Zhao Yan's heart skipped a beat. She rushed over with extreme speed, but it was still too late.
As she took two steps, Li Ji fell flat on his back.
By the time she reached the railing, she heard a thudding sound of impact.
Li Ji's body crashed onto the ground, his eyes facing the direction the female ghost had departed.
"Ah!"
Wu Jiaxin, downstairs, heard the commotion. First, she was terrified, and then, as she reacted, she quickly ran over.
When Zhao Yan ran down, Wu Jiaxin, still shaken, shook her head and said, "Sister Zhao, Li... Ji is dead!"
Zhao Yan sighed. She had done her best. Climbing from the first floor to the twelfth floor, even with four speed-enhancing talismans, couldn't save him.
Zhao Yan made the emergency call and waited at the scene for the police to arrive, who would then notify Li Ji's parents.
Zhao Yan told the two elders his last words.
The most painful thing in this world was undoubtedly for parents to outlive their children.
Wu Jiaxin sighed, "Sister Zhao, I once saw a video where a man died in a car accident, and his girlfriend didn't want to live, so she hanged herself in their rental apartment."
"I never thought something like this would happen before my eyes."
Zhao Yan sighed. She wasn't exactly friends with Li Ji; they had only known each other for less than a day, but she felt a great sense of pity.
She held her phone.
She found an unread text message on her phone.
It was likely sent by Li Ji when she was desperately climbing to the twelfth floor.
"May I be the river water, to reunite with my wife."
On the path to the underworld, a familiar voice called out from behind. Hearing this voice, the female ghost suddenly felt a jolt of panic.
"Wife, wait for me!"
She turned to look behind her and saw Li Ji still wearing a gentle smile.
The female ghost trembled, her voice choked with tears, "You scoundrel, why are you here? Go back quickly."
Li Ji smiled, "Wife, you're afraid of the dark, and I can't rest easy. It's pitch black on this path to the underworld. I'm here now, so you won't be afraid!"
...
After settling Li Ji's affairs, Zhao Yan returned to the shop, still feeling a bit uneasy.
She could hear Shi Jichang making noises upstairs.
Zhao Yan was annoyed and immediately slapped him twice, feeling slightly better.
"Master, Shi Jichang's junior brother is here," Wang Xianzhi said as he went upstairs.
Upon hearing this, Shi Jichang's face showed excitement. He wanted to make a sound, but seeing Zhao Yan's cold gaze, he immediately shut his mouth.
Another two slaps like that, and he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Zhao Yan went downstairs. Wang Xianzhi was holding a long box and placed it on the table.
Behind Wang Xianzhi stood Shi Jichang's junior brother, looking at Zhao Yan with trepidation.
He truly hated Shi Jichang.
He had initially thought Zhao Yan was just an ordinary Taoist nun who ran a shop. He had specifically gone back to research her these past few days and learned about Zhao Yan's identity and her high online popularity.
He even discovered that she was hailed by young Xuanmen disciples as the future leader of the Xuanmen.
After learning all this, he realized he had truly messed with the wrong person.
"Master, the long box contains the Purple Gold Rope," Wang Xianzhi said.
Zhao Yan: "Open it and let me see."
Wang Xianzhi acknowledged, reached out to open it, then thought of something and immediately stepped back, worried there might be a trap in the box. He shouted at Shi Jichang's junior brother, "You open it!"
Shi Jichang's junior brother walked over and opened the box.
The rope was coiled inside the box. The rope was about as thick as a thumb.
Zhao Yan took the rope.
The moment her hand touched the rope, it moved like a flexible snake, coiling tightly around her arm.
The force from the rope was not light.
"It's actually a spiritual treasure!" Zhao Yan was somewhat astonished.
A flicker of madness flashed in Shi Jichang's junior brother's eyes as he lightly touched the dagger at his waist.
Even his master couldn't tame this treasure. It had been kept in his room as an object of worship. He planned to tame it when his Yang energy reached a certain level.
He had personally witnessed his master being bound tightly by this rope from head to toe, almost being hanged by it.
If they hadn't arrived in time back then, his master would have been a corpse.
The reason he was presenting this precious treasure to Zhao Yan was a deception.
The gift was a pretense; his ultimate goal was to use this treasure to hang Zhao Yan.
His plan was meticulously crafted.
However, what happened next made him dumbfounded.
The rope that had been tightly bound around Zhao Yan suddenly stopped moving.
Zhao Yan easily untangled the rope from her wrist, held it in her palm, and began to swing it.
Each swing produced a whistling sound.
To subdue such a spiritual treasure, a lot of Yang energy was required for control. Only after absorbing enough Yang energy would the spiritual treasure be subdued.
Without sufficient Yang energy, the spiritual treasure would endlessly demand more. If not handled properly, it could drain a person dry.
For others, increasing Yang energy was difficult, but for Zhao Yan, this was not a problem.
With the Yin-Yang Pearl, any amount of Yang energy absorbed would be replenished.
Zhao Yan nodded with satisfaction and smiled, "It truly is a good treasure. Your sincerity is evident, and I am very pleased."
She had initially thought this treasure was just for ordinary ghost catching.
She hadn't expected it to be a spiritual treasure. Spiritual treasures were rare in the world. Her earlier mood had been somewhat gloomy, but now she felt delighted.
Shi Jichang's junior brother quickly put away his dagger, a smile plastered on his face, while internally cursing.
He wished he could stab himself twice.
How could the situation have turned out like this? It was so far from what he had envisioned.
According to his plan, Zhao Yan would be bound tightly from head to toe by the Purple Gold Rope and then nearly suffocated.
At that point, he would jump out and force the antidote for the Ghost Ten Poisons from Zhao Yan.
Unexpectedly, the Purple Gold Rope had been tamed. Not only had his plan failed, but he had also lost a spiritual treasure. If his master found out, he would be finished.
The more he thought about it, the more he feared Zhao Yan, and his eyes were filled with terror as he looked at her.
Thinking about the Ghost Ten Poisons on him, he felt a dull pain in his chest.
He had undergone medical examinations these past few days, but no matter how hard they checked, they couldn't find the toxins in his body.
Precisely because they couldn't find it, he felt even more fearful and uneasy.
It meant that the poison Zhao Yan had given him was extremely potent, undetectable even by modern medical equipment.
"I'm glad you are satisfied."
"My senior brother..."
Zhao Yan gave Wang Xianzhi a look.
Wang Xianzhi went upstairs and brought Shi Jichang down.
As soon as Shi Jichang came downstairs, he saw Zhao Yan waving the Purple Gold Rope in her hand, making loud cracking sounds in the air.
This completely bewildered Shi Jichang. This was the Purple Gold Rope, something even his master couldn't subdue. How had it become a toy in Zhao Yan's hands?