“Don’t!” These words were directed at Shi Sheng.
Just now, when Shi Sheng had floated over to Feng Jin’s side, the crying woman was still lying in his arms, so it was natural for An Su to assume that this female ghost had wanted to hurt the woman.
Shi Sheng rolled her eyes at An Su.
Seeing this type of reaction from Shi Sheng, An Su was utterly confused. ‘This ghost seems a bit different from the others…
All the other ghosts I’ve seen were lacking limbs, were extremely fierce or were heavily resentful of the living. They’re not like this ghost who can even, er, roll her eyes at me this calmly.’
An Su suddenly found this ghost to be rather cute.
While she was still absorbed in her own thoughts, she suddenly felt herself being pushed, causing her to stumble and fall onto one of the bonsai plants lining the corridor.
The hysterical woman shrieked as she ran off somewhere. The servants could only give chase as they called out to her.
Soon, only the old Butler, Feng Jin, Shi Sheng, and An Su were left. The old man was the only one still standing in the kitchen, the helpless expression of one who had experienced the vicissitudes of life displayed clearly on his face. Tears began to well up in his muddled eyes.
Feng Jin neatly straightened out the wrinkles on his clothes that were caused by the delirious woman before walking over to the kitchen.
“Mr Feng.” The old man quickly wiped away the tears in his eyes when he noticed that Feng Jin had walked over. “Please don’t take it to heart. I sincerely apologise on the Madam’s behalf.”
“It’s fine.” Feng Jin looked in the direction of the kitchen. “Can I go in to have a look around?”
“Why of course, of course!” The old man vigorously nodded his head. “To tell you the truth, this isn’t the first time the Madam’s went berserk. She always raves about seeing ghosts and such. I don’t know if she’s happened to meet with anything unclean.”
The sounds of their discussion slowly faded away as they walked further into the kitchen. Shi Sheng simply remained standing in her spot, looking down at the FL-sama who was currently sprawled over a decorative bonsai tree. She opened her lips. “Dumb.”
An Su wanted to cry. ‘Why does everyone keep calling me dumb?’
She clambered back up from the bonsai tree and stammered out a question. “Were you… the one who scared her just now?”
“I’m not that bored.” Shi Sheng drifted into the kitchen after saying her piece.
An Su blanked out slightly. ‘Why does this voice sound so familiar? I swear I’ve heard it before, but I can’t put my finger on where exactly…’
“Wait! Then, do you know who scared her? Are there really ghosts around here?” An Su chased after Shi Sheng and spoke in a low voice so as not to startle anyone in the kitchen.
“Aren’t I a ghost?” Shi Sheng once again gave her an eyeroll.
An Su, “…” ‘That’s true…’
She meekly trailed after Shi Sheng. The kitchen was very quiet and almost completely empty.
The only person present was a strangely garbed man who was currently standing at the spot where one would cut vegetables. On the counter lay several chunks of meat that were still oozing blood. It was clear that these chunks had just been carved off whatever creature they originally belonged to.
An Su couldn’t help but feel her stomach roil and she had to fight down the urge to vomit.
She watched as Shi Sheng glided over to the man’s side. The man lifted his head and seemed to look directly at her, before he once again lowered his head to continue examining the bloody meat.
‘Can that man see her too?’
An Su’s rarely-used brain was finally doing some work. Before, she had seen this ghost float towards the woman, so she had assumed she wanted to scare the woman. But the woman hadn’t been the only one there at that time; this man had been standing there too.
“My word, what are you doing here young lady? My sincerest apologies, I hope you weren’t scared? I shall arrange for a room for you at once.” The old Butler immediately approached An Su upon noticing her entry into the kitchen and quickly blocked her view of the bloody scene on the counter.
“It’s okay Uncle Butler.” An Su shook her head. “I’m already very grateful you’re letting me stay the night.”
The old man gave a forced smile. “A small matter. Let me escort you to your room!”
An Su could tell the old Butler didn’t wish to say any more, so she shut her mouth and stopped asking questions.
Before she left, she cast one final glance in Shi Sheng’s direction.
……
Feng Jin told the old man that he’d observe the situation around the mansion for two days, and to prepare a room for him.
Shi Sheng had always slept in the side bedroom in Feng Jin’s house since he didn’t allow her into his room, but he obviously couldn’t do the same here.
