Chapter 161: Have You Ever Seen a Ten-Year-Old Having a Baby?
“So, where to now?”
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, the Dragon Lady crossed her arms, looking like a mere spectator, showing no signs of anything amiss. She was just as nonchalant as when she arrived, trying her best not to let Zhao Mingyue figure her out.
Zhao Mingyue, that silly girl who normally looked like she had rocks for brains, showed surprising intelligence when faced with actual trouble. Once she set her mind to it, everything clicked. She could follow a train of thought down rabbit holes that revealed a treasure trove of insights.
Right now, she hadn’t figured it out simply because she herself didn’t dare to believe it.
Bai Yu and the Dragon Lady had only teamed up for a few days; they hardly knew each other. Could the Dragon Lady really be that decisive? And how could Bai Yu trust her?
“I have a suggestion!” Zhao Mingyue raised a hand. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Bai Yu, remember that ghost we snagged at the convenience store? Didn’t it mention a place called–what was it again? Ghost Gate! I bet that’s crawling with ghosts!”
“Ghost Gate…” Bai Yu finally started to remember.
“Uh-huh! Let’s check it out! Who knows, we might strike gold. But first, we need to bother the store manager and ask if he knows where the Ghost Gate is.”
“Sounds good.” Bai Yu locked eyes with the Dragon Lady, who was already pulling out her keys from her pocket.
“I can help too, but I won’t tag along. I need to get some rest. I’m not like you two—one is a ghost, and the other is neither human nor ghost.”
Who she meant by “neither human nor ghost” was clear to Zhao Mingyue, but she didn’t want to dig deeper; she was in such a good mood.
What’s wrong with being neither human nor ghost? That’s an advantage! Back when she couldn’t openly flirt with Bai Yu, she was always shot down with the excuse that a ghost couldn’t mingle with ghost energy. But now? Bai Yu couldn’t refuse anymore!
Thinking about the long hours ahead, Zhao Mingyue could barely contain her grin wider than a Cheshire cat’s.
Is this what having a bright future feels like?!
·
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In an expansive, dark, abandoned building, Lu Liangting cautiously treaded the first floor with a bright flashlight in hand. He moved slowly, hyper-aware of his surroundings; here, even the tiniest sound was amplified to deafening levels. Maybe it was the eerie emptiness or the cold wind sneaking in, but he kept feeling goosebumps creeping up his spine.
No matter which way he faced, a chilling draft crept from behind, seeping down to his bones.
“Zhizi, have you found that guy yet?” Lu Liangting whispered. Beside him, Zhizi in her skintight black outfit shook her head lightly.
“Not yet, but something’s definitely off here.”
Just as Zhizi finished her sentence, a red shadow lunged at Lu Liangting.
“Watch out, Young Master!”
“!” Lu Liangting turned around, only to be met with a foul wind and a rotting, pus-dripping black face almost kissing his own.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and he dared not move too much. Just as he took a step back and reached for his pocket, the red figure stared right at him. After what felt like an eternity in just a few seconds, the figure suddenly changed direction and disappeared into the hallway, darting into a room at the end where the door slammed shut with a resounding bang.
Lu Liangting watched in shock as the red-clothed figure vanished, finally breathing a sigh of relief as his heart raced like it was training for a marathon.
Face-to-face with a ghost clothed in red, so close he could smell its putrid stench. That experience wasn’t for the faint of heart; someone with a weak constitution might literally faint dead away.
“A red-clothed ghost in this place…”
Strictly speaking, this was once a hotel that had been long abandoned. They were here to find someone named the Red Wolf, who supposedly had a close connection with Sky Fox.
Roses vanished, only caught on camera was a figure in a fox mask. According to Zhizi, that mask belonged to Sky Fox, and as long as they located Sky Fox, the chances of finding the Rose were high.
Days of investigation through various sources had led them only to the whereabouts of Sky Fox’s friend, and they’d rushed here.
“Let’s go check it out!”
