I had no way to dodge or escape, trapped and cornered.
Brother Chen, possessed, forced me tight against the railing, my heart pounding with fear.
Yet, I noticed that though he brandished broken glass, stabbing it wildly before me, he seemed afraid to get too close.
He maintained a distance of about two meters.
As if something behind me or on me instilled fear in him.
Besides verbal threats and gestures, he hadn't inflicted any actual harm.
Could it be that my yang energy was still strong?
That the malevolent entity harbored some fear and dared not approach me?
Thus, it could only threaten me with words and actions, aiming to disorient my mind through constant fear?
To provoke me into making rash and irrational moves, leading to my demise?
But then, what was that feeling of being pulled by the collar earlier?
My mind was a complete mess.
Still, seeing possessed Brother Chen’s hesitation to approach brought a sliver of relief.
At least for now, this stalemate meant safety.
Since I couldn't escape and I dared not rush to grapple with the possessed Brother Chen, all I could do was wait it out.
As long as daybreak arrived, I refused to believe that the entity possessing Brother Chen wouldn't depart.
"Climb over, hurry up and climb over..."
Brother Chen continued to speak in a hoarse voice, baring his teeth.
Saliva dripped down his chin, almost stringing like pulled taffy.
His pitch-black eyes bulged, staring intently at me.
Seeing that he couldn't harm me at the moment, I took a few deep breaths and wiped the blood from my nose.
Then, I retorted directly:
"Hell no, I'm not climbing over, and I'm not dying.
What the hell are you going to do about it!"
Biting my teeth, I tilted my head up. I found that after two retorts, my suppressed chest felt considerably lighter.
But just as my words fell, the possessed Brother Chen struggled forward, taking a small step.
Immediately after, blood began to ooze from his mouth.
He glared at me ferociously, his voice low and hoarse as he spoke:
"You, are mine..."
Seeing him take that small step forward, the distance between us narrowed again.
My fleeting confidence instantly crumbled to dust.
Before I could react, possessed Brother Chen advanced another step.
The distance between us was now merely about a meter.
He pinned me firmly into the corner of the railing.
But Brother Chen's nosebleed gushed out like a fountain, a continuous stream.
His entire face contorted, becoming utterly terrifying.
It was as if every step he took towards me exacted a heavy toll on Brother Chen's body.
"You are mine. Heh heh heh..."
Witnessing his state, the terror returned with full force:
"You, you can get close to me..."
My hands gripped the railing tightly as I leaned back.
At this moment, possessed Brother Chen wore an extremely grotesque expression, his mouth stained with blood:
"Give me your life!"
With that, he took another step.
He raised the broken glass and swung it violently towards my eyes.
Terrified, I raised my hands, gripping Brother Chen's wrist with all my might to prevent myself from being impaled.
The possessed Brother Chen possessed immense strength.
I was no match for him.
I was pushed back with such force that I nearly toppled over.
Half my body tilted precariously over the railing.
My heart chilled. I struggled desperately, but it was futile.
Just as I felt myself about to fall, I felt a push on my back, and my body regained some balance.
Allowing me, for the moment, to muster more strength to contend with possessed Brother Chen.
Possessed Brother Chen pressed down on me relentlessly.
He cackled incessantly.
His voice low and excited:
"Mine, I'll have you soon..."
With that, the shards of glass he held drew even closer.
As an ordinary person, I couldn't resist at all.
No matter how hard I strained with both hands,
the glass shards in his grip continued to inch closer to my eyeball.
Blood trickled down along the glass, dripping onto my brow, then flowing down my eyebrow to my ear, and finally dropping ten meters down the cliff...
I stared in terror as the broken glass was mere millimeters from my eyeball.
I quickly closed my right eye and held my breath.
The icy chill of the glass grazed my eyelid, a sharp sting of pain surging through me.
My eyeball felt the intense pressure, slightly deforming, as if it could shatter at any moment.
I truly had no strength left, despair washing over me.
I even felt a premonition that I would either be stabbed to death by the broken glass or fall to my death.
Conversely, possessed Brother Chen laughed even more joyously, more excitedly:
"Mine, you are mine..."
As he spoke, I clearly saw the veins bulge on his arm and neck. He prepared to thrust the glass with all his might into my eyeball.
In that instant, I felt utterly cold.
It's over, am I really going to die?
A sense of helplessness brought me to the brink of collapse.
But I didn't want to die, and I certainly didn't want to be killed by a ghost.
My mind raced, desperately seeking a solution.
In this final moment of despair, I suddenly recalled the scriptures my grandmother used to recite.
Subconsciously, I began to chant:
"Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajnaparamita, perceived that all five skandhas are empty. Thus, transcended all suffering..."
My grandmother was a devout Buddhist and often recited sutras at home.
Having been exposed to it since childhood, I remembered bits and pieces.
Thinking of it now, I inexplicably started reciting.
But to my surprise, as soon as these verses left my lips, though stammered,
the Brother Chen pinning me shuddered violently, as if electrocuted, his grip suddenly loosening.
His face contorted, his head shaking, in evident agony.
He cried out in a low, hoarse voice:
"Damn it, stop chanting, stop chanting..."
Seeing that it was effective, my heart leaped with joy.
Clutching at a lifeline, how could I possibly stop?
Instead, I recited even louder:
"Sariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Likewise, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are also like this..."
Possessed Brother Chen's head shook even more violently.
The hand holding the glass instantly released its grip.
The shards of glass grazed my scalp and fell over the cliff.
They shattered with a clatter.
Simultaneously, Brother Chen stumbled backward.
Clutching his head and shaking it vigorously, he cried out in pain:
"Stop chanting, I told you to stop chanting..."
The more distressed he became, the louder I chanted:
"Sariputra, all dharmas are emptiness. They are neither produced nor cease, neither impure nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing..."
As I reached this point, possessed Brother Chen suddenly roared:
"Aaaargh!"
The next moment, his body went limp.
With a soft thud, he collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.
At the instant Brother Chen fell,
I faintly saw a white silhouette retreat from his body.
Then, it flashed and disappeared into the darkness...
Although Brother Chen had fallen, I didn't approach him immediately.
I continued to recite the scriptures, slowly edging forward.
Only after confirming that Brother Chen's complexion had returned to normal and he posed no threat did I dare to stop.
Then, I gently nudged Brother Chen:
"Brother Chen, Brother Chen..."
After I nudged him a few times, Brother Chen slowly opened his eyes.
"Xiao, Xiao Qin, what, what happened to me?"
Seeing Brother Chen open his eyes and speak, his normal self restored.
I breathed a massive sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground.
My body trembled with emotion, my eyes welling up with tears...