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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
After Qin Hai left, I really needed a cup of coffee. Sitting by the window, I dialed Liu Yiyi's number.
Liu Yiyi's phone rang twice before it was cut off.
I was taken aback, listening to the beeping sound on my phone. I chuckled to myself; indeed, the place I was sitting in was Liu Yiyi's company. She really had become the cold and aloof CEO, while I, a poor student, should probably stop trying to contact her. Our social classes were just too different now.
As I wallowed in self-pity and felt a bit depressed, my phone suddenly rang.
I was startled to see it was Liu Yiyi's number. My spirits lifted, and I quickly answered. On the other end, Liu Yiyi's voice came through with a hint of annoyance, "Hello! Song Fei, do you even know what time it is?!"
"Right now it's..." I paused, a bit confused, instinctively glancing at my clock.
"It's eleven-thirty at night! I'm trying to adjust to the time difference here in America and was just about to fall asleep when you called!" Liu Yiyi complained.
It dawned on me that she must have been extremely busy, having flown all the way to America. I awkwardly chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot about that. When you didn't answer earlier, I felt a bit neglected."
"You neglected? You woke me up! I had to call you back just to save you some phone charges. Do you know how expensive international calls are? Seriously," Liu Yiyi said. I could tell she was in a good mood; she only spoke so casually when she felt relaxed.
I felt a bit touched and realized how self-deprecating I had been. Liu Yiyi considered me a true friend; why did I always feel there was a gap between us?
I smiled and said, "Alright then, let me save you some talk time too. I wanted to ask if Andrei Bao Company is part of your family's business?"
"Yes, it is. Why do you ask?" Liu Yiyi replied.
"Well, I wanted to know if you know someone named Zhao Yin," I inquired.
Liu Yiyi burst into laughter. "Song Fei, what's going on? I just gathered information on Zhao Yin today! I'm planning to promote her to my new company. Why are you asking about her?"
"Huh? What's that about?" I laughed as well. "Are you really planning to give her a promotion?"
"Yes, my business here in the United States is going very smoothly. If all goes well, when I return to the country, my grandfather's headquarters will launch a new project that will be fully entrusted to me to manage. So, I've been preparing candidates for this new project. Zhao Yin is one of the talents I've set my sights on. She's thirty-two years old, has strong business capabilities, a good work attitude, and importantly, she hasn't been involved in any corruption or bribery issues," Liu Yiyi said.
I recalled Zhao Ke's situation and asked, "Are you sure? I just heard that after she slept with a man, she was ready to take him in without following the usual procedures."
Liu Yiyi laughed. "The information I've gathered is reliable. If she were to take someone in without following the rules, it wouldn't be because of sleeping with him; it would be because Zhao Yin recognized his talent. Well, Zhao Yin is a college graduate from a rural background who has worked in my company for ten years. Over those ten years, she has risen from a staff member to a mid-level manager with excellent performance. By the way, this is confidential personnel information from my company. Why am I even sharing this with you? What do you need from me?"
I briefly explained Zhao Ke's case.
After listening, Liu Yiyi thought for a moment and said, "Zhao Yin couldn't possibly be involved in any wrongdoing. She's a very normal woman who gets along well with her colleagues. I've interacted with her; she's a very healthy and positive person."
"But why would such a healthy and positive woman not have a boyfriend at thirty-two and still be unmarried?" I questioned.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? As if women are supposed to get married..." Liu Yiyi began to mumble about the issues faced by strong women.
We chatted for over half an hour before I suddenly remembered and quickly said, "Back to the point! You should get some sleep; it's expensive to talk like this. If we keep chatting, I might end up having to pay for a car instead of just the phone bill!"
Liu Yiyi chuckled and thought for a moment. "Actually, regarding Zhao Yin not dating, I've had someone investigate it too. No men in our company pursue her. In the past, there were rumors that men who dated Zhao Yin would have nightmares; it became a joke that circulated around. But strangely enough, no men are pursuing Zhao Yin now."
Hearing this made me feel more certain about my suspicions. After chatting with Liu Yiyi for a few more minutes, we hung up.
I glanced at the call duration—it had lasted over forty minutes. At eight dollars per minute, that meant I had just spent three hundred twenty dollars talking to Liu Yiyi.
After speaking with Liu Yiyi, I felt more confident about this case.
Sitting at the coffee table, I carefully considered the situation: A woman who cannot be pursued by men and does not sleep with them—if there aren't any ghosts around her, then I'm seeing things!
