Chapter 8

Chapter 8

◎His Services Don’t Come Cheap◎

The female ghost was temporarily subdued, and the basement darkened once again. Ji Nanxing picked up the malfunctioning flashlight from the ground, gave it a light tap, and it returned to normal, no longer flickering due to the supernatural interference.

With the female ghost subdued and rescue having arrived, Lu Yizhuo and Jia Qiuyu finally regained control over their limbs. However, staring at the completely sealed basement with no exit, they panicked again: "How are we supposed to get out? Is there any phone signal?"

Ji Nanxing looked at them: "How did you two get in?"

Xia Junyan, seated on the ground, sneered: "They heard this place was haunted and came here for supernatural thrills. At midnight, they placed two candles by the sealed basement door and were lured in by the ghost."

This building wasn’t abandoned, but the basement had been sealed off due to supernatural reasons.

Previously, something had happened, and the basement door had been bricked up, presumably to prevent anyone from entering.

But even sealed like this, it couldn’t curb some people’s curiosity, leading them to their doom.

Ji Nanxing looked at the two young men, his tone icy: "Was it thrilling enough for you?"

Lu Yizhuo lowered his head in silence, while Jia Qiuyu covered his mouth, too scared to cry out. It was thrilling enough—far too thrilling.

Since they were brought in by the ghost, they could naturally be led out through the ghost’s path, a supernatural phenomenon. Ji Nanxing could easily come and go, as his heavy yin energy allowed him to traverse paths once connected by lingering ghosts.

But the two ordinary people couldn’t, lacking the necessary yin energy. The simplest way out was to break down the wall.

Although reopening the ghost path could also lead them out, it wasn’t worth the effort for Ji Nanxing, as it would drain too much of his energy.

So, in the end, he left on his own and contacted someone to break the wall.

The people were from the Management Bureau, a supernatural entity specializing in handling such cases, and breaking walls was a routine task for them.

When Xia Junyan was rescued by the Management Bureau personnel, he wished he could just face the wall and vanish.

Several people from the Management Bureau who knew him stifled their laughter. A ghost hunter being trapped by a ghost—and physically at that—was naturally an ironic and funny situation for them.

Xia Junyan, prideful as ever, shouted: "What are you laughing at? Do you know how difficult that female ghost was to deal with?"

The team leader from the Management Bureau went along with him: "Yes, yes, since you had to call our Nanxing for help, it must have been no ordinary fierce ghost. He’s known for handling the most powerful ones."

One of the scene handlers suddenly exclaimed: "This doesn’t seem like a simple murder scene—it’s supernatural."

The team leader stepped forward, exchanged a glance with his colleagues, and turned to Xia Junyan: "Looks like you’ve stumbled upon a major supernatural case."

Xia Junyan quickly stepped closer: "What’s the situation? What major case?"

The team leader patted his shoulder: "Let’s talk about it back at the bureau."

The two ordinary individuals were also brought out and then taken aside for a lecture. Young people nowadays love to try new things—the more forbidden, the more rebellious they become.

This time, it was Xia Junyan who happened to pass by, sensed something unusual, and discovered them trapped. Otherwise, with just the two of them, they might have already become skeletons within the walls.

Lu Yizhuo and Jia Qiuyu couldn’t leave yet; they had to be taken back to the Management Bureau for investigation and to give their statements.

The female ghost was still suppressed within Ji Nanxing’s golden bell artifact, so he naturally had to go to the Management Bureau as well to release the ghost. The rest would follow a specialized exorcism process.

The Management Bureau acted quickly. While the two thrill-seeking youths were still giving their statements, they had already cordoned off the mall’s basement and used a yin energy detector to locate the female ghost’s remains.

The female ghost wasn’t buried within the wall but was instead buried beneath the concrete floor.

Preliminary examination by the forensic team collecting the remains indicated that the deceased was a woman between 25 and 30 years old, about to give birth. She had been sealed into the concrete while still pregnant.

Lu Yizhuo and Jia Qiuyu didn’t just stumble upon this place by chance.

Jia Qiuyu loved exploring unsolved mysteries and supernatural events, often going on adventures with a group of like-minded friends. However, the results of these adventures were either people scaring each other due to the environment or nothing happening at all, with the facts being exaggerated by others.

Jia Qiuyu said: "A few days ago, something happened in our supernatural group. A girl encountered a ghost, right in that basement."

The person taking his statement asked: "What about the girl who encountered the ghost? Is she okay?"

Jia Qiuyu shook his head: "She’s fine. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known about it. She works in the office building above this mall. That day, she was working the night shift, and it was very late. It was just her at first, but then a man got on the elevator. He blocked the elevator door, canceled the button for the first floor, and forcibly dragged the girl to the basement."

The interrogator frowned: "And then?"

Jia Qiuyu: "The girl was terrified and tried to run, but the basement was abandoned, and many areas were sealed off. Besides the elevator, there was no staircase to go back up. The man grabbed her, trying to assault her. During the struggle, they bumped into something and fell into a room with walls on all sides—the same room you just broke into."

"The girl was terrified, and the man was also scared. Then they saw the ghost. The girl said she saw a human-shaped shadow in the corner of the room, just standing there in the darkness. She fainted from fright, and when she woke up, she was lying at the elevator entrance."

The interrogator asked: "What about the man?"

Jia Qiuyu: "I don’t know. The girl called the police, and the surveillance footage showed her being dragged away. Then she ran back into the elevator herself. The man got off the elevator and never appeared in the surveillance footage again."

The interrogator asked him to wait and then contacted the Management Bureau personnel still at the scene to inform them of this situation, asking them to investigate further for any new discoveries.

