Chapter 32

Zhou Fangdong silently activated [Skill 5: Eerie Shrine] in his mind.

In the next instant, a shrine half the height of a person appeared before him.

The shrine was made of wood and looked dilapidated; the exterior timber was entirely cracked, and there were even patches of mold at the base. Cobwebs clung to the corners and edges of the shrine, mingling with dust to turn the originally brown wood into a filthy leaden gray.

The two wooden doors of the shrine were currently closed, making it impossible to see what kind of statue was enshrined within.

In front of the tightly shut doors sat a red sandalwood incense burner filled with ash. This was presumably where the Offering Incense was meant to be placed.

Zhou Fangdong took out four sticks of Offering Incense, held them above his head with both hands, and bowed three times toward the shrine before inserting the incense into the sandalwood burner.

Blue smoke carrying the scent of sandalwood drifted slowly through the air. Amidst the swirling mist, the closed wooden doors of the shrine suddenly snapped open.

Zhou Fangdong was startled to find that the statue inside the shrine, which had its eyes tightly shut, was actually a scaled-down version of himself.

Furthermore, this version of himself inside the shrine was wearing a suit.

The moment he saw the statue, Zhou Fangdong felt as if a heavy iron sledgehammer had suddenly slammed into his head.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, Zhou Fangdong saw the statue in the shrine undergo a transformation—

Blood began to seep continuously from the statue’s body, and its tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open to look at Zhou Fangdong.

It was smiling at him.

…

When Zhou Fangdong regained consciousness, he found that both the shrine and the two ghosts from Room 108 had vanished without a trace. He was standing blankly in the center of the room, his mouth filled with a burnt, scorched taste.

“My head hurts… Ptooey… What’s this in my mouth?” Zhou Fangdong wiped his mouth and found that he was spitting out pitch-black ash, as if he had just eaten something charred.

“That’s disgusting. I didn’t fall face-first into that pile of scorched trash in the room when I fainted, did I?” Zhou Fangdong rubbed his temples, feeling the pain in his head intensify.

He had passed out immediately after using that offensive skill and had no idea what had just happened… It felt as if he were playing a game and someone else had logged into his account, using his body as a proxy to fight.

The side effects of this offensive skill were rather unpleasant; the physical sensation was on par with the side effects of being a Provider. After regaining consciousness, not only did his head throb painfully, but his stomach felt extremely uncomfortable, giving him a long-lost feeling of being so bloated he couldn’t digest anything.

He didn’t know where those two ghosts had gone… They were probably driven away by his offensive skill, right?

Zhou Fangdong opened his character attribute panel and discovered that his Spirit Bar had indeed been reduced by half.

No wonder his head hurt so much; this skill consumed too much mental energy…

Once the Spirit Bar dropped below half, it wasn’t just a headache; even his focus began to waver. He couldn’t even manage to think through problems clearly, feeling groggy and lightheaded as if he had drunk bootleg liquor.

“System, can I absorb Ghost Coins to replenish my Spirit Bar?”

[You can. However, replenishing the Spirit Bar requires more Ghost Coins than the Health Bar. One replenishment consumes 100 Ghost Coins.]

Possessing a massive fortune of 2,990, Zhou Fangdong didn’t hesitate and directly absorbed 100 Ghost Coins.

The headache eased significantly, but the Spirit Bar on the attribute panel wasn’t fully restored. Visually, it looked to be about four-sixths full; he would need to spend another 200 Ghost Coins to fully recover his status.

Although he still had 2,890 Ghost Coins left, which was plenty…

Forget it, he couldn’t be so extravagant. His current state didn’t hinder his movement anyway.

Zhou Fangdong shook his groggy head and walked out of Room 108.

To his surprise, the moment he stepped out of the door, every ghost in the corridor bolted like a launched rocket. As if they had seen some harbinger of doom, they avoided him at maximum speed, ducking into the shadows.

It was almost as if he were using the Kerosene Lamp.

Zhou Fangdong watched the scene in confusion.

What were these ghosts running for? Was it not just black ash in his mouth, but all over his face too? Did he scare the ghosts away because his face was so dark… It felt like a bit of a bad joke.

Zhou Fangdong wiped his face and found it wasn’t as dirty as he imagined; there were only some remnants of ash at the corners of his mouth.

