Chapter 43: Ghostly Appeal
The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence for a moment before the wife’s expression turned grim. “Where did you come from?”
“I’ve been watching you guys for a while now. Don’t just scare him—do something real!” Lou Qilei said, stepping forward. “Wait, let me set an example for you.”
As he spoke, he placed his hand on Qin Zhansheng’s arm and twisted it violently. A crisp crack of fracturing bone echoed through the room, and Qin Zhansheng let out a bloodcurdling scream.
He trembled uncontrollably from the pain, yet for some reason, he couldn’t pass out.
Lou Qilei chuckled darkly. “How is it, President Qin? Feel good? You didn’t expect this, did you? This donkey doesn’t just grind at the mill; he can crush your bones, too!”
That familiar voice…
Qin Zhansheng was terrified. “Lou Qilei!”
“It’s me.”
“I didn’t kill you! Your death had nothing to do with me, so why are you haunting me?!” Qin Zhansheng was scared out of his wits. “Every debt has its debtor. If you want revenge, go find the property management! What does this have to do with me?”
“You can’t put it like that. I died inside the company, so who else should I look for if not you?”
Lou Qilei smiled sinisterly.
“I heard you used your connections to suppress news of my death and even plan to embezzle my compensation money?”
Qin Zhansheng shook his head frantically, but Lou Qilei grabbed him by the neck and pulled back hard. His throat felt like it was being severed, rendering him unable to make a sound.
“You knew perfectly well that my daughter relies on that money to save her life. What gives you the right?! Not only do you want to consume me down to the bone dregs, but you also want to drive my daughter to her death. are you even human? You beast!”
“Haa… haa—” Qin Zhansheng threw his head back weakly, his legs kicking and struggling in vain.
Just when he thought he was about to die, he was suddenly released. Lou Qilei warned him, “Tomorrow, I want to see the money paid to my daughter. Otherwise, I’ll come back and kill you! Since I can’t have peace, don’t you even think about living!”
The wife’s gaze was piercing as she raised the knife in her hand. “I want to kill him today!”
Lou Qilei interjected, “Why don’t you torture him first… letting him die so directly would be letting him off too easy.”
“Daddy and us have to be together forever!” the little daughter said innocently, licking her fingers.
Lou Qilei had a very high tolerance for children. He comforted her, “Don’t worry, Uncle will help you fulfill your wish!”
The wife was silent for a moment before speaking coldly. “Make it quick.”
Amidst their discussion—which treated him as if he weren’t there—Qin Zhansheng gradually lost consciousness and passed out.
When he woke up the next day, aside from his half-dried trousers, there were no traces of the previous night.
The fear deep in his soul remained. Qin Zhansheng dazedly thought it might have been a nightmare. He stumbled to the bathroom, intending to splash water on his face.
But the moment he looked in the mirror, he looked on in horror at a deep, purple strangle mark embedded in the flesh of his neck.
It wasn’t a dream!
Ghosts were trying to kill him!
In a cramped, narrow alley, a funeral shop that seemed perpetually closed finally welcomed a customer.
The owner was dozing on a reclining chair, a funny video playing loudly on his phone beside him.
Jiang Si woke the man up and asked for a stack of gold and silver joss paper. Seeing that the customer was a young man, the owner briskly packed the items into a transparent plastic bag and handed it over. “Not many young people understand these things nowadays.”
Jiang Si agreed. “True enough.”
The owner looked suspicious. “Then you are…?”
“I’m in the same trade. Just doing some market research.”
After saying that, Jiang Si lifted his chin and added, “Thanks for supporting a colleague.”
The owner: “…”
Damn, what kind of market research does funeral supply need?
Once the stuff is burned, it’s burned. Do you expect post-usage feedback?
When he came, Jiang Si hadn’t expected to encounter this situation. He hadn’t planned on using supernatural cheats; legal means were so much better—convincing people with reason!
But the other party just had to go seeking death.
Jiang Si was helpless; he had never seen someone so eager to dig their own grave.
If they had done even one less evil deed, they might not have ended up in this state.
He needed to catch a taxi to the subway station. Standing by the main road, he had just raised his hand when a Porsche Cayenne drove up discreetly and stopped.
The window rolled down, and the driver spoke gently. “Get in. I’ll drive you.”
“!”
Jiang Si was startled but didn’t refuse. He opened the passenger door and got in. While fastening his seatbelt, he looked up to meet the gaze of the person beside him.
“Why are you here?”
