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After going upstairs, I directly entered the room that President Cai had stayed in. The decor was quite elegant, and the space was ample, featuring a desk and bookshelves. The two-meter-wide bed looked very comfortable. Master Xiao was sitting on the bed, smoking with a troubled expression. After closing the door, I pasted a talisman on it and tied a red thread across the doorframe before turning to Master Xiao and saying, "Don't worry. Even if Senior Zhang is from the Ghost Path, do you think your words didn't offend him? Since you've already offended him, what are you still worried about?"
Master Xiao exhaled a puff of smoke and calmly replied, "You're right. Since we're here, we might as well make ourselves comfortable. What should we do now?"
"Let's wait until dark and see how things unfold," I said as I set down my compass and the Cloth Bag hanging from my body, starting to examine the books on President Cai's bookshelf.
Many people of status like to have a bookshelf at home filled with various types of books, all of which are notably new and seem freshly published. Books only hold value when read; otherwise, they are just piles of waste paper. To me, President Cai's entire bookshelf was nothing more than a heap of useless paper.
Master Xiao asked, "So where are we having dinner? I'm hungry."
"Don't worry; Miss Wang will prepare something for us. Let's rest for a bit so we can work well tonight." After saying this, I lay back on the bed, closed my eyes, and began to gather my energy. I tried to control my thoughts and not let my mind wander. Just as I was about to fall asleep after about three minutes, I heard Master Xiao's snoring; he truly had a carefree heart.
I don't know how long I slept, but suddenly the sound of soft sobbing disturbed my peace. Turning my head, I didn't see Master Xiao but rather a figure with delicate shoulders that were shaking as she cried. This puzzled me, but at that moment, I didn't think much of it and clumsily reached out to pat her.
"What are you doing?" It was indeed a female voice—expected yet unexpected.
"Master Xiao, what are you playing at?" I said calmly. There were only the two of us in the room; I remembered that clearly. Although this situation was strange, since it had happened, I decided to go along with it. Those of us in this line of work know that many things should be ignored even if seen. Without complete preparation, it's best not to reveal anything.
After I asked this question, the figure slowly turned around. Her long hair fell gently from her shoulders as her head turned toward me. Gradually, I saw her face—it was unmistakably familiar: Master Xiao's face. However, it terrified me not because her face looked odd on such a body but because her complexion was as pale as paper, with blood streaming from her seven orifices across that ghostly white face—an alarming sight for someone who considered Master Xiao a good friend.
"Ah!" I shouted in shock and suddenly felt my heart relax as I sat up from the bed; it turned out to be just a dream. Almost simultaneously, Master Xiao also sat up in bed, looking at me with wide eyes filled with terror. I knew he must have had a nightmare too.
"Liu the Boss! I just dreamed you died with blood streaming from your seven orifices right beside me," Master Xiao gasped, beads of sweat visibly rolling down his cheeks as if he were still trapped in that nightmare.
I recounted my dream to Master Xiao. After listening for two seconds in silence, he quickly rolled off the bed and dashed to his desk to grab his Cosmic Bag and spread it out on the floor. He pulled out his Peach Wood Sword and bit down on it while grabbing a handful of Glutinous Rice with his left hand and pulling out a talisman with his right hand—one he placed on the bed while piercing another with his Peach Wood Sword. Then he picked up the Peach Wood Sword still held in his mouth and moved to the nearest corner by the door while scattering rice and drawing spells in the air with the sword. He began to drive away evil spirits in a clockwise direction along the wall.
As Master Xiao got moving, I jumped off the bed too. First, I checked the talisman above the door; it seemed fine at first glance but revealed several patches of dark stains on its back when flipped over—indicating that it had lost its effectiveness due to being forcibly worn away. Whether this was done by a person or a ghost remained uncertain. Pulling down that useless talisman, I affixed two new ones instead. Looking down at the red thread, I noticed it had snapped—not just broken but divided into four equal segments. This kind of breakage could only mean one thing: it had been severed by three forces acting upon it simultaneously. As for whether those forces were controlled by humans or ghosts remained unknown—how careless we had been!
Turning to look outside, night had fallen; no wonder demons and monsters were coming out now. It wasn't dark when we lay down to rest; we hadn't turned on any lights then either. Now that it was dark outside, somehow the lights inside had turned on by themselves—what kind of game was this?
After finishing up in the corner of the room, Master Xiao moved to the center and set up a bowl filled eight-tenths full with clear water. He lit a talisman above the Water Bowl while chanting spells over it. Just as the talisman was about to burn out completely, he tossed in a small handful of rice with his left hand and then stared intently at the Water Bowl.
