You deserve to die…
The drunkard stumbled along the road.
He scratched his belly, suddenly feeling thirsty. After glancing around, he followed his memory towards a direction he knew well.
He arrived in front of an old-style residential building, lifted his foot, and went upstairs, stopping before a certain door. He pounded on it crudely.
“Open up!”
The door opened quickly.
Standing behind the door was a middle-aged woman with a careworn face. As soon as she smelled the alcohol on the drunkard, she couldn’t help but frown again.
Even though she had smelled it countless times, she still couldn’t get used to it.
“You went out drinking again.” Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of angering the man.
The man waved his hand dismissively, completely unconcerned. “Damn woman1, mind your own business!”
He stepped into the apartment, yelling loudly, “Go, pour me a glass of water, I’m dying of thirst!”
The woman glanced quickly inside the room, anxiously lowering her voice, “Keep it down, the child is sleeping. Don’t wake her up, she has to get up early for school tomorrow!”
“School? What school,” the man impatiently raised his voice, “Sending that money-losing baggage2 to school is just a waste of money!
“Hurry up and pour Laozi3 some water!”
“Aiya, you… don’t talk about her like that. Our daughter works very hard.”
The woman tried her best to defend her child, only to be met with a fierce glare from the man.
She flinched, not daring to say more, and quickly turned to pour the water.
The man plopped down onto a dining chair in the living room, reached out to take the water, and gulped down two mouthfuls. His consciousness cleared up, just barely.
He glanced towards his wife, whose face seemed increasingly aged, and spread out his coarse, thick palm. “Where’s the money from the stall?”
The woman’s expression changed, her eyes darting away. “I’m only going out to set up the stall later. I haven’t even started setting up yet, where would the money come from?
“I’ll go back to preparing things, I have to head out soon.”
After speaking, she immediately turned towards the kitchen, her steps hurried, as if fleeing for her life.
“Stop.”
The icy voice landed softly, like a chain suddenly locking her feet.
“Don’t f%cking play dumb with Laozi. Today’s stall hasn’t been set up, but what about yesterday’s?”
The woman clenched her fists, mustered her courage, turned back, and said again, “Our family has no money. Can you please stop gambling and stop drinking?
“We need to live, the child… the child’s schooling costs money too—”
The man abruptly stood up.
Her voice stopped short. Instinctively, she covered her head.
The man’s hand didn’t fall, stopping threateningly in mid-air. He spoke in a rough, harsh voice, “Guo Qin4, cut the f%cking crap. Hurry up and get the money, or Laozi will beat you to death today!”
She still hesitated slightly, wanting to try reasoning with him one more time for the sake of the family. But as soon as she opened her mouth, a sharp “Pa!” sounded by her ear.
“Say one more word and Laozi will beat you dead!” The man’s ferocious expression was fully revealed. “Get lost and get the money!”
In an instant, countless memories of fists and kicks surged forth, transforming into the terror in the woman’s eyes.
She didn’t dare speak again.
Just then, a small figure rushed in front of her, spreading her arms to shield her.
Her tender face was filled with the determination to protect her mother.
“Don’t hit my Mama!”
The man’s gaze fell, a hint of anger in his eyes.
“Damn brat5, you’re rebelling now, huh? Watch out or Laozi will beat you too!”
Seeing this, Guo Qin turned to shield the child. “Don’t hit the child, I’ll go get the money!”
With that, she quickly carried her daughter back to the room to get the money.
The man watched the mother and daughter enter the room, snorted heavily through his nose like a crude beast, then sat back down to drink water.
Inside the tightly closed room, the light was dim.
Guo Qin knelt by the bedside cabinet, head bowed, counting the money to give to the man.
The light fell on her face, illuminating only her exhaustion and weariness in the interplay of light and shadow.
Her young daughter stood beside her, watching her quietly.
Sensing the child’s gaze, she looked up, put on a gentle expression, and asked softly, “Niu Niu6, why did you suddenly wake up?”
Niu Niu shook her head. “Papa was too loud, I couldn’t sleep.”
Guilt immediately surfaced in Guo Qin’s eyes.
Niu Niu added, “Mama, I want to go set up the stall with you. I want to help you.”
Guo Qin shook her head, refusing. “You can’t. You need to sleep, you have school tomorrow. School is important, be good now.”
Niu Niu said, “It’s okay, Mama. If I get tired, I can sleep on a chair. I fall asleep really fast, I can sleep anywhere.”
“Mama, I don’t want to stay home with Papa. He’s very fierce, always yells when he’s drunk, and he’s not nice to you. I don’t like him.”
As Niu Niu spoke, she reached out and tightly gripped her mother’s sleeve.
An eight-year-old child knew how to protect her mother and longed to stay by her side.
Remembering her husband’s ferocious appearance, Guo Qin stopped refusing. She smiled gently and stroked her daughter’s face. “Okay, then you can come with Mama.”
Only after getting the money did the man show a satisfied smile. He turned around and, reeking of alcohol, went back to his room to fall into a deep sleep.
Too lazy to shower, too lazy to care about his wife and daughter going out to set up the stall.
Why should he bother with that work?
Just let that woman do it. He could just sit and wait to collect the money. Otherwise, why did he marry her?
He calculated this unreasonably.
After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, he felt thirsty again. He called out twice but received no answer from his wife. Only then did he remember she had gone out to set up the stall.
He had no choice but to get up himself to pour some water.
Yawning, he walked into the pitch-black living room and glanced out the window.
It was still dark out, but the lights of myriad homes7 were still on. The moonlight filtering in was enough to illuminate the table and chairs in the living room for him.
He retracted his gaze, poured himself some water, drank it, and turned back towards the bedroom, intending to sleep more.
Inadvertently, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of red.
