Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Exploring the Old House

For the current Gao Tian, killing a gangster was as easy as crushing an ant. After conveniently taking over the man’s underlings and resources, the real business of the night was only just beginning.

Ghosts were far more terrifying than any gang.

Gao Tian checked Zhao Qiang’s body and, while he was at it, swiped his phone.

He needed to go through the call logs again to erase all traces of his contact with him.

Of course, he had already taken the phone’s password.

A few of the lackeys pulled shovels from the back of the SUV. Huffing and puffing, they dug a large pit and unceremoniously dumped the faceless Zhao Qiang inside. As they started to fill the hole, they thought they were burying Zhao Qiang’s old classmate. No one suspected that the "Zhao Qiang" standing beside them, supervising the work, had long since been replaced.

After about twenty minutes of bustling around, they finally had the scene cleaned up. The men tossed the shovels into the back of the vehicle and prepared to leave. Gao Tian stopped them with a cold voice:

"What’s the rush? You in a hurry to get home and get reincarnated?

"Have you forgotten why we came here today? That old house belonging to Xu Yuan—aren’t we going to go in and loot it? You even brought the big bolt cutters for the lock."

Skinny Monkey looked at "Zhao Qiang," a little surprised.

"The guy’s been taken care of. Why are we still going to that old house?

"Boss, didn’t you say we could leave after we killed the guy? The one who wanted to see the house is already six feet under. Who are we doing this for, the ghosts?"

Gao Tian swung his hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"I said we’re going to take a look, so we’re going to take a look. What’s with all the damn chatter?"

This was exactly how the real Zhao Qiang spoke to his men. He was erratic, often acting on a whim. His underlings were long used to his explosive temper.

The slapped Skinny Monkey mumbled a few words but didn’t dare to fight back, terrified he’d become the next roommate of the guy in the ground. Gazing at the dilapidated, three-story, single-family house in the distance, Gao Tian smiled.

"My old classmate here, he really knew how to pick a spot.

"Word is, this house was where some corrupt big shot stashed his money. A whole jar of gold bars is buried here. The owner had an... accident and never came back. Otherwise, why do you think I’d drag him out here in the middle of the night, all the way to this godforsaken place? If I just wanted to kill him, there are plenty of empty fields for that."

’These lackeys don’t know a thing anyway,’ Gao Tian thought. ’And with my Memory Ghost ability, I can make up whatever I want. All I need is an excuse to order them around.’

Under "Zhao Qiang’s" tyranny, few dared to resist. Plus, at the mention of gold bars, everyone’s eyes lit up with greed.

Just then, someone grabbed the huge bolt cutters from the SUV. The group walked up to the dilapidated white house. With a SNAP, they cut the thoroughly rusted chain on the gate, and it fell to the ground.

SCREEE...

Freed from the chain’s support, the two iron gates of the courtyard in front of the white house drifted slightly inward on a light breeze, their completely rusted hinges letting out an agonized groan.

From the outside, the yard of the white house was pitch-black and overgrown with weeds. Nothing could be seen clearly. This was Xu Yuan’s old home, after all. In life, he was a Ghost Hunter; in death, he became a ghost. Even a forum post he made seven years ago carried a supernatural power. No one could be sure what kind of filthy things might be hiding in the uninhabited house.

Although Gao Tian had never used his Ghost Card, which could resurrect him at least five or six times, he believed in saving his best tools for when they were truly needed. He had no desire to waste his supernatural items in a place like this.

’I’ll just use Zhao Qiang’s lackeys as sacrificial pawns,’ he thought. ’Throw them in and see if they trigger some powerful ghost’s killing pattern.’

"Skinny Monkey, San Hu, you two go first. Circle the yard and see if there’s any movement. If it’s clear, the rest of us will go in."

San Hu, being the simpler of the two, let out a dopey laugh. He thought the boss was showing him favor by letting him go first. He was completely unaware that in his boss’s eyes, he was already cannon fodder. Without any suspicion, he and Skinny Monkey pushed open the iron gates, one after the other, and walked inside.

Gao Tian waited outside for about five minutes. The iron gates swayed again with a SCREECH. San Hu and Skinny Monkey came out.

"Boss, we circled the yard. Nothing there but a bunch of weeds and some furniture that looks like it’s been sitting there for years.

"But I did see something... behind a window on the second floor. Looked like a shadow moving. Scared the hell out of me. I thought maybe someone was still living in this house that’s been abandoned for decades... I almost drew my gun."

San Hu honestly reported everything he’d seen in the yard. As he mentioned the shadow on the second floor, Skinny Monkey kicked him hard in the ass from behind.

"You lazy fuck, what shadow? I told you, you were just seeing things.

"Nobody’s lived in this house for decades. The water and power have been cut off the whole time. How could anyone be on the second floor? You can’t even find a supermarket within ten kilometers. Someone’s living here? Seriously?

