CH 16.2

Yukirin9-12 minutes 12.02.2023

“Miss.” A raspy voice caught her attention. Tang Tian turned around to see the old man picking up his paper lantern from the ground with a pleasant smile on his face. “Thank you so much.”

Tang Tian said, “I heard that ghosts remain in the human world because of their unresolved desires or hatred. What does Xiao Bao want? Maybe I could help?”

Although she offered her help, she had her reservations about her ability to accomplish such a task, as even Chen Xu, who had spent almost his entire life with Chen Bao, had failed to help him cross over to the Netherworld. 

“No need.” The old man gave her a small smile. His usual stern countenance softened to a gentle expression as he told her in an earnest tone, “Not only the dead are shackled by unresolved hatred, but the living are also burdened by it.”

“Do rest early,” said the old man before he left. 

The large courtyard was now empty, and the sounds of crickets in the bushes filled the serene air. After spending a few days here, Tang Tian had slowly gotten used to the relatively quiet and tranquil atmosphere in the estate. 

There was no sign of anyone else as no one stayed near her room. Tang Tian gently pushed the door to her room open and reached to turn on the light switch nearby. As she was still searching for the light switch in the dark, she felt a strong blast of air behind her. 

There’s someone in my room!

At the very last second, she leaped forward as something heavy smashed onto the floor behind her, and she heard a loud crack as broken pieces of something scattered across the room. 

Tang Tian fell to the floor on all fours and scrambled to get away from whoever was behind her, until she reached the wall. Turning around and placing her back firmly against it, she panted heavily as she gazed up at her assailant with horrified eyes. “Chen Peng?”

The one who had hidden behind the door, waiting for the right moment to attack, was indeed Chen Peng. But now, he was caught in a very strange posture. His hands were raised above his head, but they were empty. Meanwhile, his face was completely flushed and he grimaced as if he was exerting great strength to squirm out of something, though his body seemed to have been immobilised. His eyes widened with terror as they stared up at his wrists. 

He saw, by the faint moonlight that shone through the window, a pair of pale, slender hands that clutched his wrists tightly. 

Chen Peng stood frozen, imagining what would happen if that pair of hands that had appeared out of nowhere were gripping his neck instead of his wrists. The naked fear and panic in his eyes was overwhelmingly evident.

Although he had experienced several supernatural incidents and survived the Ghost Snare back in Dawan Village, he had been lucky enough not to come face to face with a real ghost. Until now.

Now, he was undeniably looking at a ghost with his own two eyes. The very thing that was the source of all his deepest, darkest fears. 

“B-b-big brother?” Chen Peng’s voice broke as he stuttered. 

Tang Tian hurriedly got up and grabbed the candelabra on the table. She plucked out the candles, threw them aside, and brandished the sharp edge of the candelabra toward Chen Peng. An emotionless smile crept onto her face as she said, “Why hello there. Have you come to kill me?” Tang Tian could see Chen Peng’s shadow under the moonlight, but she also noticed the silhouette of another man right beside him. 

As she finished speaking, the pair of hands that gripped Chen Peng’s wrists disappeared. The soft glow of moonlight on the floor distorted for a second, then returned to normal, and the other shadow was nowhere to be seen. 

Chen Peng took a deep breath as he finally regained control of his own body. His legs gave way, and he sank to the floor, panting rapidly. “G-g-hosts are real! They exist in this world!” he muttered to himself like a deranged man.

Tang Tian could not be bothered to listen to his newfound enlightenment. She grabbed a teacup and smashed it on the ground next to him. “Did you kill Chen Xu? Speak or I’ll call the cops on you right now for trying to murder me!”

Her threat to call the police triggered something within Chen Peng and he slowly came back to his senses. At the sight of Tang Tian, still brandishing the candelabra with a face that was void of emotions, he lifted a trembling finger to point at the bruises on his wrists and snarled in disbelief, “You saw that, didn’t you? H-he’s here! Aren’t you afraid of ghosts? How can you still calmly think about the matter of his death right now? Are you even human?”