However, it was a bit problematic that all these ghosts had fled. He had originally intended to find a ghost in the corridor to serve as the resident entity for Room 108.

Currently, Room 108 was in a ghost-less state. The system had stated that rooms without ghosts could not be rented out. The Tenant Contract wasn’t just a lease between a human tenant and the apartment; it was a pact between a human and a ghost.

Where was he supposed to catch a ghost now? He never thought the day would come when he would complain about Liwan Apartments having too few ghosts.

Right, just catching any ghost wouldn’t do. Zhou Fangdong remembered the system saying before that when catching ghosts, he also had to distinguish which ones could afford the rent…

So, how was he supposed to tell which ghost could pay Ghost Coins every month?

Zhou Fangdong rubbed his hair, feeling his head ache the moment he tried to think.

Whatever, when in doubt, ask the system.

“System, how do I tell which ghost can afford the rent?”

[The higher the level of the ghost, the more Ghost Coins they provide. If the Host wishes to select a ghost to enter an apartment room, please try to avoid choosing ghosts with levels that are too low. Otherwise, after signing a contract with a human tenant in the future, the ghost will be unable to resist invasions from outside ghosts and will fail to protect the tenant’s safety.]

Zhou Fangdong nodded; he more or less understood.

However, finding a high-level ghost was actually quite difficult, as he currently lacked a skill to see a ghost’s level.

Staggering over to the entrance of the Room 104 convenience store, Zhou Fangdong noticed the Long-tongued Ghost leaning boredly against the counter, playing with her employee ID using her tongue.

Because the Long-tongued Ghost and the Wedding Dress Ghost had fought this morning, the convenience store had been forced to temporarily close on its very first day of business.

Now, the Wedding Dress Ghost was around the apartment clearing away the red envelopes containing “life-buying money” she had left behind previously, leaving only the Long-tongued Ghost in the store.

Noticing Zhou Fangdong’s approaching figure, the Long-tongued Ghost turned her head and looked over.

In the next instant, she reacted like a cat with its fur standing on end. Her entire back arched, and she scrambled up to the ceiling at top speed.

Zhou Fangdong actually saw terror on that mangled, bloody face.

He frowned in confusion and instinctively touched his own face.

Seriously, what was going on? Why had the ghosts in the apartment become so afraid of him?

Fortunately, the Long-tongued Ghost didn’t disappear entirely like the ghosts in the corridor; she simply clung to the ceiling of Room 104, watching him warily.

Zhou Fangdong remembered that the Long-tongued Ghost used to wander the corridors frequently; perhaps she knew where to find higher-level ghosts.

With this thought, Zhou Fangdong took three sticks of Offering Incense from his Inventory, shook them gently, and said to the Long-tongued Ghost on the ceiling: “Help me find a ghost with strength similar to yours. Once you find one, these three sticks of incense are yours.”

The Long-tongued Ghost didn’t approach directly as she usually did. Instead, she crawled in a few circles on the ceiling with caution. Ultimately, the temptation of the Offering Incense triumphed over her fear. She finally plucked up the courage to carefully lower her tongue and snatch the three sticks of incense from Zhou Fangdong’s hand.

After accepting the Offering Incense, the Long-tongued Ghost took off her convenience store ID, placed it on the checkout counter, and crawled out of Room 104 along the ceiling.

Once outside, she flicked her tongue, signaling for Zhou Fangdong to follow her.

Zhou Fangdong followed the Long-tongued Ghost toward the apartment’s entrance hall.

During the journey, he discovered that he could actually keep up with the Long-tongued Ghost’s speed now; there was no longer any need for her to stop and start to wait for him as she had before.

It was likely because the effects of the attack skill he had just used hadn’t completely dissipated yet.

This attack skill was truly too useful. Not only could it easily drive away two ghosts, but it also provided a deterrence buff afterward. The only side effect was a brief lapse in consciousness and a bit of a headache due to the Spirit Bar being more than half-depleted.

Thinking about how his luck had surged to pull such a practical attack skill, Zhou Fangdong’s pace became much lighter.

To Zhou Fangdong’s surprise, the Long-tongued Ghost actually led him to the elevator.

The elevator of Liwan Apartments was directly opposite the main entrance. At this moment, although the red indicator light above the elevator was lit, the numbers on the floor display showed no change at all.

