“…So after you screamed, that hand just disappeared into thin air?”

The young man, awakened from sleep, showed no trace of drowsiness. He sat on the sofa, fully alert, as if he had never slept.

He touched his neck, where a faint chill still lingered on his skin.

Beside him were the nanny, bodyguards, and the butler, who had slept in the nanny’s room. Their faces showed no resentment of overwork, only endless concern for their employer—an average salary of 80,000 yuan per month.

In the current market, it was not easy to find a job that paid well and involved so little hassle.

But alongside their worry, a hint of tension showed on their faces. After all, whether it was ghosts or enemies, this house was not entirely safe at the moment.

They had suspected that Song Yun might be lying, but seeing him so visibly shaken and his lips pale, they knew it was impossible to fake.

When Song Yun had just taken the hot towel from the nanny and wiped his face, he had done so vigorously—certainly not for show.

Song Yun, however, did not know what the others were thinking. His expression still betrayed a hint of shock, though he nodded when he heard the young man speak.

“Yes, it just disappeared into thin air. The windows in your room were all locked…”

Song Yun said, trembling slightly. He had even checked the windows after the bodyguards arrived.

Upon hearing Song Yun, the young man nodded to the bodyguards, who immediately contacted their team stationed at the nearby hotel.

Within two hours, the entire flat had been thoroughly searched by all the bodyguards.

From door handles to window latches, from floor cracks to the large chandelier, every inch was checked meticulously, almost as if they were prying up the floorboards and scraping the walls.

Watching the bodyguards’ professionalism, Song Yun finally relaxed slightly. At that moment, the nanny handed him a warm cup of milk. After thanking her, he held it with trembling hands, still somewhat unsettled.

Tonight’s events had defied all reason.

After he screamed, he had rushed to open the door as fast as possible.

Yet…

The pale, large hand had vanished from his sight.

As if it had never appeared at all.

The room contained only the recently awakened Ye Wangxing and an eerie silence.

It is widely known that when encountering something grotesque, the scariest thing is not its presence before you, but its sudden disappearance after a blink.

You can never guess if it truly vanished or if it will appear again the moment you turn around.

This caused Song Yun, standing at Ye Wangxing’s room door, to hesitate, too afraid to turn around. Only when the bodyguards arrived did he finally tremble and sit on the sofa.

‘Now that the bodyguards are here, nothing should happen, right?’

Song Yun thought, sipped the hot milk, and finally calmed down.

Yet while Song Yun relaxed, the bodyguards nerves were on edge.

They were a professional team, accustomed to such incidents, though usually it involved inheritance disputes or pre-arranged traps by competitors. Those cases left traces.

For example, digital device logs or signs of someone entering.

And with those clues, they could call the authorities.

They had assumed tonight’s situation would be similar, but…

The door locks were intact, the window latches secured. No footprints appeared on the windowsill, and the wardrobe was meticulously scanned with specialized equipment—no hidden compartments, no space to conceal anyone.

All smart devices showed no anomalies, and they even cut open the mattress, yet they found no trace of the pale hand.

They even reviewed the floor plan. The layout offered no space for hiding anyone.

Captain of the bodyguards Zhang Si broke into a cold sweat.

If these inspections showed nothing, the anomaly had to involve either Song Yun or…

“Boss, the inspection is complete. No signs of intrusion, no abnormal readings from devices, and no extra electronic equipment,” Zhang Si reported.

The young man frowned, while Song Yun grew flustered, insisting he had not lied.

“…Wangxing, trust me, I really wouldn’t lie to you.”

Song Yun’s previously calm heart wavered again. Seeing his almost-crying brother, the handsome young man immediately reassured him.

“Brother, I know. You wouldn’t hurt me.”

The young man comforted him.

Zhang Si, however, worried for his employer. He still believed this incident likely involved Song Yun or someone connected to him.

Based on years of experience, the probability of a familiar person committing this was about 80%.

Then he heard his employer say: “I installed a camera in the bedroom. We can just check it to see what happened.”

Zhang Si was surprised. He had not expected his employer to have a backup plan. He instinctively watched Song Yun’s expression. Seeing him breathe a sigh of relief, a chill ran down his spine.

