Chapter 029

The crowd watched the ghost-possessed employee as he crawled all the way to the door of an office and stopped moving.

Suddenly, he gave a sharp shudder. He propped up his upper body and looked around blankly, then stood up as if nothing had happened. He patted the dust off his clothes, walked to his workstation, and began to work.

…Work?

The other employees were clearly used to this, and even the colleague at the next desk didn’t show any sign of surprise.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Ghillie Suit the man was wearing was an exceptionally vivid shade of green amidst a sea of regular office attire, it would have seemed as though everything that just happened was merely a hallucination.

Only Qiao Man watched in a daze, and Lu Jianxing was equally stunned. “He’s still working?”

“This employee of ours only loses his mind occasionally. Most of the time, he’s quite normal, and his work performance is excellent.” President Zhang let out a sigh. “There’s nothing we can do. He has elderly parents and young children to support, with two kids still in school. The pressure is immense, and the whole family relies on him alone. Ultimately, this happened at the company, so we can’t just fire him after he turned out like this.”

Lu Jianxing remained silent.

At that moment, the lights above their heads suddenly began to flicker. The brightness wavered as if there was a loose connection in the circuit, or like the opening scene of a horror movie. Lu Jianxing instinctively tightened his grip on the child in his arms. He and Qiao Man looked toward the wall together; there was no one near the light switch, yet the bulbs overhead continued to flash.

The employees practiced their routine by huddling close to their colleagues. Even as they trembled, they said with an air of habit, “It’ll be fine in a moment.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

After a short wait, the lights indeed stopped flickering.

Lu Jianxing asked, “Is there something wrong with the wiring?”

President Zhang replied, “Maintenance checked it and said everything is fine. But these lights are just like the elevator, they act up from time to time. Fortunately, it doesn’t really affect our daily work.”

The other employees nodded. Compared to climbing dozens of flights of stairs every day, an occasional flickering light was indeed not a major issue.

Master Ding scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowing as his expression turned solemn. “The Yin Energy on this floor is the heaviest. I fear the evil spirit is hiding right here.”

“The evil spirit is really on this floor?!”

President Zhang shuddered and looked around nervously. The other employees also turned pale, their eyes darting around in a panic as they tried to find the evil spirit while simultaneously fearing they might actually see it. Qiao Man followed suit, his small face tensing up with fear as his little hands tightly gripped Lu Jianxing’s neck, trying his best to squeeze himself into the man’s embrace.

Holding the child, Lu Jianxing continued to ask, “Is there anything special about this floor?”

“You don’t know the half of it. This is the floor where the hauntings are most severe.” The person speaking glanced quickly toward the man in the Ghillie Suit and said vaguely, “That’s where he lost his mind.”

“Before, someone came back after work to grab something. At two in the morning, when the company was completely empty, they heard ghosts talking.”

“A programmer wrote code for three days and nights, only for it to be wiped clean the moment it was finished.”

“Things that are put away properly will move on their own.”

“Oh, and whatever you do, don’t go to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The restroom here is haunted too.”

As they spoke, a tragic scream suddenly erupted from one of the offices: “The proposal I just finished!”

Lu Jianxing turned his head sharply toward the source of the sound. The scream was so piercing that he instinctively took a step in that direction to investigate, only to find that everyone else around him remained unfazed, as if they were used to it.

Lu Jianxing hesitated. “That was…”

“Didn’t I just say? The code programmers write disappears, and lately, this situation has spread to other departments. It’s random, and anyone could encounter it.” The person explaining said, “Have you noticed there are fewer people on this floor? Some offices moved to other floors, and some people are working from home. As long as they aren’t in the company, the things they write won’t be deleted.”

“So, that was the same thing?”

The other employees said knowingly, “We told him ages ago not to bring his proposals to the office to write. That guy just won’t listen to advice.”

Lu Jianxing nodded.

Looking back at this office floor, which seemed no different from any other, he couldn’t help but feel it looked eerie, perhaps because of the evil spirit’s influence. At the thought that an invisible ghost might be standing right next to him, Lu Jianxing couldn’t suppress a shiver and held the child even tighter.

