Qian Luo stepped outside and surveyed the villa’s surroundings, thinking the location was truly excellent.
Back when she lived in the attic of that shared apartment, despite the crowds, she would see wandering spirits scurrying past every morning before sunrise. Near this house, however, there wasn’t a single soul in sight. It was a rare find.
Just as she was savoring the peace, a small female ghost with disheveled hair, a deathly pale face, and eerie green eyes appeared right in front of her.
Qian Luo: “!!!”
Ye rubbed her eyes. “What are you howling for so early in the morning?”
Qian Luo: “…”
In which of your eyes do you see me howling?
At that moment, the sound of an approaching argument drifted through the morning mist. A sharp female voice rang out: “What does it have to do with you? Who I like is my business! Even my parents don’t care, so why are you meddling?”
Qian Luo thought the voice sounded familiar—specifically, that concentrated air of brainless arrogance was unmistakable.
As the fog swirled, she saw two women jogging while bickering: Zhou Hailing and Yin Tong.
As Yin Tong ran past, she smiled at Qian Luo. “Good morning, Miss Qian.”
Startled, Qian Luo quickly replied, “Good morning, Miss Yin! And… good morning to you, Miss Zhou!”
Zhou Hailing had already jogged quite a distance ahead, but hearing Qian Luo’s greeting, her mood actually brightened. She looked back and shouted, “Hello to you too!~”
Qian Luo: “…”
Ye continued rubbing her eyes. “Pah. So it wasn’t you howling after all.”
Qian Luo reached out and pulled the girl’s hands away from her face. “Stop rubbing. It’s bad for your eyes!”
Ye didn’t even look at her; she just used the other hand to keep rubbing, ending the gesture by pulling her eyelid down at Qian Luo in a mocking face.
Qian Luo: “…”
Realizing she hadn’t familiarized herself with the neighbors yet, Qian Luo asked Ye, “Does Zhou Hailing live near us?”
“There’s a lake over there,” Ye said, pointing. “On the other side is the Zhou family’s ancestral estate. Looking at the terrain, their ground is slightly higher. The bad luck flows in with the summer monsoon from the southeast…”
Qian Luo: “…So we’re basically sitting here absorbing all the bad luck for their family.”
Ye stretched and headed back inside. “This place wasn’t meant for people to live in anyway. You’re just too poor.”
Her small ego bruised, Qian Luo followed her in, grumbling like a machine gun. “And isn’t it because you’re too hard to support? Other people’s cats eat a bit of kibble and they’re fine. But you? You need fish every single meal. If it’s stewed too soft, you won’t eat it; if it has too many bones, you won’t eat it. What will you eat? If you ask me, you should’ve gone abroad with Senior Sister—better food, better housing, and you wouldn’t have to suffer with me…”
Ye walked ahead, listening to the non-stop complaints. She glanced back over her shoulder. “Their ground is higher than ours.”
“Huh?”
“If someone set up a good telescope on their top floor,” Ye continued, “they could see everything inside this house perfectly.”
Qian Luo: “…?”
“So,” Ye added, “close your curtains when you sleep. Don’t go around embarrassing me by letting people see you.”
Qian Luo grabbed Ye by the ear, about to toss her out, when she heard her Senior Sister’s gentle voice: “Luo, be nice to Ye.”
Qian Luo let go, shrugged, and sat on the table waiting for breakfast.
Ye narrowed her eyes to slits. “Get off the table.”
Qian Luo dangled a pale, slender leg in front of Ye. “Legs are long. It’s comfortable up here.”
Ye’s claws lashed out instantly, leaving three bright red welts on Qian Luo’s thigh. With an agonizing howl, Qian Luo was swiped off the table.
Qian Zhen walked in carrying breakfast, standing before them with a mild expression. “Luo, don’t tease Ye.”
Qian Luo felt deathly wronged.
Qian Zhen placed two bowls of tomato and egg noodles on the table and went back to the kitchen to fetch something else. Qian Luo sat by the table, staring at the steaming noodles, her stomach growling at the scent.
Three people, two bowls? Does Sister not eat? Or is there nothing for Ye?
As she fretted over her stomach, she saw her sister come back… tearing open a bag of cat food.
Qian Luo: Heh. As if that picky emperor would ever eat that.
Qian Zhen took a pink porcelain bowl—very “girly”—and mixed the kibble with milk. She placed it in front of Ye and sat down. Seeing Qian Luo hadn’t touched her food, she asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”
Qian Luo watched in horror as Ye began wolfing down the cat food. Why is it that when I feed you, you’d rather die than take a bite?
Qian Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Luo? Is it not to your taste? It’ll get soggy if you wait.”
Qian Luo suddenly lost her appetite, feeling a bit hurt.
