Chapter 164: Zhao Mingyue’s Daring Idea
The apartment had been uninhabited for a long time, the air thick with a faint smell of damp decay, and was it just me, or was there a whiff of something rotten? Could that be a dead animal, or perhaps—gulp—a human body?
The front door was secured with a hefty iron lock. Zhao Mingyue grabbed the railing with both hands and peered into the hallway. It was cluttered with all sorts of junk, and the floor still showed signs of water that hadn’t dried up, mingling with the stench of rotten garbage.
In such a grimy place, she wouldn’t have waltzed in even if the door hadn’t been locked.
The last thing she wanted was to step on something unexpected… like a corpse! And then, upon closer inspection, see a swollen, pale face staring back at her with its pitch-black eyes.
“Guess I’ll stick to the second floor.”
Taking a couple of steps back, she gave it a once-over before deciding it was safe enough and nimbly hopped through the window to land in the second-floor hallway.
Compared to the first floor, the second floor was at least cleaner. There were still plenty of items strewn about, but no puddles on the floor, and the putrid stench had lessened considerably. Too bad there was no electricity up here, making it pitch dark. The doors on her right were open into complete blackness.
At least the hallway was near the street, and the age-old, dust-covered windows allowed in a bit of dim light from the street lamps outside. But these rooms? Zhao Mingyue had her doubts—were they even equipped with windows? Not a glimmer of light anywhere.
“Let’s head up to the fourth floor.” She wasn’t overly concerned; the drafts of cold wind and the ominous aura in the hallway made her a bit suspicious there were no ghosts.
She hurried up the stairs to the third floor.
This little apartment building only had four floors and was much smaller than the Sunshine Apartment.
Upon reaching the third floor, Zhao Mingyue quickly understood why no one came here.
As soon as she arrived, there was a cacophony of voices chattering away, like a chaotic market with no one in sight! It definitely sounded like a big crowd, but the entire floor was empty.
The noise emanated from the fourth floor—the ghostly haven!
“There really are a ton of ghosts! Feast time, Bai Yu! No being picky this time; we need to recover!”
“Yeah.”
Zhao Mingyue gripped the bannister and charged upstairs, excitement bubbling over despite knowing it was a ghost den above her.
The fourth floor was absolutely packed with ghosts, most of them not particularly strong—like the kind regular humans couldn’t perceive. But thanks to her enhanced eyesight, which now included a hint of yin-yang vision, she could spot spirits with ease. Since blending with Bai Yu, her abilities had skyrocketed.
Bounding up to the fourth floor, as soon as her foot hit the stairs, the “ghostly chatter” vanished. Glancing around, she found a mass of ghosts filling the hallway and rooms—ghosts packed together like sardines; they were all sorts: young, old, and every kind of d*ath imaginable.
“Hey, how’d a living person stumble in here?”
“Brothers, we’ve got a live one!”
“Where?! Where?! Can we finally feast? Last time I saw the boss munch on a living soul, I’m ready to give it a shot!”
“Shhh, keep it down! Don’t wake the big guy inside, or we’ll all be out of luck.”
“Yeah, yeah, quiet down! I can barely control myself! Look at that tender little girl! Ugh, why did I d*e so soon? It’s a shame I can’t savor her properly.”
“Your little buddy gone? You said it was your wife who cut that off. You told me so yourself!”
“Shut it! If you mention that again, you’ll be the first in my dinner plan!”
The weaker ghosts shrank back into the rooms or hid in the corners; while more imposing, shadowy figures emerged, gazing at Zhao Mingyue with hungry eyes, practically drooling as they debated how to divide her up.
To them, Zhao Mingyue looked like a lamb lost among wolves—blissfully unaware of her precarious situation.
A shadow hanging from the ceiling suddenly dropped, revealing a pale, sinister ghost face with a terrifying grin.
“Little girl, is your meat tasty?”
Without waiting for Zhao to respond, a pair of ghostly claws lunged towards her chest. This black-as-night specter was fixated on that very spot, blissfully unaware that throughout this whole encounter, Zhao Mingyue’s expression hadn’t changed one bit.
“Well, how convenient.” Sharp bl**d threads emerged from the floor, puncturing straight through the ghost! The wailing specter couldn’t even get close to her, torn apart into pieces before it could advance another inch.
Zhao Mingyue stepped forward, a smile lighting up her face.
“I’d like to find out what you taste like too.”
In the middle of the hallway stood near twenty formidable ghosts filled with dark energy on either side. Zhao turned to her left, and behind her, a stunning figure began to loom.
In that moment, silence enveloped the hallway as every ghost sensed something was amiss.
