After hanging up the phone, Qin Nuo wasn't in a hurry. It would take at least two days for his sister to return.

  He was indeed eager to uhe truth, but he also khat rushing wouldn't help. Patience was his forte; the more urgent the matter, the more he o keep his posure.

  Scrolling through his phone's notification bar, he saw three missed calls from Tang Ming.

  There was also a text message.

  The message read: "Damn, Old Qin, where have you run off to this time? Not answering your phone, something big has happened. No matter what, call me back immediately when you see this message. It's too plicated to expin in a text!"

  The message was sent fourteen days ago, the day Qin ered the instance. After that, Tang Ming had called a few more times, but then there was nothing.

  Qin Nuo was a bit puzzled.

  From what he knew about the guy, if something happened, he would usually message o. Blowing up his phone and sending a text meant it was something serious.

  Qin Nuo called back, but the call was disected as soon as it ected.

  With a head full of questions, Qin Nuo called again, and this time it went through.

  "Old Tang, I went on a trip these past few days a my pho home. What's up?"

  Oher end, Tang Ming replied casually, "It's nothing now. I met this really punctual girl and wao introduce her to you, but since you didn't answer your pho's not happening. You missed your ce at romanot my fault."

  "Introdug a girl to me? Romance? Is that really your line?" Qin Nuo chuckled.

  Tang Ming didn't seem in the mood for jokes and said, "Where are you now?"

  "At home, just got back."

  "Oh, e over to my pce. There's something important to discuss." Tang Ming said.

  "Now?"

  "Yes, now. e over first, and we'll talk."

  With that, Tang Ming hung up the phone.

  Qin Nuo stared at the phone s, lost in thought.

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost chuckled, "Yood buddy is being all mysterious. Did he witery?"

  Qin Nuo pondered for a moment and shook his head, "Winning the lottery is unlikely. Being kidnapped is more like it."

  "What?" The Blood-Eyed Ghost was full of questions.

  Leaning ba the couch, Qin Nuo's expression turned serious, "I know this guy too well. He's single himself, why would he introduce a girl to me? His tone is different from usual, something's off."

  "Saying he's introdug a girl is more like sending me a signal."

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost suddenly uood, "Are you going to rescue him now?"

  "Tang Mi emphasizing that I should find him, which means the person behind this isn't looking for Tang Ming, but for me."

  "If I don't go, Tang Ming is done for. Besides, they'll eventually find my address, no avoiding it. I might as well see who they are."

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost opes mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, only mawo sentences, "You're really sharp."

  "Let's hope you're not just outsmarting yourself, or I'd feel embarrassed for you."

  Qin Nued, ign it.

  He was just a student, always well-behaved, not a troublemaker, and hadn't made any enemies.

  The only possibility was that his Phantom identity had attracted attention.

  "Let's head to Tang Ming's pce first."

  Qin Nuo ged into clothes and got up immediately.

  Tang Ming's house wasn't far, just a few kilometers away, easily reachable by bus.

  At the bus stop, the bright sunlight was filtered through the banyan tree's leaves, casting spots of light on the ground. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soothing sound.

  The ess of the air and the fort in his ears made Qin Nuo's mood, which was slightly bad, improve signifitly.

  He couldn't help but sigh, "The real world is still better, o be on edge just walking dowreet."

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost observed the people passing by oreet, the young men and women dressed lightly, their fair skin catg its eye.

  "If these people were in the Horror World, they'd be delicious food, torn apart by ghosts in an instant."

  Qin Nuo's expression was a bit odd, "Do you like eating people too?"

  "I'm not ied in humans. As long as they don't provoke me, I 't be bothered." The Blood-Eyed Ghost replied indifferently.

  "Then why do hosts like eating people?" Qin Nuo asked.

  "Most ghosts eat people not to satisfy their appetite, but to fulfill a certain pleasure."

  "It's like how some humans chew betel nuts. Some aren't ied, while others are addicted, feeling unfortable if they don't chew for a day."

  "Ghosts have simir addis. T humans, tasting them, greatly satisfies them."

  "Some ghosts like eating human food for the same reason. After death, their subscious still craves food, or they find some nostalgia from their past life in it."

  "In the end, it depends on the ghost. It's quite arbitrary."

  Qin Nuo feigned a look of sudden uanding, "Listening to you is like listening to you."

  "What does that mean?" The Blood-Eyed Ghost hadn't heard such a response before.

  "It means your expnation ot on, making everything clear and instantly uandable." Qin Nuo expined.

  Just then, the bus arrived, and Qin Nuo got on.

  About twenty mier, Qin Nuo got off at a stop near a primary school.

  He had been to Tang Ming's house a few times, so it wasn't unfamiliar.

  Tang Ming lived on the sixth floor, alone, supported by his family while studying iy. Iy, he wasn't doing much, just gaming at home and at school.

  "Just going up like this?" The Blood-Eyed Ghost asked.

  "Knowing there's an ambush, how could I be that stupid?"

  "Behind Tang Ming's house, there's a big banyan tree, just right to climb up to the window, though it's a bit challenging."

  The Old Man watg the unity had seen Qin Nuo a few times, so he let him in.

  Going around to the back of a building in the unity, there was a dense banyahat had been growing for over a decade.

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost sensed something and said, "A familiar aura."

  "Half-Ghost?"

  Qin Nuo blinked and said, "Then it's basically firmed. It's the Half-Ghost I sensed in the building st time."

  The other party indeed hadn't po let him go.

  In just over ten days, they had already tracked down Tang Ming. But how did they firm he was the Half-Ghost?

  "Let's climb up first." Qin Nuo wasn't afraid of heights, and the sixth floor wasn't daunting.

  "Troublesome."

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost said two words indifferently, and then Qin Nuht hand was covered in dense bck veins. Grabbing a bar, the overwhelming strength swung Qin Nuo up to the sixth-floor air ditioning unit.

  Qin Nuo was momentarily dazed. Although he wasn't afraid of heights, looking down made his legs feel weak.

  Peeking through the curtain's gap, he firmed no one was inside, opehe window, and climbed into Tang Ming's room.

  Oable, the puter s was still on, and a half-eaten cup of instant noodles had dried up, sitting there for who knows how long.

  Qin Nuo stepped lightly to the door, hearing sounds ing from outside...

  JOSOLUNA