He was a middle-aged man in a well-cut suit. His hair had been waxed but not properly styled, leaving him looking utterly disheveled. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and anxiety consumed him.
Xie De had seen him on television: a highly successful entrepreneur, a rich man through and through.
The moment he ran over, he seized Wei Yanchi's hand as though clutching his last lifeline.
"You're finally here, Master. Everyone's been waiting for you. With this weighing on our minds, none of us slept last night. It's been unbearable. You're always welcome to stay here. If only you'd been here last night."
"Mr. Zhu, please calm down." Wei Yanchi discreetly withdrew his hand. His entire demeanor settled into composure, his brows softening slightly. He looked gracious, upright, and utterly dependable.
He gently patted Zhu Wanfu on the back. "Relax. I already had it suppressed inside the Buddha statue last night. There's no danger for now."
Zhu Wanfu looked deeply distressed, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "There may be no danger now, but just seeing it sitting there makes me miserable. It gives me the creeps. It's taken two of my family members. It's an abomination! This is all because our old patriarch insisted on bringing a monster home back then!"
Hearing this, Xie De couldn't help growing curious. His dark green eyes quietly studied the man.
Realizing his lapse in manners, Zhu Wanfu forced a smile and hurriedly wiped his hand on his clothes. He said to Xie De, "You must be the master's friend? Hello, hello. My name is Zhu Wanfu. May I ask what I should call you?"
Zhu Wanfu habitually extended his hand, leaning forward with a slight bow. As a big boss, he was usually the one people fawned over, but now that he needed help, he had to humble himself. He looked at Xie De expectantly.
Oh, great. Xie De's social anxiety had struck again.
His usual social circle had no use for handshakes, nor did he ever encounter such an influential figure. The formality left him awkward for a moment.
Staring at Zhu Wanfu's plump hand, he hesitated. Should I introduce myself by my real name, or call myself 39? And do I absolutely have to shake his hand? I don't want to tell people my name, but would saying 39 seem too informal? Would I sound like some kid going through an edgy phase? Would not shaking his hand make me seem rude?
Zhu Wanfu stiffened under his stare. With a smile, Wei Yanchi placed a hand firmly on his shoulder and steered him forward. "Mr. Zhu, let's get down to business."
"Yes, of course."
Zhu Wanfu breathed a sigh of relief. So did Xie De.
They made their way into an elegant villa designed like a Suzhou classical garden. Lush greenery filled the extensive grounds. It looked like a scenic attraction, but it was actually a private residence.
Once inside, they turned left, passed through an archway, and entered the living room, which continued the modern Chinese-style decor.
A group sat in the hall, sighing miserably. Only a child slept peacefully in a woman's arms. At the head of the room sat an elderly man leaning on a cane, looking equally listless.
Everything before Xie De's eyes felt novel. After all, he was just a poor boy who hadn't seen much of the world.
When he saw that the hall's doors were made of golden-thread nanmu, he inwardly sucked in a breath, marveling at how decadently extravagant this family's life was.
But their wealth wasn't what mattered most right now. Something far more exciting was: supernatural creatures.
This wasn't an Instance, and Wei Yanchi seemed so confident. It was broad daylight, a whole crowd was gathered together, and this was an animal spirit, not a ghost.
Xie De felt everything was under control and wasn't frightened in the slightest. Inwardly rubbing his hands with anticipation, he couldn't wait to see the protagonist show off his skills. To his disappointment, however, what followed wasn't exciting at all.
He stood in a corner. The hosts had no attention to spare for entertaining guests; they simply scrambled to follow Wei Yanchi's instructions.
They kowtowed, burned incense, and respectfully brought in a black dog and a rooster.
Wei Yanchi personally went over and opened the door to the Buddhist shrine. The black dog and the big rooster seemed remarkably perceptive, as though they knew they had been invited. They strutted inside with their heads held high.
Crows and barks rang out from within. Then a fierce wind rose from nowhere, eerie and bone-chilling, turning everyone's faces pale except Wei Yanchi's and Xie De's.
Wei Yanchi was unaffected because his own abilities were strong enough.
Xie De, on the other hand, hadn't felt any wind at all.
He even found the people around him rather baffling.
Then he heard the sound of porcelain shattering.
Holding a Peachwood Sword, Wei Yanchi opened the door. Before everyone's eyes, a huge rat emerged from where the Buddha Mother statue had shattered. Baring fangs steeped in resentment, it lunged viciously toward the doorway.
Wei Yanchi reacted instantly, slamming the door shut and bracing the Peachwood Sword against the gap. The rat crashed headfirst into the door, and while it reeled, the rooster and black dog rushed up and devoured it completely.
