Chapter 33

After purchasing a bed from the Guijia Furniture Store, Zhang Qingyang originally thought he could easily deal with all the fierce ghosts surrounding his temple today.

To his surprise, just as he was in the heat of battle alongside his beloved furniture, a violent gale suddenly erupted. Sand and stones flew through the air as a soaring, blood-colored resentment manifested out of thin air on this small hillside.

Then, a pale figure appeared before him—an opera singer dressed in a white opera costume and wearing a huadan headdress.

The pressure exuded by this seemingly living actor was terrifying. For a moment, the very air on the hillside seemed to stagnate.

Though his posture was graceful, his movements were exceptionally stiff, as if he had been sealed away for so long that he had forgotten how to use his body.

The cold moonlight shone upon the jewels and emeralds adorning his head, reflecting a shimmering light as if an entire galaxy had spilled from the night sky to decorate those cascading black tresses.

There were still seven fierce ghosts nearby left to handle, and now a seemingly even more terrifying one had appeared out of nowhere. Crushed by a massive sense of despair, Zhang Qingyang couldn’t help but let out a cry of alarm.

However, the moment the sound left his lips, Zhang Qingyang regretted it instantly, wishing he could slap himself across the mouth.

Because of that sound, the opera singer seemed to notice his presence and looked toward him.

What a face that was. Half of it was breathtakingly beautiful, while the other half was twisted beyond recognition. The flesh was uneven, looking like wet tissue paper stuck to glass. That distorted half was covered in a thick layer of white powder, resembling the funerary makeup applied to a corpse… Rather than concealing anything, the heavy makeup only added a touch of the uncanny.

But the thing most impossible to ignore was the crimson resentment surrounding him, as thick as a sea of blood…

As the white-clad actor jolted awake from his dazed state, that terrifying resentment seemed to take physical form. Like pythons hunting for prey, it instantly coiled around all the fierce ghosts present.

The fierce ghosts that had left Zhang Qingyang helpless for several nights were as fragile as newborn infants before this actor. In an instant, they were swallowed by the crimson resentment, their soul bodies shattering and turning into wisps of blue smoke that merged into that boundless sea of blood.

Seeing the white-clad actor staring intently at him, Zhang Qingyang sat on the bed, clutching his chairs and stools while trembling violently.

He stammered, “Uh, hey… now that you’ve killed them, you can’t kill me, okay? I’m just a weak little Daoist who can’t even lift a chicken.”

“Is this the furniture you bought from the Guijia Furniture Store?” the actor suddenly spoke. Though his tone was cold, his voice was beautiful—mellow and full, every word seeming to pluck at one’s heartstrings.

Zhang Qingyang was stunned by the question.

Hearing the name “Guijia Furniture Store” come from the mouth of this actor, who looked like he had traveled through time from the Republican era, gave him a bizarre sense of temporal displacement.

“Ah, yes, I bought them from the Guijia Furniture Store.” Zhang Qingyang tightened his grip on the chairs and stools. “They’re all good ghosts too. They died violent deaths at a young age and didn’t commit any sins after death; they just stayed inside the furniture. I spent several sticks of incense to successfully redeem them. Oh, right—don’t look at me like this, I actually know how to make Offering Incense. I’ll give you incense if you can let us go…”

From Zhou Fangdong’s perspective, the ghosts on the stools, chairs, and bed were all hugging Zhang Qingyang. One person and four ghosts were huddled together in a clump, looking quite pitiful.

Zhou Fangdong sighed. “Why would I kill you? I just came out for a walk.”

Zhang Qingyang nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking grain. “Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say.” Just out for a walk and he casually killed seven fierce ghosts in a single breath; if he actually got serious, the consequences were unthinkable.

Zhou Fangdong looked at the somewhat dilapidated little Daoist temple not far away, then at the overgrown, empty hillside, wondering what this place had to do with Mu Yuechan.

Could this have been a base for that cult, the Sigu Society?

“What is this place?” Zhou Fangdong asked again.

Seeing that the white-clad actor had no intention of killing him, Zhang Qingyang relaxed. He sat cross-legged on the bed with a stool balanced on his head and replied obediently, “This is Chuyun Temple in the northern suburbs of Linjiang City. I am Zhang Qingyang, the current temple head of Chuyun Temple.”

Zhou Fangdong felt that the combination of a Daoist and furniture seemed familiar. He suddenly remembered the “strange Celestial Master” Zhao Dawei had mentioned who went to the Guijia Furniture Store to buy furniture… Could it be this young man?

