Yin and Yang - Chapter 8

Zhao Xiaoyuan had a younger sister who was born with Spirit Sight. The girl suffered terribly throughout her life until she met a Malevolent Spirit one night and perished. This experience fueled Zhao Xiaoyuan’s deep-seated hatred for all Malevolent Spirits. Before coming to Qingping City, she knew how dangerous the Haunted House was. Her Master had advised her to wait, but she disobeyed, using the excuse of returning home to rush here. Last night, she deliberately provoked Luo Ying, expecting her to retaliate, but Luo Ying surprisingly chose to return to the hotel instead.

Realizing she couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, Zhao Xiaoyuan retreated as well. This morning, she discovered that the Malevolent Spirit had been sealed.

The Yin-Yang Sect truly lived up to its reputation. With a single move, they had subdued the Malevolent Spirit. However, according to Yin Zheng’s words, they even planned to grant the spirit transcendence. Why? This Malevolent Spirit had killed several livestreamers—those were precious human lives! Why should it deserve transcendence? Such spirits should be forcefully captured and annihilated, their souls scattered to the winds!

Now that the Malevolent Spirit was sealed, Zhao Xiaoyuan felt less fear. While Yin Zheng and the others were having breakfast, she immediately set out to forcefully capture it!

Zhao Xiaoyuan stood below the building, gazing upward. Two floors near the twenty-fourth floor were shrouded in a faint black mist—yin energy. Even in broad daylight, the yin energy was visible. If this Malevolent Spirit wasn’t eliminated, it would pose an endless threat!

Zhao Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, gripped the compass tightly, and stepped into the elevator. Her heart raced slightly, and her breathing grew more rapid as the elevator ascended. With only a few residents left in the building, the elevator didn’t stop until the twenty-fourth floor, right in front of the Haunted House.

The elevator doors chimed open, and a wave of icy air struck Zhao Xiaoyuan, making her hand tremble. Whether it was her imagination or not, the temperature felt noticeably colder than when they had left. Despite it being early summer and the Malevolent Spirit’s yin energy supposedly sealed, the surrounding chill remained undiminished.

How strange, Zhao Xiaoyuan frowned, cradling the compass as she stepped inside. Reaching the suite’s entrance, she took another deep breath. Her palm gripping the doorknob was slick with sweat, and her hand trembled slightly. Adjusting her breathing, she summoned her courage and flung the door open.

Everything appeared unchanged. Zhao Xiaoyuan’s gaze immediately locked onto the Female Ghost in the kitchen, her vivid red attire impossible to miss. Narrowing her eyes, she took a step forward when the compass in her hand began to vibrate wildly. The needle suddenly spun violently, as if possessed!

Zhao Xiaoyuan’s expression paled. She tightened her grip on the compass, but it felt as if a tremendous force was trying to yank it away. At the peak of the needle’s frenzied spinning, there was a sharp crack—the needle had snapped!

When the compass shatters, disaster strikes!

Zhao Xiaoyuan instinctively recoiled, but the door behind her slammed shut with a loud bang! A sudden gale swept through the living room, though the windows remained closed. The curtains billowed wildly, and amidst the eerie silence, Zhao Xiaoyuan faintly heard a thin, high-pitched female voice singing.

“I have a home, with Mommy and Daddy. Daddy’s so nice, but Mommy’s a fool. Every night, Daddy asks me questions, while Mommy cries and screams, so annoying! Mommy can’t take it anymore. She grabs a fruit knife and stabs Daddy, stab, stab, stab! Daddy’s blood flows down to my feet, so much, so much! Oh no, it hurts so much! My head and body are separated now…”

Zhao Xiaoyuan’s face turned deathly pale. She suddenly understood and tried to turn around, but the lock behind her seemed welded shut, resisting all her frantic tugging. Cold sweat trickled down her temples as her terrified eyes reddened. A sudden chill brushed against her ear, accompanied by the same shrill voice whispering, “Do you like my song?”

