Liu Tie first fell to the floor in shock and then bent over and started vomiting violently.
Ruan Zhan knelt down and grabbed his collar. “Go call the police. Toughen up, act like a man!” He knew the youth had suffered a fright, but this trauma could only be overcome by Liu Tie himself. He needed to help him firm up his mind.
Liu Tie nodded and stood up shakily. His face was pale as paper. He had never seen such a horrifying corpse, and it had even sat up. He would remember that scene for the rest of his life. Was it Tao Xiao Chun? Who caused her to end up in such a tragic state?!
“I think you know what to say to the police, right?” Ruan Zhan asked.
“I…I wanted to show off my motorbike to sis Xiao Xia and brought you guys over. Then, then we found….” He wasn’t able to keep speaking.
“Then go.” Ruan Zhan patted his shoulder comfortingly and watched him run off in a panic. He then turned back and examined the corpse.
She was still sitting upright, the angle weird and strained from rigor mortis. A red rope was tied around her neck, the other end connected to the door handle. Both feet were held firmly in place. This was why she had seemed to sit up when the door was opened.
The situation had been too abrupt and he had truly suffered a fright as well. However, what came after was only anger. Because of Bloody Mary’s mischief, his usually unstirred heart was rather irritated, giving birth to a desire to defeat her and drive her off.
It was just revenge for breaking the contract. Was there a need to make it so elaborate and so perverse?
The degree of decomposition made the corpse emit an intense stink. It also made it impossible to directly determine the cause of death. He covered his nose and mouth, wanting to walk to the other side to see if there were any clues. However, his heart tightened at a glance.
On the dusty car, that beautiful handprint had vanished.
“Ruan Zhan?” Xiao Xia’s soft voice contained terror. It was clear she had an idea of the situation. “Ruan Zhan?” She called out to him.
Ruan Zhan hurriedly stepped out from behind the car. “I’m here, don’t come over!”
Xiao Xia nodded in bewilderment. The smell of the corpse drifted over and made her retch. She wanted to hurriedly leave with Ruan Zhan, but suddenly noticed the small box next to the bike.
“That must be the carburetor or whatever, right? Tao Xiao Chun’s parting gift to Liu Tie!” The bike was very close to the doors and she walked over to pick up the box.
She now understood why Tao Xiao Chun met with mishap.
The girl naturally knew the conditions required for Bloody Mary to appear: a mirror, someone by themselves and an enclosed space. However, those who committed wrongs would always have a guilty conscience, and those who were panicked would make mistakes. Therefore, she ended up forfeiting her own life.
Xiao Xia actually didn’t have enough proof to bring her in, but she had still decided to run away. She could have come to this remote location during the day without being noticed, but she chose to come at night because she was afraid of being spotted. She thought it would be fine since there were no mirrors, but didn’t think Liu Tie had already fixed up most of the bike, including the rearview mirrors. This place was remote enough to count as an enclosed space even with the doors opened. Therefore, the conditions had all been met, and what awaited her was Bloody Mary’s revenge.
“Why are you taking that box?” Ruan Zhan walked over and asked.
“I’m afraid leaving it behind would implicate Liu Tie. It’s not a relevant piece of evidence in any case.” Xiao Xia opened the box as she spoke. She wanted to see what the carburetor looked like.
There were two rolling things inside the box. It was a fresh pair of bloodied eyeballs!
Xiao Xia screamed and threw the box to the floor. The pair of eyeballs fell out and rolled around on the floor in a weird arc before returning to their original spot by the bike. However, they seemed to be watching them mockingly!
Ruan Zhan supported Xiao Xia in time before she stumbled to the floor and swiftly carried her out of the garage to bathe in the sunlight. Then, he returned to the garage holding a discarded component. “A provocation?” He raised his chin and said haughtily to the abnormally bright and reflective mirrors. “I, Ruan Zhan, will play along until the end!”
His raised his hand and struck, the two mirrors shattering to pieces. The eyeballs on the floor also withered swiftly.
They would never stare brazenly again!
After dealing with the police’s questioning, it was already evening. Along with Liu Tie’s unstable state, they could only close the bar for a night. Xiao Xia sat sideways next to a table, unable to swallow her dinner.
“You should eat a little at least. The opportunity is hard to come by.” He had personally cooked this meal. No woman had ever enjoyed such treatment. She was once again the exception.
Xiao Xia forced herself to eat a bite and realized it tasted very good. However, she couldn’t forget Liu Tie’s pale and terrified face. She couldn’t forget what she had personally seen, making the tasty food lose its flavor.
“I feel like we’re being attacked from both sides.” Xiao Xia said dejectedly. “Those three female ghosts’ threats on one side and Bloody Mary’s provocation on the other. What should we do?”
This was definitely a problem!
Ruan Zhan put his chopsticks down. Based on the vanishing handprint and the seemingly controlled eyeballs today, it was clear Bloody Mary was more powerful than he had thought. However, he had to banish it. Not for anything else, but because its disdainful attitude had truly angered him. Evil spirits harmed others for revenge, due to resentment, to cultivate their evil magic, and some to use the tragedy of others to heal the hurt in their own hearts. However, Bloody Mary was clearly doing it for fun. Merely for its own amusement.
