The Beauty with Terrible Luck Falls in Love with a Ghost - Chapter 28

Zuo Lihua quickly assessed the situation.

Since meeting Han Hai’er, she hadn’t acquired many skills, but she had become increasingly adept at reading circumstances.

Thus, she soon noticed the peculiarity of the sandalwood incense, the reason the ghosts and monsters dared not approach.

It was sandalwood incense burning with a blue flame and a red core, likely Han Hai’er’s handiwork. Han Hai’er must have had business elsewhere and left this for her protection.

Admittedly, it was quite reliable.

Carefully, she reached her arm past the incense, retrieved her clothes, put them on, and then curled into a ball at the head of the bed.

She decided to wait for Han Hai’er’s return.

Just then, a drop of water landed on her forehead.

Zuo Lihua looked up, her pupils contracting again, her heart nearly stopping.

On the ceiling, beyond the reach of the firelight, lurked a pale, eight-limbed “person.” Its mouth was two-thirds the size of its head, lined with three layers of shark-like teeth, black and red gums clearly visible. Drool dripped continuously between its teeth, creating a horrifying sight.

Noticing that Zuo Lihua had seen it, the creature twisted its neck and leaned toward her. The candlelight singed the tip of its nose, sending up a wisp of smoke.

Trembling with fear, Zuo Lihua didn’t know what to do but inch closer to the candle flame.

However, as she shifted her position, the ghost above shifted as well, always hovering directly over her head. In desperation, Zuo Lihua covered her head with the quilt.

Drip, drip…

The water droplets fell rhythmically on the quilt, like a countdown to doom. Each drop intensified the weight in her heart.

She counted the rhythm of the drops, praying for Han Hai’er to return quickly.

Gradually, her heartbeat synchronized with the dripping sound.

Just as she reached the fiftieth drop, it suddenly stopped.

Zuo Lihua froze, and immediately after, the flame made a sizzling sound.

The fire flickered, brightening and dimming erratically.

The ghost had discovered that its bloody drool could pass through the flame without being burned away and began dripping water in an attempt to extinguish it.

This was disastrous!

Trembling, Zuo Lihua lifted the tray holding the candle.

“Wuuu…”

The ghost emitted a soft, singing-like whimper, as if displeased with her actions.

The moment she lifted the tray, the surroundings began to change.

Where the flame drew near, the scene resembling an abandoned haunted house vanished, replaced by a brand-new appearance. The ghosts rapidly retreated. Where the light moved away, the newness turned old, and the ghosts surged forward all at once.

Zuo Lihua was overjoyed.

So that was it! The candlelight was a safe zone!

With this realization, Zuo Lihua no longer intended to stay in the room.

Remaining here was like being a stationary target. Since there were ghosts whose saliva could extinguish the flame, it was entirely possible that even more formidable ghosts existed. After all, she had witnessed ghosts crawling in through the window. If even one with greater power than Han Hai’er appeared, she wouldn’t stand a chance of survival.

The pitch-black, icy corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, a creaking sound echoed as the door at the far end of the corridor swung open.

A faint glimmer of light spilled out, followed by the cautious peek of a young girl with a delicate and pretty face.

The doors on both sides of the corridor were wide open, as if greeting the girl.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the other end of the hallway.

Thump, thump, thump, they were heavy and deliberate. The girl seemed to freeze for a moment before quickly pulling her head back inside.

The footsteps drew closer, gradually revealing a figure. A gleaming bald head stood out prominently, it was a monk from the temple. He was entering each room, searching for something.

Zuo Lihua held the candlestick, leaning against the wall, her heart pounding like a drum.

The monk searched quickly. Unsure if anyone was inside the rooms, Zuo Lihua took advantage of the moment he entered one and tiptoed into the nearest door.

The room was empty. Bloodstains splattered the walls, the table, and the floor, resembling a murder scene.

But clothes were tossed under the bed, and a woman’s handbag lay on the table, clearly, someone had stayed there the previous night.

Notably, as she entered, the ghosts that had previously gathered in her room followed her, staring intently, waiting for the sandalwood incense to burn out so they could devour her flesh.

Zuo Lihua closed her eyes, forcing herself to ignore the ghosts, and listened carefully to the monk’s footsteps.

Abruptly, she thought she heard a short, sharp scream, a desperate cry of despair, that was quickly cut off.

Zuo Lihua even wondered if she had misheard.

The monk lingered in that room a bit longer. As soon as he stepped out, Zuo Lihua seized the moment, carefully shielding the sandalwood incense, and slipped into the room he had just searched.

This room was covered in hair. Everywhere she looked, strands of hair tightly entangled everything. Upon closer inspection, she could make out one or two skeletons, rigidly bound to the pillars.

Fortunately, the room faced south and was on the first floor, with a window leading outside. Without much hesitation, Zuo Lihua opened the window and jumped out.

As she landed, she felt a strange sensation and glanced back into the room.

A perfectly intact half of a face stared unblinkingly at her. The eyelashes were long, the nose well-shaped, and the eyes filled with sorrow, tears streaming endlessly as if pleading for help. But the rest of the face was entangled in hair, unable to make a sound. Further down, the ribs in the chest were exposed, bloody and wrapped in hair, connected to a broken spine. The lower half of the body was entirely missing.

Zuo Lihua bit her lip, pinched herself hard, and walked forward without looking back.

She didn’t know if the scream she heard came from that half-face, nor did she know whether she would have ended up the same way if she hadn’t run but obediently waited on the bed.

But there were no what-ifs, because she had already escaped.

Zuo Lihua walked along the path, passed through the moon gate, and saw a large group of monks standing neatly in the main hall’s square, facing the Buddha statue inside, devoutly worshiping something.

The light was too dim to see clearly.

Afraid of being discovered, Zuo Lihua crept into the nearby bushes.

Her foot stepped on something soft. Looking down, she saw a clean, white eyeball.

The eyeball, struck by the light, trembled violently in panic, scurried away frantically, and then crashed headfirst into a tree branch, dazed and disoriented, its gaze unfocused.

Zuo Lihua reached out her hand toward it.

A bare eyeball vividly displayed a range of emotions, shock, anger, and “my life is over.”

Then it was caught.

The wind blew the clouds away, and moonlight poured down.

Holding the eyeball, Zuo Lihua finally saw clearly what the dark mass in front of the Buddha statue was.

It was Han Hai’er, tied up tightly like a zongzi!