The Red-Clothed Female Ghost was beyond saving. The Blood Threads encasing her were gradually collapsing inward, and by now, the bloodstain on the phone had faded until it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The moment that last trace of a mark vanished, this female ghost would be completely gone.
Lu Liangting didn’t say anything more. At this point, even if Bai Yu stopped, that ghost couldn’t be brought back. In comparison, he was even more astounded by Bai Yu’s strength.
He knew Bai Yu was a ghost too, and she didn’t even seem to be at the Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost level. So how could she possess such formidable combat power?
It couldn’t be explained by just her physical prowess. No matter how good your skills were, without a strong foundation, they were useless.
But looking at Bai Yu, she had almost completely overwhelmed this Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost in every aspect.
Take the Red-Clothed Female Ghost Xiao Lian from the fifth floor of Sunshine Apartment. Even if the ghost he’d just summoned wasn’t quite as strong as Xiao Lian, she must have had at least seventy percent of Xiao Lian’s power. Such a powerful ghostly monster could be a Boss in some of the weaker mission locations.
And the result? She was practically defenseless against Bai Yu.
Lu Liangting wanted to know one thing very much.
What was Bai Yu’s origin?
Bai Yu lived with Zhao Mingyue. Just like his relationship with Old Yang, Bai Yu normally resided inside Zhao Mingyue’s shadow.
Old Yang was a Red-Clothed Ghost he had drawn from the lottery. So, had Bai Yu been drawn from the lottery by Zhao Mingyue?
If so, Zhao Mingyue’s luck was simply too good.
A female ghost with a gentle personality—well… at least gentle and caring towards Zhao Mingyue. Communicative, not prone to uncontrollable killing intent, and strong enough to overpower a Red-Clothed Ghost? If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Just look at his relationship with Old Yang. He’d tried so desperately to call out just now, and the guy hadn’t replied with a single word.
And then look at Bai Yu. The Red-Clothed Ghost he summoned had merely glared at Zhao Mingyue, and Bai Yu, with the most forceful attitude, had immediately executed and devoured her.
What was this called?
This was the difference!
Many times, when he called Old Yang’s name in his heart, he worried whether that man might just kill him along with the enemy if he came out.
Before meeting Bai Yu, he felt his situation was balanced and normal.
After all, a ghost’s power source was resentment. The stronger the ghost, the deeper its resentment. And if the resentment was so deep, how could you expect it to be obedient?
So, you couldn’t have it both ways.
Obedient ghosts were weak; strong ghosts were disobedient.
It was because Lu Liangting knew so little about the relationship between Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue at this moment. If he knew that Zhao Mingyue could drag Bai Yu into the bath with her every day, treat Bai Yu like a giant doll to play with and dress up at will, he would absolutely stop thinking his own luck was good.
As he thought this, Lu Liangting looked down at the now completely clean flip phone in his hand. He could only feel like weeping but having no tears. But just as Mingyue said, it wasn’t a total loss. At least this phone could still act as a vessel to store other ghosts, right?
He could just consider it as having drawn a Vessel. He couldn’t very well blame Bai Yu now, could he?
On the other side, Bai Yu walked back. Before re-entering Zhao Mingyue’s shadow, she cast a glance at Lu Liangting’s shadow. She could sense that a Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost also resided within it.
Perhaps sensing Bai Yu’s gaze, Lu Liangting’s shadow rippled slightly. The Red-Clothed Ghost inside didn’t make a move. Instead, it seemed to be offering a gesture of peace and alliance.
This proved that this Red-Clothed Ghost could hear Lu Liangting’s voice, and wasn’t as “insane” as Lu Liangting imagined.
Bai Yu didn’t bother with it much. She’d already eaten one and was still digesting. This one could be spared for now.
If this ghost ever tried to attack Zhao Mingyue in the future, she wouldn’t mind having another full meal.
She re-entered Zhao Mingyue’s shadow. The Blood Threads on the walls vanished. Looking at it abruptly, it was as if nothing had happened there at all. Even the clutter in the corridor hadn’t shifted position.
“Ahem, well, I’ll go check on how the Store Manager and the others’ discussion is going.” Zhao Mingyue felt too embarrassed to stay any longer. The feeling was like walking down the street when your pet cat suddenly bit your friend’s pet mouse to death and then ate it right in front of its owner.
This metaphor wasn’t quite appropriate. If Bai Yu found out, she’d definitely give her a flick on the head.
But in her heart, right now, that was genuinely how she felt.
