Apartment Building 2/3
The apartment’s interior matched its old exterior—worn and outdated.
Cracks ran along the walls, and the couch had yellowish stains in a few spots. The place was clearly lived-in, with clothes freshly brought in from the balcony tossed casually on the table.
Li Guodong came back from the kitchen with tea and placed it on the coffee table.
Lu Congxing said, “Thank you,” but neither he nor He Zhouyan reached for their cups.
Huang Xin didn’t seem to mind. She casually ran her fingers through her hair and said, “This building was mostly occupied by elderly folks. Over the years, the ones who could move out did, so there aren’t many families left here.”
She added with a self-deprecating chuckle, “But my husband’s salary is low, and we can’t afford to buy a new place. So, we’ve just stayed in this old apartment. At least it saves us rent money, which we can put toward formula for the baby.”
Being called out in front of outsiders, Li Guodong simply lowered his head and said nothing.
He Zhouyan wasn’t interested in their family matters. He was only here for the main purpose of the visit. Seeing that Huang Xin was about to steer the conversation elsewhere, he interrupted in a calm voice. “Can you show us the tenant you’re suspicious of?”
Huang Xin immediately nodded. “Of course.”
She stood up to lead the way. The suspected tenant lived next door.
They knocked on the door, and a lazy-sounding female voice answered from inside.
Huang Xin explained, “This unit is shared by a couple and a sixteen-year-old girl. They’re renting together.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the door swung open. The person who answered was a girl wearing a spaghetti strap top, her eyeliner a bit heavy. Her eyes immediately locked onto the two handsome men at the door before she finally acknowledged her landlord.
She gave Huang Xin a slight nod before curiously glancing at the other two. “Landlord, what’s up?”
Huang Xin had already prepared an excuse beforehand. She smoothly replied, “These two are interested in renting a place here. They might be your new neighbors, so I brought them over to introduce you.”
Zhou Zijie knew that there was an apartment on the fourth floor that had been vacant for a long time. Hearing this, her curiosity deepened.
She glanced at He Zhouyan, noticing his high-end tailored outfit and the low-key luxury of the watch on his wrist. It was hard to believe that someone like him would come to such a run-down place to rent a room. Still, she warmly welcomed them inside.
After all, who wouldn’t like a handsome guy?
Even if the tall one looked a bit too cold and distant.
Once inside, they spotted another girl sitting on the living room sofa. She looked quite young, matching the sixteen-year-old Huang Xin had mentioned.
The girl seemed shy. After greeting them briefly, she quickly retreated to her room.
Every apartment in this building had the same layout—one living room, two bedrooms, one bathroom, plus a small kitchen and a tiny balcony.
Casually, Huang Xin asked, “Where’s your boyfriend?”
Zhou Zijie replied, “Landlord, don’t you already know? My boyfriend works as a security guard during the day.”
While they chatted, Lu Congxing quietly observed his surroundings. He could sense an unusually strong presence of yin energy in the building, but he couldn’t pinpoint its source. And after meeting the two girls, he didn’t notice any signs of possession on them.
Subtly, Lu Congxing shook his head at Huang Xin, signaling that they should move on to the next place.
Zhou Zijie seemed a little reluctant to see them leave. She playfully winked at Lu Congxing, the one who seemed easier to talk to. “Handsome, if you ever have any questions, feel free to come find me.”
Huang Xin’s expression darkened. She didn’t approve of girls acting like this. “Forget it. Your boyfriend wouldn’t be happy about that.”
Zhou Zijie remained indifferent. “My man isn’t that petty.”
It seemed like this cohabiting couple wasn’t all that close.
That thought lingered in Lu Congxing’s mind for less than two seconds before he moved on to check the next tenant.
The fourth floor had four apartments in total. Aside from 403, which was vacant, all the others were occupied, making it the most populated floor in the building.
Finally, after Huang Xin’s persistent knocking, the door to 404 creaked open. The person inside didn’t even bother checking who it was before snapping, “What the hell is all this noise so early in the morning?”
A strong smell of alcohol filled the air as he exhaled.
When he saw that the person knocking was the landlord, he swallowed back the string of curses that almost slipped out.
Huang Xin frowned. “The first thing you do in the morning is to drink?”
She was a little worried about the state of her property and tried to peek inside past him, but he quickly noticed her intentions.
Zeng Chengping blocked her view entirely with his body, revealing a set of yellowed teeth. “What do you want?”
Huang Xin said, “Nothing much, just here to introduce you to the new tenant.”
She took a step back to give them a better look at each other.
Although Zeng Chengping wasn’t as sharp as Zhou Zijie when it came to recognizing designer brands, he had lived over forty years and could easily tell that He Zhouyan carried an air of prestige. He gave a strange smile. “Bro, what made you rent a place like this?”
Alcohol gave him a bit of courage, and for a moment, he even started sizing He Zhouyan up.
He Zhouyan calmly stuck to the script Huang Xin had set for him and responded indifferently, “Went bankrupt.”
Those three words carried an inexplicable weight.
Lu Congxing’s eyes curved slightly as he stifled a laugh.
Zeng Chengping immediately filled in the blanks in his own mind. “Hiding from debt collectors, huh?”
Otherwise, just selling the clothes he was wearing would be enough to avoid renting a place here for only a few hundred a month.
