Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Fang Lin’an pulled a yellowed booklet from his pants pocket and frantically flipped through it. Even after reaching the last page, he still couldn’t find any explanation for what had just happened.
“Wait! Stop arguing!” Fang Lin’an shouted at the human and the ghost, on the verge of a breakdown.
Yun Jianyue and Lu Changxue fell silent at the same time, both looking thoroughly annoyed. Two pairs of eyes bored into Fang Lin’an, demanding to know why he had interrupted their delightful little spat.
Fang Lin’an pulled another yellowed booklet from his pants pocket. As he flipped through it, he muttered frantically, “No, no… This one doesn’t say why her vengeful aura disappeared either…”
“I think he’s lost his mind.” Lu Changxue licked her lips. “Why don’t I eat him? Crazy people don’t have brains. Very nutritious.”
Yun Jianyue planted a hand over Lu Changxue’s face. “You’re already brainless enough. Stop eating things with no brains. If you want to nourish like with like, I’ll get you some pig brains.”
“Then should we run while he’s busy going crazy?” Lu Changxue asked.
“Sure.” Yun Jianyue turned and left without hesitation.
The human and ghost had already snuck several yards away when Fang Lin’an yelled in despair, “You’re not allowed to leave! Until I figure out what happened, neither of you is going anywhere!”
Yun Jianyue and Lu Changxue exchanged a glance. In perfect accord, they ignored him and continued toward the stairwell.
Just then, a monstrous wave of vengeful aura erupted from Room 404, more than ten times stronger than Lu Changxue’s!
Black tendrils seeped through the gap beneath the door and, in the blink of an eye, flooded the entire hallway.
Fang Lin’an immediately forgot about his breakdown. Scrambling, he yanked out every talisman he had and slapped them onto the door one after another, trying to stop the aura from spreading.
The instant the talismans touched the door, the vengeful aura stalled for a single second. Then it surged through the gap with even greater force.
Fang Lin’an gritted his teeth. Going inside was their only option now. He had to eliminate the aura at its source.
He tried to open the door, but it had been locked tight from the inside. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t budge.
“Move.”
Yun Jianyue’s voice came from behind him. She and Lu Changxue had returned!
Fang Lin’an’s body reacted faster than his mind, and he immediately made room for Yun Jianyue. She removed a long, slender black hairpin from her hair, straightened it with her fingers, fiddled with it for a moment, then inserted it into the keyhole and gave it two quick twists.
The door clicked open.
“Are you sure you’re not going to get arrested?!” Lu Changxue shrieked, clutching her head. What kind of outrageous skills had her best friend learned without her knowing?
Yun Jianyue giggled and tucked away the evidence. “I’m just an ordinary, law-abiding citizen.”
With that, she pulled the door open, and a dense wave of vengeful aura hit them head-on.
“Cough, cough…” Yun Jianyue choked on it, her fair face twisting in disgust. “This stuff seriously reeks.”
Fang Lin’an shot her a surprised look, but there was no time to say anything. He hurried inside.
The sight beyond the door stunned both humans and the ghost.
A middle-aged Female Ghost in Red stood in the living room, her entire body wreathed in flowing black vengeful aura. Her hair was so long that it trailed across the floor, covering half the living room with nowhere else to go.
At that moment, she had one hand wrapped around Wang Hui’s throat. Wang Hui was already unconscious, his eyes rolled back. The crotch of his pants was soaked, giving off a foul stench of urine.
The living room lights flickered on and off, making the eerie scene even more terrifying. Even Fang Lin’an, who had been trained as a Daoist, felt his scalp prickle.
If Lu Changxue was an A-rank vengeful ghost, then the Vengeful Ghost in Red before them was unquestionably S-rank!
Only two S-rank vengeful ghost murder cases had occurred in the entire Hua Nation over the past decade. Both had required the Paranormal Bureau to join forces with prominent occult clans before they could be resolved.
The problem was, their side only had two humans and one ghost!
Wait. Why did he think that human and ghost were on his side? Fang Lin’an suddenly realized how ridiculous that was and wanted to slap himself. That young Vengeful Ghost had clearly been causing trouble just moments ago too!
While Fang Lin’an’s thoughts ran wild, Lu Changxue could no longer hold back a frightened whimper. “Eek! Darling, there’s a ghost! Save me!”
You’re a fucking ghost yourself! Fang Lin’an screamed internally. What the hell are you whimpering for?!
Click.
Yun Jianyue flipped the light switch. The entire room instantly lit up, and the resentment swirling through it abruptly froze.
“There. Doesn’t that ruin the whole horror-movie atmosphere?” Yun Jianyue spread her hands, as if she had done nothing remarkable.
Fang Lin’an’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Two trails of tears slid down his cheeks as he suffered a minor breakdown.
The flickering lights in the room had clearly been an illusion created by the Vengeful Ghost. Even a hundred talismans might not have been enough for him to break it.
Yet this girl had merely turned on the light.
And the illusion had shattered… Just like that…
The entire room fell deathly silent. The Vengeful Ghost in Red was visibly stunned for a moment. When she recovered, she angrily flung Wang Hui to the floor. Her figure blurred, and she instantly appeared in front of Yun Jianyue.
“How dare you ruin my plans? I’ll kill you!”
The Vengeful Ghost in Red’s voice was shrill and terrifying. The moment she screamed, the lightbulb in the ceiling exploded, plunging the room into darkness once more.
Her sharp, blood-red nails viciously reached for Yun Jianyue’s throat. Lu Changxue flew into a rage. Her figure flashed as she barreled over like a cannonball and slammed straight into the Vengeful Ghost in Red, sending her flying.
“I’d like to see who dares lay a hand on my Darling!” Lu Changxue unleashed a piercing shriek of her own. “You think you’re the only one who can scream? What the hell are you yapping about?!”
Yun Jianyue grimaced and clapped her hands over her ears. “Stop screaming! The two of you are going to make me deaf.”
The Vengeful Ghost in Red sat on the floor, still unable to process what had just happened.
How had she, an S-rank Vengeful Ghost, been sent flying by an A-rank Vengeful Ghost?
If word got out, how would she ever show her face again?
Humiliated and furious, the Vengeful Ghost in Red rose to her feet and swept aside the black hair covering her face. It had to be this wretched hair getting in her way and holding her back. Otherwise, how could that little ghost possibly have knocked her flying?
“None of you will escape today!” the Vengeful Ghost in Red shrieked again.
Smack!
The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the room before everything fell utterly silent.
Yun Jianyue shook out her aching wrist, her face full of impatience. “I told you to stop screaming. Do you not understand human speech?”
Fang Lin’an’s legs trembled violently, and even the words he forced from his throat shook. “H-How did a human like you manage to hit a Vengeful Ghost…?”
Could someone please tell him how a human had physically touched an incorporeal ghost? How was that possible?!
The Vengeful Ghost in Red was dumbfounded all over again. She could not believe that, after being sent flying by an A-rank Vengeful Ghost, she had now been slapped by a human.
At that moment, Lu Changxue noticed something odd. “Wait, with that face… Aren’t you Wang Hui’s mother?”
When she was alive, she had seen a photograph of this female ghost at Wang Hui’s home. Wang Hui had told her it was his mother, who had died in an accident.
The Vengeful Ghost in Red sneered. “His mother? Has that unfilial bastard ever treated me like his mother? He murdered me and committed insurance fraud just so he could buy this apartment! Do you know how much he made from my death? Three million yuan! A full three million!”