Chapter 147

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Shi Jian’s personal livestream chat:

【So after physical attacks didn’t work, she immediately switched to psychological attacks?】

【“Widows attract trouble,” seriously?! Is Teacher Shi Jian giving a lecture today? Yes, she is.】

【You really learn something new in every streamer’s room. (dog head emoji)】

【Shi Jian isn’t just fully immersed in her ‘mom’ persona—who knew she could also nail the ‘widow’ role.】

As soon as Shi Jian said those words, the entire scene lost its seriousness. A revenant had broken in, the chainsaw—normally invincible—was useless, and yet the mood that should have been tense and horrifying was forcefully tinted with a bit of suggestiveness thanks to Shi Jian.

At this moment, the terrifying revenant practically seemed like a lecherous thug, becoming outright disrespectful. And this revenant indeed had the face of a middle-aged man.

But even the revenant quickly snapped out of it when facing the teary-eyed, accusing “charming widow” Shi Jian. It let out a cold laugh and said, “Wasn’t planning on letting you live anyway.”

Then it fully forced its way into Shi Jian’s room.

A thick black mist instantly filled the room. Even at a distance, Shi Jian could feel the choking stench—so strong it made her eyes water. Now she didn’t even need to fake the tears.

Once the revenant entered, the crow flapped its wings and vanished.

The ghost bride, who had been sitting quietly on the bed, sensed the killing intent on the revenant. She leapt down and charged at it with her claws.

But right now, she couldn’t even scratch Shi Jian, let alone harm the revenant.

Her attacks did nothing, and the revenant didn’t spare her a single glance. Just as things looked dire and Shi Jian seemed doomed, viewers noticed she had retreated into the bathroom.

What was she planning?

Shi Jian stood next to the toilet, holding the open vial of blue potion in one hand, the flush button in the other.

She picked up from where the revenant left off and shouted at it, “You don’t care whether I live, but I bet you care whether you live, right?”

“If you take one more step, I’ll pour this potion right into the toilet and flush it!”

“Now guess—are you faster at killing me, or am I faster at flushing it down? Obviously I’m faster.”

Shi Jian’s tone was resolute and fierce, even tossing in a self-answered rhetorical question to eliminate any wishful thinking on the revenant’s part.

—

The revenant had been ecstatic at the sight of the item it desired. It just wanted to seize the potion and drink it all—but it didn’t expect to be threatened.

Shi Jian’s threat worked. She could feel the air pressure drop—it was still tense, but the revenant hesitated.

Shi Jian’s eyes lit up: it’s working!

She knew moral pressure probably wouldn’t work on a revenant. That line she threw out earlier was really just to buy enough time to get into the bathroom.

Even though Shi Jian wasn’t exceptionally perceptive, she had noticed something strange: normally she could hear other streamers shouting and cursing from nearby rooms, but ever since the revenant arrived, everything had gone eerily silent.

It was as if her room had become sealed off from the outside world.

Waiting for teammates to come help? Clearly not an option.

And there was a high chance Xu An and Tang Tian were dealing with revenants too.As for asking the hostess for help—there was no such option right now, and she’d most likely just stand by and do nothing.

Shi Jian could only rely on herself.

After successfully halting the revenant, Shi Jian gave the coveted potion a little shake and tried reasoning with it. “You came for the revival potion, right? Then killing me isn’t really the point, is it?”

The revenant didn’t nod, but it didn’t deny it either. It was clear it agreed with what Shi Jian said.

Compared to killing her, the potion was obviously far more important to it.

Once that premise was confirmed, Shi Jian continued, “Then I’ll be blunt. The potion in my hand can only be given to innocent revenants—those who haven’t killed, who are kind-hearted, who died by accident.”

She emphasized the word “innocent” and even kindly explained it, making sure the revenant understood. Then Shi Jian widened her eyes with hopeful sincerity and asked,

“Tell me, are you an innocent revenant?”

It was as if she had completely forgotten the fact that the revenant just forced its way in.

Viewers were once again floored by Shi Jian’s shamelessness: just how textbook is this level of lying with a straight face?

At this point, anyone with half a brain could figure out what choice to make.

If the revenant got aggressive now, the result—

The potion would be flushed, and killing Shi Jian would get it nothing.

But if it played along, the result—

It gets the potion.

Shi Jian had laid out the ladder for it—only a fool wouldn’t climb it.

So the revenant nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. I’m super innocent.”

It extended its bony claw. “Potion…” Time to hand it over.

【Is Shi Jian really going to give the potion to it? What about the mission?】

【In this kind of crisis, forget the mission for now—survival comes first, right?】

【Also, the potion didn’t specify it had to be one you obtained personally. Don’t the other streamers have potions too?】

That last comment was ice-cold, but it did highlight a very obvious loophole.

Shi Jian had never intended to hand it over. Think it could snatch something from her?

No chance.

In her heart, she was already thinking: Took the bait.

Shi Jian said to the revenant, “Even though you say you’re innocent, and I want to believe you, just to be cautious—you’ll need to give me some proof.”

The revenant was getting a little impatient. “What kind of proof?”

Shi Jian replied, “Proof that you’re an innocent revenant.” She paused. “Hmm… just tell me the story of your life. And how exactly you died innocently.”

“That’s not an unreasonable request, is it?”

