Chapter Ninety: The Haunted House, Part Twenty-Three

Suman had personally witnessed Qian Ji die in the room, his eyes full of unwillingness.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“It feels as though the huge stone pressing on my chest has suddenly vanished,” Jinghua said. Her eyes reddened again, but she held back her tears.

Suman nodded and left her in the room to compose herself. She had other things to do.

She tried to find a way out of this place, but it was impossible. Once you entered that door, it seemed you could never leave again.

She had asked Jinghua about it, but Jinghua could not make sense of it either. She was just as lost when it came to getting out.

Suman searched everywhere for a path, and halfway there she ran into Qingnian. What surprised her was that he was still holding a person in his grasp. The woman struggled violently in his hand, clearly very unwilling to be restrained by him.

“Who is she?” Suman stopped in front of them and nodded toward the woman.

Qingnian was startled by her, but still answered, “Miss Su, she came in from outside. Everyone else is dead now, and I was a little scared, so I thought maybe I could use her to get out again.”

There was not the slightest trace of embarrassment in the way he said it.

“Let go of me! Suman, you’re Suman, right? We’re companions! Didn’t we agree to come here together?” the girl shouted at Suman. “I’m Rongrong!”

Suman, who had originally not intended to get involved, looked at her in surprise.

“You’re Rongrong?”

Just when she had been longing for a pillow, someone had brought one to her. This Rongrong was the journalist she had mentioned before!

Still, she had one question. “Why are you only arriving now? I remember we set the time for yesterday.”

At that, Rongrong howled. “The misery of an overworked slave! I was dragged off to work overtime yesterday!”

She forcefully broke free of Qingnian and ran to Suman’s side.

“You know I’m a reporter. Have you found anything out? Let me tell you, I came here specifically for the wrongful case here!”

Once she opened her mouth, she would not stop, rattling off everything she wanted to say in one breath. “You just said someone died here. Who died? Shouldn’t you call the police?”

She took out her phone. “Huh? This phone doesn’t work either.”

Suman stuffed the phone back into her pocket, then took her by the hand and started walking. “Come with me. I need your help with something.”

Qingnian reached out behind them, wondering how she had just taken that person away. After a brief hesitation, he hurried after them too. Don’t leave him alone here!

Suman led Rongrong to sit down, and also noticed Qingnian following them in. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m scared too. If I’m left alone, I might be the first to die.”

“Aren’t you some kind of master?” Suman glanced at him.

“What kind of master? I’m only a little better than the average person at bluffing, who would have thought there was really something wrong here!” Qingnian’s facade had completely fallen away, and he could no longer even pretend to have the bearing of an expert. In fact, he had very practically decided that only by staying with Suman would he have a chance to survive. “Please, don’t leave me behind. I’m begging you. If you want money, I’ll pay you once we get out. Money is no problem.”

Suman no longer paid him any mind.

She turned to Rongrong, who was writing something in a notebook.

Qingnian glanced that way and immediately panicked. “What are you doing? What are you writing in that notebook? How can you just write that I’m a fraud? What if someone finds out? What then?”

Rongrong pushed up her glasses and said very formally, “I’m a reporter. I only tell the truth as it is!”

She emphasized it on purpose. “When I get back, I’ll write a report. I know who you are, and I never expected you to be such a complete swindler. You’re finished.”

Qingnian rubbed his head, agitated. “Believe it or not, I’ll deal with you right here and now?”

“Hmph. You think I’m afraid of you? I do not fear life or death, and I do not bow to power. I only care about reporting the most truthful cases.”

Rongrong pushed her glasses up again, paying Qingnian’s threat no mind at all.

Qingnian looked ready to say a few more harsh words, but when he met Suman’s gaze, he wilted again, only pacing around the room in annoyance.

Suman, however, looked at Rongrong with renewed regard. “So you’re saying you can report on anything? Even things that normally cannot be reported?”

Rongrong sat up straight, her expression solemn. “In my hands, there is nothing that cannot be reported!”

“Perhaps your direct superior—”

Before Suman could finish, Rongrong shook her head and cut her off. “There’s no such thing as a direct superior. If he doesn’t let me report it, I’ll resign. Even alone, I’ll expose it online. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, besides being a reporter, I’m also an online influencer with over a million followers.” She sounded a little proud. “All real fans!”

Suman rather admired her. “Perfect. Then this is best left to you.”

She told Rongrong everything she knew.

Rongrong scribbled furiously in her notebook. After writing the last character, she said, “So what you mean is that everyone in this household, except for Madam Jinghua, was killed by that little boy.”

Suman nodded. “I hope you’ll report this properly and not distort the facts.”

She stressed it again. “I’ll be watching. If I find out you lied to me—”

She smiled and left the sentence unfinished. She did not fully trust these people.

“Don’t question my professional standards,” Rongrong said seriously as well. “And don’t lump me in with those people. I only report the most truthful content.”

Suman nodded, then thought of something else. “Some hard-to-say private matters, I hope you won’t deliberately sensationalize them.”

Some people liked to inflate private matters into clickbait. She did not want Madam Jinghua and Aiji to be spoken of after death in such a way.

“Say no more. I’m a professional.” Rongrong stopped her with considerable style.

Suman only hoped her ability would be as solid as her words.

After explaining everything to Rongrong, Suman took her to see Madam Jinghua.

Since she was an ally, she ought to warn Madam Jinghua as well, so there would be no mistaken killing.

Rongrong was also very curious about the Madam Jinghua Suman had mentioned. Perhaps because Suman had not said anything bad about her, Rongrong did not feel much fear even knowing that Madam Jinghua was a spectral being.

When the two entered the room, Madam Jinghua was still seated by the window, looking outside and thinking about something. Qian Ji’s body had already vanished.

Suman called to her twice. Madam Jinghua turned around. Seeing that it was Suman, a smile appeared on her mechanical face. But when she saw Rongrong, her expression suddenly turned terrifying.

“You still dare to appear in front of me? Get out! How dare you show your face here! Get out!”

Madam Jinghua lost control of her emotions all at once and screamed shrilly, “No, no, I’m going to kill you! It was you who stood by and did nothing when my Aiji was in danger! My daughter died because of you! You’re even more detestable than that little devil. It was you! It was you!”