Chapter 90
The phone ghost didn’t respond to Xie Zeqing’s words and the discussion inside the house continued.
Wu Yanjia’s voice was sharp and sounded like she was going to argue with someone. "What are you smiling at? Did I say something wrong? I’m telling you, if something happens to me then I’ll pull you down with me.’
"Okay, you didn’t say anything wrong." The male voice obviously didn’t want to quarrel with Wu Yanjia and replied in a sleepy and perfunctory manner. "If there is nothing else then go back. Coming to me at this time because of the words of Chen Meiyou’s friends, you are really working hard."
Wu Yanjia refused to let him go. "What are you saying now?"
"Listen to me, everything is fine and go back to bed. I also have to sleep." The man spoke with no concern. "It was just an accident. Why do you care so much?"
He stood up, ready to end this. Wu Yanjia was obviously reluctant but she really had no other way. She had rushed out of her house because of a guilty conscience. She wanted to meet up with her accomplice to discuss countermeasures together.
As Wu Yanjia walked outside, the rest of the reincarnators saw her coming out, get into her car and drive away.
Luo Dian kept looking back at the window. "Should we follow Wu Yanjia back?"
Before putting forth a countermeasure, Xie Zeqing patted Xiao Li’s shoulder. "Have you hung up the phone?"
Xiao Li shook his head and opened his pocket. Lying inside was his phone with the call still connected. "There are no charges so I kept it on to let her hear how much we have done for her."
Xie Zeqing, "......"
He wanted to tell Xiao Li that the problem wasn’t the phone charges. It was that the ghost was listening to them and didn’t know how to feel grateful. However, Xie Zeqing was afraid that the ghost on the other side of the line would hear him so he shut up and looked at Xiao Li with accusing eyes.
Han Jin gazed at Xiao Li’s phone with lingering fear. "We can follow Wu Yanjia back but what about the protection around her home? Should we wait for her to go to work before searching her house?"
By this time, the sky had passed the darkest point and it was four in the morning. In another hour, the horizon of the sky would be full with the light of dawn. Xiao Li looked at the darkness of the sky for a while before opening his mouth, "What if her protection item is on her body?"
Luo Dian spoke quickly. "Then should we act now and go straight in?"
"Don’t be impulsive," Xiao Li told her. "We can pretend to be a ghost."
Xie Zeqing exclaimed, "Pretend to be a ghost?!"
"Ghosts can’t enter but we can. Wu Yanjia is frightened after being questioned by you. What will she do if she thinks that Chen Meiyou’s ghost appeared?"
There was no doubt that she would either break down and beg for mercy or feel crazy despair.
The problem was that in the instance worlds, there were real ghosts so the reincarnators couldn’t easily choose to pretend to be ghosts in case they get into trouble. After all, ghosts had their own thoughts but the desire to kill was very heavy in their hearts. They often killed reincarnators for pleasure and couldn’t tolerate any blasphemy.
Luo Dian looked at the phone in Xiao Li’s pocket. "If we do this, it won’t..."
Xiao Li snorted and took his phone from his pocket, asking directly, "Still here?"
Ghost, "......"
Why was he asking? Wasn’t it always connected? The ghost didn’t speak directly but Xiao Li was good at guessing her words. "I was afraid you hung up and didn’t hear anything."
Ghost, "......"
Hang up your head. The static from the phone suddenly intensified.
Xiao Li got straight to the point. "I want to ask you something. "Do you mind if we pretend to be you?"
Ghost, "...Hiss!"
She minded!
Xiao Li put down his phone. "She agreed."
Ghost: ???
Luo Dian, "......"
This was... an agreement?
*********
Wu Yanjia drove all the way back home, turned on the light and threw her keys onto the table.
She had to get up early tomorrow to go to work. She could only sleep for less than three hours. Wu Yanjia couldn’t even wash her face. She fell down onto the bed and wanted to sleep for a while.
Wu Yanjia turned over and thought that the quack doctor was correct. This was definitely nothing. Even if people knew that she had hurt Chen Meiyou’s leg, she wasn’t the one who killed Chen Meiyou.
She was thinking this when drowsiness gradually dominated her brain. Wu Yanjia fell asleep.
After approximately 20 minutes, Wu Yanjia frowned and slowly opened her eyes. She woke up but it wasn’t because of too much sleep. She didn’t know what it was but she woke up due to noises she heard from the living room. The subtle movements coming from there had woken her up.
What was this...?
