My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

Li Fei'er tilted her head on one side, looking at Zhuang Yun with curiosity in her eyes. 

"Didn't you say you are sick? Then, let's go and use the elevator." 

Zhuang Yun laughed at her, but he chose not to argue and just followed her to the elevator. 

"I don't look sick to you, right? I don't want people to misunderstand. I also don't mind using the stairs to burn some calories," he said in defense. 

Li Fei'er hummed and waited for him to press the button to the floor where his unit was. Because of the time, they were the only ones inside the elevator. The doors closed, and the elevator moved up. 

"Sickness doesn't need to manifest in one's appearance. There are many illnesses that can't be seen with a naked eye, Mr. Zhuang. Some people don't have any noticeable symptoms," she corrected him, "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of illness do you have?" 

"Ah, I have a certain type of diabetes," he told Li Fei'er, "I need to inject myself in case my blood sugar is too low, and I cannot take any sugar by mouth." 

"I see." Li Fei'er's expression hardened, and she didn't ask more. 

When the doors opened again and they stepped out of the elevator, Li Fei'er saw a pair of twin girls running in the hallways. They looked like they were playing a game of tag, as their laughter resounded in the hallway. 

"Here, Miss Li. Please forgive me if I haven't tidied up my place. I barely have enough time to clean these days," Zhuang Yun said as he unlocked the door of his unit. 

As he opened the door, the light coming from the setting sun illuminated the place. Li Fei'er then heard a sobbing sound coming from the bathroom. She and Zhuang Yun shared a knowing look then. 

"When I first moved here, I thought I had a neighbor being abused by her husband. I could hear her sobbing at night, and there were times I could hear shouting and fighting in the middle of the night. Once I turned on the lights, all the sounds would vanish," Zhuang Yun explained before opening the door of the bathroom, only for them to see a figure of a woman crying. Her whole body was immersed in bloodied water in a small old bathtub with a shower hovering over it. 

"Since when did you know that she's here?" Li Fei'er asked. 

"It was during the third month of my stay here. I came home late at night because I had a night out with my friends and came home around midnight. I was about to brush my teeth when I saw her drowning in the bathtub." He paused and sighed. "So, Miss Li, do you think you could ward them off, so I could live peacefully here? I don't want to disappoint my parents by moving back home and worrying them." 

"How long have you been living here, anyway?" Li Fei'er didn't give him an answer yet. 

"About half a year now. My contract lease would end in another six months, and I don't want to forfeit it until I can move to a safer place." 

"I see." Li Fei'er understood the situation by then. "Unfortunately, I can only exorcise her by now. Meaning, if I exorcise her, she wouldn't be able to reincarnate. She already became an earthbound spirit after she was murdered by her husband." 

"She was what?" Zhuang Yun blinked at that. He didn't expect that Li Fei'er was able to find out that much in a short while. 

"This unit… she used to live here with her abusive husband before you. I suppose the reason why the lease was so cheap was that there have been sightings and haunting since her death, and no one was able to stay here for too long until you came here." 

"Ah, that's so unfortunate. Do you mean she wouldn't be able to cross over unless she gets the justice she deserves?" 

"Yes," Li Fei'er affirmed, "Also, if she could let go of that grudge she's holding, but it's impossible now… since she has already lost awareness of what she has become. Some ghosts aren't willing to accept their fate and refuse to cross the boundaries between the living and the dead. Some even aren't aware that they've already died and remained in the same place, acting as if they are still alive." 

"Hmm… that makes sense, then. So it's really pitiful to become an earthbound spirit because you would have lost your humanity eventually," Zhuang Yun nodded in understanding. 

"That's why you cannot also stay here, Mr. Zhuang." Li Fei'er gave him a meaningful look, speaking with a sympathetic look on her face. "I could tell that you are a good person, but your time here on earth has already ceased a long time ago." 

"I-I am already dead?" Zhuang Yun looked at Li Fei'er in disbelief. "Is this why I am able to see ghosts when I wasn't even aware of their existence before?" 

"It's rare for a ghost to be aware of another's presence in the vicinity, but yes. Unfortunately, Mr. Zhuang, you've already died three months ago." Li Fei'er hated that she had to break this news to him. 

Zhuang Yun seemed to be a good person, but it was just what it was. She couldn't allow him to stay here in the mortal realm because he would eventually lose his humanity and logical mind if he stayed here for too long. 

Zhuang Yun fell silent, but he knew he couldn't blame Li Fei'er. 

"Then… could you tell me what happened and how I died?" He asked in a low voice.

Li Fei'er focused her spiritual energy and let it accumulate in her eyes. With this ability, she was able to see a sneak peek at what had happened. 

"You died in your sleep, Mr. Zhuang. Your mother found you dead the next morning."