The flight from Changsha took them straight to Luoyang Beijiao Airport. By the time they landed, it was already past noon. A car was waiting outside to pick them up. Su Wanting got into a red sedan and left in a hurry.
Zhang Qiu stared at the direction Su Wanting had disappeared to, lost in thought. She left so quickly. Could the person who picked her up be connected to the one behind Jin Laoda?
“Let’s head to the hotel first.”
Zhang Qiu sidled up to Li Shu and whispered, “Aren’t you curious where Su Wanting is going?”
“Where is she going?” Li Shu asked in return.
Zhang Qiu was about to share his own speculation when he caught sight of the slight smile in Li Shu’s eyes. At that moment, he understood—Li Shu already knew. Su Wanting was most likely going to meet Jin Laoda’s mysterious backer.
“Aren’t you going to follow her and find out who’s behind everything?” Zhang Qiu asked.
Li Shu glanced at the driver ahead and shook his head. “We wouldn’t be able to follow. Since they didn’t even try to hide their movements, it means they’re not afraid of us tracking them. We’ll have a chance to meet them sooner or later.”
Zhang Qiu immediately grasped the situation. Su Wanting had left in a hurry, without any effort to cover her tracks. That meant they weren’t worried about being followed, which suggested they were ready for a direct confrontation. Whatever lay ahead in this next tomb, it was bound to be dangerous.
The Su family had money to burn, so they had booked a luxurious hot spring resort in the mountains. Each person had their own room, and the private courtyards even had individual hot spring pools. Since they had to wait for Pingquan and Xiao Liu to arrive, they’d be staying in Luoyang for a few days.
A fully funded vacation—what a dream!
Zhang Qiu was thrilled to hear that everyone got their own room. Finally, I can sleep in peace without Li Shu messing with me!
“No need. We’ll take one room,” Li Shu said, pushing Zhang Qiu’s room card back to the receptionist.
Zhang Qiu nearly exploded. “Who said we don’t need—”
But when he met Li Shu’s calm gaze, his hand faltered, and he meekly slid his room card back to the desk. “…I just meant that sharing a room is more environmentally friendly.”
Dead inside.jpg
Xu Huiwang watched the whole scene and chuckled. “Do you need me to take care of Xiao Jiang for the night?”
Zhang Qiu nearly cried. Second sister-in-law is just trying to set me up! If Xiao Jiang isn’t around, Li Shu won’t hold back at all!
Frantically, he waved his hands. “Xiao Jiang is super clingy to me. He can’t sleep without me.”
Xiao Jiang, sleeping soundly: …
After some small talk, they all picked up their keys and went to their rooms.
The resort’s accommodations were courtyard-style, with the four of them sharing one courtyard while Guangtou’s group was in the one next door.
As soon as they entered their room, Zhang Qiu stripped down to his underwear and dove under the blankets, wrapping himself up tightly like an anti-wolf burrito. Only his head peeked out as he solemnly declared, “For the sake of long-term sustainable development, I think we should maintain some distance tonight.”
He was clearly scared out of his mind, yet he was still trying to act tough.
Li Shu found it amusing. “Don’t worry, I won’t touch you. After all, we have plenty of time ahead of us.”
Hearing that, Zhang Qiu finally relaxed. He reached into his pocket* and pulled out Xiao Jiang. The little jiangshi was naturally cool to the touch, making him the perfect cuddle buddy.
*[T/N: WHAT POCKET! YOU SAID YOU WERE IN UNDERWEAR. Don’t tell me the child was additional padding.]
Father and son snuggled into the blankets and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Li Shu stood by the large floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze fixed on the endless stretch of mountains in the distance. His brows furrowed slightly.
By the time Zhang Qiu woke up, the outdoor lamps had already been lit. The hot spring pool in the courtyard was surrounded by twinkling lights, creating a romantic atmosphere. Li Shu was nowhere in sight, while Xiao Jiang was fast asleep, drooling all over the pillow.
Zhang Qiu wrinkled his nose in disgust and poked the little jiangshi’s cool cheek. “Dumb Xiao Jiang!”
“Baba?”
Still groggy, Xiao Jiang rubbed his eyes.
Zhang Qiu yawned, grabbed a wrinkled T-shirt, and pulled it on. Then, seeing his son struggling to get up but too sleepy to move, he scooped him up.
“Let’s go eat. And then we’ll go find your second mom.”
“Eat!” Xiao Jiang’s eyes immediately lit up at the word.
Zhang Qiu chuckled and carried his son out.
As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he ran into Pei Qing.
“Have you seen Li Shu?”
Pei Qing shook his head. “No, but you can check the restaurant.”
The restaurant was located outside the courtyard, inside a red-roofed building. Zhang Qiu nodded and walked past Pei Qing, but after taking a few steps, he frowned and turned back.
Just now, when the wind had blown by, he had caught a faint, sickly sweet scent—exactly like the one from the underground waterway in Changsha.
He sniffed again, but the scent was gone.
Am I just imagining things?
Shrugging off the thought, Zhang Qiu exited the courtyard.
The red-roofed restaurant was only about a ten-minute walk from their rooms. Zhang Qiu had seen it earlier when they arrived.
His stomach growled. The in-flight meal from earlier had long since been digested, leaving him starving.
He quickened his pace.
After walking for ten minutes, he suddenly felt a chill. The red-roofed restaurant still looked as distant as it had before—unchanged.
His heart sank. That’s impossible. At the speed I was walking, I should have arrived already.
The road was lined with dark trees and lawns. The dim streetlights flickered, as if growing weaker.
Zhang Qiu turned to look around. The path behind him was shrouded in a hazy blur, and the red-roofed building in front of him had completely vanished into the darkness, as if it had never been there.
He was trapped.
Ghost Wall.
Zhang Qiu clenched his fists, his heart pounding. But outwardly, he remained calm—more composed than he expected. Perhaps it was because he knew he was alone now. Li Shu and Xu Huiwang weren’t around, so he had to rely on himself.
Instinctively, he patted his pocket. Xiao Jiang poked his head out. His sleepy eyes immediately sharpened, looking just like Li Shu’s—but Zhang Qiu didn’t notice.
The road ahead seemed to have disappeared. Zhang Qiu steadied himself, but he couldn’t move forward. His feet felt rooted to the ground.
Then, a cold breath blew against the back of his neck.
His skin prickled, goosebumps rising on his arms.
Zhang Qiu did not dare to turn around.
He had read somewhere that humans had three “spiritual flames”—one on the head, one on each shoulder. If you ever found yourself trapped in a Ghost Wall, you must never turn around.
The moment you did, the ghost would blow out your shoulder flames. If all three flames were extinguished, you’d be taken as a substitute for the dead.
Sweat formed in Zhang Qiu’s palms.
But the presence behind him only grew stronger, heavier. A sickly sweet scent filled his nostrils.
Suddenly, a weight pressed down on his shoulder—like a hand resting there.
“Monster!”
A furious voice burst from his pocket.
Xiao Jiang lunged backward, baring his fangs. A woman’s pained cry echoed through the air, and the sickly sweet scent faded slightly.
Just as Zhang Qiu exhaled in relief, a ghostly voice, distant yet piercing, drifted toward him.
“Master, please… save me…”
Little Pink Starfish 
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