Chapter 123: Zhao Mingyue: I Won’t Take Money That’s Not from a Love Rival
Zhao Mingyue was sure she wouldn’t mistake him for anyone else. That person was definitely Wang Xinxin. Besides, Bai Yu had already said that Wang Xinxin was a member of this organization, which means she was the reason someone had set their sights on her.
The two locked eyes, and the masked person at the ball didn’t say a word. It was clear she was not pleased, gritting her teeth and glaring at Zhao Mingyue with intensity.
“Wang Xinxin, stop pretending. I know it’s you,” Zhao Mingyue stepped forward, clutching her magic wand tightly. “You’re the one who led this organization to target me, right?”
Not far away, the masked person’s expression turned ferocious upon hearing Zhao Mingyue’s words. She tore off her mask, revealing her true face, which indeed matched what Zhao Mingyue had said. She was Wang Xinxin.
“You’re right! I wanted them to k*ll you because, to me, you are the source of my condition!” Wang Xinxin’s eyes were bloodshot. She pulled off her hood, exposing a nearly bald, gory head that looked as if it had been violently lacerated. “This is all thanks to you! Only by killing you can I cure my illness!”
“I’ll swallow your flesh and bl**d, tear off your skin, and gouge out your eyeballs!”
“Zhao Mingyue, look at what I’ve become!”
“If it weren’t for them saving me, I would have been dead because of you!”
Her teeth were clenched so hard it looked like they might shatter. Her features contorted in resentment, almost molded together, “I will k*ll you!”
Wang Xinxin’s current state was terrifying. Her once smooth and shiny hair that fell to her waist was gone, leaving only a few strands sticking to her scalp, which had been brutally cut open. Even her skull had been sawed down, resulting in the back of her head being nearly twice the size of a normal person’s. It was hard not to wonder how she was still alive in such a state.
“What does that have to do with me? Don’t tell me you’re blaming me for Wang Zhu’s situation,” Zhao Mingyue shrugged, her tone resigned. “Instead of looking for that two-timer, you come after me. Besides, aren’t you the one with brain cancer? I can’t magic up a tumor in your head.”
“If you really believe I ruined your life,” Zhao Mingyue paused for effect, “then come on and k*ll me. Just don’t act like last time, okay?”
Once before, Wang Xinxin had brought several people to bother Zhao Mingyue, blocking her at the stairs and refusing to let her pass, even wanting to get physical.
Zhao Mingyue took the initiative, deciding to fight Wang Xinxin first, betting on the fact that Wang Xinxin’s friends were a bunch of cowards with a flimsy sisterhood. Turns out, she was right; those friends stood by pretending to mediate while she effectively dismantled Wang Xinxin like a deck of cards.
Wang Xinxin was no match for her, and within a few moves, she was pinned down, with Zhao Mingyue holding her head and beating her until she cried like a baby.
That was also the first time she got a school punishment.
“You, you, you’re dead!” Wang Xinxin exploded with fury and charged at Zhao Mingyue.
Bai Yu quickly stepped in front of Zhao Mingyue, kicking Wang Xinxin back.
“Don’t just stand there, k*ll them!” Wang Xinxin shouted at the little ghost beside her as she lay on the ground.
Whether it was that Wang Xinxin was just too weak-willed or the little ghost was too scared of Bai Yu, the red-clothed ghost merely stepped back instead of attacking.
Wang Xinxin clenched her jaw tightly and opened her mouth to curse again, but then—pfft—a sudden pain surged through her abdomen. She looked down to find a flower blooming from her belly, made entirely of bl**d threads.
The flower’s roots burrowed into her body, and with each bloom, the roots dug deeper, drinking her bl**d to nourish the flower as it continued to flourish.
“Tsk tsk, is this a kid’s playhouse? Doctor, since when did you start doing this nonsense?” Rabbit-Masked Girl stopped what she was doing, noticing there was still another red-clothed one left unresolved.
“Forget it, it’s not interesting. You can play by yourself.”
Standing up, the Rabbit-Masked Girl looked back at Bai Yu with a mysterious smile and threw the bl**d-stained cube toward her. With her hands crossed behind her back, she mouthed something and leaned back, letting herself fall off the balcony.
From her lip movements, it was clear what she had just said: “Guess who I am.”
