Chapter Ninety-Six: The Bewitching Ghost Tree

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Seeing that she had returned to her usual self, no longer behaving wildly as she did in the bar, I asked, “Do you know Mr. Li from XX Real Estate?”

Lisa looked up, her eyes suddenly dimming as she said, “Is he trying to drive me away?”

The beauty sighed, tears shimmering in her eyes—truly a pitiable sight.

“It’s not that I want to drive you off. The place is huge, with a storefront in the back. I’m in business, and I have a good relationship with Mr. Liu. I was hoping to rent this place, so unfortunately, Miss Lisa, you’ll have to bear with this...”

I’ve never been able to stand seeing women cry, especially one with such exquisite looks and figure.

Unexpectedly, her tone turned bitter and harsh. “Heh, it’s just that they’re tired of me. People like them, the wealthy, always treat women like toys.”

So Mr. Li actually has some kind of relationship with this woman as well!

Better to keep my distance and avoid any trouble.

Then it occurred to me—Mr. Li asked me to handle these supernatural matters; could it be that he also wants me to clean up this emotional mess on his behalf?

Sure enough, businessmen’s hearts are always dirty!

“By the way, Miss Lisa, have you noticed anything strange about the tree outside?” I asked.

She shook her head. “The reason I said something weird happened is partly for old Li to hear, and partly because the nights here aren’t peaceful. I keep hearing a woman crying, rustling sounds, and some cats in heat outside... It makes it impossible for me to sleep.”

I recalled the countless white female ghostly figures I saw beneath that tree earlier. Indeed, the tree was the source of the trouble!

I called over Old Liao, and the three of us sat facing each other on the sofa. I said to Lisa, “To be honest, my business is related to these kinds of strange events. I’m here mainly to help you deal with the odd things you’ve encountered recently. We’d like to stay here tonight to observe. Would that be alright?”

Lisa gently tucked her hair behind her ear. Her face no longer bore the wild look from before; she seemed much gentler. She rubbed her pale thigh with clenched hands as if lost in thought. After a moment, she joked, “Sure, but are you going to share a room with me?”

I looked up, and she gave me a radiant smile, full of sunshine—completely devoid of any lewdness, resembling a lively female college student.

I quickly shook my hand, signaling that I had no such intentions at all. I was just worried something might happen to her, a lone girl living here.

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Lisa’s gaze grew distant, her eyelids drooping as she murmured, “You’re with me without any lust for my body. It’s really like with him... but everything is already irreparable.”

“Like who? What exactly happened? Can you tell me?” This woman must have an insurmountable burden in her heart. Something strange must have happened to turn her into this wayward person.

“It’s nothing. You two should rest early. If anything happens, I’ll shout loudly. You must protect me!”

Lisa smiled brightly at me. In that instant, I saw the girl who once smiled at me in the sunlight during school days. Yet her life was now filled with debauchery and extravagance—truly a lamentable fate.

I have to say, though the house was old, it was especially comfortable. If placed in the Republican era, only a wealthy family could afford such a residence. Behind was a large courtyard and rooms; further inside was the living room, and the back wall had been converted into a storefront. Lisa’s nail salon never opened, so the storefront remained unused.

Old Liao and I chose not to sleep in the side rooms. We decided to spend the night on the living room sofa—one, because cleaning and making beds was a hassle; two, we might not sleep tonight anyway, and it would be easier to watch over Lisa in case anything strange happened.

Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.

Nothing happened throughout the night. Around five or six in the morning, while it was still quite dark outside, I woke up.

I looked beside me, but Old Liao was gone. Had he left alone?

I stood and walked around Lisa’s room, only to find her door wide open... and she was nowhere to be seen.

Huh?

Strange. Where could Lisa and Old Liao have gone?

I went to the second-floor balcony and stared at the eerie locust tree. A flicker of fear stirred within me as I muttered, Damn, did they go out for breakfast?

Or did they spend the night together?

I shook my head, pulled out my phone, and tried to call Old Liao.

But when I reached into my pocket, my phone... was missing!

Waking up like this, I felt an overwhelming sense of unease. Old Liao was gone, Lisa was gone, and my phone was gone. It felt as if I had been abandoned alone in this house.

Suddenly, a chill ran through me as the window outside carried the plaintive cries of cats in heat.

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That sound was like a child’s crying—soft, plaintive, heart-wrenching. I shuddered all over and immediately ran to the door, twisting the handle to flee.

The door opened, revealing a woman dressed in tight black leather. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with a figure that was all curves—a devilish silhouette.

She walked confidently into the room.

I asked her, “Who are you?”

She said she was Lisa’s close friend, that they were good friends who came here to play today, and told me to close the door.

She added that Lisa had gone out on an errand with an older man, and I should stay put in the house. I assumed she meant Old Liao and didn’t think much of it, so I shut the door.

No sooner had the door closed than she leaned against the sofa, striking a seductive pose, slowly unzipping her leather jacket.

Her chest gradually freed from the jacket’s constraints. I was stunned—what was this woman trying to do?

While pulling down the zipper, she beckoned with her finger, “Come... come here... come.”

I wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue—still a teenager in the throes of adolescence—and her provocations were too much to resist. I began to approach her slowly.

After only a few steps, she removed her entire jacket, revealing a black bra. Her abdomen was flat, without a trace of excess flesh—a true earthly goddess.

I couldn’t control my steps and mechanically moved toward this alluring woman.

Just as I reached out to touch her porcelain skin, a loud bronze bell rang out.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot down my spine. When I opened my eyes again... the surroundings had quietly changed.

I was standing on the second-floor windowsill, one foot stepping outside the window. Beyond lay the huge, terrifying ghost tree. Its branches leaned slightly toward me, as if beckoning me to leap...