“Did you buy this furniture a couple of days ago?”

Though he didn’t know why the man was asking, Zhang Qingyang still nodded obediently. “Yes.”

Zhou Fangdong understood.

Zhao Dawei had mentioned that the Celestial Master came to the store because some cultist had performed a ritual near his temple, drawing out many fierce ghosts.

The cultists messing around with rituals near the temple were very likely members of the Sigu Society. That was why the system had teleported him here when he used the Karma Lines for a random teleportation.

Zhao Dawei had nearly died this morning due to one of those cultists’ rituals.

Thinking of this, Zhou Fangdong said to Zhang Qingyang, “Where is the location where those cultists drew the ritual? Take me there to see.”

Though he didn’t know how this white-clad actor knew there had been cultist activity here, since the big shot had spoken, it was best to do exactly as he said to avoid provoking him.

Zhang Qingyang climbed off the bed, placed the chairs and stools by the bedside, and led Zhou Fangdong toward an area nearby cordoned off with talismans.

The hillside was covered in gravel. Zhang Qingyang twisted and turned to avoid the rocks blocking his path. When he caught a glimpse of the figure behind him out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the white-clad actor’s feet didn’t seem to touch the ground. The rocks in his path didn’t seem to exist; amidst the churning blood-red resentment, his body floated straight toward him.

Zhang Qingyang pulled his gaze back, sweating profusely, pretending he hadn’t seen a thing.

Alright, it was confirmed. This definitely wasn’t a human; it had to be a terrifying fierce ghost so vicious that it possessed a physical form.

This was Zhou Fangdong’s first time walking in Mu Yuechan’s body, and it felt quite novel—it was like traveling while standing on a hoverboard.

He wondered if he could float a bit higher.

However, to avoid scaring the little Daoist leading the way, Zhou Fangdong abandoned that idea.

He followed Zhang Qingyang to the clearing surrounded by yellow talismans. Upon seeing the symbols on the ground, Zhou Fangdong instinctively frowned.

There was no mistake. These oval, question-mark-like runes that looked like deformed giant tadpoles were left behind by members of the Sigu Society. He didn’t know what they were trying to achieve with this ritual.

The runes looked as if they had been drawn with blood. The dark, reddish-black liquid stains remained on the dirt ground, carrying a stench of rot.

The system’s cold electronic voice suddenly rang out:

[The host may move closer to the ritual symbols. The system will automatically record the ritual’s aura.]

Hearing the system’s prompt, Zhou Fangdong leaned down slightly, tucked back his water sleeves, and hovered his hand over the runes.

Zhang Qingyang was startled and was about to stop him when he saw the yellow talismans on the ground suddenly burst into flames without any spark. Immediately after, the dried symbols on the ground turned back into crimson liquid. As if time were flowing backward, they rose from the soil drop by drop and merged into that fair palm.

Zhang Qingyang was dumbstruck. Those yellow talismans were Exorcism Talismans he had drawn with his own hands!

He admitted his cultivation wasn’t yet perfected and he wasn’t very skilled at infusing spiritual power into talismans. He had expected these talismans to be ineffective against the white-clad actor, perhaps only causing a slight stinging sensation.

He had wanted to stop him just now, fearing that the great expert’s palm would be stung by the talismans and that he would end up bearing the brunt of his anger… but he never expected that not a single one of those many talismans would work.

The white-clad actor simply extended a hand, and those talismans burned away silently, like toilet paper dissolving in water.

So cruel, truly too cruel. Zhang Qingyang clutched his chest, his eyes brimming with tears.

Even though not a word was spoken, he felt as if he had just been called a total noob.

Fortunately, his Master was no longer around. If the old man had seen this scene, his backside would have been kicked again.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t notice Zhang Qingyang’s reaction; all his attention was currently focused on the system pop-up window.

[Ding—The system has recorded the residual ritual aura. The next time the host uses the Possession Feature, or when a Ghost Tenant goes out to explore the map on their own, the system can assist with teleportation to locations where this aura remains concentrated.]

Immediately afterward, the exploration interface expanded. On the Linjiang City Map, several flashing red dots were particularly enticing—those should be areas where the Sigu Society believers frequently operated.

Zhou Fangdong called out to the system in his mind: “Can I teleport now?”

