Chapter Seventy-Two: White as Frost

A jolt of fear shot through me, and I rushed to the bedboard. Sure enough, the space beneath it was utterly empty—there was no trace of the so-called dead fetus.

“How could this be?” I frowned, perplexed. Just moments ago, before I left the room, the dead fetus was right under the bed; how could it have vanished so quickly? I searched the room thoroughly, but still found nothing. Yet the air inside was still saturated with a dense, chilling energy.

“Brother, I’m not lying to you. Why not search more carefully?”

“I’ll give you one minute,” the innkeeper said, glancing darkly at his watch. “If you’re not gone by then, you’ll wish you could leave, but you won’t be able to.”

“I’m telling the truth, the dead fetus is definitely still in this room.”

“Fifty seconds left!”

Watching the innkeeper solemnly counting down, I knew better than to linger. If I stayed any longer, even I couldn’t be sure what he might do to me. So I quickly gathered my belongings and walked out of the inn. As I left, I thought I heard the infant’s voice again—not crying this time, but laughing.

I originally thought of making a fuss, but, seeing the innkeeper’s menacing face, I sensibly abandoned the idea. I was neither a Daoist priest nor a saint; there was no reason I should take it upon myself to exorcise demons and monsters every day. Since the innkeeper didn’t believe a word I said, there was no need for me to help him deal with the dead fetus in that room. As long as it didn’t harm me, I had no intention of getting further entangled.

Once outside, I intended to call the Emperor and his friends, ask where they were singing karaoke, and take a taxi to join them. But just as I took out my phone, a red Golf pulled up abruptly in front of me.

Behind the wheel sat a young woman around my age—stunningly beautiful. She stopped the car, leaned out the window, and asked, “Hey, handsome, want to hop in and chat?”

The moment I saw her face, I was captivated. I had never seen a girl so beautiful—not even movie stars could compare.

My dazed stare clearly annoyed her. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at me. “Have you stared enough?”

Realizing my rudeness, I quickly looked away, a little embarrassed. “Is there something you want?”

“It’s about what you saw in that inn just now.”

My heart skipped a beat. Before I could piece my thoughts together, the passenger door opened automatically. I didn’t hesitate—after all, I doubted anything dangerous could happen with such a beautiful woman. In fact, I felt a hint of anticipation.

I got in, and she floored the accelerator, whisking me away to the riverside, where she parked but didn’t get out. Instead, she turned on the car’s video system.

The footage left me dumbstruck. On the screen played scenes from my room in the inn—clear images, though shot from outside the window. There I was, exiting the bathroom in nothing but boxer shorts, posing with my phone in front of the mirror.

The woman burst out laughing. “You really have no shame, taking selfies in your underwear!”

I always considered myself thick-skinned, but seeing this made my face burn. I hadn’t been taking selfies; the bathroom mirror was broken, and I was using my phone to check for white hairs on my head. After all, with the Curse of the Nine Yin Veins, my life expectancy was less than three years.

Just as I was about to explain, I realized something was off. How had she gotten this footage? I glared at her. “So, you’re into voyeurism?”

She grew flustered, waving her hands. “No way! That’s not my thing.” She seemed about to explain further, but then thought better of it, deciding she owed me nothing.

Then she broke into laughter again, pointing at my boxer-clad self. “So that’s what a man looks like without pants!”

She turned to me suddenly, staring straight into my eyes while munching a huge handful of popcorn—an unrepentant foodie. Popcorn sprayed from her mouth as she went on, “Handsome, you look hilarious without pants. Why not take them off again?”

Startled, I wondered when girls had become so bold. I thought myself shameless at times, but she put me to shame.

Seeing me dumbfounded, she grinned. “Just teasing you. Let’s get down to business.” She thrust the popcorn toward me. “Want some?”

I hastily shook my head, declining the offer, and asked what this was all about. “Why do you have footage of me in the inn?”

She picked up a remote and pressed a few buttons. Soon, a drone—disguised as a coat hanger with a camera—flew in through the window. She fiddled with it as she spoke. “Some things may sound incredible, but they really do exist.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She stopped messing with the drone, looked at me seriously, and said, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

I immediately guessed she was in the same line of work as me, but hid my own identity. “I don’t know,” I replied.

She pursed her lips. “Believe it or not, some things are real. Like the dead fetus you saw, and the baby’s crying.”

A cold chill ran through me. “So you know about the dead fetus. Do you know why it vanished when I brought the innkeeper, even though it was there before?”

“Some things can’t be explained to ordinary people. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.” As she spoke, she pulled a yellow talisman, folded into a triangle, from her pocket and handed it to me. “For the next seven days, don’t let this talisman leave your body. You’ve been tainted by the infant spirit’s energy—this will suppress it. If you lose it, the infant spirit may come for you. After seven days, when the aura fades, you can remove it.”

I glanced at the talisman. Even folded, I recognized it as a Maoshan exorcism charm. My guess was correct—this beauty had connections to Maoshan.

Without hesitation, I accepted it and thanked her. “Are you investigating the dead fetus in that inn? Have you discovered anything? Do you know what it really is?”

She shot me a glare, stuffed another handful of popcorn in her mouth, and replied, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. Knowing too much won’t do you any good. Just keep the talisman, and get out. No need to thank me.”

I hadn’t expected her attitude to shift so abruptly. Still, since she’d made it clear I should leave, I wasn’t about to overstay my welcome, no matter how much I wanted to linger with such a beauty.

As I stepped out, she reminded me once more not to lose the talisman within seven days, or I’d regret it.

Judging by her demeanor, she clearly took me for an ordinary person. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Ordinary? The bizarre things I’ve experienced, she probably couldn’t imagine in a lifetime.

“Hey, beauty, what’s your name? Let’s add—”

“Bai Rushuang.”