Chapter 274: The Ghost at Night

As time gradually passed.

During the afternoon, Guo You and two other messengers briefly surveyed the first floor of the collection hall; they were lucky—encountered no ghost, but found what appeared to be a supernatural item: an old hand warmer, though its exact function was unknown, only that one messenger had taken it.

The messenger who obtained the old hand warmer dared not investigate it recklessly, fearing he might be killed by the supernatural item, so he merely stored it away, deciding to study it slowly later.

This discovery filled the others with envy; they all felt this expedition was worthwhile.

"Li Yi, the situation on the first floor is as much as we've figured out so far—we haven't found anything else." At this moment, everyone gathered again, eating, drinking, and chatting.

To an outsider, they might have seemed like they were on a social outing.

But what they were discussing was how to find the ghost inside the collection hall and complete the delivery mission.

"It looks like we'll have to go down to the basement one way or another," Liu Qingqing said.

Li Yi, his expression calm, said: "Earlier, when I meditated, I sensed the basement level—there's been constant movement, and sometimes I detected not one but two footsteps: one heavy, one light. That's unusual."

"Two footsteps?" The others stared at Li Yi in surprise.

They didn't doubt Li Yi's extraordinary perception—he was a superhuman, so possessing such abilities was reasonable.

What surprised them was whether there were two ghosts inside the collection hall.

"Could there be another supernatural person living downstairs?" Guo You asked. "Like the former curator, Fang Hua—seemingly alive, but actually dead. After all, ordinary people couldn't live with ghosts indefinitely. And this delivery mission requires us to deliver the letter to the ghost inside the collection hall—if there are two ghosts, that contradicts the task's requirement."

"Maybe we just deliver the letter to one of them," said another second-floor messenger.

"That's unlikely," Guo You shook his head. "If that were acceptable, the task would simply say 'deliver to one of the ghosts in the collection hall.'"

"No need to overthink now. We'll act at dawn and decide based on the situation," Li Yi said. "We've done everything we can today. Rest. I'll keep watch tonight—I'll notify you if anything moves. I trust you won't sleep too soundly under these conditions."

"It wouldn't be right to make you stand watch alone—let's take turns," Guo You said.

Li Yi glanced at him. "Your perception is too weak. The ghost could walk right up to you and you wouldn't notice. I'm different—my senses detect even the faintest movement; even through two floors, I'll know."

At night, in the stillness, his evolved senses were even sharper—detecting the ghost's movements was as easy as eating and drinking.

If not for the terrible start in this world—so many teammates dead—they'd have been among the most survivable once they adapted to the supernatural forces here.

"I'm a ghost handler—I don't need sleep. I'll keep watch with you," Liu Qingqing said then.

"Alright," Li Yi nodded without refusal.

The others said nothing—they lacked Li Yi's extraordinary abilities and weren't ghost handlers, so they could only assist in minor ways.

As time gradually passed.

Night fell quickly.

This night was bound to be long.

The collection hall had long been sealed off—no water, no electricity. At night, it was pitch black; only faint light filtered through the windows, useless to ordinary people—barely enough to confirm general positions, nowhere near enough to see their surroundings clearly.

Though everyone carried phones, they dared not turn on their lights to scan the dark.

Even Liu Qingqing dared not move freely—though a ghost handler, her eyes couldn't see in the dark, so she reduced her movements.

Though all were second-floor messengers with some experience, sleeping here was still difficult.

After all, the ghost wandered somewhere downstairs—any moment it might appear beside them, fixating on them.

But their worry seemed unnecessary.

Li Yi sat with eyes closed, his perception spread, sensing every movement around him. Though his perception didn't cover the entire hall, he could monitor his immediate surroundings—and for the entire first half of the night, the second floor remained safe, no anomalies appearing.

Only after midnight did something happen.

A rapid, light footstep suddenly appeared on the first floor—soft, quiet, like someone barefoot sprinting past.

"Hmm?"

Li Yi slowly opened his eyes, his pupils glowing faintly in the dark.

He glanced at Liu Qingqing beside him.

