In the darkness, the stench of rot grew even stronger, filling Lu Fei's nostrils.
Fearing that the ghost might attack in the dark, he quickly turned on his phone's flashlight.
But the faint light only illuminated a small area in front of him. He and Tiger stood back-to-back, cautiously guarding the surroundings.
Water began running in the bathroom with a steady *hua hua* sound.
"Tiger, don't go in there. The ghost-repelling character will smudge if it gets wet and become useless," Lu Fei said in a low voice. "I'll go in to lure it out. Once it shows itself, strike it with the ghost-repelling character."
No matter how many spirits were involved, they'd just capture them one by one.
"Got it!" Tiger nodded firmly, standing guard at the bathroom door.
Lu Fei pushed the door open and shone his flashlight inside.
The cramped space was filled with steam, greatly obscuring his vision.
Lu Fei squinted his eyes.
In the dim mist, he thought he saw a figure hiding behind the shower curtain.
Holding the phone in one hand to illuminate and gripping the willow whip in the other, he cautiously stepped through the puddles on the floor, moving toward the curtain.
Tiger stood outside, tensely watching his back.
The figure behind the curtain remained completely still.
With a swift motion, Lu Fei yanked the curtain aside and, without waiting to see what was behind it, struck with the whip.
*Pa!*
The whip struck air with a hollow snap.
The shadow behind the curtain was nothing more than a coat hanging on the wall.
Where had Lulu gone?
Lu Fei anxiously looked around.
The bathroom was so small—where could she possibly be hiding?
Could she have jumped out the window?
Heart pounding, Lu Fei rushed to check the window. But it was narrow and small, impossible for an adult, even someone as slender as Lulu, to fit through.
"Where could she have gone?" He was slightly reassured but still puzzled.
There was no way for her to hide in the cramped cabinet, either.
Could she have snuck out of the bathroom during the blackout?
With a jolt, Lu Fei realized something.
Tiger was outside alone, which meant he might be in danger.
"Tiger, be careful!"
Just as Tiger heard the warning, he felt an icy chill on his back, followed by cold hands wrapping around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter.
In an instant, Tiger's whole body felt frozen. His limbs were immobilized, unable to move, and even the ghost-repelling character in his hand was useless.
"Let go!"
Lu Fei dashed out of the bathroom and cracked the whip toward Tiger's back.
The shadow vanished in an instant, disappearing into the darkness.
Tiger gasped for air, clutching his neck as he coughed heavily.
In the phone's dim light, a pair of purplish finger marks were visible on his neck.
"Stay sharp. This spirit is cunning and hard to deal with," Lu Fei said, smearing some incense ash on Tiger's neck to prevent any further possession.
"I can handle it, boss!"
Tiger caught his breath, twisted his neck, and joined Lu Fei in scouring the small room, their backs against each other.
The door was locked, and the incense ash at the threshold was undisturbed, which meant Lulu hadn't left. She was hiding somewhere in the room.
The room wasn't large, and there weren't many places to hide.
The closet, under the bed.
Exchanging a glance with Lu Fei, Tiger yanked open the closet door while Lu Fei struck with the whip.
Inside was only a disorganized pile of clothes.
That left only one place.
Lu Fei and Tiger crouched on opposite sides of the bed. After a nod to each other, one shone the Bagua mirror under the bed, while the other struck with the ghost-repelling character.
Yet, there was no reaction from under the bed!
"Could she not be there?"
Both were baffled.
Lu Fei motioned for Tiger to guard one side with the ghost-repelling character, while he leaned down to check under the bed.
As he shone his light under, he saw only dust.
Where was Lulu?
"Am I pretty?"
Before he could straighten up, an icy voice came from directly above.
He looked up and felt his scalp prickle with horror.
Lulu's blood-streaked corpse-like face hung in the air, her mouth stretched wide open, smeared with fresh blood as though she had just finished drinking.
"She's possessed by the spirit and is draining her blood…"
Which meant that Lulu had just fed it with her blood today, giving the spirit even more power.
Lu Fei's heart raced as he raised the whip.
*Hong!*
Lulu's mouth opened, and a fierce gust of icy wind blasted toward his face.
It felt as if he had been struck by a truck, his head spinning, his organs rattling.
The phone and whip slipped from his hands.
Fortunately, the phone landed in a pile of clutter, still providing a faint light.
"Boss!"
Tiger was alarmed and quickly struck toward Lulu's direction with the ghost-repelling character.
But Lulu's figure drifted away and disappeared into the shadows.
"Boss, are you okay?" Tiger hurried to Lu Fei's side, looking worried.
"I'm fine. Quick, we have to stop it before it drains Lulu's blood completely. If it turns into a vengeful spirit, we won't survive!" Lu Fei gritted through the pain, taking out the Bagua mirror as he stared into the darkness of the room.
"Could it have turned invisible? No, spirits can become invisible, but not while possessing a person. It must be hiding somewhere."
Lu Fei's urgency grew.
Tiger was just as frantic, his palms sweating. He quickly blew on his hands, fearing he might smudge the ghost-repelling character.
"Am I pretty?"
Suddenly, Lulu's scarred, ghastly face appeared behind him.
Tiger's heart nearly leapt out of his chest, and he thrust the ghost-repelling character toward her. But the sweat had smudged it, rendering it useless.
Lulu opened her mouth and unleashed another frigid gust of wind.
"Watch out!"
Lu Fei shoved Tiger aside, raising the Bagua mirror to shield himself.
*Hong!*
The wind bounced back from the mirror, forcing Lulu's figure to vanish again.
"Boss, she's on the ceiling!" Tiger pointed up, having caught sight of Lulu's direction.
Lu Fei immediately shone the Bagua mirror at the ceiling.
There was an eerie black shadow darting across it.
He adjusted the mirror, tracking the shadow until it aligned, causing the mirror to emit a golden light, pinning it in place.
The shadow froze, unable to move.
When Lu Fei and Tiger saw what was on the ceiling, their hair stood on end.
Lulu clung to the ceiling like a gecko, her face and mouth smeared with blood, her wrists bearing bite marks.
Any longer, and the spirit would have gnawed her flesh off completely.
"Tiger, get the willow whip!" Lu Fei couldn't let go of the mirror; otherwise, Lulu would escape again.
The mirror's ghost-repelling light was limited in duration, though.
"Right!" Tiger scurried around in search of the whip.
As the mirror's glow began to fade, Tiger broke into a sweat.
"Tiger, hurry!"
Just as the light dimmed almost entirely, Tiger finally found the willow whip.
"Strike her!" Lu Fei shouted.
Tiger swung the whip at the ceiling with all his strength.
*Pa!*
"Ah—"
The whip struck solidly on Lulu's stomach, eliciting two overlapping screams from within her, as she fell from the ceiling.
"Catch her!"
Lu Fei and Tiger scrambled to catch her, though Lulu began thrashing wildly.
Her strength was terrifying. She bared her bloody mouth and lunged to bite Lu Fei.