The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

"The Mark of the Ghost King! The strange mark your second uncle mentioned during the last ghost tide that would constantly attract strange marks?"

"Yes, I told them about the strange thing I encountered when I got back, and they wouldn't let me go out. They said I had to wait for someone from the Card Association to come and examine me." Qin Muyao's voice was fast and urgent.

Lin Fan recalled what the people from the Card Association had said outside the ruins that day: before the Ghost King died, he would randomly mark a person, and the marked person would continuously attract strange things until the next wave of strange events appeared.

And then there's that chilling statement: there's no precedent for anyone surviving it.

On the other end of the phone, Qin Muyao was still saying, "If I don't go over tonight, you'd better be careful."

"It's alright, I can handle it myself," Lin Fan interrupted her, trying to keep his tone calm. "Just relax and wait for them to check."

"That's all we can do." Qin Muyao sounded reluctant, but she didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

Lin Fan put down his phone and stared at the screen for a long time.

Qin Muyao has the entire Qin family as her backing, so even if she is suspected of being marked, she can immediately summon people from the Card Association to check.

What about him? If he really gets targeted by that evil king, he won't even have anyone to call the police.

He touched the card in his pocket; the card was warm, as if responding silently.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it. I should focus on making money and perfecting the card system so I can dominate this strange world.

Lin Fan left work early today. As he walked into the building, the kitchens of each household were usually bustling with activity at this time.

But today, the hallway was eerily quiet. Even the few households that usually left their doors open for ventilation had their doors tightly shut.

When Lin Fan arrived at his floor, he saw a person in the next room carrying boxes of packed items out.

"Uncle Wang?" Lin Fan recognized the figure from behind. "What are you doing here...?"

Old Wang straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked a little awkward: "Moving? My son wants me to move in with him."

Lin Fan glanced at the cardboard boxes at his feet and casually asked, "Why the sudden need to move?"

Old Wang looked around the stairwell to make sure there was nothing there before lowering his voice and leaning closer to say, "Lin Fan, let me tell you, this place isn't clean."

"Your aunt came back from her night shift early this morning, and she said she saw something dark clinging to the window." Old Wang's tone lowered even more. "She said it was even smiling at her! She was so scared that she ran away as fast as she could."

Lin Fan frowned, recalling the handprint that had appeared on his window a few days ago.

"I didn't believe it at first, but she told me all sorts of things, and after what happened today," Old Wang said, picking up a cardboard box with a hint of lingering fear in his voice. "I've been thinking about it, and I think we should move. Several families have moved out of this building today, so you should make plans as soon as possible."

After saying that, he hurriedly went downstairs with a box in his arms, his footsteps fading into the distance.

Lin Fan stood at the door and looked at the door next door, which was wide open. Almost everything inside had been moved out, with only a few old pieces of furniture still piled against the wall.

He withdrew his gaze, pushed open his door, and immediately placed the [Netherworld Palace] in place. Its silver light shone brightly, covering the entire room.

Just as Lin Fan was preparing to get something to eat.

"Bang"

There was a sudden knock on the door, or rather, something bumped into it.

Immediately afterward, Qin Muyao's voice came from outside the door: "Lin Fan! Lin Fan, open the door! What's that squatting at your doorstep?!"

Upon hearing the sound, Lin Fan immediately ran to open the door. As soon as he opened it, he saw the threshold monster lying at the doorway, with Zhang Fei holding his eighteen-foot spear directly at the monster's face. If Lin Fan had arrived even a little later, the threshold monster might not have existed.

"Stop, stop, stop, we're on the same side." Lin Fan carefully pushed aside Zhang Fei's spear tip and looked at Qin Muyao, who looked panicked, behind Zhang Fei.

"One of our own?" Qin Muyao pointed at the doorstep monster that revealed a set of teeth, her expression shifting from panic to shock. "You call this one of our own?"

"The threshold ghost, the strange threshold ghost that blocks the way!" Lin Fan explained. Qin Muyao had never seen what the threshold ghost looked like, so it was normal for her to treat it as a ghost.

Qin Muyao glanced at Lin Fan, then at the 'ugly thing' blocking the doorway, before finally taking Zhang Fei back.

Seeing this, Lin Fan patted the threshold monster on the head and said to it, "Go back to where you were before."

Upon hearing this, the threshold ghost trembled and slowly re-entered the door frame, leaving only one eye rolling around, looking at Qin Muyao and then at Lin Fan, not daring to utter another sound.

"Why did you put up a ghost gatekeeper? I almost got Zhang Fei to stab him. Could you at least tell me beforehand next time?" Qin Muyao immediately said.

"Didn't you say you were suspected of being flagged and weren't allowed to leave the house? How come you're out again?" Lin Fan leaned against the door, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"The people from the Card Association checked three times and couldn't find anything, so it's definitely fine. Later they even said they couldn't rule out 'low-concentration strange marks' or something, and that we should stay home for at least a month."

"Besides, no matter what I do, there are always people following me, it's not comfortable at all. If you were locked up for a month..."

Lin Fan looked at her, and after she finished speaking, he was silent for two seconds: "So you're here now... because you snuck out?"

"What do you mean by 'running away without permission'?" Qin Muyao glared at him. "This was... a legitimate trip. They couldn't find any trace of me, yet they locked me up. That's illegal imprisonment!"

"Let's go inside first." Lin Fan gave Qin Muyao some space so she could enter the room.

Qin Muyao put her bag on the table, turned her head and saw Lin Fan looking at her. She glared at Lin Fan, pulled over the only chair in the room and sat down, crossing her arms and saying, "I'll help you solve that strange thing, you have to find me a place to stay."

When Lin Fan heard what Qin Muyao said, he was taken aback. It sounded like he was begging her to solve the strange thing, but the problem was, he didn't seem to have asked this young lady for help!

"Shall I find you a place to stay?"

"Yeah, you," Qin Muyao said matter-of-factly. "I don't know any other places, so I can't just stay in a hotel, can I? My second uncle would definitely be the first to find out."

Lin Fan thought about it and realized that made sense. With the Qin family's influence in Jiang City, checking hotel check-in records was as easy as flipping his hand.

"Why can't you ask your friend?"

"Them?" Qin Muyao chuckled. "If they knew I'd run away, their first instinct would be to send me back. They've all conspired with my second uncle; they're more dedicated than bodyguards."

She looked at Lin Fan and raised an eyebrow: "You're different."

"Why am I different?"

"You definitely won't take me home," Qin Muyao tilted her head to look at him, "right?"

Lin Fan opened his mouth, wanting to say "I will," but when he met Qin Muyao's eyes, the word got stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter it.

"Then how do you know I can't?"

"I'm your sugar daddy, after all. It's 200,000 yuan. You can't very well kick me out, can you?"

Lin Fan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Qin Muyao counted on her fingers, "It doesn't need to be too big, just safe. It would be best if it were close to you, so it would be convenient to help out if anything happens. I see that the room next to yours is empty. Could you contact them for me tomorrow? I'll live next door from now on."

"Strange things often happen around here, aren't you afraid?"

When the topic turned to the eerie, Lin Fan noticed a visibly pause in her expression, indicating that she still had some reservations about it.

Just as Lin Fan thought he had persuaded her, she spoke up, "Isn't there a house defense card? I can just buy that!"

"..." Lin Fan didn't speak. He only knew that house defense cards were in the tens of thousands. No wonder she was a rich young lady.