As soon as he spoke, the heavy smell of alcohol hit them. His unshaven face made him look particularly unkempt.
The strong stench made Lu Congxing wrinkle his nose—a small, cute gesture that didn’t escape He Zhouyan, who had been watching him the whole time.
He pulled the cub slightly behind him. “We’ll get going now.”
Zeng Chengping, still drunk and not in the mood for small talk, slammed the door shut without the slightest courtesy.
Huang Xin rolled her eyes at the door and muttered under her breath, “Useless.”
She turned back to the two of them and lowered her voice. “He’s not possessed by a ghost either, right?”
Lu Congxing shook his head. “Didn’t sense anything unusual.”
She pointed upstairs. “One last tenant to check.”
The fifth floor had only one tenant, and he was the quickest to open the door after hearing the knock. However, upon realizing it wasn’t the food delivery he was expecting, his disappointment was visible.
The tenant was a young man who looked somewhat malnourished. His faded red-dyed hair clashed with the new black roots growing in.
Huang Xin kicked the pile of trash he had left outside his door. “Stop dumping your garbage here! The whole hallway stinks!”
The young man shrank back slightly, looking apologetic. “Don’t be mad, Sister Huang. What’s up? The rent isn’t due for a few more days, right?”
His mouth was quick, calling her “Sister Huang” repeatedly.
But that didn’t improve Huang Xin’s mood. She repeated her usual introduction and gestured to the two people behind her.
Lu Congxing gave him a polite nod. “Hello.”
The young man’s eyes instantly lit up. “Hey, hey! Nice to meet you! I’m Chen Jiatai. Want to go pro in e-sports with me?”
The sudden topic shift caught Lu Congxing off guard for a couple of seconds.
This was the first time he had met someone more socially forward than Di Jiang.
Chen Jiatai was about to say more, but one look from He Zhouyan made him shrink back and withdraw the hand he had extended.
Who is this guy? Why does he look so intimidating?
Lu Congxing spoke slowly, “I don’t play games.”
But he did play casual puzzle games—and he was ranked number one on his friends list.
“That’s fine! You’re good-looking, you could just be a game streamer first!” Chen Jiatai waved his hand nonchalantly, then added self-deprecatingly, “If I had your looks, I’d be famous by now.”
Lu Congxing still didn’t quite get what he meant and tilted his head slightly in confusion.
The only thing certain was that he still couldn’t find any clues about the young man. At the very least, he didn’t seem like someone possessed by a ghost.
The flame on his shoulder was burning quite strongly.
After making a round of the apartment building, Lu Congxing returned to Huang Xin’s home.
In the kitchen, Li Guodong was stir-frying a dish, preparing dinner. Hearing movement, he poked his head out and asked, “Why don’t you just eat at my place tonight?”
The strong smell of oil and smoke filled the air, making Lu Congxing politely shake his head in refusal.
Li Guodong didn’t seem too concerned about whether they had caught the possessed person or not. After being turned down, he simply went back to cooking, focusing on his dish.
He probably still felt that Huang Xin was making a fuss over nothing. He had never seen a ghost in his entire life and didn’t believe in such things.
However, Huang Xin grew even more nervous. “Master, even you can’t tell? Does that mean the ghost is incredibly powerful?”
Lu Congxing hesitated. In truth, he hadn’t sensed any overwhelming ghostly presence in the building, but there was definitely a lingering yin energy.
Something unclean might be hiding here.
This situation reminded him of the time when Ma Fu had borrowed yin energy at Boss Xiang’s house to evade the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
Could it be that a man-eating monster was hiding here as well?
He quickly dismissed the thought—after all, man-eating monsters wouldn’t hand out towels.
The cub tilted his head in thought, looking so adorable that He Zhiyan couldn’t help but watch with amusement for a moment before finally clearing his throat to get his attention.
Lu Congxing suddenly remembered that he had an all-knowing Bai Ze by his side. His eyes lit up as he turned to him. “Do you know what’s hiding in this building?”
“There is indeed someone possessed by a ghost.” He Zhiyan deliberately dragged out his words, satisfied as he saw the cub staring at him with serious eyes.
Leaning in closer to Lu Congxing’s ear, he murmured, “Have you heard of the Northern and Southern Abysses of the demon race?”
Lu Congxing instinctively widened his apricot eyes and lowered his voice like a wary little hamster. “Yes. The Northern Abyss is full of spiritual beings, while the Southern Abyss is filled with evil creatures.”
He Zhiyan chuckled softly. “Smart. In the Southern Abyss, there is a type of plant called Gan Chao grass. It allows malevolent ghosts to seamlessly take over a person’s body—even the most skilled exorcists wouldn’t be able to detect it.”
“I can smell it in this building.”
Their intimacy made Huang Xin feel like an outsider. She wiped the sweat from her hands and feeling as if she had unknowingly swallowed something bitter. Awkwardly, she stood to the side, unsure of where to place herself.
“You mean there’s a ghost in this building that used this plant to take over someone’s body?” Lu Congxing’s round apricot eyes widened in surprise.
He looked so adorable that He Zhouyan’s heart itched with amusement. He nodded noncommittally.
As for who the unlucky victim might be, he couldn’t care less.