Part Two: Find Big Sister for Help

Never mind what problems there were—those sixty-odd yuan had been well spent. Zhang Chen looked at the thirty-some yuan remaining in his hand.

"First, it was basically certain that Xie Wen herself wasn't much of a problem. She was also a victim, and the real culprit had to be behind the scenes. It might even be the husband she mentioned."

"Second, apart from me, there seemed to be others like me. The Faceless Man Xie Wen mentioned should be the Ghosts I encountered last time. What did his appearance mean? Had he discovered the similarity between us, then warned me that there was something powerful in that room and told me not to interfere?"

"Third, according to Xie Wen, she had to return to that house before nine every night. That meant the Ghosts behind it had definitely died in that house."

"Lastly, that ghost didn't kill people immediately. It first used some method to turn their fingernails red, one more each day, and they would die after ten days. Why didn't it just kill them outright? Did it want to watch its victims despair in the face of death? There had to be another reason. That meant I only had nine days left for Wang Yizhi."

Zhang Chen didn't count the little pouch. He had to calculate based on the truly safe amount of time.

"But the more I thought about it, the more things didn't add up. Based on what Xie Wen said, the person who killed—or rather, drove her boyfriend to death—could basically be identified as Xie Wen's brother. So after her boyfriend died, he remained obsessed with their seven-year relationship and resentful that Xie Wen's brother had separated them, so he took revenge on Xie Wen's brother. Yet her parents and everyone else were unharmed."

"What didn't make sense was why it was targeting Wang Yizhi. They clearly had nothing to do with each other. Was it because she moved into that house? But Xie Wen knew there was something wrong with the house, yet she still brought her beloved cousin there to live."

Zhang Chen still felt that something hadn't been sorted out. He checked the time. It was already 8:40.

"Tonight, Wang Yizhi can only sleep at her sister's place. Where else could I take her? Have her sleep at my house? Impossible. We only have two bedrooms. Get a hotel room? Forget it. Putting everything else aside, where would I get the money? With the pouch Master Pu Hu gave her today, there shouldn't be much of a problem." Zhang Chen shook his head helplessly.

"If I want to understand this properly, I'll have to look up some information. Looks like I can only ask my big sister for help."

Zhang Chen sighed, then rode his bike toward the school.

Jinxi County Central Hospital morgue

A hawk-nosed man in a police uniform was searching through a morgue. Looking closer, he was the man who had stood watching from the eleventh floor of the police station half a year ago, when Zhang Chen killed the mother-and-son Ghosts in his home.

"Found it." The man seemed to have found something. He stopped in front of a body drawer, reached out with one hand, and yanked open the icy drawer. A white body bag lay before the hawk-nosed man. Without the slightest hesitation, he ripped open the body bag.

The corpse inside was none other than the Faceless Man. The hawk-nosed man raised his right hand a short distance above the corpse, then slowly moved it downward from the Faceless Man's head. Throughout the process, thin white strands continuously seeped from the dead man's body and merged into the hawk-nosed man's palm.

Less than five minutes later, the process was over. The man zipped up the body bag, restored everything to its original state, then spoke toward a corner hidden in darkness.

"Old monk, this guy isn't much weaker than us. Are you sure you want that kid to handle it alone? He might not even understand what's going on yet. In a while, he might not even know how he died."

At that moment, someone slowly emerged from the corner. It was none other than Puhu.

"A sapling that is always protected can never grow into a towering tree. Ding Jian, I hope you understand what I mean." After Puhu spoke, his eyes actually turned red, giving off faint Red Light.

"It's not that I'm afraid of you, old monk. If I didn't owe you a favor from last time, I wouldn't be willing to give up such a valuable supplement. Let me make this clear first: that thing is definitely mid-level, and it even seems capable of continuously evolving through some method. If that kid dies at its hands, the consequences will be unimaginable. When the higher-ups investigate, it'll all be your responsibility."

"This old monk naturally won't let that happen. If Zhang Chen dies, I will act immediately and destroy it. You needn't worry about that."

Puhu's voice carried a trace of authority as he spoke. The man called Ding Jian seemed to recall something from the past, and a flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes. Without another word, he turned and headed out of the hospital, while Puhu slowly disappeared back into the darkness, leaving no trace behind.

In the self-study classroom of Class 3, Grade 9, Wang Yizhi stared at the book in front of her, but her hands kept rubbing together. It was obvious that she was extremely anxious.

"Ring~~~~" As the bell rang, Wang Yizhi immediately stood up and quickly packed her schoolbag.

Fatty Tan, sitting beside her, was shocked by this behavior. He hurriedly said to Wang Yizhi, "Sister-in-law, Brother Chen just didn't come to evening study. Didn't Lu Ba say he had something to do and took leave? He wasn't skipping class for no reason. Why are you so nervous?"

Wang Yizhi couldn't be bothered with what Fatty Tan was saying. She grabbed her bag and hurried out of the classroom, running toward the school gate.

Zhang Chen had already ridden to the school gate. Watching Wang Yizhi run toward him with an anxious look on her face, he felt a happiness he had never known before. A goddess whom he had considered untouchable when he first entered middle school—someone he could only admire from afar, someone he never imagined he could even speak to—was now worrying about him like this.

If I can't even protect Yi Zhi properly, what else can I do well?

When Wang Yizhi saw Zhang Chen sitting on his bicycle at the school gate, she abruptly stopped running. She clasped her hands behind her back and slowly walked over. After staring at Zhang Chen for a long time, she said,

"Remember what you said. You have to tell me everything."