“Master Ding, do you see a way to solve this?” President Zhang asked.

Master Ding straightened the sleeves of his Taoist Robe and said with a calm, composed air, “I will perform a ritual immediately to capture that wicked spirit.”

President Zhang felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. “I’m counting on you, Master Ding. If there’s anything you need from us, I will certainly cooperate.”

Master Ding nodded. “I need a space to conduct the ritual.”

“This way, there’s a conference room over here,” an employee said. “Old Wu also went crazy in there. Can that be used?”

Old Wu was the employee who had been possessed and gone mad.

“That will work.”

Master Ding led his assistant toward the conference room, and the others followed.

Just as Lu Jianxing was about to follow, he felt the child’s small hands suddenly tighten around him. His pace faltered for a moment, thinking Qiao Man had discovered something new.

“Xingxing, I need to go to the bathroom,” Qiao Man whispered into his ear.

Lu Jianxing: “…”

He had no choice but to turn around and head toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Since this floor was heavily haunted and few people were working there, and anyone with free time had gone to the conference room to watch Master Ding perform the ritual, the bathroom was completely empty. Qiao Man jumped down from his arms and hurried into a stall.

He was already a mature and independent child who could use the bathroom by himself without needing an adult’s help.

After urgently taking care of his business, Xiao Man let out a breath and reached for the tissue box next to him, only to find it empty. He turned his head in shock. In such a large company, they actually didn’t put paper in the bathroom!

Qiao Man had no choice but to call out loudly to Lu Jianxing outside: “Xingxing!”

Just as he called out, a roll of toilet paper was handed in through the gap beneath the stall door.

Qiao Man thanked the person happily, “Thank you!”

After wiping his bottom and pulling up his pants, Qiao Man pushed the door open and walked out. The bathroom had sensor faucets that were incredibly sensitive. Before he even got close, the water started rushing out. However, since it hadn’t been used in a long time, the water came out a deep, rusty color. Qiao Man held up his small hands and waited patiently for a long time until the stream ran clear before tiptoeing to wash them clean.

Lu Jianxing had been standing by the window looking at the scenery for a while. When the child finally came out, he took his hand and led him toward the conference room.

The lightbulbs overhead began to flicker violently. This time, both of them were experienced. They didn’t give the lights a second glance, instead heading off with great interest to watch the ghost-catching.

By the time they arrived, Master Ding and his assistant were already prepared in the conference room to begin the ritual.

The doors and windows of the conference room were tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn, leaving the room in dim darkness. The long table used for meetings was now set with an incense burner and candlesticks. Green smoke curled from the incense, candles burned slowly, and Yellow Talisman Paper was plastered all over the white walls. Master Ding held a Peach Wood Sword¹, chanting under his breath as the hem of his wide Taoist Robe fluttered with his movements.

It wasn’t just President Zhang’s subordinates; other high-level executives had also come. Hearing that a Taoist was performing a ritual to catch a ghost, even the employees who were currently working dropped what they were doing to watch through the glass windows. The corridor outside the conference room was packed with people. Qiao Man and Lu Jianxing arrived too late and could only stand at the very back.

Lu Jianxing picked up the child so he could see more clearly. He heard an employee next to him muttering through gritted teeth, “My proposal! I just finished that proposal!”

Lu Jianxing gave him a sympathetic look. So this was the unlucky fellow.

Inside the conference room, the employee wearing the Ghillie Suit sat on a chair in the center. He was conscious now, but as he listened to the sound of Master Ding’s chanting, his expression was somewhat nervous. He swallowed hard, yet he didn’t dare leave. Master Ding had said he would perform a ritual to help him exorcise the spiritual entity attached to him.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the sealed conference room, making the Yellow Talisman Paper on the walls rustle loudly.

The crowd of onlookers perked up, watching the scene inside with tension.

What was happening? Was the ghost coming?!

Master Ding pulled a piece of Yellow Talisman Paper from his sleeve and slapped it onto the face of Old Wu – the man in the Ghillie Suit. In the next instant, Old Wu’s entire body stiffened. His eyes rolled back, and he began to shake violently as if he were being electrocuted.