Having once nearly died in front of this elevator, Zhou Fangdong didn’t feel afraid when approaching it again; instead, he felt a strange urge to take the elevator upstairs.

Fortunately, the sound made by the Long-tongued Ghost brought him back to his senses.

Zhou Fangdong took several steps back, forcibly pulling himself away from the impulse to ride the elevator.

It seemed that after the attack skill ended, it didn’t just give him a deterrence buff, but also slapped him with a mental impairment debuff… He couldn’t get near the elevator again. Even though it wasn’t nighttime, he had to prevent any accidents. If something really happened, the system wouldn’t be able to save him.

The Long-tongued Ghost clung to the wall next to the elevator like a giant gecko, using her tongue to point at the wall beneath her.

Because he had never been this close to the elevator area before, Zhou Fangdong only now noticed that where the Long-tongued Ghost was pointing, there was actually a small, narrow door.

He had originally thought the narrow door was for elevator maintenance, but when he opened it, there was a tunnel inside leading to parts unknown.

There was no light in the tunnel, nor any interior decoration; it was simply a raw concrete shell, looking like a secret passage leading to some hidden area.

Seeing that Zhou Fangdong had opened the narrow door, the Long-tongued Ghost was the first to crawl inside.

Zhou Fangdong followed her through the door.

The moment he entered, he felt a flicker of daze.

Come to think of it, he had asked the Long-tongued Ghost to lead him to a high-level ghost, so why did she bring him to this strange tunnel? Could that high-level ghost be at the end of the tunnel?

Though it felt strange, Zhou Fangdong didn’t stop moving.

His head was still a bit groggy. His brain and body felt disconnected, each doing its own thing; his mind was occupied with its own thoughts while his body performed the pre-set actions.

By the time Zhou Fangdong snapped out of it, he had already been walking in this strange tunnel for a while. The faint light from the entrance had shrunk to a tiny white dot.

Even though it felt off, since he was already here, he might as well keep going.

However, this tunnel was truly narrow. Even with Zhou Fangdong’s thin, small frame, he had to turn slightly sideways to walk through it.

Following the Long-tongued Ghost to the end of the tunnel, a piercing light suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Zhou Fangdong squinted uncomfortably.

Having stayed in the sunless Liwan Apartments for so long, seeing natural light again felt like a lifetime had passed.

Indeed, this tunnel actually led to the outside of Liwan Apartments.

Looking past the figure blocking the exit, he could clearly see a garden where all the flowers and grass had withered, a fountain with dried-up spring water, and another dilapidated, eerie building emitting an ominous black Qi—that building was likely the legendary Apartment Rear Building where the corpses were kept.

At this thought, Zhou Fangdong realized something belatedly and shifted his gaze back to the figure blocking the exit.

Right, there was still a person blocking the tunnel exit. Was this person the high-level ghost the Long-tongued Ghost wanted him to find?

This person was withered and gaunt, with a slight hunchback, looking like an elderly little old man. He wore a dark robe of indistinguishable color, had a goatee, long hair, and a high bun fastened with a wooden hairpin.

His face was obscured because it was covered with many yellow talismans.

The yellow talismans, drawn with cinnabar, were layered one over another on his face, sealing the upper half of his visage tightly. On the topmost layer of these charms, a purple talisman was stuck to his forehead, hanging down naturally like a veil.

The little old man sat cross-legged on the ground, with a wooden sword¹ thrust into the earth in front of him. He held the hilt of the wooden sword as if leaning on a cane, appearing to be guarding something, or perhaps waiting for someone. But because he had waited for so long, he had seemingly merged with the wooden sword in his hand, turning into a piece of ancient, decaying wood.

Zhou Fangdong walked up to the little old man, leaned down slightly, and touched his arm.

He didn’t use his mind-reading skill, yet he could still touch him… This little old man had a physical form, though his body was exceptionally cold, devoid of any body heat.

Looking at this little old man, Zhou Fangdong inexplicably thought of the manager of the Guijia Furniture Store. The two of them seemed somewhat similar, yet he couldn’t say exactly how. Moreover, he felt that this little old man’s condition seemed better than the manager’s, looking more like a human.

