Chapter 17.2

He smeared the coin with his blood and, with a flick of his finger, it transformed into a long sword in his hand.

“Five thunders from the five directions, sword come!”

At his command, the copper coins that had previously scattered across the corners of the room flew up. Hundreds of them, sharp as blades, shot directly toward the spirit.

Golden light flickered within the spirit’s body as the coins pierced it, exploding into flashes of brilliance.

The spirit stared at the wounds opening up on its body, where black mist began to seep out. Its expression gradually grew dull.

It glanced back at Zhou Huai’an, who was on high alert, and the smirk vanished from its face. “You… damn it.”

At that same moment, outside the room.

Shen Baozhu looked confident, but Yue Yin chuckled softly, “I think he’s in trouble.”

Back inside, the thin ghost let out a piercing roar. “You ignorant fool! How dare you defy the will of the gods?!”

It grabbed Zhou Huai’an by the throat, lifting him high into the air.

With a sharp clang, the copper coin sword in Zhou Huai’an’s hand shattered into countless fragments, falling to the ground.

The last glimmer of golden light was swallowed by the darkness, leaving only endless shadows.

The force around Zhou Huai’an’s neck tightened. Despair washed over him.

Since childhood, Zhou Huai’an had been chosen by a revered Daoist master for his exceptional talent, a prodigy admired by many.

Yet here, in the face of an A-level malevolent spirit, he had no strength left to resist. Like any ordinary person, all he could do was feebly grasp at the ghost’s hand, desperately clinging to life.

With every passing second, his oxygen supply dwindled, and the world around him became increasingly blurry. Flashes of white light danced in his mind.

In his final moments, Zhou Huai’an caught sight of the ghost’s mocking, regretful expression.

Licking its lips, the ghost said with a hint of frustration, “Your luck’s really bad.”

It seemed Zhou Huai’an wasn’t meant to die this way. Even the ghost wasn’t sure why its master had suddenly ordered it to rough him up instead of finishing him off.

Zhou Huai’an’s mind, gasping for oxygen, had no capacity to ponder the meaning behind those words.

But the ghost didn’t care whether he understood or not. Letting out a high-pitched screech, it extended its arm and hurled him out of the room with tremendous force.

The sound of the ghost’s roar echoed throughout the house.

In the spacious living room, Shen Baozhu froze in shock when she saw the giant, withered hand emerging from Aunt Zhang’s room, clutching Zhou Huai’an in its grip.

As soon as Shen Xiaodi turned his head to see the ghostly hand, Yue Yin quickly kicked him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Shen Xiaodi, bewildered, picked himself up and glared at Yue Yin.

Yue Yin spread her hands, feigning innocence.

Shen Xiaodi looked doubtful. “Did you just kick me?”

Yue Yin widened her eyes. “No, you just tripped.”

Her expression was so sincere that Shen Xiao hesitated, briefly questioning himself.

At that moment, Bai Xiulian emerged from her bedroom and caught sight of the ghostly hand as well.

With a loud “clatter,” the object she was holding fell to the ground, her face turning as pale as a sheet.

When Zhou Huai’an was finally tossed from the first floor, both Bai Xiulian and Shen Baozhu couldn’t contain their panic any longer, and the room erupted with shrill screams.

Shen Xiaodi, still reeling from Yue Yin’s kick, hadn’t even had time to react before the commotion startled him again. Just as he was about to look over, Yue Yin kicked him once more.

Shen Xiaodi, his face pressed into the carpet, gritted his teeth. “Yue Yin, what the hell are you doing?!”

As Shen Xiaodi howled, Shen Baozhu and Bai Xiulian were still recovering from the shock of seeing the grotesque figure and Zhou Huai’an being thrown. They were now locked in a competition to see who could scream the loudest.

Yue Yin scratched her head in exasperation, thinking that it was fortunate the servants weren’t around due to the exorcism being a secret matter. Otherwise, the scene would’ve been even more chaotic.

Shen Baozhu, pale-faced, ran over in tears, calling out, “Huai’an?!”

Shen Xiaodi, having gotten back on his feet, finally saw Zhou Huai’an lying on the ground. Horrified, he jumped up and shouted, “Zhou the skinscrapper is dead! Zhou the skinscrapper is dead!!”

Zhou Huai’an was seriously injured. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have called an ambulance by now. But being a supernatural ability user, he was much tougher than most, and he managed to get back on his feet.

Sitting on the floor, pale-faced, the first thing he said was, “I failed.”

The room went silent.

Turns out, Yue Yin’s annoying mouth was right. Good things don’t happen, but bad things do—Zhou Huai’an had failed at exorcising the spirit.

In that moment, Shen Baozhu shot a subtle look of blame at Yue Yin. She believed that if Yue Yin hadn’t jinxed it, Zhou Huai’an wouldn’t have failed.

Yue Yin noticed her stare and responded, exasperated, “Why are you looking at me?”

What did this have to do with her? She had already warned them that Zhou Huai’an couldn’t handle it, but no one believed her.

Maybe if someone more skilled had come along, she would’ve hesitated. But Zhou Huai’an? He wasn’t much to brag about, even if Shen Baozhu had faith in him.

