Have you been here before?

"Will we change too? But we haven't done anything!" Zhu Miaomiao was puzzled. Just remembering what Fat Sister-in-Law and Gossip looked like frightened her.

"There are three hundred and sixty-five Ghosts and gods in this building, but only the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal can be worshipped openly. Everyone living here will gradually be influenced by it." The Spirit Medium brought over a Bronze Basin. "The Flesh-and-Blood Immortal can manifest the stray thoughts deep in people's hearts through Flesh and Blood. Look at your reflections, and you'll see what you'll become."

Zhu Miaomiao approached the Bronze Basin first and leaned over to look into the water.

Burning paper money fell into the basin, sending ripples across the water. Zhu Miaomiao's reflection gradually blurred. Slowly, two charred corpses appeared on either side of her, perched on her shoulders, as though they had grown into her body and could never be separated.

At the horrifying sight, Zhu Miaomiao showed no fear. Instead, her eyes reddened.

"That's my dad and mom!"

A fire in her childhood had destroyed everything Zhu Miaomiao had. Her longing for her parents and her pain were her deepest obsessions, and the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal's power would manifest those obsessions through Flesh and Blood.

"Don't doubt it. What you're thinking is the answer." The Spirit Medium felt some sympathy for Zhu Miaomiao, but said nothing more. She lit another handful of Yellow Talismans, tossed them into the Bronze Basin, and gestured for Gao Ming to come over.

Gao Ming was actually curious about what he would become, too. He stood quietly beside the basin, watching the burning talisman papers flutter through the air.

When the ashes fell onto Gao Ming's reflection, a trace of blood seeped up from the bottom of the Bronze Basin. Bloody water then spread through it, staining everything crimson!

Bang!

A force overturned the Bronze Basin, splashing bloody water onto the Ghost God Statues throughout the room. A line of bloody tears also trickled from the Spirit Medium's eyes, which showed nothing but whites. She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Gao Ming. "This isn't your first time here!"

"I did come to the Sishui Apartments once this morning." Gao Ming looked innocent.

"No, I mean this isn't your first time taking part in a ritual to worship the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal!" The Spirit Medium moved away from Gao Ming. Kindhearted as she was, she pulled Zhu Miaomiao aside as well.

"How could it not be my first time? This Strange Tale has never been triggered before. Even if I'd wanted to take part, there would've been nowhere to do it!" Gao Ming truly couldn't understand why the Spirit Medium would say that.

"Granny, this really is the first time we've heard about any of this." Zhu Miaomiao was baffled too.

"There's no mistake." The Spirit Medium's pale eyes stared fixedly at Gao Ming. "What's your relationship with Situ An?"

"Situ An? He's the vice president of the Hanhai Charity Federation. I'm just a nobody. I know who he is, but he doesn't know me." Gao Ming had only seen the man on television. There was an enormous gulf between their social positions.

"The Hanhai Charity Federation originally spearheaded the construction of the Sishui Street Apartments. They wanted to provide housing for the East District's poorest residents, but the project was halted after only four apartment buildings were completed." To help Gao Ming, Zhu Miaomiao had memorized all the information. "The Sishui Apartments are chaotic, but there had never been any murders. It seems that ever since Situ An joined the Charity Association, bizarre and horrifying cases have occurred here every year."

"Could Situ An be using the Charity Association's resources to raise Ghosts in the Sishui Street Apartments?" A chill ran through Gao Ming. Every year, the Hanhai Charity Federation distributed aid to poor families, and some residents of the Sishui Apartments were among its recipients, including Zhou Ji, the old man they had just seen.

"Granny, have you seen Situ An in this building?"

"Like you, he wears a black wristband, and he carries the aura of the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal." The Spirit Medium suddenly laughed. "Two worshippers. One of you two is certain to die!"

"You seem very hostile toward the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal. Is it because you worship something different?" Gao Ming was a psychological counselor, and he noticed the change in her tone. "If I destroyed the ritual worshipping the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal, or even killed the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal itself, would you trust me then?"

"The Flesh-and-Blood Immortal can't be killed. You're saying that deliberately, aren't you?" The ugly smile remained on the Spirit Medium's face. "But you can kill Situ An. If you don't kill him, he'll kill you anyway."