She returned to Room 606. Zhao Mingyue quickly pulled the door open and went back in, returning to the spot where she’d been standing earlier.
Inside the living room, the few people were still discussing.
They had heard the female ghost’s few shrieks from outside earlier. Chen Hao had intended to go out and check, but the Store Manager stopped him.
The Store Manager had heard the commotion outside. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but one thing he was certain of was that Zhao Mingyue wouldn’t come to harm.
“Mingyue.” The Store Manager saw Zhao Mingyue enter. He waved her over. “Come here.”
“Mm.” Zhao Mingyue approached and half-crouched down nearby.
“I now have a general understanding of the situation.” Manager Li said. As he spoke, he opened his briefcase. Inside were many small items: Ink Line, Red String, some silver ammunition, bottles and jars, teeth, hair, and blood of some creature, a clay figurine of the Earth God, and several exquisite Short Blades of varying sizes.
Zhao Mingyue also saw a small wooden awl and a wooden mallet. She didn’t know what they were used for.
Seeing this hodgepodge of items, Half-Immortal Qian at the side was about to burst out laughing. He couldn’t help but make a few mocking remarks, though no one paid him any attention.
Half-Immortal Qian grimaced, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards Zhao Mingyue. His eyes roamed from her face and lingered on her chest. His throat bobbed, his eyes nearly staring straight.
Zhao Mingyue naturally wasn’t wearing anything low-cut. On the contrary, she was bundled up quite tightly, her tracksuit zipped up all the way to her chin. Yet even so, it couldn’t stop someone’s lecherous imagination.
To demonstrate his own Taoist mastery and skill, Half-Immortal Qian shook his head ostentatiously and pulled out a Feng Shui Compass.
Just as he was about to spout some professional jargon to the people present, he suddenly noticed the compass needle spinning wildly this time, constantly circling, finally stopping and pointing directly at Zhao Mingyue.
“This…”
“Mingyue, in a moment, I’ll force that Evil Spirit to show itself. While I’m setting up the Magic Formation, I need you to help restrain her. No matter what, don’t let her leave the room or commit suicide, and don’t let her disrupt my formation.”
“Alright!” Zhao Mingyue nodded.
After the Store Manager finished preparing his things, his gaze shifted to Chen Hao.
Chen Hao immediately understood the Store Manager’s intent. He hurried into the inner room and carried out a Little Black Cat.
This cat was no more than five months old, round and chubby—it was hard to tell if it was long fur or just fat.
Because its body was so purely black, when it was brought over, it looked just like a lump of coal, its pair of round, deep blue eyes the only visible feature.
“So cute.”
The moment the cat was brought over, Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened.
What she didn’t notice was that when the kitten was brought over, her own shadow behind her also rippled slightly.
“Store Manager, what’s this cat for?”
“It’s needed for the formation setup soon.” The Store Manager scooped the kitten up with one hand. The little black cat was very well-behaved and didn’t move, just lying in his palm.
“Let’s go.”
Carrying the kitten in one hand and his case in the other, Li Tian’an stood up and walked to the door of one of the rooms.
This room was the younger daughter Chen Bingtang’s room.
He took out a key and unlocked the door. Inside, the room was very clean, almost bare, with only a bed. The window was welded shut with steel bars like a security window, and the walls were covered in sponge foam. In this room, no corners were visible, and no sharp or hard objects could be seen.
It was in this empty, oppressive room that Zhao Mingyue saw a little girl sitting at a specially made rubber desk and chair, painting something with equally treated plastic brushes.
The little girl wore loose clothing, like a patient’s gown. Her hair was beautifully and intricately braided. Such skill clearly wasn’t Chen Hao’s doing. Without a doubt, it was the work of the little girl’s Evil Spirit mother.
Seeing Zhao Mingyue and the others enter the room, the little girl glanced back once, said nothing, and continued painting in her sketchbook with her head down.
Chen Bingtang was ten years old, her appearance very adorable, as endearing as the kitten in the Store Manager’s hand.
She had been introverted since childhood, almost never speaking to outsiders. Forget making friends, she barely even communicated with family. Especially after meeting “Auntie,” she spent all day talking to a centipede, locking herself in her room and refusing to come out.
Zhao Mingyue stepped into the room, wanting to see what Chen Bingtang was painting. She had just taken one step when the Store Manager tugged at her clothes and shook his head, signaling with his eyes for her not to go over.
He half-crouched down, about to set up his formation, when unexpectedly Chen Bingtang suddenly spoke. Her voice was sweet with a childish lilt. “Auntie already left.”