[Negative. Currently, each use of the Possession Feature grants only one teleportation opportunity. Once the Avatar proficiency reaches 100, the number of teleportations will increase by one.]

Zhou Fangdong checked the proficiency level beneath the [Mu Yuechan] Avatar Interface—it was a pitiful single digit: 5.

Who knew how long it would take to grind that to a hundred.

“System, is there a shortcut for Ghost Coin players?”

[3,000 Ghost Coins can increase the number of teleportations by one.]

“Never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

He would just have to wait until the next time he used the Possession Feature to teleport.

Zhou Fangdong was so persistent about this cult, the Sigu Society, partly because those cultists had to pay the price for hurting Zhao Dawei.

On the other hand, his simple sense of justice was acting up. Since he was already free anyway, and since he knew this cult was still active in this world, he might as well deal with them in passing. Otherwise, every day they existed was another day they would harm people.

Moreover, two cultists had already vanished in his apartment today. If the Sigu Society discovered their two believers were missing and sent more people to harass his apartment, it would be an endless nuisance.

Rather than waiting for these guys to come and harass him, it was better to take the initiative and wipe them out in one go.

Looking at the vanishing runes on the ground, Zhou Fangdong hid his hand back inside his water sleeve and turned to look at Zhang Qingyang. “I once heard my tenant speak of you. Your physiognomy¹ skills are very accurate; the bloody disaster he faced has already come to pass.”

Zhang Qingyang froze for a moment, then quickly remembered something. “The middle-aged man from the Guijia Furniture Store? Is he doing alright now?”

“He’s fine. He has successfully weathered the crisis.”

Zhou Fangdong looked at Zhang Qingyang, pondering how to get him to move into the Liwan Apartments.

This was a Celestial Master with ghost-dispelling abilities. If he could stay at Liwan Apartments, there was a high probability he would be a special tenant. When the time came, the Tenant Illustrated Guide rewards would surely yield something good.

Furthermore, he seemed to know how to draw talismans. Perhaps once his Favorability was high enough, Zhou Fangdong wouldn’t even need to buy talisman items for the tenants anymore; he could just exploit… request this Celestial Master to draw them.

Zhou Fangdong scanned the surroundings, and the somewhat dilapidated small Taoist temple behind Zhang Qingyang caught his eye.

Weighing his words, Zhou Fangdong said, “This temple of yours looks like it hasn’t been repaired in a long time. Can it still protect its residents from ghost intrusions at night?”

Zhang Qingyang gave an embarrassed smile. “Indeed, the protective charms left by my Master have mostly lost their efficacy. That’s why I usually patrol and keep watch outside at night to prevent ghosts from invading.”

Zhou Fangdong took the opportunity to say, “Liwan Apartments still has vacant rooms. Would you like to move into our apartment? The ordinary people under your protection in the temple can come along too; I can guarantee their safety.”

The small Taoist temple nearby was truly tiny—just a main hall plus a small courtyard, without even any side halls. Subtracting the space for the statues enshrined in the main hall, Zhou Fangdong felt the remaining area could probably only accommodate three people.

It just so happened that there were currently three rooms in the apartment that hadn’t been rented out yet; they could all be rented out at once.

Hearing Zhou Fangdong’s invitation, Zhang Qingyang was stunned.

A great expert for whom killing ghosts was as easy as breathing was inviting you to live at his place—would you agree or not?

However, Liwan Apartments… how could it be Liwan Apartments?

This person before him was actually the landlord of Liwan Apartments…

Recalling what his Master had once said, and thinking of the Furniture Store Manager’s warning, Zhang Qingyang hesitated for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and agreeing. “Alright, thank you for the invitation, Mr. Landlord. I’ll arrange things here at the temple tomorrow and then go to Liwan Apartments to take a look. I hope you can save a room for me, Mr. Landlord.”

Having received an affirmative answer, Zhou Fangdong tried his best to suppress the urge to curl his lips upward. Fortunately, half of the facial nerves on Mu Yuechan’s face didn’t work properly; otherwise, he almost wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face.

He really hadn’t expected to snag a special tenant so easily.

To prevent his future tenant from not knowing how to get to the apartment, Zhou Fangdong said to him, “To go to Liwan Apartments, you just need to pick any bus stop, think of Liwan Apartments in your heart, and then wait for a Ghost Bus without a license plate to arrive.”

Zhang Qingyang nodded. “Yes, I know how to get there.”

Seeing this, Zhou Fangdong said no more.

