They just so happened to be inches apart when Zachary peered out.

Zachary was startled. He abruptly jumped up and held his breath before realizing it was all a dream. He was terrified.

Zachary found himself in a dark place. He thought he heard rustling outside in the hallway, which had dim lights. Zachary had a hard time telling whether he was awake or dreaming.

When one had multiple dreams back-to-back or dreams within dreams, it was impossible to wake up. Zachary could not take it anymore. Instead of getting up to turn on the lights or peek outside as he did in the dream, he gritted his teeth, picked up the phone on the bedside table, and made a call.

When Lilly’s smartwatch rang, she was sleeping soundly. She groggily opened her eyes and said, “Hello. Who is it?”

Lilly did not have Zachary’s number. She rubbed her eyes adorably.

Zachary’s voice could be heard coming from the other end. He asked, “Hmm…Can you please come to my room?”

Lilly responded, “Huh?”

She gradually woke up and realized that the caller was Zachary. The young girl got out of bed right away and said, “I’m coming. I’ll be right there. I’m stepping out of my room and moving down the hallway. I’m almost there, about to reach your door anytime now.”

Zachary listened to the phone in a daze. He woke Lilly from her sleep, but surprisingly, she did not get upset.

Her voice was soft and gentle, as if she were worried that he was scared. She continued to hold the smartphone as she talked and walked down the hallway. Her voice could be heard both on the phone and outside in the corridor.

Then Zachary heard a click; Lilly had turned on the light. Zachary tightly closed his eyes and put a hand over them. He saw Sweet Pea running in his direction while he was in a daze. She sprinted and quickly climbed onto his bed.

“Zac, did you have a nightmare again?” Lilly sat down next to him and questioned him.

Zachary remained silent for a brief period.

Lilly reassured him as she patted his back, “Don’t be scared. I’m with you.”

Zachary spoke as he pursed his lips, “Do you think it’s ridiculous?”

“Huh? No, Zac, it’s not ridiculous. You’re seven years old. What’s wrong with being afraid at your age? It’s normal to wet your bed too,” Lilly replied.

Zachary was stunned by her reply. He thought to himself. I appreciate your kind words, but please stop doing so in the future.

Zachary lay down on the bed with a sulky expression. He appeared to be unwilling to speak to her by turning his face to the wall, but he accepted when Lilly patted him on the back.

Lilly paid this little attention. She yawned as she reclined next to him. She immediately fell asleep after that.

Zachary was rendered speechless. He wondered. Did she fall asleep just like that? Is she going to stop patting my back?

Perhaps one would always be vulnerable in the wee hours. Zachary turned around cautiously. He pursed his lips and turned to face the sweet pea in front of him.

Everything about her was chubby and cute, including her pink nose, rosy cheeks, and lips. She looked harmless. The girl placed her hand under her cheek while she fell asleep, showing that she trusted Zachary completely.

Zachary murmured to himself before falling asleep and closing his eyes. He experienced a sense of security he had never known before with Lilly by his side. He had a restful sleep that night.

Zachary was the first to awaken the following morning. He saw Lilly sleeping soundly with her head tilted back. Her body took the form of an “A,” with her feet resting on his tummy.

Zachary frowned. Out of irritation, he poked her foot and moved it. Lilly appeared not to be disturbed in the least. She placed her foot on Zachary’s tummy again.

Zachary was speechless. He removed her foot once again.

Even in her sleep, Lilly appeared to be upset. She firmly rested her foot against Zachary’s stomach this time. It gave Zachary the impression that an elephant had just stepped on him. His eyes grew wide as he exclaimed, “Oh my…”

Lilly woke up immediately. She sat up groggily while rubbing her eyes. She asked, “Zac, what’s wrong?”

Even though the foot was small, it was incredibly heavy.

Zachary glared at her and hissed, “Did you grow up eating iron?”

Lilly looked confused, and she explained, “No, I grew up eating vegetables.”

Zachary admitted his defeat, saying, “Alright, I give up.”

Lilly blinked her eyes in confusion.