Qiao Man quickly widened his eyes, staring intently at that Talisman Paper. He used his index finger like a pen to mimic the movements in the air, learning the incantation drawn upon it.

As he traced it, his movements gradually slowed, and a look of confusion slowly appeared on his face.

Master Ding continued his chanting and produced another piece of Talisman Paper. The yellow paper spontaneously ignited at his fingertips and was dropped into a bowl filled with plain water. Master Ding took a mouthful of the talisman water and sprayed it onto the man’s face.

“Swish!” A handful of glutinous rice² was tossed into the air.

The onlookers held their breath, not daring to breathe loudly for fear of disturbing the exorcism ritual inside.

Master Ding gave a loud shout and slammed a palm onto Old Wu’s back. Old Wu’s body jolted before going limp. His hands slumped at his sides and his head hung down as if he had fainted. Everyone exchanged silent looks. Was it over?

However, Master Ding’s expression did not relax. Instead, it grew increasingly solemn. His eyes sharpened as he looked at the space beside Old Wu, raising his Peach Wood Sword and pointing the tip into mid-air.

Everyone held their breath, straining their eyes to look at the empty air.

Could it be… that the Vengeful Ghost³ was right there?!

Qiao Man: “…”

Qiao Man: “…………”

His small face first showed anticipation, then shock, then doubt, then distress… and finally, nothing but pure bewilderment.

“Everyone, be careful! Back up a bit!” Master Ding’s assistant said nervously. “My master is about to battle the Vengeful Ghost. Be careful not to get hurt!”

The crowd of onlookers hurriedly retreated, terrified of being caught in the crossfire. Once the crowd pulled back, the large man and small child standing still in their original spots became particularly conspicuous.

Lu Jianxing had originally intended to hide as well, but the Qiao Man in his arms suddenly began to struggle, twisting his body to jump down. Before Lu Jianxing could react, Qiao Man had already pushed open the conference room door and run inside.

Lu Jianxing was startled: “Xiao Man?!”

Everyone else was also shocked: “What is that kid doing?”

“How did he get in?”

“Wait, wasn’t the conference room door locked?!”

Not only the crowd outside but even those performing the ritual inside were stunned. President Zhang’s expression changed drastically: “You brat, what are you doing in here?! Get out, now!”

Qiao Man ignored him and ran straight to Old Wu, who was slumped in the chair. He grabbed the wet Talisman Paper from Old Wu’s face and carefully identified its contents, becoming even more confused: “This isn’t a ghost-expelling talisman.”

Unable to wait for his assistant, President Zhang ran over himself to pull the boy away. He looked around nervously, especially at the spot where Master Ding’s Peach Wood Sword was pointing: “Go, get out of here! There’s a ghost!”

Qiao Man looked even more lost: “I don’t see anything.”

“What do you know? Do you think a ghost is something an ordinary person can see?” President Zhang was fuming, terrified that this child’s interference would cause the ritual to fail. He barked at Lu Jianxing, who had chased after the boy: “Why didn’t you keep an eye on your kid? If something happens, can you take responsibility?”

Lu Jianxing looked down at his child: “There’s no ghost?”

Qiao Man shook his head: “I don’t see anything at all.”

President Zhang said indignantly: “If there’s no ghost, then what was that thing Master Ding just pulled off Old Wu?”

Qiao Man: “He…”

Right then, a wild wind swirled through the conference room. Master Ding suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. The Peach Wood Sword in his hand clattered to the floor, and he reached up to grip his own throat tightly, as if he were wrestling with an invisible ghost. His body was forced backward uncontrollably, as if someone were pushing him, and he was soon shoved against the wall by the “ghost.” He struggled violently against the wall, his face contorting from the lack of oxygen.

Master Ding’s assistant’s face paled: “Oh no, the Vengeful Ghost is enraged!”

The crowd gasped. President Zhang’s face went white. Ignoring everything else, he turned and fled, trembling all over.

Lu Jianxing looked down at Qiao Man. The boy’s eyes were vacant, his confusion deepening.

He really hadn’t seen a single thing!

Master said Xiao Man was born with divine powers. Was he just lying to him all this time?!

