Chapter 11: Let Me Have a Taste First, Sister

"Why is Hao Dagen's photo here too?"
"Of course it's because he's dead. But he ran off a long time ago and still hasn't been caught."

Gou Liang immediately pressed further.
"How did he die?"

Sister Ye shrugged, unwilling to say more.
"I'm just the manager of this building for the underworld. How could I know what happens in the world of the living? You can investigate that yourself."

Hearing this, Gou Liang could only turn and head into the building. He stopped in front of Room 107 and knocked lightly. There was no answer. He knocked again several times, but still, nothing.

Could Shi Linlin not be inside? Seeing that the door was ajar, Gou Liang gently pushed it open.

Inside, it was pitch black—so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Gou Liang didn't dare step in. He stood at the doorway, reached inside, and felt along the wall for the light switch.

Suddenly his scalp prickled, his whole body tensed, and it felt as if something had licked his hand—a tongue! Terrified, he yanked his hand back, goosebumps rising all over, the hair on his arms standing straight up.

"Who's there? What do you want?" Gou Liang shouted.

Still no response from within. Gou Liang instinctively raised his hand to his nose and sniffed the spot where he'd been licked. He couldn't detect any strange smell.

Was his mind simply too on edge, creating hallucinations?

Following the prompt in his mind, Gou Liang summoned his rune.

The red talisman coalesced in his hand, transforming into a great fire hook over a foot long. Gou Liang couldn't help but feel amused—this artifact looked just like a butcher's hook. Was he supposed to catch ghosts by the mouth and drag them away like pigs to slaughter?

With the fire hook in his grasp, his courage returned. He strode directly into the room and turned on the light.

Click.

Standing beneath the light was a young woman—it was Shi Linlin herself. She looked eighteen or nineteen, with features that could be called attractive, delicate brows slightly knit in a painterly face, though her complexion was pale. Her face was weary, a lollipop between her lips, the remnants of nude lipstick lingering on her mouth. Her wine-red hair, faded somewhat, was tied in a ponytail. She wore a white T-shirt and a pair of torn blue denim shorts, her slender white legs covered in black fishnet stockings.

On her feet were white canvas sneakers, completing an image straight out of a hair salon.

When she saw Gou Liang, a trace of shock and fear flickered across her face. Then, her cheeks dimpled in a shy, bashful smile, her delicate brows lightly furrowing. In a weak, soft voice, she spoke:

"Brother, what are you doing? I haven't offended you, have I? Could you put that crooked thing away first? It's scary—I'm easily frightened."

Gou Liang snorted inwardly.

Humph, if it weren't for this crooked weapon keeping you in check, I'm afraid licking my hand wouldn't have been the end of it.

He glanced at the fire hook in his hand. He couldn't help but complain silently—these first-tier artifacts all look so improper. Couldn't it at least be a straight fire lance? Why make it crooked like a butcher's hook? Maybe once he advanced to a second-tier orange talisman healer, it would straighten out and become a magnificent orange fire lance. That would be awe-inspiring—enough to make mischief-loving female ghosts tremble and male ghosts flee.

Shi Linlin's gaze flickered, her eyes hinting at affection as she spoke in a gentle, melodious tone:

"Brother, what brings you here? Do you want me to wash your hair for you?"

Gou Liang shook his head and explained his purpose. Shi Linlin stuck out her tongue and licked her lips; the tip of her tongue could easily reach her nose.

"An exchange of equal value: if you want this information, you have to let me have a sip."

At once, a message surfaced in Gou Liang's mind—if he let her take a sip of his yang energy, the power of his red talisman would take a full day to recover.

Well, what's the loss of a day's power? That's nothing—this deal was worth making.

What he failed to consider was that even the loss of his power for a single second could prove fatal at this stage.

No helping it—newbies are always inexperienced; lessons are learned in blood.

When Gou Liang agreed, Shi Linlin practically burst with excitement. She had planned to play the shy lady, but her eagerness got the better of her.

"No taking first, talking later," Gou Liang insisted. He'd had nine years of compulsory education, after all; he wasn't about to pay up before receiving his goods. Who knew if, after taking her fill, Shi Linlin would just feed him some nonsense?

Seeing Gou Liang's firm, unyielding expression, Shi Linlin gave a seductive smile and nodded in agreement.

She then opened an old-fashioned phonograph, and lilting, melodious tunes drifted out.

"Brother, can't we make it a little more romantic? Let's not just talk—let's dance as we talk."

Clearly, Shi Linlin found it lonely here alone. As a healer, he ought to comfort every soul with dignity and grace.

So, the two of them danced together—though the music made Gou Liang feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Still, being close to Shi Linlin was not unpleasant; her faint, sweet breath intoxicated the senses.

Looking down at Shi Linlin, with her pale, delicate face and eyes as deep as a pool, Gou Liang couldn't help but sigh for the fleetingness of life—at the bloom of youth, already faded into a wisp of fragrant soul.

So it is with life—pluck the blossom while you may; do not wait until there are no flowers, grasping only empty branches.

For Shi Linlin, dancing with a healer was a rare honor.

As they danced, she began to relate the story of Zhang Zhihan's obsession.

She explained that Zhang Zhihan wanted Hao Dagen to seize all of Wang Xinyao's wealth and then ruthlessly cast her aside.

This was clearly the obsession of a mistress.

It seemed that the one to deal with after leaving here would be Hao Dagen.

Yet Gou Liang knew little about Hao Dagen.

Unexpectedly, Shi Linlin knew Hao Dagen's story inside and out and told Gou Liang all about him and Wang Xinyao.

Hao Dagen was several years younger than Wang Xinyao. When he first entered society, he was a rideshare driver.

On Valentine's night, Wang Xinyao caught her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Devastated, she drank heavily and consumed things she shouldn't have. Out of control, she eventually called a car to take her home.

It happened to be Hao Dagen who picked her up. Shi Linlin lost control in the car and asked Hao Dagen to take her to a hotel, using him as an emergency escape.

One thing led to another, and Wang Xiaomeng was conceived in that single encounter.

When Wang Xiaomeng was still just a sprout in her mother's belly, she caused no trouble at all—no morning sickness, no confusion or nausea.

By the time Wang Xinyao's belly showed, it was already four months. Moved by motherly love, she couldn't bear to terminate this well-behaved little one.

For the sake of her child and the Wang family's reputation, she reluctantly accepted Hao Dagen as a live-in son-in-law.

Though he became Wang Xinyao's husband in name and law, Hao Dagen was treated worse than a dog, kept in a separate bed for years.

A life without marital relations, without the nourishment of love, inevitably bred loneliness. Naturally, Hao Dagen sought warmth elsewhere.

If that coward had, after their marriage, asserted himself just once—forced her to get used to him—perhaps life would have become bearable.

But he remained a coward to the end, never able to stand tall before Wang Xinyao.

Even his own daughter, Wang Xiaomeng, bore Wang Xinyao's surname.

After hearing all this, Gou Liang was deeply disappointed.

To expect such a spineless man to swallow Wang Xinyao's fortune was pure fantasy—an obsession with no solution.