Song Yun’s behavior clearly showed that he had not planned this, so could it really be true?

Zhang Si immediately rejected this absurd idea.

In the real world, there were not so many ghosts and monsters.

Ten minutes later.

Zhang Si stared at the monitor screen, seeing the pale hand slowly extend from the edge of the frame, and swallowed hard.

“It’s him. I saw it. That arm was so long. I remember clearly—I couldn’t even see his shoulder!”

Song Yun screamed when he saw the hand stretching out from the edge of the screen.

The nanny, bodyguards, and butler looked at the screen. Though people surrounded them, they felt a chill run through their bodies. The butler instinctively pressed toward the center of the group, trying to keep every part of himself hidden.

The bodyguards appeared calmer but not by much. They instinctively returned to their employer, but the handsome young man sat on the sofa completely composed, as if the ghostly hand had never attacked him.

The professional bodyguards were unsteady—and it was understandable.

—Who the hell wouldn’t be scared when seeing something that looked like a dead hand suddenly appear on screen?

‘No wonder someone who could return from abroad with huge amounts of money has such composure’ Zhang Si thought with admiration. Then he silently decided it was better for this man to stay in China.

Abroad, he might even face a grenade launcher, while in China at most, he’d encounter a mud truck or clashing cold weapons.

Zhang Si snapped back to focus on the monitor.

At first, the footage had looked normal: their employer slept quietly, the room showed no unusual device activity, and the ventilation system ran silently, perfectly demonstrating the quiet luxury of a mansion.

—Until the hand appeared.

The hand seemed to materialize from the edge of the screen, or perhaps reach up from under the bed, suddenly appearing in full view.

The bodyguards who had checked under the bed swallowed hard.

With night-vision casting a green hue, several struggled to suppress screams.

The arm behind the hand was also astonishingly long.

Zhang Si instinctively estimated that the owner had to be at least 1.95 meters tall.

But he quickly abandoned calculations because…

The hand, after appearing, reached straight toward the sleeping employer.

The room remained silent. Apart from the employer’s breathing, nothing stirred, yet the hand silently touched him.

The pale hand, tinged with blue, first lightly landed on the employer’s waist, as if with some lingering attachment. Then the fingertips tightened slightly, as if restraining something.

The employer seemed to notice, frowning in sleep but did not wake.

When the hand slid to the chest, it paused. The hand’s owner seemed to feel the beating of the young man’s heart—steady and strong.

Zhang Si’s breathing quickened, fearing for his employer.

He could no longer remind himself that this was just a surveillance video.

The next second…

The rhythmic beating seemed to provoke the hand, which began moving forcefully over the employer’s chest.

Watching the employer frown and start to breathe sharply, Zhang Si thought: “…”

‘Help! So awkward!’

He had not expected that this ghost would act lecherously toward their employer.

Zhang Si glanced at his employer, but to his surprise, the young man was completely calm—the calmest in the room.

He merely frowned slightly, showing no embarrassment, as if contemplating something.

On the screen, the employer’s breathing quickened, his brow furrowed tighter, yet he remained immersed in sleep, oblivious to the impending danger.

The hand traced up over the employer’s delicate collarbone—finally resting on his neck.

The fingers opened slightly, nearly enclosing the entire neck.

The young man’s neck was long and slender, appearing even more fragile against the pale hand. The hand first lightly caressed the skin, then gradually applied more pressure.

The young man’s breathing became rapid and erratic. His hands flailed unconsciously, trying to push away the hand restraining his neck. His brow knitted in pain, yet he still could not wake from sleep.

As the hand’s grip increased, his face turned red, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lips parted. He tried to cry out but only produced faint whimpers.

Over time, the young man struggled, seemingly trying to wake.

The hand appeared to notice and slightly relaxed, allowing him enough oxygen before resuming the previous actions.

—The cycle lasted a full five minutes.

The large hand seemed to take great pleasure in the young man’s near-death state, releasing just enough each time he was about to truly suffocate, allowing him to draw in enough oxygen.

The large hand even had the leisure, during the young man’s breaths, to ambiguously brush the young man’s full lips with its thumb.

The entire scene was both eerie and bizarrely beautiful.

Fortunately, at that moment, Song Yun’s scream rang out, and the large hand suddenly retreated to the edge of the frame.