Wu Yanjia got up from her bed and yawned. She opened the bedroom door, turned on the light of her bedroom and glanced into the living room. It was dark and she didn’t see anything. Maybe something fell over upstairs? Or a wild cat was calling out?
Wu Yanjia wanted to go back to sleep when she suddenly thought of something. She came back too late at night and went straight to sleep. Therefore, after she turned on the lights in the living room, she didn’t turn them off again. The lights should be on.
However, the living room was dark. Wu Yanjia was shocked. She walked back into her bedroom, picked up her phone and turned on the flashlight function. She swept it over the living room but didn’t find any other people.
She walked boldly into the living room, groping for the position of the light switch. She watched to turn it on again but after several attempts, she didn’t see any light. At this time, there was a shadow that moved very quickly in front of her eyes.
"Ah—!" Wu Yanjia screamed.
The dark shadow moved away and out of the corner of her eyes, Wu Yanjia saw that ’it’ seemed to enter her bedroom! W-Was there a thief? She just wanted to call the police when her phone rang.
It was a strange number. Wu Yanjia hesitantly picked up the phone only to hear, "In seven days... you’ll come down with me!"
This definitely wasn’t the voice of a living person! Wu Yanjia’s hand loosened and the phone fell straight to the ground. G... ghost!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the anti-theft door. The sound of the knock was like knocking on Wu Yanjia’s heart. She almost broke down. She could only think of one ghost who would come to her. Wu Yanjia trembled. "M-Meiyou... is it you?"
No one answered. Wu Yanjia tried to find her voice and strength. She headed to the window and fumbled to open a cabinet, pulling out a statue from inside it. This was a statue of a protection god that she used a lot of money to buy from a temple. It was said to be blessed by a famous master and she had kept it at home. She held the statue tightly, hoping that it would suppress Chen Meiyou.
However, unlike Wu Yanjia’s thoughts, the incidents were still occurring. The light in the bedroom was suddenly extinguished and the whole house fell into darkness. Heavy footsteps were heard outside the door, slowly approaching the house. It didn’t seem afraid of the statue.
Wu Yanjia released her hand and placed it against her chest for protection. "No no no no! I didn’t do this. You... don’t go to me. Go to Wang Gang, he misses you the most!"
The footsteps ignored her and kept getting closer and closer. In the distance. there was the sound of a cat calling.
Wu Yanjia’s heartbeat was getting faster and faster. She already had a guilty conscience and now she was so scared that she felt her imagination was coming true. Chen Meiyou had really come back from hell!
She closed her eyes and screamed, "Chen Meiyou, don’t blame me for this! You really can’t blame me! It is your own fault!"
Wu Yanjia expressed all the thoughts in her heart as she faced Chen Meiyou’s ghost.
"From small to big, you have always been suppressing me. Your good looks, good results and good dancing. You are so good! Have you ever thought about how I felt?"
"Everyone only looks at you yet you are only focused on dancing. The man chasing you can fill up a street and you don’t like them. Then you found a boyfriend who came back from abroad. I couldn’t stand your lofty look! My mother also praised you, everybody praised you!"
"You say that I am your best friend. Then don’t wear makeup or dress up when going out with me. It is your fault. You are the one who suppressed me! I-I had to do it!"
Once Wu Yanjia finished shouting, not only did she feel scared but she felt a long-lost sense of comfort. This comfort hadn’t even been there on the day Chen Meiyou died. It was because she finally let Chen Meiyou know her feelings.
Her story with Chen Meiyou was actually quite old-fashioned.
Wu Yanjia and Chen Meiyou knew each other since childhood. Wu Yanjia looked ordinary and there were generally no bright spots in all aspects. Chen Meiyou looked good and could dance. She kept pressing on Wu Yanjia. Over time, Wu Yanjia saw that this ’beauty’ wasn’t pleasing to the eye. She increasingly became jealous and also alienated Chen Meiyou.
However, Chen Meiyou cherished this friendship very much. When Wu Yanjia found an excuse to fight with her, she bought a gift and fruits to the door to apologize. She wanted to reconcile with Wu Yanjia.
Wu Yanjia didn’t say that she agreed but she also didn’t refuse. She took the things and sent Chen Meiyou away. Chen Meiyou naively thought they were as good as ever. She sent a WeChat every day, asking what the other person had eaten and sharing news. This included the bit about her boyfriend and the upcoming dance competition.
Wu Yanjia didn’t want to see this. Every time Chen Meiyou sent her a WeChat, she would delete it. However, she couldn’t stand the dance competition. The city had paid great attention to it and the publicity efforts were very big. Even her students and colleagues were discussing it.
