The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Corpse Cave

Tao Yitong tracked the scent all the way to the outskirts, an industrial zone dotted with numerous factories. Due to the economic downturn in recent years, many of these plants had shuttered. Since the land hadn’t been auctioned off yet, the buildings remained abandoned and derelict.

She stepped into a desolate side path. The two factories flanking her were deathly silent; she could only hear the distant, faint hum of machinery operating from far away.

The wisp of black mist finally vanished into the factory building on her right. She vaulted over the perimeter wall directly. To her surprise, the moment she landed, she found herself staring into the eyes of a skeletal yet ferocious-looking guard dog.

It was a large dog, appearing somewhat like a German Shepherd. Its teeth were bared, and a threatening low growl vibrated in its throat.

Tao Yitong wasn’t sure if there were people inside the factory. If the dog barked and alerted the enemy, it would be bad. Thus, in one swift motion, she lunged forward and clamped her hand over the dog’s mouth.

The dog had likely never encountered a human so bold. It let out two shocked whimpers before starting to struggle frantically. However, it soon discovered that this two-legged beast possessed extraordinary strength, and immediately after, it felt the skin on its head tighten.

Back in the village, amidst Jiang Zitan’s light laughter, a blushing Tao Yitong pushed her into the house.

Because they had asked a neighbor aunt to help clean, the house was spotless. Even the funeral portraits of the Tao parents in the living room were free of dust, though Tao Yitong habitually took them down to wipe them once more before rehanging them. Since the house was rarely occupied, it lacked the scent of daily life.

The next morning, when Jiang Zitan woke up, she found the spot beside her empty. Reaching out, the sheets were already cold; Tongtong must have been up for quite a while.

She wondered if that little foodie, who even dreamed about eating, had realized the “mischief” she had done. Jiang Zitan raised her hand to touch the spot where she had been bitten last night. It was cool and no longer pained; it seemed… someone had applied a bit of ointment?

Jiang Zitan went to the mirror. Last night, Tongtong’s bite had initially been quite painful, and she thought the skin might have been broken. Now, only a faint red mark remained. A layer of pale green, medicinal paste had been smeared over it. It seemed Tongtong already knew what she had done last night. Seeing herself in the mirror, Jiang Zitan let out a smile, but it was tinged with a trace of heaviness.

Thinking back to last night, Jiang Zitan could only deceive herself by categorizing it as an accident, then forced herself to think no more of it. She thought she could maintain her surface-level composure. After washing up, she gave the mirror a proper, flawless smile. However, she didn’t expect her composure to break so soon.

“Tao-tao Sister!! Long time no see!” A lively voice rang out at the entrance of the inn. Jiang Zitan heard it just as she walked to the stairwell.

Though she couldn’t see the situation downstairs, Jiang Zitan’s intuition told her the person was calling for Tao Yitong. Sure enough, as she descended a few steps, she saw a girl in her early twenties jumping up and down while hugging Tao Yitong on the first floor.

The girl was named Zhou Xinyue, nicknamed “Zhou-zhou.” She was five years younger than Tao Yitong and lived next to Taoli Village. She was also a member of the Special Affairs Bureau; during her internship, Tao Yitong had mentored her for a while until Yitong was transferred to the provincial level and their contact grew sparse.

After receiving her message last night, the local Special Affairs Bureau felt a massive headache. Recently, there had been many tourists and livestreamers who loved running around late at night. If they actually encountered a monster, it would be a disaster. So, they immediately arranged personnel to conduct a late-night sweep.

Fortunately, an S-class esper had returned home to visit graves; otherwise, they might not have even known such a massive loophole existed. Zhou Xinyue happened to be on duty last night, so she was dispatched. They had been busy all night without sleep or breakfast. Being familiar with the landlady here, Zhou Xinyue had come to pack some breakfast for her colleagues when she bumped into Tao Yitong.

While a reunion with an old friend was happy, Tao Yitong inexplicably felt a chill down the back of her neck. Perhaps influenced by Taotie, she had developed a beast-like intuition; she instinctively looked back and saw a stone-faced Jiang Zitan standing on the stairs.

“Tongtong, this is…”

Tao Yitong, already feeling guilty, hurried to make Zhou-zhou stand at attention. Out of a conditioned reflex from her training, the young girl instinctively snapped into a military posture.

Zhou Xinyue noticed a stranger had arrived and reined in her excitement. She didn’t know if Tao Yitong was on a mission that required a secret identity, so she cautiously remained silent, waiting for Tao Yitong to introduce her.

“Sister, she’s Zhou Xinyue, the daughter of Uncle Zhou from the neighboring village. Your great-grandparents even shared a bit of a relative connection…” Tao Yitong’s voice grew weaker and weaker because Jiang Zitan’s expression showed no signs of clearing up. Her cold face made Tao Yitong feel a deep sense of trepidation.

However, the young girl’s expression changed from wary to gossipy. Her pensive gaze darted between the two of them.

