Volume One, Chapter 32: Letting the Female Ghost Seek Revenge

He was a vagabond. He witnessed the entire murder, so he ended up dying as well.”

Vagabond: “If you’ve killed that family, you can’t kill me too, right?”

Murderer: “Why not? It’s just a simple thing.”

“I was scared out of my wits, but seeing the comments upstairs made me laugh.”

“How terrifying. I’ll never dare to offer kindness so casually again.”

“After that murderer devoured our brains, he dismembered us. Then, under cover of night, he carried our remains to the construction site. At the time, Anxin Tower had just reached the thirteenth floor; he sealed our severed limbs and bodies within the walls.”

“At first, we tried to let the outside world know of our existence, so we’d make noises during the construction. Later, the foreman, to save trouble, simply invited a talisman from Qingfeng Temple to suppress us. Until half a year ago, when we noticed the talisman’s restrictions seemed to weaken, and we began to move again.”

Qin Yu narrowed her eyes. Half a year ago—she remembered that the Lu family’s troubles also began then. Was there a connection between the two events?

“So, why did you induce people to put their hands into the shredder and mutilate themselves?”

“Isn’t it because these people are just too stupid?” The Skin Ghost’s voice suddenly rose, anger mingled with grievance. “They never believed the small disturbances! So we decided to give them a bloody lesson!”

“And how do you explain swallowing the other ghosts?” Qin Yu didn’t believe it was as simple as she claimed.

A flash of panic and guilt crossed the Skin Ghost’s face. Like a child who’d made a mistake, she hung her head at once. “Whether you believe it or not, swallowing them was never my intention.”

“Big Sister, everything my mother said is true!” The childish voice sounded again beneath the skin. “We were trapped under that talisman, our ghostly power slowly depleted and absorbed. If mother didn’t swallow us to grow stronger, she would have perished too!”

“We volunteered for mother to eat us!”

At some point, tears streamed down the Skin Ghost’s face. She looked at Qin Yu, both helpless and resentful, hysterically, “Do you think I wanted to eat them? They were all my dearest family! Can you imagine how it feels when their voices gradually vanish inside me?”

If she had a choice, she’d rather be the one devoured, than watch her husband, son, and daughter slowly disappear within her own body!

Qin Yu said nothing. Her right fingers moved rhythmically atop her left wrist, as if she were playing an invisible score.

Golden spiritual vines began to sway to the melody, and the entire thirteenth floor instantly transformed into a vast stage. On it, the vines, entwined with severed limbs, danced wildly.

It was a dreamy, ethereal scene—if one could ignore the white bones clutched by the golden vines…

When the vines receded, five perfectly assembled skeletons appeared on the ground.

Shuqing, now only a face, had also regained her appearance.

A slightly plump, middle-aged woman, recently post-partum, her figure not yet recovered, hips wider than most.

Staring at the assembled bones, Shuqing collapsed to the floor with a cry.

“Xiaoman, Junjun, Zhigang…”

Her heartbreaking sobs moved all who heard them.

Qin Yu turned her head, her clear eyes deep in thought.

“You’re free now,” Qin Yu said, looking at the six-pointed star that still glimmered on the floor.

Shuqing was taken aback. She stared at Qin Yu, incredulous. “You’re not going to urge me to let go of my hatred?”

“Can you let go?”

Qin Yu raised her gaze, meeting those bloodshot eyes.

“Of course not! He slaughtered my family, devoured my brain! If I don’t avenge them with my own hands, I am unworthy as a human!”

Qin Yu looked at her, calm and cool. “You now have a choice.”

Tears welled up in Shuqing’s eyes. She bowed gratefully to Qin Yu. “Thank you, Master. Even if I vanish to dust, it’s worth it!”

“Who said you’ll vanish to dust?”

Qin Yu frowned. Where did that rumor come from?

“Won’t I vanish?”

“Of course not. You’ll be reborn as an animal for ten lifetimes to wash away your sins. After that, you can reincarnate as normal.”

Shuqing glanced at the bones on the floor. “And what about them?”

“Their souls are scattered.”

Shuqing closed her eyes in agony, and when she reopened them, vengeance had replaced her pain.

“Thank you!”

She bowed again, then vanished.

“May Shuqing succeed in her revenge! Evil must be punished!”

“Host lets ghosts roam free and kill—aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

“Be careful at night, or Shuqing might come for you!”

“I was just joking! I was wrong, I was wrong, let Shuqing seek revenge on her killer!”

“But isn’t this abetting murder?”

“Murder? Shuqing is killing a person? Clearly it’s a beast!”

Qin Yu ignored the noisy barrage, looked to the screen, and said, “Is Shumei, Shuqing’s elder sister, here?”

Shumei: “Master, I’m here!”

“I’ve already called the police. Your sister and brother-in-law’s remains will be collected by the authorities. Go to the station to claim them when the time comes.”

Shumei: “Thank you, Master!”

Shumei sent three carousel gifts.

After reminding Shumei, Qin Yu continued, “Thank you to all friends in the livestream for watching, and for your generous gifts. That’s all for today’s broadcast! Thank you all for watching! Have a good night and sweet dreams!”

With that, Qin Yu closed the livestream.

While Lin Jian’an was still asleep, Qin Yu performed a soul-guiding spell. Soon, a small, thin figure appeared before her.

Seeing Qin Yu, the newcomer’s eyes lit up with joy. “Sister, have you decided to help me?”

Qin Yu rubbed her aching brow. “Have you made up your mind?”

Yongzi nodded fiercely. “Sister, I was foolish before. Now I understand—I just want to spend more time with my father.”

“Even if it means serving ten years in the eighteenth level of hell, you won’t regret it?”

“No regrets!”

Qin Yu asked no more. She turned and retrieved cinnabar and talisman paper from her bag. Her slender fingers dipped into the deep red powder and skillfully drew on the paper.

After finishing, she affixed it to Yongzi’s forehead, and immediately his ghostly form became more transparent.

“You are now a spirit body. You just need to enter the dog’s body.”

“Thank you, Sister! You’re so kind!”

Yongzi bounced with joy, then disappeared impatiently.

Infected by Yongzi’s happiness, Qin Yu smiled and shook her head.

She roused Lin Jian’an from the floor, but as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Qin Yu, he broke out sobbing and sniffling. “Miss, no, Living Immortal! Help me!”

Qin Yu pressed her aching brow. “Uncle Lin, look around—everything’s fine now.”

But Lin Jian’an glanced around and caught sight of the five neatly assembled skeletons on the floor. His face went white, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Qin Yu: …