Peach-Orange! – Chapter 198 – The Straw Doll Incident

“Ghost… there’s a ghost!”

The flirting man wore a terrified expression as he frantically scrambled backward, his loud shouts drawing everyone’s attention.

Before anyone from the Si family could react angrily, Chu Lingfeng was already striding over. He grabbed the boy by the collar and yelled, “What nonsense are you spouting? Today is Old Master Si’s 73rd birthday, even the Black and White Impermanence would have to light a cigarette for him if they showed up!”

The boy, noticing the guests’ stares, lowered his head in shame.

Just as he was about to apologize—

His gaze inadvertently flicked to Chi Xiaocheng again.

The doll’s expression had changed once more. Its mouth was slightly open, its body swaying in the wind, the entire doll floating midair.

No matter how the wind tossed it around, that face, those crimson vertical pupils, remained fixed on the boy.

And, naturally, on Chu Lingfeng as well.

The fear he had suppressed earlier now overwhelmed his shame.

Pointing at the straw doll, the boy screamed as if on the verge of collapse, “The ghost… it’s right there! Look for yourselves!”

All the guests turned toward the person he was pointing at.

Of course, they wouldn’t notice the doll hanging like an ornament on her waist.

Their eyes were only on Su Tao.

The invisible pressure from the crowd made Su Tao tense up, taking an involuntary step back.

Chu Lingfeng, who had been itching for a chance to talk to Su Tao, immediately roared at the boy, “Say one more word and I’ll throw you out! She’s Young Master Dongfang’s sister, how dare you call her a ghost?!”

He jabbed a finger emphatically. “Since when do ghosts look this beautiful?!”

But the boy wasn’t intimidated. He kept shouting, “It’s the doll! Look at the doll! That’s the ghost!”

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“Raving lunatic!”

Chu Lingfeng hurled the boy to the ground. “Security! Throw him out!”

After that, he began soothing the other guests, acting every bit the host.

Once things settled, he finally turned to Su Tao. His first instinct being to glance at the small doll on her waist.

“Huh?”

Where was the doll?

Chu Lingfeng was shocked to find it had disappeared from Su Tao’s person. Only the ribbon that had once tied it remained, still dangling at her waist.

Did the wind blow it off?

He didn’t dwell on it and simply asked a nearby guest, “Hey, that guy kept going on about a doll earlier. Did you see where it went?”

The guest looked puzzled. “What are you talking about? That beauty had a doll on her?”

“Huh?”

As the guest walked away, Chu Lingfeng grew even more confused.

Had he imagined it?

But he’d definitely seen it at the villa’s entrance earlier.

How bizarre.

Shaking it off, he refocused on Su Tao. Minor details like this weren’t worth his time.

With Dongfang Yang, Si Chen, and that nuisance Qian Qing all absent, now was his chance to win Su Tao over, or at least get her contact info.

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Straightening his collar, he flashed a confident smile and approached. “Miss Su Tao, are you alright? My apologies for that madman disturbing you earlier.”

Su Tao snapped out of her daze and offered a polite smile. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Miracle Doctor Chu.”

Her voice, gentle as a spring breeze, sent a thrill through Chu Lingfeng. Before he could speak, she added, “Miracle Doctor Chu, that ‘Thirty Needles of Grandma Tai’ thing, can it really bring people back from the dead?”

Chu Lingfeng coughed awkwardly. “It’s the Thirteen Needles of Taiyi.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t remember the name right.”

He waved it off, seizing the chance to boast. “Miss Su Tao, you have no idea how powerful these thirteen needles are. Just recently—”

He glanced around cautiously, lowering his voice. “Si Zhenliu was halfway into his coffin, and I still dragged him back.”

“And that,” he declared, puffing out his chest, “is the power of Chu Lingfeng!”

Su Tao’s eyes lit up. “So bringing the dead back to life, you can do that too, right?”

“Uh…” Chu Lingfeng hesitated. He wasn’t about to make that claim. “If they’re not completely dead, I can try. But if they’re already gone? No.”

Su Tao immediately thought of Chi Xiaocheng’s condition.

Xiaocheng’s state… that counted as ‘not completely dead,’ right?

After all, Dongfang Yang and Professor Su had both said there was hope she’d wake up.

Just as she was about to ask, she noticed Chu Lingfeng glancing around nervously. “What’s… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He looked down again, unable to resist asking, “Miss Su Tao, don’t you feel… a chill on your neck? The windows are closed, and the AC’s set to warm.”

“I….”

Su Tao didn’t understand his behavior. “I don’t feel anything like that.”

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Chu Lingfeng shook his head vigorously, as if trying to dispel the sensation.

But the moment he opened his mouth to speak to Su Tao again—

The feeling intensified.

A sharp inhale. His hair stood on end.

Forgetting all decorum, he shot to his feet, instinctively covering his throat with a finger. Only then did he notice the goosebumps on his arms.

He had martial arts training. Nothing on those freakish ancient martial artists, but still far beyond the average person.

His sensitivity to external stimuli was acute.

This prickling, spine-chilling sensation? Undoubtedly, killing intent.

He hadn’t made any enemies these past two months.

Was someone jealous of his current power and status?

Or… was another family plotting to assassinate him?

His eyes darted warily around, until, in one corner, a flicker of red light caught his attention.

His heart lurched. He locked onto the spot instantly.

That creeping fear was emanating from there.

What was that just now?

Some kind of infrared device?

Then, he heard Su Tao murmur in confusion beside him, “Huh? My little doll… where’d it go? When did it fall off?”

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“Doll… red light….”

Chu Lingfeng’s pulse spiked. He remembered the strange straw doll at the villa entrance and the man who’d seemingly lost his mind earlier.

He gulped, an inexplicable unease settling in.

Could it be… that ghosts actually existed?

Hah, must be his imagination. No way ghosts were real.

But the more he tried to rationalize it, the deeper the trap of doubt became. His denials turned into feeble self-reassurance.

Until—

From another corner of the banquet hall, a boy who’d been leering at Su Tao earlier let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“GHOST—!!!”

One person seeing a ghost? Some might dismiss him as insane.

But two people? Three? Many?

Chu Lingfeng’s limbs turned to ice. The sensation of being watched from the shadows grew unbearable.

His head snapped toward a specific direction.

There, perched in the distance, was the small doll, staring right at him.

And then, as if whispered directly into his ear—

“Looking for me?”

Chu Lingfeng whirled around, just in time to catch a glimpse of a hooded little girl, knife in hand, drifting past.