A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 173

In big cities, you work yourself to the bone for a mere 20,000 yuan a month, and you have to watch your boss's face every day, constantly get criticized by clients, stay up all night revising, and trade your life for money.

But is reality really that rosy?

High income is directly proportional to high risk. For example, if you encounter danger, you might be the first one pushed to the front line to fight evil spirits, and it's unknown whether you'll survive and receive your salary.

Signing a contract without fully understanding the implications could lead to more trouble than simply chasing after debts.

"Let me finish reading the documents from the Department of Defense before making a decision. This matter came a bit hastily, and I need some time to consider it."

"It's okay, I'll leave you my contact information too. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any ideas."

The investigator pulled a creased business card from his pocket.

"There are still things to investigate outside. I'll go check on the progress of the others first. Wait for me at the library entrance at nine o'clock. I have something to give you. Make sure you wait for me; this opportunity won't come again."

"I see……"

The other person's tone was mysterious, and they weren't planning to explain immediately, deliberately playing the riddle game, which was highly suspicious. Because the investigator was a civil servant, she couldn't say anything.

She'd covered everything she needed to say, so the rest wasn't her concern. The steak she ate last night had long since been digested, and her stomach was empty; she might as well go get some breakfast first.

"I guess this outfit is no longer worth keeping."

The librarian's uniform was stained with blood, which had dried and congealed into brown stains. The cuffs and hem were torn in several places, and even if repaired, they wouldn't look good.

Moreover, places where murders have occurred are labeled as "extremely dangerous places," making it unsafe to continue working there, and Saint Karina began to consider resigning.

The bright red blood on her clothes was glaring, reminding her of the horrifying scene of her knees being submerged in a sea of ​​blood.

The surging sea of ​​blood seemed to be an illusion deliberately created by the oil painting ghost for the trapped people; those who were trapped in the illusion and could not escape it were doomed to die. Strictly speaking, it was a method of killing that existed in the gap between reality and illusion, but it was different from the illusion that appeared in the human mind.

The illusions created by ghosts are "reality" they create for murder; the dead are truly dead and do not come back to life after the painting ghost dies.

Through this experience, Saint Karina was forced to deepen her understanding of ghosts—when encountering anything unusual, never be overconfident in your courage and abilities, and never hesitate to entrust everything to the ghost.

Only a ghost can fight a ghost, and only a ghost can kill a ghost.

She exhaled a long breath at the clear blue sky above her head, and her stomach growled at just the right moment, urging her to eat as soon as possible and suppress her increasingly strong appetite and hunger.

"Never mind, let's go eat something first."

Saint Karina patted her empty stomach, pondering what to eat.

There are many things I want to eat, but I usually can't afford to buy too much, fearing I'll fall into the trap of going from frugality to extravagance and never be able to extricate myself. Once people have tasted the sweetness that brings them joy, they can't go back. For example, there was a girl in class 2308 next door who used to be a simple and innocent working girl.

Ever since I went to a bar and met a few young, beautiful, and rich older women, I've willingly become their plaything. I no longer want to work and have declared, "It's impossible for me to work, I'll never work again in my life."

You only feel at ease spending money you earn yourself; it's foolish to place your hopes on others.

She walked to a breakfast shop that had just opened across from the library and found a corner seat.

"I'd like some pan-fried buns, some shumai, a bowl of iced soy milk, and—"

"Another large serving of soup dumplings, please."

A shameless...ghost sat down across from me.

Ye Shiyu appeared in the breakfast shop without any hesitation. This time, the shop owner saw her and said, "Okay, beautiful lady."

what happened?

"What...are you doing?"

"Don't panic, no one can tell except for the Ghost Master."

The two spoke in hushed tones, but the shop owner, busy stirring the contents of the wok, made an even louder noise that drowned out their whispered conversation.

"Your blood is very helpful in restoring my strength. I can now move around in the human world in physical form. If you don't want to, you can send me back to the Red Thread."

A cool hand naturally touched the back of Saint Karina's hand.

"I fought that red-clothed ghost all night for you, and I was badly injured. I was even trapped in the painting and almost died with it. It's not too much to ask you to treat me to something, is it?"

279. Your entertainment circle is truly chaotic.

As I stepped out the door, I heard Mr. Wei's voice behind me.

"and many more--"

He didn't spend much time agonizing over it; time was running out.

With less than 24 hours left before the ghost's promised departure to take her daughter, every minute was agonizing. The ghost always kept its promises; for example, it had taken the new intern bus driver, and then the veteran long-distance bus driver with over a decade of experience…

Those targeted by ghosts cannot escape unless they kill the ghost to break the vicious cycle.

