While the old man was leading the way ahead of them, Feng Jin lowered his voice in warning. "Stop causing mischief."
Shi Sheng twirled her sword around wildly like an electric fan, wearing an obstinate expression on her face that practically screamed: I'm not listening! I'll do whatever I damn well please, try and kill me if you can!
Feng Jin felt like it had been a mistake to bring her along. 'Is it too late to toss her back home?'
He was just about to use their contract to tame her a bit, but…
"If you dare, I'll take you down with me!" Shi Sheng warned him as soon as the thought crossed his mind.
"I'm not afraid of death."
Feng Jin, "…"
'Even an anxious rabbit will bite when cornered, not to mention a ghost. Although we have a master-servant contract, if she really wants to take me down with her, she has a pretty good shot. Furthermore, she has that sword…'
"Enough already." Feng Jin felt rather helpless, only issuing a disgruntled warning.
"I'll stop if you promise to give me new clothes."
'Feel like I fucked a dog! As a ghost, I actually have to use my brains just to get some clothes!'
Feng Jin frowned. "Okay."
Shi Sheng was immediately all smiles as she put her sword away.
Feng Jin, "…"
The old man had already entered the mansion. Seeing this, Feng Jin increased his pace to catch up.
The moment they stepped inside, Shi Sheng felt an uncomfortable sensation pass through her, almost as if there was something eyeing her from the shadows.
There wasn't much light within the mansion's interior either, everything looking as if it were covered in a dense layer of fog.
The old man led them up to the second floor, each step they took making the eerie feeling of being watched intensify—it wasn't a pleasant sensation.
Shi Sheng was so irritated to the point where she wished she could just level the whole place and drag whatever was peeping at her out of its hiding spot.
Perhaps her irritation was too intense because Feng Jin appeared to have noticed.
"It doesn't dare come near me. Relax," Feng Jin's calm voice entered Shi Sheng's ears.
She turned to look at him before her lips eased into a cold smile. "You think I'm scared of it?"
She stood floating in mid-air, mouth curved in a mocking arc. Although her gaze remained as placcid as ever, in its depths, he could make out the cold savagery that lay hidden behind that unnatural calm.
Feng Jin hurriedly shifted his gaze. His heart thumped wildly, and his breathing quickly became uneven.
He had never seen this side of Ning Ying before. When he gazed into her eyes, he was nearly unable to breathe. In that instant, he felt as though he was trapped in a space where dangers lurked all around.
"Mr. Feng?" The old man's enquiring voice could be heard from ahead of them. Feng Jin immediately snapped back to reality and walked in the old man's direction.
Shi Sheng remained at the same spot for a moment before following after him.
Once they entered the room, a thick medicinal scent assaulted their nostrils, bringing with it a queer smell.
A middle-aged man lay on the bed with a sallow complexion. His face was devoid of flesh and looked as though someone had just stretched skin over his skeletal frame. His lips were cracked, and his breathing was very weak.
"Mr. Feng, do have a look." Tears couldn't help but escape the old man's eyes as he looked at the sickly middle-aged man on the bed. "Sir fell ill with no warning, and his condition has been deteriorating every day till his current state that you see now. We've tried every method we could think of, but nothing worked. We didn't have any other option left, so we got someone to send for you."
Feng Jin asked the old man several questions. Meanwhile, Shi Sheng drifted around the room, clearly not paying much attention to the scene below.
'The aura here isn't as strong as it was outside…'
Shi Sheng floated above the middle-aged man and watched as Feng Jin gave the man a check-up. His movements were slow, but he didn't pause or hesitate, making his ministrations a pleasure to watch.
Shi Sheng rubbed her chin as she let her thoughts have free rein. 'Gotta hurry up and find a way to confirm whether he's Feng Ci or not…'
"Butler, Butler, a young lady has arrived and is requesting to stay the night here." A servant appeared and spoke swiftly.
The old man was obviously rather surprised. "Stay the night?"
"Yes. She said she was here to climb the mountain with a group, but later got separated from them. She came here since she saw lights and wishes to stay the night."
It was impossible for the mansion to have been built in complete isolation from human civilisation. There was a mountain nearby that was well loved by mountain-climbing enthusiasts, so there had been several occasions where people would show up at the mansion before. If the situation had not been so sensitive, they would have had no problem with letting them stay the night, but now…
"Bring me over to have a look." The old man bowed to Feng Jin. "Mr. Feng, I shall have to trouble you."
"En."
The old man shuffled out of the room with the other servants in tow, leaving silence to soon descend upon the room.
"You got any clues?" Shi Sheng asked from her new perch on the bed. Quiet and collected, her current demeanour was completely different from that of before. If he didn't look directly at her, he'd be completely unable to sense her presence.
"You've discovered something?" Feng Jin's eyes glimmered as he replied with a question of his own.
"Not telling." Shi Sheng's lips lifted in a smirk.
Feng Jin, "…" 'If I was anyone else, you'd be killed by now!'
Feng Jin felt as though he really had been too indulgent with her. When she had been obedient, he hadn't felt like it was too big of a deal, but now…
'Looks like I'll have to teach her some rules when we get back.'
"AH!" Suddenly, a loud scream rang out. It was loud enough that everyone in the mansion probably heard it.
Shi Sheng immediately flew out. Feng Jin hesitated for a moment before following after her. 'This ghost likes to cause trouble. Who knows what she'll end up doing if I don't follow along?'
The scream had come from the kitchen on the ground floor. Shi Sheng was naturally able to glide faster than humans could walk, so she was the first to arrive at the scene.
The kitchen was permeated by a thick, bloody stench. The first thing that caught Shi Sheng's eyes was the slab of meat on the counter. She then turned to look at the woman who had fallen to the floor and was now hugging herself, screaming in terror.
She wore only an apron, leaving large sections of her skin exposed.
Soon, a man wearing servant attire arrived. He strode over to the woman and helped her up. "Madam, what is it?"
"Ghost… There's ghost…" The woman spoke in a trembling voice, her tone uneven due to fear.
The old man from before arrived, bringing with him a girl. The moment Shi Sheng saw her, her face went something like this: ( ¬_¬)
'An Su? Why is she here? This wasn't in the script!'
An Su appeared to have seen Shi Sheng, for her expression changed immediately. Ning Ying had always shown her blood-covered appearance in front of An Su previously, so An Su was unable to recognise Shi Sheng. Her reaction was out of fear of seeing a ghost.
"T-t-there's a ghost… A ghost…" The woman who had been addressed as 'Madam' was still muttering.
"Hurry and bring the Madam back to her room." The old man promptly ordered the servants.
Two servants supported her and brought her towards the outside of the room, but when they reached the entrance, the woman suddenly struggled free and ran off, running into the arms of a certain someone who was planning on entering.
Feng Jin was caught off guard, his body stumbling backwards a step. The woman appeared terrified as she hugged Feng Jin's waist tightly; er soft chest pressed against his.
Shi Sheng floated over to Feng Jin's side, her gaze unreadable as she stared at him. That gaze was very calm, but at the same time, appeared off.
It made Feng Jin's scalp tingle, and he hurriedly pushed the woman away.
"Ghost… There's a ghost…" But the woman held onto him for dear life.
Feng Jin's gaze turned piercing as he flung her off of him. However, he had used too much strength, causing her to smash into the wall behind her. But the woman still wanted to pounce back.
It was at this moment when An Su suddenly approached and placed herself between the woman and Feng Jin.
Author’s note:
Good morning babes, time to vote!