Ye, with milk on her lip, looked up in surprise. “Wow. Is there actually something in this world you won’t eat?”
Qian Luo stuffed a massive clump of noodles into her mouth, thinking gloomily: Apparently, there’s something in this world you actually WILL eat.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The visitor didn’t ring the bell, but knocked with polite, moderate frequency—not too fast, not too slow, ensuring they wouldn’t offend the residents.
Qian Luo got up to answer. Ye didn’t hide; she sat there quite openly. Qian Luo waved frantically, gesturing for her to go into the other room, but Ye didn’t budge. She looked at Qian Luo and said plainly, “Are you ashamed of me?”
Qian Luo sighed. Oh, great ancestor, how would I dare? She opened the door.
Through the morning mist stood Yin Tong, dressed in loose athletic gear, sweat beading at her temples. Seeing Qian Luo, her face filled with concern. “Miss Qian, are you injured?”
Qian Luo realized then that the bandage on her shoulder was visible. She hadn’t expected Yin Tong to notice so clearly through the fog while jogging.
Ye, leaning back in her chair with her head resting on her hand, said lazily, “Your company is quite something. Locking people inside a haunted crime scene?”
Her tone was sharp. Yin Tong looked slightly startled. “Miss Qian was locked in the building yesterday?”
Ye dragged out her words: “If ‘Great Auntie’ here hadn’t arrived in time, she’d be a corpse—”
Qian Luo was about to explain when Yin Tong stepped forward. “Are you hurt anywhere else? The Zhou family has a private doctor we trust. I’ll contact them immediately. Do you need special medicine? Is the wound deep? Do you need time off? This was our failure; compensation will be wired to you…”
“No need, really, I’m fine—” Qian Luo began.
“She’s fine now,” Ye drawled. “Yesterday, she almost lost her life—”
“I will investigate this,” Yin Tong said firmly. “I’ll find out who—”
“Ha? You’ll investigate?” A sharp voice cut in from behind. “You’re a ghost-tamer who can’t even handle a ghost! What the hell are we paying you for? Forget the investigation, refund the money and get out. The Zhang family is clearly better than you—”
Yin Tong’s brow furrowed. Qian Luo’s face darkened. Qian Zhen and Ye watched the door with icy expressions.
Zhou Hailing pushed past Yin Tong and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Qian Luo. “Did I hear that right? You’re a ghost-tamer and you can’t even fight?”
Ye was about to join the fray when Qian Zhen gently patted her paw. “Wait,” she whispered. “Let’s see what Luo says.”
Zhou Hailing continued, “The Zhang family doesn’t have all these ‘won’t kill, won’t take, won’t do’ rules. Your sect is full of useless restrictions and you don’t even have the skill to back it up. I paid for results! If you can’t do it, get lost!”
Qian Luo’s anger simmered until it reached a boiling point, at which she flashed a sweet, charming smile. “Fine. Miss Zhou, the money you sent is untouched. I’ll refund it right now. And I’ll be sure to contact the Zhang family. We have a rule: one ghost, one house. I’d love to ask them who took the contract first. If I was second, I’ll accept my fate and back out immediately.”
She turned back. “Sister, you have the contact info for the Zhang elders in Chang’an, right?”
Qian Zhen smiled thinly. “Of course.”
Qian Luo turned back to the door, making a move to close it. “Ghost-tamers strictly forbid ‘double hiring.’ If this gets out—and I promise it will within three days—no reputable ghost-tamer in the country will ever take a contract from anyone associated with the Zhou family again.”
Yin Tong stepped forward. “Miss Qian, please. My lady is young and headstrong. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Don’t hide behind rules!” Zhou Hailing snapped. “You took a suicide case despite your ‘rules,’ so stop acting so high and mighty—”
Qian Luo had been waiting for this. She smiled, her hand on the door, and said right before closing it: “Zhou Xiaoming didn’t commit suicide.”
BANG.
The door slammed shut in Zhou Hailing’s face.
Qian Luo turned around to see Qian Zhen leaning her chin on her hand, smiling. “Angry?”
Qian Luo grunted. “Hmph. Yes.” The tiny bit of goodwill she’d felt for Hailing during the jog was gone.
Qian Zhen laughed. “I actually like that girl. She says what’s on her mind—love and hate are clearly defined. Her heart is clean. It’s the woman next to her you should watch out for. A knife hidden in a smile… no matter how gentle she seems, keep your guard up.”
“I know,” Qian Luo sighed. “But I’m still annoyed.” Even if Hailing’s words weren’t malicious, they were still grating.
Ye, meanwhile, kicked her legs up and pointed at the door, counting down lazily. “Three… two… one…”
Knock-knock-knock! Knock-knock-knock!
The frantic pounding on the door began right on cue.