He remembered Luo Ren saying there were cameras in this room—24-hour surveillance, organized by day.
“Not deleting them? They’ll eat up storage.”
Luo Ren said, “Fast-forward through them. If nothing odd shows up, delete.”
Cao Yanhua clicked into the latest footage, dragging a few seconds ahead. He laughed at the sight of themselves in the room discussing. “Didn’t they say cameras add twenty pounds? But Hongsha, you look just the same as always.”
As he spoke, he dragged the bar forward again—until suddenly a shadow flashed across the screen.
That figure wasn’t anyone who should’ve been there.
Cao Yanhua’s heart pounded. He gulped and rewound to the right spot, this time letting it play normally, volume up.
Rustling. A door opening. Wan San and Yan Hongsha crowded in closer. Even Luo Ren, by the map, turned his head at the sound.
Yan Hongsha recognized it first: “Isn’t that the woman from that shop—the one that tricked us? Why is she here?”
She turned to Luo Ren. “Did you invite her?”
Luo Ren’s eyes locked on the screen. “No.”
In the video, Lian Shu stood by the fish tank. Something glimmered under her shirt.
Yan Hongsha’s lips went dry. She nudged Wan San and whispered, “Look at her neck.”
Around Lian Shu’s neck hung a black cord.
Cao Yanhua realized instantly. His voice shook: “That’s… impossible.”
Could coincidence really be so outrageous? They’d just said finding this person would be like fishing in the ocean—and here she was, on screen, a familiar face.
That black cord, that glowing pendant beneath her shirt—was it the last piece of Rouge Amber?
Luo Ren’s face went pale. He said, “Call Mu Dai.”
No one moved. For a moment, no one understood.
He repeated, this time with a cold edge:
“Call Mu Dai. Now!”
Yan Hongsha flinched and quickly dialed. Cao Yanhua too.
Both calls went through, but neither was answered.
Yan Hongsha tried again, whispering, “Maybe later. She might not have heard it.”
Luo Ren said nothing. On screen, Lian Shu turned and left—without touching a single thing inside.
Luo Ren started dialing himself, hanging up and calling again, his face growing darker each time.
After a while, he muttered, “Mu Dai left with Lian Shu.”
Wan San’s back went cold. “So… the wild woman’s companion was… Lian Shu?”
Luo Ren didn’t answer. He just stared at his phone, dread hanging over him like a storm cloud.
The clues had always been there. The regional weather dolls all looked different, except for the ones in Lian Shu’s shop—identical in style to the ones from that village.
Luo Ren’s head buzzed. He heard Cao Yanhua stammer: “It’s over. I said it before—the Rouge Amber works like a receiver. If Lian Shu’s wearing it, she will be influenced by the slips. Just like the wild woman—she listened to whatever that other woman said when she wore the amber…”
Yes. Before, there’d been no effect—because Lian Shu was far away. But today was different. Just yesterday, they’d retrieved the third bamboo slip and sealed it in the fish tank.
And this morning, Lian Shu had shown up with wallpaper samples for Uncle Zheng.
The third slip was incomplete, its malice thrashing about. Lian Shu had sensed it—that was why she went upstairs.
No wonder Ping Ting had kept repeating, Sister went upstairs. She had seen it herself, but couldn’t explain it clearly.
Yan Hongsha’s voice trembled as she tried to sound hopeful: “But Mu Dai knows martial arts. Lian Shu shouldn’t be her match. Maybe… maybe they’ll be back soon…”
Her words trailed off. Even she didn’t believe it. Martial arts might work in a fair fight, but what if Lian Shu used underhanded tricks?
Cao Yanhua’s face turned pale. His hands shook as he tried to dial Mu Dai again. “We all worked together on this—so why go after my little sister first? If anything, take me instead. I’m useless anyway…”
Luo Ren suddenly cut him off. “No.”
“That woman has been killed twice. The first time by Old Yan, whom she hanged. The second time… was Mu Dai. I don’t know what kind of influence the bamboo slip gave Lian Shu, but if she wants revenge, her first target will be Mu Dai.”
Night fell. Still no word from Mu Dai.
Her phone remained unreachable. Lian Shu hadn’t returned to her shop. The wallpaper company? Uncle Zheng knew nothing—only that it belonged to a friend of Miss Lian’s.
Luo Ren grew ruthless. He told Wan San to fetch a yellow pages directory. They would call every wallpaper business, one by one.
So they sat in Phoenix Tower, dialing each number. Uncle Zheng began to realize something was badly wrong. Flustered, he asked, “What happened? What’s going on?”
No one answered him. Ping Ting sat in a corner, scratching the tabletop again and again with her fingernail.
Just then, Luo Ren’s phone rang.
The caller ID: Mu Dai.
He picked up. On the other end—noise. Chaotic, ominous noise. Sirens, an ambulance. Luo Ren forced himself to be calm.
Then a stranger’s voice spoke.
“I saw the phone records. Nearly all the calls these last few hours came from you. What’s your relationship with the owner of this phone?”
Luo Ren said, “She’s my girlfriend.”
The man gave an “oh,” then a number. “Please try to contact her family. Go to City First Hospital. Call this number when you arrive—someone will meet you.”
Luo Ren’s mind went blank. He asked, “What happened?”
A pause. “Car accident.”
“How is she?”
This time, the silence stretched longer. Finally, the man said, “It’s better if you come to the hospital first.”
GhostCloudd On WBICDPH Chapter 93