"Yes, boss. Get on first, and I'll explain everything to you slowly on the way," Zhang Chen replied respectfully.

Wang Yizhi covered her mouth and laughed endlessly. After getting on the bike, she wrapped her arms around Zhang Chen's waist and gently rested her head against his back. Zhang Chen smiled softly and began pedaling.

"Yi Zhi, if I said there were ghosts in this world, would you believe me?" Zhang Chen asked softly as he rode.

"I believe you. I've just never seen one," Wang Yizhi answered casually, having no idea why Zhang Chen was asking.

Zhang Chen took Wang Yizhi's right hand and slowly moved it upward from his waist until it reached his heart.

"Yi Zhi, are you afraid?" Zhang Chen released her hand, leaving Wang Yizhi's right hand pressed against his icy chest.

Zhang Chen could feel that Wang Yizhi's head was still resting against his back.

"Why would I be afraid?" Wang Yizhi asked.

"Aren't you afraid that I'm a ghost?" Zhang Chen asked.

"Even if you are, you're still a ghost who treats Wang Yizhi very well," Wang Yizhi said.

Zhang Chen cried. Tears ran down his cheeks and dripped onto Wang Yizhi's hand. Wang Yizhi immediately hugged him tightly from behind.

"I was lying. What kind of ghost can shed tears? I'm just special enough to see them." Zhang Chen wiped away his tears and continued, "There's something wrong with your cousin's house. That's why I took leave tonight to meet your cousin and ask her some things."

"What happened to my cousin?" Wang Yizhi asked gently from behind him.

Zhang Chen told Wang Yizhi everything Xie Wen had told him, including the matter of the Red Fingernails.

Wang Yizhi said nothing for a long time. Then she hugged Zhang Chen tightly and said, "You mean I only have nine days left to live?"

Zhang Chen hurriedly grabbed Wang Yizhi's hand. "Idiot, you'll live to be a hundred. Believe me. I'll protect you."

Outside the white apartment building, after Zhang Chen brought Wang Yizhi here, she said something.

"Oh, right, Zhang Chen. You said my pinky fingernail is red. Why can't I see it?"

"What! You can't see it?" Zhang Chen quickly turned to stare at Wang Yizhi's little finger. Because of the little pouch, the red fingernail was fairly faint, but it was still strangely alluring.

"That's right. If I could see it, I would've seen it this morning," Wang Yizhi said.

"Could Xie Wen have lied to me? Did she only lie about this, or was the whole thing a lie? No, why would she lie to me? After seeing my abilities, wouldn't she think I could help her escape this nightmare? Or is Wang Yizhi just special, which is why she can't see it?" Zhang Chen stood there thinking for a long time.

"Hey, Zhang Chen." Seeing him stand there without moving, Wang Yizhi called out softly.

Zhang Chen suddenly came back to his senses. "Anyway, you have to keep wearing that little pouch I gave you, okay? Even when you sleep."

After saying that, Zhang Chen pointed at the little pouch on Wang Yizhi's wrist. Once he saw her nod, he led her toward Xie Wen's home.

When Xie Wen saw the two of them, she was still the same as before. Zhang Chen didn't plan to go inside. If something happened and Wang Yizhi got dragged into it, that would be bad. Now that Wang Yizhi had a protective charm on her, Zhang Chen only needed to wait until tomorrow night and see how things went.

After seeing Wang Yizhi enter the house, Zhang Chen grabbed Xie Wen and asked in a low voice,

"What was your boyfriend's name?"

"Yang Zi." After saying that, Xie Wen closed the door.

"Yang Zi... Yang Zi..." Zhang Chen muttered twice as he walked toward the stairwell exit. He took out his phone and dialed a string of numbers. The call was answered shortly afterward.

"You little brat, you finally remembered to call your big sister?" A voice came from the other end.

"Come on, I'm in ninth grade. Studying's busy. Didn't I call you now?" Zhang Chen said in a humble tone.

"I knew it couldn't be anything good when you called. Hurry up and tell your big sister what you need. I'm in a good mood today," the voice on the other end said.

"Big Sis, I've never seriously asked you for anything in my life. Today is the first time I'm begging you."

"Just say it. Stop beating around the bush."

"Could you ask Auntie to find someone to investigate a person named Yang Zi? If possible, investigate someone named Xie Wen too. I'll text you their names and relevant information in a moment. Big Sis, my life is in your hands. You have to get back to me as soon as possible—preferably within three days," Zhang Chen said seriously.

"I thought you got caught hiring a prostitute or something. What a tiny matter. I'll get it done for you in two days. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up." Her tone was full of disdain.

"No..." Before Zhang Chen could finish, the call was hung up. This was exactly why Zhang Chen hadn't really wanted to ask his sister for help.

The sister Zhang Chen mentioned was actually his cousin, Auntie's daughter, whose real name was Wei Na. Both of them were only children, so they were as close as biological siblings. This sister had loved bullying Zhang Chen since they were little, teasing him whenever she had the chance. But whenever Zhang Chen needed help, she would always help him without a second word, and she cared deeply about him. Zhang Chen knew that himself. He just didn't like how she always enjoyed making fun of him.

The reason he sought his sister's help was naturally because her mother—his aunt—was the chief prosecutor of Jinxi County's procuratorate. Anything his sister asked for, Auntie would take care of.

After hanging up, Zhang Chen squatted back down in his original spot.

"I wanted to go back early, but I should stay here until Yi Zhi falls asleep before leaving. I told her so much today. How could an ordinary person handle that? Fine, I'll wait."

"Beep beep beep..." Just as Zhang Chen finished thinking, his phone began to ring.