Chapter Seven: Midnight Livestream, a Doppelgänger Arrives

But Lin Yi thought that having a bit of status wasn’t bad, and as for the “God-Slaying Sutra,” he would certainly keep it hidden. Just then, the video he’d downloaded on data finally finished. Without hesitation, Lin Yi opened it.

The adjacent room was furnished almost identically to his own. A young man with a rather decent appearance stood inside, smiling and greeting everyone. He said things like, “Hello, I’m Pu Minjun,” and went on about watching beautiful women today, encouraging viewers to send rockets and flowers, the more the better, acting like an old friend in a livestream. The fellow’s looks were refined, with gold-rimmed glasses that gave him an intellectual air, and his humorous speech lent him a gentlemanly charm. Yet, no matter how Lin Yi looked at him, he sensed an underlying sleaziness. That aura couldn’t be hidden; it was simply not very upright.

Soon, a beautiful woman called out and began knocking on the door. For some reason, Pu Minjun was startled by the knocking, jumping to his feet until he heard the woman’s voice and finally let out a long breath. He slowly opened the door while conversing with her. On camera, the girl outside had a nose obviously enhanced, and Lin Yi suspected even the unspeakable parts had been augmented, else they wouldn’t be so prominent.

With the woman’s entrance, the two began chatting, revealing Pu Minjun’s social finesse. Before long, Pu Minjun started washing—don’t misunderstand, he was washing big winter jujubes, bringing over a plate for the two to eat. Soon after, the surgically enhanced beauty went to wash as well, but she truly took a bath. When she returned, she ate several more winter jujubes. As they ate, sparks began to fly, and things quickly became indescribable.

Lin Yi was engrossed, but suddenly sensed something was off. The sound of knocking arose. When the knocking sounded, Pu Minjun seemed paralyzed with fear, his face changed dramatically, sweat like beans pouring down as if in a rainstorm.

“I—I—I… don’t knock, don’t knock… hurry, hurry… hold me, hold me…” Pu Minjun was terrified out of his wits. The surgically enhanced beauty was baffled by his reaction—was it really necessary to be so scared over a knock? She herself had knocked just moments ago; why hadn’t this handsome guy been afraid then?

“Cackling laughter…” At that moment, a chilling sound came from outside the door, reminiscent of a horror film’s ghostly soundtrack. Soon, the lightbulb in room 205 began to crackle, the illumination flickering on and off. Both Pu Minjun and the beauty exhaled visible plumes of white mist!

Coldness began to seep in. The entire room was colder than the depths of winter. The knocking persisted. With each strike, the beauty who had just embraced Pu Minjun now trembled like a leaf from fear. Both their faces were deathly pale. The cold in the air was nothing compared to the chill of terror.

“No… no… the past days, the knocking was always at three-ten, three-ten in the dead of night, why is it so early now… the red mist… it must be the red mist…” In the livestream replay, Pu Minjun shouted, nearly screaming, his teeth chattering, lips bitten and bleeding.

But Pu Minjun paid no heed, his eyes wide with terror, staring at the door, panic etched across his face.

“…That’s it… the red mist brought the ghost, it must be the red mist… everything’s changed… the world’s changed… that female ghost… ah, ah… I… I’m just a fur enthusiast, is it so wrong to kill a few weasels for pelts? Why… why are you targeting me… I, I…” Before he could finish, yellow fur began sprouting from the walls, covering the air conditioner, the table, and everything in layers of yellow hair! Even the phone on the bed began to sprout tufts of yellow fur! The bed was no exception, countless yellow hairs growing unchecked!

Then, with a click, the door opened. Amid the forest of yellow fur, a woman with a mysterious figure, wrapped in it, entered. The camera lens shattered, sprouting yellow hairs that grew at an astonishing speed. Before the camera disappeared, Lin Yi caught a glimpse of the beautiful woman’s face, covered in fur, with a pair of crimson eyes.