“Ah!” Zhao Xiaoyuan yanked the door open with all her might. She frantically pulled out a talisman from her bag, but it was utterly useless—the moment the paper came close to the ghost, it burst into flames! Zhao Xiaoyuan tried to grab a mirror from her bag, but as soon as her hand touched the edge, an invisible force pinned her in place. Her body pressed tightly against the doorframe, as if nailed there.

She saw a white figure approaching, drawing closer and closer until it was right in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

A freezing gust of wind brushed her face, turning it icy. Zhao Xiaoyuan’s heart stopped abruptly, her face draining of color.

The tightly sealed window suddenly flew open, letting in a violent gust of wind that swept away a body.

When Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng reached the ground floor, a fierce wind suddenly roared in their ears. Their expressions changed slightly as they dodged aside—a person plummeted from the sky, landing right in front of them!

Splat! Blood splattered everywhere, brain matter oozing across the ground.

Hu Shengsheng, standing behind Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng, recoiled at the sight, his brow furrowing. Mr. Zhao, the homeowner, couldn’t hold back any longer and turned away to vomit.

“Someone’s dead! Another one’s dead!”

“Ahhh! Another death!”

A crowd quickly gathered around Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng, some taking photos, others sharing the news, and still others calling the police. The two women glanced upward: the window was half-open, the curtain billowing outward in a fatal arc.

They were too late.

“Looks like a Heavenly Master.”

“Was he one of the ghost hunters? How could another person die? This ghost is too fierce!”

“We can’t stay here! This house is uninhabitable! We’re moving out immediately!”

Amid the clamor, the security captain and the building manager soon arrived. The manager’s face was ashen; he nearly knelt before the corpse. He had finally managed to get the Yin-Yang Sect to come, thinking the place was secured. How could another death occur?

“Manager, you owe us compensation!”

“I’m moving out today! Tell me, Manager, is this house even fit for living?”

The manager was speechless. He instructed the security team to calm the agitated residents, then turned to Luo Ying. “Master Luo, what exactly happened?”

Hadn’t she assured him this morning that the place was sealed and he could relax? How could this…

This was happening in broad daylight, and they couldn’t suppress it! The news would be all over the media again soon. For days, paparazzi had been camped outside the main gate, desperate to get in and take photos and conduct interviews. It was only after he imposed a lockdown that they finally left. Now, just when things had calmed down, a fresh wave of attacks was imminent. The homeowners, who had finally settled down, were now in an uproar again, giving the boss a splitting headache.

Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng, however, paid little attention to the commotion. They crouched down to examine Zhao Xiaoyuan closely. As Shen Qingwei reached out to brush aside Zhao Xiaoyuan’s hair, the boss shouted, “Don’t touch her!”

“Don’t touch her! Don’t touch her!” the boss repeated. “Wait for the police to arrive.”

Shen Qingwei withdrew her hand and glanced at Yin Zheng. “Senior Sister, should we go upstairs and take a look?”

Yin Zheng’s expression was grave and solemn. She nodded and stood up.

As Shen Qingwei joined her in the elevator, the crowd around them grew larger, buzzing with anxious chatter. Their eyes darted nervously, filled with fear. Luo Ying, seeing the two women heading upstairs, opened her mouth to speak but swallowed her words. Others asked, “Are you going up there?”

Yin Zheng nodded. “You all stay here. My junior sister and I will go check it out.”

No one dared to follow. Zhao Xiaoyuan’s bloody example lay before them, a stark reminder of the danger. Even Hu Shengsheng retreated two steps, lowered his head, and pretended to be looking at the others.

Shen Qingwei didn’t mind. She followed Yin Zheng into the elevator. As they approached their floor, Yin Zheng said, “Wait for me outside.”

“I’m coming in too,” Shen Qingwei insisted, clinging to Yin Zheng’s sleeve. Yin Zheng glanced down at her, her heart softening at this familiar habit. “Fine, come with me,” she relented.

They stood by the door, which was ajar. Without hesitation, they pushed it open and stepped inside.

