~~~ One Day Earlier ~~~
Lin Changhe and Lin Sheng had gone into town to track down some boss, leaving Aunt Mei to watch over the woman tied up on the ground in that dilapidated Niangniang Temple.
The temple was dim and dank, with the stench of rotting wood permeating every corner. Aunt Mei stared down at a piece of decayed timber sprouting mushrooms, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that she was already dead. Otherwise, she never could have stood it here. Even in life, she had been a stickler for cleanliness.
“The grudge has a source, and the debt has an owner. Why aren’t you going after the one who killed you?”
The woman’s voice rang out with startling clarity in the silent temple. Aunt Mei looked up in surprise at the woman, who had somehow sat up and was now untying the ropes around her wrists, flexing them experimentally.
The woman raised her head. Those doe-like almond eyes now brimmed with an eerie malice. Qi Buyu showed no fear of the female ghost’s current state—even with wounds on her face rotted down to the bone. She strode forward and lifted the ghost’s chin with one hand.
“Do you know why your physical body hasn’t decayed, yet your soul is rotting away moment by moment?”
Aunt Mei was still marveling at the change in her. She had seen Qi Buyu around Sensen and the others, and this was nothing like that version of her. This was a chilling, sinister presence that made even hardened wilderness ghosts seem tame by comparison. It sent shivers straight to the soul.
Qi Buyu tightened her grip on the chin and narrowed her eyes in displeasure. “Answer me.”
Aunt Mei’s entire soul quivered uncontrollably. She hadn’t felt pain since becoming a ghost long ago, but now it was as if this woman meant to crush her to pieces.
“I… I don’t know.”
The pressure on her chin eased slightly. Aunt Mei glanced up to see the woman before her drop her gaze, a smile blooming across her face—one that grew until she was doubled over, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath.
When the laughter finally subsided, Qi Buyu straightened slowly and flicked her eyes toward the female ghost trembling in the corner.
“You’re lucky this time. In the past, I never would have done anything this merciful.”
Qi Buyu led the female ghost to the spot where Liu Changsheng had buried her body. The mound of earth had caved in, and the makeshift tombstone lay toppled to one side.
“How could this be!?” The female ghost rushed frantically to the pile. Her corpse was gone—someone had stolen her body!
Qi Buyu let out a cold laugh, brushing the stray hairs from her forehead before casually dragging her toe across the ground a few times.
The female ghost whipped around to watch as Qi Buyu effortlessly reproduced the talisman that Liu Changsheng had drawn there before.
She knew this stuff too!?
“Your corpse has been hidden by Lin Changhe. He worked some little trick on it.”
Qi Buyu made no effort to hide the disgust in her eyes. She loathed this kind of two-faced scheming. No surprise there—he was that man’s underling, after all. Lin Changhe had mastered every nauseating tactic to perfection.
Fueled by resentment, the female ghost’s Ghost Qi surged and swelled, enveloping her entirely in an instant. She’d been deceived. Lin Changhe had dared to steal her corpse!
Qi Buyu glanced at her without mercy. “You can’t beat him.”
Lin Changhe might be a fool, but he carried a life-saving talisman from that man. This female ghost couldn’t touch him.
The female ghost gradually calmed. She looked at Qi Buyu. “Why are you telling me all this?”
Qi Buyu turned back, her eyes gleaming with triumphant mischief, her whole demeanor roguish and shadowed. “She wants the Jade Spirit. I’m not about to let her have it.”
The female ghost assumed she meant Lin Changhe and asked no more.
“I don’t get why you went after Lin Changhe. He can’t threaten those people, let alone hurt your precious Sensen.”
The female ghost glanced at her, lips twitching. “I saw them grab you. If they used you to threaten that Liu woman, who would protect Sensen?”
Who could have guessed Qi Buyu was playing possum all along? Then what was the point of hiding her strength?
Qi Buyu rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Liu Changsheng?”
“She’s no saint either.”
Not a single message from her in days, wondering where she’d gone.
The words dripped with resentment. The female ghost glanced at her but said nothing.
“I’ll handle the issue with your corpse if you put on a little show for me. How about it?”
Seeing the female ghost hesitate, Qi Buyu idly twirled a lock of hair from her chest, her smile not reaching her eyes. “Or I could scatter your soul right now. Your choice?”
“…”
“How do you want me to play it?”
~~~
Because Lin Qing and Liu Changsheng were out, Grandma Song hadn’t locked the front door. She’d even left a little lamp on for them.
The night was deathly still. Lin Sheng’s heart pounded wildly as she crept through the darkness and quietly twisted open Song Qian’s bedroom door.
