Volume One, Chapter 106: The Rat That Drinks Human Blood

As soon as Qin Yu reached the top floor, she realized this level was different from the ones below it. A ward had been set here.

She had meant to force her way in with spiritual power, but when she tried, her dantian was utterly empty. There was not a trace of spiritual energy she could command.

So she had no choice but to use talismans properly.

She bit her fingertip, drawing a drop of blood.

On a blank yellow talisman paper, Qin Yu traced the lines stroke by stroke.

She worked quickly; the intricate, winding strokes, stained with blood, glared a vivid red.

When she was done, Qin Yu sucked on her finger to stop the bleeding.

By the time Lu Hualing caught up, a blinding flash burst before him. He had no time to think before the light turned into a powerful vortex and sucked him inside.

"Huh? Why does it not hurt?"

Without spiritual energy protecting her body, Qin Yu had expected a small sting at least, but to her surprise, she felt nothing at all.

"Master, you're stepping on me."

A weak, aggrieved voice came from beneath her.

Only then did Qin Yu realize that when he had been dragged in, Lu Hualing had served as her human cushion.

She shifted her foot, and only then did Lu Hualing struggle up in a sorry state.

Seeing the imprint of a shoe on his face, Qin Yu covered her mouth and coughed lightly. "Why did you follow me in?"

"I mean, I was worried you'd be scared alone, Master."

Qin Yu glanced at him, but did not point out that his legs were still shaking.

If anything happened outside, she would not be able to keep him fully safe.

Coming in was not entirely useless.

For instance, that had been rather nice just now.

Lu Hualing felt that the last look Qin Yu had given him had been rather odd.

But he could not quite tell what was odd about it, so he could only swallow his doubts obediently.

He looked left and right, and once he made out the gloomy reality around him, fear began to creep in. "Master, where is this place?"

Sniffing the foul stench in the air, Qin Yu said calmly, "The scene of the first crime."

Lu Hualing froze in place. A chill ran down his spine, and three question marks practically rose above his head.

He said weakly, "Why do I feel like it's safer outside than in here?"

"You've got that right." Qin Yu patted his shoulder and deliberately drew out her words. "There's a big ghost in here."

Lu Hualing swallowed. "How big?"

Qin Yu answered offhandedly, "Big enough to bite your head off in one gulp, I suppose."

She had only meant to scare him, but Lu Hualing had a naturally vivid imagination.

At once, a vivid image formed in his mind.

Instantly, his mouth flooded with saliva.

"M-Master! Y-you're joking, right?"

"Master?!"

"Master?!"

Lu Hualing panicked, because Qin Yu, who had been standing beside him just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.

"Master, I'm timid, don't scare me like that!"

"It'll frighten someone to death!"

Lu Hualing sounded as if he were crying.

"Although, however, this is very rude, but the young master crying is so adorable."

"Master, don't tease him anymore. It's too funny."

"Does no one else think the young master looks so delicate right now?"

"I do, I do! It gives me the vibe of a domineering little priestess and her delicate little husband."

"Hahahahaha, this suddenly became something I can ship."

...

In a certain executive office.

Lu Jinyuan wore a dark expression. "I can't delete them all. I really can't delete them all!"

--

Lu Hualing suddenly stopped crying out.

In the darkness, he seemed to see a pair of faint green eyes staring straight at him.

"Master, two thousand yuan. Save me!"

Beside his ear, with a whoosh, the vanished Qin Yu reappeared.

Her eyes curved with a smile. "Transfer it directly to my bank card. Absolutely do not send it to my little sprouts account."

A row of dots seemed to float through Lu Hualing's mind.

"Master, can we please stop doing the sudden-disappearance thing?"

Especially under these dim conditions.

You are walking along, and then your teammate disappears?

Who could understand that feeling?

Qin Yu gave him a light sidelong glance, her tone innocent. "Who said I disappeared?"

"Then where did you just go? I called you for ages and got no response."

Qin Yu looked at him, and Lu Hualing instantly maxed out his survival instincts and amended himself. "Master, the way I said that just now absolutely was not meant to blame you! I swear!"

"That's more like it."

Qin Yu pointed to a small desk not far away. "I only smelled a strong stench of blood over there."

She snapped her fingers, and a talisman floated up in the air, glowing with light.

As they moved, the luminous talisman moved with them, practically a portable lamp.

Following the direction Qin Yu indicated, sure enough, there was a child's desk and chair set.

When they got closer, dark, dried blood clots were clearly visible on the tabletop.

And the shape of those dried clots was unmistakably that of a small child struggling in agony.

Lu Hualing's stomach churned violently, nausea surging upward.

He asked in shock, "Was it a child who died here?"

Qin Yu nodded, then shook her head. "It was more than one child."

Lu Hualing: !!!

"What kind of heartless monster would do something like this, not even sparing children?"

"Didn't they say only a tricolor incident happened?"

"How did children end up dying too?"

"I studied that report. It never said anyone was killed!"

Lu Hualing was terrified out of his wits, yet still found the energy to speak indignantly.

Qin Yu found him a bit too noisy. She placed her finger over the bloodstained tabletop and used the remaining spiritual power in her body to sense it.

In an instant, fear, terror, and despair came crashing over her.

Qin Yu shuddered all over and instinctively pulled her hand back.

That feeling of being imprisoned made every limb and bone in her body feel cold and helpless.

"Let's look over there."

Qin Yu pointed toward a corner.

But Lu Hualing stood rooted to the spot and refused, dead set, to move another step.

Qin Yu tilted her head slightly, as if asking: Why aren't you moving?

Lu Hualing smiled awkwardly. "Master, you go first. You go first!"

Qin Yu rolled her eyes at him. "Then don't regret it later."

"No, no, no, I'll go in front after all. How can we let a girl do the pathfinding? Leave it to me, leave it to me!" Lu Hualing could not withstand the slightest threat and immediately changed his tune.

In the corner were three red plastic buckets. Straw lined the bottoms, and both the buckets and the straw were covered with hairs of varying amounts.

Lu Hualing bent down and picked up a tuft. In the light, the roots of the hairs gave off a faint pink hue.

"Master, what animal's hair is this?"

"Rat fur."

"That's the first pink rat I've ever seen. I wonder what breed it is, and whether it's easy to keep."

Qin Yu nodded in agreement. "Very easy to keep. Feed it human blood and it'll grow."

Lu Hualing, still clutching a tuft of rat fur, froze on the spot.

"Human? Human blood? Don't tell me it's the children..."

Qin Yu shrugged. "If not theirs, then whose?"

And so Qin Yu heard another full minute of Lu Hualing's various curses and cries.

She ignored him and looked deeper inside.

There was also a large pool over there. It looked as though it had once been a swimming pool or something similar.

But now there was no water in it, and the messy streaks of blood at the bottom were fully exposed.

"Master, why did you leave again without saying anything?"

Lu Hualing hurried after her, sounding wronged.

Qin Yu shifted slightly and stood in front of the glowing talisman.

"There is a pool here. Go down and see if you can find any clues for me."

Lu Hualing stared at that eerie place and swallowed. "Wouldn't that be a little dangerous?"

Qin Yu smiled gently. "You're my client. How could I ever let you take such a risk?"

Why did Lu Hualing feel like that was not real?

"Really? I haven't read much, so don't lie to me."

"Of course."

The pool was not deep, reaching only Lu Hualing's waist.

"Master, it's too dark in here. I can't see anything," Lu Hualing shouted from the bottom of the pool.