To find out what the ghost was, Jamie needed to find Quinn and ask what exactly she had done.
Soon, he arrived at Apartment 414 and rang the doorbell.
Footsteps came from inside.
"Damn it... they're here again!"
"Oh... Jamie..."
It was Quinn's father, Sean, who opened the door. He initially looked impatient, but his expression relaxed when he saw Jamie.
"Sorry, I thought it was those community workers bothering me again."
"Come in and have a seat."
Jamie followed Sean into the house.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No, I'm here to see Quinn... Is she home?"
Jamie waved his hand and politely declined while stating his purpose.
"She went out for an audition. If you have anything to tell her, I can pass it on."
Jamie hadn't expected Quinn to be out.
After thinking for a moment, he finally made up his mind.
"Sean, I have something I want to tell you, and I hope you're mentally prepared."
Sean sensed the unusual seriousness in Jamie's tone and sat down.
"I heard Quinn has been having nightmares lately and screaming in the middle of the night."
"...That's true."
"I consulted a very capable professional. He told me Quinn is being haunted by an evil spirit."
Hearing this, Sean's expression toward Jamie instantly became strange.
"I didn't know you were religious, Jamie."
"I'm not here to preach. I'm telling you the truth. A lot of people in the apartment already know strange things have been happening recently. Haven't you noticed anything?"
"Jamie, things like this depend on belief. Most ghost stories are just people scaring themselves."
Sean shook his head.
Jamie opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but ultimately stayed silent.
Before experiencing it firsthand, no normal person would believe it.
Was he really supposed to just watch Quinn be tormented by an evil spirit?
Just like Lisa...
Thinking of his wife's tragic death, Jamie slowly took out a talisman from the inner pocket of his jacket.
"I know it's difficult to suddenly make you believe in ghosts, but please take this."
Sean looked down.
"What is it?"
"It's a talisman that protects the holder and brings good luck. Give it to Quinn when she comes back."
After saying that, Jamie stood up and said goodbye.
Watching him leave, Sean frowned while staring at the yellow talisman in his hand.
He wasn't completely unaware of his daughter's previous actions.
But as a father, he could only sigh helplessly at her foolishness.
As for souls and ghosts...
Those things simply didn't exist.
Sean originally wanted to throw it into the trash, but Jamie's serious expression suddenly flashed through his mind.
Jamie was a good person.
Although he had moved in recently, he was already quite popular among the neighbors.
And unlike everyone else, Jamie never looked at him as if he were some domestic abuser.
Thinking of this, Sean gave up on throwing the talisman away.
Should he give it to Quinn or not?
For a moment, Sean hesitated.
Then—
Clang! Clang!
The sound of a pot lid being pushed repeatedly came from the kitchen.
"Oh no!"
Sean suddenly remembered the soup simmering inside and quickly put down the talisman before rushing toward the kitchen.
The living room became quiet once more.
No one noticed the faint flash of light that briefly flickered across the talisman.
After leaving, Jamie didn't return to his apartment.
Instead, he headed upstairs toward the fifth floor.
According to other residents, Apartment 514 had been vacant for years.
However, Jamie had recently been hearing strange noises coming from upstairs.
That room had naturally become his biggest suspect.
Jamie took a deep breath and calmed his increasingly rapid heartbeat as he slowly walked toward Room 514.
————
Lucien flipped through a divination book with interest and found three coins.
He wanted to try divining his fortune for the first time.
Although he hadn't fully mastered it, after skimming through the material, he at least understood the basic process.
Divination wasn't as mysterious as people imagined.
There were only three things to remember.
First, the three coins had to be of equal value—not different currencies or denominations.
Also, never use coins dug out from graves.
The first reason was accuracy.
As for the second...
That one was self-explanatory.
Second, remember the three rules:
Do not divine without sincerity.
Do not divine without righteousness.
Do not divine without doubt.
These weren't difficult to understand.
"Do not divine without sincerity" meant not asking meaningless questions.
"Do not divine without righteousness" meant not asking immoral nonsense, like whether a mistress could successfully become the wife.
As for "do not divine without doubt"—
Why would anyone divine whether the sun would rise tomorrow?
After washing his hands and preparing himself mentally, Lucien finally began.
He calmly tossed the three coins and recorded the number of heads and tails.
Six times.
A static hexagram gradually formed.
Then he used old yin and old yang to derive a changing hexagram, assigned Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, determined the six relations, analyzed movement and stillness...
Lucien worked while reading and quickly arranged everything.
"...This is troublesome."
He finally sighed.
No wonder Six-Line Divination was considered difficult.
Even with explanations, the entire process was complicated enough to make someone's head hurt.
Without practice, finishing within one or two hours would be impossible.
[You have completed a divination. Six-Line Divination proficiency increased.]
The notification sounded beside his ear.
Lucien nodded and looked toward the completed hexagram.
Interpreting hexagrams required imagination.
One had to boldly make connections.
Lucien then took out a copy of the I Ching and repeatedly examined the result.
After frowning for a while, his expression suddenly became strange.
The hexagram seemed to indicate...
Financial loss.
Lucien looked confused.
He stayed home most of the time.
Recently he had only gone out to deal with supernatural incidents.
He hadn't bought a car.
Hadn't bought a house.
Hadn't spent money recklessly.
Then where exactly was this "financial loss" coming from?
Could something unexpected happen?
Just as Lucien was thinking—
Knock knock.
"Is this Mr. Lucien? There's mail for you."
The postman spoke from outside before placing an envelope into the mailbox.
Lucien stood up and walked outside.
He opened the envelope casually.
Then his eyes landed on three letters printed in the upper-left corner.
IRS.
"..."
Lucien's expression instantly stiffened.