The interrogator asked: "This elevator doesn’t have a button for the basement. How did you get down there?"

Jia Qiuyu looked regretful: "There’s been a legend here that after midnight, if you’re a destined person, you’ll see a button for the basement in the elevator. We actually tried it before, but it never appeared. This time, it suddenly did."

The interrogator sneered: "You weren’t scared at all by such a supernatural event and still dared to go down?"

Jia Qiuyu covered his face. In his over twenty years of life, this was the first time he encountered such a supernatural situation, and he couldn’t resist pressing the button leading to the basement.

Sitting in the observation room, listening to the statements being recorded, Xia Junyan said to Ji Nanxing: "When I detected the yin energy fluctuation here yesterday, it took me a long time to find the way down. Then I saw two nearly burnt-out candles outside the sealed wall and heard screams inside, but when I entered, I only saw the two of them."

Ji Nanxing: "The man from before is probably already dead."

The female ghost was surrounded by black energy, indicating she had died with extreme resentment and had already killed someone. However, she hadn’t killed as many as Hu Xiaodie. Although she was a fierce ghost, she wasn’t yet at the level of a powerful ghost.

Xia Junyan was puzzled: "Then why was the girl unharmed?"

Ji Nanxing glanced at Xia Junyan: "She didn’t hold back against the three of you. If I hadn’t come, you would have died too."

Xia Junyan didn’t quite understand the connection: "So?"

Ji Nanxing felt somewhat helpless at his lack of comprehension: "So, she hates men."

While the two were talking, the person inside had already finished giving the full account of what happened.

Jia Qiuyu was just bored, while Lu Yizhuo was trying to make money. They were classmates, and Jia Qiuyu knew about Lu Yizhuo’s family situation—his mother had been accidentally burned, and it was a bottomless pit, requiring constant money to keep her alive.

Jia Qiuyu’s family was wealthy, but they could only help temporarily, not forever. In this day and age, the quickest and most legitimate way to make money was through attention-grabbing content.

Coincidentally, he saw the girl’s story in the group, and with the mall basement having a reputation for being haunted, he asked Lu Yizhuo if he wanted to try making money as a supernatural blogger.

After all, Lu Yizhuo wasn’t particularly handsome, had no special skills, and wasn’t great at gaming, so he couldn’t find a selling point to make money. Thus, he could only rely on his courage.

However, during their first live stream, they encountered the legendary ghost elevator. Thinking they were about to go viral, they bravely lit the candles, and soon the scene before them changed. They didn’t even know how they ended up inside the wall, and the phone they were using for the live stream was lost.

Jia Qiuyu had been reading ghost stories and supernatural novels since elementary school and had been exploring with friends since high school. In over a decade, he had never truly encountered any supernatural events. Who would have thought that the first time he brought Lu Yizhuo along to try and make some money, they almost ended up entering vertically and exiting horizontally.

Ji Nanxing also refrained from commenting on their actions. He checked the time and said, "I gotta head back to school."

Xia Junyan said, "Go ahead. That kid inside promised me a reward if I got him out. I'll share it with you later."

Ji Nanxing: "No thanks."

Xia Junyan, who was very poor and in desperate need of money, immediately felt embarrassed and said, "You've been busy all night helping me out. It's not fair not to take any reward. You can take a bit if you want, otherwise I'll feel bad."

Ji Nanxing looked at him: "You got it wrong. I meant I don't want their reward. I didn't go there to save them; I went to save you."

Xia Junyan was almost moved to tears, but only almost, because Ji Nanxing continued, "Twenty Heavenly Thunder Talismans as a reward, that's not too much, right?"

Xia Junyan almost flipped the table: "Twenty! Do you realize how valuable those Heavenly Thunder Talismans are! Why don't you just mug me!"

Ji Nanxing crossed his arms and looked at him: "So your life isn't worth twenty Heavenly Thunder Talismans?"

Xia Junyan's face was full of pain: "How about ten? I really don't have any left in stock. If I had any talismans on hand, I would have blasted her to pieces long ago. I wouldn't have needed to call for help. Even the one I used to call for help was just a torn corner. Little Star, you're the best, love you, heart."

Ji Nanxing said coldly and ruthlessly, "Twenty, to be paid within a month. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll see your talisman crane next time."

Heavenly Thunder Talismans are pricey. Authentic Heavenly Thunder Talismans with spiritual power are hard to come by; even with money, they're hard to buy. Even the Management Bureau pays about five thousand each for them, and they're often sold out quickly.

That's also why Ji Nanxing was willing to go out for him late at night.

Xia Junyan is from the orthodox Zheng Yi Dao sect, and their sect is best at drawing talismans. Instead of scrambling to buy the often sold-out talismans from the Management Bureau, it's better to ask him to draw them. Though it's a bit pricier, it saves a lot of hassle.

It's just that drawing a Heavenly Thunder Talisman is quite draining, and successfully making one isn't easy. Xia Junyan usually doesn't like to draw them unless he's really out of money.

This time, having finally caught him, Ji Nanxing naturally wanted to make a big ask. Twenty talismans, and he would give ten to his senior brother, just to replenish the stock consumed during this period.

In the face of Xia Junyan's accusatory expression, Ji Nanxing wasn't softened by his pitiful act. This guy is just too lazy. He patted his shoulder as a reminder: "Within a month, don't forget."

After saying that, he left without looking back. Now, going home to take a shower and change clothes, he should still make it to school on time. Luckily, he doesn't have to do military training, so he can sleep in the classroom later, otherwise, it would be another day of staying up.

Suddenly saddled with debt, Xia Junyan sat alone in the office feeling utterly hopeless, and even the upcoming reward didn't seem appealing anymore.