Chapter 149: We Are All Ghosts...

Kelly looked up to see a doll hanging from the ceiling of the corridor.

It was a golden-haired doll wearing a pink dress, its eyes gleaming with a faint, eerie purple light.

"Who's there?"

"That's enough of this prank, isn't it?" Kelly Rossetti frowned, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

He returned to his apartment's living room, only to find the doll sitting on the sofa, its eyes still fixed on him. "Big brother, will you play a game with me?"

Kelly Rossetti was, after all, a well-traveled detective and a nobleman of the Lamela Empire. He knew immediately that he had encountered something supernatural. He hurriedly grabbed his phone, and in his desperation, the first person who came to mind was Li Changqing.

"Hey! Old Li, help me!"

...

Half an hour later, Li Changqing and Hu Xiong arrived at Kelly's apartment, reeking of alcohol.

"Hiccup." Hu Xiong let out a boozy burp, his gait unsteady. "You brat, I told you to drink less, drink less, yet you forced so much down my throat."

Li Changqing rolled his eyes at him. The guy had been in a good mood and insisted on showing off his ability to down entire bottles; now he was blaming him. Li Changqing had certainly drunk his fair share, but perhaps due to his nature as a zombie, he processed alcohol very quickly. By now, he was mostly sober.

Li Changqing stepped forward and knocked on the door. There was no sound or movement from within.

Li Changqing adjusted his fedora. "Xiaoyu, go inside and open the door for us."

"Okay."

Tang Xiaoyu emerged from the fedora, slipped easily through the door, and unlocked it from the inside.

The two entered the apartment.

"Such heavy yin energy."

As soon as he stepped inside, Li Changqing sensed the thick, suffocating aura of the dead permeating the entire room.

"Kelly!"

"Are you dead? Say something if you're still alive."

Li Changqing shouted loudly and searched the entire apartment, but he could not find a trace of Kelly.

Hu Xiong, his intoxication still hitting him, collapsed onto the sofa and rubbed his temples. "What exactly did he say to you on the phone?"

Li Changqing replied, "He just said a doll had entered his home and was asking him to play games."

"Help?"

"A doll?"

"I think I know what kind of evil entity this is... damn it, I drank too much, I can't quite recall."

Li Changqing was anxious about Kelly's safety. "I'll help you sober up."

With that, he opened the refrigerator, took out some ice, put it in a washbasin, filled it with cold water, and shoved Hu Xiong's face into it.

"Ah!"

The shock of the icy water made Hu Xiong sober up a little. He thought carefully and exclaimed, "That’s it! It’s a Luoluo!"

"Luoluo?" Li Changqing stared at Hu Xiong. What kind of name was that? It sounded almost pleasant.

Hu Xiong explained, "This kind of evil creature is usually a little girl who died with deep resentment. If there happens to be a doll nearby, she becomes an evil spirit and possesses it."

"They are vicious ghosts that love to play games. They drag people into a barrier. Once you agree to play with her inside the barrier, you lose your soul to her regardless of whether you win or lose. Once that happens, even the gods couldn't save Kelly."

Li Changqing’s expression shifted. "A barrier?"

"The yin energy in this room is the barrier. *Hiccup.*" Hu Xiong burped again. "Hurry and find a way to save him. If you're too late and he loses his soul, there's no saving him."

"How do we save him?"

"We have to find a way into the barrier." Hu Xiong frowned. "But there is a faster way."

His gaze shifted to Tang Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu is a ghost too, right? You can easily enter that little girl's barrier."

"Me?" A look of shock appeared on Tang Xiaoyu's face, and she quickly waved her hands. "I can't, I can't, I..."

"She's just a little girl, not that powerful," Hu Xiong insisted. "Her ability to harm people is limited to tricking them into playing games. As long as you don't agree to play with her, she definitely won't be able to beat you."

...

Inside the misty, gray barrier, there was a beautiful forest, full of birdsong, fragrant flowers, and lush trees.

Kelly sat in the woods while a girl of about eight, dressed in a long pink dress, hopped around him, looking lively and happy. "Big brother, play hide-and-seek with me. If you play hide-and-seek with me, I’ll let you leave this place."

Kelly didn't know why he had ended up in this strange place. He sat under a tree, determined to ignore the little girl's voice as if he couldn't hear it at all.

He had never eaten pork, but he had certainly seen pigs run. As a detective, he knew he must never follow the enemy's lead.

"Big brother, if you don't play hide-and-seek with me, I’m going to eat you right now!" The little girl's cute face suddenly twisted into a hideous mask, as if she were about to bite Kelly.

Kelly remained calm. "I am the eldest son of the Rossetti family of the Lamela Empire. I do not play hide-and-seek."

Seeing that he had finally spoken, the little girl dropped her hideous expression and returned to looking innocent, pure, and cute. "Big brother, you must have played when you were little, right?"

"No," Kelly said. "As a nobleman, my childhood entertainment consisted of horse riding and archery..."

"Since you've never played, you should try it even more," the little girl said. "If you play a game with me, I can give you a lot of money!"

Kelly cast a side-glance at her. "I don't even care about the wealth of the Rossetti family. How much could you possibly offer me?"

He stuck to one principle: no cooperation.

In truth, Kelly was terrified. When the girl had bared her teeth, he had been scared, but he was forcing himself to stay calm. He wondered if Li Changqing had arrived yet. If he didn't arrive soon, he would surely die at the hands of this evil spirit.

The little girl was about to continue her persuasion when she suddenly frowned and looked behind her.

In the forest behind her, Tang Xiaoyu emerged weakly from behind a tree.

Seeing that Kelly was unharmed, she called out happily, "Kelly! Are you okay?"

"Xiaoyu." Kelly turned and felt a weight lift off his heart upon seeing her. "Where is Li Changqing?"

"He sent me to save you," Tang Xiaoyu said. She looked at the little girl and added, "We're all ghosts... why don't we try to work something out?"

The little girl was furious that someone had broken into her barrier. However, she maintained an innocent, naive expression on her face. "Big sister, would you like to play hide-and-seek with me instead? If you play with me, I’ll let both of you go."

Could they really negotiate?

Tang Xiaoyu thought for a moment and said, "Changqing won't let me play games with you, but he actually loves playing hide-and-seek. Why don't you let him come in and play with you?"

"Really?" The little girl blinked her eyes. "Where is he?"

"He's right outside. Let him in!" Tang Xiaoyu replied.