Chapter 98 - I Can Tell You're Not Human at a Glance, Reveal Your True Form!
"You two know each other, right?"
Renji smiled as he looked at the two of them. Judging by their deliberately awkward behavior, it was obvious they had planned to pretend they didn't know each other. But from what Renji remembered from the movie, they were ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend.
Strangely enough, though, it seemed the two of them had arrived together, rather than Ah Pan arriving first and Ken later.
"We do know each other."
A flicker of awkwardness crossed Ah Pan's face before she explained, "We're exes. Just happened to run into each other here."
If Renji hadn't been around, she probably would've greeted Ken casually. But seeing such a handsome guy like Renji, she'd been hoping to develop something and thought pretending not to know Ken might help.
She hadn't expected Renji's single sentence to tie them back together and expose their relationship.
So she had no choice but to explain.
"Yeah, I just came here for an interview."
Ken glanced at Renji and added an explanation.
Maybe he had caught on to Ah Pan's thoughts. But since they had broken up—because he initiated it—she might even resent him now. He didn't want to interfere with her chances at romance.
"You heard the stories, right? This street's haunted. Every year during Ghost Month, nine people die."
At the lobby, a group of women were chatting about the building's infamous rumors.
But Renji could tell with one glance—none of them were human.
Among them was the red-dressed Ah Shan. Although they were talking, their eyes kept drifting toward the three of them, finally resting on Renji.
"It's really that bad?" Ken muttered. Though he had heard the rumors, it had been ages since he'd found a job. If he didn't work soon, he wouldn't be able to pay rent next month.
So even knowing the risks, he had to tough it out and give this place a try.
"Well, I'm off to my interview then."
Ken waved at the two of them and turned into a corridor toward the elevator.
"You just arrived here, right? Have you heard the stories about this place?" Ah Pan asked, curious if Renji had heard the legends.
She herself had heard a little.
"I've heard."
"And you still want to start a company here? Not many people even dare to come for interviews!"
Ah Pan warned him. If she wasn't trying to change careers, she wouldn't be here either.
Her education wasn't great. Aside from her decent looks, she had no standout skills. If this building didn't have such a hard time hiring, she probably wouldn't have stood a chance against the competition.
"It's fine. I can handle it on my own. Oh, take me to the 16th floor, will you?"
"You're going to the 16th too? Your company's on the 16th floor?"
Ah Pan's eyes lit up at his words. She hadn't expected Renji to be on the same floor.
That meant she could see him more often, right?
"Yeah, though I haven't decided yet. I spoke with the building manager—he told me I could pick any office I like, so I'm checking it out."
If Renji remembered correctly, the 16th floor was the haunted zone.
Might as well start there. The elevator dinged, and when the doors opened, a white-haired woman was crouched inside with her back to them.
Ah Pan felt a chill, but seeing Renji walk in without a care, she gritted her teeth and followed, sticking close to him to keep her distance from the woman. It made her feel a bit safer.
Just as the elevator was about to close, a pale white hand reached in to stop it. "Sorry, sorry, please wait—I'm coming too!"
The doors opened again, and Ah Shan in her red dress stepped inside, flashing a gentle smile as she glanced toward the crouched white-haired woman.
She had originally planned to wait and see which elevator Renji chose, but seeing Ah Pan sticking so close to him forced her hand. After all, the ghosts here were all choosing stand-ins—if someone else picked Renji first, she'd have to start over.
And finding a good replacement wasn't always easy.
"Hi there, do you work in this building too?" Ah Shan greeted Renji and Ah Pan warmly.
Though Ah Pan had already been chosen by Ba Jie, she wasn't Ah Shan's real target.
"Yeah, and you?" Renji responded.
"Of course!"
"I'm here to inspect the place. Want to show me around?"
Renji smiled at her. The first ghost had approached—it'd be a waste not to take the opportunity.
Ah Shan's eyes lit up. She'd been worrying about how to approach him, and now he'd walked right into her hands.
The white-haired woman crouched in the corner heard this and felt a trace of gloom in her heart. It seemed this man was doomed.
"Not interested in me, huh?" Ah Pan couldn't hide her disappointment. She'd been hoping to pursue this handsome guy, but it looked like he was into the lady in red.
"Of course, I've still got some time before work starts. I'll show you around!" Ah Shan said, excited.
"Ah Pan, I'll come find you later," Renji said.
"Alright…" Ah Pan replied, a tinge of sadness in her voice. She watched Renji walk off and waved goodbye, then exited the elevator and turned down a hallway toward her office.
16th Floor.
Plenty of offices were vacant here. Years of hauntings had driven most companies away, leaving lots of spacious rooms behind.
Renji wasn't in a rush to act. After walking around the floor, he found the space roomy but too cluttered. So he called Liu Guang.
When the line connected, Renji asked, "Hey, do you have any offices that aren't so crowded? If I'm setting up that kind of business, I don't want to be treated like a circus act, you know?"
Even a ghost-hunting company needed the right setup—you couldn't just plop it down anywhere.
Right now, the place was nearly empty, but once Renji cleared out the hauntings, companies would definitely come back.
"Master Renji, how about the top floor? That used to be my office. If you want it, it's yours. You'll get a full-floor view and a great vantage point of the area!" Liu Guang quickly offered.
He'd originally intended the top floor as his own office but was too scared to use it—so it had remained vacant all this time.
"Alright, I got it," Renji replied.
"The top floor, huh?"
A glint of understanding flashed in Renji's eyes. The top floor was indeed a massive, open-plan space, and above it should be the rooftop.