Through the crack, she spotted a small lump under the covers on the bed. She fished a thin stick of incense from her shirt pocket, lit it carefully, and watched tendrils of white smoke slip through the gap into the room.
After a few minutes, Lin Sheng covered her mouth and nose, crouched low, and widened the door just enough to slip inside.
She sidled up to the bedside, wiped the sweat from her palms, and shot a nervous glance at the wide-open window. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze.
She hoped Master could keep the Jade Spirit occupied a bit longer.
In the faint glow of the bedside lamp, Lin Sheng saw the jade hanging on Song Qian’s chest, fully exposed.
Joy surged through her. She pulled out a small knife, sliced the cord, and clasped the jade tightly.
Keeping one eye on Song Qian, she slowly drew the jade out from under her neck.
The incense worked wonders—Song Qian lay there like she was dead to the world. Lin Sheng hadn’t seen so much as a twitch since entering.
Clutching the jade, Lin Sheng nearly whooped with excitement. She backed away carefully, her face alight with uncontainable glee.
Finally, she’d gotten it! She was rich! New clothes! Potato chips, cookies, ice cream, hot pot, barbecue, chocolate!
Drool pooled in her mouth unbidden. She slurped it back—and then her back bumped into something solid. The saliva caught in her throat; she didn’t dare cough loudly.
“Who are you!? What are you doing in Sensen’s room!?”
Grandma Song had gotten up for a glass of water and noticed the front door ajar. Thinking Song Qian must have gone out, she looked up and saw the bedroom door open, shadows flickering inside.
She hurried over to find her precious granddaughter sleeping soundly on the bed, while some sneaky figure hunched over doing who-knows-what.
Lin Sheng had never done anything this shady before. Panic-stricken, she spun and bolted for the door without even seeing who was there. She shoved past them and ran, missing the threshold and tumbling to the floor.
The room light flicked on. Lin Sheng, just scrambling to her feet, threw up a hand against the glare. The next instant, a staff cracked down hard on her back. She let out a muffled cry of pain.
Grandma Song had softened a bit upon realizing the intruder was just a young girl, but the sight of the jade in her hand ignited her fury. She swung her cane without mercy.
That was her granddaughter’s life! No one was touching it!
Grandma Song advanced to pry open Lin Sheng’s fingers and retrieve the jade, but Lin Sheng clutched it like a vice.
“You’re just a kid yourself—how could you stoop to sneaking around like this? Breaking and entering is a crime, you know that? Let go now, or I’m calling the cops!”
Lin Sheng had the jade in hand; nothing would make her release it—not even the police. She trusted Master to protect her.
Seeing she couldn’t wrench it free, Grandma Song raised her cane again in desperation. Lin Sheng curled up, hands over her head.
In the end, the girl was about the same age as her own granddaughter. Grandma Song gripped the cane tightly but held back from striking.
Lin Sheng peeked out, saw the hesitation, and seized the moment. She scrambled up, clambered onto the railing, and prepared to jump. It wasn’t that high from the second floor.
“Don’t you go!”
Grandma Song lunged and grabbed her. One of Lin Sheng’s legs dangled outside the railing, the other half of her body still inside.
Lin Sheng shoved at Grandma Song, but the old woman clung to her clothes like a limpet. “Let go of me!”
Lin Sheng eyed the empty ground below, gritted her teeth, and threw herself forward.
She figured the old lady would let go once she jumped. But when Lin Sheng rolled on the ground below, stood up, and rubbed her bruised elbow, she saw the old woman sprawled on the floor.
She… she’d jumped after her.
Lin Sheng’s panic hit like a freight train. Her legs buckled, and she sank to the ground, staring blankly at the blood pooling across the floor.
“It wasn’t me… I didn’t do it. You were the one pulling me… You wouldn’t let go…”
“No, no, it wasn’t me. It has nothing to do with me…”
Bang!
The front door flew open from the outside.
“Grandma Song!”
Lin Qing burst through and saw Grandma Song crumpled on the floor. At the threshold sat a dazed familiar face. He lunged forward, seized Lin Sheng, and hauled her to her feet. “You again!”
Liu Changsheng rushed straight to Grandma Song’s side the moment she stepped through the door. She checked the older woman’s pulse and inspected the wound on her head. For someone of her age, tumbling down from the second floor was no trivial matter.
“Call the Special Investigation Group—hurry!”
Lin Qing glared at Lin Sheng as she pulled out her phone and dialed. After exchanging a few terse words, he seized both her hands and wrenched them behind her back. The jade in her palm came into view, and Lin Qing’s gaze sharpened.
This jade…
“Where’s Song Qian!?”
