Chapter 48: Separation of Souls

　　The pair of eyes was filled with venomous hatred—it was definitely not Lulu. The Sister Spirit had awoken, and it was now in control of Lulu's body!

　　Staring into those eyes made Lu Fei's skin crawl.

　　He forced himself to stay completely still, restraining any instinctive movement. He knew he was covered in mud that masked his human aura; as long as he didn't make any sudden moves, the spirit wouldn't sense him.

　　Sure enough, after a couple of seconds, Lulu's gaze drifted away.

　　Her pitch-black eyes scanned the room with a cautious look, as if checking for any other presence.

　　When her gaze swept past Tiger, he felt his heart pound as though it might leap out of his chest.

　　Luckily, Lulu quickly looked away.

　　She moved to the vanity, picked up some makeup, and began applying it to her face.

　　In no time, her entire face was once again painted a ghostly white.

　　When she finished, she smiled at her reflection in satisfaction.

　　"Am I beautiful?"

　　The reflection in the mirror—a ghastly white face with disfiguring scars—looked ugly beyond words.

　　"Not beautiful! Still not beautiful enough!" Discontent with the answer, Lulu's expression turned dark as she reached out for something on the table.

　　Lu Fei had already put away any sharp objects, so when Lulu couldn't find what she wanted, she grew impatient, flipping the table over.

　　"Still not pretty enough! My face isn't small enough, not camera-ready!"

　　In a fit of rage, she started wrecking the room, overturning furniture and smashing whatever was in her path.

　　Then, as if sensing something, she stopped, jerking her neck in that odd way and fixing her dark gaze on a small straw doll holding a brow razor and waving at her.

　　Lulu's eyes lit up as she rushed toward the straw doll.

　　The straw doll gave a little hop, causing her to miss. Looking up, she saw the straw doll waving from just ahead, and she lunged forward again.

　　Stumbling along in pursuit, Lulu finally stepped into the circle formed by the red cord.

　　The cord instantly tightened, binding her feet.

　　Lu Fei and Tiger each held one end of the rope, preventing her from moving forward.

　　The straw doll stood just in front of Lulu.

　　Unable to move her legs, she frantically stretched out her arms, just barely missing the doll. In her desperation, a faint, blurry shadow started to emerge from the top of her head.

　　That was the true form of the Sister Spirit!

　　"It's working!"

　　Excited, Lu Fei gripped his end of the rope even tighter to keep Lulu from moving forward.

　　Slowly, the spirit emerged further from Lulu's body, reaching for the straw doll, which kept backing away just out of reach.

　　A look of agony appeared on Lulu's face as though her flesh were being peeled away—a pain so intense it twisted her body, making her lean forward.

　　Gritting his teeth, Lu Fei pulled the rope taut with Tiger's help.

　　With their combined effort, the spirit was eventually forced to separate fully from Lulu, lunging at the straw doll.

　　The doll began to twitch and, wielding the brow razor, started cutting its own face.

　　"We did it!"

　　Lu Fei threw down the rope and charged forward.

　　The spirit, sensing the danger, attempted to retreat back into Lulu's body.

　　Lu Fei swiftly lashed out with the willow branch, forcing the spirit back.

　　"Tiger, seal her senses with the incense ashes!" Lu Fei shouted, wielding the willow branch to prevent the spirit from approaching.

　　Tiger quickly complied, hurriedly smearing ashes across Lulu's face.

　　With her senses sealed, the spirit could no longer re-enter Lulu's body, and it grew furious, charging toward Lu Fei in a gust of cold wind.

　　Lu Fei raised the Eight Trigrams Mirror in defense.

　　Golden light burst forth, dissipating the wind.

　　Swinging the willow branch, he struck at the spirit.

　　The spirit panicked, fleeing wildly around the small apartment, shrinking three inches each time it was struck by the willow.

　　Unable to best Lu Fei, it turned its sights on Tiger.

　　But with his dog-tooth dagger and protective talisman, Tiger repelled it too.

　　Defeated, it retreated to the box crafted from ironwood.

　　"Yes!"

　　This was the moment Lu Fei had been waiting for. He hurriedly stepped forward, pressing a protective talisman onto the box.

　　The box shuddered a few times before falling still.

　　"It's done!"

　　The Sister Spirit was now sealed within the box. As soon as Lu Fei exposed its ashes to sunlight, it would be vanquished completely.

　　With a long sigh of relief, Lu Fei realized he was drenched in sweat.

　　"Boss, did we succeed?"

　　"We did."

　　Tiger, finally reassured, took deep breaths, marveling at how tough the exorcism business really was.

　　After a short rest, they helped clean Lulu's face of the ashes and moved her to the bed.

　　Tiger opened the window, letting fresh air flow in.

　　The stench in the room was unbearable—he could feel it clinging to him as if he'd absorbed it.

　　The two of them pulled up chairs by the window, waiting for dawn.

　　As they enjoyed the cool night breeze, exhaustion washed over them.

　　Still, they dared not sleep, idly chatting to stay awake.

　　"Boss, want a smoke?" Tiger offered a pack of cigarettes.

　　"I don't smoke," Lu Fei replied, shaking his head.

　　"Honestly, if I hadn't seen you in action, I'd never have pegged you as some ghost-busting master," Tiger said, lighting a cigarette for himself. "You're polite, fair-skinned, don't drink or smoke. You look more like a college kid than someone in this business."

　　"I don't smoke, but I can drink a little," Lu Fei chuckled. "When I was a kid, I secretly bought a pack of cigarettes, thinking I looked as cool as the guys on TV. But my grandpa caught me and gave me a serious beating."

　　"He said our line of work doesn't mix well with bad habits. Drinking, smoking, gambling—it all depletes your yang energy. And without yang energy, you can't handle the dirty stuff."

　　"Smoking and drinking drain yang energy?" Tiger looked at his cigarette uncertainly, unsure whether he should continue or put it out.

　　"It's fine; a lot of habits deplete yang energy—like staying up late. Aren't we doing that right now? But yang energy can always be restored."

　　"How?" Tiger hesitated, then stubbed out his cigarette.

　　"Simple: twelve words of wisdom—eat well, drink well, sleep early, rise early, and exercise."

　　"That's all?" Tiger was skeptical.

　　"It's simple, but how many people actually manage it?" Lu Fei shrugged.

　　"You're right." Tiger sighed, glancing at Lulu sleeping on the bed. "Boss, you think Lulu's face will ever heal?"

　　"It'll be tough."

　　"Doesn't the Evil Pawnshop have anything that could help her recover?"

　　Before Lu Fei could answer, they heard a small tap against the window, as if struck by a pebble.

　　Initially, they ignored it, but then they realized—this was the fourteenth floor.

　　Both men cautiously peered out the window, only to find a pair of ghostly green eyes staring right back, lunging toward the table where the box sat.