Chapter 34

Just as Zhou Fangdong was at his wit’s end, several consecutive system electronic pings suddenly rang out:

[Ding—Detected that the Ghost Bus is in normal operation.]

[Detected that the host possesses the item: Linjiang City Map.]

[Detected that at least one tenant in the apartment has visited the Delicious Slaughterhouse.]

[Detected that the Guijia Furniture Store has successfully reopened, and one tenant is currently working in the shop.]

[Detected that the important prerequisite illustration for “Special Tenant: Zombie Taoist Master¹” has been unlocked; Zhang Zhiwu’s Favorability has reached 50.]

[Ding—Prerequisites complete. New functions are officially online!]

[Apartment Surroundings Beautification function successfully activated!!]

[To increase the probability of successful apartment rentals, comprehensive surrounding facilities are essential! Please work hard to unlock and upgrade facilities beautifying the apartment’s surroundings to improve tenant happiness!]

① Surrounding areas that can provide jobs for tenants: Guijia Furniture Store.

② Surrounding areas that can improve tenant mood: None.

③ Surrounding areas that can improve tenant Spirit Bar: One area detected that meets the criteria (Expand).

④ Surrounding areas that can improve tenant Combat Power: Delicious Slaughterhouse.

Seeing an unfamiliar location among these pop-ups, Zhou Fangdong paused.

Delicious Slaughterhouse? Had one of his tenants actually visited that place?

Although he didn’t know how that prerequisite had been completed, Zhou Fangdong had an intuition that this newly unlocked Apartment Surroundings Beautification function might be the very thing to solve his urgent problem.

Zhou Fangdong looked at the third item, “One area detected that meets the criteria,” and clicked the (Expand) button behind it.

[Chuyun Temple]

[Location Description: A dilapidated Taoist temple, built brick by brick by the hands of Celestial Master² Zhang Zhiwu.]

[Traits: A location with high spiritual energy and incense value. Apartment tenants can slowly restore their missing Spirit Bar while visiting.]

[Unlock Prerequisite: One Ghost Tenant with a 60% association with this location; the property owner of the temple must actively request the apartment landlord’s protection.]

(Note: After designating Chuyun Temple as an apartment surrounding facility, Chuyun Temple will become part of the apartment complex; wild ghosts and monsters will be unable to enter at will.)

(Note: The host can teleport to apartment surrounding facilities at any time via the rental interface and can directly use items from the System Mall to renovate surrounding facilities.)

After reading these descriptions, Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.

Excellent. Now there was no need to make all those people from the temple move over; he could directly incorporate Chuyun Temple into the apartment’s surrounding facilities to protect the ordinary people inside.

Zhou Fangdong quickly opened the Apartment Surroundings Beautification function and directly unlocked Chuyun Temple.

[Chuyun Temple unlocked. Zombie Taoist Master Zhang Zhiwu will work in the temple daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.]

[If tenants require talismans from the Zombie Taoist Master, they must make an appointment with the Temple Master in advance; otherwise, Zhang Zhiwu will not respond to tenant requests.]

[Zombie Taoist Master Zhang Zhiwu does not provide services such as photos or autographs. Please restrain the tenants and do not harass the Taoist Master.]

[Detected that the temple is in a semi-damaged state. Spend Ghost Coins to initiate automatic repairs?]

“How many Ghost Coins for the repair?”

[300 Ghost Coins.]

Zhou Fangdong didn’t hesitate and chose to repair it immediately.

After Zhang Zhiwu moved in, he had given him two thousand Ghost Coins directly. Spending three hundred to help the man fix his temple was only right.

[Repair will be completed in half an hour…]

All of these operations were completed rapidly within Zhou Fangdong’s mind; in reality, not even two minutes had passed.

Zhang Qingyang only saw the mysterious landlord before him lower his eyes in thought for a moment before saying coldly, “There are too many people in your temple, which is somewhat beyond my expectations… Not just anyone can become a tenant of Liwan Apartments.”

Zhang Qingyang’s heart immediately leaped into his throat.

He thought his request had been too excessive and had angered the landlord. But to his surprise, the landlord’s tone shifted: “However, since you have chosen to become a tenant, and the temple is your property, I can include your temple within the apartment’s scope of protection.”

“Go back and see for yourself. You no longer need to worry about Chuyun Temple collapsing, nor do you need to fear intrusion by ghosts. You can let those ordinary people live there in peace. Consider this a benefit provided in advance by the apartment to its tenant.”

Zhou Fangdong said this without blinking, sounding very confident.

