These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy-Chapter 40Vol 2. .3: [Reincarnating Childhood Friend] Mobilized

The eighth day of the third lunar month, just past dawn.

Fully dressed, I checked my equipment one final time.

Various talismans, prayer beads, a few bags of red beans, charm water, several peaches... Just in case, I even brought a crucifix and garlic.

I had prepared everything I could.

Time was short, so it wasn’t a thorough preparation... I didn’t even know if this would be enough.

Maybe it looked over the top—but I had to brace for the worst. I absolutely couldn’t afford to be careless.

After all, today is Qingming Festival... one of the three great ghost festivals.

On this day, the gates of the underworld are flung wide open. All ghosts are free to roam the human realm.

Although most of the ghosts that appear on Qingming are peaceful or familial ones—much gentler than on the other two ghost festivals—it’s an unchanging fact that their power increases today, and their emotions become wildly unstable.

Especially in this city, for some reason, a massive number of spirits had gathered. That made today particularly dangerous.

Those recent dismemberment murder cases must’ve been the work of ghosts... ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Those restless spirits were bound to make a move today.

Still, whatever chaos they cause has nothing to do with me. That’s the exorcist squad’s job—not mine.

What I care about... is whether she will do something beyond the pale.

That girl beside Lord Ethan—Snowy Jiang—pale-faced, silent, shrouded in murderous intent, reeking of blood.

Judging by her face and aura, there was no mistaking it—she was possessed by a ghost.

Especially that unnatural gray hair of hers. It was undoubtedly a side effect of long-term possession and unrestrained use of ghostly power.

When that gray hair turns completely white, when her pupils become a full crimson and her body radiates bloodlust—she’ll become a true ghost.

By then, she’ll completely lose control and turn into a mindless, murderous wraith that devours people... even Lord Ethan might not be spared.

And the most likely time for that transformation... is today!

That’s why I’ve devoted all my energy to finding a countermeasure. I scoured my memories from my past lives for ways to deal with spirits, trained myself in Taoist arts, cobbled together a few techniques and tools... but it still felt woefully inadequate.

The ghost possessing Snowy Jiang is a powerful one—I can’t guarantee the talismans and techniques I threw together at the last minute will be enough to stop her...

Still, I have to try.

No matter what, I must protect Lord Ethan.

Even if it costs me my life, I have to ensure his safety.

After reaffirming my resolve, I left home and headed straight for Lord Ethan’s residence to wait in silence.

About half an hour later, Lord Ethan burst through the door in a flurry of panic.

Wasn’t this departure a bit late? He’s always so punctual—did something happen last night that I didn’t know about? Hm... I wanted to stay by his side at all times, but I’ve been too focused on cultivating my Taoist arts recently, so it can’t be helped if some things slipped through the cracks.

Once today’s over, I’ll investigate.

Lord Ethan was supposed to attend Lillian Ji’s birthday banquet today. Who knew what would happen there? That’s why I had to follow him the entire time—to keep him safe.

In this life, it seems Lord Ethan carries a fate of entangling romantic misfortune. But it’s not romance—it’s disaster disguised as affection.

Unknowingly, he’s surrounded by young women, each more stunning than the last.

But as the saying goes, beauty is a curse... These women won’t bring him happiness—only endless trouble.

Worse still, many of them are beautiful corpses—strip off their painted skins and what lies beneath is monstrous.

Take the one currently courting Lord Ethan, the woman known as Lillian Ji. Her face is all smiles, but the bloodlust she emits is overwhelming.

That kind of bloodlust comes from suppressed dissatisfaction—because she can’t get what she wants, her desires left unfulfilled.

Which means she’s trying to take something from Lord Ethan. That’s her true reason for approaching him.

It’s not love—just selfish desire.

I need to find a way to make Lord Ethan realize what kind of person she really is. Ideally, they’d break up immediately and never cross paths again... and then I could—um...

I... I’m doing this for Lord Ethan’s safety. It’s not because I want him all to myself.

Still, I think letting me stay at his side is the best option. As the person who knows him best, I can protect him directly—and help him live a peaceful, happy life. That’s what he’d want too... wouldn’t he?

Then there’s that woman named Lan Hua—another dangerous one, obsessed with Lord Ethan.

Not to mention the various monsters and spirits that keep latching onto him...

And even his own sister, Serena, is far too close. There’s an almost... forbidden closeness there...

The more I thought about these impossible situations, the more my brow furrowed.

This life of his is truly filled with calamity... He hasn’t even reached adulthood, yet already he’s entangled in so much karma. Does that mean his fate this lifetime is to walk an extraordinary path?