Jealousy distorted Wu Yanjia more and more. She didn’t want Chen Meiyou to participate in the dance competition. She heard that professional companies would attend the competition. If Chen Meiyou really got first place and was signed by a company then more and more people would talk about her.
Wu Yanjia couldn’t bear to watch Chen Meiyou shine forever and had to do something.
She deliberately picked a time late at night to see Chen Meiyou dancing. Then she released her hand when hugging Chen Meiyou and hurt her leg. She used the reason that she was friends with someone in a clinic and stopped Chen Meiyou from going to a big hospital. She also persuaded Chen Meiyou not to tell anyone. Then she had the clinic prescribed the wrong medicine to Chen Meiyou.
At the same time, she used Chen Meiyou as an excuse to approach Wang Gang, stating that she would provide Wang Gang with information about Chen Meiyou’s childhood to help him pursue her. In fact, she secretly had someone take photos of them in the coffee store, forging the illusion of intimacy before sending it to Chen Meiyou. Finally, during the phone conversation, Chen Meiyou was in a trance and got into a car accident.
Wu Yanjia struggled to breathe. She felt like a dying fish as fear choked her. The moment she finished her shouting, someone came out of her bedroom. The man holding a flashlight in his hand was Han Jin.
He crouched down and took the statue from the wide-eyed Wu Yanjia without any effort. Then he spoke disdainfully, "You really deserve it."
Everything that happened in Wu Yanjia’s home was done by the reincarnators. During the time when Wu Yanjia was sleeping, Luo Dian entered the number into her phone and played the ghost call recording.
As the saying went, a good doctor could cure an old illness. The reincarnators had been scared every day and already knew what was the most terrifying thing. Although it was impossible to make any special effects in a short amount of time, it was enough for Wu Yanjia who had never met any ghosts.
Wu Yanjia recognized Han Jin as the man who came to ask about Chen Meiyou but her brain was still in chaos. She couldn’t react for a moment and just watched as Han Jin took the statue out the door.
She lost the protection statue and could no longer resist the ghost’s revenge. The ghost had been listening uninvited. ’It’ suddenly appeared at the door and went inside.
The reincarnators didn’t know what happened inside but regardless of how Chen Meiyou chose to deal with Wu Yanjia, it was her own choice.
They wanted outside the door, with Luo Dian and Han Jin the most on edge. The two people gripped their arms tightly, undid their jackets and watched their death countdown, hoping that the countdown would disappear completely after the ghost’s revenge.
Xiao Li closed his eyes while leaning against the wall.
The outside corridor was very dark. Only a little bit of light shone through the window, making the crowd’s shadow also very light. Xiao Li’s shadow reached up and touched his head, patting its shoulder and signalling that Xiao Li could lean on it and sleep for a while.
Xiao Li opened his eyes and stared at it without moving. His posture was submerged in the darkness and ordinary people couldn’t see his expression at all, but it was possible for the little yellow book.
The little yellow book could completely describe Xiao Li’s facial features as well as the beautiful black eyes. The shadow looked at him persistently. Once it saw that Xiao Li didn’t move, it saw down and patted its knees, making a ’hug’ posture.
Xiao Li reached out and directly pulled up the shadow. The shadow held Xiao Li’s hand and refused to let go, writing on his palm: 【 Do you want to eat? 】
Xiao Li’s mouth twitched and he wrote back: 【 Do you think you are raising a pig? 】
The little yellow book laughed. 【 I’m not raising a pig. I’m raising you. 】
Xiao Li stared at the shadow for two seconds before coldly writing: 【 No. 】
He drew back his hand and touched the head of the little black cat. The little black cat was released by Xiao Li to meow, successfully adding to the strange atmosphere. Now he was lying on the ground, long tail shaking in the air as he let his master pat his head, a few black hairs falling down. The Tan Li doll climbed out of Xiao Li’s pocket and lay on the little black cat, touching Xiao Li’s finger.
The ghost didn’t delay in the house for a long time. After a while, she came out of the house. Her body was covered with blood. Xiao Li saw her leaving blood marks as she headed in what seemed to be the direction of Wang Gang’s home.
The truth was revealed and the ghost got revenge but—
Luo Dian looked at the countdown that still existed on her arm: 53.
It still existed!
Han Jin called out, "How can this be? Shouldn’t the countdown be lifted after we helped her get revenge?"
Xie Zeqing looked at the countdown on his arm. He didn’t touch it as he spoke in a deep voice, "The ghost left but the curse is still present."
