After finalizing the contract and signing the agreement, Duanmu Huai called Lorena over and also told her about the haunting of the house.
"Haunted?"
Hearing this, Lorena immediately perked up and tightened her grip on the holy scripture in her hands.
"Are we going to exorcise it?"
"No rush for now."
Duanmu Huai waved his hand. Exorcising could wait—just a mere ghost, easy to deal with. He didn't take it seriously at all.
"I've hired some people to clean the place up first. After all, we're going to live here."
That's right. Although it was an apartment, since it had been open for exhibition, quite a few pieces of furniture were dirty. The bed sheets and covers all needed to be washed as well.
In terms of layout, the first floor contained the reception hall, office, kitchen, dining room, and master bedroom. The second floor had servant rooms and guest rooms. The third floor was for children's rooms and storage.
Normally speaking, the master bedroom should be on the second floor and the servant rooms on the first floor. After all, servants had to wake early to prepare breakfast and tidy things up.
But unfortunately, even art must obey the laws of physics. If all those giant-sized furnishings were moved to the second floor, the entire structure might collapse.
So the artist had no choice but to adjust things—placing the master bedroom on the first floor and the servant rooms on the second. Otherwise… there simply wasn't enough space.
As for cleaning, Duanmu Huai naturally didn't do it himself. He directly hired several hourly workers to clean the entire apartment inside and out, washing everything that needed washing—thanks to modern technology, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy to handle.
"Phew…"
After tidying up the room and enjoying a good meal, Duanmu Huai comfortably soaked in a hot bath in the bathroom.
"So comfortable…"
Enjoying the enormous bathtub before him, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but sigh. This bathtub was made according to the "House of Giants" standard—naturally enormous. Compared to ordinary bathtubs, it looked more like an indoor pool.
And for a bathtub of this size, it was finally just right for Duanmu Huai. He could finally enjoy the pleasure of soaking in a bath.
Ah, truly comfortable. Before, those bathtubs were so small he couldn't even squeeze in sideways. Once he got in, most of the water would overflow.
Nothing like now…
"Glug… glug… glug…"
However, just as Duanmu Huai was leisurely enjoying his bath, the water beneath him suddenly began to churn. A string of bubbles surfaced, as if something was hiding below—slowly rising upward…
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai froze for a moment.
Not already, right? So impatient?
He had just moved in. According to typical movie logic, shouldn't there be some buildup? At least a few months of settling in before things escalate.
And you're already delivering yourself to my door?
Regardless of his internal complaints, a dark shadow gradually emerged from between his legs in the bathtub. Long disheveled hair, clearly a female ghost. She wore a blood-stained, soaking wet nightgown. Crawling out of the tub, she opened her blood-filled mouth toward Duanmu Huai—
—and then the entire ghost froze in place.
W-what is this monster?
How is it even scarier than me?!
Looking at Duanmu Huai, the female ghost panicked. Just as she didn't know what to do, Duanmu Huai suddenly roared:
"Hey, you demon! Take a strike from Old Sun!"
Along with his roar, the ghost saw something suddenly spring up from the water with a slap—a thick and long black shadow that smacked directly into her face!
W-what the hell is that?!
At that moment, the ghost completely lost her composure. She screamed, turned, and leapt out of the bathtub, trying to escape the bathroom.
But just as she stepped out—
Duanmu Huai reached out and grabbed her ankle.
Looking at the struggling ghost before him, a savage grin appeared on his face.
"Hehehe, little beauty, now that you're here, don't even think about leaving."
As he spoke, he dragged the ghost back from the doorway.
When he had heard the artist's story earlier, Duanmu Huai had imagined all sorts of Western horror movie scenarios—victims moving into a cursed house, strange events gradually occurring, mental breakdowns, madness…
He never expected the ghost to be this hospitable—delivering herself on the very first day.
As a man who believed in action over words, Duanmu Huai naturally wouldn't let prey that came to his door escape.
Let it fly away?
Not a chance.
"Sha—Shaaaaa—!!"
The ghost sprawled on the floor as Duanmu Huai slowly dragged her back. Her face twisted, hands desperately clawing at the ground—like a victim in a horror film being dragged toward execution. Despair, pain, terror…
…Wait, something feels off?
Perhaps because she was an evil spirit, the only sounds she made were strange roars and shrieks. She twisted violently, trying to struggle free—but to no avail.
"Hehehe… how is it? This kind of fear where you can't resist no matter what—your turn to taste it."
"I don't know where you came from, but daring to cause trouble right under my nose means you've got no way out!"
"Sha—Shaaaaa—!!"
Hearing his words, the ghost became even more frantic. She clawed at the floor with all her might, even as her nails broke—yet she refused to let go.
But Duanmu Huai didn't care.
Soon, the half of her body that had already escaped the bathroom was dragged back in. The bathroom door slowly closed again.
Then—
"AAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
A piercing scream echoed through the entire house.
After a while, Duanmu Huai finally stepped out of the bathroom, looking refreshed.
"Alright, job done. As expected, just a mere evil spirit—no challenge at all… hm?"
At that moment, he suddenly sensed a shadow flicker in the corridor.
Almost simultaneously, Lingnu—who had been sleeping on the sofa—pricked up her ears, opened her eyes, and leapt down, staring into the hallway and letting out a "meow."
Oh?
There's another one?
Looking at the dark end of the corridor, Duanmu Huai paused, then quickly understood. According to the artist, two girls had killed their parents here.
So—at least two evil spirits.
Perfect.
The night is long, sleep is far away. Might as well…
play a game of hide and seek.
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai grinned, revealing a ferocious smile.
"Come on, Lingnu. Let's play a game."
"Meow!"
The black cat nodded and darted into the depths of the corridor.
"Thump… thump… thump…"
Heavy footsteps echoed.
Hearing them, the evil spirit hiding in the darkness trembled uncontrollably.
He's coming!
That man—coming toward her!
What kind of monster is he?!
Recalling Duanmu Huai's terrifying face, the spirit felt a chill rise from the depths of her being. Even after years of death—even as a murderous evil spirit—
the moment she saw him, she felt an indescribable terror.
Why… why would someone like this move in?!
And why did he look so excited seeing her?!
She was supposed to be the evil spirit! Shouldn't humans run in fear?!
Why did he look at her like he'd just seen…
"Meow!"
Suddenly, a cat's cry rang out, nearly scattering her soul. Trembling, she opened her eyes to see a black cat passing by, glancing around before running off in another direction.
That terrifying giant followed the cat away.
Phew…
Though already dead, she felt as if she had narrowly escaped death.
What now?
Should she leave this house?
No matter what—she had to get out. That man was too terrifying…
Thinking this, the spirit turned around—
—and saw Duanmu Huai's face suddenly appear right in front of her, without any warning.
A cold, ferocious grin stretched across his face as he stared at her.
"Found you."