Realm of the Night God

Chapter 13: The Power of Red Packets

After learning the address of the master, Jiang Zhenzhen left the jewelry store and casually ate something on the street before heading to the address provided by her female colleague.

Considering she had an afternoon to spare, she decided to grab a bite to eat to fill her stomach. Little did she know that if she had skipped that meal and rushed to Yang Haoran's address immediately after finding out, she wouldn't have missed him. At that time, Yang Haoran was still at the shop. However, she didn't act on this.

Arriving at Yang Haoran's grocery store according to her colleague's directions, she found the shop tightly shut with its roller shutter down. Yang Haoran had already gone with Guanhai to deal with matters at Mr. Liu's house.

Not seeing Yang Haoran, Jiang Zhenzhen didn't give up. She waited outside the grocery store until evening, but Yang Haoran didn't return home until early morning. By then, Jiang Zhenzhen had left, so she didn't meet him.

However, after being greatly frightened for three consecutive nights, Jiang Zhenzhen didn't dare to go back again. Instead, she found a nearby hotel to stay for the night.

Though she didn't return home, she didn't rest comfortably that night either. She spent the whole night in a daze, hesitant to sleep, afraid that she might see the terrifying old lady again when she closed her eyes.

So, she endured until five in the morning and left the hotel before dawn, arriving outside Yang Haoran's shop, waiting until she knocked on the roller shutter.

Jiang Zhenzhen explained in detail, and Yang Haoran listened attentively, not missing any details. After hearing her out, Yang Haoran also felt that the situation was quite bizarre.

Putting himself in her shoes, he realized that if he, a grown man, encountered such a thing, he would undoubtedly be scared, let alone Jiang Zhenzhen, a girl. He could sense the fear in Jiang Zhenzhen's voice as she spoke.

While Jiang Zhenzhen, the one directly involved, was afraid, Yang Haoran, the listener, felt uneasy too. In his view, the apartment Jiang Zhenzhen rented was definitely not clean.

Though he thought so, he didn't show any hint of it on his face. A faint smile hung on his face, giving off an aura of mystery. Jiang Zhenzhen, who was already quite frightened, felt somewhat reassured seeing Yang Haoran's calm demeanor.

"Master indeed lives up to his reputation, showing no change in expression. You must have real skills. I'm glad I came to you for help!" Jiang Zhenzhen said with some relief.

Yang Haoran chuckled and replied, "Oh, come on now, it's just some petty tricks, nothing worth mentioning. Can't compare to the real deal, really!"

Yang Haoran's words were indeed true, but unfortunately, in Jiang Zhenzhen's eyes, his humility only made him seem more like a master.

Unaware that the air of mystery on Master Yang's face was just an act, Jiang Zhenzhen felt a bit more confident. If she had witnessed what Yang Haoran had experienced last night when he passed by the old building, she probably wouldn't have come to see him again today.

Seeing Yang Haoran's smile remain mysterious after he finished speaking, Jiang Zhenzhen felt a bit anxious and asked, "Master Yang, how should I handle this matter?"

Though Yang Haoran felt a pang of unease, he maintained his composure and thought for a moment before suggesting, "It's certain that there's something wrong with the apartment you're currently living in. Continuing to stay there will only worsen your condition, and I believe you've felt it too."

Without waiting for Jiang Zhenzhen to respond, Yang Haoran fetched a mirror from the side and handed it to her. He sighed and continued, "Take a look at your current mental state in the mirror. It's quite pitiful."

Jiang Zhenzhen took the mirror and examined herself. She looked haggard, as if she had aged several years overnight. She had been in a hurry this morning and hadn't paid attention to her appearance. Now, seeing herself in detail startled her.

"Master... this..." Jiang Zhenzhen became anxious.

"I suggest you move out of that apartment immediately. Don't stay there any longer," Yang Haoran advised after some thought.

By giving Jiang Zhenzhen this advice, Yang Haoran knew that if she agreed, he would lose this business opportunity. After all, why would she come to him if she changed apartments? However, his actions weren't about turning down money but rather about his own considerations.

Every time he took on a job, he carefully assessed the situation. If it was within his capabilities, he would gladly take it on and earn some extra money. However, if it exceeded his abilities, like Jiang Zhenzhen's situation this time, he wouldn't take the risk.

His capabilities were limited to putting on a show and fooling clients. This was easy for him and posed no challenge. But if the situation was too eerie and bizarre, like Jiang Zhenzhen's case, he wouldn't blindly accept it.

Because once he accepted, not only would he fail to solve the problem, but he might also expose himself, risking not only the loss of income but also damaging his hard-earned reputation. It would be a loss outweighing the gains.