This outing had been quite productive. Not only did he learn the activity locations of those Sigu Society cultists, but he also brought back a Celestial Master who was likely a special tenant.

Zhou Fangdong looked around. This small hillside really didn’t have much to see—just wild grass and broken stones, and it was far from the city center. Thus, he decided to return to the apartment.

Being able to come out for some fresh air was enough to satisfy him. In truth, staying outside for too long was just so-so; it wasn’t as comfortable as lying on the small bed in his own room.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t linger any longer and teleported directly back to Liwan Apartments.

Zhang Qingyang watched his disappearing back and let out a sorrowful sigh.

Moving house… he didn’t know if this decision was right or wrong. He hoped his Master would protect him.

By the time he returned to Liwan Apartments, dawn had not yet broken.

Zhou Fangdong sat on his bed, checking his unfinished tasks to pass the time.

The tasks he currently had incomplete were Side Quest 4 and Main Quest 1.

Side Quest 4 was to repair the Liwan Apartments Trash Disposal Station, find the station manager, and seek out and hire Cleaners.

When he had time during the day tomorrow, he would first look around the apartment to see where that Trash Disposal Station was.

Actually, Zhou Fangdong had a bad feeling because he had already toured the entire first floor of Liwan Apartments and hadn’t seen any place that could serve as a Trash Disposal Station. Now he could only pray it wasn’t outside the apartment; otherwise, this side quest would be very difficult to complete.

Main Quest 1 was to rent out all the rooms on the first floor. Today he had found his second Ghost Tenant and rented Room 108 to that Zombie Taoist Master. Now, only Rooms 105, 106, and 107 remained unrented.

If that Celestial Master could bring people over, the main quest could be completed smoothly.

Thinking of his second Ghost Tenant, Zhou Fangdong suddenly remembered that he hadn’t claimed the guide reward for [Zombie Taoist Master · Zhang Zhiwu] yet.

Zhou Fangdong opened the Tenant Illustrated Guide.

Tenant Illustrated Guide: [Zombie Taoist Master · Zhang Zhiwu]

—If one ignores the suffering of all living beings to ascend to immortality alone, then what kind of immortal is that?

Guide Description: Unfinished karma caused him to give up on ascension. In order to remain in this chaotic world, he defied his ancestral teachings and personally refined himself into a zombie. Due to the uniqueness of Liwan Apartments, he retained his sanity from when he was alive, becoming a special state that is half-ghost and half-zombie.

Traits: Upright character, humorous and optimistic, willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of justice. He was an excellent master with a clear conscience toward himself and his sect. Since he chose to sacrifice his life for the Dao, he will remain stationed here until the balance between Yin and Yang is restored.

[Special Tenant Illustrated Guide Unlock Reward: Ancestral Dharma Tool – Iron Hoe]

[Ancestral Dharma Tool – Iron Hoe]

Item Description: The hoe Zhang Zhiwu used to dig the earth and plant medicinal herbs during his lifetime. The iron head is infused with Five Emperor Coins², and the handle is crafted from lightning-struck jujube wood. This hoe can protect the body, exorcise ghosts, and till the soil for gardening. Even in the hands of an ordinary person, it possesses ghost-repelling effects. Sturdy and durable, it is an unpretentious Taoist Dharma Tool.

Zhou Fangdong took the item out.

It was a small hoe about the length of an adult’s forearm. It felt a bit heavy but sat comfortably in his hand; swinging it produced a sharp, whistling wind.

Unlike the Three Purities Bell, which had a spiritual power threshold for use, ordinary people could use this. It was a truly practical item.

Although he had no immediate use for it, Zhou Fangdong tossed the hoe into his Inventory.

Upon opening his Inventory, Zhou Fangdong noticed that one of the slots was still occupied by the [Sorted Room 103 Collection].

These were the messy items he had cleared out of Room 103 that morning. Aside from folklore collectibles, there seemed to be cursed items and the like mixed in… Just thinking about the terrifying scale of the clutter that had filled that entire room gave Zhou Fangdong a headache.

There were too many items; he would wait until he needed to kill time to sort through them. He could treat it like opening blind boxes.

Time quickly moved to the next morning, and the familiar system pop-up appeared before his eyes:

[Notice, Dynamic Event: Night Attack of a Hundred Ghosts (Countdown: 15 days)]

Zhou Fangdong let out a soft sigh.

He was feeling a bit anxious now; it felt exactly like a countdown to the college entrance exams.