“If you won’t tell me, then you’re definitely not innocent. I’m willing to die with dignity rather than live in shame. We’re just a helpless mother and child over here—nothing left but courage!”After noticing the revenant hesitating, Shi Jian tilted her wrist slightly, the potion hovering precariously over the toilet.

The revenant had no choice but to grit its teeth and hastily stop her. “Don’t do anything crazy, I’ll talk!”

It figured—telling a story didn’t sound that hard anyway.

The viewers felt a strong sense of déjà vu; the expression on the revenant’s face mirrored the ones streamers had when first entering the instance and facing the hostess.

It needed a moment to think—how should it fabricate its story?

Shi Jian lifted her chin gracefully, signaling the revenant to begin its performance.

She had already taken control of the scene—transforming from a streamer on the brink of death to the composed "story judge."

...

The revenant genuinely tried, but it had zero storytelling talent. Its tale was dry and lifeless.

Shi Jian had to hold back a yawn. It went in one ear and out the other—she looked attentive, but her mind had wandered off.

By the time the revenant finished and asked for the potion, Shi Jian was already thinking about which moisturizer she’d use next. She calmly gave her pre-prepared response: “Let’s wait until tomorrow. My baby is sleepy and needs to go to bed. She has to sleep on time... As a kind and innocent revenant, you wouldn’t say no, right?”

She wore an anxious expression, as if failing to put the Bride Ghost to bed on time was an unforgivable sin.

But no matter who looked at the Bride Ghost, she clearly showed zero signs of drowsiness.

This was that classic kind of sleepiness: “Mom thinks you’re sleepy.”

Faced with the revenant’s suspicious expression, Shi Jian smoothly explained, “My baby has... some issues…”

Tears welled in the beauty’s eyes—as if the topic had hit a sore spot.

Even after fulfilling Shi Jian’s request, the revenant still hadn’t gotten the potion and now felt nothing but burning frustration. It could question her—after all, the potion was clearly in her hand, so why not hand it over? But its rage left it too muddled to think straight.

So the revenant blurted out, “Are you playing me?!”

Shi Jian looked startled. “Why are you yelling?!”

“You’re not acting very innocent right now, you know. An innocent revenant wouldn’t go around scaring a single mother—a pitiful widow.”

As she spoke, she gave the potion another little shake.

???

The revenant: “……”

The infuriating woman couldn’t be killed, nor could she be threatened.

After thinking it over, the revenant still concluded that she likely didn’t have the strength to resist it—and reluctantly agreed.

“Fine.”

“Tomorrow then. Tomorrow night I’ll come back to get what’s rightfully mine…”

It wanted to add a threat, but remembering their earlier exchange, it swallowed the words and rephrased: “If you lie to me... you know what will happen.”

“Even innocent revenants don’t like being deceived.”

Anyone could feel the menace in its tone. For now, Shi Jian was safe tonight—but if she didn’t hand over the potion tomorrow, the revenant would make her pay a far more painful price!New grudges and old scores would be settled together.

Shi Jian didn’t respond directly. She suddenly thought of something and asked the revenant:

“By the way, I still don’t know your name?”

The revenant didn’t know what Shi Jian was up to, but still replied, “Wang Dexing.”

Shi Jian nodded. “Alright, Wang Dexing. If you’re going to open the door when you leave, please remember to close it behind you. Thanks.”

Wang Dexing: “……” That’s what she asked for?

He still didn’t take the normal route, but instead squeezed back out the same way he had come in, his stubborn effort almost admirable.

In truth, Shi Jian had asked Wang Dexing’s name to see if she could get a hint—like with “Cinderella”—to determine whether he was the innocent revenant based on his name.

Unexpectedly, the first revenant she encountered had a name already.

She’d still have to continue probing. She couldn’t rule out the possibility that Wang Dexing was an innocent revenant, but judging by his behavior, the chances were low.

She’d test this theory more later to see if this route was viable.

In any case, she had successfully bluffed Wang Dexing for now. The first thing Shi Jian did was open the window.

To ventilate—there was still a lot of lingering smoke inside.

It was choking.

And as soon as Shi Jian opened the window, it felt like a barrier had been broken. The noise from outside returned.

The door was being knocked on repeatedly, and Tang Tian’s voice rang out:

“Shi Jian, are you okay? Are you in there?”

Tang Tian and Xu An had come together to check on Shi Jian, but during that time, no matter how they knocked or shouted, the room inside remained completely silent. She didn’t answer her phone or messages either.

If Shi Jian still didn’t respond, they were even considering kicking the door down.

Shi Jian voiced her guess: “I think when a revenant enters, the room becomes sealed off from the outside world.”

Tang Tian looked surprised but kept her voice down to avoid being overheard. “A revenant got into your room?”

“Are you okay?”

Shi Jian let the two of them in and gave them a quick rundown of what had happened. It was like she had won the lottery—neither Tang Tian nor Xu An had encountered any revenants.

But revenants or not, and the fact that one would come looking for her tomorrow—Shi Jian didn’t think that was the important part.

The main thing was:

“I think I found a story vault,” Shi Jian said to her teammates, her smile like someone who had just reaped a great harvest.

It was already known that they had to tell stories every day in order to stay in the mountain lodge. Tang Tian could avoid it, but Shi Jian and Xu An couldn’t.

And that had been a real headache for Shi Jian.

She wasn’t even sure what to tell after finishing the revenge plot tomorrow.

But tonight’s experience had unexpectedly revealed to Shi Jian a treasure trove of story potential.