Chapter 144: The Reason Behind the Ruin

Even though Ms. Liu appeared frail and listless, I didn’t relax my vigilance.

The Iron-wire Dragon was coiled in my sleeve, ready to strike back at a moment’s notice.

After all, this residential area was far too abnormal for me to be certain she was a sane, ordinary person.

Unlike the old lady’s home, which at least offered a cup of Bodhi leaf tea, there wasn’t even a drop of water to welcome me here.

Ms. Liu had even forgotten to pour me a drink, though I didn’t mind.

“So, Ms. Liu, exactly why are those… weirdos chasing you?” I asked, choosing my words carefully.

“They were sent by the loan sharks to collect a debt,” she replied, her face still masked with terror.

“I have no money left. Once they catch me, they’ll force me to pay back the debt by any means necessary. If I can’t pay, something terrifying happens…”

“What kind of terrifying thing?” I pressed.

“They’ll force me into prostitution. If that still doesn’t cover the debt, they’ll strip my skin, harvest my organs for money, and then turn me into a monster like that one!” Ms. Liu cried out in horror.

“So the weirdo chasing you the other day was turned into that because of a debt?” I asked.

Senior Sister Mo had mentioned that those creatures with mismatched features and skin that looked sewn together were made by refining living humans through a corpse-refinement method.

I didn’t dare imagine how cruel that process must be.

“Yes. I once had a friend I played cards with who was turned into that ghostly shape by them. He’s forced to do hard labor now, living a life worse than death! I really don’t want to become like that!” Ms. Liu clutched her hair, nearly pulling it out.

“A card friend? You mean a gambling buddy. He fell into debt because of gambling, but why couldn’t you just quit?” I asked.

“If you worked a steady job, you might eventually pay it off. Why did it have to come to this?”

Of course, the “work” she mentioned wasn’t exactly a respectable job.

Even though Ms. Liu claimed she was being “forced” into selling herself, the way her home was decorated made it easy to imagine she already did that for a living.

Her listlessness and haggard appearance significantly detracted from her looks, but one could still see traces of her former beauty.

If she rested well and dressed up, she would still be considered a beautiful woman; paying off a debt wouldn’t necessarily be impossible.

“You don’t understand! If I only earned money slowly, it would be impossible to pay off those loans. As long as I win once—just one big win—I can pay it all off!” Ms. Liu said, sounding like someone who had staked everything on a single throw.

‘Great, a gambling addict. She’s already too far gone.’

Still, I tried to persuade her: “But wasn’t it losing at gambling that forced you to borrow money in the first place? I heard your husband left you because of it.”

“He didn’t!” Ms. Liu suddenly lunged forward with a scream.

“My husband never abandoned me! He’s missing. One day, he just… mysteriously disappeared. And I didn’t fall into debt because of a loss!”

My spirit jolted. I immediately thought of this eerie residential area.

“Could you tell me more? About the story of you and your husband.”

“We met in university. We were always very much in love,” Ms. Liu began.

“After graduation, we discussed marriage. We wanted to buy a home for our new life here in Xunjiang City, so we took out a mortgage.”

“You bought a house? Then why are you renting here?” I asked, confused.

“Because that house became a stalled project! They say the construction site was haunted. Several workers died, each in a more bizarre way than the last.”

“Even the real estate developer was found one day, quietly hanging himself inside the water tower.”

“After that, the house became a complete death trap. The property value plummeted. We couldn’t sell it even if we wanted to, so we could only rent it out.”

I asked, “Then why didn’t you keep living there?”

Ms. Liu replied, “At first, we truly didn’t believe in those evil spirits. We stayed there, but while we were living there, my husband frequently had nightmares.”

“He dreamed of a woman with a face covered in blood who was constantly coming for his life. His health got worse and worse.”

“One night in the middle of the night, he suddenly opened his eyes to find that woman with the bloody face lying right next to him, staring at him.”

“He was so terrified he never dared to stay in that house again. He insisted on moving out, no matter what. In the end, I had no choice but to follow him.”

“Does anyone still live in that house now?” I asked.

“Who would live there? After the developer died, work on the building stopped completely. The construction site was left abandoned. We never got our building, yet the weight of the mortgage was enough to crush us,” Ms. Liu said in pain.

“Did you try to demand your money back from the developers? Or did no one come to take over the project?” I asked.

Property prices had been rising lately; logically, real estate development should be a hot market.

“Who would dare to take over a haunted construction site? Besides, the units were already sold out. Forget selling them—no one would take those buildings even for free.”

“As for demanding our money back, the real estate company went bankrupt after the owner died. Who were we supposed to go to?” Ms. Liu’s voice was full of grievance and helplessness.

She was right. Just now, I was thinking that if a few masters were hired to drive away the evil spirits, the project could continue.

Leaving a half-built complex stalled like that seemed like a waste, but I had overlooked the cost of taking it over and the lack of profit.

Compared to buying a stalled project and paying masters to exorcise ghosts only to collect a small amount of final payments from the original tenants, it was simply not worth it.

It would be better to just buy a new piece of land and build new towers.

“So that’s when you thought about gambling to win enough money to pay off the mortgage?” I asked.

I had gotten the cause and effect reversed earlier. She didn’t fall into debt because of gambling; she fell into debt first, and then became addicted to gambling.

“No, not yet. At that time, my husband and I worked together. Although the pressure to pay was high, our combined income was enough to live on.”

“It was only after my husband suddenly went missing one day. No matter how much I worked, I couldn’t support our lifestyle and the mortgage,” Ms. Liu said sorrowfully.

“How are you so sure your husband went missing and didn’t just have an accident? And did you call the police?” I felt like I was asking a redundant question.

“Of course. His clothes and all his personal belongings were left at home. How could it be an accident?” Ms. Liu asked in return.

“Why would he leave without a word? I called the police too, but they never found a single clue. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.”

There were only two possibilities. Either he was murdered and his body hidden, or he encountered a ghost.

I had recently read in some supernatural books about a phenomenon the Japanese call “Kamikakushi”—a mysterious disappearance caused by spirits and monsters.

“So, was it after that that you became addicted to gambling?” I asked again.

Trying to use gambling to pay off debts was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

“Actually, I don’t like gambling, nor am I a compulsive gambler. It’s just that gambling was the only place where I could make money.”

“My mahjong skills are quite good, and my luck has always been decent. By playing for others and winning some myself, I was able to cover my living expenses, the rent, and the mortgage,” Ms. Liu added.

This statement completely overturned my previous impression of her.

I had always thought she was a gambling addict who refused to pay her debts and was forced into this situation. That was exactly what Fan Yuxuan had told me.

“Are you really making a profit by playing mahjong and cards?” I asked, still unable to believe it.

I had always believed that in the long run, the gambler always loses.

“Yes. Although I lose a few rounds occasionally, overall, I have always made money. The reason I was able to transfer the rent to your parents before was because I had won money that day,” Ms. Liu said.

If that was the case, why was she pushed to a dead end?

Just as I was about to ask, she spoke up herself.

“But in these past two days, I’ve been losing money continuously. I’ve already lost all my savings.”

“And I have this strange feeling… it’s as if it’s impossible for me to ever win money again.”