Then Wei Yanchi opened the door again, smiling. "Everyone, I believe the matter has been resolved."
Everyone let out a tremendous sigh of relief, the tension in their hearts releasing all at once. Some even knelt on the floor and wept. The eldest man came forward to solemnly thank Wei Yanchi in person. Wei Yanchi accepted the thanks without hesitation, then looked toward Xie De with a hint of smugness.
Huh?
What do you mean, resolved?
Xie De hadn't seen anything clearly. Nothing at all! To his eyes, they had inexplicably seemed to be performing some mysterious shamanic ritual. As for what was actually going on, or that huge rat, Xie De hadn't seen a thing.
When the protagonist looked over, he raised an eyebrow.
His phone chimed. 455 had finally returned and declared with adolescent bravado, "All deleted. That pathetic little surveillance system was child's play. I didn't even leave it a glimpse of your back."
455 caught his attention.
Pretending to answer a call, Xie De walked outside. "No one's going to trace it back to me, right? It was broad daylight, after all."
"You have to trust me. When have I ever let you down at a critical moment? Besides, do you know what's hardest to solve in a criminal investigation? A sudden murder with no motive whatsoever. And you used a silenced pistol without even coming within ten meters of the victim. Relax. I didn't leave a single clue."
"More importantly, don't forget that the person we killed belonged to the Laboratory. The Laboratory will absolutely cover this up. There's no way they'll let the police take over."
455 was especially pleased with its own performance. "Sure, I short out now and then, but you have to believe me, Host. I'm way more badass than those world-hopping systems that only know how to fall in love... Hey, what are you doing in this fancy house? Can you afford this?"
Stung, Xie De delivered his daily jab at 455 with a blank expression. "Those world-hopping systems can disguise identities and create aliases. They can also take their hosts through different little worlds to complete missions and fake their deaths..."
"Okay, shut up. Stop talking." 455 smiled. "Keep going and I'll have a meltdown. That won't be good for either of us."
"Hmph. I'm here watching the protagonist perform an exorcism..." As he spoke, Xie De suddenly thought of something while looking at 455. "Wait, 455. You said this world is full of supernatural stuff. Since we killed someone, won't that person turn into a ghost?"
455 replied, "...Excellent question!"
Xie De pondered. Xie De was puzzled. Xie De paled in horror.
"Don't haunt me. You're the main culprit!"
"Look at you, you coward. I'm clearly only an accomplice."
455 was far calmer than he was and spouted a stream of dubious reasoning. "Stop overthinking it. Let me tell you a fact: ghosts only haunt people who are guilty, weak, and paranoid. We killed him openly and honestly. What's there to feel guilty about? He couldn't beat you when he was alive. Is dying supposed to make him stronger? Besides, does he even know you killed him?"
"Uh..."
With a guilty conscience, Xie De accepted 455's twisted logic.
Looking at the villas before him, he felt a surge of agitation.
Because killing someone had been much easier than he'd imagined. Ridiculously easy. All he had to do was walk over, aim a pistol at the person's heart or brain, and fire once. That person would surely die.
Easy. Incredibly easy. The human body was inherently fragile.
And with 455 around, Xie De didn't have to bear any responsibility for the aftermath. He only had to act as the executioner.
That also left Xie De still finding it a little hard to believe that, counting the ones in the Instance, he had already killed four people.
Inside, Wei Yanchi declined everyone's warm offers of hospitality and said goodbye. Seeing that Xie De had finished his call, he approached hesitantly. "Mr. 39, what did you think of that rat just now?"
Xie De paused, put away his phone, and answered honestly, "I didn't see anything."
Huh?
Wei Yanchi was briefly surprised, but then caught a faint trace of gunpowder on 39. He suddenly remembered that Mr. 39 was a formidable figure of mysterious origins who had killed who knew how many people.
He suddenly smiled.
"Mr. 39, what do you think of ghosts?"
"?"
Wei Yanchi continued, "Or rather, what do you think of the ghosts of murder victims? If such a ghost sought revenge on the person who killed him, how should the murderer view that?"
Xie De suspected the protagonist was making a pointed remark at his expense.
Guilty inside but putting on a fierce front, Xie De said, "Hah. If he was weak while alive, would dying somehow make him strong?"
39's voice was cold and scornful.
Wei Yanchi found it amusing, and his smile was indeed gentle. "Since you don't believe in supernatural nonsense, Mr. 39, just treat it as though it doesn't exist."
What Wei Yanchi actually wanted to say was that ghosts feared the wicked. 39 was so powerful and bloodthirsty, even handling Instances with ease, that those things couldn't get away from him fast enough. Why would they ever approach him? Besides, 39's identity remained uncertain.
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