Translator: CinderTL
After realizing this, Jiang Cheng pulled Banana Wolf behind him, using him as a backdrop to bolster their presence.
"Money isn't really the issue," Jiang Cheng said after counting the cash in Banana Wolf's backpack and stuffing it into his own pocket. He looked up and continued, "I'm more about reasoning."
The old landlord nervously swallowed.
"You must have records of previous tenants, right?" Jiang Cheng waved his hand magnanimously. "Go fetch them for me."
The scar-faced old man grimaced. "No, there's nothing left from before. After what happened, who would dare keep those records? All we have now is what's happened since then."
"Well, you must at least remember how it all happened. Tell me about these rooms," Jiang Cheng glanced at the old man and said, "Room 707 in Building 1, Room 404 in Building 2, and Room 808 in Building 3."
Knowing he was in the wrong, the old man had no choice but to tell them the truth.
While listening to the stories about Buildings 1 and 2, Jiang Cheng was relatively satisfied. The old man's account matched what they already knew, and some details aligned perfectly.
But when it came to the room Jiang Cheng was most interested in—Room 808—things went awry.
"You're saying you don't know?" Jiang Cheng straightened up, visibly displeased.
"I really don't know about Room 808," the old man quickly explained, sensing Jiang Cheng's tone shift. "I was just a gofer back then. The owner handed these rooms to me to rent out."
"And I was only in charge of Buildings 1 and 2. I took over Building 3 after the incident," the old man added, his expression sincere and not seeming like a lie.
Jiang Cheng signaled Banana Wolf to try intimidating him again, but the result was the same.
The old man firmly insisted he didn't know.
"What about the previous landlord of Building 3?" Banana Wolf tried to put on a fierce expression, but with his gentle and handsome appearance, it didn't come off as very convincing.
Without a knife in hand, he even looked somewhat cute.
"Give me the contact information for the previous landlord of Building 3," Jiang Cheng demanded.
"It's no use," the old man sighed. "She's dead."
"Dead?"
"Yeah," the old man nodded, then quickly added, as if afraid Jiang Cheng wouldn't believe him, "She's really dead. It's strange—they all died within a few days of each other. I'd say those days were cursed, just bad luck." He licked his lips, almost ingratiatingly, and added, "That's why I advised you not to wander around at night."
"Wow, thanks so much for that," Jiang Cheng sneered, rolling his eyes.
After being snapped at by Jiang Cheng, the old man immediately became docile again.
But Jiang Cheng grew more intrigued by the landlord of Building 3. According to the old man, the deaths of these people had occurred very close together.
Could there be some connection?
"Sigh, that woman was a pitiful soul," the old man sighed, glancing out the window as if reminiscing. "She wasn't old—probably just in her early 30s. She was quite pretty and had a good personality, but unfortunately, she ended up with the wrong man."
"I heard she fell in love with a guy much younger than her. I don't know what kind of spell he cast on her, but she was head over heels for him."
"She had a stable job and a few properties she rented out. By all accounts, she was doing well, but she couldn't keep up with that guy's extravagant spending."
"Later, I heard the guy started fooling around behind her back. She tried to control him, but it was no use. She just stayed at home, foolishly hoping he'd settle down and live a good life with her." The old man's grip on his teacup tightened as he spoke, clearly feeling sorry for the woman. "But once someone's gone wild, it's hard to reel them back in. Eventually, he swindled all her money and dumped her."
"She couldn't take it and slit her wrists in her bedroom."
"She had two dogs at home. Rumor has it that before she killed herself, she let the dogs out, probably not wanting to involve other lives."
"But somehow, the dogs found their way back, and the door was closed." The old man paused, then let out a long sigh. "Later, the neighbors called the police after noticing a foul smell. It was hot weather, and her body had already decomposed on the bed. The dogs were in the bedroom too. What a scene... Ugh!"
Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed, and he quickly asked, "Did she also live in Peace Apartment?"
"Yes," the old man nodded, then awkwardly chuckled a few times. "I forgot to mention that earlier. That woman lived in your Building 1, Room 717."
At these words, Fatty's heart skipped a beat.
It was her!
The ghost who could be bribed with money!
After asking a few more details, the old man didn't seem to know much else, and Jiang Cheng didn't press him further.
In fact, if the old man had known everything, Jiang Cheng would have grown suspicious.
After leaving the old landlord's place, the group gathered for a quick meeting.
Jiang Cheng confiscated everyone's money, added it to what he'd earned from his hard work at the KTV, and prepared to confront the money-loving ghost in Room 717.
Now it made sense why she was so obsessed with money—she wanted to win back the man she had deeply loved.
After hearing this story, Banana Wolf's mood sank. The woman in Room 717, and the one in Room 808.
They were both kind-hearted people in life, but in their short lives, they had met the wrong person, wasted their love, and ultimately their lives.
"I'll go with you," Banana Wolf suddenly said as they reached the 7th floor.
Jiang Cheng had been contemplating who to bring along, but he hadn't expected a volunteer.
Jiang Cheng looked Banana Wolf up and down for a while, then nodded with an air of seriousness. "Stay quiet inside. I'll handle the danger. Don't panic if something happens."
Looking at the Doctor, Fatty worriedly said, "Maybe I should go with you too. There's safety in numbers."
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then said, "We'll see."
The two groups agreed on a 20-minute window. If they didn't come out by then, it meant something had happened, and the other group would have to find a way to rescue them.
"We'll do that," Hua Luo promised.
With Fatty and Banana Wolf in tow, Jiang Cheng knocked on the door of Room 717.
From the old landlord, they had learned that the woman's name was Weng Qing.
As before, a slow, dragging sound came from behind the door, as if someone was shuffling their feet without lifting them off the ground.
After a moment, the door opened a crack, and half of a woman's face appeared in the gap. Her complexion was pale, as if she hadn't seen sunlight in a long time.
The room was as dark as before, and a faint stench of decay seeped through the door crack, like meat that had been rotting for a long time.
Now that they knew the ghost's desire, Jiang Cheng didn't waste time. He directly extended his hand and shoved a thick stack of folded bills through the door crack.
"Sister Qing," Jiang Cheng called out in a sweet voice, "I just found 6,342 yuan and 7 mao outside your door. Is it possible you dropped it by accident?"
(End of the Chapter)
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