Zhao Mingyue was absolutely certain she hadn’t mistaken the person. It was definitely Wang Xinxin. Besides, Bai Yu had already said Wang Xinxin was a member of this organization, and the reason she was being targeted was because of her.
Their eyes met. The masked dancer said nothing, but her displeasure was obvious. She ground her teeth, her eyes glaring hatefully at Zhao Mingyue’s face.
“Wang Xinxin, stop pretending. I know it’s you.” Zhao Mingyue took two steps forward, gripping her magic staff tightly. “Your organization is targeting me. You led them to me, didn’t you?”
Not far away, the masked dancer’s expression twisted into a snarl upon hearing Zhao Mingyue’s words. She ripped off her mask, revealing her true face. Just as Zhao Mingyue had said, it was Wang Xinxin.
“You’re right. I told them to kill you, because to me, you are the source of my illness!” Wang Xinxin’s eyes were bloodshot. She reached up and pulled down her hood, revealing a desiccated, almost hairless head marred by a bloody cavity. “This is all because of you! Only by killing you can my disease be cured!”
“I’ll devour your flesh and blood! I’ll tear off your face! I’ll gouge out your eyeballs!”
“Zhao Mingyue, look at what I’ve become!”
“If they hadn’t saved me, you would have killed me long ago!”
She clenched her teeth, her venomous voice squeezing out from between them. Her expression was so contorted with hatred that her features seemed to squeeze together. “I will definitely kill you!”
Wang Xinxin’s current appearance was terrifying. The smooth, lustrous waist-length hair was gone, replaced by a few strands plastered to her scalp. The skin of her scalp had been violently sliced open, and part of her skull had been sawed off. The back of her head was swollen to nearly twice its normal size. It was hard not to wonder how she had survived in this state.
“What does this have to do with me? Don’t tell me you’re going to bring up Wang Zhu.” Zhao Mingyue spread her hands, her tone helpless. “Instead of going after that playboy, you come looking for me. Besides, didn’t you have brain cancer? I don’t know any magic that could grow a tumor in your brain.”
“If you absolutely must believe I’m the one who ruined your life…” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Then come and kill me. Just don’t make it like last time.”
Once, Wang Xinxin had brought several people to corner Zhao Mingyue, trapping her in a stairwell and refusing to let her pass. They were about to start beating her.
Zhao Mingyue had struck first, proactively grappling with Wang Xinxin. She bet that Wang Xinxin’s “friends” were cowards with a shallow, fake sisterhood. And her gamble paid off. Seeing how fiercely she fought Wang Xinxin, none of them dared to step in; they just pretended to be pulling them apart nearby.
Wang Xinxin was no match for her. Within a few moves, Zhao Mingyue was on top of her, holding her head down and hitting her until she was crying.
Because of that incident, she received her first disciplinary record at school.
“You, you, you deserve to die!” Unable to contain her fury, Wang Xinxin actually charged straight at Zhao Mingyue.
Bai Yu instantly moved to block Zhao Mingyue, raising a leg and kicking Wang Xinxin, sending her flying back.
“Get them! Kill them!” Knocked to the ground, Wang Xinxin pointed at Zhao Mingyue and shrieked at the large-headed imp beside her.
Whether her control was too weak or the imp was too afraid of Bai Yu, the Red-Clothed Ghost remained standing still, even taking half a step backward.
Wang Xinxin ground her molars, wanting to curse again, when she heard a squelch from her stomach. A heart-wrenching pain spread through her. Looking down, she saw a flower made of blood threads slowly blooming inside her abdomen.
The flower’s roots burrowed deep into her body. With every bit it bloomed, the roots dug deeper, absorbing her blood to provide nutrients for the flower to continue blossoming.
“Tsk, tsk. Playing children’s games? Doctor, when did you start doing such boring things?” The Rabbit Mask Girl stopped her hand. There was still one Red-Clothed Ghost remaining on the scene.
“Forget it, this isn’t interesting anymore. You can play by yourself here.”
Standing up on the guardrail, the Rabbit Mask Girl turned and gave Bai Yu one last look. A mysterious smile appeared on her face. She tossed the Bloodstained Rubik’s Cube in her hand toward Bai Yu. Then, with her hands behind her back, her lips moved, forming silent words before she let herself fall backward off the building.
From the shape of her mouth, the words she had just spoken were:
“Guess who I am.”
Faced with the flying Rubik’s Cube, Bai Yu didn’t even try to catch it. Instead, she controlled a wisp of blood thread to intercept it mid-air.
