Spirit Reaper - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Xu Li, Su Yu, and Su Meixin — The Past Residents of This House…

Song Miao picked up her phone. On the screen was the latest trending headline on Weibo: “Famous female star missing for several days; current whereabouts still unknown. Company and family are left in tears.”

Clicking into the details, the first thing that popped up was a photo of a blonde female idol in her stage outfit. Without even looking closely, Yu Wuyi could be certain that the person in the photo was exactly the same as the amnesiac “Xiao Tuan.”

She hadn’t expected that Xiao Tuan really was a female celebrity.

“The person in the photo is named Xu Li. She debuted in a girl group five years ago. She’s an excellent singer and dancer, a well-known idol in the country.” Song Miao glanced at Xu Li, who was still upstairs playing with Xiao Yu, her eyes filled with unavoidable pity. “I didn’t expect heaven to be so jealous of such talent…”

Xu Li…?

The female star Xie Yunqing and the others were discussing earlier?

Yu Wuyi never imagined that the protagonist of a news story she had only overheard would actually appear right in front of her. Moreover, in the form of a ghost.

Although she didn’t know what had caused Xu Li to end up like this, Yu Wuyi felt a surge of heartache for her. Recalling the video she had glimpsed earlier, she frowned; she felt that the manager and the family of three didn’t seem like good people.

However, that wasn’t her concern for now. Her task was simply to send Xu Li “home.”

The problem was that she had never followed the entertainment industry and knew very little about these stars. How was she supposed to know where Xu Li lived? She wasn’t some obsessive stalker; finding a legal and reasonable way to learn Xu Li’s address was her top priority.

Currently, Xu Li was officially listed as missing. Her manager and family were constantly uploading videos to social media to gain attention… The entire internet was swept up in a wave of “speculations on Xu Li’s whereabouts.” All sorts of people were involved, offering theories ranging from logic to Western and Eastern mysticism. These videos were flooded with tags from onlookers, drawing massive attention.

Could she use this momentum to make the other party contact her voluntarily?

Relying on herself alone probably wouldn’t attract enough eyes. She needed an account that already had a fan base—one that could grab significant attention with a single post.

Thinking of this, Yu Wuyi shifted her gaze to Song Miao.

Stared at so directly by Yu Wuyi, Song Miao took two steps back uncomfortably and said defensively, “Why are you looking at me like that? There aren’t any ghosts on my face…”

“I remember that you’re the one managing the official Wen-Yin (TikTok-like) account for the Lincheng Taoist Association, right?”

“I have a plan…”

After hearing Yu Wuyi’s idea, Song Miao frowned, looking hesitant. “Your idea is good, but what if they don’t believe in this stuff?”

“Don’t worry. As long as the heat is high enough and enough people are watching, even if they don’t want to come, they’ll have to.”

“This is the best way to get in touch with them right now.”

“Look at it from another angle: even if they don’t come, this live stream counts as doing a good deed and accumulating merit. Besides, we might even run into other cases for our performance evaluations.” Yu Wuyi patted her chest, full of confidence.

“Fine then,” Song Miao was convinced. “But before that, I have to ask my grandmother for permission. After all, this account represents the entire Lincheng Taoist Association. It’s not something I can just use whenever I want.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for your good news,” Yu Wuyi nodded. Then, she thought of Xiao Yu, who was still looking for her mother.

“By the way, while I was out, did you get any useful information out of Xiao Yu?”

“Don’t even get me started. These two… well, these two ghosts… their situations are more troublesome than the other.” Song Miao lowered her eyes and shook her head helplessly. “Xu Li is a public figure, so even if she’s lost her memory, we could stumble into her identity. But that little girl Xiao Yu—aside from her name, she knows absolutely nothing.”

“I have no idea where to even start!”

“Except for one thing,” Song Miao paused. “The girl said her mother disappeared after they woke up one day. Ever since her mother vanished, she realized in a daze that people couldn’t see her anymore, and strangers kept moving into the house.”

“It seems the girl lived here with her mother when she was alive. She was scared of the strangers, which is why she kept scaring the tenants away.”

Hearing Song Miao’s words, Yu Wuyi suddenly thought of how Sister Li had scurried away earlier. Her intuition told her that the woman definitely knew what had happened in this house.

“I understand,” Yu Wuyi nodded. “You go contact your grandmother first. I’ll handle the situation with Xiao Yu. Keep in touch.”

…

After seeing Song Miao off, Yu Wuyi called Sister Li. Since the woman was free, she arranged to meet her at a coffee shop downstairs.

“Sister Li, I’ll be blunt. This house is not clean.” Yu Wuyi kept a straight face, acting like an otherworldly expert. To increase her credibility, she brought up Ming Qingxuan. “You know I’ve followed Auntie Ming for many years. I’m not one of those fraudulent charlatans.”

Opposite her, Sister Li had been in a distracted, wandering state since entering the shop. Hearing Yu Wuyi say this, she seemed to be triggered; she flinched, and her coffee spoon dropped with a sharp clink.