Then Song Yun pushed open the bedroom door, panting, and scanned the room. From his eyes, it was clear that the hand, which should have been shrunk at the right side of the frame, had completely disappeared.

What happened next, everyone knew.

The scene fell silent. Both Song Yun and the security team felt goosebumps all over, their expressions reflecting a touch of horror as they stared at the master bedroom.

Song Yun was the first to break the silence, looking at Ye Wangxing with some fear.

“Wangxing, maybe we should stay at a hotel tonight. What if that thing appears again at night? Tomorrow during the day, someone needs to check with the seller. Why would something like this appear here? Could it be that someone originally died in this house?!”

Song Yun grew more and more horrified, his emotions rising and falling wildly.

He could no longer think of his husband at all. He didn’t even remember that he could stay at the villa for a while, all he thought about was leaving this place quickly.

Zhang Si also wanted to suggest leaving first, as the thing looked really sinister.

But before he could speak, he saw his employer, with that calm and beautiful face, say: “It wasn’t left by a previous owner.”

“Huh?” Song Yun sounded puzzled. “Then if it wasn’t left by a previous owner, what was it?”

The handsome young man looked straight at his master bedroom and spoke softly: “Most likely… it’s my husband who died six months ago.”

The handsome young man faced the horrified gazes of everyone around, a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth—it looked like a smile, but the emotions in his dark eyes were far from joyful.

“—His hand is still like this, forever bloodless.”

“—So last night my second brother-in-law came back to life? And even had a little, uh, physical contact with my second cousin? This sounds like a ghost story…”

The little cousin sat on the sofa in the large flat. She had been admiring the decoration and location, but after hearing about last night, she instinctively swallowed and hugged the Labrador beside her.

These past days, the little cousin had been keeping up with the family group chat gossip. She knew about the scandals her uncle had caused in his youth and how strict her aunt had really been with the two children.

She had spent the whole night keeping up with the chat and listening to her parents and other relatives on voice calls, with each topic more explosive than the last.

…Of course, it also helped that she had censored her second cousin’s story and posted it in her friend group.

Her friends spent the entire night researching the Aldrin family background and businesses, as well as the current head’s absolutely abnormal mental state.

Having indulged in gossip all night, she was still dazed when she received Song Yun’s call in the morning.

When her eldest cousin mentioned encountering a supernatural event and asked her to bring her dog along, she instantly became alert.

She felt like she had jumped from an ordinary melodramatic daily life into a supernatural story, a little scared.

But this fear vanished the moment she saw the Bentley that came to pick her up.

She straightened her posture, lifted her head, and led her dog, Fa Cai, inside with her best poise.

—Until she heard Song Yun’s recounting.

Remembering the suddenly disappearing large hand, she hugged Fa Cai tightly again.

The cylindrical black Labrador—or rather, the Labrador—seemed completely unaffected by its owner’s fear. It opened its mouth wide, tongue hanging out, panting joyfully.

Its tail wagged so fast it left afterimages, striking the sofa with a pat-pat-pat sound.

Seeing the little cousin so scared, Song Yun understood. He rubbed his brows, eyes darkened, and said: “Technically, it counts as physical contact, the kind that wants to strangle someone.”

Even though several bodyguards were stationed in the living room last night, Song Yun couldn’t sleep. He felt a sinister presence in the guest room and ultimately chose to stay up all night with the bodyguards in the living room.

As for the person involved, Ye Wangxing didn’t stay with the bodyguards but spent the night in the study contacting abroad.

When he came out in the morning, his eyes were red, likely from crying. After a short nap, he was gone, now eating breakfast at the kitchen bar.

Song Yun didn’t know what Ye Wangxing discussed abroad, only catching words like “grave” and “burning,” likely related to his brother-in-law.

Thinking this over, Song Yun guessed that if no living person had interfered, then his brother-in-law probably acted out of love for his brother and wanted to take him along.

He also voiced his own guess.

The little cousin naturally thought of the same thing.

She looked up at her handsome second cousin sitting at the island counter, expression cold, waist slim, legs long, and certain parts still well-shaped, and she confirmed her eldest cousin’s thought.

“With someone like second cousin, it’s normal for second brother-in-law to be concerned.”