"Two hundred thousand... Can you really guarantee you'll get rid of the ghost and stop her from harassing my daughter and the people at my company?"

Mr. Wei was helpless against the ghost. As time passed, his despair intensified, and his voice trembled, almost bringing him to tears.

"If you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems. I'm pretty sure I can do it. The library incident has already proven my ability. If you really don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do."

"Okay, wait for me."

The well-dressed man gave up and made a phone call to someone.

"Bring me 200,000 yuan, in cash. Don't ask too many questions, hurry up, get it to the second floor of EDIYA COFFEE before nine o'clock. If it's after nine o'clock, you don't need to come to work tomorrow."

"I'll be right there. I'm already in the car. Please wait a moment. The money will be ready soon."

The person who answered the phone appeared to be Mr. Wei's secretary, and was very respectful. He specifically turned on the speakerphone so that Santa Karina could also hear what was being said.

"So, is that sincere enough?"

"I need to see the compensation to know your sincerity."

Mr. Wei was very impatient. He took out a box of cigars, lit them with a lighter, and puffed out smoke as if no one else was around, using his empty coffee cup as an ashtray.

“You college students all don’t know how to work hard. You’re always thinking about getting rich quick and making money through shortcuts. You’re lucky to have met me. Others aren’t so generous, throwing around 200,000 yuan at a time. College students don’t need to spend that much money. Look at me, I started my own business before I even finished junior high…”

"How you spend this money is none of your concern. If verbal abuse can comfort you about your low education level, that's truly pathetic. College students aren't little rabbits to be slaughtered. You still need me, and my contracted ghost to kill the ghost. There are still a few hours left, so you can contact other ghost tamers."

"Forget it."

The conversation wasn't pleasant. Santa Karina knew her client didn't trust her and felt the money had been wasted. Since that was the case, she decided to teach him a lesson first.

The red thread on her wrist manifested according to her will, flashing red light, and a beautiful figure emerged from it.

Summoning someone from the root of the red thread was completely illogical, and the two people opposite were instantly stunned.

"What's this?"

They could see clearly that a woman had appeared out of thin air. The door on the second floor of the coffee shop remained motionless, showing no signs of being pushed open, and there was nowhere in their line of sight where someone could hide.

Ye Shiyu sat down on the sofa with a casual air, her expression carrying a warning.

"I am her contracted ghost. I will be in charge of dealing with that ghost tonight. I hope you will be polite to my contractor and watch your words."

After reminding her two clients, she took the menu from another table, opened it, and ordered two coffees and a dessert.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought the food. Ye Shiyu used her ability to levitate the cake, took out the scissors she used for attacking, and gently made a few cuts on the cake.

The triangular cake was cut into several evenly sized pieces and arranged neatly in a circular pattern on the plate. She picked up a piece with her fork and tasted it, her demeanor as languid as an English lady attending an afternoon tea party.

Saint Karina browsed the web listlessly, not wanting to say another word to her client.

At 8:15, a young man in a suit and glasses delivered a small metal briefcase and then quickly disappeared into the night.

Mr. Wei opened his suitcase, which was filled with brand-new, consecutively numbered 100-yuan bills.

This sum of money was many times greater than the Department of Defense's bonus, and the fresh smell of ink was more enticing than any computer accessory. Only after verifying it with her portable UV counterfeit money detector did Santa Karina feel completely at ease and accept the huge sum.

"It's a pleasure working with you. Leave the rest to us, and we'll make sure you're satisfied."

……

The first thing to do after receiving the money is to deposit it into a bank account. It's unsafe to carry large sums of cash on your person, so as a matter of course, you only keep half of it and deposit the rest regularly.

With 150,000 yuan in savings and a driver's license, Santa Karina wants to buy a cheap car as a means of transportation to avoid the pain of squeezing onto buses and subways, and to avoid the wind, sun, and rain, and the hardship of struggling in a big city where she feels no sense of belonging.

Or take on more orders, save up more money, and then buy.

She's already embarked on the path of a demon tamer, there's no going back. With so much money to be made, there's no need to go back and continue living a life without money.

After finishing her chores, Santa Karina rushed to the residence of the Wei father and daughter.

They lived in the most upscale residential area of ​​Tianying City, surrounded by detached villas with spacious courtyards, large garages and swimming pools—an environment that most people could not imagine.

The doorbell rang, and a pretty maid came to open the door with quick, light steps, leading Santa Karina to the villa's main entrance. A number of burly bodyguards in black suits entered the courtyard.

The bodyguards all carried weapons on their waists, which made them seem very safe, but in reality, they were ineffective against ghosts unless the weapon was used by a ghost, like Ye Shiyu's scissors.

