### Chapter Twenty: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes?
The bathroom was already cramped, and she was the only living person there. Looking at the tragic state of the female corpse and the countless scratch marks on the walls, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t feeling a little jumpy.
Nevertheless, Zhao Mingyue managed to maintain her composure.
All the information about this female ghost flashed in her mind. She remembered something Lu Liangting had said: when the woman was burned, there were two children in the house under her care. Since the woman was dead, escaping was likely off the table for those kids too.
But all she saw was the woman’s corpse; there were no signs of the kids. If the bodies had been dealt with, then the kids’ ghosts should still be around!
“Lu Liangting said she brought two kids with her. Bai Yu, can you see them?”
“Not a chance. They definitely aren’t in this house.” Bai Yu replied, confirming what Zhao Mingyue feared; she hadn’t seen the kids, only the female ghost lurking in the corner.
Earlier that morning, when Zhao Mingyue came downstairs, a ghost had slammed her into a wall—it was this ghost. It seemed it really wanted to keep Zhao Mingyue around forever.
“This ghost has some serious grudge issues. If you’d come in here alone, you’d be toast.”
Upon entering the bathroom, Bai Yu knew things were worse than she had thought. Someone had intentionally trapped this ghost here; her grudge had doubled after being confined, and now, in her own turf, her power was even stronger.
“Uh, can you deal with her?” Zhao Mingyue asked, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.
“I can, but we’ll need Lu Liangting’s help to do it without a huge cost.”
“Lu Liangting?”
“This guy tapped into the ghost’s memories. If all goes well, we can weaken her grudge. Got it?”
After Bai Yu’s explanation, Zhao Mingyue immediately understood. “I’ll go tell him.”
Just as she turned to leave, the bathroom door slammed shut with a bang!
At the same time, the five chains binding the ghost began to shake violently, and the murky water soaking the corpse started to bubble as if a witch’s cauldron was boiling.
It felt like the corpse was about to come back to life, but it remained still.
The red filter in the bathroom deepened, flooding Zhao Mingyue’s vision with crimson. Clutching her rabbit plush toy tightly, she took a step back, lowering her head, just as Bai Yu stepped in front of her.
Bai Yu’s body appeared to be only fifteen years old, even two years younger than Zhao Mingyue. She was small and delicate, standing about 1.6 meters tall, giving off a frail vibe, almost sickly.
Yet this apparently fragile figure was now standing protectively in front of Zhao Mingyue, providing an oddly comforting feeling of safety.
“Do you want to d*e again?”
Buzz!
The cold wind howled, and countless bl**d threads slithered from the floor and ceiling cracks, wrapping around the entire bathroom like a spider web.
Under the influence of these bl**d threads, the female ghost materialized. Her deep blue skin was marked with black patterns, long, disheveled black hair hid her face, and her dress was as red as bl**d, emanating a palpable aura of resentment.
As soon as the ghost appeared, she lunged at Bai Yu, her long black nails—at least twenty centimeters—aiming straight for Bai Yu’s heart.
She was alarmingly fast; Zhao Mingyue instinctively squinted, fearing Bai Yu would be punctured. But in the next moment, Bai Yu caught the ghost’s wrist with her left hand and entangled the other with chains before delivering a powerful punch to the ghost’s chest.
The ghost was knocked back, her dark energy exploding as her body arched backward. Since Bai Yu still held onto one of her arms, the ghost was yanked back right away.
With a swift strike, Bai Yu’s palm shot like a blade to the ghost’s throat, twisting it with a crack. Then, letting go, she raised the chain-wrapped arm and brought it down on the ghost’s head, following up with a knee strike the moment the ghost’s head dropped.
As the ghost’s head flew back, Bai Yu delivered another punch.
Boom!
The ghost was sent crashing into the bathroom wall, a cloud of black mist bursting forth.
This seamless display of fighting left Zhao Mingyue utterly dumbfounded. She had seen Bai Yu battle ghosts before, but she had no idea she could do all that! How can someone who looks so weak unleash such power?
Plus, her fighting technique was way too smooth; what had she done when she was alive? Why could this seemingly delicate girl execute such moves?
Zhao Mingyue was at a loss for words, caught off guard by the stark contrast between the tender girl and the ferocity of her attacks. If that ghost had been a human, they’d be half-dead by now!
The ghost stood up and snarled, even Bai Yu looked momentarily startled.
Her black nails grew long and pointed, shooting toward Bai Yu like arrows, but that wasn’t the end. Those nails suddenly ignited with black flame!
Bai Yu snapped back to reality as the ghost let out a wail, only to find ten razor-sharp nails rushing toward her.
Remaining calm, her right hand transformed the chain into a long sword, slicing down to sever the nails just in time. Unfortunately, the fiery aura ignited the blade, forcing Bai Yu to drop the weapon.
With the nails cut, the ghost’s venomous gaze locked onto Bai Yu from beneath her dark hair.
Bai Yu glanced at her right hand; cracks appeared on her exposed skin—not just the cosmetic kind, but real, tangible fissures.
The speed of that last slice had been too much for her body to handle.
Bai Yu wasn’t surprised; she had known this body was weak, but she didn’t expect it to be this fragile.
Meanwhile, Lu Liangting found himself in the ghost’s realm.
He understood the situation but felt powerless to change anything; flames had erupted, and now he was being chased by that very ghost.
Just as he was cornered, the ghost seemingly got hit by an unseen force, darting backward in surprise as a familiar silhouette zipped past.
Seeing her made the despair from earlier vanish, almost as if a girl from his hometown had appeared just when he was on the brink of d*ath in a foreign land.
All he could feel was overwhelming gratitude.
What Lu Liangting didn’t know was that while Bai Yu was trying to save Zhao Mingyue, she had inadvertently saved his life too, boosting her place in his mental ranking.
She was poised to strike and finish off the ghost, even if it cost her dearly, but then, the ghost vanished into thin air.
Not only did the ghost disappear, but the red filter in the air was also slowly fading.
Click.
Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the door echoed from outside, and the door was yanked open by someone on the other side.
“Someone’s coming,” Zhao Mingyue gasped.
With the ghost gone, Bai Yu slipped back into Zhao Mingyue’s shadow.
The newcomer was a living person. If her hunch was right, he was the one who had imprisoned the ghost’s corpse, and the cleanup of the house was his doing too. The piles of joss paper and the plaster on the walls, all him.
“Who are you, and how did you get in here?” an elderly voice boomed from the living room.