With a final snap, the footage vanished! Though the video was gone, footsteps could still be heard, fading away, allowing Lin Yi to deduce their direction from the earlier scene.

“Nine-Tailed Lady Huang, a weasel demon who has cultivated for one thousand three hundred and four years, has killed and eaten thirteen thousand seven hundred sixty people. Skilled in illusions, poisons, and duplication. A scourge upon the nation, deserving death!”

These thoughts flashed through Lin Yi’s mind. The seductive woman had to be Lady Huang! But just a duplicate. Lady Huang was adept at duplication. Lin Yi was sure of it!

At first, Lin Yi was terrified, for the “God-Slaying Sutra” would never deceive him, which meant Lady Huang must be nearby. The events in room 205 were undoubtedly connected to her. Considering Pu Minjun’s talk of killing weasels for fur, Lin Yi was even more convinced this was Lady Huang’s duplicate.

Previously, someone named Li Ming had only injured a few weasels and was killed by Lady Huang. Now Pu Minjun, who made fur pelts and plucked weasel fur, was killed as well—and he even deduced Lady Huang’s link to the red mist.

And Lin Yi himself had used the “God-Slaying Sutra” to kill a small weasel! He’d slain the weasel seeking a reward; Lady Huang would never forgive him. The more Lin Yi thought, the more certain he became that Lady Huang would soon come for revenge.

With this analysis, and recalling the footsteps in the replay moving from room 205 toward his own room 207, Lin Yi suddenly shivered.

At that moment, Lin Yi heard a chilling “cackling” sound!

Thump, thump, thump.

Someone was knocking at the door.

The knocks were neither heavy nor light, but they sent chills down his spine. A wave of cold surged from the doorway toward him.

Lin Yi knew that Lady Huang’s duplicate had arrived!

“If it were your true form, my cultivation might not be enough, my strength lacking, but now—damn it, I’ll kill this duplicate!”

Lin Yi clenched his fists, feeling power surge through his body, a rage and courage rising from deep within. In an instant, countless energies erupted from him—the power of the Body-Tempering Pill. All the cold turned to steam.

His clothes dried instantly, as if they’d never been wet at all. The heat was astonishing! Lin Yi felt like he’d turned into a man of fire!

He glanced beside him and saw the iron bars welded over the bedside window. Gripping one tightly, he yanked hard—crack!—and tore one loose.

Then, Lin Yi strode toward the door.

At the threshold, the chilling laughter continued.

Lin Yi flung the door open.

“Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Without even glancing outside, Lin Yi spoke as he opened the door.

“…”

Outside, a woman swathed in yellow fur, her eyes crimson, froze.

She had never encountered anyone like this. Hearing such a terrifying sound, seeing such a horrifying scene, and yet he still had the presence of mind to ask questions—he wasn’t playing by the rules! And what kind of question was this anyway? Who could answer it?

The woman at the door was the same fiend from the video. Her body was hidden beneath layers of yellow fur, swaying as if in the wind. Her face was covered in fur, and her crimson eyes were unsettling. As she paused, her jaw dropped slightly, revealing her mouth as the fur receded—and exposing a full set of sharp teeth!

Flat teeth were for herbivores; sharp teeth belonged to carnivores. Her teeth were densely packed and razor-sharp, more frightening than those of a piranha.

Her fur-covered hand was still poised in a knocking gesture.

Lin Yi gripped the iron bar tighter.

Iron, for certain supernatural energies, could have a shocking effect. That’s why, in foreign folklore, iron objects could disperse ghosts with a swing. The reason is that iron has always been a weapon for killing, one of the earliest used by humans after stone. Therefore, iron carries an aura of destruction. Also, iron can store positive energy particles to some extent, which makes it effective against demons.

After asking his question, Lin Yi finally took a closer look at the seductive figure at the door. The sense of allure came not from her physique, but from the wild motion of her yellow fur, as if she wore a dress billowing in the wind. The body beneath, tightly encased by the roots of the fur, made her look as if she wore a form-fitting suit, accentuating her alluring shape.