Chapter 18

Chapter 18

After the ghostly energy dissipated, the room reverted to its original state.

The air hung thick with dust, heavy with the musty scent of yellowed, aged wooden furniture. Even their footsteps echoed more hollowly here than elsewhere, lending the impression that no one had lived in this place for many years.

The wooden plank bed held no mattress; a cursory glance revealed nothing worth searching. Jiang Zhuochen walked over, circled it, then slid the bed aside. Leaning in, he noticed deep scratch marks covering the headboard where it pressed against the wall.

Jiang Zhuochen grew suspicious. As he bent lower to examine them, he spotted a slightly darker patch near the base of the dressing table.

“Find something?” Xu Xing asked.

Without looking up, Jiang Zhuochen replied, “Move that dressing table next to it.”

Xu Xing complied, pulling it away. Jiang Zhuochen approached, squatted down, and leaned halfway into the gap.

He reached in and felt around. Confirming something was there, he pinched it between two fingers—but it was wedged too tightly. He couldn’t pull it free immediately. Only after prying up the drawer’s bottom board slightly did he manage to dislodge it.

It was a dark-red, semi-circular object. Jiang Zhuochen turned it over and held it up to the window—discovering it was translucent.

Xu Xing stood beside him. As Jiang Zhuochen lifted it, its color looked strangely familiar in the fading light. Xu Xing seized Jiang Zhuochen’s wrist, leaned down to sniff it while Jiang Zhuochen watched, puzzled, then rubbed it vigorously—causing the color to fade.

He stared at the faint red smudge left on his fingertip. “This is dried blood. It must be very old—the iron scent has completely vanished.”

Jiang Zhuochen rubbed it himself—and indeed, the stain wiped off easily.

Suddenly, the room darkened. The lurking ghostly energy surged back, engulfing them both. Jiang Zhuochen rose and moved to Xu Xing’s side.

The female ghost materialized midair. Her face twisted, her half-open mouth twitching faintly. She seethed with rage, as if straining to suppress something, her gaze locked onto the object.

“Didn’t I tell you not to meddle? Give me back the jade pendant.”

So it was a jade pendant—Jiang Zhuochen realized.

He pinched it between two fingers and clenched his fist shut, with no intention of returning it. “Seeing it made you angry? Why?”

The female ghost’s pupils slowly turned crimson; ghostly energy swirled violently around her. “Why? What’s the point of speaking of this now?”

“What if I can help you?” Jiang Zhuochen interjected.

“Help me?” The female ghost whispered the two words softly—as if hearing something absurd. “Help others get rid of me? Humans and ghosts walk separate paths. Don’t think I don’t know your little game.”

“You’re mistaken about that.” He hadn’t yet witnessed her full power; fighting her was an entirely different matter. He wasn’t in any hurry to court death. “I’ve only accepted a commission.”

He’d fight only if forced to.

The female ghost stretched her hand toward him. “Unnecessary. I’ll handle my own affairs—even if it means being reduced to ashes.”

Seeing her stubbornness, Jiang Zhuochen pocketed the jade pendant. “I’m acting on someone else’s behalf. Unless you cease causing trouble, I will investigate this matter thoroughly.”

“I cause trouble?” The female ghost let out a disdainful laugh. “Fine, then investigate. Let’s see if you can.”

No sooner had the words left her lips than she lunged forward. Jiang Zhuochen stepped back, exclaiming, “Hey, hey—didn’t you say let me investigate? What are you doing?”

“Give me back my thing. Don’t make me say it again.”

“That won’t do. This is an important clue.” Jiang Zhuochen hurled several explosive talismans forward. Seizing the momentary distraction, he grabbed Xu Xing and bolted—without looking back.

Once they’d shaken off the female ghost, Jiang Zhuochen went to the sink and rinsed the jade pendant clean. He traced the raised carving—and upon closer inspection, recognized the character *Ān*.