Qiao Man thought for a moment, then turned around to take off his backpack. For this business trip, he had come fully prepared, having drawn every talisman he knew how to make. Now, he pulled a talisman out of his Little Yellow Duck Backpack, ran over, and slapped it onto Master Ding.

Master Ding’s struggling suddenly ceased. He was frozen in place in a twisted posture, his chest heaving slightly, unable to even blink.

Master Ding’s assistant immediately lunged forward. “What did you do to my master!”

Qiao Man slapped a talisman on him as well, freezing him in his tracks. His small face was grave. “Don’t be noisy. I’m thinking.”

Where was the ghost?

Why wasn’t the ghost coming to catch him?

Master Ding and his assistant were frozen in their respective contorted positions. Rasping sounds issued from deep in their throats as they tried their hardest to speak, yet they couldn’t utter a single word.

The people were still, the wind had died down, and peace returned to the meeting room, leaving only a small child standing in the center.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden development, staring blankly at the scene before them, their minds unable to process it for a long time.

Lu Jianxing mused, “No ghosts?”

Qiao Man scratched his head in distress. “I didn’t see anything.”

It wasn’t just that he didn’t see anything; once Master Ding and his assistant were incapacitated, everything became calm and tranquil, as if nothing had happened at all. That malevolent ghost causing trouble had vanished. Did ghosts actually respect the elderly and the young?

Lu Jianxing pondered. “Are those two frauds?”

Qiao Man’s little face was full of shock. “Huh? Frauds?!”

The crowd was also shocked. “What?! Frauds?!”

That couldn’t be right. If there were no ghosts, then what was that they saw just now?!

But… if there were ghosts, where did they go?

Just then, Old Wu, who was slumped in a chair, let out a groan and slowly woke up. Everyone’s gaze fell upon him.

That’s right, Old Wu had been possessed by a ghost earlier. If there were no ghosts, then what was it that had possessed him?

Lu Jianxing voiced everyone’s doubt. “He wasn’t possessed by a ghost?”

Qiao Man looked troubled. “I can’t see it. I originally thought the ghost on him was hiding too well, which was why I couldn’t see it, but…” Master Ding had supposedly beaten the ghost out, yet he still couldn’t see anything.

Initially, Xiao Man thought his skills were simply inferior and was humbly trying to learn from the master. But after Lu Jianxing suggested they were frauds, he finally understood.

No wonder he couldn’t see any ghosts, nor could he see the building being shrouded in thick Yin Energy. It was because there wasn’t any to begin with!

President Zhang walked back while leaning against the wall, pointing at Old Wu with a trembling finger. “Then why did he faint just now? Wasn’t Master Ding catching a ghost?”

Qiao Man peeled the talisman off Old Wu’s face and explained, “This is a Thunderbolt Talisman. It’s not very powerful. When stuck on a person, it produces a reaction like an electric shock. He was just knocked out by the electricity.”

President Zhang was speechless.

President Zhang hesitated. “The windows weren’t open just now, yet there was such a strong wind. If it wasn’t a ghost…”

“Making wind? I can do that too.”

Qiao Man pulled a new talisman from his backpack and held it between his fingers. Soon, a gale swirled through the meeting room, even blowing open the heavy curtains. The brilliant sunlight from outside poured in, feeling warm against their skin.

Grunting sounds came from Master Ding’s throat. His eyes were wide, and the veins on his temples bulged, but his body wouldn’t budge an inch, leaving him with no way to defend himself.

The phenomena they had just witnessed were easily replicated by a child. President Zhang’s brain felt as if it had been frozen as well; he stared blankly at the scene, unable to recover for a long while.

Outside the meeting room, someone cried out in surprise, “Master Xiao Man? Are you Master Xiao Man?”

Qiao Man looked toward the sound and met the eyes of a young female employee through the glass of the meeting room. He showed two sweet little dimples. “You know me?”

“I’ve watched your variety show.” The female employee’s gaze fell on the young man next to him wearing a hat and mask. She said excitedly, “Could you be…” Lu Jianxing shook his head, and she swallowed the rest of her words, though her expression remained thrilled.

President Zhang looked at the others in the meeting room with a dazed expression. “What? What Master?”