Chuyun Temple and Liwan Apartments were separated by more than half the city; even taking the Ghost Bus would take over half an hour. By the time Zhang Qingyang arrived, the temple’s renovation would certainly be finished.

Zhou Fangdong wasn’t afraid that Zhang Qingyang wouldn’t come to live in the apartment once his goal was achieved, because just as he could designate Chuyun Temple as a surrounding facility, he could also withdraw that status at any time.

Hearing Zhou Fangdong’s words, Zhang Qingyang stared blankly at the mysterious landlord, the shock in his heart beyond words.

What kind of terrifying power was this? Just by standing here, he could reach across the entire city and shroud Chuyun Temple in the power of Liwan Apartments.

Zhang Qingyang didn’t doubt for a second that Zhou Fangdong was faking; after all, the strength the landlord had displayed last night had completely won him over.

“Thank you for your help, Landlord,” Zhang Qingyang said, bowing respectfully. “Once I have settled the affairs at the temple, I will come to reside in the apartment.”

Zhou Fangdong nodded and watched Zhang Qingyang depart.

Zhang Qingyang boarded the Ghost Bus, his heart racing as he watched the city scenery flash past the window.

He felt a mix of anticipation and fear, desperate to see what Chuyun Temple looked like now.

However, when he actually arrived at Chuyun Temple, despite being mentally prepared, Zhang Qingyang was stunned.

This time, the Ghost Bus didn’t stop at the foot of the mountain but pulled up directly at the temple gates. As soon as he stepped off the bus, he saw the familiar small temple with its grey walls and green tiles.

It was exactly like the temple in his childhood memories, as if a lingering image from an old photograph had been projected into reality.

The traces of wind and rain erosion on the walls had vanished, the tiles were neatly aligned, and the plaque—which had been so decayed the characters were illegible—was now perfectly intact.

He pushed open the courtyard gate. The hinges, once corroded by rust, moved smoothly this time, swinging the wooden door wide to reveal the small courtyard inside.

A familiar figure stood in the courtyard with his back to the gate. The soft morning light followed the line of the green-tiled eaves, filtering through the large tree beside the main hall to fall upon the man’s shoulders.

That figure looked as if he had been standing there for a long time; it was as if he had always been standing there, never having left…

The man of the old era and the objects of the old days had been swept back into reality by the torrent of time. It was as if the temple’s clock had been wound back to a specific point in the past.

Zhang Qingyang’s throat tightened, and tears began to flow uncontrollably.

The figure he had once needed to look up to as a child now seemed so thin and frail, as if he might dissipate into thin air with a single gust of wind.

…It was as if he had been waiting all along for his little disciple to push open the door and call out “Master” in that crisp, childish voice once more.

“Master!!!” Zhang Qingyang could no longer restrain himself. He wailed like a small child and lunged forward.

He then saw that thin, withered figure shift nimbly, dodging Zhang Qingyang’s flying pounce and taking the opportunity to plant a kick squarely on his backside. “How old are you, still pulling this stunt? With a frame like yours, pouncing on me would shatter these old bones of mine.”

Zhang Qingyang lay on the ground, his tears flowing unabated.

This familiar strength, this familiar voice—it was his Master, without a doubt!

“Hmph, brat!” Zhang Zhiwu’s tone was a bit irritable. He carried the weariness of someone who was finally about to retire, only to be told on the very last day that his retirement age had been extended.

“I’m already dead, and yet because of you little brat, I still have to come to work at the temple every day! Working at the temple by day and back to the apartments by night… oh, my old bones. Can’t you give me some peace of mind?”

It was truly distressing; why did it feel like he was busier after death than when he was alive?

“Piece of cake? What piece of cake?” Zhang Qingyang clutched his backside, rushing back to Zhang Zhiwu with teary eyes. He pulled the thin, small old man into a tight hug. “Master! I actually saw you again! I missed you so much!”

“Still the same as when you were a kid, nothing but tears.” Although he spoke with disdain, the little old man didn’t push Zhang Qingyang away this time. “Alright, that’s enough hugging. A grown man acting all clingy—let go, let go.”

“Hehe.”

“After all these years, your cultivation is still stuck in the same place. If I had come any later, you would have lost our ancestral temple for good.”

“Hehe, Master, I’m a noob, please carry me³.”

Zhang Zhiwu couldn’t take it anymore and kicked him again. “Stop grinning like an idiot and get to work! Go draw some talismans! Decorate the temple properly for me!”

“You got it!” Rubbing his rear, Zhang Qingyang rushed into the main hall as happily as a frolicking husky.

At this moment, he felt heartfelt gratitude toward that landlord.