"I think you’re just looking for an excuse to go home."

’San Hu said he saw a shadow moving on the second floor?’

’The white house has three floors, each with several dust-covered windows that give a rough view of the inside. Above the third floor is a small attic for storing junk. It has no windows, so it would be hard for anyone to hide there.’

’Xu Yuan’s parents are dead. His master is dead. He himself died in Shanghai. If there’s something alive in the white house right now, who could it be?’

’Could it be a homeless person from around here, who climbed over the wall and is using this abandoned house as a temporary shelter?’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’No, that’s not right either. There are plenty of other houses around here with their doors wide open. Why would a homeless person ignore those and instead pick the one that’s locked up tight, forcing them to climb a wall and break in?’

’If it’s not a homeless person, could it be some man-shaped object on the second floor? Like a coat hanging on a rack that got knocked over by the wind?’

’This house has been empty for years. Anything that could fall over would have fallen over long ago. Why would it happen to fall right when San Hu went inside?’

’There might really be some filthy thing guarding this place. That would fit Xu Yuan’s style.’

But he had come prepared. First, he had all these thugs like San Hu and Skinny Monkey to use as cannon fodder—it would be a waste not to. Second, in the worst-case scenario, he could just activate his black card and leave. Even if he triggered some instant-death rule and died right here in the white house, his Ghost Card would resurrect him on the spot.

Gao Tian had plenty of backup plans. Whatever was in the white house, it was worth the risk to investigate.

He immediately gave his orders to the lackeys:

"Let’s go. Pair up and get inside. First, pry open the main door on the ground floor, then we’ll search it level by level. That big jar of gold bars isn’t going to grow legs and walk away.

"Whoever finds the jar gets an extra gold bar. And even if you don’t find it, as long as you follow my orders tonight, you’ll get at least half a bar."

Hearing that money was on the line, the men’s motivation picked up a little. The white house looked even more sinister and foreboding in the dark, but that couldn’t overcome their enthusiasm for getting rich.

In total, Zhao Qiang had brought seven men. The leaders, San Hu and Skinny Monkey, went in first. At the ground-floor entrance, they used the same bolt cutters to easily snap the door latch. As they pushed the door open, the foul stench of a long-unoccupied space washed over them. A few of them coughed, then switched on their flashlights and continued into the darkness.

The place had clearly been uninhabited for a long time. The furniture on the first floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling. A dark shape flashed in the distance—a mouse or a gecko scurrying by.

The seven gangsters turned the first floor upside down, rummaging through and wrecking everything. They made a huge racket for a while, a flurry of chaotic activity. Not only did they fail to find the nonexistent jar of gold, but they didn’t turn up a single useful item.

There were only a few stacks of thirty-year-old newspapers and some boxes of old clothes—none of which was what Gao Tian was looking for.

But in a way, his goal had already been achieved. Seven burly men had just ransacked the first floor of the white house, making a huge commotion. If there were any ghost’s killing pattern here, it would have been triggered by now.

The fact that no one was hurt meant the first floor was relatively safe.

"Goddammit, can you stop laughing?"

A burly man named Grey Wolf suddenly flew into a rage and, for no apparent reason, swung a backhand fist at San Hu.

San Hu, completely baffled by the attack, staggered for a moment before his own anger flared. He lunged at Grey Wolf. The two big men started trading punches, grappling and swearing at each other. The others rushed forward, and with great effort, managed to pull the two enraged madmen apart.

San Hu was pinned to one side, panting and cursing:

"Is that son of a bitch crazy? I didn’t make a damn sound, and he tells me to stop laughing. Laughing? I’ll laugh at your mom!"

Grey Wolf’s shirt was half-torn, revealing the bulging muscles underneath. He too was pulled aside, still yelling at San Hu:

"You were the only one next to me! If it wasn’t you laughing, who was it? This damn place is creepy enough, and you’ve been giggling weirdly since we came in. You like laughing so much, I’ll send you to the crematorium, you bastard!"

Suddenly, as if by some strange, unspoken agreement, everyone in the room stopped talking.

Grey Wolf slowly raised his head and realized with a shock that San Hu, across from him, was still panting heavily, but the light, giggling sound had never stopped. In fact, it was still echoing intermittently.

He realized he’d made a stupid mistake. San Hu had been right next to him, but the bizarre laughter he’d heard didn’t necessarily come from him. After all, how could a big, burly guy like that make the delicate giggle of a young woman?

The men slowly turned. The giggling was coming from the second floor.

’There really is someone upstairs?’

At the same time, Gao Tian, who had witnessed the whole thing, knew. Xu Yuan had indeed set a trap for him in his old home.

"Take the safeties off all your guns.

"Grey Wolf, Crocodile, you two, go up to the second floor and take a look.

"The rest of you, stay down here and wait for orders."