He paused, turning his head again towards the window to confirm.
This time, he hadn’t seen wrong.
Coiled near the window was a patch of very, very dense red.
Like smoke, like mist, it finally coalesced abruptly into a human figure, standing straight before his eyes.
It was a woman.
Her face was hidden beneath long hair, difficult to see clearly.
She wore a red dress, the style unlike modern clothing, more like the ancient costumes seen in television dramas, though it looked like a cheap wedding dress.
She stood in the shadows, emanating a ghostly aura8, her chilling presence9 palpable.
The man’s drunkenness instantly sobered up by more than half. Before his body could react, he suddenly heard the woman’s voice.
“You deserve to die…”
The tone was very low, very sinister.
The moment she spoke, the man felt a chill envelop his body, as if plunged into an ice cave10.
But he couldn’t move. It felt as if his feet had taken root, planted firmly on the spot, unable to budge an inch.
Then, he saw the woman slowly raise her hand, and the face hidden in the darkness finally revealed a mouth first.
“Have you seen my finger?”
The man’s gaze was instantly, involuntarily locked onto the woman’s raised hand.
On her outstretched palm, one finger was conspicuously missing.
—She had no index finger.
The next second, the spot where the index finger should have been abruptly gushed with shocking crimson. The blood transformed in the air into countless viscous tentacles, or perhaps like ferocious vipers, opening their bloody maws11 and lunging violently towards the man!
“Patak.”
Cold blood slapped against his trembling face like a pair of hands.
The man’s eyes widened in horror. In an instant, the female ghost had closed in.
Her face was savage, her bloodshot eyes filled with hatred, the corners of her lips curled upwards at an angle bordering on distorted madness.
“You know what to do. You know what you must do.
“Go on, do it for me to see. Let me see your retribution!”
Every word entered his ears, sinister and terrifying, yet also seeping into his brain like a bewitchment12.
The man’s eyes suddenly became vacant.
He could move now.
He turned and walked towards the kitchen, picking up a kitchen knife.
—Hand rose, knife fell!
The female ghost stood faintly (dimly/eerily) in the living room, watching the man in the kitchen clutching his hand, which wouldn’t stop bleeding, screaming in agony.
She curled her lips in satisfaction, appreciating his wretched state.
But this wasn’t enough, far from enough.
She stared intently at the man writhing on the floor, raised her hand again, her gaze like a knife.
Suddenly, only a “Swish” sound of something cutting through the air was heard, as a qi needle shot in from outside the window!
The female ghost’s ears twitched slightly. Her eyes shifted. Raising her sleeve, she gave a slight tremor. The qi needle instantly shattered, drifting lightly back into the air.
—A demon hunter.
—Their cultivation level was still shallow.
She perceived this keenly.
Her expression remained unchanged, seemingly unafraid, but she didn’t linger either. After repelling the qi needle, she vanished without a trace in an instant.
Instantly, the entire room was left with only the ceaselessly wailing man.
Outside the window, a butterfly fluttered its wings, flew over the treetops, and landed lightly on a woman’s fingertip.
Bu Yu carefully put away the Little Sky Eye and casually stopped Ye Linlin, who was about to chase the female ghost. “Don’t go, you won’t catch her.”
“She’s no ordinary minor ghost. The difference in strength is too great. Don’t clash head-on. Dealing with the man inside is more important first.”
After Ye Linlin mentioned seeing the person in red, she had kept an extra eye out.
Although she didn’t know if that red-clothed person truly existed, there was no harm in sending out the Little Sky Eye to follow the drunkard just in case.
And indeed, they had discovered something.
There was a ghost, a malevolent ghost with extremely heavy resentment energy.
Unfortunately, they were still a step too late; they still let this ghost bewitch the man into chopping off his own finger.
Bu Yu recalled the man’s behavior towards his wife and daughter, her mood momentarily complex.
This person was clearly no good thing either.
But no matter how bad he was, they, as demon hunters, couldn’t allow ghosts and monsters to harm humans wantonly, nor could they stand by and watch someone die13.
However, they couldn’t directly show themselves to save him either, otherwise it would be hard to explain…
Chu Sining leaned against a tree branch, flicked her fingertip, and gently cast a minor magic spell14.
The man’s screams inside the house instantly became louder and clearer.
Soon, neighbors heard the noise and rushed over.
Chu Sining unlocked the door at the right moment.
The neighbors discovered the door was unlocked, cautiously entered together, followed the sound towards the kitchen, and were instantly stunned by the sight before them.
In a flash, the house descended into chaos. Some called 11015, others called 12016, the noise incessant and clamorous.
The ambulance arrived quickly.
The three hid their forms and watched from the shadows as the man was carried onto a stretcher.
“What should we do now?” Chu Sining asked.
As she spoke, she and Ye Linlin both looked towards Bu Yu, who was older than them.
In terms of age, magical ability, and experience, Bu Yu surpassed them. They chose to listen to Bu Yu, so their actions wouldn’t be disorganized.
Bu Yu pondered for a moment, then said, “Third Miss, Miss Ye, you two head back first and inform the Head of House about this matter. Ask her to dispatch some personnel. I’ll go stake out17 the hospital first, in case that malevolent ghost returns to harm people.”
“Okay,” Chu Sining said. “Then Bu Yu-jie, you be careful, stay safe. We’ll come find you soon.”
Bu Yu nodded.
The three immediately split up and took action.
Bu Yu followed the ambulance away.
A question surfaced in her mind: Why did the red-clothed female ghost harbor such immense malice towards this man?
The author has something to say:
Because some readers might be scared, here’s a little heads-up written beforehand: This chapter might be a tiny bit terrifying, oh.
LP: It’s pretty obvious why, that man is worst than garbage
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