She leaned against the wall, awake but utterly unaware of the sudden footsteps—hadn't heard a thing.

Ordinary senses truly were inadequate.

Li Yi assumed the footsteps below would vanish soon, but instead, they moved like a headless fly—scattering across the first floor. Though not fast, their location kept shifting: sometimes distant, sometimes suddenly near, sometimes nearly outside the hall.

"Constantly changing position…"

He recalled Wang Qiao's ghost handler ability—appearing and vanishing instantly.

It seemed the ghost downstairs had the same ability.

That made delivering the letter more complicated.

But as Li Yi thought this, his body tensed instantly—a chill surged from his core.

Tap. Tap-tap!

Rapid footsteps sounded—the ghost on the first floor, for some reason, suddenly rushed up the stairs. The shift was abrupt, unpredictable—and the ghost moved fast, already nearing the top.

"Liu Qingqing, the ghost is coming up," Li Yi whispered.

At once, Liu Qingqing's eyes snapped open. In the darkness, she instantly located Li Yi—his eyes glowed, luminous and crystalline, like a river of silver, unmistakable. Wherever he was, she could spot him at once.

"I can't see anything—total darkness—but I think I heard something," she whispered.

"I can see. My eyes have night vision. Just stay alert—I'll create an opening if we need to act."

"Alright," Liu Qingqing nodded.

Li Yi slowly rose, motionless, silent, gripping his cracked short staff, eyes fixed on the stairs.

He had spilled a pool of corpse-water at the stair entrance.

Wait.

Why was the corpse-water turning red?

Li Yi saw clearly—as the ghost approached, the spilled corpse-water rapidly turned crimson, soon no longer a puddle of decay, but a pool of blood.

"Is the presence of a nearby ghost triggering some reaction in the corpse-water?" He formed a rough hypothesis.

If so, it was good—he now understood another use of corpse-water.

But corpse-water couldn't stop a ghost—he never expected a puddle to block it at the stairs.

Here it comes!

Suddenly—

When the footsteps reached a certain point, Li Yi instinctively knew its position.

The final step.

In the dark, a strange head emerged from the stairwell—not a living person's head, but a child's: painted deathly white, clad in a gray long robe, wearing a round hat, like a landlord's young master—but this boy wasn't human. He was a ghost. His eyes were hollow—no pupils, only two pitch-black sockets.

The head turned slowly—not looking at anyone, but listening to the surroundings.

As soon as the child ghost appeared, the temperature dropped several degrees; a chilling aura began swirling around everyone.

Feeling the cold, Guo You and the other two messengers, who had been sleeping, woke up. At first, they thought it was just the cold floor—but when they saw Li Yi standing before them, eyes glowing, motionless, their hearts tightened.

Something's wrong?

They didn't speak immediately, but glanced at Liu Qingqing.

With faint light from the window and eyes adjusted to the dimness, they could barely make out shapes.

Liu Qingqing raised a finger, signaling silence, then pointed toward a dark corner.

In that instant, all three broke into cold sweat.

Without doubt—

The ghost had arrived!

And it was nearby.

This chill wasn't from cold night air—it was the ghost's supernatural presence warping perception.

But where was the ghost?

They looked ahead, frightened.

But in the darkness, they saw nothing—couldn't lock onto the ghost's position.

Only Li Yi could clearly see the ghost.

Perhaps due to excessive tension, as one messenger's breathing grew heavier, the ghost at the stairwell—still swaying its head—seemed to hear it. Suddenly, its neck twisted, those pitch-black sockets fixed on them.

Then, rapid footsteps sounded again.

The ghost leapt over the step, stepped onto the puddle, and sprinted straight toward them.

As the footsteps crushed the water—

Every nerve tightened.

They knew better than anyone: the puddle was the final warning. Crossing it meant the ghost had reached the second floor.

"Drawn by sound? Perfect—saves me having to find it tomorrow," Li Yi gripped his cracked staff, standing firm, ready to strike.

After one blow, he might seize the chance to deliver the letter—and complete this delivery mission.