Chapter 3

Zhu Ming gritted her teeth, averting her eyes guiltily, refusing to look at Yin Yu’s hair, mussed from her own grasping, or her disheveled collar. “Get lost!”

Why hadn’t she broken free from this Illusory Realm yet?

As if sensing Zhu Ming’s thoughts, Yin Yu placed her fingertips on Zhu Ming’s shoulder, tapping lightly.

The woman’s voice was coquettish, tinged with laughter and a hint of mockery. “Why not continue? Mingming, admit it. You’ve been thinking about me. You’ve never let go. The reason I’m here is because you want me here. So why not just continue enjoying it?”

She breathed softly into Zhu Ming’s ear, her tongue curling around Zhu Ming’s earlobe.

A sharp, sour electric shock coursed through her ribs. Utterly exposed, Zhu Ming flew into a rage from shame. She grabbed a mop leaning next to the sink and jabbed its wooden handle viciously at Yin Yu’s stomach. “Who’s thinking of you?! Bullshit!”

Whether you’re a Painted Skin, a Fox Demon, a Mountain Spirit, or a Ghost, just get lost, now!

Yin Yu stumbled back from the forceful jab. As she fell backwards, the entire world swirled and vanished, like filthy water sucked down a drain.

Zhu Ming lurched forward, discovering she was back in reality.

Li Xiuya and Yun Zouchuan were beside her. They were all standing at the doorway. One was still lost in the illusory dream, the other had awakened much earlier.

Inside, it was pitch black. Only the sound of breathing and the raging thunderstorm filled her ears for a moment.

Seeing Zhu Ming also awake, Yun Zouchuan huffed, “Boss, I was pulled into an Illusory Realm just now. I actually saw that KTV from two years ago again. But luckily, I woke up immediately. I really don’t get the point of it.”

Zhu Ming’s mouth twitched. Actually, she wanted to say, sometimes there is a point.

If her guess was correct, all three of their illusions were tinged with eroticism. But for Yun Zouchuan, the instances of such “colorful” encounters were few and far between. She had no personal interest in romance, and coincidentally, she extremely detested and abhorred the one deeply impactful “colorful” incident she had experienced, which caused her to break free almost instantly.

Yun Zouchuan looked at Zhu Ming curiously. “Boss, why did you take so long to wake up? Boss, why is your face so red?”

Zhu Ming: “…Children shouldn’t go prying into adult matters.”

With that, she immediately changed the subject, pressing her heated palms against Li Xiuya’s temples, who was still immersed in the illusion. Moments later, Li Xiuya opened her eyes in a daze, still somewhat disoriented.

“Wasn’t I just…”

“It was nothing. You were hallucinating.”

Li Xiuya’s entire face flushed bright red. As she rapidly recalled the previous events, she realized she was back in her pitch-dark home. The color drained from her face again in fright.

She instinctively looked towards the bedroom door, terrified she’d see her husband crawling on the floor again. Luckily, there was nothing.

“The room is so dark.” Yun Zouchuan pressed the light switch. “The lights won’t turn on.”

Li Xiuya whispered urgently, “I knew something was wrong. The elevator and the hallway sound-activated lights are working fine. Why is only my apartment without power? It must be a Ghost causing trouble!”

“You’re absolutely right. Don’t worry, this is easy to solve.” Zhu Ming showed not a trace of panic. Having already calmed down from her earlier shame and anger, she acted as if nothing had happened.

Li Xiuya looked at Zhu Ming, full of expectation.

Zhu Ming turned on her Mobile Phone’s flashlight, found the circuit breaker, flipped the switch, and pressed the light switch again. Whoosh, the room was flooded with light.

Li Xiuya: “…”

Something felt off, but also not really.

The apartment was over a hundred square meters—a three-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, one-bathroom layout. After quickly scanning the Living Room, Zhu Ming headed directly for the master bedroom.

Li Xiuya hurried after her, with Yun Zouchuan covering the rear.

The master bedroom’s curtains were drawn. It was even darker than the Living Room had been. Gripping her “Magic Artifact,” Zhu Ming swung it in a practice arc, then kicked the door open and turned on the light.

Nothing out of the ordinary—which was, in itself, the biggest abnormality.

The bedroom was of standard design, with a double bed in the center. The man sleeping on the right side was sound asleep. Unfortunately, the bang from Zhu Ming kicking the door startled him awake from his pleasant dreams.

The man was Li Xiuya’s husband. Annoyed at being woken, he rubbed his eyes and, spotting two strange women standing in the doorway, jolted in fright.

“What’s going on?! XiuXiu, who are they?”

Li Xiuya also wanted to ask. What was going on?

The normal, bright scene somewhat dispersed the shadows in the woman’s heart, but she still didn’t dare approach her husband. “Honey, you were sleepwalking again just now. Do you remember anything?”

Mr. Li shook his head decisively. “No.”

But he clearly had been sleepwalking. Hiding behind Zhu Ming, Li Xiuya excitedly recounted what had happened. The more Mr. Li listened, the more creeped out he felt. He was so scared he sat up, nearly knocking over the small items on his nightstand.

His blanket slipped, revealing his upper body. Seeing there were still two strangers at the door, he quickly pulled the blanket back up. He only wore underwear to bed and was bare-chested. Although he didn’t think a man showing some skin was a big deal, the situation was too awkward.