The moment the blood thread wrapped around the cube, a strange power erupted from it. The Rubik’s Cube disintegrated instantly, and a wisp of that eerie energy flashed past, plunging into Zhao Mingyue’s body.
“Mingyue!” Bai Yu reacted a beat too late. Her hand only managed to grasp about a third of the energy tail. The remaining two-thirds entered Zhao Mingyue completely.
“What was that?” Zhao Mingyue blinked, touching her chest. It didn’t feel particularly unusual.
Of course, that was only her own sensation. In Bai Yu’s perception, after that strange energy entered Zhao Mingyue’s body, it seemed to have significantly accelerated the awakening time of the Evil God residing within her. The Evil God’s aura disappeared in a flash, but she was certain she hadn’t sensed it wrong.
The third of the power she had grasped began to seep into her own body. Bai Yu clenched her fist.
She now knew what that thing was. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the corpse of an Evil Spirit.
An Evil Spirit was a tier weaker than an Evil God. Essentially, the difference between the two wasn’t huge. For ghostly creatures, the corpse of an Evil Spirit was a great tonic. The third she had just absorbed was equivalent to the power of a weaker Red-Clothed Ghost.
For a living person, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. Even absorbing it wouldn’t really affect anything.
Zhao Mingyue was an ordinary person with an incredibly strong physique. Absorbing this amount of power naturally wouldn’t harm her. The problem was that there was a slumbering Evil God dwelling within her body. After absorbing this power, the Evil God’s body would receive a supplement.
Whether it was injured or lacking power, regardless of the reason for its slumber, this portion of Evil Spirit energy was undoubtedly a great tonic for the Evil God.
“Did something just fly into me?”
“It’s nothing, nothing that will harm you.” Bai Yu didn’t explain further. Explaining now was useless; without a short-term solution, telling Zhao Mingyue would only add to her worries.
“What was that thing?”
“A Remnant Soul.”
“I see.” Zhao Mingyue nodded thoughtfully. She looked at Bai Yu’s reaction, and the smile on her face held a hint of helplessness.
Her intuition told her Bai Yu was lying. She was about forty percent sure.
Knowing Bai Yu as she did, if it truly was harmless, would she be pondering this long? Well, maybe not that long, but the fact that this contemplative expression appeared on Bai Yu’s face seemed genuinely off.
Forget it. Whether she was lying or not, Bai Yu must have her reasons. She would say something if she wanted to.
On the other side, Wang Xinxin was gradually losing her life, lying on the ground, looking up at the night sky.
Her current state couldn’t really be called living anymore. She was more of a living corpse. She knew this very well in her heart. Every day, she could smell the stench of decay emanating from her own body. That’s why she drenched herself in perfume. Until now, the perfume was useless, only mixing with the other odors to create an even fouler stench.
The only motivation she had to keep living was to take revenge on Zhao Mingyue, the “culprit.”
Just like the other members said, they all had an illness. If they were sick, they should find the source of the illness and then deal with it at the root.
After eradicating the root of their illness, they would achieve Evolution.
“Before that thing with Wang Zhu happened, I actually thought quite well of you.” Zhao Mingyue half-squatted in front of Wang Xinxin. “You’re about to die, so I’ll tell you one more time. The matter with Wang Zhu really has nothing to do with me.”
Having said this much, Zhao Mingyue thought Wang Xinxin might sober up a little. Who knew this person would still glare at her with a vicious expression, her eyes full of resentment and rage.
It was at this moment that Zhao Mingyue realized something.
Wang Xinxin hated her so much, most likely not because of that fickle-hearted Wang Zhu, but for another reason. As for what that specific reason was, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t be bothered to pursue it. It wasn’t important anymore.
Bai Yu cleanly Devoured Wang Xinxin’s Red-Clothed Ghost, sliced one Masked Person dead with a single blade strike, then turned and grabbed another by the neck.
Taking someone alive, perhaps she could extract some information. Just as she was about to interrogate him, the man’s eyes suddenly rolled back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Within seconds, he was dead.
It wasn’t poison, but a Curse. The Curse of an Evil God.
Bai Yu could see that this man had a strong will to live. Often, it was precisely these kinds of personalities that were easiest to force information out of. It seemed the one behind this didn’t want too many clues about the Ghost Domain to leak out.
“How did it go?” Zhao Mingyue stood up and walked over, standing beside Bai Yu.
“He’s dead. Didn’t get anything.”
“That’s a real pity. So what do we do now? Keep exploring or go home?”