The dilapidated urban construction around here was completely out of place with this Cayenne. Jiang Si couldn’t figure out if there was some business bureau nearby.
“Half is because of me, half is because of you,” Hai Di smiled, speaking patiently. “Which do you want to hear?”
Jiang Si: “I think you should drive first. The traffic police are coming to slap a ticket on you.”
At the intersection ahead, two traffic officers in reflective vests had already begun issuing tickets to cars illegally parked on the roadside.
“…” Hai Di chuckled low in his throat and started the car.
Jiang Si turned his head. “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing because we really are fated,” Hai Di explained. “There’s a White Cloud Mountain nearby. I went to the White Cloud Temple to pay my respects. Do you know what result I got?”
Jiang Si was curious. “You believe in Daoism?”
“…I don’t really believe in it. But the Abbot is considered an elder of mine, so I visit often.” As Hai Di spoke, he realized the topic had strayed again. He couldn’t help but turn his head to give Jiang Si a helpless look. “Don’t interrupt.”
The nice atmosphere was completely ruined.
“I can’t even talk now?” Jiang Si was shocked. “You weren’t like this before.”
Sure enough, men change when they have money. The old Hai Di would have gone along with whatever he said.
The smoothly moving car suddenly stopped. There were few people here and no traffic police, so stopping for a while wouldn’t matter.
Hai Di unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over toward Jiang Si. His height of 1.9 meters demonstrated absolute dominance at this moment. His tall frame blocked out most of the daylight, and in the shadows, Jiang Si unexpectedly met his gaze.
“The Abbot told me: follow your heart in all things, no need to worry about the future.”
“I also asked for something from the mountain,” Hai Di explained patiently, taking a box out of the glove compartment. Inside was a red string adorned with a row of dark red beads.
He lifted Jiang Si’s hand and put it on him. But after putting it on, he didn’t let go immediately. He held the hand as if playing with a piece of jade, rubbing and kneading it gently.
“Last time I saw your hand, it felt too empty. I had this red sandalwood bracelet custom-made… it fits quite well.”
The red sandalwood beads emitted a lustrous sheen, the dark color making Jiang Si’s skin look even whiter.
Jiang Si, however, thought of something else. He originally did have a bracelet—one left to him by his grandfather to soothe his soul. It had broken during a fight with an evil ghost, the beads scattering on the ground. Since then, Jiang Si hadn’t bothered to buy anything else to wear, leaving his wrist bare.
Hai Di had actually subconsciously sensed something was missing there.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Hai Di hadn’t heard Jiang Si answer, and his expression grew slightly serious.
Jiang Si looked up innocently. “You told me not to talk.”
Hai Di: “…”
He leaned closer, his breath almost mingling with Jiang Si’s, and whispered, “I didn’t sleep all night yesterday. I went out first thing this morning. I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday.”
“Oh.”
“I went back and reflected. Some of what I said yesterday was actually wrong. If it’s a sexual impulse, that’s called lust at first sight. But if the heart moves, then meeting for the first time is like meeting an old friend.”
He held the hand on which Jiang Si wore the bracelet and pressed it against his chest. The heartbeat throbbed, and the blood rushing to his limbs was screaming his feelings for Jiang Si.
That intense, hidden passion, unperceived by the brain but etched deep into the marrow.
Jiang Si’s face, fine and white as porcelain, couldn’t help but flush red. His eyelashes trembled as he thought: Reading books really makes a difference.
“So you?”
Hai Di answered the question left from yesterday with action.
His fingers pressed against the corner of Jiang Si’s lips, applying slight force to make Jiang Si look up, then very lightly pecked his lips.
After the kiss, he pulled back slightly and asked hoarsely, “May I?”
You already kissed me, what are you asking for?
In reality, he didn’t need an answer; it was just a polite question. Then he leaned in again, pressing their lips together. This time it was deeper than before, no longer just a cherished, light peck.
The tip of his tongue tentatively pried open the tightly closed lips…
The atmosphere on the way back was unusually quiet. Jiang Si couldn’t help but open the window. The cold wind blew in from outside, instantly lowering the temperature on his face.
Hai Di drove seriously, pretending to be reserved, but in reality, he had already stolen several glances at Jiang Si. Finally, he couldn’t hold back. “Are you free tonight?”
Jiang Si turned his head. “Why?”
“My parents have been wanting to meet you.”
Jiang Si was startled, astonished. “You told your parents already?”
It had only been one night. Hai Di said he would go back and think about it, but how did he finish the ideological work with his parents too?
