Having pulled Ruhua from the first blind box, Li Miao was eager to see what was in the second.
She opened the second blind box.
A wisp of green smoke drifted past, and a teenage girl in ancient costume appeared. She was exceptionally beautiful.
Li Miao’s eyes lit up. She was just about to ask who the girl was.
Suddenly, the girl ripped off her human skin, transforming into a green-faced demon with a mouth full of jagged teeth. She lunged straight at Li Miao.
Crap, this ghost eats people!
Li Miao turned and ran.
Beside her, Ruhua ran even faster than Li Miao. “Oh no, it’s a Painted Skin demon! This ghost specializes in eating human hearts!”
Watching Ruhua sprint past her, Li Miao was speechless. “Why are you running? Aren’t you a ghost? Don’t you have magic powers?”
Ruhua shouted back as she ran, “I can’t beat a Painted Skin! Not only do they eat hearts, but they also bully weaker ghosts. If he catches me, I’m done for!”
And so, one human and one ghost sprinted ahead, screaming, while a green-faced demon chased relentlessly behind them.
Li Miao was in poor health to begin with. She ran slower and slower, and the Painted Skin demon was about to catch up.
Ruhua suddenly darted back, grabbed Li Miao’s hand, and dragged her toward the haunted house’s main gate.
Li Miao slammed her body against the gate, bursting through it, and fell heavily to the ground.
It’s over. I’m dead!
The moment she hit the ground, Li Miao squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain of her heart being ripped out.
But the pain never came.
Li Miao cautiously opened her eyes.
“Get up, it’s fine now.” Ruhua had returned to her elegant demeanor, smoothing her hair as if the woman running like a crazed rabbit moments ago wasn’t her. “We are all ghosts belonging to the haunted house, and you are the owner. Inside the haunted house, ghosts cannot harm you.”
Li Miao sat up and let out a long sigh of relief. “You should have said so earlier! I ran two laps for nothing.”
If I’d known, I would have opened the blind boxes inside the haunted house.
Ruhua held a handkerchief to her lips and laughed shyly. “I forgot.”
Li Miao: “…”
Unreliable!
While the Painted Skin demon couldn’t harm Li Miao inside the haunted house, the malicious ghost still looked ferocious. It drooled as it stared at her, looking like it wanted to take a bite out of her at any moment.
Li Miao was spooked. She didn’t dare open the third blind box.
Who knew what would come out?
What if it were another evil spirit?
Two evil spirits, one on the left and one on the right, like guardians of hell, drooling over her every day?
If she didn’t get bitten to death, she’d be scared to death.
Such a headache.
The Painted Skin demon was clearly disobedient. How could she run a haunted house with him like this? Customers would run away the moment they walked in.
Furthermore, Li Miao was worried the Painted Skin demon might run out and hurt someone.
“Don’t worry,” Ruhua said. “He can’t leave the haunted house.”
Li Miao looked up, waiting for an explanation.
Ruhua explained, “The moment I entered, I felt a binding force. It’s a bond between me and the haunted house. Once inside, I can’t leave. The Painted Skin demon must be the same.
“Otherwise, he would have run off long ago.
“Moreover, the haunted house doesn’t just bind us to the location; it also controls us so we cannot harm humans.”
Hearing “cannot harm humans,” Li Miao’s eyes lit up.
That’s great, as long as no one gets hurt.
But… soon, Li Miao’s eyes dimmed again.
Those were just the basic rules. The Painted Skin demon was completely untamed. There was no way he would follow her orders to scare customers properly.
Right now, she only has Ruhua and the Painted Skin demon. That wasn’t enough to run a haunted house.
Li Miao took out her phone and opened the Fengdu Haunted House App, searching everywhere for a way to tame the Painted Skin demon.
Unfortunately, she looked everywhere but couldn’t find anything.
Finally, she found a [Help] option inside [My Profile].
Li Miao tentatively clicked it.
A page popped up with the following text:
[In case of danger, please shout “Mingye, save me!”]
Li Miao called out, “Mingye, save me?”
In an instant, a tall figure in black clothes appeared beside her.
It was a man—an incredibly handsome man with chiseled features, standing there expressionless.
Who is this?
Li Miao glanced at the arrogant Painted Skin demon opposite her and tested the waters. “The Painted Skin demon isn’t listening. Teach him a lesson!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the man in black sprang into action. A whip appeared in his right hand, and he lashed out viciously at the Painted Skin demon.
One strike, and the Painted Skin demon was smashed into a black shadow, whimpering.
Two strikes, and the black mist of the demon’s form faded by half, looking like it was about to dissipate.
Three strikes, and the Painted Skin demon couldn’t even make a sound. It lay paralyzed on the ground, reduced to a motionless patch of black mist.
Ruhua watched in terror, not daring to look up at the man in black.
The pressure coming from him was immense, like a mountain. It felt as if he could crush her just by lifting an eyelid.
She could only whisper a plea to Li Miao: “Master, stop hitting him. Painted Skin is going to have its soul scattered.”
Hearing this, Li Miao walked over to the Painted Skin demon and kicked him. “Do you want to live? If you want to live, be obedient. Don’t ever disobey my orders again.”
The Painted Skin demon hurriedly bowed and nodded to Li Miao, looking utterly pathetic—a far cry from his previous arrogance.
Satisfied, Li Miao said to Mingye, “Alright, you can stop hitting him.”
Hearing Li Miao’s command, Mingye put away his whip and vanished instantly.
Li Miao fiddled with her phone, guessing he must have returned to the app.
Awesome. With a super weapon like Mingye, she could tame the ghosts and run the haunted house.
With that in mind, Li Miao quickly opened [My Missions] to see if there were any new tasks.
Two side missions had been posted:
Ruhua wasn’t urgent; she could stay with Li Miao.
Li Miao decided to build a scenario for the Painted Skin demon first.
She looked around, searching for a suitable place to build.
She had been inside the haunted house for a while, but this was the first time she had really taken a look at her surroundings.
Her first impression was that it was big—very, very big. She couldn’t see the boundaries at a glance.
It was also very desolate. Apart from a few scattered, dilapidated buildings, there was nothing.
Li Miao walked to the nearest building.
Inside was a spacious lobby. There was a reception desk near the entrance, and opposite that were sofas and tables, likely for visitors to rest.
On the left was an elevator. Li Miao checked the panel: 16 floors above ground and 2 floors underground. A total of 18 floors.
That’s a tall building.
Li Miao chose the 2nd floor for the Painted Skin demon.
His scenario wasn’t simple. It included a ruined temple and Wang Sheng’s house, which contained a secret room.
Building these scenarios would cost quite a bit. Li Miao counted the few coins in her pocket and felt the pinch of poverty.
Looks like I’ll have to use my credit card.
It was too late today. She would rest for the night and deal with it tomorrow.
Li Miao didn’t care about comfort. She curled up on the sofa in the lobby to sleep. She had no blanket, so she just draped her jacket over herself.
Although the conditions were crude, Li Miao felt incredibly at peace.
This is nice. I’m finally away from Uncle’s family.
As Li Miao slept soundly, she had no idea that her uncle’s family was currently talking about her.