### Chapter 252: The Frail Girl
Bathing with a ghost is abnormal?
Well, let’s find a way to make this normal. If everyone else does it, then it’s totally normal for me too!
If Bai Yu heard this and thought it was weird to bathe together, that would be a major loss. Thankfully, she’s pretty clever.
Zhao Mingyue thought to herself.
The car quickly sank into silence; Old Yang and Lu Liangting stopped arguing and fell into deep contemplation. Who was really abnormal here, them or Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu? If it were another female ghost, they wouldn’t be thinking so hard about it.
But Bai Yu’s seriously bad personality was perfectly acceptable, so why couldn’t they accept it?
Could it really be a problem on their end?
As for whether they should go back and give it a shot, that thought wasn’t crossing their minds just yet.
The air was awkward as the car pulled up in front of a house.
Once home, Old Yang let go of this dilemma with a sigh of relief.
The last time he came back, he’d been with Lu Liangting.
He was afraid his appearance would scare his mother, so he hid in the shadows, peeking without daring to show himself. But this time, he was returning openly; after some makeup, he’d practically turned into a master of disguise. His mother’s eyesight wasn’t that great either, so she wouldn’t notice anything off about him.
As for whether his mother would be scared to see him, he figured that would be fine.
He could just tell her the truth; she already believed in ghosts and gods. He could say it was a sign that her prayers were heard by the divine since she’d spent her life doing good deeds.
“Mingyue, I’ll take him back for a bit. It’ll take about half an hour. Want to join us?” Lu Liangting asked as he got out of the car.
“I think I’ll stay here and wait for you two to return,” Zhao Mingyue said.
“Okay.”
Lu Liangting retrieved the supplements he had prepared from the trunk and, along with Old Yang, carried a few boxes to the door.
A cute little girl, around eight or nine, opened the door.
Even from the car, Zhao Mingyue could tell Old Yang was struggling to control his emotions at the sight of this little girl.
As she watched them enter and the door close, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t help but reflect, “How wonderful! Dying and returning home in this identity is like a kind of rebirth, isn’t it? At least the family can feel more at ease now — a mother has her son, a child has his father, and a little sister has her brother.”
Zhao Mingyue suddenly wanted to ask about Bai Yu’s family.
All she knew until now was that Bai Sisi was Bai Yu’s sister; she hadn’t heard Bai Yu mention anyone else. It seemed she had lived in an orphanage before.
Time ticked by. Lu Liangting and Old Yang returned quicker than Zhao Mingyue expected, in about twenty minutes.
Old Yang had a tearful goodbye with his family.
It seemed he didn’t dare to hang around too long; if he lingered, he wouldn’t want to leave again.
“Sorry for making you wait,” Old Yang said as he got back in the car.
“Oh, it’s fine! I was just chatting with Bai Yu; didn’t feel like much time passed,” Zhao Mingyue replied.
“Good,” Lu Liangting added, climbing into the car with a bright smile.
“Heading back to Qiugang Village?” Zhao Mingyue asked.
“Right, let’s go.”
“Got it.”
“I feel like Qiugang Village is way more complicated than we thought,” Zhao Mingyue said, gazing out the window. She recalled the black spider monster, “Bai Yu told me that the creature appearing at the last moment of the ghost marriage is very similar to the presence in Qiugang Village. It’s likely it came from there.”
“Is it an evil spirit?” Lu Liangting asked.
“Bai Yu said it didn’t seem like one, but it also didn’t quite seem like a ghost.”
“Could it be an evil god?” Lu Liangting glanced at the rearview mirror but didn’t see Bai Yu.
“Not sure, but if it’s an evil god, it shouldn’t exactly have a physical form.”
“We’ll investigate when we get there.”
Near noon, they stopped for lunch, and after returning to Qiugang Village, Zhao Mingyue took a stroll around the village. Even though it was noon, the village was still somewhat shrouded in mist. She wondered if the villagers could see the black fog enveloping the area.
According to the intel from the village, every so often someone would get killed at night, be it a human or livestock. But nothing happened during police patrols, which at least indicated some intelligence on the part of the culprit, or perhaps someone was pulling the strings.
Zhao Mingyue’s primary suspect remained the family living at the house with the ghost gate they had previously visited.
The people inside had strong motives.
But she had too many unanswered questions, so she couldn’t jump to conclusions.
What she did know was that something in this village was killing, there was a ghost gate and numerous ghosts, and the people living in the courtyard intended to seal the ghost gate while possibly hiding an evil spirit-level monster.
These things felt disconnected.
If this person really wanted to seal the ghost gate, it might actually be a good thing. If left open, the village would inevitably face significant problems; after all, it was an unclaimed door.