Knowing he had misunderstood, Hai Di explained, “They only know you are my savior. I haven’t had time to say anything else.”
So it didn’t count as “meeting the parents” officially…?
Jiang Si was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Not tonight. I have to meet someone tonight.”
“Who?” Hai Di was alert. What kind of person had to be met at night? Couldn’t it be done during the day?
“Old Miser.”
“???” Hai Di didn’t react for a moment and subconsciously added, “Your friend?”
Jiang Si: “…That was a cold joke.”
His speechlessness was written all over his face. The string in Hai Di’s brain finally reconnected. He coughed lightly and changed the subject. “Your former boss? What did he do to earn that nickname?”
“He did everything except act like a human.”
Hai Di relaxed and asked an extra question. “Do you need me to accompany you?”
Jiang Si asked sincerely, “May I ask if your role would be the muscle or the eye candy?”
“Can’t I just be your family member?”
“Next time. Next time,” Jiang Si found himself at a rare loss for words. “Today’s occasion is rather special. Yeah.”
Hai Di said regretfully, “Then I’ll wait for your next time.”
There probably won’t be a next time; this was the only company he had ever worked for.
Before getting out of the car, just as Jiang Si unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, Hai Di suddenly called his name. Jiang Si turned back, only to hear Hai Di say, “Call me if something happens. Call me even if nothing happens.”
Jiang Si was helpless. “Okay, okay, okay, I’ll call you. We’ll have a super long phone call, alright?”
Then he got out of the car and waved, watching Hai Di leave. When he turned around, he came face-to-face with Lou Qilei, who was floating under the hotel eaves not far away.
Eye to eye. Jiang Si, who had just gotten into a relationship, was a bit thin-skinned and couldn’t help feeling awkward. Recalling that he hadn’t done anything outrageous just now, he felt reassured, so his movements as he approached were particularly confident.
“How is it on Qin Zhansheng’s end?”
“He was scared out of his wits. His wife and kids wanted his life, but I stopped them temporarily,” Lou Qilei said, glancing at the gold and silver paper in Jiang Si’s hand. “What’s this?”
“You’ll know later.” Jiang Si kept it a mystery and didn’t say immediately. As he walked inside, he said, “I made an appointment to meet Qin Zhansheng tonight.”
“Why do you want to see him? He looked like he was pissing his pants yesterday; wouldn’t he agree to anything?”
The elevator reached the first floor and opened. Jiang Si went in and pressed the button, continuing, “What’s the use of a verbal agreement? I found a lawyer to go with me. I hope he still has enough brains to weigh the pros and cons. Otherwise, even if the Great Immortals came, they couldn’t save him.”
Lou Qilei: “He’s seen ghosts with his own eyes. Can he still not be afraid of death?”
“Are ghosts as scary as the human heart?” Jiang Si said. “Besides, Qin Zhansheng isn’t an average person to have climbed to the position of vice president in Ning City. One day is enough for him to find a Master to take a look. You said his wife and kids want to kill him? Ghosts can’t kill people easily. Once Qin Zhansheng reacts, he might even counter-kill them.”
“What the hell?” Lou Qilei couldn’t hold it back, his hometown dialect popping out. “Isn’t that how movies film it? That Midnight X, that The X Grudge—ghosts kill people like slicing melons, ka-ka killing sprees. Why doesn’t it work in reality?”
“Being a ghost is too suffocating.”
Jiang Si: “Think about it this way. If you kill Qin Zhansheng, he becomes a ghost too. Won’t it be awkward when you meet?”
“Actually, there are special circumstances. Have you heard of ‘Ghost’s Plea’? If there is a real grievance, you can file a complaint with the Judges of the Underworld. Once the karma and retribution are assessed, the revenge that should be taken can naturally be taken.”
Lou Qilei: “What? Is there really an Underworld? Shouldn’t I have been taken down by the Ghost Messengers long ago then?”
Jiang Si: “That’s another story. I don’t know the specific details inside. Besides, even if you go down now, you can’t explain the cause and effect clearly in front of the Judge. Qin Zhansheng didn’t actually kill you directly. If you kill him, you will be the one punished.”
“Damn.” Lou Qilei was unconvinced. “Is there no way to deal with him?”
“There is,” Jiang Si said slowly. “You keep haunting him. Wait until the Yang energy on his body is weak, the Yin energy is too heavy, and his luck is bad. Qin Zhansheng could die from an accident at any time. But this time frame might be quite long, and I don’t have the time to waste with him.”
“Let’s talk after seeing him. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
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