The executives around his age were all confused. It wasn’t until their assistants whispered to them that they realized the child standing before them seemed to be a remarkable Master who had showcased his abilities on a variety show.

• A Master? This five-year-old kid? Can you even trust variety shows? –

But looking at Master Ding and his assistant frozen in place, everyone swallowed their doubts.

President Zhang thought blankly: The five-year-old child his elderly father sent over actually has real talent?

“Wait a minute.” President Zhang suddenly thought of something and pointed at Old Wu. “He wasn’t possessed? Then why did he go crazy before?”

That’s right!

The others remembered this as well and turned their gaze toward Old Wu in unison. This was a concrete example of possession and one of the ironclad proofs that the company was haunted.

Old Wu had been knocked out by the electricity and hadn’t seen the whole process, but just by listening to the snippets of conversation, he could guess what had happened.

Under the scrutiny of countless eyes, he remained silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly shuddered, his eyes went vacant, and he slowly slid off his chair. He collapsed onto the floor and began to crawl forward…

Crawling…

Lu Jianxing took a large step, blocking his path.

Old Wu couldn’t crawl past him. He stood up sheepishly, guiltily avoiding everyone’s gaze.

President Zhang was stunned. “You were faking it?”

Old Wu scratched his head. “Heh heh.”

Old Wu’s colleagues were also completely dumbfounded.

During this time, they had been convinced that Old Wu was possessed. Moreover, Old Wu’s behavior really had changed drastically, as if he were a different person. He was a veteran employee of the company, diligent and hardworking, always emotionally stable – until a month ago, when he suddenly slapped a folder into his supervisor’s face.

His colleague was utterly confused. “Then what about you sitting there talking to yourself every day and suddenly laughing out loud?”

Old Wu said somewhat sheepishly, “I won ten million in the lottery.”

Just thinking about it made him burst into laughter.

“Hehe.”

His colleagues were speechless.

“Who’d want to work if they were rich?” Old Wu said. “At the time, I thought, to hell with this crappy job, I’m done. I was just waiting to be fired. But then all of you thought I was possessed by a ghost and refused to let me go. I really just wanted to be terminated, but the more I faked it, the more I realized how much it relieved my stress…”

Truth be told, ever since he started acting crazy, his mental state had actually improved. His superiors stopped bullying him, his colleagues stopped shifting their work onto him, and he left on time every day. No one dared to ask him to work overtime anymore. Whenever he felt work pressure, he just started acting out. The longer he stayed at this job, the more cheerful he became.

“If you didn’t want to work anymore, why didn’t you just resign?”

Old Wu gave a bashful smile. “I’ve been with the company for over a decade. The ‘n+1⁴‘ severance pay is a lot of money.”

According to company policy, there was no compensation for voluntary resignation.

To get himself fired, he had put a great deal of effort into his daily madness.

His team leader’s face contorted. “So you hit me on purpose just to get fired?”

Old Wu explained hurriedly, “No, that wasn’t for show. That was from the heart.”

The team leader had no words.

It wasn’t just the team leader; even President Zhang’s face turned a sickly shade of green.

Out of humanitarian concern, he hadn’t fired an employee he thought was possessed, only to find out the man had been working hard at playing the fool every day just to get sacked?

What kind of twisted logic was this?

Now that the truth was out, Old Wu felt a bit guilty seeing everyone’s expressions. He quickly shuffled out of the meeting room in his heavy Ghillie Suit⁵ and squeezed back into the crowd to continue watching the drama.

The matter of the employee being possessed was resolved, but many mysteries remained.

President Zhang looked again at the five-year-old child before him – no, he should call him a Master.

After seeing Qiao Man show off his skills, he was now completely convinced. Regardless of age, anyone with the ability to help him was a true Master. At the very least, the boy was better than the fake master he’d paid a fortune to perform for thin air.

President Zhang bent down and said humbly, “Master Xiao Man, I was wrong before. I was blind. You’re a great… well, you’re a big-hearted child. Can you forgive my previous rudeness?”

Master Xiao Man lifted his chin and gave a haughty snort.

