Ding Ruxiao was actually inside, wearing only her underwe@r, and it was lace…
Her fiery figure… her delicate face…
For a moment, Zuo Si was left dumbfounded.
When Ding Ruxiao turned to look at him, he finally came to his senses and awkwardly said, “Uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were sleeping here last night.”
Ding Ruxiao remained remarkably calm, seemingly unfazed by being seen by Zuo Si. However, she quickly put on a $exy b0dycon $kirt. Her wine-red wavy hair cascaded down her shoulders, exuding an irresistible charm that Zuo Si found hard to resist.
“Where did you go last night?” Ding Ruxiao lit a lady’s cigarette and took a puff.
“I went live streaming to boost our haunted house’s popularity and, by the way, solved a case.”
“Solved a case by the way?” Ding Ruxiao laughed, “Why is it that no one else manages to solve cases while live streaming? How come you always do?”
“Maybe, maybe I have a Conan-like physique…”
“Shut up.” Ding Ruxiao laughed again and offered Zuo Si a cigarette.
“I quit.”
“Really? You even quit smoking?”
“Uh… this stuff is bad for health, quitting is normal, right?”
“Cut it out~” Ding Ruxiao rolled her eyes at him and said, “The park opens at nine. Is everything set up for the horror scene? Do you need to check?”
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. There are a few scare points I haven’t restored yet.” Zuo Si slapped his forehead and entered the ‘Screaming Hospital’ horror scene, restoring all the props he had triggered last time.
“Just scaring people isn’t interesting; it’s better to lock up the three operating rooms.”
“Randomly place two keys in two patient rooms to unlock the first and second operating rooms.”
“Then, search for the last key in the first and second operating rooms to unlock the third operating room.”
“That way, the game’s fun factor will be much stronger!”
“Those who successfully clear it should get some rewards… what should I give?” Zuo Si rubbed his chin and pondered, “How about a small doll? It can prove they’ve cleared the game and also counts as a reward.”
“Most importantly, it’s not worth much.”
“Ah! I’m just too brilliant.” Zuo Si couldn’t help but give himself a mental thumbs-up.
He immediately prepared to go out shopping. No matter where he bought from, it would be better to head to the South Suburb Grocery Market, which wasn’t too far from here. The main reason was to find that fraudulent Taoist and get his money back.
Three hundred yuan wasn’t much, but the feeling of being scammed was truly unpleasant. Holding that exquisite talisman, Zuo Si couldn’t help but sigh again; this feudal superstition really shouldn’t be trusted.
With little time to waste, Zuo Si didn’t linger too long. He told Ding Ruxiao and stepped out, hailing a cab straight to the South Suburb Grocery Market.
By early morning, many stalls were already set up; there were basically people here twenty-four hours a day, not for anything else but to secure good spots.
Zuo Si wasn’t in a hurry to buy locks; he first headed towards the Taoist’s stall.
His luck was quite good; early in the morning, the Taoist was indeed setting up his stall. He didn’t rush to mention the refund, knowing the Taoist’s character would definitely deny yesterday’s events. However, Zuo Si had thought of a way to deal with this fake Taoist; even if he couldn’t get his money back, he had to vent his frustrations.
“Taoist, do you remember me?”
“You are?” The Taoist clearly recognized Zuo Si but pretended to think hard, fearing Zuo Si would come looking for trouble. Those who do wrong are always a bit guilty.
“You forgot, last night, I bought a talisman from you.” Zuo Si worried the Taoist wouldn’t acknowledge it and continued, “Your talisman is indeed effective; it can subdue ghosts, but after all, it’s just an inanimate object and can’t directly eliminate those ghostly things. I was wondering if I could invite you to come out and exorcise some evil for me?”
“Ah~” The Taoist raised two fingers, appearing suddenly enlightened: “So it’s you, my young friend!”
“Yes, it’s me! Taoist, what do you think? Is it convenient for you to come out?”
“Ah~!” The Taoist stroked his beard, shaking his head with a sigh. “I told you yesterday that your forehead is dark, your gaze is vacant, your lips are cracked and your tongue is dry, and your Primordial Spirit is scattered. This is indeed a sign of great misfortune. But you wouldn’t listen. Fortunately, I bestowed upon you a Talisman, which saved your life last night.”
“Taoist, just tell me if you will come out of the mountain. Money is not an issue. If you can help me exorcise the ghosts successfully, I will give you ten thousand yuan as a reward!”
Upon hearing such a large sum, the Taoist’s eyes immediately lit up. He quickly concealed his excitement and adopted a worried expression instead. “Alas! My young friend, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but you missed the best opportunity last night. I’m afraid it may already be too late today.”
“Taoist, don’t worry. As long as you help, money is negotiable. If ten thousand isn’t enough, I can give you twenty thousand. Just capture those ghosts, and I will pay you immediately.”
“What do you mean by money! Do I look like that kind of person?!” The Taoist frowned. Although he was overjoyed inside, he suppressed his excitement. “We, the people of the Taoist sect, take it upon ourselves to save all beings and to slay demons and eliminate evil. How could we bow down for mere money!”
“What do you mean, Taoist…?”
“Let’s go! I will go exorcise that evil spirit right now!”
“Thank you, Taoist! May I ask your Taoist name?”
“My Taoist name is ‘Xuan Yun Xian Ren.’ You can call me Xuan Yun.”
After buying the lock and hailing a taxi, Zuo Si and the swindler Xuan Yun arrived at the haunted house. Xuan Yun had already changed into ordinary clothes, looking no different from an average person, with no special features.
With half an hour left before the park opened, Zuo Si arranged for Xuan Yun to sit in the office and drink tea while he entered the horror scene to set up the keys. He also wrote a simple guide and posted it prominently at the entrance.
Everything was ready, but Zuo Si did not rush to let Xuan Yun in; he planned to let him enter with the other visitors later. Although having more people would reduce the horror factor, Zuo Si had already discussed with the staff to ‘take special care’ of this swindler Xuan Yun. They would definitely scare him to death.
At the ticket booth at the entrance, Ding Ruxiao was already prepared. Besides her, that Liu Hong had surprisingly come to help as well.
“It’s a bit strange that Liu Hong, who advised me against buying the haunted house, is now here to help me,” Zuo Si thought, but he didn’t dwell on it too much. Perhaps he was just being kind-hearted, seeing that she was opening for business and needed extra hands.
Visitors began to trickle into the park, and many old customers curiously gathered at the haunted house entrance, discussing among themselves.
“This haunted house is actually reopening.”
“Yeah, it hasn’t opened in years. Why is it suddenly opening now?”
“I’m telling you, don’t go in. The horror scenes inside are all outdated stuff from years ago. There’s nothing interesting about it, let alone scary.”
“Right, right! I heard this haunted house closed down before because there were no visitors buying tickets.”
“…”
There were indeed quite a few onlookers, but not a single person bought a ticket, causing Zuo Si’s heart to sink immediately. But this was just the beginning. Every venture has its difficulties at the start; as long as he managed it well, it could definitely become the number one haunted house in Qingshui City!