“You… you also noticed the weirdness in that house?” Sister Li’s eyes widened as she grabbed Yu Wuyi’s hand, her voice tinged with a hint of pleading. “Xiao Yu, you have to help me. The thing inside is just too agonizing!”

“It ruined the reputation of my house, and now I can’t even rent out the other units I own!”

“That house is really not clean! Almost every tenant has been scared to the point of a mental breakdown…”

“I can help you, but you have to tell me the history of this house clearly first,” Yu Wuyi comforted the agitated Sister Li. “Don’t worry.”

With her promise, Sister Li gradually calmed down. She released Yu Wuyi’s hand and slowly began to recount the past of the apartment.

Sister Li was a well-known local whose property had been redeveloped, leaving her with over a dozen apartments in the district. Naturally, she wouldn’t let them sit empty. Since her twin daughters were studying abroad, she sold two, kept one for herself, and rented out the rest.

The apartment Yu Wuyi was currently in had been rented out at a low price to a mother and daughter.

“The first time I saw them, I was shocked. Both the adult and the child were terrifyingly thin. I was afraid they would collapse right in front of me.”

“I saw that they had traveled all the way from the countryside and felt they were truly pitiful. I introduced the mother to a job and only charged her 1,000 yuan a month in rent so she and her daughter could live well.”

“But who knew… after only a few months, someone discovered that the two of them had committed suicide by charcoal burning in my apartment!”

The more Sister Li spoke, the more her face twisted in anger. “You tell me—they had a job, a place to live… why couldn’t they find a way out? And how could that mother be so heartless as to take her child with her to die?”

“I have daughters of my own. Whenever I talk about this, I can’t control myself. Don’t laugh at me.” Sister Li pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.

“As soon as it happened, we called the police and tried to contact their family, but we couldn’t reach a single person. I was the one who helped handle their funeral arrangements.”

“It was after that that things started getting weird in the house.”

“At first, tenants noticed their things moving on their own or disappearing into thin air in broad daylight. Then it got worse—whoever moved in would have nightmares night and day. Every tenant’s dream was the same.”

“In the dream, there was a little girl in black with paper-doll makeup, screaming at them to get out of her house.”

“I really had no other choice, so I went to ask Master Ming for help. That’s how I finally got you to come!” Sister Li looked at Yu Wuyi as if she were a savior, her eyes full of hope. “Xiao Yu, you must help me.”

“I will,” Yu Wuyi nodded solemnly. “Sister Li, you said you handled the funeral. Can you take me to see their graves?”

“I can. The cemetery hasn’t closed yet. Let’s go in my car.” Sister Li agreed immediately, not wanting to waste a single second.

…

By the time the two drove to the cemetery, it was already dusk. Fortunately, the grave was near the entrance, and they reached it in about ten minutes.

“The Tomb of Su Yu and Su Meixin…” Yu Wuyi whispered, reading the inscription.

On the gravestone, the photos showed a woman and a child smiling gently. For some reason, Yu Wuyi felt her nose tingle. She placed white chrysanthemums at the grave and arranged fresh fruit.

“Sister Li, do you come to see them often?” Yu Wuyi noticed a bunch of white chrysanthemums in an inconspicuous corner that had been trampled to pieces. “The stray dogs in these mountains are too wild. Look at how they crushed these flowers…”

Sister Li followed Yu Wuyi’s gaze, a trace of confusion appearing on her face. “I don’t come very often. Usually, these graves are maintained and cleaned by professional staff; it shouldn’t look like this. And…” she walked over to the crushed flowers and knelt to inspect them. “These aren’t the flowers I bought.”

“Maybe a stray dog dragged them here over the last few days. It’s not like those ‘missing’ family members would suddenly find their consciences and come to pay their respects.”

“It’s about time we head back. The sun is setting, and I’m a coward…”

“Okay,” Yu Wuyi nodded, but the seeds of suspicion had been planted. She took a photo of the gravestone with her phone and followed Sister Li down the mountain.

…

After parting with Sister Li, Yu Wuyi returned home alone. She was startled the moment she opened the door.

Xiao Yu and Xu Li were floating in mid-air, chasing each other and having a grand old time. Meanwhile, her Great Immortal, Huang Tianying, sat cheerfully by the altar, watching the two ghosts like they were his grandchildren.

“You two certainly make yourselves at home. You just met and you’re already playing like this?” Yu Wuyi crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the two ghosts.

Seeing Yu Wuyi return, Xiao Yu and Xu Li floated back to the ground awkwardly, lowering their heads and avoiding her eyes.

“Alright, alright,” Yu Wuyi waved them off with a smile. “Xiao Yu, come upstairs with me. I need to talk to you.”

Taking Xiao Yu upstairs, Yu Wuyi brought up the photo she had taken earlier and placed it in front of her. “Xiao Yu, do you recognize the woman in this photo?”

“It’s Mom! It’s Mom!” Seeing the person in the photo, Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up instantly. She raised her hands and shouted excitedly, “Sister Yu, did you find my mom?”

Looking into Xiao Yu’s eyes, which were filled with excitement, Yu Wuyi felt as if a giant rock was blocking her throat, making it difficult to go on.

“Xiao Yu, you need to be mentally prepared for what I’m about to say next.”