Although he wouldn't take on cases recklessly, under normal circumstances, Yang Haoran would offer some ideas for these people. Based on what he knew, he would provide clients with some free advice. Whether it worked or not was beyond his control.

However, when Jiang Zhenzhen heard this suggestion, she immediately shook her head vigorously, saying, "No, no, this won't work."

Yang Haoran looked puzzled and asked, "Why not? What's the matter?"

Jiang Zhenzhen hesitated, as if there was something difficult to express. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up, "I rented this apartment on an annual basis, and I also paid a five hundred New Genesis Coin deposit. If I don't rent it anymore, the loss will be significant. This money is very important to me."

"A year's rent? Why did you pay so much?" Yang Haoran was even more puzzled.

"I thought the environment of this apartment was good, and the price was very cheap, so I liked it and decided to rent it. However, the landlord was very firm. To rent the apartment, I had to pay a year's rent upfront. Although I was hesitant at the time, considering that I would be developing long-term in this city and wouldn't change apartments without special circumstances, I agreed to the landlord's terms and paid a year's rent and a five hundred New Genesis Coin deposit. If I don't rent it now, I won't be able to get the rent back for sure, and maybe not even the deposit. The deposit doesn't matter much to me, but a year's rent is already a considerable sum for me." Jiang Zhenzhen explained with a helpless expression.

Yang Haoran didn't doubt what Jiang Zhenzhen said. He had been wandering around for more than ten years and had rented some houses himself. As Jiang Zhenzhen described, in such situations, the rent was definitely non-refundable.

As for the deposit, it depended on the landlord's personality and mood. With kind-hearted landlords, they would return the deposit to the tenant without causing any trouble. Slightly worse landlords would find all sorts of problems with the house, even if you had only lived there for a day, and then deduct part of the deposit forcefully.

Even worse were landlords who wouldn't refund any portion of the deposit. Except for tenants with extremely stubborn personalities who could make a big fuss and maybe get the deposit back from them, most tenants wouldn't even think about getting their deposit back. For the vast majority of tenants, if they couldn't get it back, they would just let it go, and the money would end up in the landlord's pocket.

Jiang Zhenzhen paid a year's rent and a five hundred New Genesis Coin deposit, which was definitely not a small amount. If she didn't rent it anymore, this money would naturally be lost.

"Although money is important, is it more important than your life? If you continue to stay in that house, you might end up losing your life. Let's not talk about ghosts; just look at your current condition. If this continues, how long do you think you can survive?" Yang Haoran said seriously.

He wasn't just trying to scare Jiang Zhenzhen with these words. Jiang Zhenzhen's current condition was very poor. If she continued to live in that house, unable to rest due to nightmares every night, leaving aside supernatural things, Jiang Zhenzhen's body wouldn't be able to endure it. The day her body collapsed would be the day she departed.

"But... but... but if I move out, what if she still harasses me? What should I do then?" Jiang Zhenzhen asked nervously, almost on the verge of tears. It was unclear whether she was scared or just too anxious.

Jiang Zhenzhen's question stumped Yang Haoran. Indeed, moving houses would make her safe?

Although Jiang Zhenzhen had mentioned before that the decaying corpse old lady in her nightmares wanted her to leave the house and claimed the house was hers, from her words, it seemed that the decaying corpse old lady cared about the house. As long as she left the house, she shouldn't be threatened anymore. But what if something went wrong?

What if the decaying corpse old lady continued to harass her after Jiang Zhenzhen moved out? What should she do then, move again?

Forget about how troublesome it would be to keep moving; even if she were a wealthy livestock, she couldn't withstand such harassment. Just think about the cost of renting a house and the deposit each time she moved. It would be a considerable expense. Where would she find so much money?

However, apart from doing this, what other options were there?

After thinking for a moment, Yang Haoran decided to advise Jiang Zhenzhen to move to a different place first. If the decaying corpse old lady stopped bothering her, everything would be fine. If moving didn't work, they would figure out a solution later. If worse came to worst, they would have Jiang Zhenzhen visit a real expert at the temple. Then, he could casually pull some tricks and preserve his reputation without any problem.

Yang Haoran was about to speak when Jiang Zhenzhen took out something from her bag and handed it to him with great respect.

The thing turned out to be a red packet, not bulging, but slightly thicker than the one Mr. Liu gave him yesterday. Even though the difference in thickness wasn't significant, Yang Haoran could still see the difference at a glance.

The appearance of the red packet made Yang Haoran swallow his words. At this moment, Jiang Zhenzhen weakly said, "I think the best solution is to ask Master Yang to visit the house I rented and then... help me deal with it."