Under Jiang Mengxin's reminder, Lu Ming arrived at the Su family's ancestral home. As soon as he entered, he saw Su Ru anxiously holding a bowl of water to feed the old madam Shen Dianlan.
"Mom, drink some water," Su Ru said nervously.
Shen Dianlan gently pushed it away, "I can't drink, I'm so scared. Has Lu Ming arrived? I'm so scared."
Lu Ming deliberately walked a few steps heavily.
Su Ru looked up, "Lu Ming, you're here? Quickly, quickly check on my mother. She seems to be possessed by something evil."
Evil?
Heh.
Do dirty things exist in this world? Lu Ming hadn't seen any.
Lu Ming had used this trick on the old madam last time. Now, Su Ru wanted to use the same tactic against Lu Ming?
He wanted to see what tricks she had up her sleeve.
Lu Ming walked over, sat on a chair, and carefully examined Shen Dianlan.
After looking around, Lu Ming had only four words in his mind: faking illness!
Her complexion and pulse showed no problems at all. She was perfectly healthy. This old lady was definitely pretending to be sick.
Lu Ming asked, "Old Madam, what exactly is wrong with you?"
Shen Dianlan cried, "It's not that I'm unwell, it's that I'm possessed by evil. Lu Ming, aren't you good at exorcism? Save me."
Lu Ming nodded, "Alright, Old Madam, tell me how you were possessed by evil. What do you feel is wrong?"
Shen Dianlan said, "It's like this. When my eyes are open, I'm fine, there's no problem at all. But as soon as I close my eyes and fall asleep, I have nightmares!"
Huh?
Nightmares?
Lu Ming was speechless, "Just having nightmares counts as being possessed by evil?"
"Let me finish!" Shen Dianlan continued, "It's not just about nightmares. Every time I have a nightmare, I dream of the same person. He has very sharp teeth and long nails. When he smiles, half of his face splits open, and he can swallow a pig in one bite! He chases me and wants to eat me!"
As she spoke, Shen Dianlan fearfully wrapped herself in a blanket, terrified.
Su Ru beside her said, "This is indeed very strange. Who has the same nightmare all the time? It feels like some evil entity has entered my mother's dream and wants to eat her! Lu Ming, do you think this could be the legendary Nightmare demon?"
It was getting more and more absurd.
It was less like a nightmare demon and more like Freddy (a perverted demon from a foreign horror movie who specializes in entering people's dreams to kill them)!
Lu Ming even suspected if Shen Dianlan had watched too many horror movies, leading to such ridiculous dreams.
Or… was Shen Dianlan lying?
But why would she lie?
Su Ru suddenly said, "Lu Ming, do you want to perform a ritual?"
Lu Ming coughed, "Okay, I'll try."
Afterward, at Lu Ming's request, Su Ru had people prepare peach wood swords, chicken blood, compasses, yellow talismans, ink lines, and other ghost-catching ritual tools.
In fact, Lu Ming didn't know what to use. He learned all these preparations from old movies.
Lu Ming pretended to perform the ritual with these items, while also having Shen Dianlan lie down and gave her a few acupuncture needles, allowing her to relax and fall asleep.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Shen Dianlan was fast asleep.
Lu Ming put away the ritual tools and sat on a nearby chair watching Shen Dianlan sleep. Strangely, Shen Dianlan was sleeping very soundly and showed no signs of having nightmares!
Didn't she say that as soon as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, she would dream of a terrifying evil spirit?
Why didn't it appear?
Lu Ming pointed at Shen Dianlan and said to Su Ru, "The Old Madam is sleeping so soundly, with no signs of nightmares. It seems the evil spirit has been removed."
Su Ru nodded repeatedly, "Yes, the evil spirit has been removed. Thank you, Lu Ming."
The latter part was spoken by Su Ru, who revealed a strange smile.
It was a cold and eerie smile, a smile of someone who had achieved their wicked desires, sinister and terrifying! Seeing such a smile, Lu Ming's heart couldn't help but race. He always felt that something bad was about to happen.
...
At the same time, at the Origin Project, company building.
In the chairman's office.
Su Wanran was talking with Jiang Mengxin when she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a woman in uniform walked in.
The woman looked unfamiliar. Although she was wearing a company uniform, Su Wanran couldn't remember her face.
New employee?
Or was she from a lower-level department that Su Wanran hadn't seen much of, hence no impression?
Su Wanran asked, "Who are you? Which department are you from? What do you need me for?"
The woman said timidly, "I'm a new hire in the finance department. Uh… Director Su, our team leader has some documents to give you. Please take a look."
Finance department?
Su Wanran frowned. She didn't remember any new hires in the finance department.
And why wouldn't the team leader deliver the documents herself?
Su Wanran said, "Hand them over for me to see."
"Yes."
The woman walked over and handed the documents to Su Wanran.
Just as Su Wanran was about to take them, the woman raised her hand and threw a puff of white powder from her sleeve, which landed all over Su Wanran's face.
Not good!
Su Wanran sensed trouble immediately, but it was too late.
She instantly felt dizzy, her limbs weak, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her body felt hot, and she was inexplicably restless, a strong desire rising from the depths of her heart.
The woman chuckled, "This powder is called Hexing Powder. If you inhale it, you will die if you don't find a man for marital relations. Director Su, you need to hurry and find a man to take care of this."
Saying that, she walked towards Jiang Mengxin.
Jiang Mengxin, frightened, ran towards the exit, but as soon as she reached the door, the woman grabbed her back.
"Patriarch Jiang, where do you think you're going? My master, Fan Xiang, likes you a lot. He wants to meet you. Please come with me."
So, this woman was sent by Fan Xiang!
A ruse.
Lu Ming was lured away by Su Ru under the guise of exorcism, and Fan Xiang sent an assassin to deal with Su Wanran and Jiang Mengxin.
They acted separately but coordinated perfectly.
Actually, according to Fan Xiaoyun's plan, she was supposed to drug Su Wanran and then kill Jiang Mengxin, after which the woman would leave.
But Fan Xiang, who was executing the plan, had different ideas.
Ever since he first saw Jiang Mengxin at the opera house, Fan Xiang had been lusting after her, dreaming of having her.
Now that he finally had the chance to get Jiang Mengxin, how could he let her die in vain?
If she had to die, it would be after Fan Xiang had had his fill of her.
So Fan Xiang slightly altered Fan Xiaoyun's plan. He would still drug Su Wanran, but he wouldn't kill Jiang Mengxin in a hurry. Instead, he would take Jiang Mengxin away so Fan Xiang could enjoy her first.
After he was done, it wouldn't be too late to kill her!
And so…
The woman directly took out a handkerchief with the drug on it, covered Jiang Mengxin's mouth and nose, and knocked her unconscious. Then, holding Jiang Mengxin's arm, she led her out of the office.
Su Wanran, Jiang Mengxin.
One was drugged and left in the office, burning with desire; the other was knocked unconscious and taken to meet Fan Xiang, her chastity in jeopardy.
A vicious plan against Lu Ming was fully underway!