Zhizi gripped a short kn*fe, striding towards the room where the red figure had vanished.
The Red Wolf made this derelict hotel her home, and she surely knew Lu Liangting was here, hiding and refusing to show herself.
Dust blanketed the corridor; most of the room numbers were smeared with black, viscous bl**d.
The clear burn marks told the hotel’s grim backstory—a fire that claimed at least thirty-five lives. The source of the fire remained a mystery, attracting many local legends.
Some said it was a rival’s sabotage; others claimed a few mentally ill individuals set it ablaze, while some insisted that ghosts were at play. After some investigation, the fire wasn’t large enough to have caused that many fatalities, yet somehow, over thirty people perished.
Additionally, rumors suggested the hotel’s owner had set the fire as a dramatic act of love after his wife was murdered therein.
Finally, they reached the last room, the cleanest and most orderly. The door had been wiped clean, and a small plaque hung on it.
“Princess’s Room”
Zhizi and Lu Liangting exchanged glances. Zhizi spoke quietly, “Red Wolf, I’m Smiling Person’s sister, and I’m here without an invitation because I need to discuss something important with you. Don’t worry, I’ll leave once I know what I need.”
“I can offer you some benefits in exchange for answering my questions.”
Knocking on the door, right as she finished her sentence, they heard knocking from the other side too—three knocks, just like her.
“Red Wolf?”
Zhizi continued knocking, only to have the door knock back. She faintly heard childlike giggles—mischief echoing from behind the door.
The empty corridor was unnaturally quiet, and if she listened closely, only her own voice resonated back.
Zhizi’s brows furrowed, her patience wearing thin.
She was sure the Red Wolf knew they had arrived and was hiding away instead of responding. Even if she refused, a fight would at least be a response. This hiding game wasted too much time.
As her hand reached for the doorknob, Zhizi was surprised to find the door opened with just a gentle push. The diminutive red figure that had frightened Lu Liangting was hiding behind the door. At the moment the door swung open, both stared at each other dazedly, before she quickly covered her face with both hands and screamed sharply.
The scream was piercing. Zhizi instinctively covered her ears, but it was too late.
bl**d leaked from her earlobes, her face paling.
Faster than Zhizi, Old Yang’s ghostly claw thrust up from the floor directly targeting the Red Clothed Girl’s face. Yet just as it closed in, that scream hit, causing the claw to falter like it was about to crumble, forcing Old Yang to retract its grasp.
Old Yang wasn’t doing too bad against the red figure, but here, he seemed like a featherweight fighter facing a heavyweight champion.
“Didn’t you see the sign hanging on the door?”
A languid female voice chimed from behind them. Both Lu Liangting and Zhizi turned to see a girl standing sleepily in the doorway of a nearby room, yawning.
“You can’t just barge into a girl’s room. Don’t you two understand that?”
Bang!
The room’s door slammed shut, and the haunting scream vanished.
This red-clothed ghost always gave Lu Liangting a peculiar vibe—like a playful little girl who enjoyed pranks. The face-covering and the screech seemed… shy?
“Sorry for the intrusion, but we really need to discuss something important.”
Zhizi put away her weapon as a gesture of goodwill.
Interpersonal relations weren’t her strong suit; her sister usually handled this kind of stuff while she simply watched from the sidelines.
“You don’t look like guests at all.”
The Red Wolf was still clad in her pink pajamas, almost cute at first glance. But considering they were in a haunted, abandoned hotel made that cuteness evaporate like morning mist.
“At best, you two are unwanted guests. By the way, do you want to know what time it is? It’s eleven twenty-eight at night. Aren’t you two supposed to be in bed?”
“Shouting as soon as you walk in? Are you planning something nefarious by knocking on my daughter’s door at this hour?”
“My daughter is only nine. I suggest you drop any ideas you might have. And let me remind you, to me, she will always be the most beautiful little girl in the world, unlike what you two probably think.”
The Red Wolf scratched her messy hair, looking decidedly unkempt.
