Yet the moment that thought crossed his mind, Zuo Zhu ran over and grabbed the evil ghost’s arm, striking first. “Darling, he insisted on asking me to his room to drink with him.”
Li Qing nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He truly had not expected Zuo Zhu to be this kind of woman.
She had agreed just moments ago, yet now she was shifting all the blame onto him.
“That’s not what I meant,” he quickly denied. “I simply thought Miss Zuo liked wine and wanted her to take a bottle of my treasured red wine back so the two of you could taste it together.”
“Oh, is that so?” Zuo Zhu pressed a hand to her chest, looking extremely guilty. “Then I must have misunderstood you. Thank you so much for your kindness. I’ve actually been wanting to try red wine shipped from France.”
Li Qing gritted his teeth. “You’re welcome.”
Suppressing a bellyful of anger and humiliation, he returned to his room, retrieved the wine, and personally delivered it to Zuo Zhu. He then watched as the shameless couple went back to their room arm in arm.
As they turned away, he caught sight of the bright red mark on the back of Zuo Zhu’s neck.
How could anyone possibly fancy a woman like that?
…
Every member of the Li family harbored their own schemes, but Li Qing, being young and unable to keep his composure, was the first to approach after realizing Huo Fu truly possessed the ability to see through whoever in the house was raising ghosts.
“There must be a lot the Li family hasn’t told us,” Zuo Zhu could not help reminding.
But the one before her was the evil ghost. It experimentally took a sip of red wine, then stuck out its tongue. “Disgusting.”
“Forget it.” She could remind Huo Fu tomorrow.
“What were you going to his room for just now?” the evil ghost suddenly asked.
Its senses were sharp. The moment Zuo Zhu had bumped into someone, it had heard everything and witnessed the entire exchange.
It had not missed a single word Li Qing had said.
“I was joking with him,” Zuo Zhu explained patiently.
“Why couldn’t your boyfriend know? Am I the boyfriend?” the evil ghost pressed on relentlessly.
Zuo Zhu grew annoyed, and a mischievous thought suddenly rose in her mind.
“When he asked me to his room, this is actually what he wanted to do.” She grabbed the evil ghost’s claw and placed it against her chest. “Do you understand?”
The evil ghost froze.
Then its eyes abruptly turned red with fury. “I’ll swallow him!”
Men did not taste very good, but at least they were better than ghosts.
If Zuo Zhu was the braised pork it had claimed for itself, then Li Qing was someone trying to smear saliva all over its meat. That was absolutely intolerable.
“But he didn’t succeed.” Zuo Zhu pulled it back. “Whether he stays or not depends on Huo Fu. You can’t swallow him first.”
Unable to vent its anger, the evil ghost poked at the flesh on her body instead.
Zuo Zhu had long grown accustomed to it and remained unmoved. She picked up her phone and played Fruit Ninja, quietly waiting for midnight and for the glamorous widow next door to attempt hanging herself again.
Soon, an hour or two passed. When the clock struck twelve, the door next door slammed open, followed by urgent knocking.
Zuo Zhu knew the strange occurrence had begun. She shot the evil ghost a look before going to open the door.
Standing outside was Zhao Yunling’s elder brother from her maternal family. Each night, he stayed with bodyguards in her room to prevent her from hanging herself under possession.
“My sister is possessed again. Please ask Master Huo to take a look!”
To be safe, Zuo Zhu took the evil ghost’s hand and followed it into the neighboring room.
The commotion was loud. The entire Li family had been waiting for this moment, and at the sound, they all gathered.
Zhao Yunling, who had appeared alluring during the day, was now disheveled, her hair loose, bound to a chair. Her expression was twisted, her strength astonishing as several bodyguards struggled to restrain her and keep her from breaking free to hang herself.
Second Uncle Li pushed aside his trembling wife and cautiously approached the evil ghost. “Master Huo, what’s wrong with her?”
The evil ghost ignored him and stared fixedly at Zhao Yunling. Its ghostly power surged outward.
The wildly struggling Zhao Yunling suddenly collapsed to the ground with the chair, prostrating herself toward the evil ghost, her head lowered as she trembled.
The sudden change stunned everyone, and all eyes turned uncertainly toward the evil ghost.
In recent days, countless ghost catchers have been invited. Some were frauds, others possessed a bit of genuine ability.
Even those with real skill could only tell that a ghost was causing trouble, nothing more, let alone deal with it.
Yet this young man, barely in his early twenties, had merely appeared and already terrified the unknown entity possessing Zhao Yunling.
The evil ghost reached out and grabbed at her head. A wisp of gray mist floated out, condensing midair into a horrifying specter.
Seeing the long tongue hanging from the specter’s mouth, the evil ghost scoffed. “Just a hanging ghost.”
