Chapter 23: Volume 1, Chapter 23: How to Capture the Arrogant Ghost King? (4)

Fortunately, the floor was wooden with a carpet laid on top; otherwise her elbows would have been scraped raw.

Waves of cold air permeated her surroundings, seeping into her exposed skin.

Jiang Zhi shivered from the cold.

The corners of her eyes tinged with red, in the dim room without a hint of light, her complexion appeared all the more rich and vivid, exuding an extremely fragile, pitiful aura.

The man in dark robes standing before her looked down at her face, the gloom in his pupils hiding dark killing intent and malice.

She was so weak that he hardly needed to expend any strength. Her neck, slender and snow-white like a swan's, could be snapped with a light bend, turning her into a lifeless corpse.

What a pity.

He still couldn't kill her.

Jiang Zhi trembled as she sat up, rubbing her sore elbow from the fall; after a moment she rose from the floor, her steps growing ever more cautious.

At last she reached the coffee table and found her phone.

She turned on the phone's built‑in flashlight, barely illuminating the room shrouded in darkness.

She walked to the spot where she had just tripped, and seeing nothing on the ground, her face suddenly turned pale.

Why, there's nothing?

Clearly she had stumbled over something when she came over!

Jiang Zhi dared not dwell on it, biting her lips and constantly consoling herself.

An illusion! An illusion!

She called the property management; the cause was a tripped breaker, and soon power was restored to the room.

Jiang Zhi hastily dried her hair and slipped into the blankets.

It was the height of summer, nighttime temperatures were not low either, and every household had their air conditioners running to beat the heat.

Jiang Zhi, however, did not turn on the air conditioner, because.

The room was inexplicably cold, as if the air conditioner were set to 18°C, leaving her only able to wrap herself in a thick blanket, curl up in the corner, and cover her head.

She slept uneasily, half‑awake, her sleep very light.

The girl lying in bed pulled the blanket over her whole body; later, perhaps feeling hot, a snow‑white foot slipped out from under the covers.

That foot was as beautiful as she was, glowing with a fair sheen in the soft light.

The man in dark robes glanced at that foot, his dark eyes narrowing with deep meaning.

If taken as a trophy, it would be his most satisfying prize.

He leaned forward slowly, raising his slender fingers to lightly caress that jade foot.

Feeling the bone‑chilling cold, Jiang Zhi hastily pulled her foot back; the chill seemed capable of stealing all her warmth, making her shiver uncontrollably.

Why is it so cold!!

After a night of dreaming.

Jiang Zhi had a dream in which she was thrown into a pool of icy water ten thousand feet deep, and she felt cold all night.

After waking, she threw off the blanket covering her; the night's chill had vanished, but she had also caught a cold.

Jiang Zhi sneezed repeatedly, got out of bed, her head swam and her body felt weak and limp.

"I hate ghosts!"

777, feeling reluctant, said: "Go to the hospital for a check‑up."

Jiang Zhi walked across the floor as if stepping on soft cotton, head heavy and feet light; she went to the bathroom, finished washing up, left the house, and took a taxi to the hospital.

"Is the villain a pervert? He stared at me all night last night."

She could be sure! The villain didn't leave all night!

777 spoke softer and softer: "Could it not be so?"

Isn't the villain a pervert?

Only then did Jiang Zhi realize she had asked a foolish question.

He's a pervert! Not just a pervert, but utterly deranged!

At the hospital she was given an IV drip and received an antipyretic injection in the buttocks; after leaving, her head felt even more dizzy and her butt still hurt.

This won't do.

Before she could even break the blood contract, she was about to be frozen to death by the villain.

Jiang Zhi decided to turn on the heating tonight.

She didn't take a taxi home; instead she ate breakfast, took a stroll in the nearby square, and finally sat on a roadside bench to rest.

Just as she closed her eyes to nap, a voice suddenly came from nearby.

"If you're sick, don't sleep here! Little girl, go home and sleep!"

Jiang Zhi thought it was a kind old lady speaking to her, and turned her head to say it was fine.

But she saw no one.

Instead, a mouth appeared on the trunk of the nearby big tree, opening and closing as it spoke.

"Go home and sleep, little girl."

Jiang Zhi's pupils widened in shock, her body trembling uncontrollably as she stared in disbelief at the tree behind her.

The tree. spoke???

The big tree locked eyes with her, also startled, "You‑you‑you, can you hear me speaking?"

Jiang Zhi gave no answer, stood up, and left with steady steps.

In the tree's eyes, the girl bolted the instant it spoke, as if something ghostly were chasing her from behind.

After returning from Deep Kun Mountain, Jiang Zhi noticed all sorts of strange things happening around her.

This dealt a fatal blow to her, who believed in science.

After returning home and lying on the sofa, she still hadn't recovered from the fright.

Her phone rang then; it was her childhood friend.

"Xiao Zhi, something unscientific has appeared in South City—do you want to come expose it?"

Unlike her, her childhood friend has believed in ghosts and gods since childhood and is extremely interested in such matters.

Jiang Zhi recalled the events of the past two days, her gaze falling on the camera hanging on the wall, and she immediately replied, "Go, go, go!"

After making contact, she packed her luggage that day, took a vehicle to South City, and met with her childhood friend Li Qian.

Li Qian saw her pale, exhausted face and couldn't help asking anxiously, "What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Zhi waved her hand dismissively and said, "I just have a slight cold and fever."

Upon hearing that, Li Qian wasn't particularly surprised either.

That's just how her good friend is—whenever there's a ghost or god legend, she rushes there, sometimes even neglecting her own health.

After arriving at the booked hotel, Jiang Zhi received a call from Fu Yan.

Among the six people who went to Hongkun Mountain to investigate the evil spirit legend, Yang Shun died.

That horror novelist.

He died at home; the coroner's autopsy determined he was scared to death.

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Zhi felt her heart tighten.

Fu Yan said on the phone that she should stay indoors lately, stay safe, and also mentioned wanting to set a time to meet her.

Thinking of her mission in South City, Jiang Zhi had to tell him she still had things to do and would meet him when free.

Fu Yan didn't say anything else and hung up.

At that moment he was in the mortuary; Lan Man'an, standing beside him, looked horrified and said, "How... how could a perfectly fine person just die like that…"

Xie Mingming also came, covered her mouth and ran outside, where she began to vomit.

All three of their faces looked grim.

The incident happened suddenly; Fu Yan had a bad premonition, feeling that someone else would die.

That premonition didn't last long—sure enough, someone else died.

This time it was the streamer Su Xiao Zhi.

Lan Man'an, who was closest to him, rushed to Fu Yan overnight, begging him to save her.

Jiang Zhi, far away in South City, didn't know any of this; she followed her childhood friend to the hotel.

That night, as she approached the sink to brush her teeth, Jiang Zhi suddenly met the gaze of a pair of smoky-gray eyes in the mirror ahead, cold and animal-like.

Through her thick lenses, she only felt a chill run down her spine.

Behind her stood a tall figure, his ink-black hair flowing like a waterfall tied back, his strikingly handsome yet oppressive face coldly edged with a dangerous sharpness.

Only saw the man's cold, dark-red thin lips twitch slightly into a smile devoid of warmth, yet exuding a terrifying aura.

"You saw me."