Zhou Fangdong confirmed with the Long-tongued Ghost, “Did you bring me here just to find this person? You think this person has the strength of a high-level ghost and can move into Room 108?”

Hearing no response from the Long-tongued Ghost for a long time, Zhou Fangdong turned back in confusion.

He saw that the Long-tongued Ghost, who had been right beside him, had already started running back at some point. If he had turned around any later, he probably wouldn’t have even seen her shadow.

Zhou Fangdong opened his mouth but said nothing.

This feeling was exactly like when an unscrupulous relative took him to blow up manure with firecrackers as a child; after the fuse was lit, the relative ran away first, while little him stayed there in a daze waiting for the fuse to burn out, completely failing to understand why the relative was hiding so far away…

What a disaster. What was he thinking at a time like this? This wasn’t the time to think about firecrackers and manure. To make the Long-tongued Ghost that scared, this elder with yellow talismans on his face clearly looked like bad news.

Should he spend two hundred Ghost Coins to refill his Spirit Bar and then use that shrine?

That way, if the elder before him tried to attack, he would at least have the ability to fight back.

However, before Zhou Fangdong could act, the elder moved first.

He stood up jerkily, his joints and bones emitting a tooth-grinding grinding sound, like a door hinge that hadn’t been oiled in ages. With his movements, countless clumps of black mud fell from his face and clothes.

“Has the time… finally come…” Though his mouth didn’t open, a raspy, muffled voice still emerged from his throat. “This old man has waited for far too long…”

Carrying the wooden sword, the elder slowly walked up to Zhou Fangdong. “Little friend, it seems you are now the master of this building… Could you spare a room for this old man to reside in?”

Seeing that this person had no intention of attacking him, Zhou Fangdong relaxed. “Sure, no problem at all. I happen to have a vacant room. How does Room 108 sound to you?”

“A room on the first floor…” The elder stroked his beard, and the lower half of his face, which wasn’t covered by talismans, revealed a gratified smile. “Very good, very good…”

As the elder accepted, the system’s electronic voice rang in Zhou Fangdong’s ear:

[Ding—Congratulations to the host for obtaining the second Ghost Tenant!]

[Zombie Taoist² Master · Zhang Zhiwu³ has successfully moved into Room 108!!]

[Ghost Tenant has moved into an automatically renovated room. Side Quest 5: Clean and Rent Out Room 108 is complete.]

[Side Quest 5 Rewards: 300 Ghost Coins, 1000 Experience Points, Random Skill Point x1.]

[Tenant Illustrated Guide [Special Tenant · Zombie Taoist Master] has been lit up. Host, please claim your guide reward promptly.]

[Special Ghost Occupancy Reward: 2000 Ghost Coins (Monthly).]

Zhou Fangdong stared at the series of pop-ups, his already dazed mind struggling to process the information.

He had originally just wanted to find a ghost for Room 108; how did it turn into a Ghost Tenant directly?

Good heavens. The Room 108 side quest was automatically completed, granting 300 Ghost Coins. Combined with the 2000 Ghost Coins from the second Ghost Tenant and the 2890 he already had—5190!! A massive fortune of over five thousand!

Zhou Fangdong suddenly felt a bit lightheaded.

This was a literal rags-to-riches moment; the heavens had finally dropped a mountain of wealth onto his head.

Most importantly, this Taoist Master Zhang seemed very polite and easy to talk to, nothing like Mu Yuechan’s abrasive attitude. He had truly struck gold this time.

Zhou Fangdong decided to forgive the Long-tongued Ghost for abandoning him and leaving on her own.

“Young friend…”

A dry, raspy voice snapped Zhou Fangdong out of his sudden ecstasy of wealth.

He saw the Zombie Taoist Master shakily reaching out, producing a yellow talisman from nowhere and handing it to Zhou Fangdong. “If your stomach feels uncomfortable, you can burn this talisman and drink it with water⁴.”

Zhou Fangdong took the yellow talisman, asking in shock, “Taoist Master, how did you know my stomach was bothering me?” Was this the legendary art of physiognomy? To be able to tell his stomach was upset just by looking at him—it was truly divine.

“Because you didn’t wipe your mouth clean,” Zhang Zhiwu shook his head helplessly. “Sigh, you youngsters… sometimes you’re just too greedy.”

