“Jiang Feng, you’ve already finished two pots of tea.” Jian Fengchun had been eyeing Jiang Feng the entire time.
Normally, Jiang Feng would never sit around drinking tea and chatting with him. After all, one was an elder, the other a junior—there was always a certain distance between them.
Jiang Feng grinned. “Uncle Jian, I just realized today how good your tea is.”
“Decades-old leftovers,” Jian Fengchun muttered, side-eyeing Jiang Feng. His instincts told him the kid wasn’t being entirely honest.
Before long, Madam Jian returned from the hospital, her face clouded with worry.
As she stepped into the living room and spotted Jiang Feng, she was taken aback.
Before she could speak, a bloodcurdling scream came from upstairs—Jian Lanxin’s voice.
All three froze. Jiang Feng was the first to snap out of it, bolting up the stairs with his long legs.
“Lanxin! Lanxin, open the door!”
Suddenly, all the lights in the villa went out.
Jiang Feng pounded on the door.
“Lanxin!”
“Jiang Feng-ge, I—I can’t open it! I can’t—!” Inside, Jian Lanxin was sobbing hysterically, her voice thick with terror.
Sensing an eerie disturbance in the air, Jiang Feng didn’t hesitate—he slapped a talisman onto the door.
“Mom, save me! Please!” Jian Lanxin’s cries grew more desperate.
Hearing her daughter’s screams, Madam Jian rushed to flip the circuit breaker.
The villa was instantly flooded with light again.
Jiang Feng burst into the room to find Jian Lanxin slumped on the floor, disheveled and trembling.
“Lanxin, what happened?”
“Jiang Feng-ge, help me… there’s a ghost! A real ghost!” She threw herself into his arms, wailing.
Madam Jian followed close behind, her face paling at the sight. “Lanxin, what ghost?”
“Mom, a ghost—just now, a hand choked me! It almost killed me!” She clutched at her throat.
“Lanxin, don’t be ridiculous. You must’ve had a nightmare,” Madam Jian soothed, though her brows furrowed as she pressed a hand to Jian Lanxin’s forehead. “You’re burning up. I’ll call the doctor—”
“No!” Jian Lanxin flinched violently, clinging to Jiang Feng like a lifeline.
Jiang Feng held her, gently patting her back to calm her.
Soon, doctors and nurses arrived, but after examining her, they found nothing physically wrong.
“Her fever seems to be from extreme fright,” the doctor concluded.
Madam Jian sighed in relief—at least it wasn’t serious.
But Jian Lanxin’s terror was palpable. She kept insisting a ghost had attacked her, leaving Jian Fengchun and Madam Jian deeply unsettled.
“There was a ghost… a real ghost…”
Jian Lanxin burrowed into Jiang Feng’s arms, seeking safety.
Seeing their daughter like this pained them.
Jian Fengchun, ever composed, asked, “Who was this ghost?”
“Li Youwei! It was Li Youwei!” Jian Lanxin shrieked, her voice raw with fear.
The three adults stiffened.
“Impossible… sweetheart, you must’ve dreamed it.” Madam Jian refused to believe it. Maybe Li Youwei’s death had traumatized Lanxin more than they realized.
Jian Lanxin shook her head violently, eyes red and swollen.
“Mom, I’m not lying! Li Youwei choked me—!”
“Lanxin, stop this. Li Youwei is dead. How could you see her?”
“But I did! She’s a vengeful ghost now—she wants to kill me!”
“Lanxin, where’s the talisman I gave you?”
“I threw it at her, and she ran away! Yes—the talisman! Jiang Feng-ge, give me another one!” She stared at him desperately.
With the talisman, she’d be safe.
“What talisman?” Madam Jian’s sharp gaze landed on Jiang Feng.
He explained about Li Qiao.
And just then—Li Qiao arrived.
To Jian Lanxin, she was a godsend.
“Li Qiao! Please, save me! I’ll do anything—I’ll give you all my allowance!”
Jian Lanxin scrambled off the bed, dropping to her knees before Li Qiao. She clung to her leg, weeping uncontrollably.
Madam Jian was mortified.
But Jian Fengchun’s eyes softened as he looked at Li Qiao, a trace of warmth in his gaze.
“Get up.”
“Y-you’ll really help me?”
“I came here to do just that.”
Instantly, Jian Lanxin’s tears turned to relieved laughter.
Li Qiao turned to Jian Fengchun and Madam Jian. “Please wait downstairs. Li Youwei will return soon.”
“Li Qiao… we’re entrusting Lanxin to you.” Jian Fengchun’s voice was heavy.
They left.
Jiang Feng hesitated. “Li Qiao, should I… also go downstairs?”
Even he was scared of ghosts!
Li Qiao’s lips twitched. She handed him the ancestral tablet from her bag. “Hold the Ancestral Master properly. If anything happens, he won’t protect you.”
Jiang Feng immediately clutched the tablet like a lifeline.
“I swear I’ll guard it with my life.”
Then, Li Qiao turned to Jian Lanxin. “You didn’t kill Li Youwei, but her death is tied to you. Now she’s been refined into a vengeful spirit. Killing you would be effortless. If not for my talisman buying you time, your blood would’ve already run dry.”
Jian Lanxin shuddered violently.
“I—I really didn’t kill her! She killed herself!”
“I know you’re innocent. But she… was manipulated. Her death was meaningless.”
Both of them sensed something deeper in Li Qiao’s words.
One thing was clear: Li Youwei’s death was no accident.
There was something much bigger at play.
“Don’t speak. Just sit quietly on the bed.”
“Okay.”
Jian Lanxin obediently climbed back onto the bed. Jiang Feng whispered, “Li Qiao, what now?”
“Wait.”
Li Qiao sat cross-legged on a chair and closed her eyes.
The night was unnervingly still.
Outside, the wind howled, rustling the trees as if answering the call of Li Youwei’s vengeful spirit…
Soon, a shadowy figure emerged.
Under the dim light, her skin was deathly pale, her eyes glowing red.
She floated straight through the window.
It was Li Youwei—undeniably her.
The ghostly Li Youwei grinned, her voice dripping with malice.
“Good, everyone’s here. Perfect—I’ll devour you all.” Her gaze locked onto Li Qiao with twisted excitement.
“Li Youwei, why are you targeting me? I didn’t kill you—you did it yourself!” Jian Lanxin’s voice trembled.
She fought to steady herself, refusing to show weakness.
Li Youwei’s grin widened grotesquely, her crimson tongue slithering out…
