Many medical staff were busy tending to the three members of the Ghost Burial Squad, bandaging and treating their wounds. Meanwhile, the three from the Nether Syndicate looked to be in dire straits.
All three were coughing up blood to varying degrees, and even more disturbingly, beads of bright red blood were seeping from their pores, making their skin look terrifying.
“Junior brother, how are you holding up?” The woman from the Nether Syndicate asked. Chen Jun’s face was pale as he coughed uncontrollably, streaks of fresh blood running from the corners of his mouth.
Afterwards, Rachel Lan and I walked out of the haunted house and onto Spring Street, where we got into the car.
“Where do you live? I'll drive you home.”
I told Rachel Lan where my home was, and she drove me back.
“The wound on your neck…”
“It's nothing, just a scratch.”
Looking at Rachel Lan, I could see her mood was bad, her face tense and grim.
Thinking about what happened tonight, I hesitated. If only I had listened to her, none of this trouble would have followed.
At midnight, the car stopped on the main road in front of my apartment building. I thanked her and was about to get out, but Rachel Lan got out too.
"Um, Miss Lan..."
"Can I come up to your place for a bit?"
I let out a surprised sound and turned to look at the apartment building, its windows glowing faintly with scattered lights. But I knew, once I stepped into the courtyard, things wouldn’t be as calm as they seemed from outside.
"It's pretty late tonight, and I have to work tomorrow. Maybe..."
"Just a few minutes. I just want to have a glass of water, is that okay?" From the look in Rachel Lan’s eyes, it was clear she really wanted to go inside my place. I knew she was suspicious of me.
"Um, my... my girlfriend is at home, so it’s not really convenient."
I said awkwardly, but Rachel Lan’s gaze never left the apartment building for a second.
Did she sense something?
"What is it, Miss Lan?"
Rachel Lan started walking up the small slope, step by step.
I hurried to block her path.
"Miss Lan, it's already midnight, you see..."
"Zhang Qingyuan, are you hiding something from me?"
"Huh? No, not at all..."
Rachel Lan stared intently at the apartment building behind me.
Just then, the Spirit Token in Rachel Lan’s pocket began to glow again. She took it out and looked at it.
"Next time, when your girlfriend isn’t home, can I come by for a while?"
"Sure, sure," I nodded quickly.
Rachel Lan finally left. I jogged back into the courtyard. As soon as I stepped inside, the scene changed again—only now it was much brighter in the yard, and not just from the lanterns.
I looked up and saw a crescent moon hanging in the sky. Strangely, the area around the moon was tinged with blood-red.
At that moment, I also noticed that the flowers and plants that had been in the flowerbed were gone, replaced by new plants. I walked over to take a closer look.
It was a strange flower I’d never seen before—six petals, deep black in color, with many slender, needle-like things in the center. I leaned in and sniffed; there was no scent at all.
I reached out and, as soon as I touched the bizarre flower, the whole thing turned into black mist, swirling and slowly dissipating.
"What is this?"
"Brother, it took a lot of effort just to get it to take shape. Don’t touch it again." Yin Choujian’s voice sounded behind me.
I stood up and turned around. He was looking at me with a half-smile.
"By the way, why are those three from the Nether Syndicate coughing up blood, and why are blood beads seeping out of their skin?"
"Haha, that'll be enough to make them suffer for a month or two."
I let out an "oh." Even if I asked Yin Choujian, he didn’t seem willing to reveal the reason.