TL: This chapter is long so it will be divided by 3.
Lu Ji heard a chilling scream coming from the bathroom, and his heart tightened. He rushed over, knocking on the door, and called out, “Sister Gu, what’s going on? Are you alright?”
Gu Jiu’s voice came from inside, “I’m fine. Come in.”
Lu Ji paused, a little unsure, and asked, “You want me to come in?”
“Get in here!” The lady didn’t waste any words.
With no other choice, Lu Ji turned the door handle and found it unlocked. As he opened the door, a cloud of steam billowed out, accompanied by the scent of body wash. Lu Ji kept his gaze respectful, letting his eyes sweep briefly over the room, but even with a quick glance, he took in the situation clearly.
Despite a fleeting look, the scene left an indelible mark on his mind.
There stood a woman wrapped in a bath towel, her fair skin tinted with a rosy hue, wafting a faint scent of body wash.
Droplets of water slid from her delicate jaw down her slender, graceful neck, disappearing into the towel. The dampened fabric clung to her, emphasizing her tall, slender figure, graceful curves, and alluring charm.
Yet, this sensuous scene was marred by a ghost being dragged out from the mirror.
The ghost’s head was clamped tightly in the grip of the young lady’s fingers, looking like a lifeless dog sprawled on the floor. One of its feet was still stuck in the mirror, and it was wailing pitifully—a pitiful sight from every angle.
Compared to the pitiable ghost, the lady standing there seemed exceptionally fierce, and not even her naturally soft and gentle demeanor could mask her ruthless aggression.
Lu Ji glanced lightly at the ghost clamped beneath her hand, catching in his peripheral vision the sight of the lady wrapped only in a towel, her pale, beautiful shoulder particularly eye-catching.
Silently, he grabbed a bathrobe and draped it over her, covering her entirely so no skin was exposed.
Gu Jiu instinctively turned her head to look at him.
Even though he knew she couldn’t see, meeting those eyes clouded by a gray haze made Lu Ji’s face inexplicably redden.
Not daring to meet her gaze, he forced himself to look at the ghost Gu Jiu had dragged from the mirror. Noticing it was a male ghost, the darkness in his black eyes deepened as he spoke in a cold voice, “Were you peeping at her in the shower?”
The ghost, still wailing, quickly replied, “No! No! I swear I wasn’t looking! I just wanted to play a little joke!”
The ghost had a feeling that if he told the truth, his eyes would surely be gouged out. This woman was absolutely terrifying; her grip on his head was like an iron clamp, making it impossible for him to move even an inch, and causing his ghostly form to feel an intense pain.
Since becoming a ghost, he hadn’t experienced such excruciating pain, one that made his spirit tremble.
“Hmm, he really didn’t get a chance to spy on me. If he had, I’d have already crushed his head,” Gu Jiu said in a mild tone. “But he did take my glasses and refused to return them.”
Immediately, the ghost respectfully held out her glasses with both hands, saying, “Here are your glasses. I’m returning them.”
Gu Jiu, unable to see, remained motionless.
Lu Ji reached out, took the glasses, and helped her put them on.
Being taller than Gu Jiu, Lu Ji instinctively leaned closer as he put on the glasses, inevitably catching the scent of her freshly showered fragrance and her unique aura. His face turned even redder.
Afraid of being caught, Lu Ji quickly took a step back.
The world became clear again as Gu Jiu looked at the ghost clamped beneath her hand. His face was deathly pale, his rigid features marred by five bloody marks from her nails, yet he was still wailing loudly—a clear sign of a ghost.
Gu Jiu finally released her grip, casually saying, “Don’t even think about running. If I’m in a bad mood, I might just tear you apart. Do you believe that?”
The ghost, who had been planning to escape, hesitated.
Seeing the ghost obediently cower in place, Gu Jiu nodded with satisfaction and began her interrogation.
“Where did you come from? How did you end up here? How many other ghosts like you are in this villa?”
The male ghost said, “Ever since I became aware, I’ve always been in this villa. I’m a ghost who died in a mirror and can appear wherever there’s a mirror. Besides me, there are five other ghosts in the villa.”
“Six ghosts in total?” Gu Jiu immediately thought of the six locked rooms, “So does each of you have a room?”
The ghost nodded, “Yes, these rooms are our territories. Without our permission, no one can enter.”
Gu Jiu smiled slightly, “Very well. From now on, your room is mine! Which room is yours?”
The male ghost wanted to refuse, but seeing the young lady casually wiping her fingers, he dared not. In a feeble voice, he replied, “The room right next to yours.”