Yue Yin raised her chin, gesturing toward Zhou Huai’an, and said, “Just look at him, his face is all blue. Clearly, he got beat up pretty badly.”

Zhou Huai’an’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at Yue Yin, fairly certain she was mocking him.

He took a deep breath and explained, “I thought it was a low-level spirit driven by hunger, but I later realized it might be an A-level spirits.”

Out of everyone, only Shen Baozhu truly understood the gravity of an A-level threat. She couldn’t believe it. “A-level?”

“Yes,” Zhou Huai’an’s expression grew grim. “That’s a real possibility.”

He even suspected this was part of some plot against him, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

“I’m worried that if it gets hungry enough, it will devour Aunt Zhang’s flesh and escape, possibly attacking others,” Zhou Huai’an said.

Bai Xiulian turned pale with fear. “What?”

Shen Baozhu, also alarmed, asked, “After Aunt Zhang, it will go after others?”

Zhou Huai’an took a deep breath. “This spirit is extremely strong. I’ll report this to the Paranormal Incident Management Department and have either their team or members of our own Metaphysical Society handle it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “I don’t know why it hasn’t attacked you all yet, but I’d advise against staying here any longer.”

Zhou Huai’an knew well what Shen Baozhu’s constitution implied. She had attracted spirits since childhood, and her grandfather had to switch her protective jade amulet every year to reduce her chances of encountering ghosts.

Amidst the crowd, Yue Yin was munching on sunflower seeds, feeling conflicted. “Is it really that serious?”

The moment she said that, Zhou Huai’an and Shen Baozhu both turned to her.

Yue Yin stood her ground. “It hasn’t attacked us yet, right?”

Ever since Zhou Huai’an became an ability user, he’d always been praised as a gifted prodigy. He had just experienced the most crushing defeat of his life, and the frustration was overwhelming, but with his beloved present, he tried to hold back his anger.

Hearing Yue Yin’s dumb remark, he could no longer contain his fury. “Are you blind?”

With a mocking smile, he sneered, “Did you think I was just playing house with it?”

That spirit had thrown him out of a window from the first floor! If he were a regular person, he’d be dead by now!

Still shaken by the close call, Zhou Huai’an hadn’t fully considered that if the spirit had truly wanted to kill him, it could have torn him apart easily. Instead, it simply tossed him aside—more of a warning than a serious attack.

Yue Yin remained unfazed. “But why didn’t it attack us? Only you. Have you reflected on that?”

Aunt Zhang had brought Yue Yin pain, so Yue Yin wanted her to suffer equally.

Yue Yin had ordered the spirit to stay by Aunt Zhang’s side for a month, to haunt and torment her, making sure she had no escape, living in constant terror. If Aunt Zhang went mad during that time, well, it would just be bad luck.

In Yue Yin’s mind, she saw herself as a very fair deity.

If Zhou Huai’an hadn’t tried to act tough and break the punishment she had set for Aunt Zhang, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

So, she sincerely said to Zhou Huai’an, “Maybe you should reflect on whether the problem is with you?”

Everyone fell silent, staring at Moon Silver as if she were an idiot. Zhou Huai’an’s gaze was venomous—if he hadn’t broken his leg and if Shen Baozhu wasn’t watching, he might’ve exploded with rage.

At this tense moment, Shen Xiaodi suddenly stood up.

He looked at Yue Yin, shouting excitedly, “Yue Yin, you’re a genius!”

Everyone else: …Are these two complete idiots?

No wonder Shen Xiaodi constantly let Yue Yin con him out of his pocket money!

Zhou Huai’an could no longer tolerate it. He let out a cold laugh. “You’re right.”

Scoffing internally at Yue Yin’s stupidity, he maintained a cold demeanor. “Since you and Shen Xiaodi think that spirit won’t attack you, then feel free to stay.”

He didn’t care about them. The only one who mattered to him was Baozhu.

Finally, Bai Xiulian, who had been frozen in fear, snapped out of it. She shouted anxiously, “No! We all have to move out!”

Zhou Huai’an didn’t care, but Bai Xiulian valued her children.

Shen Baozhu naturally listened to Zhou Huai’an’s professional advice and immediately prepared to leave. Bai Xiulian also quickly decided to go.

However, Yue Yin and Shen Xiaodi stubbornly refused to leave, much to Bai Xiulian’s frustration. In the end, she reluctantly left on her own.

Watching his mother’s retreating figure, Shen Xiaodi sighed with melancholy. “It’s just us again.”

It was always like this. Dad was always away, and Mom constantly hovered around his older sister. At home, it was just him and Yue Yin.

A hint of vulnerability, uncommon for his age, flashed across Shen Xiaodi’s youthful face.

He asked, “Yue Yin, is life always this lonely?”

Yue Yin didn’t understand elementary school loneliness. She glanced up at the sky and said, “Wow, the moon looks really round tonight.”

Shen Xiaodi had a serious expression on his face. “Why are our parents like this?”

They constantly abandoned him and Yue Yin. To their mom and dad, their older sister was always the most important.

He didn’t understand much, but he had overheard the housekeeper Zhang talking.