The Cousin Arrives (Part Three)

After a night's interval, He Lingyu, Shui Mei, and Zhou Xiaojun once again found themselves serving as eyewitnesses. However, unlike last time, their moods were heavy, especially Shui Mei’s. She was not familiar with Wu Ying; they had barely exchanged a word. But Shi Yini was different—Shi Yini was the coach, and Shui Mei often shared tips about dieting and skincare with her.

As the three of them left the traffic police office, Shui Mei suddenly remembered something. “Strange, I didn’t see Coach Shi’s family.”

Zhou Xiaojun, being a local whose family owned a supermarket, was well-informed. “Oh, you didn’t know? Coach Shi might be a local, but her family moved to the Metropolis more than ten years ago. She only came back two years ago and opened the yoga studio. So her whole family is in the city and can’t make it back in such short notice.”

So that was it. They had only known she was from around here, but hadn’t realized her family was not.

At this point, Zhou Xiaojun looked conspiratorially about and lowered her voice. “Coach Shi returned with her boyfriend back then—a young man, barely in his twenties, with long hair tied in a little braid, very handsome. But they broke up not long after. The guy moved out from her place and stayed at my family’s guesthouse for a few days before leaving, saying he was returning to the Metropolis.”

On the way back to the inn, Shui Mei was still sighing at the fragility of life and the fleeting nature of beauty.

Only upon seeing the little building of the inn did Shui Mei remember her cousin, Shi Jing. Since climbing the mountain yesterday, Shi Jing hadn’t returned—just a brief phone call to say she’d met a friend and would be staying out.

Shui Mei used the front desk phone to call the number a few more times, but the phone was still switched off.

“It might make sense to turn off your phone at night, but it’s daytime now—who keeps their phone off in broad daylight?” Shui Mei complained.

“Ghosts do,” Spinach replied.

Shui Mei paused, then looked instinctively to He Lingyu, who was lost in thought. “Lingling? Lingling?”

He Lingyu looked up and made a face at Shui Mei, then generously announced to Spinach, “You worked hard yesterday. I’ll take the full shift today.”

That meant both day and night shifts. The inn was on the mountain, and rarely did guests check in or out at night; the night shift was mostly an excuse to sleep or play games all night.

Even so, Spinach hated the night shift. As soon as He Lingyu finished speaking, she cheered and ran off to the dormitory.

Shui Mei asked with concern, “Are you sure you can handle the full shift?”

He Lingyu smiled. “I’ll be fine, Shui Mei. I’m young, no problem.”

Shui Mei felt a twinge of envy, but then a thought flashed through her mind—perhaps He Lingyu wanted the night shift for another reason.

She was right.

Just past midnight, He Lingyu saw the person she’d been waiting for.

She was happily browsing gossip on Weibo when the woman appeared before her.

A red dress, red lips, black hair cascading to her waist, a pale face, and utterly silent footsteps.

He Lingyu shook her wrist, but the silver bells she wore seemed to be asleep, not making a sound. These two bells had accompanied her through two lifetimes. In her past life, she’d fought fiercely to snatch them from two tomb raiders. She wasn’t sure what happened in between, but in this life, she awoke to find them revered as family heirlooms. The He family treated them as mere keepsakes from their ancestors, something to put on a child’s wrist.

Only He Lingyu knew their true nature: usually deaf and mute, they only rang with a clear, pleasant sound when "good friends" appeared.

But now, no matter how she shook her wrist, the bells were as quiet as the grave.

“Ex-excuse me, are you h-h-here to, to, to stay?” He Lingyu stammered, a timid girl in that moment.

The woman in the red dress parted her lips and said softly, “I want a room.”

“O-okay,” He Lingyu straightened up. “I-I’ll need your ID.”

“Will this do?” The woman in red pulled out a weightless slip of paper.

He Lingyu took it, struggling to keep her expression neutral.

The writing on the paper was clear:

Underworld Identification Card

Name: Shi Jing Gender: Female

Year of Death: [Date, Month, Day, Hour]

Amusingly, the text was printed—laser printed, at that! He Lingyu couldn’t help but marvel: even the King of Hell had gone digital in modern times.

Suppressing her curiosity, she mustered a frightened look and said, “Please, don’t scare me. I—I’m just a materialist.”

Shi Jing smiled gently, revealing pearly white teeth. “You’re innocent. I’m here for Shui Mei.”

Her voice was melodious, soft and lingering.

“Okay, I’ll take you to her,” He Lingyu gulped, trembling all over. She pointed toward the stairs. “The boss lives on the second floor. F-follow me.”

Shi Jing nodded but didn’t move. Instead, she smiled at He Lingyu and suddenly said, “On the fifteenth of the seventh month, she didn’t bring me any offerings. I want to ask her for them in person.”

He Lingyu trembled even more, her voice quivering with tears. “I—I’m just an employee. Please, please talk to the boss, not me.”

“All right.” At last, Shi Jing moved, and only then did He Lingyu notice her shoes—soft-soled cloth slippers, which explained the silent steps. Still, why did she have a shadow?

He Lingyu led the way, with Shi Jing following, her red skirt billowing eerily in the empty hall.

At the foot of the stairs, just as He Lingyu was about to ascend, Shi Jing said, “Call Shui Mei and ask her to come down.”

He Lingyu, clearly terrified, turned stiffly like a puppet, walked back to the front desk, and picked up the phone.

But as soon as she connected, Shi Jing reached out a slender hand. “Let me talk to her.”

He Lingyu handed over the phone at once. Shui Mei’s anxious voice came through the receiver: “Hello? Hello?”

“It’s me, your cousin, Shi Jing,” Shi Jing said softly.

There was a long silence before Shui Mei replied, cautiously, “We have no quarrel, and we’re family. What do you want with me?”

“Shui Mei, I’ve been suffering down below. No one brought me offerings at Ghost Festival. I miss you, I miss Uncle and Auntie. Shui Mei, my dear cousin, tell me, should I bring Uncle and Auntie down to join me?”

She meant Shui Mei’s parents.

Clearly terrified, Shui Mei replied quickly, “Cousin, if you need anything, just ask me. My parents aren’t well—they couldn’t handle it.”

“Fine, then give me a hundred thousand yuan,” Shi Jing said.

“Okay, okay, I’ll burn it for you tomorrow,” Shui Mei said.

“No need, just transfer it on WeChat. We used to have each other added, you haven’t deleted me, have you?”

Shui Mei hadn’t; she was sentimental like that.

“I haven’t, I’ll transfer it right away,” Shui Mei said hastily.

There was a brief silence, then Shui Mei’s voice came urgently, “Cousin, I’ve sent the money.”

With a magician’s flourish, Shi Jing produced a phone from her dress pocket and clicked to receive it.

By now, He Lingyu couldn’t hold back any longer. She pointed to the large green plant in the corner and said, “Miss Ghost, your extortion has all been recorded.”

A camera was hidden there, moved just that afternoon.

At that moment, Shui Mei emerged from the staff dormitory on the side of the hall, phone in hand, followed by Spinach.

Shi Jing’s face was deathly pale. He Lingyu was about to gloat, but suddenly, the silver bells on her wrist rang out, clear and sharp.