I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 74

Guan Xiaoxuan stayed inside the room, not going anywhere as Jin Cheng spoke.

Just after midnight, a sudden wave of sleepiness hit her out of nowhere. Guan Xiaoxuan instantly knew it was caused deliberately.

She shook her head, trying hard to stay alert.

Knock—

At that moment, she heard a knock on the window. She immediately tensed up.

Who was knocking on her window?

Was it that woman in red?

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned, took out her pistol from her bag, and pointed it at the gray curtains. Her heart raced.

Knock, knock—

The knocking came again. Goosebumps broke out on her skin. She carefully scanned the room but stayed by the bed without moving.

She trusted that Jin Cheng was capable. As long as she didn’t cause trouble, he would help her.

Right now, Guan Xiaoxuan only needed to stay safely inside the room. No matter what noises she heard, she couldn’t leave.

Just as the knocking was about to happen again, Guan Xiaoxuan suddenly felt a strong shock, like the whole ground was shaking. Then came a loud boom!

She jumped, thinking maybe someone’s gas stove exploded, and her nerves immediately tightened as she listened closely.

Outside, the knocking stopped. Instead, she heard strong winds and howling, mixed with loud boom boom sounds, as if something had exploded nearby. The noise was so loud it hurt her eardrums.

Was there a fight outside?

Her heart pounded, but she held tightly onto her Seven-Star Begonia (a kind of weapon) and looked nervously back and forth between the window and the door, afraid the woman might suddenly burst in.

The noise outside kept getting louder. Several times, Guan Xiaoxuan felt the explosions right next to her window, but she didn’t move a single step.

The fierce battle seemed to last about twenty minutes. After the biggest explosion, the night suddenly went completely quiet.

The silence was overwhelming—Guan Xiaoxuan could even hear her own heartbeat clearly.

Was it all over?

Cold sweat broke out on her skin. She feared this was the calm before the storm and kept gripping her weapon tightly.

Then, she heard steady footsteps outside the door.

Because of the door between them, she couldn’t tell if the steps were from leather shoes or high heels, but she didn’t relax at all. She unlocked the safety on her Seven-Star Begonia and fixed her gaze on the door.

Click—click click—

She had double-locked the door. The person outside tried to turn the handle but couldn’t, then stopped.

Knock knock—

Suddenly, someone started knocking on the door.

“It’s all taken care of, Miss Guan. Please come out,” Jin Cheng’s voice came from outside.

Guan Xiaoxuan still wasn’t sure if it was really Jin Cheng at the door.

After a few seconds, the person outside sounded a bit helpless and said with a bitter smile, “Miss Guan, being cautious is a good thing, but the problem really is solved now. Won’t you come out and see?”

Guan Xiaoxuan carefully walked to the door and said, “I’ll open the door, but first, I want to ask you a question.”

The person outside chuckled and said, “Go ahead.”

“While we were in the basement, who cut my hair?”

“You took the scissors from me and cut it yourself.”

The person answered, then added, “If you want to ask more, I can tell you: The lantern I gave you has a black handle and glass cover. We had Western food for dinner—steak, pasta, and mushroom soup. I said if you didn’t like Western food, I could have the chef make Chinese food for you. After dinner, I took you to rest on the second floor. The one who brought you there was my housekeeper, Auntie Cui. She’s 41, with one son and one daughter…”

“Enough, stop talking.”

Guan Xiaoxuan, feeling a headache coming on, reached out and opened the door. Seeing Jin Cheng standing there, she lowered the weapon and said, “That woman is really taken care of?”

“Of course,” Jin Cheng said, not stepping inside but turning to go downstairs. He said over his shoulder to Guan Xiaoxuan, “But I haven’t gotten around to dealing with her yet. You two will meet soon enough.”

Just as Guan Xiaoxuan was about to go downstairs with Jin Cheng, she suddenly stopped and looked at him warily. “You want me to meet her?”

Jin Cheng turned and looked at Guan Xiaoxuan, chuckling softly. “Don’t worry, I’ve already sealed her. She can’t hurt you now.”

Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t very convinced, but Jin Cheng continued, “So far, you don’t really have a proper weapon, do you? Even the sidearm you carry is just a tool you exchanged for points and can only use once. After this is all over, you still have to return it.”

He calmly looked at her and asked, “Don’t you want a weapon that truly belongs to you?”

Hearing this, Guan Xiaoxuan felt a bit tempted.

He was right. Besides her face—borrowed from Cheng Yi—she only had a glass bead that could grab nearby objects. These were just auxiliary items. Her main weapon was still the sidearm.