As the cube flew toward them, Bai Yu didn’t even think about catching it. Instead, she controlled a bl**d thread to intercept the cube mid-air.
Just as the bl**d thread wrapped around the cube, an eerie force erupted from it, causing the cube to disintegrate instantly. This strange energy vanished in the blink of an eye, entering Zhao Mingyue’s body.
“Mingyue!” Bai Yu reacted a moment too slowly, managing to catch only a third of the energy’s tail while the remaining two-thirds slipped into Zhao Mingyue.
“What was that?” Zhao Mingyue blinked and felt around her mouth, noticing nothing unusual.
Of course, that was just her impression. In Bai Yu’s perception, the strange energy entering Zhao Mingyue seemed to wake the Evil God inside her far earlier than expected. The Evil God’s aura faded away in an instant, but she was certain she hadn’t been mistaken.
The third of the power that Bai Yu had caught began to seep into her body, making her fists clench.
She knew exactly what it was now; if her guess was right, it was the corpse of an Evil Spirit.
Evil Spirits were weaker than Evil Gods, but the fundamental difference wasn’t very large. For ghosts, the corpse of an Evil Spirit was a major supplement; what she just absorbed equated to the power of a feeble Little Ghost.
For living people, it wasn’t too much of a problem—absorbing it wouldn’t cause any significant issues.
Zhao Mingyue was an exceptionally strong ordinary person; absorbing this much power naturally posed no great risk. The catch, however, was that she had an Evil God sleeping inside her; after absorbing this power, the Evil God’s body would be nourished.
Whether due to injury or a lack of energy, for whatever reason it fell into a slumber, this strand of Evil Spirit was undoubtedly a great supplement for the Evil God.
“What just flew by?”
“Nothing, it’s not a big deal for you,” Bai Yu offered no further explanation. There was no point; telling Zhao Mingyue the truth would only add unnecessary worry.
“What was that thing?”
“It’s a remnant soul.”
“I see.” Zhao Mingyue nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Bai Yu’s reaction and smiling faintly with a hint of confusion.
Her intuition told her that Bai Yu was lying. She was about forty percent sure.
With her understanding of Bai Yu, if it truly were nothing serious, would she have taken so long to reflect? Alright, maybe it wasn’t very long, but that pondering look on Bai Yu’s face certainly felt a bit off.
Whatever. Whether or not Bai Yu was lying, she had her reasons, and whatever she meant to convey would be said in due time.
Meanwhile, Wang Xinxin was gradually losing her vitality, lying on the ground and gazing up at the night sky.
Her current state couldn’t be described as alive; a more fitting term would be “living corpse.” She knew it herself; she could smell the decaying odor emanating from her body, which was why she drench herself in perfume. Yet now, the perfume was pointless and mixed with her scent to create an even more repulsive aroma.
Her only motivation to keep going was to take revenge on Zhao Mingyue, the “culprit.”
Just as the other members said, they all had their own diseases, and since there was a disease, they sought its source. After finding the origin, they went straight for the root.
Once the root of their illness was eliminated, they would undergo a transformation.
“Before the incident with Wang Zhu, I actually thought pretty highly of you,” Zhao Mingyue crouched down in front of Wang Xinxin. “You’re on the brink of d*ath, so I’ll tell you again: the matter with Wang Zhu really has nothing to do with me.”
Having said this, Zhao Mingyue hoped Wang Xinxin would show even a hint of clarity, only to find the girl still glaring at her with vengeful eyes, full of malice.
In that moment, Zhao Mingyue realized something.
Wang Xinxin’s hatred for her wasn’t likely due to the two-timer Wang Zhu but for some other reason. As for what that reason was, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t care less. It just wasn’t important.
Bai Yu swiftly consumed Wang Xinxin’s red clothing, severing the life of one masked person and swiftly grabbing another one by the neck.
Capturing people alive might yield some useful information. But just as she was about to interrogate him, the person’s eyes rolled back and he bled from the mouth, dying within seconds.
Not from poison, but a curse—a curse from an Evil God.
Bai Yu noted that this person had a strong will to survive. Ironically, it was often those with such personalities that were more likely to divulge valuable information. It seemed the puppet masters behind the scenes were keen to ensure that no clues leaked from the Ghost Domain.
“What’s going on?” Zhao Mingyue approached and stood beside Bai Yu.
