Chapter 125: Lu Liangting: Urgent Urgent Urgent
Early in the morning, Zhao Mingyue woke up, freshened up, and had breakfast as usual. Then she dressed herself and Bai Yu up nicely, even putting lipstick on Miss Rabbit’s doll lips and pinning a bright red hairpin in her hair.
You could tell she was in a pretty good mood today, even humming a song on the way to work.
After all, she made a cool hundred thousand yesterday without lifting a finger, which for Zhao Mingyue wasn’t astronomical, but at least a hefty sum that made her giddy just thinking about it.
While marveling at Lu Liangting’s generosity, she couldn’t help but worry that he might become her rival in love or something.
Ding-a-ling~
As she pushed open the convenience store door, the copper bell on the frame jingled crisply.
This little thing didn’t have the ability to predict ghosts; it merely alerted the staff in the store that customers had arrived. That’s all.
“Good morning, Mingyue! You’re here early today,” the store manager said cheerfully while organizing the shelves.
“Good morning, Manager!”
“Good morning!”
Passing under the wind chime, Zhao Mingyue didn’t bother to count how many times it rang. Probably seven, just like last time; she was sure of it.
Sure enough, the wind chime rang seven times in succession, and it was quite pleasant. Unlike regular wind chimes that are light and airy, this one had a somewhat muffled but full-bodied sound, adding a special charm.
Li Tianan got up and casually grabbed a bottle of fresh milk from the shelf, placing it on the counter. “A little milk in the morning is good for you.”
“Thanks, Manager!”
“No problem, it’s on me, don’t worry about the money.” Li Tianan opened himself a bottle of cocktail and gestured toward the wind chime by the door. “You see that thing? I told you before, it can predict when ghosts enter.”
“Yeah… I know, Manager.”
“It’s been here for a few years, but honestly, it’s the first time I’ve seen it ring seven times like that.” Li Tianan’s smile turned a bit wry. “The stronger the ghost, the more it rings.”
“Oh, oh, so how many times can the strongest ghost you’ve encountered ring?” Zhao Mingyue was curious.
“The strongest ghost can only ring… five times,” Li Tianan replied with a hint of resignation.
“Five times!?” Zhao Mingyue exclaimed almost reflexively. “Only five?”
“Only?” Li Tianan nearly choked on her words.
Well, that was normal. This girl wasn’t your average human; her ghost could easily ring seven times. If she encountered more, she’d probably think five rings were weak sauce.
She should consider what the ghosts in the world were really like. How could they all be as powerful as her Bai Yu?
“Actually, it’s more like five and a half; the last one is not very clear.”
“Oh, well, that’s still pretty good.”
Pretty good? The manager’s smile froze, and he decided to put the cocktail down for now.
“Do you know what that means for the strength of that ghost?” The manager wanted to sound serious but couldn’t maintain his composure in front of Zhao Mingyue when bragging about how scary that ghost was.
“Level of a Red-clothed Evil Ghost, and it belongs to the upper tier of them.”
“Why are they called red-clothed ghosts? It’s due to their grudges. Rather than being red, you could say they’re wearing bl**d-stained clothes; that red represents the depths of their resentment.”
“Not all ghosts that aren’t in red are weak, but a ghost dressed in bl**d is definitely formidable.”
“This particular ghost I encountered fits that bill; all her clothes were stained red, a true powerhouse of resentment.”
“Don’t get me started; even four rings qualify as a red-clothed ghost. Two or three rings can easily end lives!”
He said all that in hopes of sparking Zhao Mingyue’s curiosity about the ghost, but unexpectedly, she didn’t care and asked instead.
“Will there be a response if an Evil Spirit comes? How many rings would that make?”
“Ahem The Evil Spirit?”
“Yup.”
“Not sure; there’s never been an Evil Spirit here, so it’s highly likely it wouldn’t ring.”
“Can’t it detect Evil Spirits?”