But ordinary sidearms rarely did real damage to the supernatural, so Guan Xiaoxuan usually paired the gun with a few bullets she exchanged for points, which barely worked.

In truth, she had no real lethal weapon, and the points she spent on bullets would run out eventually.

“Are you going to give me a weapon?” Guan Xiaoxuan looked at him in disbelief. Could he be this kind?

He helped her get rid of that woman in red, and now he wanted to give her a weapon?

Do people like that really exist?

“Technically, it’s not a gift.” Jin Cheng shook a finger at her, smiling. “More like she’s willing to become your weapon.”

“Her?”

Guan Xiaoxuan was a little confused.

When Jin Cheng led her out to the courtyard, they saw a strong man holding a hunting rifle, aiming at a burnt, blackened shape on the ground.

Guan Xiaoxuan looked closely and realized it was a human figure.

But the person’s face was badly burned beyond recognition. The only clues were red high heels on the feet and a missing arm.

Was this the woman in red?

Sensing Guan Xiaoxuan’s presence, the figure slowly lifted her head. Two red eyes locked onto her, and she stretched out her only remaining hand.

The strong man who had been watching pulled the safety off the rifle and fired a shot right through her shoulder.

The woman trembled in pain but didn’t withdraw her hand. Her gaze remained steady, fixed on Guan Xiaoxuan.

“You are mine… mine…”

The voice was familiar, confirming this was the red-clothed ghost who had been chasing her.

Looking at her in this state, still insisting on taking Guan Xiaoxuan’s life, made her feel strangely sympathetic.

How strong must her obsession have been in life, to cling on like this after death? Even in this form, she wouldn’t let go.

Just as the woman in red tried to crawl toward Guan Xiaoxuan, the strong man—who seemed like a butler or assistant—was about to shoot again, but Jin Cheng raised his hand to stop him.

“Don’t shoot yet. I need to talk to her.”

Jin Cheng squatted down next to the woman and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Do you want her?”

The woman nodded, eyes locked on Guan Xiaoxuan.

“Why so stubborn? You could choose someone else.”

“Has to be her,” she replied, bl00d dripping from her mouth, her eyes glowing red. Despite the horror, Guan Xiaoxuan felt a pang of pity.

She stared at the woman for a long moment and asked, “Why must it be me? You’re like this already. If you gave up on me, you might still survive.”

Her words seemed to move the woman. She shook off Jin Cheng’s hand and slowly crawled to Guan Xiaoxuan, looking up at her. “You are mine… mine alone.”

Jin Cheng stood and looked at the woman. “I checked her memories. In life, she loved someone, but that person was only with her for money. Before she died, her tongue was cut out, and she was drowned. That’s why she looks like this now.”

“She’s full of rage and obsession,” Jin Cheng said. “Once she fixes on someone, she stays with them forever. If you accept her, I believe she’d be happy to become your weapon.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was stunned. She looked up at Jin Cheng. “Become my weapon?”

“Yes,” Jin Cheng said calmly. “She will protect you, hiding in the shadows. She will never betray you and will be your most loyal weapon. So, what do you think? Will you accept her?”

There was a hint of sympathy in Jin Cheng’s words.

Was it sympathy for her? Or for the woman in red?

While Guan Xiaoxuan was thinking, the woman had already reached her shoe, startling her.

But then Guan Xiaoxuan saw she wasn’t trying to hurt her. Instead, she curled up by her feet, acting very docile.

Unsure if this was an act or if the woman genuinely didn’t want to harm her, Guan Xiaoxuan looked at Jin Cheng and asked, “What’s going on with her?”

Jin Cheng glanced at her. “She really likes you. She said she fell for you the moment she saw you. She used to linger outside your door, but then suddenly, she couldn’t find you anymore.”

“Later, you took her shoe—the one that means a lot to her—but you didn’t hurt her,” Jin Cheng explained. “I don’t understand her mindset, but she’s deeply in love with you and wants to be with you forever.”

Guan Xiaoxuan felt chills from his words, her eyes still full of doubt as she looked at the woman.

“Well?” Jin Cheng asked. “Think about it. If you want her as your weapon, always by your side, I can help you. While she’s with you, she won’t hurt you—instead, she’ll become your strongest weapon right now.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked up at Jin Cheng, uncertain. “Are you sure she won’t hurt me?”

“Of course,” Jin Cheng said, smiling warmly as if sensing her hesitation. “If you agree, she will be your weapon.”