Only when the snake-like bl**d threads began to snake through the corridor did they realize they weren’t dealing with a lost lamb, but a fierce tiger crashing into their henhouse—easier to obliterate than they could have imagined.
“Quick, summon the boss!”
The ghostly brigade cried out in despair; within moments, the seemingly youngest little ghost had devoured seven or eight of their brothers, leaving nothing behind—like some gluttonous demon!
Meanwhile, Zhao Mingyue raised her hand, the bl**d threads spiraling along her arm, gradually forming into the shape of a long blade.
She wanted to see how Bai Yu typically dispatched ghosts, and this bunch would serve as her practice targets!
In just three minutes, the ghosts in the hallway had been devoured entirely, leaving behind the faint sounds of ordinary little ghosts cowering in the corners, too terrified to even breathe loudly.
There were other formidable ghosts hidden away—every single one met the same unfortunate end! The fourth floor had turned into a realm of bl**d threads, sealing off any chance of escape. No one could rush out without turning into a nice ground meat paste.
“Where are all the Red Clothes ghosts?” Zhao Mingyue sheathed her “blade” and strolled toward the innermost room, its door pure black, invoking a strange feeling she couldn’t quite put into words.
Following the chaos, several little ghosts had scurried to hide behind this door, seeking refuge after being utterly annihilated, and the strongest ghost had emerged from here.
“So this is the Ghost Gate? I expected something more grand.”
Cautiously, Zhao Mingyue didn’t step inside but instead took a few steps back, waiting for Bai Yu to handle things.
Just as she retreated, a male ghost emerged from behind the door—dressed in work gear stained red with bl**d, he hung his head low. Without a word, his mere presence overshadowed even those ordinary ghosts Bai Yu had consumed.
“Now that’s a real Red Clothes ghost,” Zhao Mingyue muttered softly. The final word had barely escaped her lips before countless bl**d threads launched a suicidal attack, enveloping the Red Clothes ghost with stunning speed and ferocity.
Bai Yu stayed silent, quietly standing behind Zhao Mingyue.
A tall and a petite figure—if you hadn’t just seen them gorge themselves, you might think they were just delicate young girls, radiating the allure of surprising innocence.
Some of the smaller ghosts huddled in fear, their powers weak; they had forgotten many things, especially their past life, but they would never forget this night’s spectacle.
Bai Yu took Zhao Mingyue away, leaving behind a completely silent realm at the Ghost Gate.
Zhao Mingyue wasn’t awarded Bai Yu’s “Ghost Queen” title; instead, among these little ghosts, she earned another nickname.
“Glutton”
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“Ah, home sweet home! I’m exhausted!”
Once back, the first thing Zhao Mingyue did was flop down on the sofa, uninterested in moving an inch. She transformed into a lazy fish, wiggling around the couch.
Bai Yu had gobbled down what amounted to three Red Clothes ghosts and even munched on dozens of ordinary ghosts. Zhao Mingyue intended to take tomorrow and the day after off from school, taking Bai Yu to the task location to feast on Red Clothes ghosts. After all, it was guaranteed to have at least one—and with a bit of luck, maybe two or three more! Along with some extra ordinary ghosts, it would definitely lead to quite a recovery.
In two nights she could comfortably manage two tasks plus tonight’s haul of three Red Clothes ghosts, which could result in as many as six or seven! According to Bai Yu, that would basically mean a full recovery.
Suddenly, Zhao Mingyue had a wild idea and shot up from the sofa, dragging Bai Yu toward the bathroom.
She had a burning desire to try something.
“Let’s go, Sister Yu! Time to shower together!”
Zhao Mingyue’s idea was simple.
After her transformation tonight, her body had veered toward becoming ghostly. According to the Dragon Lady, she was now seventy percent human and thirty percent ghost—belonging to the “not entirely human, not entirely ghost” club. Strangely enough, this new essence had more advantages than disadvantages.
What was known? She could manipulate bl**d threads! These threads were as ephemeral as smoke and mist. Bai Yu’s bl**d threads may look formidable, but they were just as insubstantial.
So here lay the golden question.
If she wanted greater control over her bl**d threads, could blending them with Bai Yu’s help her achieve that?
She needed Bai Yu’s strength and essence to stabilize the bl**d threads within her.
Wouldn’t it be fascinating if Bai Yu could vaporize her bl**d threads and entwine them with her own, creating a beautiful mash-up?
This could enhance her control over the strings, making her own bl**d threads take on Bai Yu’s form, rendering them easier to tame.
Even if it didn’t exactly work out, it would surely make things more comfortable, right?
She practically craved being glued to Bai Yu.
“Sister Yu, how about a little game?”
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Votes, please! Aww!