The Store Manager paused, standing up. “Left?”
He took a small Hourglass from his pocket. Fine silver sand slowly trickled within it.
Seeing this, his brows furrowed tightly.
Chen Bingtang hadn’t been wrong. The Evil Spirit had already departed. Only the residual power of the Evil Spirit remained in this room.
“Why did she leave?”
“I don’t know. She said bad people found me. She had to go deal with those bad people.” Chen Bingtang continued scribbling on the paper.
“Who are the bad people? Do you know?” The Store Manager walked over, Zhao Mingyue following beside him.
Once next to Chen Bingtang, she realized what Bingtang was drawing was a large building. The building was shaded in with black crayon, looking somewhat distorted and terrifying. Looking closer, she discovered that this building was none other than the Youth Apartment they were in.
And outside the building, three small black stick figures were crouched behind something across the street. Each of these three black figures had a red monster with a ferocious expression drawn behind their backs.
What she was drawing right now was a giant centipede in the sky.
This centipede was flying through the air, seemingly targeting the three little figures across the street.
Zhao Mingyue seemed to understand something. She half-crouched beside the table and asked softly, “Bingtang, can you tell sister: did your auntie go out just to deal with these three bad people?”
Chen Bingtang looked at Zhao Mingyue and nodded gently. Her young face showed no particular expression—no fear, no happiness, only calm indifference.
“Then are we those three bad people?”
Three people, each with a red monster behind them. Could that be interpreted as the three red monsters being ghosts?
In that case… herself, Lu Liangting, and the Store Manager?
It didn’t seem to match up, and they hadn’t been crouching across the street.
Chen Bingtang shook her head upon hearing this.
Zhao Mingyue was about to ask more, like what the black figures were, what the red figures were. Before she could speak, Chen Bingtang seemed to receive some kind of stimulus. Her originally calm little face began to turn ferocious.
She frantically scribbled over the three black figures with a red crayon until they were completely obscured. Then, she tore the page off, crumpled it into a ball.
She quickly got up and ran to the room’s window, standing on her tiptoes, pressing her hands against the window to look outside.
Chen Bingtang’s unusual reaction puzzled everyone present.
Even the Store Manager was baffled. He had never encountered a situation like this before.
He picked up the crumpled drawing, exchanged a glance with Zhao Mingyue, and then walked over to Chen Bingtang’s side, looking outside with her.
Zhao Mingyue was also somewhat confused. After all that preparation, after learning so much, things weren’t developing as expected.
If you have a problem, ask Bai Yu. She instantly made up her mind and asked inwardly, “Bai Yu, what’s the situation now? Can you explain? I’m a bit confused. What exactly happened?”
“Someone targeted Chen Bingtang before we did. They’re an organized group, very powerful, every member carrying a Red-Clothed Ghost. In Chen Bingtang’s aunt’s view, their threat is greater than ours. That’s why, even at the risk of us taking Chen Bingtang away, she went to deal with them.”
“Because if she ignored them and focused entirely on us, something major could go wrong.”
“I get it!” Zhao Mingyue understood immediately. “Bingtang’s drawings are a way of expressing her inner feelings. She and her aunt must have a deeper connection than we thought. And her emotional outburst just now—she probably sensed her aunt getting hurt. Is my theory correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then what should we do now?”
“Go downstairs!” Bai Yu’s voice and the Store Manager’s voice rang out simultaneously—one in Zhao Mingyue’s mind, one in her ear.
“Okay!”
The Store Manager moved quickly. He packed up his case and headed out, one hand slipping into his pocket to grip the handle of his Flintlock Pistol.
“You stay here and watch Bingtang. She’s your daughter. I don’t need to teach you what to do.” The Store Manager left these words behind and strode quickly out of the room.
Zhao Mingyue followed behind him, jogging all the way to the elevator.
“What’s going on, Store Manager?”
“You’ll see when we get down there. Something’s happened downstairs.”
They entered the elevator. The Store Manager pressed the button for the first floor. The elevator slowly descended, arriving shortly at the ground level.
The elevator doors opened. The two hurried out.
At some point, the first-floor corridor had become filled with white mist. The apartment building’s main door had been shut by someone.
“Come out. There’s no point in hiding like this.” The Store Manager set down his case and pulled out his Flintlock Pistol, aiming it into the depths of the corridor.
“You knew about us, and you still dare to oppose us?”
From within the white mist, a woman stepped out, a Red-Clothed Imp by her side.
“You people have a young man surnamed Lu, right? Why didn’t he come down?”
