Chapter 030: The Ghost Girl

The madam and the girls screamed again, scrambling and crawling in a desperate attempt to escape, but with just a glance from Luo Feng, his men blocked them all in. I stared unblinkingly at the girl and realized only then that her face was contorted, her jaw clenched tight, as if she might attack us at any moment.

Moreover, the girl's teeth were sharply pointed, not at all like those of a human. The blood on her face had dried, but fresh blood still dripped from the corner of her mouth. Luo Feng glared at his hand and cursed, "Damn it, she’s vicious—actually tore a piece of my flesh off." In truth, Luo Feng’s injury was more than just a superficial cut; if he hadn’t reacted swiftly, he might have lost an even larger chunk of flesh.

Half of the girl's face was obscured by her dirty, matted hair. Only her two eyes were visible, and when the flashlight beam fell upon her, her pupils contracted, making her appear even more terrifying.

Her shoulders quivered, and strange sounds issued from her mouth. Luo Feng was already pressing down on his wound. He asked me what we should do. After thinking for a moment, I tried to approach slowly, but Luo Feng stopped me, signaling it was dangerous. I patted his shoulder and reassured him.

On any other day, this scene would have been almost comical—especially for Luo Feng, a gang leader, warning others about the danger of a girl barely ten years old. But at this moment, none of us felt like laughing, because this girl was anything but ordinary.

Gradually, I noticed something unusual. Unlike Luo Feng, when I drew closer, the girl showed no intention of attacking. Finally, I stood right before her. She didn’t lash out, so I crouched down, studying her face. To my surprise, the corners of her mouth curled slightly. I was taken aback—it seemed she was smiling at me.

Yet the arc of her lips was strange; it was a smile, but not quite. I hesitated, then, like Luo Feng, reached out to brush aside her hair. Luo Feng tried to stop me, but paused as he saw me gently sweep the hair from her face.

Her face was filthy—besides the dark red bloodstains, there were patches of blackened mud.

"Can you speak?" I asked tentatively.

To my astonishment, the girl nodded. It was a clear answer, but what baffled me was that, though she could speak, she chose not to. For all my following questions, she responded only with nods or shakes of her head, never uttering a word.

The madam, trembling, ventured closer and asked if the girl was human or a ghost. No sooner had the words left her lips than the girl broke into laughter and slowly walked toward her. Terrified, the madam fled again. I reached out and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. She stopped, still smiling at me.

From afar, Luo Feng asked if I’d noticed—the girl seemed to have no aggression toward me. I nodded and scrutinized her more closely, noticing something peculiar. I asked Luo Feng’s men to bring a basin of water and a towel. When I wiped her face clean, beneath the grime and blood, a fair and delicate face emerged—an adorable visage, nothing like the ferocious mask from before.

When her features were finally revealed, I stood stunned.

Her face bore a faint resemblance to Xuan Yi. In her, I saw echoes of him.

"Do you know Xuan Yi?" I asked.

The girl nodded.

"Is Xuan Yi your father?" I continued.

When I asked this, everyone seemed surprised—it was only my guess, after all. The girl and Xuan Yi did look somewhat alike; they could very well be related. But, unexpectedly, the girl shook her head. When I pressed for her relationship with Xuan Yi, she fell silent and would not answer further.

I stood and paced a few steps. Glancing at the madam and the girls, I saw their faces twisted with fear, almost in tears. One of Luo Feng’s men asked if they should call the police. Luo Feng slapped him on the head and snapped, "Call the cops? Are you out of your mind? Since when does a gang call the police?"

What had happened tonight left even Luo Feng perplexed.

I walked toward the door, about to speak to the madam, when suddenly, the girl spoke behind me.

"Brother Fang Han, don’t go."

I spun around—those words had come from her lips. Once again, someone I’d never met who could call me by name. I strode over, squatted down, placed both hands on her shoulders, and asked her who she really was. Her eyes darted, and instead of answering, she asked, "Brother Fang Han, if I tell you, will you take me away?"

Luo Feng and I exchanged a glance; he did not interrupt. I considered that if we left her here, the madam would likely call the police or hire some so-called master to deal with her. I sensed that taking her with me might serve a greater purpose. Since arriving in the harbor district, I’d felt as though I was being watched, that everything that happened was targeting me.

I nodded to the girl. She immediately broke into a happy smile. Then she told me she was not human, but a ghost. Her words sent a chill through me. As she smiled, her sharp fangs were fully exposed, sending shivers down my spine.

By now, the madam was weeping, lamenting what she must have done to attract such an evil spirit.

I steadied myself and asked, "Who told you you’re a ghost?"

She promptly replied—it was Xuan Yi.

This girl, though odd, was clearly human, about ten years old. A child with such limited understanding would hardly pretend to be a ghost on her own; someone must have taught her to say these things.

Sure enough, with a few questions, she revealed everything.

I asked how long she’d been here. I’d already begun to piece things together. The recent rumors of ghostly eyes and shadows in the club all stemmed from this girl, and it all started a month ago, after Xuan Yi last visited. So, she had likely been living in the yard for a month.

She had no concept of time and counted only days and nights. She told me she’d spent nearly thirty cycles in the yard. I asked what Xuan Yi had told her to do here. She said Xuan Yi left her here to wait for someone to come and take her away.

What she said next unsettled us even more.

She could talk and interact just like an ordinary child, but soon we discovered the biggest difference: she ate raw meat. She lived in a makeshift den in the courtyard, and would crawl through a narrow passage into the club’s kitchen to steal raw meat.

Immediately, I recalled the rotting meat in her den and felt nauseous. I hadn’t realized that was her food.

She said she’d lived in the wild since she was very little, seeing Xuan Yi every day, and every day he brought her raw meat to eat. Beyond that, Xuan Yi taught her to walk and speak, and told her that she wasn’t human, but a ghost girl.

I was so shocked I could not speak. Staring at her sharp teeth, I finally understood—growing up on raw meat had made her teeth as pointed as an animal’s. Judging by the timeline, she must have been sent to live in the wild shortly after birth.

Although Xuan Yi cared for her, he essentially raised her as one would an animal.

The girl didn’t know what her relationship to Xuan Yi was, but seeing their resemblance, they were likely father and daughter. For a father to raise his own child in the wild like an animal—such a thing was terrifying.

She also told me that, after placing her here, Xuan Yi told her not to let anyone discover her, and that someone would come for her soon. At this, Luo Feng pulled me aside, saying there was something sinister about the girl, and that regardless of what Xuan Yi taught her, no child should act like this—he’d never heard of a girl so obedient.

I shook my head; my thoughts were entirely different from Luo Feng’s.

I explained to him that, according to her account, Xuan Yi raised her as one would an animal, except he also taught her to walk and talk. Growing up on raw meat, surviving without dying of infection was already a miracle. She was tamed, as an animal might be, so her obedience to Xuan Yi was not surprising. Even her claims of being a ghost girl were likely ingrained by Xuan Yi since childhood, like eating raw meat—a habit so deep-rooted she didn’t find it strange.

Turning back, Luo Feng and I stared at the girl. All of this was too extraordinary. I had heard of victims kept captive since childhood, but never of someone raised as an animal.

I went to the girl again and asked why she listened to Xuan Yi.

She could not answer. This confirmed my suspicions—she had been thoroughly conditioned and saw obeying Xuan Yi as natural, needing no reason.

I changed my question: "Why do you want to come with me?"

She said she had been waiting for me for a long time.

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know who I am?"