Liu Changsheng glanced at the jade now in Lin Qing’s grasp, then strode over to claim it for herself. She lifted her eyes to the second floor, where Song Qian’s bedroom door stood ajar.
“Keep an eye on her. I’ll go look.”
Liu Changsheng paused at the second-floor doorway, her eyes dropping to the streak of incense ash by the frame. She crouched down, pinched some between her fingers, and brought it to her nose for a sniff.
Rising, she dusted off her hands and turned toward the figure slumped unconscious on the bed. A breath of relief escaped her.
Thank goodness. Just knockout incense.
After a brief hesitation, Liu Changsheng chose not to wake Song Qian. Instead, she stood vigil at the door.
By the time the Special Investigation Group arrived and loaded Grandma Song onto a stretcher, one of them asked if they should take Lin Sheng into custody as well. From upstairs came Liu Changsheng’s faint voice: “No need.”
Lin Sheng knelt on the floor, head bowed, her mind a whirlwind of chaos. All she could picture was Grandma Song crumpled on the ground.
If she died… would that mean I’d killed her? Lin Sheng had witnessed her share of corpses and spirits, but the thought of taking a life herself had never crossed her mind.
Half an hour passed. The wind outside rose, howling louder. Liu Changsheng’s eyes darkened abruptly, fixing on the front door.
It creaked open slowly. Eerie white mist surged inside, roiling like a carpet rolled out in advance for the newcomer.
“Liu Changsheng, hand over the jade.” Lin Changhe stepped through, clutching a small box. He tilted his head up toward the figure on the landing.
Lin Sheng snapped her gaze upward the instant her master spoke, but he didn’t spare her so much as a glance.
A disheveled Female Ghost trailed in Lin Changhe’s wake, dragging Qi Buyu—the woman who’d vanished days earlier.
Qi Buyu was deathly pale, her body limp with exhaustion. Only the Female Ghost’s iron grip kept her from collapsing outright.
Liu Changsheng’s eyes lingered on Qi Buyu for a beat. She’d assumed the other woman had slipped away first.
“Liu Changsheng, this Jade Spirit has nothing to do with you. Give me the jade, and I’ll return her to you. Sound fair?”
It seemed like a foolproof trade.
Liu Changsheng gazed down at the group with cool detachment, a scornful smile tugging at her lips. “You think just anyone gets to bargain with me?”
Lin Qing hauled Lin Sheng to her feet and edged them both away from the intruders at the door. Liu Changsheng’s words lit stars in his eyes. Senior Liu was incredible!
“You!” Lin Changhe clearly hadn’t anticipated such blunt rejection. He balled his fist and drove it into Qi Buyu’s face. Her head whipped aside, hair falling over eyes brimming with shock—and raw, unveiled murderous intent.
Bastard. How dare he strike me.
The Female Ghost’s hands trembled around Qi Buyu, as though bucking under Lin Changhe’s force. No one suspected the truth: she was terrified of Qi Buyu, terrified this woman might snap and slaughter them all in a frenzy.
Liu Changsheng kept her prayer beads rolling steadily between her fingers, her expression as emotionless as ever. “Beat her to death if you like. What does it change? You’ve heard the stories about me, Lin Changhe.”
Liu Changsheng’s reputation preceded her: ruthless, heedless of collateral damage, pursuing pleasure at any cost. People spoke her name with gritted teeth and wary respect for her power.
Lin Changhe shook out his throbbing fist, then slipped a small bell from his other sleeve with practiced stealth.
“Ding—”
Qi Buyu, head still lowered, flicked her fingers in the barest twitch. The Female Ghost caught it, jolted violently, released her captive, and lurched forward two stiff steps.
Qi Buyu crumpled to the floor in a convincing faint. From the shadows, unseen, she slapped a talisman onto Lin Changhe’s right leg.
“Liu Changsheng, you’re formidable, I’ll grant you that. But I still want to test if I can pry that jade from your hands.”
Lin Changhe sent the Female Ghost lunging at Liu Changsheng, then spun toward Lin Qing with a raised foot.
“You meddlesome little pest.”
Lin Qing dodged the wild swings by the skin of his teeth. When he regained his footing, Lin Changhe had already freed Lin Sheng’s bound hands and shoved her toward the doorway.
Lin Changhe shot Lin Qing a withering sneer. “Kid, you’re nowhere near ready.”
Liu Changsheng grappled with the Female Ghost. Midway through the clash, something felt off. The creature’s eyes blazed with savage intent, but lacked the vacant stupor of a puppet. She was acting of her own volition.
Liu Changsheng yanked back the prayer beads poised for the Female Ghost’s chest and hauled the spirit in close, their faces inches apart.
She heard the Female Ghost whisper, “Take it downstairs.”
“?”