He now regretted that he agreed to help. Fuck, a real strong man should know when to stop and that he shouldn’t go into dangerous places lest he die young...
Xiao Li straightened. He went to the door of the house but didn’t go in. This... were they wrong in the first place?
Chen Meiyou’s thing was just an illusion and the ghost call curse troubling them had nothing to do with her?
Now they only had two days left to reopen the investigation... was this enough time?
Luo Dian’s mind was full of thoughts. There was the joy when the ghost came out and she thought she could survive. Then once she discovered that the countdown hadn’t disappeared, her emotions sank like a roller coaster ride and she almost lost control.
"Moriarty..." She gazed at Xiao Li’s back and called out to him.
She didn’t blame him. She originally sought help in exchange for information. She just wanted to determine the next step to be taken. Now wasn’t the time to be immersed in disappointment. They could only seize the last moments!
Xiao Li told her, "Let me think again."
Luo Dian obediently remained silent. What exactly did ’blood will have blood’ mean? Was it just cause and effect?
The ghost could clearly leave directly. Why did she come out of the house, why did she leave a row of bloody footprints in front of the administrative building and why were there the water drops every time she called? Was this a hint?
Blood debt, blood—
Xiao Li crouched down and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the countdown on his arm. He touched the blood with his finger and put the sticky blood on his countdown figure. It was strange to say but the countdown melted into the blood.
Xiao Li cut off part of his sleeve with the scalpel and wiped his arm with it. There was still some blood residue remaining but it could be seen that the countdown had disappeared, revealing the original skin.
This blood was the real way to lift the curse. It was helpful to find out the truth but if they didn’t discover that ’blood was the root cause’, they would still be helpless against the countdown. This was the difficulty of an A-grade instance.
"The blood?!" Luo Dian had been staring at his every move and now she approached Xiao Li’s arm.
Xiao Li stated, "You try it too."
Luo Dian couldn’t wait to try it while Xie Zeqing also sighed with relief. HE was no longer worried that he would die in this instance world and he asked Luo Dian for the secret.
Previously, Luo Dian had only Xiao Li and didn’t tell Xie Zeqing. She wiped the blood while talking to Xie Zeqing. Then Han Jin and Xie Zeqing also smeared blood on their arms. Once the last person had successfully erased the curse, they started to be transmitted from the instance world.
Before they disappeared completely, Luo Dian told Xiao Li, "Thank you."
[Reincarnator Xiao Li has completed the task of helping the reincarnator Luo Dian. You aren’t a reincarnator of this instance world and won’t receive a rating or rewards.]
historical
[However, you lifted the countdown of the ghost call and helped the evil spirit Chen Meiyou successfully get revenge. You will receive her summoning card.]
[This is a ghost call card which you can use to directly communicate with her. As for whether she will pick up, I can’t tell you. She has obsessive-compulsive disorder and there are no contacts saved in her phone. There is only one name on the blacklist. That name is Moriarty.]
Xiao Li who saw this: ???
【 Scenario conversion. 】
【 3, 2, 1—】
Once Xiao Li stood firm again, he and Xie Zeqing had returned to the Xiao home and were facing each other. This time, the instance only took an hour in reality. The time was very short so it was still night in reality.
Xie Zeqing coughed. After two successive instances, he was tired but he didn’t immediately turn away. Instead, he spoke to Xiao Li. "Did you hear what Luo Dian said?"
"Yes."
"Then do you want to exchange contact information in case there is an opportunity to team up?" Xie Zeqing spoke very quickly while looking up at the left of a big tree at the entrance of the Xiao home with a lot of sudden interest. "Don’t misunderstand. I’m not inviting you to form a team. I like to be alone but since this is the trend, it is better to keep in contact."
Xiao Li looked back at his window and asked an unrelated question. "Are you still in school?"
Xie Zeqing wondered, "Eh?"
“Are you still in school?"
"...Yes, why?"
"What are your results?"
Xie Zeqing wondered, "Why? Do you want to examine your teammate’s academic performance? You won’t let them in if they aren’t good?"
"How can you talk so much nonsense? Answer the question."
"...Of course, I am a five points master and have never failed a subject." Xie Zeqing replied reluctantly.
Xiao Li replied, "Okay, if you help me with my papers then I’ll give you my contact information."
Xie Zeqing, "......"
The author has something to say:
Phone Ghost: Open the blacklist – Moriarty.
Xiao Li: What is the use of blacklisting Moriarty? I still have Sherlock.