Shi Sheng stole the only bed the moment she entered the room. “I’m taking the bed.”
Feng Jin, “…” ‘Why does a ghost have to sleep on a bed?’
He wanted to toss her out, but upon remembering there was still a hidden danger lurking around the mansion, he silently gave up his claim to the bed as he carried a blanket to the sofa.
Shi Sheng laid down on the bed, thoughtfully rubbing her chin as she spoke, “That old man called her Madam.”
Feng Jin was caught off-guard by this sudden statement that seemed to come out of nowhere. He turned to look at her.
Shi Sheng rolled over onto her back. “There’s a picture of a deceased person in that man’s bedroom. She looks exactly the same as that woman.”
Feng Jin stood up and walked up to the bedside, staring down at her from his higher point of view. “You’re saying there’s something wrong with that woman?”
Shi Sheng blinked. “She appeared in the kitchen in the middle of the night with a couple chunks of bloody human meat on the counter beside her. Don’t you think there’s something off about her?”
“How do you know that was human meat?” ‘I don’t remember telling her this?’
Shi Sheng’s lips curved into a good-looking smile, but her speech contained some hints of queerness, “The smell of human blood is different from animal blood.”
Feng Jin leaned over and placed his hands on either side of her head. With his overcast eyes containing subtle hints of a piercing coldness, he spoke, “Ning Ying, have you recovered your memories?”
Shi Sheng wasn’t too used to being put in such a disadvantageous position, so she sat up and looked at him. “Nope.”
“Then how do you explain your sudden change in personality?” Feng Jin looked her square in the eyes and spoke with a deadly emphasis on his next words, “Ning Ying, don’t lie to me.”
“Why would I lie to you? Even if I did, you still wouldn’t let me touch you.” Shi Sheng rolled her eyes.
Feng Jin, “…” ‘Just why does she keep trying to touch me all the time?’
“Besides, the personality has never been fully understood. There’ve been plenty of people whose personalities have changed overnight. Are you going to ask each one individually the reason why?”
‘If I wasn’t currently in Feng Jin’s ‘employment’, I wouldn’t have bothered to come up with this much bullshit.’
Feng Jin maintained that position for several more seconds before slowly getting up and returning to the sofa. Shi Sheng only heard him speak once more when he had already laid down.
“That piece of flesh was freshly carved off; it still had some hints of warmth.”
……
The night passed uneventfully, but the next day, a heavy rain fell over the mansion. An Su was unable to leave due to the downpour and hence could only continue her stay.
When the old Butler came to deliver breakfast in the morning, Feng Jin casually inquired about the woman from yesterday. The old man was extremely hesitant to say anything, and it was clear he was trying to avoid the topic. In the end, he had found some sort of an excuse to leave. His skittish behaviour made it easy for one to suspect that something was going on, even if there was nothing.
Once they’d finished their meal, Feng Jin went to take a look at the bedridden middle-aged man again.
The sickly man’s name was Qi Mo, a famous entrepreneur. However, a month prior to their visit, he began experiencing stuffiness in his chest. He went to the hospital to have a check-up, but they merely diagnosed it as fatigue from being overworked.
As a result, Qi Mo brought his Madam along with him to this mansion to have a vacation. However, not only did his condition show no signs of improvement, it deteriorated even more.
They’d gone to hospitals and invited private physicians, but none had managed to detect any signs of illness. During this time, Qi Mo didn’t get any better; his condition had deteriorated to the point where he couldn’t get off the bed on his own, and then finally progressed to his current state. Now, he wouldn’t even react to anything, similar to people in a vegetative state.
In the midst of his despair, the old Butler remembered he had once heard Qi Mo’s father mention a clan of exorcists, the Feng Clan. Hence the reason why he came looking for the Feng Clan when they ran out of options.
Feng Jin didn’t live in the Feng Clan’s ancestral manor, so logically speaking he shouldn’t have even been aware of this case. But due to some unknown factors, he was the one that came out in the end.
Once Feng Jin had checked in on Qi Mo, he went out and inspected the mansion again. His leisurely manner raised some discussion amongst the servants.
The events of late had scared them all terribly. Their Madam was always claiming she saw ghosts, and the mansion was constantly surrounded by an ominous aura. Had the remuneration not been as much as it was, they wouldn’t have remained here any longer than they had to.