Watching Renji's back, Ah Shan's eyes flickered. If he went up there, maybe…
But on second thought, it felt too soon. He probably wouldn't trust her that easily.
"Renji, are you the boss? So young and already renting the whole top floor—you really are impressive!"
A trace of admiration flickered in Ah Shan's gaze. She looked at Renji with a face full of praise, practically broadcasting 'I like you' across her expression.
Unfortunately…
No matter how young and capable he was, soon he'd have nothing left at all.
"Yeah, I run my own business."
Renji casually pressed the button for the top floor, while the white-haired woman remained crouched in the elevator corner.
"You a rich second gen?"
"Self-made."
"Self-made? That's amazing! So what exactly do you do?"
Ah Shan's innocent schoolgirl-like expression was the kind that would make most people feel incredibly flattered.
After all, a pretty woman looking at you with admiration—it's enough to make anyone feel good.
"You'll find out soon."
Renji gave a small smirk without explaining further. As the elevator dinged again, Ah Shan's train of thought was interrupted.
'What does he mean I'll find out soon?'
She didn't have time to think. She quickly followed, but when she noticed the white-haired woman also stepping out, her expression darkened, turning her head to glare with a threatening look.
If it weren't for the fact that the woman had tried to save her once, she'd have chosen her as a stand-in already.
Of course, it was also because she had Yin-Yang Eyes. Ghosts like them couldn't deceive or confuse her with illusions.
"This open floor is great—probably about four hundred square meters. Could even live up here."
Renji looked around. Then he glanced at the elevator and thought about asking Liu Guang to set up a private elevator just for him and his guests.
"Oh, right. Didn't you want to know what I do?"
He turned to Ah Shan. Seeing her nod, Renji raised his hand. Lightning sparked and crackled in his palm.
"I'm a Taoist. The owner of this building made a deal with me—I'll get rid of all the ghosts here, and in return, I get to choose any office. You're the first."
Renji spoke calmly as lightning filled the entire room.
Thunder and lightning.
The bane of evil spirits—especially ghosts like Ah Shan who drag others to die in their place.
The entire 25th floor sizzled with intense electricity. Ah Shan knew if she got touched by that lightning, she'd be obliterated on the spot.
"W-What are you saying? I'm not a ghost!" she stammered, her face pale.
She didn't dare move and could only try to bluff her way out.
"I could tell with a single glance you weren't human. Reveal your true form, fiend!"
As he spoke, Renji hurled a bolt of lightning at Ah Shan, reducing her to ash in an instant.
But even after waiting a while, no lottery chance appeared.
"Do I have to completely clear the situation for it to count?"
Renji withdrew his hand and checked his draw counter. Still zero.
Seems killing a single ghost didn't count as a full reward.
Then again, if all nine ghosts gave draws, or even just the main three, that might be too generous.
"I know you've been watching. You have Yin-Yang Eyes, right? Want to be my assistant?"
Renji turned toward the corner. The white-haired woman was already scared stiff.
She had assumed Renji was doomed—but in the blink of an eye, the ghost woman had been annihilated.
"Can I?" she asked, pointing to herself, full of hope.
She had suffered for years because of her Yin-Yang Eyes. She could see ghosts but couldn't do anything about them.
Living in constant fear.
"Of course. You can see ghosts—that's exactly the kind of assistant I need. And as you can see, this floor will need help being maintained later. Since you've got those eyes, you're the perfect fit."
Renji could only see ghosts using special methods, not all the time. Yin-Yang Eyes were genuinely useful to him.
Since he needed an assistant anyway, might as well choose her.
"I'm willing!"
She agreed immediately. After witnessing Renji's power, she knew that following him was way safer than staying alone.
"There are still eight ghosts left here. Take me to them—I'm going to end this cycle."
Besides Ba Jie, three other ghosts had appeared in the lobby earlier.
That left four more that Renji hadn't seen and didn't know what floors they were on.
But Ayi, who had been here for years, would know. And now that Renji wanted to act, she was eager to help.
This cycle should have ended long ago.
"Boss… may I ask your name?"
"Renji."
"Then, boss… since Taoists exist in this world, why has the cycle here never been broken? These stories have been around for years. Has no capable Taoist ever tried to resolve it?"
Ayi asked curiously. With someone like Renji around, surely other Taoists must've known about the building too?
So why had nothing ever been done?
"Yeah, I wonder that too. Or maybe… it really can't be resolved completely."
An office haunted by ghosts usually meant there were no means to exorcise them.
But with so many worlds fused together here, there's no way other Taoists didn't know about it.
Yet nothing had ever been done.
"Boss, I once thought about going to the media. At first, they agreed. But later, they backed out. Aside from word of mouth, the rumors here never appear in news or papers."
"It's like someone's deliberately covering it up. And since supernatural stories are common in Hong Kong, if you hadn't shown up today, you probably wouldn't have known either."
Ayi had genuinely tried to find solutions.
But the media suddenly backed out. It was as if Hong Kong had a policy of keeping supernatural events out of the news entirely.
"Exactly. That kind of information lockdown… Normally newspapers love bizarre stories—they boost circulation. But this?"
It didn't make sense for papers to ignore stories that sold well.
Even his master only knew about ghosts within a ten-mile radius. Anything farther, he only heard through the news. And the news never reported anything supernatural.
It felt… suspicious.
Like some invisible hand was suppressing the truth.
Renji shook his head.
No point in overthinking it now.
The most important thing was to get rid of every last ghost here.
So far, no one had died.
If even one person died, that meant he had failed to change the outcome.
(End of Chapter)
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