From what he knew, characters engraved on jade pendants often represented a person’s name—so he wondered, “Is this her name?”

Xu Xing spoke up. “Take it and ask the landlord. Maybe someone in his family has *Ān* in their name.”

“Mm.”

The two went and knocked on Xu Cheng’s door, jade pendant in hand. Xu Cheng let them in.

Jiang Zhuochen cut straight to the point: “Among your relatives, is there a woman whose name contains *Ān*?”

“Not that I know of, no.”

Jiang Zhuochen produced the jade pendant. Halfway through handing it over, he met Xu Cheng’s astonished gaze. “You seem to recognize this jade pendant.”

Xu Cheng took it. “This isn’t my great-grandmother’s jade pendant… No, it’s not.”

Seeing the character *Ān*, Xu Cheng denied it outright—though he’d seen an identical pendant in his great-grandmother’s possession.

“Because Great-grandmother always carried it with her, I saw it a few times. It bore the character *Huān*. I remember Great-grandmother’s name was Liu Hehuan.”

So this jade pendant—so similar, yet distinct from his great-grandmother’s—left Xu Cheng equally baffled.

After listening, Jiang Zhuochen frowned. “I didn’t see any jade pendant among her belongings.”

Xu Cheng scratched his head. “I didn’t find it when I was tidying up either. Maybe it’s lost.”

A pendant she never removed—gone just days after her death?

Previously, Jiang Zhuochen hadn’t linked the great-grandmother to the haunting—but now he sensed many threads pointed directly to her.

“Are there any photos of your great-grandmother from her youth?”

Xu Cheng looked apologetic. “No.”

“Then, do any members of your family resemble your great-grandmother?” Jiang Zhuochen pressed.

Fortunately, this time there was an answer.

“Yes, they do,” Xu Cheng replied. “When I was little, I often heard elders say Grandpa, the aunts—they all looked very much like Great-grandmother. As for the younger generation, you’ve seen the photos; they’ve all inherited some resemblance, more or less.”

Jiang Zhuochen understood. An identical jade pendant, similar appearances, and the haunting beginning mere days after the great-grandmother’s passing—all confirmed an undeniable connection between the female ghost and the great-grandmother.

The two bid farewell to Xu Cheng. Having listened to the entire conversation, Xu Xing also roughly grasped whom the haunting involved. Seeing Jiang Zhuochen still piecing things together, he quietly waited for his next move.

That night, Jiang Zhuochen had originally planned to return to that room to confront the female ghost. But suddenly, the window frame shook violently. Jiang Zhuochen turned his head—sensing a vast wave of ghostly energy approaching from afar.

The world abruptly shifted hue—a suffocating, oppressive darkness making it hard to breathe. Clearly, nothing good was about to happen.

“Upstairs.”

After saying this to Xu Xing, he turned—and noticed Xu Xing’s complexion had gone pale. His heart lurched; a sudden premonition struck him. “You… what’s wrong?”

Xu Xing exhaled slowly. “Same as before.”

Jiang Zhuochen’s eyes lit up. Was his master’s soul aura concealed somewhere within that advancing mass of ghostly energy? He could hardly wait. “Are you okay? Maybe rest here for a bit? I can handle what’s out there alone.”

Xu Xing inwardly scoffed at his expression. So, all these days of accompanying him had been for nothing? Was he truly pleased by his discomfort? At the same time, a fresh wave of irritation washed over him.

“Leave me alone for a while.”

"Alright."

With a single, crisp word, Jiang Zhuochen quickly ran upstairs and slammed the door open.

The female ghost stood by the window, her face now deathly pale, like millennia-old ice. The chill she gave off was bone-deep, yet her hands trembled slightly.

Such a massive expenditure of her own spiritual power was akin to burning through her very life. She was willing to risk dispersing her soul to use Ghostly Energy to drive out her enemy.

He shouted, "You're looking for the old lady who just passed away, aren't you?"

The female ghost paused for a moment. "So what if I am? I said I don't need anyone's help."