It was unlikely the culprit was the gatekeeper; the corpses in the house indicated some mental issues on their part. Besides, if the person were the gatekeeper, they wouldn’t need to resort to kidnapping the store manager.
The ease with which they dealt with the store manager suggested they were highly skilled, and it would be pointless to look for someone weaker than her to handle what she couldn’t.
“Wait, over there, isn’t that door ajar?”
Lost in thought, Zhao Mingyue suddenly noticed something. The door to the house they had visited was partially open.
Her spirits lifted, and she quickly walked over.
Now that they were back, they might as well barge in and take a look.
Daytime felt safer at least; after all, sunlight could suppress ghost powers. Nighttime was when the real trouble began.
Standing in front of the courtyard gate, Zhao Mingyue gave it a push. Sure enough, it opened easily. With her magic wand in hand, she started brainstorming the simplest way to catch whoever was inside.
She might not have the strength, but trying couldn’t hurt; after all, the real culprit hadn’t dealt with the store manager directly; they had stayed hidden. This puppet master might not be that strong.
“I’ll take the lead,” Lu Liangting stepped up, positioning himself alongside Old Yang to shield Zhao Mingyue.
Just as they moved, the door swung wide open.
To their surprise, the so-called puppet master wasn’t hiding away; she sat right there in front of the main room, holding something with both hands. As soon as they pushed the door open, she looked up at them with an indifferent expression, unphased by the intrusion.
Seated there was a frail-looking girl with white hair, seemingly only around fifteen. She looked similar in age to Bai Yu and had a sweet, adorable appearance. However, her unhealthy grayish-white hair and pale, sickly face made her look somewhat frail.
Zhao Mingyue thought Bai Yu was small enough as it was, but this girl was even skinnier—that delicate frame could almost be described as bony if she were any thinner.
The biggest impression the girl left on Zhao Mingyue was that she appeared to be sickly.
Like a light breeze could knock her over.
Her life seemed like a feeble candle flame, about to go out with a gentle breath.
This was nothing like the image of a puppet master she had envisioned.
Or was this girl merely a survivor in the house?
Zhao Mingyue understood the importance of not judging appearances, but the issue was this girl was not only fragile looking; her presence was incredibly weak, almost like an ordinary person—no, she was even weaker than most.
Her aura was so faint it was nearly imperceptible.
Ordinary people usually lack a presence in the way ghosts do—once ghosts reach a certain level of power, their vengeful aura could suffocate normal humans. For ordinary folks, it was more about life force.
And now that she had gained some strength, Zhao Mingyue was more sensitive to auras; she could distinguish that ethereal feeling.
For normal people, it’s their vitality that determines strength.
But this girl’s life aura was so weak; her sickly appearance wasn’t just an act.
Zhao Mingyue stepped forward, ready to have a chat with the girl. Regardless of who she was, it was best to ask first. It might come off as rude, but considering the bunch of corpses and evil spirits inside, manners were somewhat hard to maintain.
Just as she and Lu Liangting stepped through the doorway, the girl reacted, suddenly jumping up like a startled bird. The book she’d been holding fell to the ground, and the chair under her toppled over.
One second she was calm, the next, she looked utterly terrified—like she had seen a truly horrifying ghost. Fear was practically written all over her face.
Zhao Mingyue even saw her yank down the two bandages on her forehead, covering her eyes, leaning against the wall in a pitiful, curled-up pose that struck a chord of pity.
This left Zhao Mingyue a bit bewildered. Did she look that scary? How had she frightened the girl to this extent?
Could she really have been mistaken? Was this girl not the puppet master?
As if to confirm her thoughts, a massive expanse of black threads suddenly spread out from within the house, intricately connecting the walls, floor, and ceiling, encasing the white-haired girl in mere seconds.
Shadows emerged from the main room, climbing along the black threads and forming a web in front of the girl, the head twisting almost a hundred and eighty degrees to fixate on the pair of intruders.
Bai Yu’s figure appeared, slowly walking toward the shadowy figure.
In the confused stares of Zhao Mingyue and Lu Liangting, she called out, “Li Tianan, come out.”
“I really didn’t expect you guys to find me here, but put down the kn*fe; she’s not an enemy,” Li Tianan lamented, stepping out from inside with a bowl of hot water in hand.
Seeing him looking quite alright, and seeming like he was in cahoots with the puppet master, left Zhao Mingyue utterly baffled.
—
Sure enough, I’m still too weak; I’m only managing four updates today.
And it’s Crazy Thursday!
I’ll try to put in more tomorrow—aiming for at least four, shooting for five.
Sending out a plea for tickets; I’m on my knees!
