I burst through the door of Room 404 in Unit 4 of Building 17 and quickly slammed it shut behind me. I started pacing around the living room, taking in my surroundings.

　　Instead of turning on the lights, I made my way into each bedroom, pulling back the curtains to let in whatever moonlight I could to barely illuminate the space.

　　When I returned to the living room, though, it was still pitch black—not a glimmer of light anywhere, so dark I couldn’t even see my own hand in front of my face. The oppressive energy in the room was thickening, and I could distinctly feel a chilling breeze brushing past me.

　　I couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing that Li Hongmin was lurking in the shadows. He probably thought I couldn’t see him, but I could sense his dark figure drifting around me. I couldn’t make out his features in the gloom, but his presence was unmistakable.

　　I settled onto the sofa, retrieving a candle and a match from the drawer. The instant the match flared to life, Li Hongmin materialized in front of me.

　　His face was as pale as death, his eyes were bloodshot, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. He was only a foot or two away, grinning unnervingly.

　　Our eyes locked, and without a second thought, I swung my hand and slapped him hard, sending him reeling.

　　“Who are you?!” he yelled as he struggled to regain his footing and glared at me.

　　“Why do you care who I am? You think you can just show up and scare me? You’re asking for trouble!” I shot back, my voice steady and defiant.He looked completely thrown off, probably because he’d never met anyone who wasn’t scared of ghosts—especially not someone he’d just tried to scare.

　　“Speak up!” I demanded, raising my voice.

　　He laughed, but the sound sent shivers down my spine, like two pieces of foam grinding against each other. “Do you know this house is haunted? Anyone who steps in here ends up dead!” Li Hongmin warned, his voice low and ominous.

　　“Is that so?” I replied, dragging a chair over and plopping down to face him. “Such as ： Liu Jian?”

　　He didn’t say a word, just glared at me with those blood-red eyes.

　　“Zhou Yong?”

　　He let out a heavy breath, still glaring.

　　I pressed on, “And you, Li Hongmin!”

　　As soon as I said his name, a rush of ghostly energy surged from him, and the atmosphere shifted dramatically—the temperature dropped like a stone.

　　“Looks like I hit a nerve!” I smirked, not backing down.

　　“Who are you? How do you know who’s died in this house?” he demanded, a mixture of curiosity and anger in his voice.

　　“I’m here to save you,” I replied matter-of-factly.

　　“Save me? How on earth are you going to do that?”

　　“By sending you off to be reincarnated!”

　　Li Hongmin erupted into laughter, his tone dripping with scorn. “You think you can pull that off? You’re full of yourself!”

　　“Well, why don’t you give it a try and find out?” I shot back, crossing my legs and showing zero fear.“You little punk, looking to get yourself killed?” he snarled, about to charge at me.

　　“Hold up!” I called out quickly.

　　“Oh, what’s the matter—chickening out already?” he sneered.

　　“Where are Liu Jian and Zhou Yong?” I demanded. “They both died here in this house, but I haven’t seen them anywhere.”

　　“Who are you, and what do you want from me?”

　　A voice came from behind me, low and hollow. I turned to find another ghost, skinnier and weaker-looking than Li Hongmin, with a dark, deep bruise circling his neck—he’d clearly been hanged while alive.

　　“Are you Liu Jian or Zhou Yong?” I asked, unsure of which spirit I was speaking to, since both had died by hanging.

　　“Zhou Yong,” he replied softly.

　　“So you’re trapped here too,” I muttered to myself, then looked back to him. “And where’s Liu Jian?”

　　Zhou Yong shot an uneasy glance at Li Hongmin, hesitating, clearly too scared to answer.

　　“He didn’t behave, so I devoured him!” Li Hongmin boasted with a smug grin.

　　“You… ate him?” I asked, barely believing it.

　　“That’s right! That kid didn’t know his place, so I swallowed him whole!”

　　I clenched my fists at his words. By consuming Liu Jian, Li Hongmin had absorbed not just his resentment but also his strength. He couldn’t have absorbed it all perfectly, but for a ghost, devouring another spirit definitely meant gaining power. With that, Li Hongmin had transformed into what people call a “vicious ghost.”

　　A vicious ghost, as they’re known, is one that carries the rage and malice of an evil spirit without fully possessing its power.

　　“You actually ate him. Do you even realize what that means?” I asked, my voice hard.

　　He scoffed, “How laughable. A mortal trying to lecture me on the consequences!”

　　I stepped closer. “Li Hongmin, I wanted to give you a chance—send you to the underworld so you could reincarnate. But now? You’ve blown it. You’ve left me no choice but to destroy you and wipe every trace of your existence from this world!”

　　He was a ghost himself, yet he’d devoured another ghost—a ghastly act as twisted as cannibalism among the living!

　　Li Hongmin let out a laugh, an unsettling sound that made my skin crawl.

　　“Who do you think you are? You don’t think I’d devour you too?” He licked his blood-red tongue, grinning darkly. “A living person’s flavor beats any spirit’s by miles!”

　　“With just you?” I shot back, stretching my arms as a wave of energy surged through me. In a flash, my hands glowed with golden light.

　　“Disappear, Li Hongmin!” I shouted.

　　“You think I’m afraid of you?” he sneered, lunging right at me. His shadowy figure shot forward, hands outstretched, aiming to choke me.

　　But I wasn’t about to make it easy for him. I ducked swiftly, spun around, and slammed a punch straight into his gut. Li Hongmin couldn’t hold his ground and went flying backward.

　　“What are you waiting for? Attack him!” Li Hongmin barked at Zhou Yong.

　　Zhou Yong hesitated, mumbling something under his breath. I could see the fear he had for Li Hongmin, probably from the abuse he’d suffered, but I also sensed he didn’t want to harm me.

　　“Zhou Yong, don’t make a foolish choice,” I said firmly. “I’m here to help you all pass on to reincarnation. Do you really want to stay trapped here forever? Because if you don’t act, you’ll end up just like him—a vicious ghost who devours others.” I pointed at Li Hongmin.

　　“I…”

　　“Don’t listen to him! He’s lying to you!” Li Hongmin interjected.

　　“Shut up! I’ll deal with you soon enough,” I snapped at Li Hongmin, then turned back to Zhou Yong. “You saw it yourself—Li Hongmin might be a vicious ghost, but he’s no match for me. Taking both of you down would be child’s play. Why would I waste time lying to you?”

　　Zhou Yong froze, visibly conflicted. Seeing his hesitation, I continued, “Your younger brother, Zhou Quan, asked me to find out what happened to you—that’s how I found out you were here!”

　　“Quan?” Zhou Yong looked at me, surprised.

　　“Yes, he felt there was something suspicious about your death and asked me to investigate. I found out the truth—the one who killed you was Zhang Ming. That’s why you’re trapped here.”

　　“You’re telling the truth?” Zhou Yong asked, his expression tense.

　　“If it were a lie, how would I know about Zhang Ming? How would I know you were bound here? And why else would I risk coming into a haunted house in the dead of night just to find you?”Zhang Ming dropped to his knees with a thud after hearing what I’d said. “Please, save me! Help me!” he begged.

　　I walked over to him and said, “Don’t worry. I’m a feng shui master—I’ll get you out of here.”

　　“Thank you, sir! Thank you!” He reached out to shake my hand gratefully.

　　I helped him up, then turned to Li Hongmin. “But first, I need to deal with him.”