When it turned around, it found that the entire Li family, along with Zhao Yunling’s brother and the bodyguards, had retreated to the doorway.
Second Aunt Li was pale, on the verge of fainting.
Second Uncle Li clung to the doorframe, legs shaking, and forced himself to ask, “Master Huo, what does a hanging ghost mean?”
“It’s merely a resentful spirit formed from someone who hanged themselves. After being controlled and cultivated, it gains the ability to possess others and harm lives. It forces its host to repeatedly hang themselves, reliving the moment of death,” the evil ghost recited stiffly from the lines Huo Fu had given it. “Someone here must have drawn the hanging ghost into this house with the intent to kill.”
As soon as it finished speaking, Zhao Yunling, still lying on the ground, coughed weakly. The moment the hanging ghost left her body, she had regained consciousness and heard every word.
Second Uncle Li wanted to help her up but feared the hanging ghost hovering midair. Clinging to the door, he asked, “Who would want to kill Yunling?”
Zhao Yunling coughed again and sneered. “I’ve behaved properly in the Li family and have no conflicts of interest with any of you. Who else could possibly want me dead?”
She suddenly lifted her head and stared directly at Second Aunt Li behind Second Uncle Li, hatred burning in her eyes. “Sister-in-law, wouldn’t you agree?”
Her blunt accusation drained the color from Second Aunt Li’s face.
“You’re slandering me!” she shrieked. “What evidence do you have that I did this?”
Zhao Yunling had no evidence, but she knew the one who hated her most in this villa was Second Aunt Li.
She tried to stand but her body was weak and powerless, failing several times.
Abandoning the attempt, she looked pitifully at the evil ghost closest to her.
Unfortunately, it did not notice her suggestive gaze.
Grinding her teeth, Zhao Yunling turned her fury back on Second Aunt Li. “The hanging ghost has already been drawn out by Master Huo. Why don’t you call it? Perhaps it will answer you.”
Zuo Zhu tugged at the evil ghost’s sleeve with interest. “Will it respond?”
The evil ghost thought for a moment and slapped the hanging ghost on the head. “Who brought you here to harm people?”
The hanging ghost had no intelligence, only instinct. Upon hearing the question, its head stiffly turned toward Second Aunt Li.
No one needed it to answer aloud. Everyone understood.
Second Uncle Li was so enraged he slapped Second Aunt Li. “Speak! Why did you bring such a thing into our home to harm others?”
Already shaken by the exposure, she completely lost control after the slap.
“It’s all because of you!” she cried and laughed hysterically. “Did you think I didn’t know about your affair with Zhao Yunling? She’s a widow, your younger brother’s wife, and you still dared to get involved with her. Aren’t you afraid the whole of A City will curse you when they find out?”
“Stop spouting nonsense, you foolish woman! When have I ever had anything with her?” Second Uncle Li was furious and guilty, but most of all furious that she had exposed this in front of everyone.
“Don’t treat me like a fool!” she screamed. “I know exactly how much money you’ve transferred to her over the years. Have you forgotten we have a son? Are you planning to divorce me and marry your brother’s widow? If you won’t think of me, at least think of how humiliating this would be for our son!”
Second Uncle Li trembled with rage and raised his hand again, only to be stopped by his son.
His son, hearing this for the first time, shouted with reddened eyes, “You’re not allowed to hit my mom!”
Chaos erupted.
While Zuo Zhu watched with relish, Zhao Yunling had already risen quietly and edged closer to the evil ghost.
As if unaffected by the turmoil she had caused, she leaned close to it, her breath warm. “Master Huo, you’re truly impressive. So many people failed to drive out this hanging ghost, yet you resolved it the moment you arrived.”
She moved nearer, her affectionate eyes fixed on it. “Could you please take this hanging ghost away? I still feel frightened seeing it.”
At such close range, the evil ghost could clearly smell the scent of food from her body, saliva almost forming as its mouth began to open wider.
Fortunately, it remembered Zuo Zhu’s warning and forcibly suppressed its appetite. It shifted the hanging ghost to its side, abruptly separating them.
One moment Zhao Yunling was about to lean against the evil ghost, the next she found herself pressed against the suddenly relocated hanging ghost.
“Ah!” Everyone jumped.
Second Uncle Li, still arguing, froze momentarily before realization dawned.
“So this is why you tried to strangle me in the middle of the night?”
“I never tried to kill you!” Second Aunt Li vehemently denied this. “What good would that do me? With the eldest brother ill and the third brother gone, if you died too, would the Li family still remain as it is?”
That much was true.
Second Uncle Li had never believed she would truly kill him, at most she intended to eliminate Zhao Yunling.
“Believe it or not, I have no intention of divorcing you.”
He was a practical man. They had been married for years and had a grown son. He would never divorce his wife to marry his brother’s widow.
He had only given Zhao Yunling certain benefits, yet this had been misunderstood.