“……”
Li Tianan fell silent, wanting to retort, “Do you think Evil Spirits grow on trees? You could see ten red-clothed ghosts but wouldn’t encounter even one Evil Spirit! Where do you think all these Evil Spirits come from?”
Over the years, red-clothed ghosts hadn’t shown up often, and Evil Spirits were even scarcer.
So, was there even a chance that this bell would be useless at fulfilling its purpose?
“Mingyue, I mean, this ghost’s identity has some issues.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, Lu Liangting has been troubled by that mysterious organization lately. I spoke to him last night to get the gist of things.” Despite feeling helpless, Li Tianan kept a calm demeanor. “So I suspect that the Red-clothed Ghost is very likely connected to Lu Liangting.”
“It’s a female ghost, relatively young, possibly around Bai Yu’s age, with a few features resembling Lu Liangting.”
“Are you saying that ghost is Lu Liangting’s sister!?” Zhao Mingyue perked up.
“Just a guess. If it were only a matter of age and looks, I wouldn’t be saying anything. After this ghost came in, it kept searching for something, and that night, Lu Liangting was supposed to come to work but took a sudden leave.”
“This ghost, not finding what she sought, lingered a long time looking at Lu Liangting’s picture on the staff list on the wall from where I’m standing.”
“That must be Lu Liangting’s sister!” With Li Tianan’s words, Zhao Mingyue felt certain there was a strong connection.
“Can’t be certain; it’s just a strong possibility. Plus, this happened six months ago, and Lu Liangting had just started working here, so I’m not sure what had happened to him.”
“Well, I won’t disturb your work anymore; I just wanted to share.”
Just as he was about to leave after taking up his drink, Zhao Mingyue suddenly called out to him.
“Manager, wait!”
“What is it?”
“Is that Red-clothed Female Ghost, eh…” Zhao Mingyue hesitated. “Is she thin and a bit short with a beauty mark under her eye, double eyelids, and very large pure black eyes?” She pointed to the corner of her eye, where she had a beauty mark too.
“Sounds about right, how do you know?”
“I—I think I might have dreamt about her last night.”
“Dreamt?” Li Tianan frowned.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what it was about, but last night, I dreamed about this girl in a pitch-black place being chased by something. At the time, I was hiding in a cabinet, and she hid inside too and said to me, ‘Help me, tell my brother not to come looking for me; he’s in serious danger.’”
Zhao Mingyue recalled that strange dream. As for most details, they were fuzzy, but she clearly remembered the girl’s face and words.
Initially, she thought it was just an ordinary dream, but hearing Li Tianan brought her a moment of realization.
Because the girl in her dream was about 15 or 16 years old, in a long dress completely soaked in bl**d.
“That must definitely be his sister,” Li Tianan pondered. “You having that dream highly likely means you went to a special place yesterday. Lu Liangting’s sister might have been there recently, leaving behind some resentment that you absorbed. Once she felt the remnants of Lu Liangting’s presence on you, she chose you to send her message.”
He was quite experienced in exorcising ghosts and had encountered similar scenarios before.
“Could it really be so coincidental?” Zhao Mingyue questioned.
“It could be. While it’s a coincidence, there’s also that resentment actively seeking you out because you’ve been with Lu Liangting. It naturally clings to you.”
“I see.”
“Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. I have some things to attend to. A family is having trouble—an elderly father suddenly passed away, and on the day of the funeral, they couldn’t lift the coffin no matter what. Last night, someone even claimed to see the old man’s ghost; it’s a bit of a ruckus.”
“Got it, Manager, take care.”
“No worries, small issue. If they still can’t lift the coffin, I’ll just call for a bulldozer.” Li Tianan joked as he grabbed his car keys and drink and headed out.
Zhao Mingyue hesitated, wanting to say that he shouldn’t drink and drive.
Cocktails also count as liquor, right?
Oh well, it’s the boss’s business, so this little employee wouldn’t meddle.
No matter how friendly the relationship was offline, at work, they were still boss and employee.
