Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

As soon as the video call connected, he grasped at it like a last straw, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "There's hope! I'm connected! Master Shen, help! Please, please save us!"

The moment Shen Jingshu saw his face clearly, her previously relaxed back suddenly straightened, and her expression became serious.

The boy's entire face was shrouded in a thick, dark cloud of deathly energy. His forehead was black, and the yin energy around him almost overflowed through the screen. Clearly, he was in an extremely ominous place, tainted by a heavy and persistent yin aura.

She spoke rapidly, her voice low and urgent: "Where are you now?"

Upon hearing Shen Jingshu's question, the boy nearly burst into tears, choking back sobs as he replied, "Master Shen, we...we're in that abandoned villa in the west of the city!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the live stream chat exploded with panic.

[An abandoned villa in the west of the city?! Is that the haunted house where the entire family was murdered?!]

My God, who would dare go to that place! The entire family was murdered there, and the killer is still at large!

[Many adventure streamers have recklessly gone in there before, and they all came out seriously ill, bedridden, and insanely shouting that there were ghosts!]

[This boy looks to be no more than a teenager, a student, right? How dare he be so bold!]

[Trying to enter a haunted house out of mere curiosity? That's incredibly reckless and suicidal!]

Shen Jingshu looked at the frightened boy in the camera lens, her tone becoming a bit heavier: "Why did you go there? Just out of curiosity and adventure? Judging from your age, you're only a teenager."

The boy's lips trembled, and the camera behind him swayed, revealing two other boys huddled together in the shadows. A faint, chilling wind seemed to be blowing from the other end of the receiver.

"We... there were three of us. We had only heard online that this place was exciting, so we came to film short videos and explore... but after we got in, the door locked itself, and our phones could only connect to your live stream; all other signals were gone..."

Before he could finish speaking, a soft, ethereal laugh, seemingly belonging to no one, came from the depths of the dark corridor behind him.

The boy shuddered violently, nearly dropping his phone. The camera shook wildly, and the screen instantly plunged into complete darkness.

Seeing this, Shen Jingshu quickly gathered her energy in mid-air with her fingertips and sent out a calming and protective talisman through the screen.

A faint golden light was silently transmitted through the live broadcast screen.

A moment later, the shaky, dark camera finally stabilized, and the boy's pale face reappeared on the screen. Still shaken, his voice trembled with relief: "M-Master! Just now...did you help us?"

"It's me." Shen Jingshu's tone was solemn. "How many of you are there in total? Explain the whole story from beginning to end, and I'll arrange for someone to come and meet you immediately."

"My name is Xiaoqiang!" the boy hurriedly answered, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "There are three of us: my classmates Xiaoning and Xiaodong. We have a day off today... The three of us are a well-known adventure trio online, with tens of thousands of followers. We usually make short adventure videos."

"Some fans tagged us before, betting that if we dared to stay in this abandoned villa in the west of the city for a whole night and film the whole thing, they would give us a large reward. We were young, and we got excited when we heard about traffic and rewards. We had only ever done live streams in artificial haunted houses before, so we didn't take it seriously and agreed on the spot."

"As soon as we announced that we were coming to this famous haunted house, a lot of people started paying attention online, and the traffic skyrocketed. The more we watched, the more excited we became. We packed our live streaming equipment, tent, dry food and water overnight, and came straight over after dark."

"When we were outside the villa, we didn't think anything was strange. But when we pushed the door open and went inside, we found that the place had been neglected for years, with a thick layer of dust on the ground. The decoration used to be very luxurious, and the empty space looked particularly eerie. At first, we wandered around with flashlights, filming and laughing to bolster our courage."

"At first, everything went smoothly, and there were many comments on the live stream. But then strange things started happening—the live stream signal on our phones dropped completely without warning, leaving only the live stream connection that remained strangely intact. Then we started hearing all sorts of strange noises from inexplicable sources, and gusts of icy wind kept blowing against the back of our necks."

At this point, Xiaoqiang's teeth chattered, and he almost cried out, "We were terrified on the spot. We were thinking of... quickly turning around and running out the front door, but when we looked back, the door we had just come in through was locked shut at some point, and we couldn't open it no matter how hard we tried! All the doors and windows were locked, and apart from being able to access your live stream, all other apps on our phones had no signal!"

The live stream chat was filled with a dense, alarming barrage of comments:

[My goodness! A man-made haunted house and a real killer's house are two completely different things! This kid is risking his life for a donation!]

The signal only connected to Master Shen's live stream; this was practically the only way out!

[The house where the entire family was murdered is filled with the strongest resentment; three innocent children cause trouble!]

[Master, please save them!]

Shen Jingshu frowned, her voice calm and steady as she reassured the three: "Don't separate, stay close together. The talisman I just transferred can temporarily protect you from the evil spirits. Do not walk alone, do not respond to any calls of your names, and no matter what you hear or see, do not turn your head."

Just as the words were spoken, a faint sobbing sound came from deep within the receiver, drifting slowly towards the camera.

The other two boys behind Xiaoqiang couldn't hold back and let out terrified screams.

I will send someone to meet you.

As Shen Jingshu finished speaking, she reached out and unscrewed the jade bottle she carried with her. A wisp of green smoke drifted out from the bottle's mouth, transforming into the slender silhouette of a woman—it was Luo Yurou. She briefly explained the location of the abandoned haunted house in the west of the city and the plight of the three trapped teenagers inside.

Luo Yurou bowed her head respectfully and replied, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable strength: "Yes, Master. I will definitely bring the three children out safely."

"Go."

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Yurou's figure vanished in an instant.

The live stream chat exploded instantly, completely boiling over.

Wait, wait, wait! I just saw something float out?!

[Am I seeing things?! A blurry ghostly figure suddenly appeared behind Master Shen! And there's a female voice too!]

That voice is so beautiful! It has the feel of a gentle, elegant woman in period costume!

Has anyone else spotted the silhouette of a woman in ancient costume? Is she not human...?

[Am I the only one who didn't see it? The screen is completely clean, there's nothing there!]