I'm a Taoist priest in North America, and the deity is actually myself.

Chapter 45: The Ghost Encounter in Raine

Ryan leaned against the headboard, listening to the sound of running water in the bathroom, and was in a pretty good mood.

He was really lucky tonight; Amy was even prettier than Nalisa.

Girls of this caliber usually have plenty of men lining up to buy them drinks, but he managed to get her to come out in less than an hour.

As Ryan hummed a tune, he loosened his belt a little more and was about to take off his socks when he caught a glimpse of the mirror out of the corner of his eye.

In the mirror, on the frosted glass door of the bathroom, a blurry shadow was reflected.

The shadow grew clearer and clearer, and finally it suddenly grinned at him.

"???"

Raine was so startled that he snapped back to reality.

He stared at it carefully for a while and found that there was nothing on the mirror.

"I really drank too much..."

Renn gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.

Just then, the sound of water in the bathroom suddenly stopped.

"Honey?" Amy's voice came from inside, muffled and damp. "Get me a towel; it's on the shelf outside."

"Okay."

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly cursing himself for being crazy.

He put on his slippers and saw the bath towels on the shelf.

As I passed by the bathroom door, I inexplicably peeked inside.

The shadow suddenly reappeared on the frosted glass.

He stopped in his tracks.

Besides the shadows, the glass also reflected the warm yellow light from the bathroom.

Logically, hot water should produce steam, and frosted glass should be fogged up.

But the door was spotless, without a single drop of water vapor.

"Did you find the bath towel?" Amy's voice rang out again, her tone light and cheerful, with a hint of coquetry.

"Here." Renn handed the towel through the crack in the door, and a wet hand took it.

The hand felt normal to the touch, warm, and slippery with the scent of shower gel.

Raine retreated to the bedside, sat down, and glanced at the air conditioner remote.

The room temperature is 23 degrees Celsius, and the cooling mode is on.

The cold air in the room slowly suppressed his unease.

He decided to stop scaring himself.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened.

Amy came out wrapped in a bath towel, her hair wet and draped over her shoulders, the mole on her collarbone particularly noticeable under the light.

She smiled at Raine, a smile as radiant and captivating as the one in the bar, one that was impossible to look away from.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to dry my hair." She turned around to get the hairdryer.

The moment she turned around, Ryan's smile froze.

On Amy's back, between her shoulder blades, there's a patch of skin that's a different color.

It wasn't a tattoo or a birthmark, but a dark red mark with blurred edges, as if something was pushing it outwards from the inside, but without breaking the skin.

Ryan could hardly believe his eyes. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Am I really drunk?"

The sound of a hairdryer came from inside the room, and he looked at Amy again.

Amy kept shaking her hair, trying to make it dry faster.

A dozen minutes later, the hair dryer stopped.

Amy shook her already dried hair and turned around.

She walked towards Renn with a smile on her face.

The bath towel was loosely wrapped around her body, revealing some of her fair skin.

Raine had a feeling that something was wrong, and subconsciously moved back a little.

Why are you so nervous?

Amy frowned, then relaxed, and said with a hint of teasing, "First time going out on a date?"

"No," Rengan chuckled and explained, "It's just... I'm feeling a little unwell."

"Really?" Amy sat down next to him, causing the mattress to sag slightly.

She was very close, her breath carrying the scent of minty toothpaste, her warm breath brushing against Ryan's face.

Ryan's heart pounded, not with excitement, but with panic.

When Amy sat down, the mirror was facing her.

Ryan caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror out of the corner of his eye, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He had previously seen something seeping out from the spot behind Amy.

Ryan suddenly stood up, went behind Amy, glanced at her, and saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Amy looked up at him, her face completely innocent.

"I...I need to use the restroom."

Ryan practically fled into the bathroom, locked the door, and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"I must have drunk too much, I must have drunk too much."

These past few days, I've encountered several unsettling things, which has made me extremely afraid of paranormal events.

Amy was still sitting on the bed, looking down at her phone.

She looked up and saw Ryan come out. Forcing a smile, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "Feeling better? Can we begin?"

Heaven knows, if she could, she really wanted to beat up Raine.

This happened several times, which made her quite annoyed.

"Much better."

Ryan walked casually to the bedside, his palms sweating profusely.

Amy moved closer to him, and the towel on her body slipped down a little further.

"You're so handsome, I've never seen a man as handsome as you," she said, tilting her head. Her emerald eyes held an indescribable light, her gaze lingering.

"I noticed it back at the bar. There's something... different about you."

The hairs on the back of Ryan's neck stood on end.

"Is that so..." Rengan smiled, moved half an inch to the side, and said, "Maybe it's because the perfume I use is rather special."

Amy didn't answer, she just smiled.

The smile looked somewhat unreal under the light.

Ryan saw the moment Amy smiled; another face was superimposed on hers, a pale, distorted face that flashed by.

Ryan suddenly stood up.

"I'm going downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes."

"You can order delivery from the front desk to your room..."

"No need, no need, I'll be right back in a bit."

Ryan grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

"Raine".

Amy called his name.

Ryan turned the doorknob and rushed out without looking back.

The warm yellow light in the corridor shone on his face. He was barefoot on the carpet and didn't even wait for the elevator. He ran straight down the fire escape.

"How is it?" Ryan asked nervously.

"Based on what you've said, I can't be sure if there's anything wrong with the other party; you might just be seeing things."

Li Xuan spread his hands and said.

Then, he took out a yellow talisman from the drawer, folded it into a triangle, and handed it to Raine: "Keep this close to your body, and then take me there."

"Go back?!" Ryan nearly jumped off the sofa, shouting, "I don't want to go back!"

"After you take me back, you can wait downstairs or do whatever you want, it's up to you."

Li Xuan had already begun preparing things: black dog blood, talismans, and a peach wood sword.