I couldn't save Nova's grandmother. She seemed to know she would die, facing it without fear. Even in such a horrific death, she passed away with a smile.
Before dying, she mentioned the jade pendant. The whole incident might be connected to it. But when I examined that jade pendant, nothing seemed wrong. Instead, the woman in the red dress who appeared in the mansion tonight was far more suspicious. She didn't look human—more like an evil spirit. The old lady might have been killed by her.
The ambulance arrived quickly, but it was too late. The old lady had already breathed her last. When Nova woke up, she cried uncontrollably. After I explained what happened, she immediately ordered her subordinates to search everywhere for that woman in red. Whether human or ghost, Nova wouldn't let her go.
Nova also said she had never seen this red-dressed woman before. In fact, no one in the mansion usually wore red. What kind of evil had they encountered tonight?
The search yielded nothing. The entire mansion was turned upside down, but no trace of the red-dressed woman was found. Overcome with grief, Nova had to set aside the matter for now due to her grandmother's death. Family matters would have to wait—at least until after the old lady's first-week memorial.
Still, tonight wasn't completely without clues. We now knew the old lady had been pretending all along, as if something—or someone—was trying to kill her. If she hadn't acted crazy, she would have died sooner. I call it "something" because I don't know whether it was human or ghost. But the old lady only started behaving strangely after seeing the jade pendant. Before dying, she screamed about it. Without a doubt, whatever happened to Nova's family must be connected to that jade.
Back at the store, I discussed this with Stein. He suggested that if there was truly something wrong with the jade, it might have become a spirit.
Good jade nurtures people; bad jade harms them. There's a type called blood jade, cultivated through human blood. Once fully formed, the blood color fades from the jade, returning it to its original hue—smoother and more translucent. But at this stage, the jade becomes extremely sinister, having developed a consciousness. Such jade kills.
Mention of blood reminded me of the old lady's behavior. She didn't seem afraid of blood herself, but when bleeding, she panicked if Nova came near, telling her to leave.
Thinking again—Nova was wearing that jade. Could Stein be right? Did the jade react to blood in some way? That would explain why the old lady was so cautious.
Could it really be such a coincidence that the jade was the blood jade Stein mentioned?
If that were the case, then the solution would be simple. We wouldn't even need to perform any Gods and Ghosts tattoos - just throw the jade away, right? No matter how evil it is, could it possibly come back? Alternatively, we could smash the jade to pieces - even if it had developed a spirit, it would be rendered powerless.
Just then, the keyboard warrior Éamonn sent me a WeChat message. He gave me an address and demanded I go over immediately, threatening to tear down my shop sign if I didn't arrive soon. He lectured me about doing business honestly, not being late, and so on - standing on his moral high ground while hurling insults.
Damn it! Truly, a dog can't stop eating shit. When will this keyboard warrior ever change his ways? Even when just sending an address, he has to include a scolding, as if I owed him something. And he didn't even pay a deposit!
I'd just returned and hadn't even warmed my seat yet. Haven't earned any money, and already have to go out for another job. Grandpa, for your sake, my life is so hard! Wooooooooo...
Stein was exhausted, half-dead tired. In the middle of the night, he refused to go out again - a comfortable shower and lying in bed sounded much better.
While Stein didn't want to go, Antonio was eager to. Having just returned, he felt restless sitting around. He mentioned how my grandfather used to take him out on jobs sometimes - though he might not know as much as Stein, he promised not to slow me down.
I couldn't refuse his offer, so I brought him along.
Éamonn's apartment was easy enough to find. When we arrived, I rang the doorbell directly. Éamonn opened the door, but the moment he saw someone as intimidating as Antonio, he immediately shrank back, bending his spine and lowering his head, not daring to look Antonio in the eye. His demeanor was completely different from his online persona - give him a keyboard though, and he could probably take on ten Antonios.
Éamonn's place wasn't big - just a small studio apartment with a bedroom and bathroom. Besides the bed and closet, there wasn't much movable space, yet he'd still managed to cram in a computer desk.
His computer was truly impressive - whether in terms of configuration or overall quality, it was top-notch. You couldn't get a desktop like this for less than ten thousand dollars.
But Éamonn claimed he bought it for three thousand - a second-hand bargain, he said.
I frowned, sensing something was off. A computer worth ten thousand dollars, found for three thousand? Even second-hand, this computer should cost at least six thousand, probably more.
I turned on the computer to test it, and finding no issues, I casually asked Éamonn to log into his account and contact the person who'd been harassing him.
Éamonn trembled with fear, saying he wouldn't dare contact that guy again - he was too terrifying. Whether human or ghost, I couldn't tell. I reassured him not to be afraid, telling him I'd handle the conversation instead. "We're all here tonight, so what are you being such a coward about?"
After some encouragement, Éamonn finally logged into his account and contacted the person who'd been harassing him. I sent a few messages, but received no reply. I casually browsed through the user's profile and noticed it hadn't been updated for a long time. Patiently scrolling through, I finally found a message that made my scalp tingle - what appeared to be a woman's message saying: "I miss you in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Kingdom of Heaven? Could this person actually be dead?
I dug deeper and found more messages that seemed like memorial tributes. The account owner hadn't responded to any of these. Unless the owner could no longer access this account, why would anyone tolerate such messages while still alive? "I'm alive and well, and you're cursing me to death?"
But if he couldn't log in, how was he communicating with Éamonn? The possibility emerged - this person might truly be dead, a ghost. Combined with Éamonn's previous experiences, the likelihood was high.
"Congratulations," I said. "You may have actually met a ghost online."
Éamonn panicked, asking fearfully, "What should we do then?"
"Don't worry," I replied. "I'm here now. Let's see if he appears tonight. If we confirm it's a ghost, I'll give you a full Gods and Ghosts tattoo exorcism tomorrow - guaranteed to solve your problem."
Just then, the account suddenly responded: "Think I'm afraid of you? Keyboard warrior, I'll kill you."
We three exchanged glances, feeling extremely unsettled. At this point, if someone claimed this wasn't a ghost, no one would believe it. The response came as if the sender could see us right now.
I replied: "Then see you tonight! Come as you please."
After my message, there was complete silence from the other side. We had no choice but to log off and shut down the computer.
That night, the three of us shared one bed, waiting to see if this entity would truly appear. But some things... you really have to experience them to believe.
Around 2 AM, we heard a "poof" - the computer screen turned on by itself, casting a ghastly white light that illuminated all three of us.