In front of the ghost house, Huang Xiaolong finally lowered his hand which had been holding my shoulder the entire time, and grabbed the void under his chin. It seemed that he subsequently realized that he did not have a beard, so he just played it off by scratching his chin.

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After a long time, he said quietly, "So much resentment here." He would have sounded more impressive if he hadn’t burped immediately after.

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I hesitated for a moment. Making my last-ditch effort, I said to Wu Jian, "Brother Jian, we could come back another time."

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Wu Jian glanced at me but did not say anything. He started going up to the gate of the ghost house. Huang Xiaolong comforted me by patting me on the back and I followed suit.

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The house was as dilapidated as always, covered in litter. Wu Jian stood at the gate of the courtyard but did not enter. "I was the one who locked the gate once we left last time, but it looks like the chain disappeared and the lock is gone."

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Wu Jian's voice was casual, as if he was mentioning a random factoid, but I felt a chill in my spine.

Huang Xiaolong took out a palm-sized sword out of his bag. With a shake, the sword suddenly extended to arm’s length. It looked impressive, but I knew it was just a collapsible sword prop. Still, it was better than nothing. Now we could only hope that the master was reliable, though I’d really given up hope.

Wu Jian looked at the sword in Huang Xiaolong’s hand. Saying nothing, he took out a flashlight and walked directly toward the ghost house. Huang Xiaolong and I followed closely.

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The moment we stepped into the ghost house, everything around us suddenly lit up. The originally dilapidated main hall blossomed, and a great crystal chandelier sparkled with light on the ceiling. Brand-new tables and chairs were arranged in rows.

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I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, secretly chanting in my mind, “It’s an illusion, it’s an illusion, everything is an illusion.” Wu Jian and Huang Xiaolong were startled as well, looking around alert.

"Oh, here come guests, Sister Hua’s greatest pleasure!” a charming voice said. I saw a 30-year-old woman wearing a cheongsam coming towards us with a beaming expression. She loudly said," Girls, we have visitors." There were numerous delicate, charming and cool voices all around.

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I felt like I had come to a place I shouldn't be going to. Of course, there was no way this place was the inside of the ghost house.

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Wu Jian whispered, "Wait and see the change.” He smiled and nodded to Sister Hua.

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When she came close, she touched Wu Jian’s chest with her hand. "Sit down here," she said. Then she drew Wu Jian to a nearby table.

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I felt my knees buckle; I was frozen in place. Huang Xiaolong saw this and dragged me to Wu Jian’s seat.

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Sister Hua had already called over several beauties and sat down next to us. I buried my head in my hands and dared not look at them. Although I felt someone sitting beside me, I did not move.

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"Brother, you promised to help.” A familiar voice rang out beside me.

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"What?" I asked, shaking.

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"To look for my skin."

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A monster of flesh and blood suddenly appeared in my mind. I cried and fell back heavily on the floor. Then I saw a 15 or 16-year-old, petite, white-skinned, very handsome girl standing beside me.

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Huang Xiaolong, startled by my cry, was about to stand up, but was stopped by a cheongsam-clad beauty. Sister Hua stood over me, saying coldly, "Our guest is not satisfied with Xiao Lingdang?"

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Xiao Lingdang’s pretty face displayed a hurt expression. How was I supposed to respond? I just blurted out, "Satisfied, satisfied, I’m very satisfied."

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Sister Hua's voice returned to normal, "Please be satisfied. Xiao Lingdang, hurry and pick up the guest."

Xiao Lingdang hurriedly stretched out her slender arm and wanted to lift me up, but I slipped away, "I can stand up myself."

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I then climbed up hastily and sat on a stool, frightened, looking at Wu Jian and Huang Xiaolong for help.

Wu Jian hinted at Huang Xiaolong with his eyes, but Huang Xiaolong did nothing, only talked with the beauties around him. However, his hands on the table were trembling; it seemed he was not so calm under the surface.

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I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. All he could do was talk. I had to pin all my hopes on Wu Jian.

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Fortunately, Wu Jian did not let me down. He pushed away the wine the women gave him, and said with a slight cough: "Umm, Sister Hua, have you seen a girl named He Xiaoru recently?"

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Sister Hua cackled, but her voice was as bleak as the cold wind of hell, "You came to look for her, huh?"

He nodded his head, but did not dare to speak up again.

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I looked at Xiao Lingdang, who was looking at me hopefully, and lowered my head. I said, "I've burned the paper for you. Can you let her go? She's innocent."

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When she heard me, she seemed to find something very funny. She laughed, and then said in a charming voice, "Innocent. It was because you gave the money that we waited on you, and the little girl thing, alas, was not easy.”

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I was a little confused by what she was saying, but I went on, "What do you want so you can let her go?"

Sister Hua said, "I’ll have to think about it carefully, but the night is too short. Why must you waste your time seeking a young little girl…?"

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Young… I could not help glancing at Xiao Lingdang, who seemed to be a minor.

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Huang Xiaolong let out a terrified scream, I quickly looked up to see him covering his mouth with his hands to silence himself. The beautiful woman he had been speaking with was dragging something out of Huang Xiaolong’s cup with her hand. I saw the woman’s slender fingers pick out a white worm with an embarrassed smile and then put the worm on her head. The worm quickly crawled into her hair and disappeared.

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Sister Hua scolded her, "Yan’er, you are not allowed to release that thing, remember? You have frightened a guest."

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Yan’er responded with an aggrieved tone, "Xiao Pang has accompanied me for nearly 100 years. My body used to itch and it was Xiao Pang who ate away the itchy rotten flesh." Yan’er brought her head towards Huang Xiaolong’s chest and said: "Guest, you do not blame Xiao Pang, right?"

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Huang Xiaolong glanced at the black and smooth hair under his nose, forced his head up, and looked at me with a sad face: "No, no, no."

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After seeing this scene, I was thoroughly disappointed with Huang Xiaolong. I still had no leads on Xiaoru, and he wasn’t as tough as he was trying to make it seem. I spoke up once again, "Sister Hua, He Xiaoru is my friend. Please let her go, and I’ll burn you all the paper money you desire."

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Sister Hua pretended to think for a while and said, "I can help you. But you have to complete two tasks, and you have to promise me one another thing."

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