Maybe that’s why the heavens let me meet him again. To help him overcome these trials?

...Yes. That must be it.

These things will need to be handled one by one. I don’t have the strength to deal with them all at once.

From a priority standpoint, Snowy Jiang comes first.

I didn’t know when she might appear, so I had to stay alert at all times.

I activated my concealment technique—now Lord Ethan wouldn’t sense my presence.

He didn’t head toward the subway or any bus stops. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go.

Where was he going?

Knowing him, he’d never blow off a promised appointment... Hmm. Maybe this was for the best—he could avoid interacting with Lillian Ji altogether.

He finally stopped at the park he often visits, circled a few quiet trails. What was he doing?

He seemed to be searching for something... but failed, and sighed in frustration.

At that moment, a homeless man sitting on a bench called out to him, offering to take him to a place called Black Street.

Black Street...

I’d heard of it before, thought it was just a rumor. Didn’t expect it to actually exist.

And from the looks of it, Lord Ethan had already been there before.

The beggar led him down that path again, then kicked him once—quite rudely—and Lord Ethan vanished.

So that’s how it worked. A separate “inner world”?

No, in this era it’s called an “alternate realm.”

Also known as a “hidden world,” or “peach blossom spring.” Every generation has its own names for these places. Certain realms even have their own unique titles.

And each alternate realm has its own unique access method. This “Black Street” one seemed to be an invitation type—if you’re authorized or led in by someone who is, you can enter freely.

If I knew the entrance, I could force my way in... but that would drain me and cause a huge commotion.

Better to play it safe.

I silently walked behind the beggar and tapped his shoulder.

“Take me in.”

This beggar wasn’t ordinary either... He wasn’t even startled when I appeared behind him.

He turned, raised a brow, and said, “Black Street’s off-limits right now. Outsiders not allowed.”

“Then why did you let that boy in earlier?”

He scratched his head, looking troubled. “That’s confidential... I can’t reveal client requests. I just follow orders, don’t know why they wanted him inside...”

“Then let me in too. Or else... I’ll have to ‘bring you with me.’”

I narrowed my eyes, fixing him with a death glare—one that clearly said, “Let me in or I’ll cut you into pieces.” It was a threat. My Taoist skills might be makeshift, but they’re more than enough for regular people.

Sometimes, brute force really is the fastest solution... That’s what Lord Ethan once taught me.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll take you in, okay?!”

“Lead the way.”

So he’s just a hired hand—he’d choose self-preservation every time.

“But little lady... don’t say I didn’t warn you. Black Street’s seriously dangerous right now.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yeah. Our organization’s planning a major sweep today. And you can guess the location.”

“A sweep... against ghosts?”

The only recent troublemakers were ghosts. Was he talking about the exorcist squad? Hm... didn’t seem like the same group.

“Heh, so you’re not an ordinary girl after all. Yeah, those damn ghosts have gotten too bold. Serial dismemberment cases and all that... Caused way too much trouble, and now we’re cracking down. With today being a ghost festival, we expected something to happen. So we emptied Black Street in advance to spring a trap.”

So Black Street was their base... and they anticipated the ghosts’ moves and turned the place into a trap?

Well played.

“So you’d better stay out of it, girl. Don’t get involved.”

“...Why are you telling me all this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll leak it?”

He froze for a second, then groaned. “Ugh... I dunno. Damn it. I’m totally getting kicked out of the troupe for this... I’ll never find another gig that pays this well...”

He scratched his head in frustration, then shouted, “Agh, screw it!”

Then looked at me with serious eyes and said,

“Maybe I owed you something in a past life! I just... I don’t want to see you get hurt. Black Street is too dangerous now—get out while you can!”

This man... had I shared karma with him once?

“...In that case, I have to go.”

“Why?!”

The beggar—no, the scruffy uncle—stared at me, stunned.

“Because the person you just let in... is the most important person in my life.”

“Ugh... you’re serious, huh...”

He looked regretful, but I didn’t blame him. He had only done his job... and I was doing mine.

“Thank you for the warning. But please, let me through.”

I bowed deeply to him as I asked.

“...Sigh. Alright. Just be careful in there!”

The scruffy uncle patted my shoulder. That one tap granted me access to Black Street.

I didn’t waste a second. I stepped through the fissure—and right before fully crossing, I turned back and smiled at him.

“Maybe... you really did owe me in a past life. Hehe.”

“Huh?”

I arrived on the other side.

Just like he said, the streets were deserted.

Lord Ethan... hold on. I’m on my way to your side.

I’ll make sure you leave this dangerous place safely.