"Just kidding—dismemberment is out of the question. I'm a law-abiding citizen." Yun Jianyue smiled sweetly at Lu Changxue.
Lu Changxue screeched like a boiling kettle: "Put that chainsaw down first! Wait—where did you even get a chainsaw?!"
"Kept it here to ward off burglars." Yun Jianyue set it aside, yawning untimely. "So tired… Let's finish avenging you and come back to sleep."
With that, she headed for the door.
After twelve years of friendship, Lu Changxue still couldn't follow Yun Jianyue's logic—yet her body instinctively trailed after her.
"If we can't involve the police or commit crimes, how will we get revenge?" Lu Changxue asked.
Yun Jianyue looked at her like she was an idiot: "Aren't you a ghost? How's murder illegal for you?"
"Oh, right. I am a vengeful ghost." Lu Changxue belatedly realized. When she saw Yun Jianyue bypass the elevator for the emergency stairs, she frowned: "It's the eighteenth floor—aren't you taking the elevator?"
"Elevators have cameras."
They were going to kill someone. To avoid trouble, they shouldn't be caught on surveillance.
The scumbag, Wang Hui, lived just three kilometers away. Yun Jianyue navigated every camera-free path and finally reached his apartment complex at 4 a.m.
To dodge cameras and guards, Yun Jianyue scaled a low wall to enter. At Wang Hui's doorstep, she handed Lu Changxue her phone. "Call him."
"To warn him I'll kill him?" Lu Changxue was baffled.
"Dummy. Haven't you seen horror movies? Dead people call the killer—terrify him first, then show up to finish him. What kind of amateur vengeful ghost are you?" Yun Jianyue shook her head, adding: "Use the second SIM card. It's a burner."
Who keeps a burner phone like a snack drawer?! Lu Changxue dialed 110—then deleted it—and called Wang Hui.
Moments later, his drowsy voice answered.
"Who is this?"
At the sound of his voice, Lu Changxue's eyes flooded crimson. She snarled: "Wang Hui. How dare you sleep?"
Wang Hui tensed, the sleepiness vanishing: "Who's there? Stop playing games!"
"It's your girlfriend—the one you dumped in a sewer. Remember how you chainsawed my corpse apart? You took my head first."
Lu Changxue's voice turned icy; blood-tears streamed down her cheeks. "It hurts, Wang Hui… Open up. I'm right outside your door."
From behind the door, Yun Jianyue heard a shriek and the clatter of a dropped phone.
The call disconnected.
Lu Changxue's pale fingers tightened—and Yun Jianyue's phone crumpled like paper. Yun Jianyue winced at the loss.
Then, Lu Changxue slammed her fist into the door—shattering it.
She drifted into the apartment, floating toward the bedroom. The door was locked from within.
"Why won't you open up, Wang Hui? Didn't you love beating me? I'm here now—come out."
Her claws scraped the wood—leaving deep gouges.
Amid the splintering, Wang Hui screamed:
"I didn't mean to kill you! You pushed me to it! I only made the mistake every man makes—if you hadn't overreacted—"
Click.
Before he finished, Lu Changxue's nails twisted the lock. She turned the knob—the door swung open.
A sliver of corridor light pierced the dark bedroom. At its edge, Wang Hui sat trembling.
Lu Changxue smiled through bloodstained tears: "Oh? I'm inside now."
*"Aaaaah—!"*
His scream tore through the night.
Outside the complex
Fang Lin'an stumbled out of a taxi, reeking of alcohol. He staggered toward the entrance—then froze.
His bloodshot eyes snapped to Building C's pitch-black fourth floor.
That ghostly aura… only a vengeful spirit could emit such evil!
"Shit!" Sobering instantly, he sprinted toward Building C.
He lunged up to the fourth floor—Room 404—and found a petite girl squatting in SpongeBob pajamas before the door.
She idly traced circles on the floor, yet her posture deliberately blocked the entrance. No one could pass without moving her.
Behind the shut door, dead silence reigned—but vengeful energy seeped through the cracks.
"Who are you? What's happening inside?" Fang Lin'an demanded, disregarding her appearance.
Yun Jianyue glanced up, relieved: "Phew. Thought you were the cops."
Fang Lin'an immediately knew she was complicit. He stepped forward: "Move! Let me in!"
"No. What'll you do?" She didn't rise, just tilted her head defiantly.
"Then I'm sorry." He reached to shove her aside—
But a shriek shattered the air:
"WHO SAID YOU CAN TOUCH HER?"
In a flash, Lu Changxue phased through the door, shielding Yun Jianyue. Her form was spotless—only the suffocating resentment proved she wasn't human.
Fang Lin'an recoiled, eyeing the girl behind the ghost. After moments, he confirmed: Human.
"A conscious vengeful ghost? Protecting a human?" he muttered, bewildered.
He had no time to ponder. This ghost's aura was lethal—he needed to act.
Fuming talismans flashed in his hands—ready to ignite the moment she attacked.
But then—
Yun Jianyue sighed: "Help me up. My legs went numb."
Lu Changxue exploded: "YOU MORON! HOW DO YOU SQUAT YOURSELF NUMB?!"
Still grumbling, she hauled Yun Jianyue up.
"Screw you! I'm guarding your kill site!" Yun Jianyue snapped back.
Lu Changxue's hair bristled: "YOU dragged me here—but I did all the work!"
"Obviously," Yun Jianyue shrugged. "I'm human—I can't murder people. Guard duty's my limit."
Fang Lin'an gaped.
What. Is. Happening.
Why is this ghost arguing with her accomplice?
And why did that terrifying aura just evaporate?!