President Zhang looked to Lu Jianxing for help, but Lu Jianxing looked away. It was Qiao Man who spoke up first. “Grandpa Zhang asked me to help you. Since I already promised him, I suppose I have no choice.”

President Zhang was overjoyed. “Thank you! Thank you, Master Xiao Man!”

Qiao Man repeated his previous conclusion. “There is a malicious person working against you. If you don’t deal with it soon, it will endanger your life. From what I can see, you’ve been affected by this person for a long time. Most of the problems you mentioned were likely caused by them.”

President Zhang was shocked. “Wasn’t it a ghost?”

Qiao Man looked displeased. “You don’t believe me?”

“I do, I do,” President Zhang corrected himself quickly. “But Master Xiao Man, by ‘malicious person,’ don’t you mean a ghost? I’ve heard that the boss of our rival company keeps ‘little ghosts⁶.’ Maybe he sent one to steal our secrets?”

He was a firm believer in the supernatural side of corporate espionage!

“Of course not,” Qiao Man said. “It might be that way for others, but what you’re facing is definitely a human-made disaster.”

Lu Jianxing added, “Leaked company secrets and product quality issues are much more likely to be the work of an insider, don’t you think?”

President Zhang froze, his expression darkening.

He was right. Those two major issues that threatened the company’s interests were most likely internal jobs. It was only because the rumors of hauntings had persisted for so long, combined with the bizarre death of the money tree, that he had attributed everything to the paranormal.

However…

“After those incidents, we immediately investigated our internal staff but found no issues,” President Zhang said solemnly. “Master Xiao Man, if you say this is a human-made disaster, does that mean the culprit is still in the company?”

“Yes.”

“Then… is there any way to find them?” President Zhang hinted. “A method using… your expertise?”

Qiao Man thought for a moment and started rummaging through his backpack again.

This time, he pulled out blank Talisman Paper. There was ready-made Cinnabar on a nearby table, left over from Master Ding’s ritual. He checked it and found the quality was quite good, so he unceremoniously commandeered it.

Master Ding’s eyes widened, and he made angry, wheezing sounds, but no one paid him any attention.

In front of everyone, Qiao Man drew a talisman on the spot. When he handed it to President Zhang, the Cinnabar on the yellow paper was still wet.

“This is a Truth Talisman,” he said. “Hold it in your hand. If someone lies, the talisman will catch fire.”

President Zhang treated it like a priceless treasure, receiving it with trembling hands. When he turned to look at the others, his expression instantly became fierce.

Who was it! Who was trying to ruin him!

Outside the meeting room, the onlookers widened their eyes and held their breath. Just as they had watched Master Ding’s performance earlier, they now watched President Zhang pass the talisman to the others.

Starting from the top executives, he checked them one by one, letting no one off the hook.

Before long, the talisman burst into flames in the hands of one of the vice presidents.

President Zhang narrowed his eyes, staring at the cold-sweat-drenched Vice President Gao. “It’s you?”

Vice President Gao watched the talisman burn in his hand until only a palmful of black ash remained, yet his skin was completely unharmed. Seeing such a mystical event happen before his eyes and meeting President Zhang’s suspicious gaze, he knew the game was up. However, he still tried to explain himself. “The product quality issues are related to me. My subordinates took kickbacks and loosened the quality inspections. I only found out after the products hit the market. But I really didn’t leak the secrets for the new product!”

President Zhang glared at him. “Did you kill the money tree outside my office?”

Vice President Gao cried out in protest, “It wasn’t me! I don’t know what happened there either!”

President Zhang’s fists cracked. “And the elevator? Did you sabotage the elevator?”

Vice President Gao was equally indignant. “Do you think I wanted to climb the stairs? At my age, climbing dozens of floors every day is more than a human can bear!”

“The talisman burned in your hand, and you’re still trying to argue? If it wasn’t you, who else could it be?!”

Qiao Man chimed in, “There’s more than one backstabber, you know.”

President Zhang’s eyes widened in shock. “What? There’s more?!”

President Zhang looked at everyone around him except for Vice President Gao. Everyone looked incredibly suspicious to him now. Vice President Gao was a founding member who had been there since the company’s inception; if even he could backstab him, who else was beyond suspicion?