“Returning to the point, why should I answer your questions just because you showed up? You mention benefits, but I’m more than set unless—will you leave that guy behind for me?”
The Red Wolf stepped out, closing the door with a casualness that spoke volumes. Her face no longer bore sleepiness but rather hostility and sarcasm as she pointed at Lu Liangting.
“Forget him; I want none of your other conditions.” Zhizi positioned herself in front of Lu Liangting, ready to spring into action.
“I already said, I don’t need anything! Here is more than enough for me! This hotel and Little Yan are all I desire.”
This three-star establishment used to be a specific mission site—Lu Liangting had wondered upon arrival why someone would choose to live in a place that was rife with ghosts. Any normal person in there would probably be dead by morning.
From the Red Wolf’s words, it became clear that this hotel was more than just bricks and mortar; it housed the strongest of all red-clothed entities—her daughter.
To Lu Liangting, this “daughter” seemed more like a forged or imagined relationship. After all, the Red Wolf appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, and the red figure had just turned nine; it would be suspicious if she truly had a child at ten. If that were the case, the father should be strung up out back.
Lu Liangting patted Zhizi on the shoulder, signaling her to let him handle it.
“Miss Red Wolf, I think I understand what this place means to you—your memories and nostalgia.”
“Let me introduce myself; I’m Lu Liangting. You might’ve heard of me.”
“Please trust us; we genuinely mean no harm with our visit.”
“How about this? I personally promise that if you answer our questions, I will provide five hundred thousand and help renovate this hotel.”
“Regardless of how much you cherish it, it doesn’t change the fact that it has turned into ruins. Don’t you want Little Yan to have a clean and comfy environment?”
Red Wolf paused, considering Lu Liangting’s words.
She looked thoughtful.
“Okay, you don’t have to pay that much. Twenty thousand will suffice. In return, I have one request: if I were to d*e…” Her gaze turned solemn, and her voice dropped. “Find a way to turn me into an Evil Ghost. Even if I’m gone, I want to take care of her. It’s what I owe her.”
Lu Liangting truly hadn’t expected that kind of response from the Red Wolf.
He had thought she merely viewed that red figure as a means to an end or something else entirely.
If this was an act, she was nailing it.
“Deal.” After a brief moment’s contemplation, Lu Liangting nodded in agreement.
Helping a deceased person become an Evil Ghost was something he could do, and it was relatively simple.
He didn’t understand why the Red Wolf had such a notion, having such fondness for that red-clothed figure.
Not just him; even Zhizi fell silent. She had encountered the Red Wolf before, and the impression left was of a muscly, brooding man with a scarred face.
This guy was ruthless; while that might be a common trait among game participants, it gave no excuse for behavior. He was a cold-blooded creature.
Could such a person possess feelings like this?
It made sense why locating Red Wolf proved so difficult. He rarely showed his face, and on the few occasions he did, it was during missions with others.
These folks had two goals:
1. Search for opportunities to grow stronger.
2. Attempt to woo Lu Liangting.
This world was odd; aside from the ghosts, it was nothing but an ordinary realm. There were no major factions battling it out, no monster invasions—nothing.
This left them somewhat lost; they could have at least joined a significant organization to blend in, but now? They couldn’t just waltz up to a red-clothed ghost and say, “Hey, I want to join you!”
With not even a BOSS to contend with, even if there were, they wouldn’t be able to win.
No bloodlines, professions, skills, or equipment.
She initially thought they were all busy grinding missions, but had no clue there was a situation like the Red Wolf’s.
“Red Wolf, how much do you know about Sky Fox?”
“Sky Fox?” The Red Wolf frowned, “You’re looking for that one?”
“Yes.”
“Hard to say. Sky Fox and I were on good terms, but we haven’t been in contact recently. The last time I saw her, she was trying to pull me into some project. I almost agreed, but she suddenly backed out.”
“I suspect she’s doing it for her daughter.”
“My good relationship with her stems from our similarities—her daughter’s situation mirrors mine.”