“With your current physical condition, you should exercise some restraint when eating ghosts in the future. It’s best to stick to one a day, otherwise, they’re hard to digest…”

Eating ghosts?

In a daze, Zhou Fangdong seemed to realize something, and a sliver of clarity returned to his groggy brain.

With stiff movements, he wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand again.

Staring at the black ash on the back of his hand, Zhou Fangdong fell into deep thought.

Fact: The two ghosts in Room 108 had been charred black, covered in ash like two lumps of charcoal.

When he used the [Eerie Shrine] attack skill, he had lost consciousness. When he woke up, the two ghosts were gone. Aside from the dizziness, his stomach felt uncomfortable, as if he were overstuffed.

Question: During the time his consciousness was suppressed, what did the thing inside that shrine do with his body?

Aaaaaagh—

Ugh.

How could this be!!

Zhou Fangdong propped himself against the wall with one hand and clutched his stomach with the other, desperately calling out to the system in his mind: “System! System! Get out here! Tell me this isn’t true, right??”

[It is true. After [Strange Shrine] upgraded to [Eerie Shrine], the attack effect of this skill is to devour ghosts and monsters.]

Zhou Fangdong was in despair. “System, can you please explain these things to me in advance next time… If I had known this was the attack method, I wouldn’t have upgraded it.”

[Before the Host officially upgrades a skill, the system has no authority to disclose too much information regarding the upgraded state.]

Zhou Fangdong completely lost his temper. “Fine. Since I’ve already upgraded it, tell me now—is this headache also a side effect of the skill? What other side effects does it have? Tell me everything clearly and concisely.”

[After using this skill, there will be a [Dementia Debuff]. Increasing the Spirit Bar can extend the usage duration of [Eerie Shrine]. The longer the skill is used, the longer the [Dementia Debuff] lasts after the skill ends. This negative effect cannot be offset by replenishing the Spirit Bar.]

[Presumably, the Host has already experienced the effects of this debuff during this period.]

…God damn it. The longer the Spirit Bar, the longer the side effect lasts. And just now, fearing he wouldn’t have enough Spirit, he had specifically put three Attribute Points into his Spirit Bar.

When a person reaches the peak of fury, they really do end up laughing out loud.

“System, the [Eerie Shrine] skill is detachable, right? Now, immediately, throw it out of my character attribute panel. Throw it far away, right to the bottom layer of your program code. I don’t want to see this skill again for the rest of my life.”

[The system suggests that since the Host has already upgraded this skill, please continue using Skill Points to upgrade it further. The Host will not be disappointed.]

After a moment of silence, a pale-faced Zhou Fangdong ultimately gave up on detaching the skill.

Forget it, he’d leave it for now. Although the skill’s effect was disgusting, it was his only attack skill, and he already had the sunk cost of three Skill Points invested in it.

It was just that the skill effect and the Dementia Debuff were truly revolting. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never use it again.

Eating ghosts felt almost the same as eating human corpses to him. He was a perfectly healthy living person; what if he developed problems from eating too many ghosts?

And then there was that Dementia Debuff. It was like drinking bootleg liquor; he was truly afraid of doing something he’d regret under the influence of that negative effect.

In the eyes of the Zombie Taoist Master, Zhang Zhiwu, this young friend—whose strength he couldn’t see through and whose origins were mysterious—had leaned against the wall clutching his stomach in silence after being caught eating ghosts, before suddenly letting out a low chuckle.

That laugh carried a fearless, carefree aura, as if he no longer intended to hide his true strength.

That was the way.

Zhang Zhiwu stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction.

Those of the Way should prioritize their own feelings, following the principle that the Dao follows nature. If one suppresses oneself because of the opinions of others, the loss outweighs the gain.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t have the energy to chat with the Zombie Taoist Master. He silently led the Taoist back through the tunnel to the entrance hall of the Liwan Apartments.

Once back at the entrance, Taoist Zhang didn’t even need Zhou Fangdong to lead the way. As if returning to his own home, he strolled leisurely toward Room 108.

Seeing this, Zhou Fangdong simply dragged his exhausted body and teleported back to his room.

He lay on his bed until nightfall. When the Dementia Debuff finally vanished and his mind cleared, Zhou Fangdong suddenly remembered that his Avatar Interface should have a new option.