Zhou Fangdong left his room, intending to clean up a unit first.

Zhang Qingyang had mentioned last night that he might visit the apartments today. It would be too embarrassing if the tenant arrived before the room was even ready.

Looking at the remaining rooms on the rental interface, Zhou Fangdong decided to clean Room 107.

Yesterday, in order to clean Room 108, he had bought two Automatic Cleaning Tools. Before he could even use them, he had—in a moment of madness—asked the Long-tongued Ghost to help find a powerful ghost to move into Room 108.

As a result, while a powerful ghost wasn’t found, a Ghost Tenant had successfully moved into Room 108, directly completing the side quest to clean and renovate the room. Thus, these two items were spared.

Just as Zhou Fangdong reached the door of Room 107, the system suddenly prompted:

[Ding—A new tenant has been detected at the apartment entrance to view a room. Please proceed to the foyer immediately.]

Zhou Fangdong was somewhat surprised.

They arrived this early? It was only five in the morning. Had that little Taoist stayed up all night?

Zhou Fangdong walked quickly to the apartment foyer and found Zhang Qingyang, whom he had met last night, standing at the main entrance looking full of energy. Not even a hint of dark circles could be seen on his handsome face; he didn’t look like someone who had pulled an all-nighter at all.

The apartment doors opened automatically. Zhang Qingyang saw Zhou Fangdong standing in the foyer.

He froze for a moment but reacted quickly: “Mr. Landlord?”

This was likely the human form the landlord of Liwan Apartments took during the day. Since even the Guijia Furniture Store Manager could turn into a human, it wasn’t surprising for the landlord of Liwan Apartments to have a human form.

However, the landlord’s current appearance was much more reassuring than the white-clad opera performer from the night before. He seemed very much like a living person, which helped Zhang Qingyang’s nervous heart relax considerably.

Hearing Zhang Qingyang’s form of address, Zhou Fangdong nodded at him.

For a moment, he overlooked the fact that he had been using Mu Yuechan’s body when he met Zhang Qingyang last night, so he wasn’t surprised that Zhang Qingyang recognized him.

Seeing Zhou Fangdong acknowledge him, Zhang Qingyang didn’t enter the apartment doors but stayed outside and continued, “Mr. Landlord, I didn’t come this time to see the rooms. I know Liwan Apartments has been abandoned for a long time, and it will surely take you some time to get the rooms ready.”

Hearing this, Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he heard Zhang Qingyang say, “I came this morning mainly because I forgot to mention something yesterday. Besides me, there are thirty-two other people in our Taoist temple. Can they come with me to Liwan Apartments to receive your protection?”

Zhou Fangdong thought he had misheard: “How many people did you just say?”

“Thirty-two. There are thirty-two people in the temple in total,” Zhang Qingyang repeated obediently. “Can they all come over?”

Zhou Fangdong went numb.

He had thought there might be two or three ordinary people in that small Taoist temple. He had three rooms left on the first floor, which should have been enough to house them.

But he never expected it wouldn’t be two or three, but thirty-two… How did that tiny, broken temple, which only had a main hall and no side wings, accommodate so many people? There wouldn’t even be room to move around.

“With so many people living there… how does your main hall even fit the divine statues?” Zhou Fangdong’s voice was a bit weak.

“Oh, I moved all the statues that were enshrined in the temple outside. After all, those statues aren’t afraid of ghosts,” Zhang Qingyang replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Master said that people come first; people are the most important, and statues are just inanimate objects. If the Ancestral Masters truly manifested and saw us moving their statues out to protect ordinary people, they wouldn’t blame us.”

“Master also said that those who ignore the life and death of their believers for the sake of so-called faith and offerings are Evil Gods. When there’s a drought and no rain, people even drag the Dragon King’s statue out to bake in the sun. We’re just asking the Ancestral Masters to make some room for the living; it doesn’t count as being disrespectful.”

That made so much sense that it was impossible to argue.

“So, can everyone from our temple come to the apartments?” Zhang Qingyang stared at Zhou Fangdong with sparkling eyes.

Looking at Zhang Qingyang, who was watching him with eyes full of expectation, Zhou Fangdong maintained a calm, expressionless facade, but his mind was frantic with worry.

This was a disaster. There were only three rooms left in the apartment; how was he supposed to house thirty-two people? He had promised to protect the ordinary people from the temple. If he couldn’t do it, he would lose face big time.

Translator’s Notes