Chapter 261 - 260: Bullying People

Chapter 261: Chapter 260: Bullying People

Thankfully, the living room was large enough that once the people crowded at the door dispersed, the brief stampede came to an end.

Lin Xiao, who was crushed at the very bottom, was inevitably injured, but it wasn’t fatal. From the looks of her, her leg was likely broken and her ribs were fractured, making every breath extremely painful.

"She brought it on herself," Gu Qingyin commented, then turned her gaze to the star of this grand performance—the paper effigy.

After creating the chaos at the entrance, it headed for the French doors near the courtyard without a second glance.

There were clearly fewer people by the French doors than at the main entrance. Thanks to the chaos there, they had a chance to examine the doors in relative peace.

But even though the French doors clearly weren’t locked, they couldn’t push them open no matter how hard they tried. Someone, growing frantic, even grabbed a nearby metal ornament and tried to smash the glass, but failed to leave so much as a scratch.

As time went on, this group of people also grew desperate and wanted to find another escape route, but the rest of the house was too dark. Especially after seeing the moonlight outside, looking back into the pitch-black living room made it feel as if monsters could leap out from any corner.

Too afraid to move, they had no choice but to join the glass-smashing brigade.

The sound of constant pounding filled the air, but the glass remained pristine. Just as despair began to set in, a baseball bat was extended toward them.

The man leading the charge against the glass didn’t think twice. His eyes lit up as he accepted it, not forgetting to offer a word of thanks. But the moment the bat touched his hand, he froze solid.

It was far too light. This was definitely not what a baseball bat should weigh.

The man remained frozen. The others trying to break the window looked over in confusion. In the moonlight, they saw not only the man’s deathly pale face, but also the short paper effigy standing behind him.

The expressions on their faces were a sight to behold, a live demonstration of the journey from bewilderment to shock, and finally, to sheer terror.

It turns out that when people reach the peak of terror, they can’t even make a sound.

"They’d be great in a silent film," Huo Xingchen said with a grin. "Their acting is way better than my second uncle’s."

Gu Qingyin pinched his cheek and chided him, "Don’t go comparing just anyone to your second uncle."

Huo Yunjing’s lips curled. "Time for the leading lady to make her entrance." The people were too spread out; the paper effigy really was having a hard time handling everything on its own.

With a slight crook of his finger, a female ghost in red with disheveled hair abruptly appeared at the foot of the stairs, giving a slight bow to the family of three sitting on the landing.

Huo Yunjing’s expression was mild. "Go on. Just don’t kill anyone. For the rest, do as you please."

The ghost soul’s spirits lifted, and her posture straightened considerably. With a backward twist of her head, she floated away excitedly.

Immediately after, terrified screams erupted from the basement, louder than a neighboring construction crew starting work at the crack of dawn.

"Too bad there’s no live feed," Gu Qingyin sighed, getting to her feet. "Come on, let’s go say hello to Lin Xiao."

Huo Xingchen had no interest in that venomous, stupid woman. He pulled on a green-faced, fanged mask and went to team up with the paper effigy.

Huo Yunjing, of course, dutifully followed his wife.

Dragging her injured body, Lin Xiao had just managed to crawl into a corner, praying she wouldn’t be found. Then, she looked up and saw two dark figures approaching.

Lin Xiao wanted to scream, but before she could make a sound, her ragged, shallow breathing triggered a sharp, intense pain.

She instinctively shrank back, trying to hide, but in doing so, she bumped her broken leg. The pain was so intense she almost passed out.

Under normal circumstances, she would have fainted, but she was too terrified now. She was afraid that if she passed out, she would never wake up again.

"Stay back... please, I’ll give you anything you want, just spare me..." Lin Xiao whimpered, never having been so utterly humiliated in her life.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How pitiful."

The familiar voice made Lin Xiao’s sobs die in her throat. But she’d been crying so earnestly that she couldn’t stop a hiccup from escaping. Then, she mustered her courage and looked over.

Miraculously, in that moment she could clearly make out the people opposite her. It was Gu Qingyin and that man.

"How filthy," Gu Qingyin said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Can’t you wipe away the tears and snot before looking at people?"

Lin Xiao subconsciously raised a hand to cover her face, but what did she have to wipe it with? The humiliation of losing face in front of her rival, however, snapped her to her senses.

"It’s you!" Ignoring her own wretched state, Lin Xiao glared up at Gu Qingyin, her eyes filled with hatred. "You really aren’t the person you were before! Zhou Jingchuan and his parents have all been deceived by you!"

Gu Qingyin laughed. "You’re a real piece of work. Most of the time you’re dumb as a rock, but every now and then, you can be surprisingly sharp."

"So you admit it!" Lin Xiao was stunned. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll go tell them the truth?"

"It’s not like you haven’t tried. Did they believe you?" Gu Qingyin sighed. "I just said you were sharp, and here you are being stupid again."

Gu Qingyin took a step forward, asking with utter sincerity, "I’m very curious. You know I’m a ghost, so how do you still have the nerve to provoke me? Aren’t you afraid... that I’ll kill you?"

Lin Xiao shuddered, returning to her previous state of terror. "But... didn’t you already become human?"

Gu Qingyin had an epiphany. "Oh, so that’s what you thought." She shook her head. "You really should have done your research before making a move. Other than being reincarnated, there’s no way for a ghost soul to become human again. All that stuff about returning from the dead is a lie."

Gu Qingyin helpfully clarified, "Actually, I can turn back into a ghost whenever I want, you know."

As if afraid Lin Xiao wouldn’t believe her, Gu Qingyin’s soul immediately left her body, shot over to Lin Xiao, and made a scary face.

Huo Yunjing smoothly caught Gu Qingyin’s slumping body, scooping her into his arms in a perfect princess carry.

Caught completely off guard, the shock made Lin Xiao’s breath catch in her throat. The whites of her eyes showed, and she fainted dead away.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. I hadn’t even started," Gu Qingyin’s soul said, standing off to the side with a look of utter exasperation. "No fun at all."

"If you’re bored, let’s go home," said Huo Yunjing. "It’s getting late, and Huo Xingchen should be in bed."

Gu Qingyin nodded, flashed over to Huo Xingchen’s side, and used her soul power to pull him up. "Time to go home."

Huo Xingchen hadn’t had his fill yet. "Can we play a little longer?"

Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes. "If we play any longer, someone’s going to get played to death."

Huo Xingchen sighed in disappointment and put the paper effigy back into his storage bag.

Their mission accomplished, the family of three beat a retreat. As they drove out of the villa complex, Gu Qingyin even used a phone she had pilfered to enthusiastically call the police and report illegal activities at the address.

Before long, the sound of sirens echoed through the remote villa complex.

On the way back, Huo Xingchen inevitably succumbed to sleep in the back seat. Gu Qingyin was also drowsing off when, a moment later, she suddenly snapped awake.

"Did we forget something?"

Huo Yunjing, who was driving, glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "What?"

"The lady in red!" Gu Qingyin cried out in mock-despair. "You summoned her for a job, and not only did you not pay her, you didn’t even tell her she could clock out! You’re a heartless boss!"

Huo Yunjing: ...

After her accusation, Gu Qingyin started laughing again. "Messing with ordinary people every once in a while is actually pretty fun."