Wow… who is this? She actually made Sister Tao as obedient as a quail. My goodness, my phone! Where’s my phone!? This scene must be captured for the colleagues at the Bureau to enjoy!

Of course, Zhou Xinyue didn’t actually dare take out her phone. She knew her small movements wouldn’t escape Tao Yitong’s eyes, and if caught, it wouldn’t be as simple as extra training. But discussing it privately was definitely allowed~

Hearing the introduction, Jiang Zitan gave a slight nod and said a “Hello.” It was a greeting, but her tone was even colder than usual. Zhou Xinyue also felt a chill; this beautiful sister was good-looking, but her words were like ice.

“Tao-tao Sister, could this be…” Zhou Xinyue felt this cold beauty looked somewhat familiar. After a bit of thought, she realized, “Is she the biological daughter of the aunt and uncle?”

“I’ll go with you,” Jiang Zitan said.

“But my grandmother’s house is a bit far from here.” Tao Yitong was worried Jiang Zitan would be exhausted traveling back and forth and going up the mountain.

“It’s fine.” Jiang Zitan felt her sister was being a bit overprotective. Under her persistence, Tao Yitong had to agree. After leaving some boiled water to cool in the house, she took Jiang Zitan to the place where she had lived after age four.

Her Master’s house was on the other side of the village. The old lady didn’t like noise, so her home was somewhat remote. As a child, Yitong had to take a long detour to get to school.

However, the small courtyard that rarely saw visitors was exceptionally busy today. Even before Tao Yitong arrived, she saw a group of people surrounding her Master’s yard, doing heaven-knows-what.

“Is this it? The haunted house the kids talked about? It does look eerie.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go in. Even if her granddaughter doesn’t come back, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t go online. We can just film the outside. If she finds out we broke in, she might sue us…”

“But the stuff on the mountain has been filmed to death. If we don’t get something fresh, how are we supposed to compete?!”

The team consisted of six or seven people; some carried equipment, others lugged cases. They looked like a professional crew. Hearing their dialogue, Tao Yitong knew exactly what they were up to.

“Excuse me, my house is not a haunted house, nor is it available for filming.” Tao Yitong suddenly emerged from behind them, startling everyone.

Seeing the arrivals were two young women, the leader reacted first. “Are you Miss Tao?”

It seemed these people had done thorough research. Tao Yitong nodded. The leader was overjoyed. “I’ve been looking for your contact info but couldn’t find it. We can rent your house for just one night! We’ll film and leave. We can discuss the rent!”

Tao Yitong sighed. “I don’t know which kid told you my house is haunted, but this is just an ordinary residence. It has less ‘vibe’ than an abandoned hospital. You should consider another place.”

She took out the keys and opened the door. The place had been renovated before her Master passed away. The layout in the yard and rooms was quite cozy; aside from the remote location, it really wasn’t suited for horror filming.

The streamers were disappointed. “Yesterday I heard the kids say they saw ghost shadows here at night. I thought we could film something…”

Ghost shadows?

Jiang Zitan immediately felt a surge of alertness. Aside from supernatural phenomena, the “ghost shadow” a child saw at night could easily be a person. In the dark, there’s no difference between a silhouette and a specter. If it was a person, could it be a thief?

Tao Yitong considered even more possibilities. She asked the streamers if they knew which family the child belonged to. The streamer thought for a bit and gave the location. Tao Yitong knew the village well and quickly determined whose child it was.

“Miss Tao, let’s discuss this further. We can even do a bit of set dressing… we can raise the rent!” They clearly didn’t want to give up this gimmick.

“I’m sorry.” Tao Yitong refused again. Knowing the path was blocked, they could only leave in disappointment.

“Tongtong, are there signs the locks or things in the yard have been moved?” Jiang Zitan asked.

Tao Yitong observed the layout of the items in the yard; they were exactly as she remembered. No signs of movement. She shook her head. “No. Maybe someone passed by and the kid mistook them for a ghost.”

The courtyard had a special setup; no ghosts or monsters should be able to get close. Tao Yitong continued inside. Just as she touched the door to open it, her hand paused slightly.

Someone really has been inside.

Back at the Factory

Just as this thought surfaced in her mind, Tao Yitong suddenly heard an extremely light footstep from the factory floor above.

With a short running start, she used the momentum of kicking off the side walls to leap up to the tunnel entrance. It was too late to move the cabinet back to its original spot the opponent would definitely hear the noise so Tao Yitong leaped directly onto the top of the cabinet to hide.

A moment later, a dark figure appeared at the tunnel entrance. The figure stared blankly at the entrance, appearing to be in an abnormal state.

The next second, Tao Yitong dropped from above, pinning the intruder to the ground. Her beast-like right hand gripped his throat; if there was any movement, she could instantly decapitate him.

But the person she caught did not struggle. Tao Yitong felt the texture of the neck was wrong. She lightly loosened her grip and turned the body over. The body turned, but the head remained face down. Tao Yitong manually turned the head around, only to see two hollow, empty eye sockets.

It was already a corpse.

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