Moonlight spilled in front of a Western-style four-poster bed, where the silhouettes of the curtains gently swayed on the mahogany floor.
The yellowing wallpaper was torn and tattered, and above the headboard hung an oil painting.
It was a family portrait.
But apart from the woman, the faces of the man in the suit and the pair of children each held had been clawed out.
The thick layer of dust on the floor seemed to tell of the long abandonment of the villa.
On the black carpet, in the dust, on the ceiling, and even above the headboard, were countless palm-sized, withered faces.
Sudden cries broke out, and it was unclear whether they came from crows or owls; the creatures perched on the twisted, dead branches outside the window, looking coldly and curiously this way.
In the clock by the window, the old gears still turned, ticking away.
If time hadn't gone awry, judging from the face of the clock imprinted with brownish-red handprints, it should be four o'clock in the morning.
What seemed out of place with the surroundings were the bright red sheets and the light, clean velvet quilt on the bed.
A woman with her hair spread out lay on the bed; her silk robe, color indistinguishable, couldn't hide her decaying skin, and even her once tantalizing long legs evoked not the slightest desire.
And her face, bearing a bizarre expression, half-sob, half-smile, was not one that a person could possess.
But at that moment, beside her lay a young handsome man.
He held the woman, who was barely distinguishable from a rotting corpse, in one arm, and in the other hand clasped a cigarette, comfortably puffing smoke clouds.
Leaning against his sturdy chest, the woman used a sweet, flirtatious voice to coo, "You're so amazing."
The man remained unfazed, raising an eyebrow. "Your husband won't suddenly come back, will he?"
"Husband?" The woman's hollow eye sockets seemed to flicker with a point of light. "My husband died a long time ago."
"Ah... why didn't you say so earlier? It's no fun if the husband is dead."
The man sighed and pretended to get up and leave.
"Don't... don't go..." The woman reached out and grabbed the man's hand. "I'm so frightened being home alone, having to face not just the loneliness but also the robbers that break in..."
"Robbers? People still rob houses these days?"
The man seemed to become interested and sat back down, leaving his trousers aside.
"Mm..." The woman explained with hindsight fright, "Rather than robbers, they're more like murderers, they didn't come for the money, they wanted to kill me... I was so scared, so I had to peel off all their faces and throw them in the basement, just like my husband."
Saying this, she clambered onto the man's neck, clinging tightly to him and rubbing her leg gently against his toned abdomen.
"A home needs a man..."
She gently nibbled on the man's earlobe.
At that moment, the man sighed in his heart.
All those robbers were Exorcists...
The man's name was Jiang Lu, and he had heard about this place through special channels. He came here to see for himself what sort of formidable ghost could bring such elite Exorcists to their knees.
Those who had died, though he did not know them, were all carefully selected elites!
Thinking this, he couldn't help but sigh.
So many dead, what a blow it must be to the Exorcists...
They should have let me handle this from the beginning, I'm really up to it.
With these thoughts, he suddenly felt invigorated.
Holding the female ghost, he caressed her back. "Want to keep me? Then you'll have to show me your skills."
"Come on..." the female ghost pleaded shyly.
As time ticked by, Jiang Lu gradually began to feel a sense of boredom.
"Madam..."
"Why do you call me madam?"
"Ah? Don't you think it's more interesting this way?"
"Is that so? Then what should I call you?"
"Well... you could call me by your husband's name; that way he would feel involved too..."
"His body, oh no, I should say carcass, is in the basement right now, alas..."
"Isn't that even better?"
"This isn't good... It's a bit too..."
"What if I now go and move his corpse into the room? What would you do then?"
"This..."
Caught up in the excitement, Jiang Lu noticed that the female ghost facing away from him revealed a frightened emotion in her words, which made him feel somewhat disheartened.
Feelings like these required mutual affection, a two-way rush for fun. What's this fear about?
So he pushed the female ghost away and said petulantly, "You're not sincere with me, I'm leaving."
"Don't go..." the female ghost implored again.
"But you just wouldn't listen to me," Jiang Lu said, looking pitiful.
The naive female ghost couldn't handle this and immediately gave in: "I'll do as you say, I'll do whatever you say."
"Then will you love me?" Jiang Lu blinked.
"Love..." The female ghost embraced Jiang Lu tightly, murmuring earnestly from the heart, "I want to be with you for a lifetime."
"So, what now?"
The female ghost didn't say anything, just smiled and obediently moved in front of Jiang Lu.
She didn't see the greedy smile that spread across Jiang Lu's face, nor the somewhat eerie aura that he exuded.
Then, he supported the female ghost and patted her somewhat withered but still quite elastic skin.
"Now it's my turn."
"Mmm... as you please..."
As I please, huh... Jiang Lu felt a warm feeling in his heart. What a tender wife, indeed.
The female ghost sensed a difference from before, and her originally shy expression suddenly froze.
"Wait... wait a minute... Why is it different now..."
"Ah, because what just happened was only the appetizer before the meal. Now it's time for the main course," he said.
Jiang Lu licked his somewhat dry lips, his fingers lightly tracing from the female ghost's shoulder down to her waist, feeling her tremble as she struggled to endure:
"My lady, are you getting used to it?"
"Mmm... Mmm..."
The female ghost hummed in a daze, perhaps not even she knew what she was saying.
Jiang Lu didn't care.
"So..."
It had to be said that, even though she was a ghost, she was exquisite.
The teary, hazy look the female ghost wore at that moment was like a breathtaking, lifelike piece of art.
Morning, five-thirty, the first ray of sunlight shone on the bodies of the man and the ghost, glittering with a crystalline sheen.
Jiang Lu's hair was already somewhat damp, his smile so sunny under the rising sun.
Like a farmer in the countryside sweating freely in the fields, reaping the verified fruits of his labor.
"Wonderful, my lady, you are simply wonderful! We will surely become the best of friends!"
Finally, it was all over.
Wiping the happy sweat from his brow, Jiang Lu noticed that the female ghost was still frozen in the same position as before.
"My lady?" Jiang Lu called out tentatively.
As he turned the female ghost's cheek, Jiang Lu then saw that her face was covered in blood and tears, her expression twisted and rigid, as if she had died of heartbreak.
Seeing this, disappointment gradually crept onto Jiang Lu's face.
"I had heard that you could even handle an exorcist, so I wanted to see what surprises you could bring me, but it seems you're still lacking. What a letdown..."
He sighed and moved to the window, letting the dawn light shine on his body, covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
Gazing out at the blood-red land surrounding the villa, his disappointment was fleeting, as if what had just happened was no more significant to him than walking into a random breakfast joint—if it wasn't good, he'd just go to another. It was no big deal, pretty common, nothing to fuss over.
So, he lit a cigarette and began to enjoy the pleasant freshness of the early morning air.