Chapter 3
Indeed, the windows on the first and second floors had security bars, but those on the third floor and above did not.
Xie Chi stared at him expressionlessly. The young man finally climbed through the window and only then noticed her. He was so startled that he immediately pulled several talismans from his pocket and began chanting at her, “May all ghosts retreat! Evil spirits, stay away!”
Xie Chi: “I’m alive.”
Young Man: …
Xie Chi conveniently used him as a negative example to educate the viewers in her livestreaming room. “There are plenty of scammers who claim they can see ghosts. But look at him. He can’t even tell whether I’m a human or a ghost.”
The young man was utterly humiliated. “I’m not! I’m not a scammer! I’m a legitimate Taoist practitioner! I have a certificate!”
He rummaged through his bag and actually produced two certificates. One was a Taoist priest certificate, while the other was a Harvard graduation certificate. Well, the Harbin Buddhist Academy.
Xie Chi remained unmoved. “How much did you pay for those? They look pretty convincing.”
“I really am a Taoist priest!” The young man felt terribly wronged. “What part of me doesn’t look like a Taoist priest?”
Every part.
Xie Chi didn’t even need to read the comments to know what the viewers were saying. Why had she been chosen to livestream in the first place? Wasn’t it precisely because she was young and pretty, making her look more like a scammer than someone who actually worked in this profession?
This young man was also quite handsome, with delicate features. He looked to be in his early twenties, twenty-three or twenty-four at most, and still had a little baby fat on his cheeks. Calling him an internet celebrity would be perfectly believable, but a Taoist priest?
Xie Chi advised him earnestly, “Go home. Don’t wander around outside so late at night. It’s dangerous. Besides, you climbed all the way up to the third floor using the pipes. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’d broken in to steal something.”
“I didn’t! I came here to catch ghosts.” The young man’s expression turned serious. “Some time ago, a friend of mine came here for treatment and ended up covered in yin energy. He’s been having terrible luck ever since. That’s how I tracked the problem to this place. But what about you? Why are you here in the middle of the night?”
Xie Chi showed him her equipment. “I’m a livestreamer. You should leave. If you don’t go soon and someone calls the police, you’ll be in trouble.”
The young man’s eyes widened. Not only did he show no intention of leaving, but he also began lecturing Xie Chi at length. His general point was that even if she didn’t believe in ghosts and spirits, she should at least maintain a healthy sense of reverence toward them. Otherwise, something bad would happen to her sooner or later.
Xie Chi couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and headed toward the corner. She had vaguely spotted a figure there earlier. If this young man hadn’t distracted her, she wouldn’t have wasted so much time standing around.
However, by the time she reached the corner, there was nothing there. Only a few cardboard boxes remained, piled haphazardly on the floor. They were covered in dust, making it seem unlikely that anyone had been there.
She had already walked through the entire third-floor corridor without discovering anything else unusual. The only noticeable difference was that the yin energy here was indeed much denser than on the other floors.
Ghosts naturally carried yin energy. That was why places like graveyards and mass burial grounds felt somewhat cold and gloomy even during the day. If a person picked up a tiny amount of yin energy, it generally wouldn’t cause any problems. A little time in the sunlight would disperse that rootless yin energy.
However, if someone frequently remained in a place overflowing with yin energy, the consequences could be serious. At best, they might fall ill. At worst, they could suffer prolonged misfortune, become physically weak, and even attract ghosts that would relentlessly haunt them. The outcome was easy enough to imagine.
The yin energy alone was something that absolutely couldn’t be ignored, but finding its source was even more important.
Xie Chi examined her surroundings. All the patient room doors were locked, but she had the keys. The hospital administrator had provided them before her arrival, passing them to her through her martial nephew.
The young man was still following behind her, chattering nonstop and urging her to leave immediately, go home, take a bath with pomelo leaves, and get a good night’s sleep.
Eventually, Xie Chi grew rather irritated by his constant nagging. She turned around and said with complete sincerity, “Then why don’t you find a ghost and catch it? That’ll prove you’re not a scammer. Once you’ve proved it, I’ll leave.”
The young man froze for a moment before nodding vigorously. “Then take this! If there really is a malicious ghost here, it’ll keep you safe for a while.”
He handed Xie Chi a protective talisman. Still feeling that it wasn’t enough, he untied the peachwood sword from his waist. “This peachwood sword was made from lightning-struck wood and has been consecrated before a statue of the Celestial Master for three years. Take it. Although you won’t be able to unleash its full power, ordinary lesser ghosts won’t dare come near you.”
Xie Chi generally refused to use swords other than her own, mainly because her Demon-Slaying Sword was terribly jealous. However, since the young man had already pressed the sword into her hands, she didn’t refuse. She simply thought to herself that he seemed like a decent person, so perhaps she should bully him a little less.
“Stay behind me.” The young man took all the keys from her. “Let me find out where the yin energy is strongest first.”
He pulled out a compass and lowered his head, muttering an incantation. After a while, he pointed in a particular direction and declared, “The yin energy is strongest over there! Let’s go take a look!”
He was pointing toward a room on the left side at the end of the corridor. From the outside, it looked no different from any of the other rooms. The young man walked over and, with the help of the light from Xie Chi’s phone, found the correct key and unlocked the door.
Creeeak—
The sound of the door opening was particularly harsh in the silent corridor. The young man cautiously poked his head inside, holding two talismans between his fingers. His entire body seemed to be on high alert.