The reason he had chosen to peek was precisely because his room was the closest. Had he known how fierce this woman was, he wouldn’t have dared.
The young lady, unfazed by the thought of taking over someone else’s room, continued washing her hands and asked, “Now, tell me about the other ghosts.”
The male ghost, too frightened to resist, obediently explained the situation of the other five ghosts one by one.
After understanding the general situation, Gu Jiu asked, “What do you know about this villa?”
The ghost’s blood-red eyes darted at her, hesitant to speak.
Gu Jiu finally finished washing her hands and glanced at him. “Stop being so hesitant. Are you a man or not?”
The ghost wanted to say that he wasn’t exactly a man anymore, just a male ghost. But he dared not joke with her, fearing that this fierce lady would actually demonstrate her skills at ripping ghosts apart.
After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “This villa is a cage for pets. Every so often, a new batch of pets is brought here…”
Gu Jiu quickly caught on, “By pets, you mean us players, right? And then?”
The ghost replied fearfully, “Someone comes periodically to check the pets’ well-being. If a pet isn’t ‘healthy,’ they are responsible for… removing it.”
“What do you mean by an ‘unhealthy pet’?” Gu Jiu asked, frowning. Were they really viewed as pets by someone—or something?
The ghost shook his head and pleaded in terror, “Ma’am, Queen—I really can’t say any more!”
Gu Jiu studied him for a moment, then let him go generously, adding a warning, “No more peeking at others in the shower, regardless of whether they’re male or female. If I catch you, I’ll crush your head.”
Her slender, beautiful hand, with pearly-pink nails, looked almost like a piece of art, yet to the ghost, it was nothing less than the scythe of death.
He nodded vigorously, almost swearing an oath to never do such a thing again.
“Alright, off you go.” Gu Jiu waved him away. “If I need you, I expect you to come, no playing deaf.”
The ghost nodded miserably and quickly dove back into the mirror, disappearing.
After he left, Gu Jiu washed her hands again until she finally felt clean.
Seeing her hands dripping wet, Lu Ji handed her a clean towel at the perfect moment and helped dry her hands.
She dried them meticulously, as though handling a work of art.
When her hands were finally dry, Gu Jiu smiled and said, “Thank you, Ah Ji. You’re so kind to me.”
Lu Ji mumbled, “…It’s nothing.”
His ears tinged red once again, and he couldn’t quite explain why he felt compelled to do such things for her.
“Alright, I’m done. Ah Ji, go ahead and take a shower, and after that, let’s get some sleep,” Gu Jiu said, adjusting her glasses and motioning for Lu Ji to take her turn.
After both had showered, they sat on the bed, discussing the information the male ghost had revealed.
“Can we trust what he said?” Lu Ji asked skeptically.
“We can believe most of it.”
Gu Jiu leaned lazily against the bed, her long, fair legs resting on the soft covers. The villa’s temperature was like a blend of autumn and spring—not too cold and not too hot.
“What parts are reliable?”
“The ghosts and the ‘pets’ in the villa are real. As for the identities of those ghosts…” She smiled faintly. “They’re probably here to monitor the ‘pets,’ and maybe, if possible, even replace them.”
Lu Ji pressed his lips together, his expression clearly one of distaste.
Seeing this, Gu Jiu reached out and gently touched her face.
“Don’t worry. If you don’t like it, we won’t let them watch us. We’re only here for seven days. If the final boss shows up, we’ll take care of it.”
Though her tone was gentle, the words had an unmistakable ruthlessness.
Lu Ji recalled the cursed village instance, where the ghostly willow was ultimately burned in a blazing fire, knowing full well Gu Jiu was more than capable of following through.
—
That night was far from peaceful.
Footsteps echoed outside their door, as if a crowd were passing through the hallway.
As long as no one started pounding on the door like the previous night, Gu Jiu didn’t mind. She pulled the covers over her head and rolled over, determined to keep sleeping.
Unable to sleep due to the noise, Lu Ji glanced over at the young lady, who had wrapped herself up like a shrimp, and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
He had assumed Gu Jiu was a pampered lady with high standards for her living conditions, yet, surprisingly, she adapted to certain circumstances better than other players.
Just as Lu Ji was trying to force himself to sleep, a voice filled with rage erupted in the hallway.
“Damn it, enough already! Whoever’s walking around, I’ll saw your legs off!”
With that, the roar was followed by the sound of a chainsaw revving to life. It had a terrifying effect, silencing everything in the corridor and plunging the entire villa into stillness.