed, seemed to hold a thousand stars, her heart, chilled by fear, was ignited by an indescribable heat.

A similar image appeared in her mind.

That was her grandfather's study. The old man, who always wore a gentle smile, was sitting in a rocking chair, stroking her head and humming an old, exotic song to her in his slightly hoarse voice—a song whose name she had long forgotten.

The melody of that folk song was seven or eight parts similar to the one Bai Yu was singing at that moment! But what Grandpa was singing was not sadness, but a kind of curiosity and exploration of the unknown world!

original……

It turns out that the source of this song was never despair, but hope!

It was those sailors, after experiencing endless despair, who, with their own sorrow, twisted this "Song of the Explorers," which should have been full of hope, into a "Song of the Forgotten," full of curses!
At that moment, Lu Yueqi understood completely.

Her clear and vibrant voice was fully incorporated into Bai Yu's singing.

"...We are travelers carrying starlight...forever...on this boundless blue...onward!..."

The two singers' voices intertwined, transforming into a golden current filled with "hope" and "remembrance," which erupted in the captain's cabin, which had been shrouded in darkness and resentment for hundreds of years!

The approaching "ghost sailors" froze the moment they came into contact with the golden warm current! On their featureless faces, a trace of human-like struggle and relief slowly appeared!

The cold resentment in them began to melt away rapidly under the light of this hopeful song, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun!

They were no longer malevolent spirits, but had returned to being ordinary sailors who once held the sea in awe and love!
They turned around simultaneously, no longer approaching Bai Yu and Lu Yueqi, but instead slowly extending their semi-transparent hands to the captain sitting in the main seat, as if making a silent invitation.

"No...no! Shut up! You damned insects! What are you doing?!"

The captain let out a roar of extreme terror!
He could clearly feel that his realm, built from "forgotten sorrow," was being violently shaken and collapsed from its very foundation under the impact of this song filled with "remembered hope"!
His body, composed of shadows, under the golden light, was like a wax figure thrown into a raging fire, rapidly twisting and melting!
For the first time, an old face filled with fear and resentment appeared on his previously blurred face.

“…I…don’t want…to be remembered…” he let out his final, desperate wail, “…to be remembered…means…to have to…endure that pain again…”

However, his wails were ultimately drowned out by the hopeful and resounding song.

"boom--!!!"

The entire captain's cabin, and indeed the entire domain of the "ghost ship," groaned under the weight of this final showdown between old and new songs, before collapsing and shattering in a deafening roar!
In the final moments before the domain completely collapsed, Bai Yu saw the captain, whose face, filled with fear and resentment, was finally replaced by a smile full of relief and liberation.

He faced them and slowly performed a standard salute befitting a captain from the old days.

Then, his body, along with the huge wooden table behind him and the cursed nautical logbook on it, completely transformed into countless golden specks of light and vanished into the air.

There was only one thing that did not disappear with the collapse of the realm.

It was an unremarkable old sextant, which slowly fell from the golden light and landed with a "thud" on the collapsing floor.

Bai Yu's eyes narrowed suddenly. He rushed forward at lightning speed and snatched the sextant into his hand!

Immediately afterwards, an irresistible and immense pulling force came from all directions, forcibly dragging his and Lu Yueqi's consciousness out of this dream ruin that was heading towards destruction!
……

When Bai Yu opened her eyes again, what came into view was no longer the captain's cabin filled with darkness and resentment, but the narrow corridor of the haunted house covered with tattered fishing nets.

All around, there were still those cheap-looking props and slightly exaggerated sound effects. Not far away, one could faintly hear the exaggerated screams of other tourists.

They're back.

"We...we're out?" Lu Yueqi's voice trembled with disbelief. She looked around at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, momentarily unable to distinguish whether the thrilling experience she had just had was real or an illusion.

"I'm out." Bai Yu's voice was a little weak, but there was a sense of relief in his deep eyes.

He slowly loosened his grip on his hand.

In his palm lay the ancient sextant he had obtained at the last moment before the domain collapsed.

That sextant was not an illusion, but a real thing that he had brought out of that realm!

He flipped the sextant over.

On the back of the sextant, covered in verdigris, is a peculiar symbol, composed of countless twisted lines, that resembles both a closed eye and a constantly spinning vortex.

That symbol is exactly the same as the one branded on the cover of Lu Yueqi's grandfather's diary!
Bai Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

It seems that this "ghost ship," and the sorrowful captain, are all intricately connected to Lu Yueqi's maternal grandfather and the unknown "Gate of Rift" that he is searching for.

He quietly put the sextant into his pocket, then turned to look at the girl beside him, whose face was pale but whose eyes were more determined than ever before.

"You did a great job," he said slowly, his voice filled with genuine appreciation.

Lu Yueqi's body stiffened slightly. She raised her head and looked into Bai Yu's eyes, which were full of certainty. A wave of soreness welled up in her nose.

She didn't cry, she just nodded vigorously, and then gave a bright and confident smile.

"Ok!"

(End of this chapter)