The convenience store fell silent again as Zhao Mingyue settled down at the counter.
She considered herself lucky; most convenience store cashiers weren’t allowed to sit and had to stand all day. Just sitting down would incur fines and wage deductions.
Placing the lipstick-coated Miss Rabbit on the counter, she rested her cheek in her hand.
“That girl in my dream was kind of cute. If I’d rate her a perfect ten, I’d give her a solid eight or nine.”
“Bai Yu, do you think it could really be Lu Liangting’s sister?”
“If it is, should I tell that Lu guy? He looks pretty pitiful, searching for his sister like a madman.”
“To become Red-clothed is bound to be due to mistreatment in life; otherwise, how could they hold such deep resentment?”
“Especially for a young girl like that; they are much more innocent and straightforward than adults.”
Bai Yu pondered. “You can tell him, but don’t get involved.”
What happened to Lu Liangting’s sister was bound to be complicated. Anything connected to the male protagonist was usually that way. The only thing known was that it involved the Ghost Domain, and the power of the Ghost Domain was no joke; the ghosts they eliminated were just a fraction of that power.
Handing him some tasks seemed like a good choice, allowing him to channel his energy elsewhere and saving him from bothering her with his antics.
Why not enjoy some love games with those madmen instead?
Bai Yu not only wanted to inform Lu Liangting but also spread the news so that the crazies would catch wind of it and start investigating, creating all sorts of chaos.
It was a classic three-birds-with-one-stone situation.
Bai Yu doubted those mad folks wouldn’t be tempted to jump on such an opportunity.
What a great way to raise rapport; it was practically gift-wrapped!
Finding the little sister and delivering her to Lu Liangting himself would essentially wrap up half the task.
Those crazies were quiet for the time being, mainly because while trying to figure out how to woo Lu Liangting, they were also working on their self-improvement.
The methods they thought of didn’t consider others’ feelings. For instance, take the Evil God from Eternal Life Village—once they realized its strength, who cared if unleashing it would lead to all those deaths? They wanted to become the Evil God’s vessel and take it down instead.
This plan could keep them settled down quite nicely.
As for Lu Liangting’s feelings, who cares?
Plus, with all the “professionals” she found for him to locate his sister, how could he ever reject that?
Let’s be real; if those pests from the Ghost Domain got targeted by those mad folks, who knew how they’d end up dead?
As long as that creepy rabbit mask didn’t interfere again.
Zhao Mingyue had already taken out her phone and started typing a message to Lu Liangting.
She thought about how he might not be jealous; it was mostly just a joke, while his sister was the real deal.
After finishing the message, just as she hit send, Bai Yu’s voice chimed in.
“Text Shen Shuyun; I’ll tell you what to say.”
“Okay~”
Moments later, Shen Shuyun replied with just an ellipsis.
Of course, she wouldn’t spread the news; she was smart, and such a rare opportunity wouldn’t slip through her fingers.
Zhao Mingyue just sent the message and figured out Bai Yu’s plan right away.
But what could she do? If she said no, Bai Yu might barge in front of her, ready to twist her head off.
“Doctor, I understand your thoughts; I’ll handle this for now. Don’t let anyone know; I promise it won’t affect you and Zhao Mingyue in any way, absolutely.”
“Okay.”
“Deal.”
Shen Shuyun wanted to monopolize the task, but that wouldn’t fly. Bai Yu wouldn’t spill, but others would watch and investigate—after all, Shen Shuyun was the most visible one around Lu Liangting.
Bai Yu was perfectly satisfied with just this condition.
Not long after, Lu Liangting’s reply came in.
“Sorry, Mingyue, two female madmen are chasing me. Please keep your phone handy; I’ll contact you shortly. Thank you so much!”
He even sent a video of himself sprinting down the street, clearly being chased by something.
It was evident that he was quite anxious about all this.
Risking being chased to send a quick message was definitely a commitment!
—
By 10 PM, at the latest, it would be half-past ten.
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