It couldn’t be forgiven for causing chaos in the human realm for the sake of its amusement. This was the case before, but now even more so. He had failed once before during college. This time, failure was not an option.
However, there were many obstacles ahead. What if the three vengeful female ghosts stirred up trouble while he was dealing with Bloody Mary? Based on the current situation, the outcome of a confrontation with this foreign evil spirit was uncertain. He wouldn’t have time to worry about anything else. Even if he set up a boundary, the female ghosts may be able to break in if the battle dragged on. Who could he ask for help? Clearly not Xiao Xia. Wan Li, who could have helped, wasn’t back yet! Furthermore, even if he could handle both sides at once, saving Tao Xiao Chun’s spirit from the hands of Bloody Mary was another problem. He had tried the spirit capturing technique already, but it was clear he wasn’t familiar enough with it. Looks like he had to do some training. Last, and most importantly, Bloody Mary was hidden. How were they to draw it out for an open battle?
From start to finish, it only appeared to women. He was a man through and through. This meant that even if he locked himself in a dark room and stared into a mirror the entire night, it wouldn’t pay him any mind. Try to rile it up? It wasn’t likely to work. The events with Zhang Xue and Tao Xiao Chun clearly showed it was very intelligent. It provoked them but didn’t face them head on. It would only lie in ambush, waiting for them to let their guards down before it struck.
He wasn’t scared of a fight. Even if victory wasn’t assured, he wouldn’t blink an eye. But if Bloody Mary had the initiative, he needed someone to help draw his opponent out!
“What are you thinking?” Xiao Xia asked puzzled as she saw him remain silent. “Coming up with solutions?”
“Bait!” Ruan Zhan looked at Xiao Xia. “I need bait.”
“Bait?”
“That’s right. To help me draw Bloody Mary out so I can face her head on.”
Why was he looking at her like that? Could it be…?
“You want me to be bait?” Xiao Xia was a little scared of this plan.
Ruan Zhan hesitated for a bit and shook his head. “That’s not what I’m thinking. Pretend I didn’t say anything. Let’s eat first.”
It wasn’t a good idea! Although it was the only thing he could come up with at the moment, it was too dangerous. Xiao Xia’s birth was inauspicious and she had gotten repeatedly frightened from ghosts recently. It didn’t make her any braver and her yang energy had weakened. Sending her in such a state to the sinister, perverse Bloody Mary was the same as sending her to die.
“If that’s the only option, I’ll do it!” Xiao Xia suddenly said decisively.
Ruan Zhan looked at her face which had already turned pale just talking about it. He didn’t know how he should describe this lady with contradictory characteristics. Was she timid or brave? Rash or sensitive? Annoying or cute? He looked at her displaying her weak yet unyielding attitude and felt a sort of tenderness well up from the depths of his heart. He really wanted to protect her, not letting her come to any harm.
“I already said it’s not a good idea. I’ll have to reconsider.”
“But I know only a woman can draw Bloody Mary out. We also can’t reveal your secret to anyone, so I’m the only one who can do this.”
“Aren’t you scared? People might die.”
“Of course I’m scared! I’m scared to death!” Xiao Xia honestly admitted. “But I was once again the one who pulled you into this matter. It’s so powerful and I know you’ll be in danger too. How can I not get involved? It wouldn’t be fair!”
“I don’t need fairness. I just need you to give me some peace in the future.”
“Ruan Zhan! I’m being serious!”
“I’m very serious.” He patted her small hands which were clenched into fists. “Patience. Haste makes waste. Give me some time to consider things further. The plan must be airtight. Based on Bloody Mary’s cunning, it must be dealt with in one go. Otherwise, it would be far too difficult once it’s on guard. It would also wildly take revenge. Therefore, we have to consider everything without making any mistakes.”
“But I can’t think of any options for the bait. I can also help you. We’ll tag team it. Otherwise, if you recruit or trick another girl into doing this, your secret will be exposed and it’s also too immoral!”
“Help me? Tag team?” A thought suddenly flashed through Ruan Zhan’s mind.
“Of course. Didn’t I help you with Li Jing Ming’s matter last time?” Xiao Xia emphasized to cover her insecurity. “Don’t look down on others. I saved your life!” Although she was very scared, she still chose not to run. She couldn’t let him face danger alone for the sake of her matter. Therefore, she had to overcome her fear no matter what.
“That’s right. I’m very grateful.” Ruan Zhan’s lips curled. “I’m not denying your great importance. I’m just saying we should consider it some more. You should know that the school is filled with police due to Tao Xiao Chun’s matter. It won’t be easy for us to sneak in. Bloody Mary will also behave for a few days. Isn’t it better if we planned carefully during this time, little bait?”
“Don’t call me that. Makes me feel like I’ll get bitten to death.” She involuntarily shivered.
“I won’t let you get bitten to death.”
“You promise?”
“I promise!”