I didn’t say anything wrong. I hardly ever eat meat back in South City. The maid would pack up any leftovers at the Hatchers and take the food home, leaving me with the vegetables they didn’t want.

Lilly rubbed her cheek. She stretched her back and got to her feet. She said, “Oh la la, I slept so well. Good morning, Mr. Sun.”

Zachary walked briskly toward the door. He had an oddly awkward expression on his face.

I can’t let anyone know that I called Lilly in the middle of the night because I was scared. If they did, how am I going to keep my reputation?

The annoying green parrot suddenly flew out at this precise moment. It flapped its wings and cried out in a loud voice, “Help! help! A person is missing! She’s disappeared! She’s gone!”

Edward was the first to be run over. He shouted incredibly loudly, “Where’s Lilly? Lilly!”

Lilly emerged from the room barefoot. She looked around in confusion and said, “I’m here.”

Everyone was stunned.

“Why did you come out from Zachary’s room?”

Lilly said, “I…”

She noticed Zachary’s red ears; he also pursed his lips and averted his gaze. She said, “I sleepwalked.”

Zachary confirmed with a nod, “She sleepwalked to my room.”

Everyone gets the picture now.

“Ohh…”

Polly flew onto Lilly’s shoulder. It tilted its head and yelled, “Bullshit! You’re a terrible liar!”

Zachary was rendered speechless when the parrot exposed their lies.

…

After breakfast, Zachary finally told Lilly that he had indeed witnessed a paranormal event, though it had occurred in a dream.

Lilly asked in surprise, “This incident happened to you when you saw that photo?”

Suppose you came across a fatal accident on the road. The best course of action is to leave the area right away rather than join the crowd to check it out. If you linger there for some time, the deceased may decide to make you a target, and its spirit will follow you home.

The master once informed Lilly of a case. The victim of a car accident was lying on the ground, covered by cloth. A man came across the incident and he glanced at the corpse briefly out of curiosity. He unintentionally saw the deceased’s face when the wind blew the blue cloth away. After that, the deceased started to haunt this man.

Lilly rubbed her head and appeared perplexed after hearing Zachary’s description. All Zac did yesterday was glance at the picture, but a lot of people had already seen it.

…

“One can get haunted by looking at a photo,” Pablo’s voice was heard from the side.

Lilly exclaimed in delight, “Master, you are back!”

Zachary frowned when he saw this.

It appeared as though Lilly was listening intently to someone before she turned to him and told him sternly, “It’s possible to bring you bad luck by looking at the photo. Thankfully, bad luck gets you instead of a vanity aura.”

Upon hearing Lilly’s response, Zachary was at a loss for words. Could everyone who sees the picture have bad luck? What a ridiculous explanation.

Zachary rolled his eyes and walked away.

Pablo said, “Lilly, it’s been two days since I’ve been chasing after that malignant spirit, but I can’t catch it. It’s too cunning.”

Lilly questioned, “Given that it was so cunning, is it a slick ghost?”

Pablo exclaimed, “Your guess is spot on!”

Lilly said thrillingly, “I’m amazing!”

Pablo’s mouth twitched, and he continued, “That slick ghost is not that easy to deal with. It has been around for at least a century. It only possesses the souls of the dead; it does not possess living beings. It makes it much more difficult for us to track him down and capture him.”

“Why doesn’t it just eat it directly if it possesses a spirit?” Lilly questioned.

Lilly reasoned. It can grow fatter and more powerful by devouring the spirits.

Pablo explained, “That’s how cunning it is. It continually cultivates resentful spirits. It then instructed those resentful spirits to seek out people whose birth charts match their own.”

Lilly nodded in understanding before adding, “So it’s like finding a group of spirits that works for him.”

Pablo was in awe.

Her reason is accurate. Not only is that malignant spirit cunning, but it’s very powerful too. The most problematic part is that Lilly is now its target. Motherf*cker! How dare it pick on Little Hades?

When Pablo opened a book, a new line of red text appeared below Lilly’s name. He was deeply worried when he saw that.