He had known for a while that the landlord of the Liwan Apartments was powerful, but he hadn’t expected him to be this strong—strong enough to reverse time and even bring someone back to life who had been dead for years.

Though this resurrection felt a bit like becoming a zombie… as long as he was back, that was enough. He was certain this was his master in the flesh.

Zhang Qingyang was truly glad he had made the decision last night to become a tenant of Liwan Apartments.

The landlord was right; there was no longer any need to worry about ghosts and monsters haunting the temple. Master was back, and now it was the vengeful spirits who had to worry about being haunted by a human.

After Zhang Qingyang left, Zhou Fangdong returned to Room 107 to continue cleaning.

The familiar side quest window popped up once again:

[Side Quest 6: Clean and Rent Out Room 107]

[1. Clean the bloodstains in the room]

[2. Repaint the walls and purchase new furniture]

[3. Find the ghost hidden in the room and figure out the Killing Pattern]

[4. Draft a Rental Contract and find a tenant to move in]

[Side Quest 6 Rewards: 300 Ghost Coins, 1,000 Experience Points, Random Skill Point x1]

After a quick scan, Zhou Fangdong closed the window. He felt like he had practically memorized the quest text by now.

Room 107 was a very ordinary, standard haunted house.

Upon entering, blood was splattered across more than half the room, staining the furniture and floors red as if it were a slaughterhouse.

Strangely, there was no metallic stench of blood. Instead, there was a fermented fruity aroma, like rotting fruit—a sweet, cloying scent.

From the Liwan Apartments case files Duan Wenyu had brought him, he knew that Room 107 had the lowest death toll on the entire first floor, with only four deaths.

Unlike the tenants in other rooms who were mostly unrelated, these four people all knew each other and died on the same day.

They were four poor college students who had just graduated and had no money for rent—roommates from the same dormitory.

After graduation, they wanted to rent a place together to survive their low-paying “corporate slave” probation periods. However, even combining all their money, they didn’t have enough to rent a place in the city center.

So, they thought of Liwan Apartments.

At that time, things had already started happening at Liwan Apartments, but the rent was simply too cheap to resist.

Furthermore, while the rent was already low, if a room became the site of a murder or a haunting, the price would drop even further—and these four had set their sights on exactly that.

When they were looking to rent, Room 107 was the only one left. No murders had occurred in Room 107 yet, so its rent was considered high for Liwan Apartments.

Their combined funds could barely cover the rent, but it would leave them eating steamed buns with plain water every day.

Thus, these four “geniuses” came up with a plan—they decided to summon a ghost into Room 107.

If it became haunted, wouldn’t the rent drop?

They pooled their money to rent Room 107 first, planning that once they successfully summoned a ghost and the haunting began, the excess rent would surely be refunded to them.

“Fortunately,” not long after they moved in, they were quietly discussing how to summon a ghost when they met a kind, balding middle-aged man.

That man lived in Room 103 and had a hobby of collecting folklore-related items. Hearing their need to summon a ghost, he provided them with an ancient ritual he claimed to have found in an old artifact, giving it to them for free.

So, on a dark and windy night, these four college students tried the summoning ritual.

The result was “try it and you’re dead⁴“… news of their deaths spread throughout the apartment complex the very next day.

The first to discover their deaths was the tenant in the neighboring Room 106. While taking out the trash in the morning, the tenant noticed blood leaking from the crack under the door of Room 107.

Because incidents were common in Liwan Apartments, the tenant was used to it and immediately called property management and the Bureau of Investigation to handle it.

No ambulance was called because anyone who had an “incident” in the apartments was usually long dead.

Sure enough, when management opened the door to Room 107, the four students had vanished. Only massive bloodstains remained, staining the ceiling, the floor, and half the furniture.

This blood was very strange; it couldn’t be painted over. Every time the walls were plastered and new furniture was brought in, the stains would reappear in their original spots, as if there were a fixed spring of blood.

Now, Room 107 was not only haunted but was also a murder scene. Because the blood was so widespread and difficult to clean, the sight was too shocking. Even as the rent dropped lower and lower, no one dared to rent it, and it remained vacant until the apartments were cordoned off.

It was hard to even comment on; Zhou Fangdong couldn’t quite understand the logic of these four students.

They clearly already had enough money to rent the room, so why would they do something so dangerous just to save a little more?

Was it possible that living in Liwan Apartments not only made death more likely but also caused some mysterious force to drain one’s IQ?

He felt the truth of that saying becoming more apparent: “Many people are actually mildly mentally challenged, but because they can take care of themselves, they are treated as normal people.”