“Even if I sleepwalk, I couldn’t possibly crawl on the floor. XiuXiu, are you having hallucinations again?” Mr. Li asked worriedly. “How about I take a day off tomorrow, and we go to the Hospital for a check-up? By the way, your two friends here are…?”

He certainly didn’t think he had any problem. And XiuXiu’s neurotic behavior had been going on for days.

Hallucinations? Looking at the warm, bright bedroom, with no evidence in sight, Li Xiuya began to waver.

Zhu Ming added quietly, “Deposit is non-refundable.”

Li Xiuya’s resolve immediately solidified. “It can’t be hallucinations! Honey, get dressed first. These two are experts I hired. There’s something wrong with our place. Let them take a look.”

“Experts?” Mr. Li’s voice involuntarily rose, finding it absurd and laughable. “XiuXiu, since when did you believe in this stuff? This is feudal superstition! You haven’t been Brainwashed, have you?”

She’d only met them tonight, how could she have been Brainwashed? Li Xiuya gritted her teeth. “Never mind that. Our place is seriously wrong. For safety’s sake, it’s better to let them check.”

Seeing the Financial Backer couple about to argue, Zhu Ming raised a hand to mediate. “It’s fine. If Mr. Li prefers to stay in bed, he can. The crux of the matter isn’t with him.”

With that, Zhu Ming walked further into the bedroom. As she approached, Mr. Li’s expression turned fierce. “What are you doing? Barging into someone’s home? This is trespassing! I’m calling the police!”

Zhu Ming twirled the rod-shaped object in her hand, smiling. “If Mr. Li wants to, go ahead.”

“You—!” Mr. Li was furious. He really wanted to disregard decency, get up, and push her out. “And I’m not surnamed Li. My name is—”

Zhu Ming unhurriedly interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter. Miss Li’s husband, hence ‘Mr. Li.’ Your actual surname isn’t important.”

Mr. Li: “…”

Although she’d said the key point wasn’t with Mr. Li, Zhu Ming still circled the bed once. During this process, the couple was extremely tense. Compared to Li Xiuya in her pajamas, Mr. Li felt even more awkward.

He acted as if he was tolerating this for his wife’s sake, but he clearly couldn’t bear it much longer. “Are you done looking? This house is perfectly normal. We don’t need you ‘experts’ to perform any rituals here. Please leave my home.”

“Found the key.” Zhu Ming stood by the bed, her gaze as sharp as a knife. Meeting her eyes, Mr. Li suddenly shivered.

This woman was tall and well-proportioned, likely over one meter seventy. Her shirt, tucked into her trousers, emphasized her slender waist and long legs. But that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that she was slowly rolling up her sleeves, revealing the lean, toned muscles on her long arms.

The sense of contained power hidden by her clothes suddenly surged out, vying for attention. Mr. Li’s eyelid twitched. His instincts screamed danger. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zhu Ming’s five fingers tighten around the rod. In the next second, the stick came whooshing through the air straight at him.

He could almost imagine the grisly sight of his skull shattering.

Mr. Li’s face twisted in terror. He instinctively ducked back – only to realize the rod wasn’t aimed at him.

The cloth-wrapped stick swooshed right over his head, its target the pillow behind him.

The man on the bed wore a bewildered, suspicious expression, but his body suddenly moved as if it had a mind of its own. With a difficult, highly flexible backward reach, Mr. Li grabbed for the stick.

He couldn’t believe it, sure he must be dreaming. His hand, against his will, clamped onto the stick.

Zhu Ming let out a cold snort—a laugh that chilled Mr. Li to the bone. Then she raised her leg and kicked Mr. Li right off the bed.

Mr. Li couldn’t withstand the force. His hand slipped, but his fingers caught the cloth wrapping and ripped it away, finally revealing the true face of the “Magic Artifact”—a black iron Crowbar.

Li Xiuya stumbled back, speechless with terror at the scene unfolding before her. Her husband tumbled to the floor and confronted Zhu Ming in a painfully familiar, bizarre crawling posture.

Zhu Ming twirled the Crowbar in her hand, producing a whooshing sound. She didn’t even look at Mr. Li but continued her swing towards the original target.

At the critical moment, Mr. Li realized he couldn’t stop this woman directly. He chose a diversionary tactic, suddenly twisting his body to pounce towards Li Xiuya.

Mr. Li launched himself like a snake, his body undulating in a curve. Yet, compared to his monstrous movements, his facial expression was even more bewildering. His eyes were wide open, looking just as scared and confused as Li Xiuya. He even yelled, “Wife, save me!”

Li Xiuya’s body was stiff, unable to move. How could she possibly save him? At this moment, she just wanted to dodge.

Just before Mr. Li could land on Li Xiuya, a strong hand shot out from the side, grabbed his arm, and slammed him down hard. A massive, terrifying force—even worse than the kick just now—pinned him down, pressing him to the floor.

Yun Zouchuan crouched beside Mr. Li. Using only one hand, she held him completely immobile.

Simultaneously, with a late-night-disturbingly loud BANG, the pillow on the bed was completely obliterated. The cassia seed filling inside exploded across the bed. Zhu Ming poked around in the debris with the Crowbar and hooked out an object.

“Found it.”

She raised the Crowbar, showing Li Xiuya her find. “This is the cause of the strange happenings in your home.”