A fierce wind howled through the suite. Curtains billowed wildly, half blown out the window, half dancing inside. The furniture remained undisturbed, showing no signs of a struggle. On the floor lay a broken compass, its needle snapped. Shen Qingwei picked it up and looked up to see the Malevolent Spirit still in the kitchen.

She glanced at Yin Zheng, her eyes filled with confusion. Even Yin Zheng seemed puzzled. Logically, Zhao Xiaoyuan’s misfortune should have been the work of a Malevolent Spirit. Why was it still here, unharmed?

As Shen Qingwei moved to approach, Yin Zheng stopped her. “Don’t go near it.”

With her soft sword, Yin Zheng lifted the Malevolent Spirit’s wind-blown bangs, revealing its forehead—and the silver needle still embedded there.

Shen Qingwei’s confusion deepened. “It’s still sealed?”

Yin Zheng nodded, lowered her sword, and walked over to the Female Ghost, scrutinizing her from head to toe. “Strange,” Shen Qingwei murmured. “If it wasn’t her, then who could it be?”

A flash of insight struck her. “Could it be the person who refined the ghost? Afraid Zhao Xiaoyuan would forcibly claim it, they struck first?”

It wasn’t impossible. Setting up this Yin Dwelling had been no easy task, and nurturing a Malevolent Spirit to this level would certainly provoke retaliation if someone tried to seize it. Yet she couldn’t fathom who was refining the ghost, or what their purpose might be.

Yin Zheng’s heroic brows furrowed deeply, her solemn expression radiating seriousness. After searching the suite twice with Shen Qingwei and finding nothing, Luo Ying called, instructing them to come downstairs for a formal statement. Yin Zheng agreed and turned to Shen Qingwei. “Let’s go down now.”

Shen Qingwei nodded and followed Yin Zheng out, closing the door behind her. As she did, she caught a faint whiff of smoke. Before she could call out to her Senior Sister, Yin Zheng turned back, clearly having noticed it too.

Their eyes met, and they swiftly retreated into the suite, shutting the door. Behind it, they discovered several charred paper fragments on the floor. At the slightest touch, they crumbled into ash. Shen Qingwei watched as Yin Zheng knelt, scooped up a pinch of ash with her fingertip, and held it to her nose, inhaling deeply. “Vajrasattva Demon Subduing Incantation,” she declared.

She rose quickly and approached the Female Ghost, lifting her hand for a closer examination. “Not her,” she concluded.

Shen Qingwei frowned. “Could there be another Malevolent Spirit?”

Yin Zheng released the Female Ghost’s hand and turned to Shen Qingwei, sighing softly. “I understand now.”

Shen Qingwei’s eyes lit up. “Could it be…?”

“Exactly,” Yin Zheng said. “We were both wrong. The Master didn’t create this ghost to turn her into a Malevolent Spirit, but to use her to suppress one.”

Shen Qingwei looked at Yin Zheng, her heart pounding with shock. What kind of Malevolent Spirit could leave even someone capable of arranging Yin Dwellings and creating ghosts helpless?!

Her expression hardened. “So, we just wait here for her to emerge?”

Yin Zheng shook her head slightly. “She likely won’t appear anytime soon. Let’s go downstairs and explain the situation to the others.”

This floor had to be sealed off. Otherwise, another tragedy like Zhao Xiaoyuan’s could occur. Shen Qingwei understood. As she and Yin Zheng prepared to leave, Yin Zheng paused, turned back to the Female Ghost, and gently removed the silver needle from her forehead.

The Female Ghost’s seal was broken, and she vanished instantly. In that instant, the air grew colder and damper, the Yin energy thickening.

After the two women left, a slender figure floated above. The quiet room was once again filled with the haunting melody:

“I have a home, with Mom and Dad. Daddy’s so nice, Mommy’s a fool. Daddy asks me questions every night, Mommy cries and screams, it’s so annoying! Mommy can’t take it anymore, she grabs a fruit knife and stabs Daddy to death, again and again. Daddy’s blood flows down to my feet, so much, so much! Oh no, it hurts so much! My head and body are separated now…”

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