Chapter 49: The Nightclub

“Right here?”

Qi Ran tilted her head back, staring blankly at the dizzying, multicolored neon lights high up on the building’s facade. The characters on those signs looked incredibly shady. Some resembled the kind of KTV signs only seen in old-school music videos, while others were more explicit—even she could tell they belonged to dubious nightclubs. The largest and highest sign of all was an incredibly tacky explosion of flashing rainbow neon displaying seven huge characters: Heavenly Romance Nightclub.

She subconsciously rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that in the year 2017, such retro decor could still be found in Pingjiang.

“…The aura I’m sensing is here,” Miss Ah Qiao’s tone was slightly dazed. Even she seemed stunned by the aura emanating from that giant neon sign. “This… maybe she just lives in an apartment upstairs?”

Qi Ran’s mind was on the verge of collapse. Based on Miss Ah Qiao’s earlier description, she had imagined that Miss Zuo would be the transcendent, refined type—perhaps living deep in the mountains or in a Daoist temple, drinking only mountain spring water, possessing the aura of a reclusive master. But now, it appeared she was more likely to find a punk chick working at a nightclub, probably sporting half-faded bleached blonde hair and fingers stained yellow from smoking.

She said nothing, because Miss Ah Qiao looked even more devastated than she was, a portrait of a Spirit leaving its body… well, she was just a Spirit to begin with, so it was more like a portrait of utter bereavement.

“No, no, absolutely impossible,” Miss Ah Qiao covered her face, her thoughts clearly mirroring Qi Ran’s as she drifted back and forth in the air, muttering incessantly. “With her temperament—her daughter—couldn’t possibly do this kind of work. Impossible. There must be some mistake. I’ll recalculate, do it all over again.”

Qi Ran didn’t disturb her, just quietly gazed at the clustered signs. Since she was still inside the lake, she was the only person here. She suddenly noticed the absolute silence, devoid of any sound. The dazzling, chaotic signs painted this street into a heavily made-up courtesan, but this courtesan was simply sitting there quietly now, as if daydreaming, or silently pondering something. In her silence, she possessed a strange beauty; even the garish smoky-eye makeup was veiled by rising steam, shrouded in a layer of hazy allure.

Miss Ah Qiao had gone completely silent, looking rather deflated. Qi Ran knew it was because she had retested and gotten the same result.

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Qi Ran consoled her. “Didn’t you say she’s about my age? Then she’s high school age. Even the boldest wouldn’t dare hire high school students. Maybe she just—she just lives here. Like you said before.”

Qi Ran felt a little awkward saying this, because the reality was far from it. No matter where you went, there were plenty of young girls who couldn’t get into high school, ended up in vocational schools, then dropped out halfway to go work in nightclubs or KTVs.

“Forget it,” Miss Ah Qiao sighed a long, mournful sigh. “If Miss Zuo really is working here, then finding her is probably pointless anyway. If she were an Insider, she wouldn’t have fallen so low.”

“So what do we do?” Qi Ran asked.

“Let’s leave your lake first,” Miss Ah Qiao said with a headache. “We still need to find her, but the goal isn’t to recruit her anymore—it’s to get everything she knows. And even if she truly knows nothing, she at least needs to take us to her family’s ancestral grave.”

“You think she’ll agree?” Qi Ran was flabbergasted by Miss Ah Qiao’s words. “How do I even ask? ‘Hey, hello, I want to dig up your family’s ancestral graves, could you show me the way?’ She’d just call the police, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Miss Ah Qiao said ominously. “She might think you’re there to cause trouble and just call the nightclub’s bouncers to beat you up.”

“Can we think of a slightly more proper method?” Qi Ran sighed. “No matter what, directly asking is definitely out. And whether they’d even let a high schooler like me in is another question.”

“There is a way, actually,” Miss Ah Qiao said. “But I need to ask first: how’s your moral conscience?”

“You mean I should wait by the back door, bag her when she comes out, tie her up, and force the answer out of her? Would that break the law?” Qi Ran hesitated.

“…Good, your moral conscience is even lower than I imagined. Keep that up,” Miss Ah Qiao remarked dryly. “Don’t worry about the law. Remember, she’s like you—her ancestors were Insiders. Matters between you two aren’t protected by the law.”

“So, that means I’m switching from victim to perpetrator?” Qi Ran said.

“Not necessarily,” Miss Ah Qiao reminded her. “First, remember that aside from being unkillable, your physical abilities are no different from an ordinary person’s. I highly recommend you find a way to outsmart her rather than using brute force. For instance, using tools and tricks.”

“Sounds like we really aren’t good people,” Qi Ran sighed. “I think I get what I need to do. So… how do I leave my lake?”

“Close your eyes, relax your body completely, hold your breath, and imagine yourself slowly floating up from the bottom of the lake…”

Following Miss Ah Qiao’s words, Qi Ran closed her eyes and followed the steps one by one.

“…You’ll feel as if everything around you has turned into water. Then, slowly swim upwards…”

How strange. Miss Ah Qiao’s voice really did become muffled, like hearing it underwater, Qi Ran thought. She did feel a sensation as if submerged in water, coming naturally. She slowly moved her arms, floating upward.

“Wait… what’s happening? Save… find…”

Miss Ah Qiao’s voice suddenly became frantic, rising to a sharp pitch, then cut off abruptly.

What happened? Qi Ran’s heart tightened.

“Miss Ah Qiao?” She tried calling the name in her mind. “Did something happen?”

But all around was emptiness, no one responding, so silent it was terrifying.

Finally unable to bear the dead silence, she abruptly opened her eyes. As her vision returned, she realized she was lying on a tattered sofa so old its springs were poking out. Her school uniform jacket was draped over her. Nearby, a warm firelight flickered—a wood fire piled up between a few bricks. The girl in a work shirt was sitting with her back to her on the edge of the sofa, poking at the fire with a branch.

“Where are we?” Qi Ran opened her mouth to speak, only then realizing her voice was frighteningly hoarse.

Frantically, she called out Miss Ah Qiao’s name in her heart, but apart from faint Ripples, there was nothing. It was as if that beautiful figure had truly dissipated into nothingness, like a Ghost.

“You’re awake?” Jiang Zhique looked slightly startled, then relieved, handing her a bottle of water. “Want some water?”

Qi Ran didn’t stand on ceremony. She took the bottle, gulping down nearly half of it. Her throat was dry and sore. She choked a little from drinking too fast, coughed for a moment, and then finally returned to normal. She fired off several questions in quick succession: “Where are we now? Do you remember what happened back there? How did we get from Li Wanying’s house to here?”

She suddenly noticed Jiang Zhique’s expression was a bit odd—a look that seemed to mix confusion and embarrassment. This made her feel a touch uneasy.

“Have you forgotten?” Jiang Zhique hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “This is your mother’s home. You brought me here, and then you suddenly fainted… slept the whole afternoon, just waking up now. If you hadn’t kept breathing the whole time, I would’ve thought you’d dropped dead.”