“Let’s go back. There’s no point in staying. This is just a Ghost Nurturing Ground, not the actual main lair of the Ghost Domain.”
Bai Yu merged into Zhao Mingyue’s shadow. The shadow rippled for a moment before settling down.
She had eaten quite a lot today, and was having some trouble controlling her own power.
Returning to the third floor, Lu Liangting and the others were still waiting. They hadn’t gone upstairs. The group was leaning quietly against the wall, mainly afraid that rushing up might cause trouble for Bai Yu.
“Mingyue.” Seeing Zhao Mingyue come downstairs, Lu Liangting hurried over.
“I handled things up there. There were originally four people, but one got away.”
“Are you hurt?” Lu Liangting asked.
“No, and Bai Yu is fine too. How did you guys get here? Planning to head home now?” Zhao Mingyue put the hammer back into her backpack and started walking downstairs. “The Ghost Domain people are dealt with. Doesn’t seem like there’s much value left here.”
“We drove here. We can go back together; it’s on the way.” Before Lu Liangting could speak, Shen Shuyun stepped in and said.
A moment later, the group exited the hospital. Zhao Mingyue walked in the middle, looking back at the main hospital building. For some reason, she had the illusion that she would return here someday.
If this wasn’t a Ghost Nurturing Ground, it could entirely serve as a Three-Star quest location. There were many places still to explore, like the building behind it, which seemed to contain a morgue, a cafeteria, and a branch building for the psychiatric hospital.
Also, Bai Yu had mentioned there was an Evil Spirit here, but they hadn’t encountered it yet. It was probably in the unexplored area behind them.
Following a path, they arrived in front of a luxury car.
Zhao Mingyue didn’t recognize the car’s make, only that it was very expensive.
Lu Liangting was, after all, from a different world than her. She was a poor wretch working at a Convenience Store, while Lu Liangting was the Young Master of some incredibly wealthy and powerful family clan.
The type where, due to inheritance struggles, finding a girlfriend would be obstructed by various family members, especially a Stepmother.
The ride was very quiet. Lu Liangting sat in the front passenger seat, Gardenia was driving, and Shen Shuyun sat next to Zhao Mingyue. A soothing piano piece played in the car. After driving for an unknown distance, Lu Liangting rummaged through the car and pulled out a bank card.
“Um, Mingyue, this great kindness is hard to repay. I don’t have anything good, just a little bit of insignificant, useless money.”
“The password for this card is six zeroes. There’s a hundred thousand in it.”
“Please thank Bai Yu for me.”
“I’ll try my best to take on more quests and gather some Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts for Bai Yu.”
Lu Liangting’s face was full of sincerity as he held out the bank card.
This really put Zhao Mingyue in a difficult spot.
A hundred thousand!
How many hours of work, without eating or drinking, would she have to put in to earn the “insignificant” hundred thousand Lu Liangting spoke of?
She had to admit, so this was the world of the rich, casually pulling out a hundred thousand.
“Take it,” Bai Yu’s voice sounded in her mind.
Zhao Mingyue coughed, her cheeks flushing, but following Bai Yu’s words, she accepted the bank card. It was only later that she understood why Bai Yu told her to take it. Mainly because accepting the item would reduce Lu Liangting’s unnecessary feelings of deep gratitude, and he wouldn’t pester her so much.
“Thank you! Truly, thank you!” Lu Liangting thanked her again.
He would never forget the image of that Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost being violently slashed apart by Bai Yu’s blade in his lifetime. That was exactly the fate those damned things deserved!
Zhao Mingyue smiled awkwardly. She felt that Bai Yu’s image in Lu Liangting’s mind had reached a terrifyingly high level.
Damn it, Lu Liangting wasn’t going to turn into her love rival, was he?
An hour and a half later, the car stopped across from Sunshine Apartment. Zhao Mingyue got out.
The benefits gained from this trip were truly enormous.
Bai Yu had eaten several Red-Clothed Ghosts, and she herself had received a hundred thousand yuan. Yes, a hundred thousand yuan from a love rival.
Just as Zhao Mingyue was feeling both complicated and happy, inside the luxury car…
“Young Master, I just remembered something.”
“What is it?” Lu Liangting turned his head.
“That bank card you just gave Zhao Mingyue… it seems to be the one Madam gave you.”
“Her? It doesn’t matter.”
“No, what I mean is, Madam will be monitoring this card’s activity. You know, Young Master, she’s been suspecting you’re seeing women outside.”
