Chapter 14 Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth ①② Hiring a Stepmother: I'm going for an interview. ...
The Fang family is a well-known and prominent family in Beijing, and they are in the antique business with considerable wealth.
Fang Xin is a typical spoiled brat. After a chance encounter with Li Yang at the hospital, he fell in love at first sight and began to pursue her relentlessly. When Li Yang urgently needed money for surgery, he paid all the expenses without hesitation.
At first, Li Yang thought he was sincere and generous.
She saved money by living frugally and gradually paid back 50,000 yuan.
However, Fang Xin gradually revealed his inherent arrogance and controlling nature, and made no attempt to hide his true intentions, saying, "Either pay back the money in one lump sum, or stay with me."
Although Li Yang grew up in an orphanage, she achieved financial freedom by high school thanks to her indomitable spirit and her talent for creating social media content. She even bought a small house early on.
Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on her. Two years ago, a sudden heart attack not only devastated her health but also drained all her savings. Faced with Fang Xin's relentless pressure, she mostly chose to silently endure it, remembering that he had previously helped her.
Xuan Bingbing's life story is even more tragic. Her parents divorced early, and she lived with her gambling-addicted father. When she was in high school, her father died in a Macau casino, leaving her with a mountain of debt. Her mother had long since remarried and no longer cared for her. Creditors came and took away their only house. In despair, she almost took her own life, but fortunately, she met Li Yang.
Therefore, Xuan Bingbing was extremely dissatisfied with Fang Xin and even the Fang family's behavior of taking advantage of their past favors to relentlessly pressure them.
Lan Shuyin understood what she was worried about, nodded and said, "I understand, call me anytime if you need anything," and then left in a hurry.
She didn't go home; instead, she went straight to an internet cafe.
Crowded, well-lit places are ideal for doing the kind of chilling work that sends shivers down your spine—video editing.
Two hours later, Lan Shuyin uploaded the edited video to her homepage and then sent a confirmation email to the sponsor.
As she walked out of the internet cafe, she slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, as if she had temporarily unloaded something heavy.
Lan Shuyin lives in a high-end serviced apartment less than half a kilometer from the Imperial City.
The two-bedroom apartment, over 100 square meters, has a bright and airy layout, exquisite decoration, and is meticulously maintained. Most importantly, she doesn't have to pay rent—
This house was forced upon her by the old lover of the shaman who adopted her years ago.
The other party is old and sentimental. He said the house was just sitting empty anyway, and after the renovation, he didn't want to come to Beijing. Instead, he persuaded her to move in, as if she were looking after the house for him.
The house is a good house, in a rare location, and in a quiet environment.
Lan Shuyin always felt that it was a waste for one person to live alone, and suggested that Li Yang and Xuan Bingbing move in with her.
But they both politely declined, saying that it was someone else's house after all, and it wouldn't be appropriate for them to move in so abruptly. Besides—no matter how luxurious the place, there's never a place as secure as your own.
When she got home, Lan Shuyin was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down on her pillow.
She didn't know how long she had slept, maybe three hours, maybe less, when a persistent vibration from her phone dragged her out of sleep.
Lan Shuyin groggily reached for her phone, put it to her ear without even looking at it, and mumbled "Hello?"
There was complete silence on the other end of the line.
She barely opened her eyes and glanced at the screen—an unknown number.
Still feeling sleepy, she asked again, "Hello?"
There was still only silence.
Normally, Lan Shuyin would have hung up immediately if the signal was bad or the number was wrong. But at this moment, an indescribable sense of unease pierced her nerves like a needle. She suddenly snapped to attention, pressed the speakerphone, and asked in a more serious tone, "Is anyone there?"
After a brief silence, just as her fingertip was about to move to the hang-up button, a very soft, low laugh suddenly came from the receiver.
In that instant, the hairs on her body stood on end.
"Who?" Lan Shuyin's voice suddenly turned cold as she gripped her phone tightly.
The only response she received was that the call was cut off.
Lan Shuyin wanted to call back, but found that the call log was completely empty. The chilling call from earlier had left no record whatsoever.
What's going on, a ghost call?
She even felt a moment of disorientation, wondering if she was still asleep and trapped in some strange dream.
Lan Shuyin was so disturbed by this that she couldn't sleep at all, so she got up and ordered takeout, and started browsing job search websites.
She's currently financially comfortable and far from being destitute. She accumulated some income as an adventure blogger in her early years, which should be enough to support her for a while even after retiring from the hobby.
But she couldn't just stay idle forever, so for the past year, she has been looking for a job in a "Buddhist" manner, but unfortunately, she hasn't found one that really suits her taste.
While aimlessly swiping the screen, a job posting suddenly popped up in my eyes:
[Daily pay 500, start work the same day]
[Work/Interview Location: Neon Night]
Working hours: 4 PM - 2 AM, 10 hours per day, short-term contracts starting from one month, 12 days off per month.
Job Description: To be discussed in person.
Salary and Benefits: High salary, no experience required, meals and accommodation provided.
Job Requirements: Age 18-30, good health, no criminal record
A Night of Neon Clothes.
Lan Shuyin's heart stirred when her eyes fell upon those three words.
Looking further down—the working hours perfectly avoided her laziest time of day; the daily wage was 500 yuan, and it was paid daily... It has to be admitted that the benefits were very tempting.
