Chapter 9: My Husband Won't Be Coming Home Tonight

The atmosphere instantly turned even more intimate; if someone were to walk in at that moment, they would surely think that something had just happened between the two. Wang Xinyao glanced at the quartz clock on the wall—there was still an hour left before midnight.

Her cheeks flushed, her gaze dreamy, she parted her lips softly.
“Gou Liang, I often have nightmares, too. I feel so uncomfortable. Could you help me drive away the evil spirits as well?”

“Of course,” Gou Liang replied. He approached Wang Xinyao and sat down beside her with the calm professionalism of a doctor treating a patient, beginning the ritual to dispel the evil energy from her body.

He started with her palms, then moved to the soles of her feet. Wang Xinyao knew that to massage her feet, she would have to take off her stockings. She lifted herself, intending to remove them, but hesitated and lay back down. Her bright, watery eyes shimmered with a hint of shyness and mischief, betraying a girlish playfulness.

“Gou Liang, could you help me with them?”

As Gou Liang massaged her palms, he noticed that Wang Xinyao was perfectly clean—there were no signs of any evil presence. But since she was his employer, he couldn’t refuse such a small request. He might as well help her relax; after all, she had just been through such a traumatic ordeal and truly needed to unwind.

When he reached the yang seam at her chest, Wang Xinyao suddenly reached out her delicate hand, grasping Gou Liang’s. Her eyes grew unfocused, her long, thick lashes trembled uncontrollably, and her sweet, sultry voice, tinged with pleading, was alluring to the core.

“Gou Liang, there’s something I need to ask you. Will you promise me?”

“Just tell me, since you consider me one of your own. Whatever you ask—one thing or a hundred—I’ll say yes.” Faced with such a powerful, high-status woman begging in such a tender manner, how could he refuse?

“Now that you’ve said that, I can rest easy. There’s an old saying: family shame should not be aired in public. I only tell you this because I treat you as one of my own. Actually, the girl in the photo is my husband’s lover. As for how she died, I have no idea. But whatever you discover, just keep it to yourself. Don’t tell anyone, all right?”

Hearing this, Gou Liang felt as if a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his heart. He never expected Zhang Zhihan to be her husband’s mistress.

He remembered the photograph of the man on the wall—a handsome, gentle-faced middle-aged man. Any ordinary young woman would be powerless before such a man.

“All right, I promise you.” Gou Liang felt wretched inside, as though he’d been made a fool of. His instincts told him there were many dark secrets beneath the surface.

How had Zhang Zhihan really died? Why had her spirit latched onto Wang Xiaomeng? There is no love or hate without reason in this world; Zhang Zhihan must have died unjustly, her obsession refusing to let go.

Gou Liang resolved secretly to get to the bottom of it and seek justice for Zhang Zhihan.

Wang Xinyao rose and gave Gou Liang a warm, lingering embrace.

Only then did Gou Liang fully understand why this formidable woman had shown him such favor. If Wang Xinyao had been the one to harm Zhang Zhihan, he would never forgive her.

Wang Xinyao clung to him, refusing to let go, her breath hot against his ear as she whispered,
“My husband won’t be coming home tonight. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
It was obvious what she wanted—a night together, hoping to win Gou Liang over to her side.

If not for Zhang Zhihan standing between them, perhaps Gou Liang would have succumbed to Wang Xinyao’s seductive charm and allure. But the thought that she might be responsible for Zhang Zhihan’s death left him cold and disinterested.

Wang Xinyao, for her part, was surprised and disappointed by Gou Liang’s lack of response. She even suspected he might be suffering from some professional malady—could it be that healers were immune to the charms of women?

As midnight approached, Gou Liang followed Wang Xinyao into the bedroom.

A small detail suddenly caught his attention: he had never seen a wedding photo of Wang Xinyao and her husband, only individual portraits. The bedroom displayed only Wang Xinyao’s photos—not even one of her husband.

Gou Liang went alone into the bathroom. Checking the time, he saw there were ten minutes left until midnight. He dialed Zhang Zhihan’s number.

“Zhihan, I still have some matters to deal with here. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done.”

“I thought you promised to come back? Why aren’t you coming now?” Zhang Zhihan pouted, disappointment and worry thick in her voice over the phone.
“I’ve already cooked dinner and I’ve been waiting for you. How can you just decide not to come? Are you never coming back?”
Hearing her so anxious and concerned, Gou Liang’s heart ached with longing—he wished he could rush back immediately, to sit close with Zhang Zhihan, cherishing every moment together, whether she was ghost or human.

“Don’t worry, I really do have something to finish here. I’ll come back as soon as I can. How could I bear not to return?”

“All right, I believe you. Hurry back when you’re done—there’s a reward for you.”

Gou Liang’s heart skipped.

“What kind of reward?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Is it sharing spicy hotpot with me?”

“Dream on,” she teased.

“Then can I climb the mountain?”

“If you want to climb, go ahead. Why should I stop you?” Zhang Zhihan replied lightly, then realized something was off. She quickly asked, “What mountain do you want to climb?”

Gou Liang chuckled to himself—Zhang Zhihan was truly innocent; she didn’t seem like a mistress at all.

“I’ll tell you when I get back. Anyway, you already agreed, so no backing out.”

Suddenly, Zhang Zhihan seemed to understand.

“You’re awful, saying such shameless things,” she said, pausing, but in the end she gave in shyly. She’d already given him her first kiss; what did it matter if she gave more?

“All right then, if you’re not afraid of being tired, you can climb it once. But come back early, okay?”

Gou Liang was so excited he nearly had a nosebleed, wishing he could sprout wings and fly back at once.

“Zhihan, you promised—don’t go back on your word. As soon as I finish here, I’ll hurry back. Wait for me.”

“Hmph, I know you just want my body. Come back soon. Go do your work.”

They whispered sweet nothings to each other for a while before reluctantly hanging up. By then, there were only thirty seconds left until midnight.

He opened his phone, navigated to the red talisman function, and stood before the mirror, his fingertip poised over the “crossing to the underworld” button.

As the second hand of the quartz clock ticked to its final notch, he pressed the button. Instantly, red talismans flared all over Gou Liang’s body. The phone’s flash went off in a sharp burst, and everything went black as he was sucked into the mirror.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in another bathroom—or rather, another realm.

There was a mirror on the wall as well, and in its reflection, his own face appeared as pale as paper. Beneath that pallor, faint red runes covered his entire body.

The feeling… was incredible.

He opened the bathroom door and stepped out into a one-bedroom apartment. The whole place was dim, damp, and suffocatingly musty, the air thick with the stench of mold.