I rubbed my nose and chuckled; this was a great opportunity to make money! The last time I helped exorcise a female ghost for East Sea Art Academy, I charged twenty thousand dollars. This time, surely I could manage at least that much!
I picked up my phone and dialed Zhao Yin's number again.
Zhao Yin sounded somewhat impatient. "I have nothing to do with this case; you've got the wrong person. I'm very busy with work right now."
"I am not here as a police officer, but as a private detective, Ms. Zhao Yin. I know you are being haunted by an Evil Spirit. Come to the café, and I will help you." I quickly typed the message and hung up the phone.
I was confident that Zhao Yin would come.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Zhao Yin walked in again. She hesitated when she saw me drinking coffee by the window, but eventually sat down across from me.
"What... what do you know?" Zhao Yin asked hesitantly.
I smiled slightly and looked directly into her eyes. "I don't know much, but it's all important. Now, I want to hear your story. Remember, I'm not a police officer right now; I'm just a private detective. So even if you have done something illegal, I won't pursue it. My fee is twenty thousand yuan to help you rid yourself of all misfortune. What do you think?"
Zhao Yin looked at me. "If you can really do it, I'm willing to pay twenty thousand yuan. But... um, I just want to remind you that I've previously sought help from three very skilled Exorcists, but two of them died and one went insane, so you need to think carefully."
"I've thought it through clearly. You should too," I replied, feeling a bit excited. It turned out making money was really easy! Twenty thousand yuan!
Zhao Yin glanced around to ensure no one was watching. She ordered a cup of coffee and sat across from me. "You have to understand, I... I have a ghost with me, and I'm very afraid of him. But I can't get rid of him. He... he doesn't allow me to date or sleep with men. Several men I've been with have died. Honestly, I'm not a promiscuous woman; I'm just a normal woman who has needs—especially after turning thirty. At night, I feel particularly desperate, yet I don't even have the right to seek out a man..."
I looked at Zhao Yin and knew she wasn't lying; there was indeed a ghost following her, and it was strange that this ghost forbade her from dating or finding men.
I thought for a moment and asked, "Besides not allowing you to date men, does this ghost exhibit any other behaviors? For example, at night in your dreams... that kind of thing." I felt a bit awkward saying it.
Zhao Yin understood immediately and shook her head. "That's not an issue; in fact, I can only sense his presence but have never seen him. After all these years, I've almost gotten used to it."
I pondered for a moment and asked about the ghost's situation but didn't uncover any valuable information.
After serious consideration, I said, "Here's the plan, Ms. Zhao Yin: I'll take on your case. The first step is to lure the ghost out. So tonight, we might need to sleep together. But don’t worry; I won’t do anything with you; it's just to draw that ghost out."
Zhao Yin nodded in agreement immediately. "I still want to remind you that this ghost is quite powerful. The previous three Taoists used similar methods but couldn't subdue him. Also, I'm sorry about your friend; I truly tried to resist at that time. However, your friend was really charming, and after drinking that night, my desires overwhelmed me—I couldn't control myself—which led to your friend's death. I'm really sorry."
"Let's not dwell on that for now; let's set things up for tonight. I'll go to your house and take a look at how it's arranged," I suggested.
Zhao Yin agreed readily.
I left the café and went back to prepare my things. I wasn't too afraid of ghosts anymore. In the past, when I knew nothing, I hadn't been killed by Vengeful Spirits. Now, armed with a Peach Wood Sword, Black Dog Blood, and five Talismans given to me by the Azure Cloud Taoist, I certainly felt more confident! Not to mention, I also had Yang Gou Dan with me.
I returned to the café, got my gear ready, and then headed to Zhao Yin's home.
Before long, I arrived at Zhao Yin's house. It was a loan-purchased apartment of over sixty square meters. Although it was just a one-bedroom unit with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, it was quite comfortable to live in.
I took a look around Zhao Yin's place and found nothing out of the ordinary. For now, I didn't detect any hiding spots for the ghost.
As night fell, I felt a bit awkward. To trick the ghost, I had to climb into Zhao Yin's bed. Even though she was over ten years older than me, she was still a woman—and quite an attractive and curvy one at that.
Feeling embarrassed, I lay on the bed without daring to take off my clothes.
Zhao Yin turned off the lights and said, "Let's sleep. You can take off your clothes; don't worry. If I'm here, that ghost usually won't show up."
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