I knew he was using the Water Bowl to find the soul. If that Evil Spirit disturbing our dreams was still in the room, it would be nearly impossible to escape. I drew a red line on the door and sprinkled some Cinnabar along the gap at the bottom. After that, I moved to the window and placed a talisman there. Only then did I take the Ink Fight Line in my hand and begin to draw the Hand Spell above it.
Master Xiao watched for a while, then lightly pointed his Peach Wood Sword at the wardrobe in front of him. At that moment, I had just finished drawing the Hand Spell, neither too early nor too late. We both approached the wardrobe from different directions.
The wardrobe had sliding doors, with a transparent glass panel at shoulder height. From the outside, it appeared empty except for a nightgown and a suit.
We didn’t open the wardrobe directly. Master Xiao threw a Glutinous Rice at it, which made a clattering sound. I grabbed some Cinnabar Incense Ash and sprinkled it where the wardrobe was about to open. Then I quickly drew a Confinement Talisman on top of the ash to prevent whatever was inside from escaping.
Instead of pulling open the wardrobe with his hands, Master Xiao pressed his Peach Wood Sword against the groove of the wardrobe door and gently pushed it to one side. Just as we opened a small crack, something suddenly floated out from inside, causing both Master Xiao and me to exclaim simultaneously: “That bastard!”
Indeed, what emerged from the wardrobe was a small Paper Man, just like the one we had seen in Senior Zhang's hotel room. However, this Paper Man was being controlled by someone and could move. As it floated out, it landed on my Cinnabar Ash marked with the Confinement Talisman, as if trapped in quicksand, unable to move an inch.
A human-shaped piece of paper stood upright on the floor before us without any external support. It was my first time witnessing the Paper Man Technique; its limbs were clearly defined, and after getting caught in my Confinement Talisman, it seemed to be in great pain. It twisted its body in an attempt to break free from that spot. Yet no matter how much it twisted its head and arms, those two paper legs remained completely still, as if nailed to the floor. The Birth Chart written on its body was clearly visible.
“Wow!” Master Xiao swiftly severed the Paper Man's head. I drew a talisman in mid-air and quickly recited an incantation before tossing the burning talisman onto the Paper Man. It shriveled up like a membrane meeting fire, eventually turning into a small particle with blue flames flickering atop it, which quickly turned to ash.
“That bastard...” Master Xiao angrily muttered as he turned towards the door. His intention was clear: he wanted to go downstairs and confront Senior Zhang. I quickly called out to him; we hadn’t figured everything out yet, and rushing down wasn’t wise.
“Don’t be so impulsive; we haven’t clarified things yet,” I said.
“What’s there to clarify? Isn’t it obvious they’re messing with us? If we don’t respond, they’ll think we’re pushovers,” Master Xiao replied loudly in frustration, raising his voice so much that Senior Zhang downstairs might have heard him.
Knock knock knock—there were footsteps coming up the stairs outside. Master Xiao and I exchanged glances, both guessing it was Senior Zhang coming up.
“Just in time,” Master Xiao said as he quickly turned around and pulled out the dagger he had prepared earlier. He looked determined not to back down. Seeing his stance made me uneasy; while dealing with ghosts or spirits might go unnoticed, harming someone here wasn’t a wise choice. I snatched his dagger away and tossed it onto the bed before grabbing his shoulders firmly and saying sternly, “Calm down! What kind of grudge makes you want to draw blood? Let’s assess the situation first. If you act recklessly again and innocent people get hurt because of you, don’t blame me for turning against you.”
Seeing my firm demeanor, Master Xiao managed to suppress his anger.
There were two knocks at the door, which meant he had arrived. I removed the Ink Fight Line and opened the door.
Standing outside was Senior Zhang, beaming with a smile and holding a bag containing two takeout boxes. "Let's eat first. This food has been here for a while, and since you didn't respond when I called, I brought it over for you," he said, his expression now warm and friendly.
I glanced at my watch and realized it was already past nine. The dream had been brief, yet it felt like it lasted a long time; it was truly an inexplicable matter. I took the bag from him and said, "Thank you, Senior. You've worked hard."
"You're welcome. Go ahead and eat. Let's stick to our plan—each of us will handle our own floors. Afterward, we can help each other out," Senior Zhang said before waving his hand and turning to leave, heading downstairs.
Watching Senior Zhang's retreating figure, I shook my head and closed the door. Carrying the heavy takeout, I walked over to my desk. "Foodie, your dog food has arrived. Oh no, I mean your rations have arrived."
Good night, good night. I've been very busy these past few days and can only write late at night. Sorry about that.
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