As the maid walked past the group of bodyguards, she opened the front door, revealing a lavish living room spanning over a hundred square meters. The furnishings perfectly matched Santa Karina's imagination of the wealthy—the kind of wealthy people who lacked taste.

From the outside, it looked normal; you couldn't see anything inside. But once inside, a large expanse of reflective gold objects almost blinded her.

The floor is covered with beige tiles with floral and diamond patterns, there is an oversized gold-plated and crystal chandelier, seemingly high-end but actually tacky imitation European-style columns, and there is a glass mirror on the wall with the words "Great Ambitions".

In the center of the living room was a set of white studded sofa and studded armchairs, and there were even two stone lions at the entrance to guard the house.

The tables, chairs, and cabinets are made of rosewood. The stairs leading upstairs have Western-style steps paved with tiles, while the handrails feature a hollowed-out carving of two dragons playing with a pearl, reminiscent of the Kyushu style.

There aren't many wealthy people who can take earth to such an extreme. My good classmate and friend Su Han's home is quite impressive; he even hired a foreign designer to help design his villa.

"Miss St. Karina, please have a seat. I'll make you some tea. She's still upstairs and will be down soon."

The maid bowed to her and went to the kitchen.

In the corner of the living room, an altar was set up with several large incense burners, filled with large sticks of incense that had burned out or were still burning. Yellow talismans were pasted everywhere, and statues of deities were arranged in a row.

Unfortunately, these are all useless things.

About ten minutes later, Wei Xin, one of the clients, came down from the second floor.

She had just showered, her hair was still damp, and she exuded a warm, moist aura. Her home attire was more unrestrained than her outdoor style.

A white, sheer, semi-transparent one-piece nightgown, paired with a matching outer jacket, offering both coolness and a touch of allure.

Although she was good-looking, several levels above the average girl from a modest family, she was incomparable to Ye Shiyu. There is an insurmountable gap between being good-looking and being beautiful.

There was a slight unpleasantness during the price negotiation. Wei Xin didn't know what to say, and Saint Karina couldn't find a suitable topic. Not wanting to have an awkward conversation, she just kept playing on her phone.

Wei Xin was both nervous and scared, and suddenly her body moved closer.

"Um... let's chat for a bit. It's kind of scary to just sit here without saying anything, especially since my dad isn't home. Besides, don't you think it's a bit cold tonight?"

"It's probably because the air conditioning is set too low."

Santa Karina picked up the air conditioner remote from the glass coffee table; the setting was 22 degrees Celsius. She never dared to imagine what it would feel like to run the air conditioner at 22 degrees, worried that she would become addicted and wouldn't be able to adapt to the energy-efficient lifestyle of 28 degrees Celsius later.

"Let me adjust it for you, try 26 degrees?"

"can."

As the air conditioning temperature rises, the living room no longer feels like an ice cave.

There were a few more things Saint Karina felt she shouldn't say too bluntly. She really wanted to complain that the nightgown was too revealing and that it was the main reason for the cold, but since they were in someone else's home, they were free to wear whatever they wanted, and it wasn't appropriate to comment.

The maid brought in a pot of hot tea and poured it into two patterned porcelain teacups.

The only thing in the whole house that was tasteful was this tea set; everything else was filled with a crude and simplistic nouveau riche aesthetic, as if trying to tell guests who came to the house, "I'm very rich."

Truly tasteful wealthy people design their houses in a simple yet elegant style, minimizing the use of gold and silver to avoid appearing vulgar.

Saint Karina picked up her teacup and sipped. The black tea tasted quite good, with a slightly bitter aroma spreading across her tongue, followed by a sweet aftertaste.

"The tea is good. So, what would you like to talk about?"

"I'm very sad right now... and very scared."

Wei Xin looked more haggard than when they met at the coffee shop that evening, and her eyes were a little red and swollen if you looked closely.

Considering she's been threatened by ghosts for weeks, it's normal for her to cry tonight, as she might encounter something terrifying. Crying is a girl's prerogative; no one can laugh when faced with the threat of death.

The original owner of this body never cried and rarely laughed; she had a detached personality. Because her parents died early, she preferred to keep everything bottled up inside.

A girl who confesses her feelings will directly reject him, ending with, "I'm sorry, we're really not a good match."

It's not that she's uninterested in women; in fact, she is very interested. It's just that her financial situation is extremely tight, and she's currently on the run from her creditors.

After their parents passed away, the creditors disregarded the law that stipulated children were not obligated to repay their parents' debts. Their losses had to be repaid by someone, and that person was Saint Karina.

I don't know how to comfort you.

“It’s alright, it’s good for you to listen. There are some things you can’t say to the maids, they don’t understand. My dad is also inconvenient, he doesn’t understand young people’s thoughts at all.”

"please say."