She casually submitted her resume online, then glanced at her WeChat and found that Wu Yang had sent several messages in a row.
First, she shared a video saying: "[Sister Yin!! Something big has happened in Qigu Village!!!]"
Lan Shuyin clicked on it and saw a short news report from a local TV station.
The report stated that the police had completely sealed off Qigu Village because "an unidentified decomposed corpse was unearthed," but specific details were vague and key images were blurred.
Upon returning to Beijing, Lan Shuyin developed an even stronger interest in the future development of Qigu Village.
She searched and found that some marketing accounts did indeed forward the relevant news immediately, but all the topics were suppressed and there was not much discussion left. Obviously, someone behind the scenes did not want the matter to escalate.
Let's look at what Wu Yang said:
This story was suppressed from trending topics as soon as it came out, but I... just happened to see it.
Several official vehicles arrived today and sealed off the village! They initially seemed to only want to remove the soil under the ancestral hall's armchair, but as they dug... they unearthed human bones! I saw it clearly from my vantage point on the slope—seven skeletons in total! Some of the bones even had rotting flesh clinging to them; it was disgusting!
I have a feeling that the "seven" in Qigu Village is somehow connected to these seven corpses!
I can't take it anymore, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up again...
Beneath the ancestral hall lies a corpse... yet, upon it blooms an eerie flower?
Even with Lan Shuyin's nerves, which had been exposed to all sorts of bizarre events, she found it difficult to process the horror and incongruity of the situation.
Her fingertip hovered above the screen, about to ask more questions, when a new notification suddenly popped up at the top of the screen—
This is a message from the backend of that recruitment website:
Hello, would it be convenient for you to come to 'Neon Night' for an on-site interview tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM?
Lan Shuyin immediately replied "Okay".
The moment the message was successfully sent, a sudden surge of excitement welled up inside me, easily overshadowing the earlier chill.
She glanced at the messages still displayed in the chat interface, swiped her finger, and exited the chat.
...
"Empress Dowager...please don't kill me, Empress Dowager...spare me...spare me!"
Late at night, the Fang family mansion was brightly lit.
Inside the bedroom, Fang Xin's face was unusually flushed, and he was huddled among the messy bedding, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
He had a persistent high fever, yet his body was chilled and trembling uncontrollably, as if being burned and devoured from within by some invisible flame. His eyes were tightly closed, his lips were pale, and his hands were wildly flailing in the air uncontrollably, as if desperately resisting a terrifying sight that only he could see.
Fang Huan stood by the bed, listening to the hoarse, fearful murmurs that followed one after another. He suppressed his surging anxiety and anger, and turned to the renowned doctors and masters he had once again summoned—
The group of five people were dressed in different ways; some were simple and formal, while others were dressed in strange and unusual clothes.
His voice was tense, "How is my brother?"
The group exchanged glances and then spoke one after another:
"Based on the symptoms, it may be severe hysteria, but autoimmune encephalitis cannot be ruled out. Further testing is needed as soon as possible."
"He is possessed by evil spirits, and his body is invaded by yin energy. He must be exorcised as soon as possible!"
"Amitabha Buddha, all phenomena are empty, but cause and effect are infallible..."
Fang Huan's lips twitched, and he interrupted impatiently, "Abbot Juehe, I don't want to hear Buddhist teachings and Zen principles right now. What I need is a solution!"
Just then, the butler knocked lightly on the door and quickly entered, carrying an antique-looking ebony box in his hands. He said in a low voice, "This was sent by someone from Neon Night."
Fang Huan turned around abruptly and snatched the ebony box from his hand.
A strange, cool sensation instantly traveled through the wood, dispelling some of the suffocating heat in the room.
He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and lifted the lid of the box—
In an instant, an indescribable aura spread out, as heavy as aged sandalwood, yet faintly carrying a very faint, almost imperceptible, bloody scent.
The box was lined with dark red velvet, and a strange plant lay quietly on it.
The petals are long and narrow, resembling those of an orchid, but their color is a dark red, almost black. Under the dim yellow light, they shimmer with a metallic matte sheen, so profound and otherworldly they seem otherworldly.
It is the legendary Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth!
The eerie flower's heart was twitching slightly, as if it contained some kind of living creature that did not belong to the human world.
"This, this is... the legendary Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth?" Abbot Jue exclaimed in surprise, forgetting to even turn the prayer beads in his hands.
Another person chimed in, "I heard that this extraordinary treasure appeared in Seventh Aunt Village last night, attracting all sorts of people to fight over it. I never expected that Ni Changye would have such methods; she can truly snatch food from the tiger's mouth..."
"I wonder if this flower really has the miraculous effect of defying fate, as described in ancient books?"
"Did the person who delivered it explain how to use it?" Fang Huan asked urgently.
"They only said... just take it directly." The butler hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice even further, adding cautiously, "That person also asked me to pass on a message: 'The goods have been delivered. Please take care of yourself, Young Master Fang. No one can ever renege on a debt owed to Ni Changye.'"
He paused, carefully observing the uncertain expression on Fang Huan's face, and asked with extreme caution, "Young Master, besides money, did you promise them anything else?"
Fang Huan suddenly waved his hand, as if to brush away something unpleasant, his tone filled with obvious impatience and evasion, "What else could it be? Uncle Liao, you're getting more and more scheming as you get older."
A note from the author:
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