Exhausted, he turned to the evil ghost, his voice instinctively more respectful. “Master Huo, since the hanging ghost is dealt with, could you also look at my wife’s condition?”
The evil ghost shook its head. “Not tonight. We must wait another night.”
Both Zhao Yunling and Second Aunt Li’s conditions were worse at night. With tonight’s disturbance, there was no certainty whether Second Aunt Li would relapse.
Second Uncle Li quickly nodded. “Of course! Then we’ll trouble Master Huo for another night.”
After offering many polite words, he escorted the evil ghost and Zuo Zhu back to their room before dealing with the aftermath.
…
That night, the entire Li household was thrown into chaos, yet the two guests slept soundly.
Huo Fu always woke early. When he opened his eyes, he found Zuo Zhu clinging to him like an octopus.
When had she grown so at ease with the evil ghost?
She used to fear biting her arm at night, yet now she slept so comfortably.
He shifted slightly and could clearly feel her softness.
Recalling how the evil ghost had habitually taken advantage of Zuo Zhu the previous night, even Huo Fu, usually brazen, felt his ears grow warm.
Grinding his teeth, he shoved her aside without mercy.
Cramped, hot, and still not losing weight.
Zuo Zhu smacked her lips, rolled over, and continued sleeping.
When she finally woke, Huo Fu was nowhere to be seen.
She was not worried. Huo Fu always had countless plans and often disappeared to handle matters unseen.
After washing up, she went downstairs for breakfast.
The rest of the Li family had already eaten and left. The servants, likely instructed beforehand, immediately brought out her prepared meal.
Though merely a guest, Zuo Zhu behaved as comfortably as if she were in her own home.
Just as she finished eating, Li Qing descended the stairs.
“Where is Master Huo?” he asked, recalling last night’s scene, his gaze flickering.
“He’s busy,” Zuo Zhu replied, wiping her mouth and heading toward the backyard to walk off her meal.
Upon hearing that Huo Fu was absent, Li Qing’s thoughts stirred again. Seeing no one around, he quickly followed her outside.
“If you have something to say, say it,” she said lazily.
Thinking of how she had reversed the situation on him the previous night, he felt both furious and forced to abandon his original plan.
He had assumed Zuo Zhu was fickle, that if she once fancied Li Fang, she might not refuse him either.
If he could control her, perhaps he could indirectly influence Huo Fu.
But her betrayal last night showed him she was duplicitous, and Huo Fu’s display of power proved he was far more capable than the previous ghost catchers.
Thus, Li Qing urgently sought another approach.
“Aren’t you curious what Li Fang told me about you?”
Zuo Zhu scoffed. “And what are you planning to do with that information?”
He stared at her intently. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Huo Fu everything about your past with Li Fang? He’s a man, after all. If he hears enough, he’ll start to believe it. Will he still treat you the same?”
“And then?”
“Agree to one condition. If you do, I guarantee I won’t say a single word of what Li Fang told me.”
She showed some interest. “What condition?”
“Make Huo Fu leave the Li family. Don’t let him stay any longer.”
“Oh?” Zuo Zhu found it amusing. “There are still quite a few ghosts in the Li family. You’re so eager for him to leave. Do you want to die here with them?”
“Or perhaps… you brought ghosts here too and are afraid Huo Fu will ruin your plans?”
Li Qing was merely an illegitimate son, raised by his mother Lin Yuran. Though malicious, his vision was narrow, and his hasty move revealed too many flaws.
Zuo Zhu’s guess struck true.
His face darkened. “You won’t agree?”
She rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
“I have plenty of photos. Aren’t you afraid Huo Fu will see them?” he called viciously from behind.
She turned back in confusion. “What photos?”
“What do you think?” He smiled lewdly. “They’re still on my phone. Come here and I’ll show you.”
Zuo Zhu searched her memory and confirmed that she and Li Fang had never progressed to anything substantial.
Instead of approaching, she stepped back several paces to a safe distance and smiled faintly. “You can show him if you like. I’m sure he’ll forgive me.”
Li Qing choked, utterly unable to understand her refusal.
The Li family’s haunting had nothing to do with her. Convincing Huo Fu to leave would cost her nothing. If she refused, those so-called photos might truly appear before him and likely affect their relationship.
Even if she and Li Fang had not gone further, surely there had been hand-holding or hugging.
Was she truly unafraid?
If Zuo Zhu knew his thoughts, she would explain.
One must look beyond appearances to the essence.
This was a comic. The male lead was her creation, the moth she had produced.
On the surface, she and Huo Fu were boyfriend and girlfriend. In practical terms, they were late-night snack companions. At a deeper level, they were partners. At the very core, they were mother and son.
Even if she put the largest green hat imaginable on Huo Fu’s head, he would still have to call that man father.