Mom's Back. The Villain Triplets Are in Trouble.

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Son is Missing

Gu Qingyin magnanimously decided not to stoop to her level.

Ghosts weren’t exactly sane creatures, after all. Arguing with them was just plain foolish. Besides, this Ghost Cultivator was on the verge of death. Why bother fighting with a ghost that was already a goner?

Gu Qingyin gestured casually, and the runes in the air seemed to come alive. They swirled around her fingers, nuzzling against her from time to time with great affection.

Seeing this, the Ghost Cultivator was both jealous and furious. Gu Qingyin clearly wasn’t taking her seriously!

Her eyes were so red they looked like they might start bleeding. Without warning, she hurled the talisman forward.

The rune tore through the dense Yin Qi, appearing before Gu Qingyin in an instant.

Gu Qingyin flicked a finger, and the rune swirling at her fingertip immediately shot out to meet it.

Her rune emitted a blinding golden light, hanging in the air like a small sun. Any Yin Qi touched by its radiance melted and evaporated like snowflakes.

The Mountain Shattering Talisman visibly deflated. The strokes of its runes flickered and, after a brief moment, fell apart completely.

Gu Qingyin wasn’t surprised in the least. The power of a rune lay in each and every stroke. While everyone’s hand-drawn runes might look the same at first glance, the slightest deviation could lead to a world of difference in power.

It was like calligraphy—some people had beautiful handwriting, while others had terrible handwriting. A master’s work was priceless, while a poor one couldn’t be sold even if you paid someone to take it.

That was the case with Gu Qingyin’s and the Ghost Cultivator’s runes. One was top-tier, and the other, while not the worst, was average at best.

The Mountain Shattering Talisman was defeated too quickly. The surrounding Yin Qi was dissolved along with it, leaving the Ghost Cultivator with nowhere to hide, completely exposed in the light of Gu Qingyin’s rune.

Black mist erupted from her body as she shrieked wretchedly and tried to flee, but the rune in the air shadowed her every move.

"Spare me! I’ll never do it again!" the Ghost Cultivator begged, writhing on the floor.

Gu Qingyin shrugged helplessly. "Once the rune is activated, I can’t pause it. It hasn’t even exploded yet." She paused, then said as if showing great mercy, "If you’re still alive after the rune explodes, I’ll let you go. How about it?"

Only then did the Ghost Cultivator remember—the little sun-like rune was actually a bomb!

The fear in the Ghost Cultivator’s eyes intensified. Just as she was about to continue begging for mercy, the rune suddenly detonated.

A massive explosion erupted, but because of the Barrier inside the villa, not a single sound escaped. At the same time, a shockwave surged through the building like a typhoon, peeling the paint and plaster from the hallway walls.

Inside the room, the Lin Family Siblings huddled in a corner of the bed, clinging to each other tightly. With danger looming, every second was an eternity.

An unknown amount of time passed before silence returned to the villa.

Lin Tian shakily raised her head and asked hopefully, "Did Sister Qing win?"

"I think so," Lin Xian swallowed. It was the best possible outcome. If Gu Qingyin had lost, he and Lin Tian would have been doomed.

The siblings exchanged an anxious look for a few seconds and had the same thought. ’Let’s just wait a little longer.’

They didn’t have to wait long. The door opened with a CREAK—it hadn’t made a sound before, so the explosion must have damaged it.

The Lin Family Siblings stared at the doorway, motionless, their eyes wide and their hearts about to leap out of their chests. Only when Gu Qingyin’s familiar face appeared did they finally relax, gasping for air.

They had been so tense they had forgotten to breathe.

"What about the ghost?" Lin Tian asked, slumping to the floor with weak limbs, still concerned about the battle’s outcome.

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Her soul was scattered to the winds." ’Dying to my rune bomb was the last bit of good fortune that Ghost Cultivator had. A direct, painless trip to the afterlife. All over in a second.’

Lin Tian finally relaxed completely, leaning against the corner of the bed to size up Gu Qingyin.

With all that commotion outside, she’d expected Gu Qingyin to be at least a little disheveled. But looking at her now, there wasn’t a single sign of a struggle.

Lin Tian’s eyes gradually lit up. ’Sister Qing is amazing.’

Lin Xian, being a boy, had stronger nerves than Lin Tian. Hearing that the danger had passed, he pushed himself off the floor and walked out.

"What are you doing?" Gu Qingyin asked, confused, as she stepped aside.

Lin Xian walked out of the room and stared at the hallway, which looked like it had just gone through a demolition. He was dumbfounded for several seconds before letting out a top-tier exclamation, "Holy shit!!"

Before, he’d only had an instinctive fear of ghosts. But now, the danger they posed was made terrifyingly real right before his eyes. He belatedly realized just how perilous his situation had been.

Lin Xian’s heart, which had just calmed down, began to pound again—this time, from lingering fear.

Lin Xian’s reaction piqued Lin Tian’s curiosity. She used the bed to pull herself up and, though her legs were trembling, she stubbornly shuffled to the doorway. The moment she saw the disastrous state of the hallway, she actually took out her phone for a selfie.

Gu Qingyin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You need a souvenir for this too?"

Lin Tian said seriously, "This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I have to record it now, just in case I wake up and think it was all a dream."

That gave Gu Qingyin an idea. She also took out her phone and started recording, offering a half-hearted apology as she filmed. "Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess, but the ghost has been taken care of. You can live here in peace after you renovate."

"And finally..." Gu Qingyin turned the camera on herself, adding with a grin, "please send the final payment as soon as possible."

After she finished recording, Gu Qingyin sent the video to Qi Zhou, who surprisingly replied instantly, saying the payment would be sent right away.

Gu Qingyin was very satisfied. "Next time President Qi needs me, I can give you a ten-percent discount."

Qi Zhou: ...For the first time, he hoped he’d never have a chance to use that discount in his entire life.

With the matter resolved, the Lin Family Siblings saw Gu Qingyin off.

Gu Qingyin got into the tour cart and said before leaving, "Get some rest. Don’t worry about the villa, I’ll talk to the production team."

Lin Tian nodded obediently. She and Lin Xian watched Gu Qingyin drive away before heading back inside. When they went up to the second floor and saw the damaged hallway, they couldn’t help but be stunned all over again.

"Sister Qing’s abilities are basically in the realm of superheroes now, right?" Lin Xian mused, resting his chin on his hand. "I wonder if she takes apprentices."

Lin Tian couldn’t help but scoff, rolling her eyes. "Even if she did, she wouldn’t pick you. You’re not smart enough to learn any of it."

Lin Xian wanted to argue, but thinking back on his behavior that night, he silently shut his mouth.

Less than twenty minutes later, Gu Qingyin was back at her residence.

Getting out of the cart, she saw the courtyard gate was ajar and frowned slightly. ’Did I forget to close it when I left?’ Upon entering the yard, she saw the villa’s main door was also open, and her expression immediately darkened.

Someone had snuck in. It was most likely Feng Xia.

Gu Qingyin quickly pushed open the door and entered the villa, taking the stairs two or three at a time as she sprinted straight for Huo Xinghai’s bedroom.

She threw open the door, but the room was empty.

Gu Qingyin’s brows furrowed tightly. She raised her hand and quickly performed a divination. A moment later, she swore under her breath, spun around, and dashed back downstairs, her movements as swift as a gust of wind.

In less than a minute, Gu Qingyin appeared outside the Fu Family’s villa.

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