The little cousin was marveling at this when she turned her head and saw her eldest cousin’s deathly stare.

…Instantly, she remembered her childhood, how mischievous she had been and how only her eldest cousin could control her.

“Cough, cough, but speaking of which, life and death are different paths. The living should live their life, and the dead shouldn’t disturb the living. Reincarnating properly is the right thing. Maybe in the next life, they could meet again.”

The little cousin coughed twice and hurriedly said this, finally prompting her eldest cousin to withdraw his gaze.

“All right, let’s drop this topic. The reason I called you and Fa Cai over this time was purely to see if Fa Cai could detect anything unusual in that room. After all, black dogs are effective. If not, I’ll visit some temples.”

Song Yun said seriously.

The little cousin looked at her eldest cousin, then at Fa Cai, who was staring at the dog food brought by the maid and not moving, and gradually showed a doubtful expression.

“Cousin, are you sure you want Fa Cai to check? He only knows how to eat, sit, shake hands, and pee at designated spots.”

The little cousin pointed at Fa Cai, who had had his muzzle removed and immediately plunged into the food bowl.

“He grew from just over three jin as a puppy to over seventy jin now—not because we fed him more.”

Song Yun looked at the large black cylinder-like dog, eating hungrily, and fell silent.

‘This doesn’t look very reliable…’

In the end, Ye Wangxing used his financial resources to solve the problem.

The Taoists, priests, monks, and even shamans who were invited walked around the room but found nothing. All they knew was that the ghost last night had been rather fierce.

“…Probably. He went to the battlefield in his youth and earned a few medals there. He must have been quite fierce.”

The handsome young man said calmly, still petting the Labrador. The masters looked somewhat shocked and then excused themselves.

Zhang Si: “…”Wait, what exactly is the background of my employer?

After the masters left, both the little cousin and Song Yun looked frustrated.

“So what do we do now? We can’t have cousin being pressed by a ghost at night, can we?”

The little cousin said dejectedly.

Song Yun also sighed. At this moment, Ye Wangxing stood, clapped his hands, and said: “All right, we can’t stay in this house. We’ll just move somewhere else.”

He said it lightly, but the little cousin looked puzzled: “But they could tamper with the hotel too.”

“Then we’ll stay somewhere generally impossible to tamper with.”

Just as the little cousin thought her cousin would choose a place near a school or police station, the place he chose was a modern, beautifully renovated large villa.

The little cousin gawked at the enormous villa for a long time. Her eyes on her cousin carried an indescribable expression.

‘I’ll go all out against you rich people!’

‘But wouldn’t this make it easier for them to tamper with things?’ Song Yun, also among the wealthy, wondered.

After all, the villa was large, but the open spaces were numerous.

Before he could speak, Ye Wangxing said: “Even if he became a ghost, he wouldn’t expect me to come here.”

The handsome young man, standing at the villa entrance with his security and service teams, walked inside while speaking to his siblings.

“—Because this villa belonged to Chris.”

Seeing their surprised faces, the young man’s beautiful face showed a trace of disgust.

“Yes, the one who kidnapped me before.”

He squinted at the villa gate and continued: “Although I don’t know how he transferred the villa into my name without my knowledge, back then when this happened, Kaizer nearly shot him—if Chris hadn’t deeply tied a project with Kaizer two days ago.”

At this, the young man’s lips curved slightly in a reminiscent expression. Then he used his fingerprint to open the door.

“So he shouldn’t come here. Besides, the villa has the Aldrin family’s top-notch security system. It’s very safe, nothing should suddenly appear—”

Before he could finish, a huge figure hugged him tightly.

“Brother, I finally found you!”

The security team instinctively stepped forward to act against the tall silver-haired man, but the employer’s words froze them.

“Will? What are you doing here—did you kill Chris?”

The handsome young man pushed the silver-haired man away, ignoring the horrified security team, frowning: “I didn’t!”

The silver-haired man immediately protested loudly, his voice full of grievance.

This made Zhang Si relax, realizing there were normal people around his employer.

Then Zhang Si saw the silver-haired man raise his exquisite, beautiful face, pout, and say with a wronged tone: “—There are too many people around him. I simply can’t kill him!”

 

 

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