President Zhang’s cold, sharp gaze swept across everyone’s faces. Those met by his eyes instinctively looked away. The atmosphere in the conference room grew stagnant, and even the sound of breathing became noticeably loud.

Having run a business for many years, he naturally possessed a knack for reading people. He didn’t even need a second Truth Talisman. Soon enough, President Zhang spotted something suspicious nearby. “Secretary Huang,” he said coldly, “why are you hiding?”

Secretary Huang, his name called, felt his legs go weak and nearly lost his footing. “President Zhang, I…”

“It’s you?”

President Zhang stared at his trusted secretary. Secretary Huang had been with him for many years, serving as his right-hand man and one of the few people with access to company secrets. In fact, it was Secretary Huang who had suggested hiring a master to perform a ritual. Looking back, after the incidents began, it was Secretary Huang who had been nudging his thoughts toward the supernatural.

That’s right!

Secretary Huang was also responsible for watering the money tree outside his office every day!

President Zhang was heartbroken. “Secretary Huang, how have I mistreated you? Was your annual salary not high enough? Were the benefits not generous enough? Where did I fail you that you felt the need to betray me like this?”

Secretary Huang stammered, unable to look him in the eye. He frantically averted his gaze, only to meet the eyes of the child watching the drama unfold.

Looking at that youthful face full of curiosity, Secretary Huang was speechless.

Who could have imagined that all his careful planning and painstaking efforts would be exposed by a five-year-old?

No matter how silver-tongued or how convincing the acting, everything was as fragile as paper when faced with unscientific metaphysical methods.

“I…” Secretary Huang said dejectedly. “My girlfriend is the second young miss of the Wang Corporation…”

The Wang Corporation was President Zhang’s rival.

Not long ago, he had met a gentle and lovely girl. It was only after they started dating that he discovered she was the second daughter of his rival’s company. Under the onslaught of his girlfriend’s charms, he failed to resist the honey trap⁷ and betrayed his boss, leaking company secrets to the Wang Corporation.

On the surface, he watered the money tree every day, but in reality, he was secretly using hot water.

The whispering voices heard in the company in the middle of the night were actually him sneaking back to steal secrets, nearly getting caught.

The first elevator malfunction was a genuine accident, but the subsequent issues were caused by him bribing the maintenance staff to create artificial failures. He was even the one who spread the rumors about the negative 18th floor.

He had fanned the flames of the ghost rumors, manufacturing many of them himself. Many employees, terrified of ghosts and unable to bear the exhaustion of climbing dozens of flights of stairs every day, had resigned during this period. Most of them had ended up at the Wang Corporation.

Following his confession, an employee rushed out from outside the conference room with a howl.

Fists rained down on Secretary Huang as the employee roared in grief and rage, “Give me back the proposal I just wrote! The proposal I just finished! I spent two whole days on that proposal!!!”

Secretary Huang scurried away with his head in his hands, shouting his innocence. “I stole company secrets, but I really didn’t do that!”

“If it wasn’t you, then who?” the man roared. “Was it Old Wu?!”

Old Wu waved his hands frantically. “It wasn’t me! Why would I delete your proposal? I’m not a hacker. How could I break into your computer?”

The employees, who had suffered from the haunting for a long time, rushed in and swarmed Secretary Huang, kicking and punching him. The angry crowd nearly buried him.

“It’s one thing to leak company secrets, but you actually played ghost!”

“Do you have any idea how exhausted I’ve been, climbing dozens of floors every single day?”

“Give me back my proposal! Give it back!”

“And my code!”

Secretary Huang shielded his head and tried to dodge, his defense drowned out by his colleagues’ fury. “It wasn’t me! I really didn’t do that part!”

“If not you, then who? Master Xiao Man said there are no ghosts in our company at all!”

“Exactly!”

“Ghosts?” Qiao Man blinked and said, “There are, though.”

Both the attackers and the victim froze simultaneously.

Everyone turned to look at him in terror.

Wh-what?!

There really is a ghost?!

Master Ding in the corner: “…Gah! Gah-gah!”

Translator’s Notes