Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Tao Xiaoyu had certainly reaped many benefits by following Xiang Kai.
She had secured a villa just by lying there-a luxury some people couldn’t earn in a lifetime.
Unlike ordinary residential areas, getting into a villa district wasn’t easy.
If it weren’t for Xiao Qing, we could have risked scaling the walls or found another way in.
But given Xiao Qing’s physical condition, we had to go through the main gate. Moreover, she was the key figure tonight; we couldn’t do this without her.
While I was agonizing over the problem, a spark of inspiration hit me, and I suddenly thought of a way.
I pulled out my phone and ordered four takeout meals.
After waiting for about half an hour, the delivery driver arrived with the four orders.
Seeing the food, Song Xiaotian looked confused. “What are you doing? Planning to eat your fill before we fight our way in?”
I handed him one of the orders and said, “You’re going in through the front gate. Tell them you’re a delivery driver.”
Song Xiaotian scoffed at me. “Man, don’t you know security guards are the natural enemies of delivery drivers? They don’t even let delivery guys into regular apartment complexes sometimes. You think they’re going to let me into a luxury villa district like this?”
I replied, “Tell the guard the food was ordered by Ms. Tao from Villa No. 23. Tell them she insisted you deliver it right to her door. Do you catch my drift?”
Villa No. 23 was Tao Xiaoyu’s villa.
There was no way the neighborhood security didn’t know someone had died in Villa No. 23.
Song Xiaotian froze for a second, then quickly caught on. He couldn’t help but grin. “You little brat, you’re getting more devious by the day. Fine, I’ll give it a shot.”
Clutching the delivery bag, he immediately headed toward the main gate.
Watching from a distance, we soon saw a guard emerge from the security booth to intercept Song Xiaotian.
Song Xiaotian spoke with the guard for a moment. Suddenly, the guard’s face paled. He shot a look toward the direction of Villa No. 23, then stared at Song Xiaotian in sheer terror.
The two continued talking for a bit, and soon enough, we saw Song Xiaotian sauntering inside with a swagger.
Once he was in, the guard immediately pulled out his walkie-talkie, presumably calling for backup. Before long, his partner ran out, looking equally terrified.
I quickly handed another order to Xiao Qing and told her, “Master Xiao Qing, tell them the food was ordered by Mr. Xiang from Villa No. 23. If the guards won’t let you in, say Mr. Xiang told you to deliver it to his door, or else he’ll be displeased.”
Xiao Qing took the bag and nodded. “I understand.”
She carried the bag and soon reached the main gate.
She said a few words to the two guards, and they looked like they had seen a ghost. They didn’t ask any further questions and let Xiao Qing straight through.
I could see the two guards were thoroughly spooked. It seemed they had no more teammates to call; the two of them just stood at the gate, clutching their hair and pacing nervously.
I picked up the third order and prepared to head over. Before leaving, I wanted to give Seventh Master some instructions.
But Seventh Master was far too sharp for that. He simply gave me an ‘OK’ sign. “I get it, I get it.”
I walked up to the main gate with the food. When the two guards saw me this time, their faces were practically white. “You… you’re a delivery driver too?”
I nodded. “That’s right. Didn’t you guys order this?”
The two guards looked at each other and shook their heads, saying it wasn’t theirs.
“That can’t be right. The address is correct.”
“It was ordered by Mr. Xiang. He said to deliver it to the security booth of this complex. Which one of you is Mr. Xiang?”
The moment I said that, the guards’ mouths fell open wide enough to fit a whole steamed bun.
“Aah!!”
“Don’t give it to us! Don’t you dare give it to us!”
“We didn’t order that!”
They ran out of the residential area, screaming at the top of their lungs, and quickly vanished from sight.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I thought to myself that it wasn’t that serious; sure, it was a bit scary, but was it really enough to make them run for their lives and abandon their jobs?
Still, it was better that they were gone.
I quickly waved to Seventh Master across the street, and he soon hurried over, carrying the takeout containers.
“Look at what you did. You’ve probably scarred them for life.”
“I don’t care. They were way too easy to scare.”
Seventh Master and I headed straight for Villa No. 23, where Song Xiaotian and Xiao Qing were waiting nearby.
As soon as Xiao Qing saw me, she couldn’t help but give me a thumbs-up. “You’re very clever.”
I grinned. “Master Xiao Qing, you flatter me.”
Next, we had to get into the villa. However, there were cameras at the entrance, and the front door used a fingerprint lock that Seventh Master couldn’t bypass.
Fortunately, the villa’s perimeter wall wasn’t too high. Song Xiaotian was able to climb over even with Xiao Qing on his back.
Seventh Master and I went in first, then helped Xiao Qing down on the other side.
To be honest, the villa wasn’t that large; it was probably just an average-grade property. But in Lanjiang City, a villa like this would still cost several million yuan.
It must be nice to be rich-buying a villa like it’s just groceries.
We quickly entered the living room, intending to finish the job fast to avoid any complications.
Seventh Master soon set up the Array. Xiao Qing sat cross-legged in the center while Seventh Master took charge of the ritual bell. I was responsible for burning the spirit money, and Song Xiaotian held the Guiding Lamp.
Seeing Xiao Qing’s pale face, she looked like she wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t help but ask, “Master Xiao Qing, are you… holding up okay?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s begin.”
As I fed the spirit money into the Fire Basin, I chanted, “Heavenly Net and Earthly Fiends, the Flower Maiden Tao Xiaoyu, aged twenty-four. At twenty-four, she met a violent end and entered the City of the Unjustly Dead. We pray for the Bright Lamp to lead the way and bring Tao Xiaoyu back…”
Just as I finished the chant, every candle in the living room-except for the Guiding Lamp in Song Xiaotian’s hand-turned a ghostly, flickering green.
She was here!
That was fast!
I noticed Seventh Master’s expression grow heavy, though I didn’t understand why he looked that way.
But there was no time to worry about that now; I had to focus on Xiao Qing.
The moment the candles turned green, Xiao Qing’s head slumped forward, and her body began to shudder intermittently.
I quickly called out, “Tao Xiaoyu… is that you?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Xiao Qing snapped her head up. Her face was a mask of pure terror.
It was an expression of extreme fright, as if someone had a knife to her throat and was about to kill her.
I knew Tao Xiaoyu had possessed her. Although the face was still Xiao Qing’s, the presence I felt was that of an entirely different person, and her behavior matched what I knew of Tao Xiaoyu.
“Tao Xiaoyu…”
I called out again.
To my surprise, the moment I finished speaking, Xiao Qing suddenly dropped to her knees and began to scream, “Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I’ll do whatever you want!”
This sudden outburst left the three of us stunned.
I hurriedly asked her, “Tao Xiaoyu, what’s wrong? Who’s trying to kill you?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she scrambled on all fours under the table, pressing herself against the floor as she continued to beg, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
She repeated those three words over and over again.
Seventh Master said solemnly, “Tao Xiaoyu only died two days ago. It seems she doesn’t even realize she’s dead yet. What she’s showing us now is how she acted right before she died.”
“Her reaction proves that Xiao Meng wasn’t the killer.”