Chapter 078: A Deception! An Ambush!

Chapter 078: A Deception! An Ambush!

There was no response from beneath the cabinet. All was silent, even the dripping of blood halted.

Chi Shen patiently waited, displaying a tranquil demeanor. After nearly ten minutes, the cabinet door was slowly pushed open.

The first thing to emerge was a blood-soaked hand, belonging to a middle-aged woman. The hand was rugged and strong, calloused from hard work, leaving a bloody imprint on the cabinet door.

Chi Shen took a step back, granting more space.

The woman crawled out painstakingly slow. Drenched in blood and shrouded in a dark aura, she looked almost entirely black. The contrasting red blood dripped amidst the dark haze, creating an eerie sight.

On her body were knife wounds, specifically at the abdomen and heart. Self-inflicted, the very act of suicide is agonizing. To hack oneself to death requires utmost despair and unparalleled courage. Each of her wounds testified to her sheer determination in her final moments.

Only at the end did she withdraw her right hand from the cabinet, gripping a kitchen knife smeared with blood. With that very knife, she had taken her own life. She clutched the knife tightly, as if it were her final bargaining chip. Even though she held on firmly, she tried to discreetly hide it behind her, as if fearing that Chi Shen might see it.

Chi Shen seemed unbothered by the knife in her hand. He even deliberately stepped back a little, offering her a sense of security. With a trembling voice, she whispered, “You can cook now.”

"I'm not cooking today," Chi Shen replied, “I want to discuss the matter of the house with you.”

The woman glanced up at Chi Shen, looking distraught but trying hard to compose herself. She murmured, “You stay... you all stay... I won't interfere.”

“You too are residents of this house. We have no intention of evicting you. The cabinet is too cramped; it’s no place to live,” Chi Shen started, raising his hand as if to touch his face but then reconsidering. “Come to the living room. Let’s talk. You have nothing to fear; we all believe you should reside here. Hence, you're welcome in the living room.”

The woman hesitated but finally nodded. Chi Shen stepped aside, leading her gently away.

As they reached the entrance of the kitchen, she suddenly looked up, asking anxiously, “He's not here, is he? He's... not here, right?”

As she spoke, blood began to seep from her wounds again. She tried to cover them with her free hand, but one wound would close only for another to bleed. Pain flashed across her face.

Without hesitation, Chi Shen responded, “He's not.”

The woman still seemed uneasy but, upon seeing Chi Shen's reassuring gaze, she continued walking out of the kitchen.

Chi Shen stood at the kitchen doorway, waiting patiently for her to exit. Once she had fully stepped out, he gently slid the kitchen door shut with a soft swoosh.

The woman swiftly turned around, but meeting Chi Shen's calm and encouraging gaze, she regained her composure and began to move toward the sofa.

The ghost in red curiously observed the woman, while Bai Wan made space for her on the sofa. The woman, clutching the knife tightly, eyed the sofa several times before shaking her head and muttering, “I won't sit... I might stain it.”

The two ghosts didn't press the issue. The ghost in red climbed onto the sofa, her attention fixated on the knife in the woman’s hand, seemingly intrigued by it.

Meanwhile, Chi Shen had made his way to the bathroom.

A fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy resided behind the toilet. Perhaps ghosts can't sense odors, so he found nothing amiss with his choice of abode. After all, he had been there for quite a while.

“Your mother is waiting for you in the living room,” Chi Shen spoke plainly, standing at the bathroom door.

A shadow shifted behind the toilet, and a boy with dripping blood emerged. The blood, diluted from the water, was a pale red. He too had taken his own life, found leaning against the bathtub with slit wrists, submerged in its warm water.

The boy glanced towards the living room, then uncertainly at Chi Shen, "Who... who... who are you?"

Chi Shen didn’t answer, instead just opening the bathroom door wider, stepping aside, and saying, “I assume you wouldn't want your mother to keep residing in that cabinet. Let's discuss in the living room.”

The boy hesitated momentarily before moving past Chi Shen. In the living room, the woman, upon seeing the boy, deliberately lowered her head and turned away, choosing not to look at him.

The moment the boy stepped out of the bathroom, the door clicked shut behind him, and Chi Shen proceeded to close the bedroom door.

Chi Shen then moved to the balcony. The ghost that previously resided beneath his bed had taken refuge on the balcony. After Chi Shen and Ji Xing Chen No.2 moved into the bedroom, that ghost never returned, though it hadn't ventured far, hiding among the clutter on the balcony.

"We need to discuss the matter of ownership for this house." Chi Shen said, pushing aside some miscellaneous items and addressing a worn-out flower pot.

Immediately, an elderly figure with a bluish-purple complexion climbed out of the pot, exclaiming, "Mine! The house is mine!"

Chi Shen was less patient with this old man, grabbing him and tossing him directly into the living room. The old man was about to shout a curse, but the sight of the woman and Bai Wan in the living room stopped him. Jumping up, he tried to make a swift retreat to the balcony.

Click.

The balcony door was closed by Chi Shen, cutting off the old man's escape route.

"How dare you treat me like this!" the elderly spirit raged. "I am your elder, you should respect me. Open the door and let me out!"

Chi Shen ignored him and instead looked up at the chandelier.

"Mr. Ji..." The woman spoke, each word uttered with evident pain and struggle. "What... are we discussing? If he... isn't here, will he... agree to our decision later?"

Chi Shen's gaze drifted from the chandelier, sweeping over the ghosts gathered in the living room. His previously calm expression now danced with mischief, adding lively strokes to his once somber canvas. With a playful twinkle in his eyes and a smile lifting the corners of his mouth, he tried to sound utterly charming: "He will agree."

At the sight of Chi Shen's smile, the woman felt a surge of terror, as if she had seen a real ghost. She immediately wanted to dash back into the kitchen. The boy, too, wished to return to the bathroom. However, they soon realized that the doors wouldn't open. As ghosts, they found they couldn't even pass through these barriers!

At that moment, the semi-transparent Ji Xing Chen entered through the front door, his eerie white face in his hand. With his free hand, he covered the face's mouth, glancing at Chi Shen. "Are they all here?"

He appeared completely calm, as if Chi Shen's impersonation and deception had nothing to do with him and he had merely returned a bit late.

Chi Shen, smiling, looked back to the chandelier, "One is missing. However, I'm not sure if he can communicate properly."

The chandelier was turned on, and under Chi Shen's gaze, a silhouette began to form, revealing the moth the landlord had spoken of within the light fixture.

The lady in red also looked up, muttering to the chandelier, "Come down! Time for a meeting!"

"He's not there," Chi Shen remarked, tracking the shadow's path towards the sofa, "He's here."

*

Author's Note:

Second update coming up!