Xie Chi was much more relaxed. She even had time to glance at her phone screen. Ever since the young man appeared, the number of people chatting in her livestreaming room had steadily increased. Most of them seemed to regard him as a scammer and were jokingly encouraging Xie Chi to scare him or expose his tricks.
Especially after he had taken out his talismans.
‘666! Is this guy a professional scammer? He’s certainly well prepared! He’s got a compass, talismans, and a peachwood sword. Where’s the black dog’s blood?’
‘Hahaha, those talismans look so cheap. They look like they were printed out with a printer.’
‘Maybe he bought them wholesale at a market. Fifty cents each, and that’s being generous.’
Xie Chi had examined the protective talisman he’d given her. Although it wasn’t particularly well drawn, it was still above the passing standard. It would definitely work. At the very least, ordinary lesser ghosts wouldn’t be able to approach its wearer.
Considering the young man’s age, achieving this level of skill was already quite impressive.
The art of drawing talismans wasn’t easy to master. Unless someone possessed extraordinary natural talent, they had to rely on accumulated experience. The more talismans they drew, the smoother and more refined their technique would become.
Of course, there were also geniuses capable of drawing talismans of the highest grade on their very first attempt, but such people were ultimately a small minority.
“That’s not right. The yin energy here is so strong. How can there be nothing here? There isn’t even a single lesser ghost…” The young man was quite disheartened. He wandered around the room, muttering to himself.
Xie Chi had sensed it the moment she entered as well. The yin energy was bone-chillingly intense. A malicious ghost had definitely remained in this room for a very long time. In fact, there was a good chance it was still here.
Xie Chi followed the young man around the room twice. The yin energy hadn’t dissipated in the slightest, making it highly likely that the malicious ghost was still present. She faintly sensed something and quietly raised her head.
Long black hair hung down like trailing vines, directly above her head.
A pale ghostly face, concealed behind the long hair, split into a bizarre grin at her. Xie Chi could even see a placenta and umbilical cord dangling between the ghost’s legs. As soon as blood left its body, it transformed into yin energy and dispersed.
Xie Chi still remembered her martial nephew’s instructions, so she tilted the camera toward the floor. Otherwise, if she accidentally caught the ghost on camera, she would have a hard time inventing a convincing explanation afterward.
Calmly and unhurriedly, she crumpled the protective talisman the young man had given her into a ball and flicked it toward the female ghost above, as though shooting a marble.
The grinning female ghost looked as though someone had given her a powerful flick to the forehead. Her head snapped backward, and her spirit form blurred for an instant. The blow left her completely stunned.
Once she recovered, she scrambled away in panic, using all four limbs like a gecko and fleeing faster than anyone could have imagined.
There wasn’t much qi attached to the talisman itself. The ghost had merely sensed another power hidden within it, one capable of scattering her soul completely. That was why she had fled in such a panic.
By this time, the young man had already searched the entire room. He raised his phone and began examining the ceiling with its built-in flashlight. The more he searched, the more distressed he became.
“This shouldn’t be possible! The yin energy is so dense it’s practically solidifying. How can there be nothing here?!”
“All right, hurry up and go home.” Xie Chi spoke earnestly. “It’s so late. Don’t you have school tomorrow?”
“I’ve already graduated! Wait, that’s not the point! Do I really look that young? I’ve been working for a whole year already!” The young man argued for a moment before apparently realizing that doing so wouldn’t help. It would only make people think he was a scammer. Gritting his teeth, he declared, “Just you wait! I’m going to drag that ghost out and let you see it with your own eyes! I’m not lying!”
“All right, all right.” Xie Chi nodded perfunctorily. “So where are we going now?”
“Let’s check the rooms next door.” The young man opened the doors on both sides of the corridor and searched through the rooms, but found absolutely nothing. His entire demeanor visibly wilted, and he kept muttering, “Impossible… How could this happen? I don’t believe it…”
Following behind him, Xie Chi casually stepped on a ghostly head that had just emerged from the floor, forcing it back underground. She then continued walking as though nothing had happened, keeping her heroic deed to herself.
There were indeed quite a few wandering souls and wild ghosts in this hospital, but they were all minor spirits. Even the one with the strongest yin energy was merely an ordinary malicious ghost. None of them posed the slightest threat to Xie Chi.
Once she had livestreamed for the required two hours, she could end the broadcast and cleanse the entire hospital of ghosts. She could also call her martial nephew over to help disperse the accumulated yin energy.
And so, she kindly suggested, “Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while? Maybe the ghosts saw how capable you are and decided to hide from you. I’ll wander around and see if I can lure one or two out, so you can prove yourself.”
The young man’s cheeks, which still carried a little baby fat, instantly turned bright red. He probably thought Xie Chi was mocking him.
“There really are ghosts here! I’m really not a scammer!”
Xie Chi was just about to respond when she suddenly sensed movement from the box inside her bag. The little tentacles, which had been quiet for quite some time, couldn’t resist crawling out again.
The tentacles formed from yin energy twisted and wriggled with unmistakable excitement. They looked exactly like cats and dogs eagerly waiting to be fed.
The compass in the young man’s hand began spinning wildly.
He was dumbfounded. Clutching the compass tightly, he spoke in a voice that had gone several pitches higher.
“S-so much yin energy! Hurry! Get behind me!”
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