"Why are you looking for her?" Jiang Zhuochen asked. "Those who die of natural causes can go to the underworld and reincarnate immediately after death. Have you trapped her soul?"

"Die of natural causes." The female ghost seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and her anger flared even more in the next instant. "What a fine 'natural cause'! I've waited all these years, and she thought she could escape?!"

She spat the words through gritted teeth, sounding as if she wanted to annihilate that ghost completely.

"How about you calm down first?" Jiang Zhuochen tried to negotiate.

The female ghost spoke word by word, "Don't get in my way!"

Her eyes were now blood-red, devoid of any reason. Jiang Zhuochen began to feel a headache; she didn't seem like someone he could question.

"Get lost if you value your life!"

As the crimson in her eyes spread, Jiang Zhuochen immediately raised his hands innocently in surrender and retreated to a spot where the female ghost couldn't see him. The matter of his teacher's soul would have to be set aside for now.

Fearing that the gathered ghostly energy might pose a danger to the people nearby, Jiang Zhuochen didn't go far. He returned to Xu Xing's side to observe the female ghost's movements.

The female ghost remained tight-lipped, and no one else knew the details. Apart from their identities, he hadn't yet figured out the grudge between the two dead ghosts, so he dared not act rashly to help either side.

If he could find the ghost of the great-grandmother and understand the situation clearly, then standing by for now might be the best choice.

Meanwhile, Xu Xing, whether out of habit or because he had recovered, had color back in his face. A sudden sense of guilt made Xu Xing walk over with small steps. "Feeling better?"

That earnest, puppy-dog face entered Xu Xing's line of sight. When Xu Xing leaned back to avoid him, Jiang Zhuochen leaned in closer. When Xu Xing turned his head, Jiang Zhuochen followed suit. When Xu Xing looked down, Jiang Zhuochen squatted and stared up at him directly. Xu Xing found him both annoying and impossible to deal with; he was incredibly bothersome.

"Hmm." The intensity of the spiritual sense gradually weakened and then stabilized, causing no real harm to Xu Xing.

He flicked Jiang Zhuochen's forehead with his finger. Jiang Zhuochen immediately straightened up from his squat with a pained cry and shot him a reproachful look.

"How did things go on your end?"

"Not well." Jiang Zhuochen pursed his lips, his head drooping listlessly. "She's fierce—can't get close, won't talk. I had to come back."

"Oh?" Xu Xing asked. "Why didn't you fight her?"

"Fight what? Always fighting." If a large-scale fight broke out, the female ghost would have no concerns, but Jiang Zhuochen would have to worry about the innocent people in the area. Was he that powerful?

"Reckless."

Xu Xing nodded in agreement, suppressing a laugh. He didn't mention that Jiang Zhuochen's earlier impulsive charge could be described as reckless, and that was putting it mildly.

Jiang Zhuochen stood by the window, monitoring the changes in the ghostly energy outside to ensure he could intervene at the first sign of danger to people, while also observing what the female ghost intended to do.

When the ghostly energy gathered to its thickest point, even the flow of air slowed. An eerie silence fell, and every living thing nearby was trapped in a nightmare.

Jiang Zhuochen frowned deeply. If this continued, he'd have no choice but to jump in before the two ghosts even took action.

Suddenly, the ghostly energy began to stir, surging endlessly from all directions toward one spot. Sure enough, before long, amidst the overwhelming surge of ghostly energy, the ghost of the great-grandmother was forced out.

The old woman before them looked far more aged than in the family portrait, with no trace of her youthful appearance left.

Jiang Zhuochen had thought the female ghost might come out to reminisce, but instead, she instantly inflicted severe injuries on the old woman's ghost!

The old woman was already on the brink of death, collapsed on the ground, but the female ghost upstairs still said nothing, raising her hands to prepare for the next attack.

She was out for her life.

Author's Note:

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Everyone, there will be three consecutive updates in the next three days! [kiss]