~Cruor~

Vamptember day 8 ~ Jiangshi

The ruins of the old temples of China were an interesting sight.

As an urban explorer and paranormal investigator, you had decided to take a look at the ruins. The moon hung from the sky, and the place was deathly quiet. You had come prepared, a mirror and your stake made of peach wood. Coming alone wasn't the best idea you ever had, but part of you didn't believe in the weird myths of the soulless bodies being found.

Your feet hit the pavement as you continued walking, camera in hand. Movement presented itself in the corner of your eye, and you whipped around to take a look at it. But it was too late. On edge, you pressed on, you needed that evidence after all.  The cold chilly night ate away at you as you continued on your path. Eventually the dead silent walk was interrupted by the sound of soft thumping. Freezing in your tracks, you glanced over your shoulder. There stood a man dressed in a Qing dynasty uniform. His arms were outstretched towards you, his hands opened. His eyes were pitch black, matching his hair. His face was permanently stuck in a scowl.

You pulled out your camera, recording the creature as it began hop towards you. You backed away slowly, the creature wasn't exactly fast. "Unbelievable," you muttered. After you gathered enough footage, you snapped a couple photos. Unfortunately the flash seemed to highly agitate the creature, who suddenly began picking up pace. He came at you full speed, causing you to turn on your heel and bolt. The man began whispering, turning into a desperate call.

You had no idea what he was saying, and you pulled out your phone to record the mans cries, hoping you could decipher it later. It didn't take long for the stiffened creature to catch up to you. His hands reached out to grab your neck. You threw yourself onto the ground, rolling out of the way. Looking up, you saw a desperate frown on his face. He eagerly tried to grab onto you as you began to back away, getting to your feet and running off again.

His upset cries almost made you feel bad, if you weren't so terrified and looking out for your own life. In the distance you saw your van, causing your heart to nearly leap out of your throat. You tried  to reach for the door, but a pair of cold arms encircled your throat. A strangled scream escaped your lips as you were held into place. You could hear the Jiangshi's bones crack and joints creak as he forced his stiff body into motion one more. The back of your head was placed against his shoulder. Whimpers and small apologies were all you could muster as the man leaned in to take a closer look at you.

Death nor pain ever came, and the two of you were left staring each other down. Reaching into your handbag, you pulled out the mirror, holding it up. This caused him to shriek, shoving you against the car. Your head spun as it made impact with the metal. But you wasted no time getting into the car as you sped off, evidence and red marks on your person.

Days went by after your adventure, and you were reviewing the footage late at night in a nearby rental house. Everything seemed peaceful.

Until you heard the familiar thumping on the floorboards.

[A jiāngshī, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. The characters for "jiāngshī" are read goeng-si in Cantonese. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing dynasty, and it moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or "life force", usually.]

[Yes i know this ones short.]