Tang Tian rolled her eyes. “You people are far more terrifying than mere ghosts. Why should I fear ghosts? They don’t wish to harm me, but you do. So stop spouting nonsense and answer me.” She secretly reached a hand into her pocket and pressed the “record” button on her phone. “Did you murder Chen Xu?”

Chen Peng waved his hands frantically. “N-n-no! No! It isn’t me! I didn’t do it!”

“Then why are you trying to kill me?”

Chen Peng tightened his lips and glowered maliciously at Tang Tian. His meticulous plan had been foiled. He had picked this moment to strike, knowing that there were only a few people living in the family estate, and that most of them were too scared to come near Tang Tian’s courtyard at night, as it had previously been Chen Xu’s residence. The plan had been to kill her, then pretend that she had actually died from her own sickness. Right away, he would seal her corpse in a coffin and bury it six feet under, so no one would be able to find out what really happened. His father would have no choice but to accept her death as well. Even if he did notice anything suspicious, Chen Peng knew that his own father would never betray him. Alas!

When I was just about to succeed, that darned Chen Xu interfered and ruined everything! It’s always him! 

Tang Tian cocked her head to one side. “How naive. You should be glad you didn’t manage to kill me just now. Before I showed Boss Chen that video, I had already saved a backup copy, along with a detailed description of the truth, in an email that is scheduled to be sent out at midnight exactly. If I don’t log in to change the timer every day, it will be sent to my friends and teachers automatically and they will contact the police on my behalf. Besides, it will also be sent to certain famous Weibo1Weibo (微博) is the social network commonly used in China. influencers and the official Weibo account of the local police. 

Chen Peng gritted his teeth and glared furiously at her. “You!”

Tang Tian shrugged. “I’m dying soon anyway. Even if you kill me before that, it’s just a matter of time before the truth is revealed to the public. By then, it won’t be up to your father to decide what to tell everyone else about Chen Xu’s case.”

Chen Peng huffed and struggled to stand by bracing himself against the wall. He smoothed out the creases in his shirt, attempting to put on a calm façade. “How much do you want? In exchange for not disclosing the truth and giving me all copies of the videos.”

Chen Peng was someone who fervently believed that, with enough money, he could get his way with anything he wanted in this world. 

But Tang Tian’s reply was stoic, “I am only interested in the truth.” 

“Then you’re only digging your own grave.” 

Tang Tian grinned. “Only if you can kill me.” 

He is able to materialise fully now. Could it be that my contract with that creepy mobile phone strengthened Chen Xu’s abilities as a vengeful ghost? Tang Tian wondered as she glanced at the space behind Chen Peng. 

Chen Peng froze as a familiar lance of cold air shot up his spine. Suddenly, a pale greenish hand appeared, wrapping its frigid fingers tightly around his neck, causing Chen Peng to shiver uncontrollably. He was completely defenceless against the hand’s strong, steady grip.

When Chen Peng felt the hand tightening, he cried out, gasping desperately for air, “What should I do in order for you to leave my family alone?!” 

Tang Tian sighed. “But you and your family didn’t leave us alone. I just want the truth, why are you making it so difficult?”

The freezing cold hand exerted more pressure and lifted Chen Peng above the floor. Chen Peng’s face was quickly turning blue as his legs dangled in mid-air. He flailed his hands around in panic, letting out broken, agonised groans. 

“I swear i-it wasn’t me. It’s— my, my m-mother.”

The moment he finished speaking, the invisible force strangling him instantly dissipated. Chen Peng stumbled as he landed on the floor and fell on his back. Instinctively curling up into a ball and hugging his head in an attempt to protect himself, he shrieked, “I didn’t ask for it! My mother did it, for me! She was the one who hired people to kill you! It was all for me! But it’s your fault! Why did you have to come back? Only one of us was meant to live anyway!” His face contorted into a vile expression as he hurled each word like a vicious curse, burning with hatred and loathing.