Chapter 3 – Rooms That Shouldn't Exist
The mayor's gift to Wang Lai was a modest house with a small yard. Nothing fancy—at least on the outside.
Chen Mo stepped inside and immediately froze. His breath caught, his eyes wide.
"…this aura… nascent soul?"
Inside, a white-haired man was chopping vegetables. He looked up casually.
"Master, you're back."
"Garfield, we have two guests," Wang Lai said cheerfully.
Garfield blinked. "Master… two?"
"One," Wang Lai corrected, laughing. "Ah, sorry, I was counting the wind again."
Chen Mo's legs nearly gave out. He whispered desperately to the empty air beside him: "Master, what is this place?"
They sat for dinner. The food was simple but strangely delicious.
Afterwards, Wang Lai handed Chen Mo a key. "Spare room. Rest."
Garfield frowned. "Master… when did this house get a third room? I swear, I clean this place every day. There are only two."
Wang Lai's face didn't even twitch. "We've always had three. You just weren't paying attention. Stop asking stupid questions and focus on your training."
Garfield opened his mouth, then shut it. "…Yes, Master."
That night, Chen Mo lay in bed, unable to sleep.
"Master," he whispered into the air, "are you sure Garfield is a white demon tiger? His aura is… terrifying. Nascent soul peak…"
A beautiful woman in ethereal form appeared at his bedside, her voice soft. "Yes. At first, I thought this mortal Wang knew nothing. But now… I'm not so sure."
Chen Mo smirked tiredly. "Everyone knows Officer Wang. He's kind, lazy, always buried in taxes. That's all. Anyway, you said we're leaving tomorrow. I should rest."
She hesitated, then nodded. "Rest, then…"
When he drifted into sleep, her figure floated silently from the room.
She entered Garfield's quarters first. The white tiger meditated in human form, power rippling from him like storm waves. "He could start his own sect," she whispered.
Then she glided into Wang Lai's room.
There he sat, hunched over stacks of tax reports, pen scratching casually as though nothing in the world existed beyond paperwork.
Curious, she drifted closer to the bookshelf. Her fingers brushed over a title.
"Find anything you like?" Wang Lai asked without looking up. "I recommend Lady Red. Every woman in town loves it."
Her form froze. Slowly, she turned. His eyes locked onto hers, calm and steady.
"You're not mortal," she said. "But… I can't sense your cultivation."
Wang Lai leaned back, smiling faintly. "Let me guess. Betrayed by someone, body destroyed, trapped in a pendant, waiting for a disciple to rebuild your flesh?"
Her soul quivered. "How… did you—"
"It's cliché," Wang Lai interrupted. "Stay here a month. I'll rebuild your body, and your disciple will have his revenge."
She narrowed her eyes. "You make it sound so simple—"
"Paralyze."
The word cracked like thunder.
Her spirit froze, chains of death locking her in place. Even her very soul trembled, unable to move.
She stared at him in horror.
"Release."
The weight vanished. She gasped, clutching her chest though she had no body.
Wang Lai smiled faintly. "Good. Then it's settled. Don't worry—I'll make every inch of your body myself."
For some reason she couldn't explain, her face burned red.
Cliffhanger:
As she fled the room, her ghostly hands trembling, Garfield stirred in his meditation. He opened his eyes just enough to whisper:
"…Master… just what kind of monster are you?"
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