“He’s dead. We couldn’t get anything out of him.”
“That’s really too bad. So what do we do now? Keep exploring or head home?”
“Let’s go back. Staying here is pointless; it’s just a ghost-breeding ground, not the real nest of the Ghost Domain.”
Bai Yu melded into Zhao Mingyue’s shadow, which quickly flickered but then stabilized.
She had eaten a bit too much today and was having trouble controlling her strength.
When they returned to the third floor, Lu Liangting and the others were still waiting, leaning quietly against the wall. They were primarily concerned that rushing in would cause Bai Yu some trouble.
“Mingyue.” When Lu Liangting saw Zhao Mingyue descend, he hurried over.
“We took care of things upstairs. There were four of them, but one got away.”
“Are you hurt?” Lu Liangting asked.
“Nope, and neither is Bai Yu. By the way, how did you guys get here? Are you planning to head home now?” Zhao Mingyue packed her hammer into her backpack and began walking downstairs. “We dealt with the Ghost Domain people. There doesn’t seem to be much value left here.”
“We came by car, and it’s just right to head back together,” before Lu Liangting could reply, Shen Shuyun chimed in.
Moments later, they exited the hospital. As Zhao Mingyue walked in the middle, she glanced back at the hospital’s building, having an inexplicable feeling that she would return someday.
If this place weren’t a ghost-breeding ground, it could easily serve as a three-star mission site with plenty to explore, like the building behind it, which seemed to include a morgue and a canteen, along with various wards in the psychiatric hospital.
Bai Yu had also mentioned that there was an Evil Spirit lurking here, yet they hadn’t encountered it thus far, so it likely resided in unexplored areas.
They walked along a narrow path until they reached an expensive-looking car.
Zhao Mingyue had no idea what kind of car it was; all she knew was it was really fancy.
Lu Liangting was from a different world altogether. She was just a pitiful girl working at a convenience store, while he was a scion of an extremely wealthy and powerful family.
He belonged to that kind of family where finding a girlfriend could lead to complications from various family members, especially the stepmother.
The ride was mostly quiet, Lu Liangting in the passenger seat, Zhizi driving, while Shen Shuyun sat beside Zhao Mingyue. A soft piano piece played in the car. After some time, Lu Liangting searched the car and took out a bank card.
“Um, Mingyue, I have no way to repay this great favor. I don’t have anything valuable, just this small sum that’s practically useless.”
“This card’s password is six zeros, and it contains one hundred thousand yuan.”
“Please thank Bai Yu for me.”
“I’ll try to take on more tasks and save some Little Ghosts for Bai Yu.”
Lu Liangting’s face was sincere, holding out the bank card.
This genuinely threw Zhao Mingyue for a loop.
One hundred thousand yuan?!
How long would it take her not to eat or drink to earn what Lu Liangting referred to as “insignificant” one hundred thousand yuan?
She couldn’t help but think this was the world of the rich—just take out a hundred thousand yuan like that.
“Take it.” In her mind, Bai Yu’s voice echoed.
Zhao Mingyue coughed, her cheeks flushed, but she listened to Bai Yu and accepted the bank card. She later understood why Bai Yu urged her to take it, mainly because by accepting something, Lu Liangting’s unnecessary gratitude would diminish, and he wouldn’t burden her later.
“Thank you, really, thank you!” Lu Liangting expressed his gratitude.
The image of the red-suited ghost being brutally slain by Bai Yu would stay engraved in his memory for life. That was the fate those damned creatures deserved!
Zhao Mingyue offered an awkward smile, feeling that Bai Yu’s image had reached a frighteningly high status in Lu Liangting’s heart.
Please, don’t let Lu Liangting become her love rival!
An hour and a half later, the car stopped across from Sunshine Apartment. Zhao Mingyue got out.
The benefits gained from this trip were undeniably substantial.
Bai Yu had consumed several Little Ghosts, and she also got one hundred thousand yuan from a supposed rival.
As Zhao Mingyue felt a mix of complex emotions and delight, in the luxury car…
“Young Master, I just remembered something.”
“What is it?” Lu Liangting turned his head.
“That bank card you just gave to Zhao Mingyue seems to be the one your mother gave you.”
“Her? It doesn’t matter.”
“No, what I mean is that she will monitor the activity of this card. You know she’s always suspicious about you seeing other women.”
