After the man in the suit was reduced to ashes, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. But Xu Meng was still shaking in terror, covering her mouth to keep from screaming, her face ashen with fear.

The sight of someone—no, something—turning from a living, breathing human into a pile of ash was horrifying enough. The eerie sensation of it all was bound to haunt our dreams for a long time.

But it wasn’t over. Just when I thought it might be, I saw the human skin lantern float up from the balcony like a specter. Its greenish light flickered ominously, casting shadows that seemed to creep around the room. The strange footfalls from earlier began again, echoing around the balcony, growing louder, closer.

“What... What is that?” Xu Meng stammered, eyes wide in panic. The sound of the footsteps was deafening, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many people were out there. But there was nothing to see. The balcony was dark, just a void, save for the human skin lantern glowing with an unnatural green light.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Xu Meng’s hand. We burst out of the apartment, running down the stairs and out of the building.

Once we were outside, we dared to look back at the fifteenth floor. From that distance, it was hard to make out anything clearly, but I could see the balcony was crowded. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. We didn’t dare look any longer and sprinted down the street without a second thought.

Xu Meng was too terrified to go back to the parking garage, so we had no choice but to grab a taxi. We didn’t have anywhere else to go but to my tattoo shop.

When we arrived at the shop and I opened the door, there it was again—the human skin lantern, floating eerily in the darkened room. I couldn’t see who was holding it, but I could hear the soft rustling of movement. The room was pitch-black except for the flickering lantern. It didn’t seem to shed light at all; the greenish glow barely illuminated the space around it.

“Who’s there? Stop playing these tricks!” I shouted, pulling Xu Meng behind me.

The voice that answered sent a chill down my spine—it was the ghost lady, her laugh dripping with malice.

“Having fun?” she teased.

I squinted into the darkness, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. In the dim light, I could make out two figures: one sitting on the couch, the other standing beside her, holding the lantern. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t make out their faces. It was like the darkness itself was swallowing them.

“Well, well,” the ghost lady continued, “You managed to destroy my paper man. Not bad. You're not very strong, but you’re smart.”

“Don’t play any more tricks,” I said, my voice cold. “I’m not afraid of your paper men.”

Xu Meng clung to my arm, trembling. She was frightened, but so was I. We had no choice but to run if things got worse. I just hoped that Su Qing would bring her Master back to help us.

“Ha! If I were really serious, you’d be dead already,” the ghost lady chuckled, her voice dripping with scorn. She was insufferably smug.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Relax, I’m just here to show you a little something—some DVDs for you to watch. Then, you can decide whether to keep the Corpse Fetus or not. Alright, let’s call it a night,” she said, and with that, there was a soft pop as the lantern went out, plunging the room into silence once more.

Were they... gone? What were they? I couldn’t tell if they were human or ghosts anymore. It made sense now why the ghost lady was called that—she truly wasn’t human.

I flicked on the lights, and sure enough, the couch was empty. There was only one thing left behind: a DVD.

“Thank God my computer can play DVDs,” I muttered as I led Xu Meng upstairs. We inserted the DVD and started playing it.

The moment the video began, I felt my stomach twist in disgust. Xu Meng’s face went pale, and I immediately looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

The footage was taken without her knowledge. Xu Meng, the main subject, had been filmed while she was with clients—everything they had done together was recorded, and it wasn’t just one tape. It was a series of them.

If these videos got out online, Xu Meng’s life would be destroyed. Even though she worked in this line of business, such exposure would ruin her reputation completely.

I slammed my fist onto the keyboard in anger. The ghost lady was despicable, using these underhanded tactics to manipulate Xu Meng. What kind of person—or thing—would stoop to such lows?

Xu Meng, her face covered in tears, collapsed onto the floor.

“Who are they? Why are they doing this to me?” she cried out in frustration, her voice breaking.

I wrapped my arms around her, comforting her the best I could. I couldn’t stand to see her so broken. I couldn’t let her give up.

“I’ll tell you everything,” I said, taking a deep breath. “It’s all a plot—a conspiracy. They want to use you to bear the Corpse Fetus, so that the Lin family can carry on their legacy.”

Xu Meng was shaken to the core by this revelation, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Can we fight them? Or should we just give in?” she whispered, her voice small and fragile. “My life’s worthless anyway. Maybe if I just do this, I’ll survive. I don’t want to die.”

Her spirit had broken. She felt powerless against the might of the Lin family.

I hugged her tightly but said nothing. She cried herself to sleep in my arms, and I stayed there, holding her through the night.

When I woke up the next morning, Xu Meng was gone. On the desk, there was a small note, stained with tears:

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve decided to keep the Corpse Fetus. Lin Laoye won’t mistreat me, and maybe I’ll be taken care of for the rest of my life. I’ll never have to worry about anything again. Why not just go along with it?”

Her handwriting was shaky, and I could sense the reluctance in her words. She had accepted her fate, resigned to doing what they wanted.

I stared at the note, angry and heartbroken. She was making a sacrifice, giving up everything because she felt like she had no other choice.

But no way. I wasn’t going to let this happen. These people—these despicable monsters—weren’t going to get away with this.

I had to act, and fast. I needed to find Azi Xing. He’d been unreachable last night, and I feared something might have happened to him.

I arrived at Hu Bingbing’s villa, pressing the doorbell. She answered almost immediately, a sly smile on her lips.

“Back already? Time for your next ghost tattoo, I assume?” she said, her tone teasing.

I shook my head, my mind still on Xu Meng and the note. “Forget the tattoo. Have you seen Azi Xing?”

Her smile twisted into something more enigmatic, as though she knew exactly what I was asking. She nodded and led me upstairs to a room, where she knocked on the door.

But instead of calling out to Azi Xing, she called, “Zhu Li!”

Zhu Li, her assistant, had been with us the previous day. She was stunning, with a body that seemed to fill out her sleepwear in a way that caught my attention. I was confused—why wasn’t Azi Xing the one in this room?

Seconds later, Zhu Li emerged, a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Did you take care of Azi Xing properly?” Hu Bingbing teased.

Zhu Li gave her a knowing glance and responded, “I think he’ll be feeling it for days.”

I was left standing there, dumbfounded, as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Azi Xing wasn’t the one to investigate—he was caught up in the game with Hu Bingbing.

What a mess. And now, I was the one left to clean it up.