Chapter Forty-Three: Found Nothing—Do You Even Want It?

“Second Brother, I can see you're not too happy. So, when are you planning to deal with that kid?”
“Hua, maybe you should call your wife and ask her if there’s really… eh, anything unusual at home?”
Wei Second Brother carefully chose his words, forcing himself to speak.
With a sharp sound, Hua Li slammed his wine glass down on the table, his face dark and silent.
“Second Brother, you actually believe that kid? No way! I was there for Hua’s home renovation from start to finish, there’s no chance!”
A Biao, his face flushed from drinking, tapped the table and asserted.
“Heh… I’ve practiced medicine for years with my master, and I’ve never heard of such nonsense. Let me be blunt, Mr. Wei, you’ve just been played by that kid!”
Nie Feng looked scornful; he knew some medicine himself. From his diagnosis, Hua Li’s back pain was just a common disorder of qi and blood. If he took the herbs prescribed, he’d be cured—there was no such thing as evil spirits.
“Hua, it wouldn’t hurt to make a call. That way, we’d all be at ease, wouldn’t we?”
Wei Second Brother ignored Nie Feng and continued speaking to Hua Li:
“I guarantee you, if nothing turns up at your house, I’ll go tonight and teach that kid a lesson for you!”
Hua Li glanced at Wei Second Brother’s earnest face, then curled his lips in disdain. “Fine! Then let me put your doubts to rest. I’ll have my wife check the house for anything out of the ordinary.”
Though Hua Li no longer believed Su Zheng’s words, he thought calling home was harmless—he could check if his wife had gone to bed.
Seeing Hua Li actually dialing, the others fell silent.
“Hey, wife, what are you doing? Haven’t gone to bed yet?”
“You haven’t come home for days, and now you care? I’ve got some friends over for mahjong. Say what you need to, it’s my turn to draw!”
“Hehe… I’ll definitely come home tonight. By the way, could you have the maid look around for anything unusual in the house? Hurry up, I’m waiting!”
Hua Li finished and pressed the speaker button, placing his phone on the table.
“What’s your problem, Hua? Are you suspicious of me? Let me tell you, don’t bother looking—I’m hiding someone at home, come catch us if you dare!”
Clearly, she misunderstood and scolded him over the phone.
Everyone at the table struggled to hold back laughter, exchanging odd glances. The atmosphere grew awkward.
“Don’t talk nonsense! Would I do such a thing? I’ve got you on speaker, so stop blabbering. Today…”

Hua Li regretted turning on the speaker so soon and, after a few exasperated words, quickly explained the situation and urged his wife to send someone to check every room.
“Who’s cursing us like this? Fine, wait a moment, I’ll have someone check!”
“Call back in a bit!”
Hua Li hung up, his expression sour.
Being scolded by his wife in front of everyone was embarrassing.
“Come on, Hua, let's keep drinking—here’s to you!”
A Biao broke the tension, lifting his glass in salute.
About ten minutes passed, and Hua Li’s phone rang again.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, curiosity rising—would anything strange be found at his home?
“Well? Any news? Did you find anything?”
Hua Li pressed speaker again, impatiently questioning before his wife could speak.
“Yes, we found something.”
“Uh!”
The voice on the phone stunned everyone.
Hua Li frowned, about to speak, when his wife’s cold rebuke came through:
“Found my ass! Do you want it?!”
“Pfft!”
“Hehehe…”
At the table, no one could hold back. Laughter erupted.
Hua Li wasn’t angry—in fact, his last bit of worry vanished, leaving him in high spirits.
“Damn, I told you—how could there be anything unclean at home? Now I can relax. Honey, don’t play mahjong too late, get some rest. I’m out drinking tonight and might not make it back!”
“Didn’t you just say you’d be home soon? Now you’re not coming again? Hua Li, I’m telling you… wait, there really is something here! Hold on, ah…!”
A sudden scream rang out, followed by shouts and women crying—clearly, they saw something terrifying and reacted instinctively.

Everyone at the table froze, chills running down their spines as they listened to the screams from the phone.
“Wife, wife! What did you find? Say something, are you alright?!”
Hua Li couldn’t sit still, his face pale with fear as he shouted anxiously into the phone.
“H-honey, please come home, there really is something unclean here. It’s so scary… please, hurry, I’m scared!”
“What is it? Tell me! Aren’t there lots of maids? Calm down! Take a picture and send it to me!”
Hua Li barked, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
“Yes, wait, I’ll send it right now.”
Soon, an image arrived on his phone.
Hua Li opened it quickly—his face instantly froze.
The others crowded around to see; when they saw the object in the photo, their backs turned cold, unable to believe what they were seeing.
In the picture was a small figure carved from white wood, resembling Hua Li in form and face, but much smaller—only the size of a book.
The little figure’s pale face was streaked with bright red blood, its abdomen gaping open, organs rotted into a mass, blood pouring from its features, guts spilling out.
Under the white wooden glow, the expression was eerie and tragic, mouth open as if screaming in agony.
The carving was so lifelike that when Hua Li’s wife first saw it, she immediately lost her composure and screamed in terror.
It wasn’t just seeing the object in person—even now, viewing the photo through a screen, everyone at the table was shaken, faces full of fear.
“Hua, what on earth is going on? Why is there a little figure at your house that looks just like you?”
A Biao sobered up, asking instinctively.
“Damn it, if I knew, would I be going through all this trouble?!”
Hua Li was deeply unsettled, fear rising as his lips trembled.
He was used to living dangerously, but had never encountered such a sinister, bizarre method.
Especially thinking of the persistent pain in his waist, and now seeing the figure’s ruined abdomen, the horrific scene made his own pain feel more intense than ever.