Opening the Avatar Interface, he saw that in addition to the wriggling pixelated figure of the opera singer, there was now a pixelated old Taoist who kept tapping a wooden sword against his palm.

Zhou Fangdong clicked on the old Taoist’s pixel figure and found that the Zombie Taoist Master’s Favorability was only 50, lower than Mu Yuechan’s.

The 41-60 Favorability range was [Respect and Appreciation – Trustworthy], while Mu Yuechan’s Favorability was 70, in the [Candid Heart-to-Heart – Absolute Trust] range.

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Fangdong decided to use Mu Yuechan’s body for the Possession Feature.

Once the Possession Feature is rejected by a Ghost Tenant, it can only be restarted after 24 hours. Using Mu Yuechan was safer.

After clicking ‘Use,’ Zhou Fangdong suddenly felt his consciousness being pulled away. In the blink of an eye, the antique bedroom of Room 103 appeared before him.

His height seemed to have shrunk. Zhou Fangdong raised his hands and found himself wearing a White Opera Costume… He was currently inside Mu Yuechan’s body?

Just as the thought occurred, Mu Yuechan’s somewhat ethereal voice rang out in his ear.

“Sigh… No wonder. You are even more terrifying than I imagined, Mr. Landlord, to be able to occupy my body so easily.”

[Ding—Detected that Republican Era Dan Mu Yuechan’s favorability has reached 80.]

[Favorability target met. Open the favorability interface to claim your reward.]

“Mr. Landlord, I’ve been thinking all day, and I feel that what you said is very true. Everything I have was given by you; you have the right to decide my life, death, and presence. From now on, I will be obedient…”

“My body is yours tonight. Please use it well~”

Hiss… This is too strange. The direction of this conversation is far too strange.

Zhou Fangdong felt goosebumps rising all over his skin.

After Mu Yuechan’s consciousness completely faded away, the system’s voice rang out:

[Detected that the host has finished equipping. Based on the Ghost Tenant’s Karma Lines, would you like to choose a random teleportation to a specific supernatural location?]

“What are Karma Lines?”

[People or locations related to the Ghost Tenant. For example, the person who killed them, the location of people they have killed, or the person they most want to find and the place they most want to go in their obsession.]

“Understood. Then teleport randomly based on Mu Yuechan’s Karma Lines.”

It would be quite boring if he had to rely on his own two legs to get around. According to his tenants, Liwan Apartments was in the suburbs of the suburbs; even taking the Ghost Bus to the city took over half an hour.

This random teleportation based on Karma Lines might just lead him to the base of that cult called the Sigu Society⁵, the ones who killed Mu Yuechan and Xiao Di.

Even if he couldn’t find their headquarters, he should be able to find some of the cult’s followers… Once he found them, disposing of them would count as his good deed for the day. Regardless, not a single one of those cultists was a good person.

Upon receiving Zhou Fangdong’s affirmative response, the system began a countdown.

The moment the countdown ended, the scenery before his eyes began to blur and fly past, like a video being fast-forwarded at ten times the speed.

When the image froze and became clear again, a somewhat dilapidated small Taoist temple appeared before Zhou Fangdong.

Before Zhou Fangdong could get a clear look at his surroundings, a sudden, high-pitched male voice caught his attention:

“Holy crap!! Why is there another ghost?!”

Zhou Fangdong looked toward the source of the voice and saw a handsome young man with long hair standing not far in front of him.

Although the youth was handsome, his look was quite unique… He had a chair in his left hand, a chair in his right hand, a stool balanced on his head, and a bed behind him.

Furthermore, the furniture he was holding all showed traces of being possessed by ghostly entities.

Zhou Fangdong’s eyes narrowed slightly. The more he looked at these pieces of furniture, the more familiar they seemed.

—Aren’t these all ghost furniture from the Guijia Furniture Store? Did this kid rob the place?

No, that’s impossible. The manager wouldn’t just stand by and watch him rob the store.

While Zhou Fangdong was lost in thought, the long-haired lad had already huddled onto the bed clutching his chairs and stools, trembling as he uttered what sounded like his last words:

“It’s over, it’s all over. I really can’t beat this one. Master, your unfilial disciple might be coming down to join you today.”

Translator’s Notes