"Then do you know where Situ An is now?" Gao Ming had long suspected there was a mole within the Investigation Bureau. Hearing that Situ An also wore one of the bureau's Black Rings immediately made him highly suspicious of the man.

"You can try the Ghost Market on the ninth floor of the First Apartment."

Gao Ming stepped out of the room. Zhu Miaomiao wanted to follow, but the Spirit Medium grabbed her. "You'll die if you follow him. You won't even become a Ghost! Take these three Killing Talismans! If he eats Flesh and Blood and gets possessed by the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal, stick a Killing Talisman onto your axe, and you'll be able to hack him to death!"

"Granny, he isn't a bad person." Zhu Miaomiao didn't know how to explain.

"Killing Talismans can't kill the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal, but they can kill its worshippers." The Spirit Medium gripped Zhu Miaomiao's hand tightly. "Ghosts eat people, people eat flesh, and flesh eats Ghosts. Flesh and Blood are the most terrifying things in this building. But remember, anyone who has eaten Flesh and Blood is no longer human."

The three Killing Talismans were blood-red all over, saturated with fresh blood and brimming with fierce killing intent.

"You must kill him, or both of you will regret it." The Spirit Medium released her hand and watched Gao Ming's retreating back. "Lean without showing bone, plump without bulging flesh, bone and flesh perfectly balanced. A truly excellent vessel."

The door closed. The firelight inside the building had already died out.

Zhu Miaomiao hid nothing from Gao Ming and told him about the three Killing Talismans.

"Keep them for now. If Situ An really is the mole, go hack him down." Gao Ming trusted Zhu Miaomiao and made no attempt to take her Killing Talismans. "This Strange Tale is completely different from the previous ones. It's already mutated to produce all kinds of rules. Even Ghosts aren't the most terrifying things in it anymore."

Gao Ming still had many questions he wanted to ask the Spirit Medium. Unfortunately, her attitude had turned cold after she discovered the aura of the Flesh-and-Blood Immortal on him.

With no other choice, he took Zhu Miaomiao toward the ninth floor.

They climbed the stairs. Once they reached the ninth floor, everything felt different.

A heavy stench of blood hit them. Torn Investigator uniforms lay discarded in a corner, and beads of blood were still trickling down the walls.

So many Investigators had entered the building, yet Gao Ming hadn't encountered a single one. It was as though they had all been "eaten."

Clutching the Fire Axe, Zhu Miaomiao struggled with the sight. She was only a firefighter and had never seen anything so bloody before.

"Stay behind me. Don't get too far away."

Every apartment door on the ninth floor was unlocked, and blood lingered on the handles. It seemed that a horrific struggle for survival had taken place here.

Slowly following the bloodstains on the floor, Gao Ming reached the end of Building B's corridor. Standing in the passage connecting Building B to Building A, he felt his heart pound.

The passage was less than ten meters long, but it was almost entirely smeared red. Just looking at the blood covering the floor was enough to imagine the horrifying scene.

The Investigators had been chased out of Building A. They had hidden in the rooms of Building B, only to be found one by one and dragged back into Building A.

Every handprint in the blood was a sign of struggle. Every bent railing bore witness to the Investigators' will to survive and their fear of death.

"Is the Ghost Market the place the Spirit Medium mentioned, where Ghosts feed?"

This field of flesh and blood frightened Gao Ming, and he backed away. But the ghosts within the Strange Tale seemed to smell the fear coming from him and Zhu Miaomiao. In the pitch-black ninth-floor corridor of Building A, bloodshot eyes slowly opened.

Shadows surged. A pair of rubber shoes stepped through the bloodstains and appeared in Building A's Building Corridor. The man's entire body was hidden beneath a tattered raincoat. Its original color was impossible to distinguish; it was completely covered in blood.

"Was he the one who killed the other Investigators?"

The raincoat's hood slipped back, revealing Bai Xiao's face. Blood stained his lips, his entire face was badly contorted, and beads of blood spread wildly through his eyes.

The hands hidden beneath the raincoat slowly rose. Bai Xiao held two Bone-Cleavers. His expression reminded Gao Ming of the murderer in the Family Annihilation Case years ago.

(End of chapter)