Modern prenatal care was perhaps a bit too effective.

Zhou Fangdong sighed and tried to use the two cleaning tools he had saved from Room 108 to clean Room 107.

However, the items failed to activate, and a system warning popped up:

[Low-level Automatic Cleaning Tools can only clean ordinary stains and trash. They cannot clean stains formed by ghosts.]

The files said the blood would reappear even after being cleaned; so it was because the blood itself was a ghost?

Even the Automatic Cleaning Tools couldn’t clean it…

Just as Zhou Fangdong was pondering how to handle Room 107, a Favorability notification suddenly appeared:

[Favorability with Zombie Taoist Master Zhang Zhiwu has reached 80. Favorability reward unlocked. Please claim it in a timely manner.]

Zhou Fangdong was stunned.

Why did his ghost tenant suddenly give him a 30-point boost in Favorability? He remembered the Zombie Taoist Master had gone to work at the temple; did he really love his job that much?

That must be it. After all, Chuyun Temple was a temple he had built with his own hands. Returning to his old home must have filled him with deep emotion and nostalgia.

Zhou Fangdong casually clicked on Zhang Zhiwu’s 80 Favorability reward.

He hadn’t held much hope, but to his surprise, reaching 80 Favorability with Zhang Zhiwu had actually unlocked another item.

[Special Item: Apothecary Gourd]

[Item Description: A gourd grown and crafted by Zhang Zhiwu himself. He has spent half his life polishing it. It can be used to hold water, or to contain ghosts.]

The old gentleman was truly too generous. Zhou Fangdong felt a bit embarrassed; after unlocking several items, he felt like he was stripping the poor man of his entire life’s savings.

Right, he had almost forgotten without checking the Favorability interface—Mu Yuechan’s Favorability had also reached 80 yesterday.

Mu Yuechan’s 80 Favorability had also unlocked an item.

[Cursed Item: Human Skin Mask]

[Item Description: An item carrying a ghost’s curse; using it will result in a random debuff. It can be used by both humans and ghosts. Once worn, no human or ghost will be able to see your true face. This is the entry ticket to the Ghost Market⁵.]

A cursed item that produces random negative effects… Forget it, it wasn’t very useful right now. He decided not to claim it for the time being.

Zhou Fangdong closed the Favorability interface and took out the [Apothecary Gourd].

Room 107 happened to have both “water” and a ghost; he might as well test the gourd there. If he didn’t deal with that ghost, the room would be impossible to clean.

The Apothecary Gourd looked like an ordinary brownish-yellow gourd. It felt warm to the touch, its surface polished to a glossy sheen from years of handling. Red cords were wrapped around the middle and the spout, allowing it to be held in the hand or tied to the waist.

Looking closely, he could see that these red cords seemed to be woven with tiny black silk threads forming runes or scriptures, giving the red color a dark, somber tint.

Zhou Fangdong crouched on the floor, gesturing with the gourd over the massive pool of blood that occupied half the room, momentarily unsure of how to proceed.

The mouth of the gourd was quite small, about the thickness of a standard faucet, while the bloodstain on the floor was vast. He felt like there was no clear place to start.

Just as Zhou Fangdong was wondering how to get the blood into the gourd, he suddenly felt the gourd vibrate in his hand. Then, a surge of suction erupted from the spout. The blood on the floor acted like dust being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, lifting off the ground and flying into the gourd on its own.

Before long, this powerful vacuum-gourd had sucked the room completely clean of blood.

Zhou Fangdong stared in shock at the small gourd, which was barely larger than his palm. He couldn’t help but give it a gentle shake; the sound of sloshing liquid echoed from within.

Impressive. This little thing could really hold a lot.

Now that Room 107 was free of blood, Zhou Fangdong could finally use his cleaning tools effectively.

The two Automatic Cleaning Tools would take an hour to finish. While the items were cleaning the room, Zhou Fangdong prepared to head out and find the trash station.

His [Side Quest 4: Repair the Apartment Trash Disposal Station] was still incomplete; he didn’t even know where the trash station was located.

The quest also required him to find five deceased Cleaners. So far, he had only found one… that afro-haired ghost named Qian Duolai, who stood by the apartment stairs and triggered the quest.

Zhou Fangdong suspected these Cleaners might not be on the first floor. He moved around the first floor frequently, yet from the moment he received the quest until now, he had never seen another ghost wearing a cleaner’s uniform like Qian Duolai’s.

Furthermore, when he first met Qian Duolai, the ghost was standing in the stairwell… Was it possible that this cleaner had actually come down from the second floor, only to find the stairs blocked when he tried to return, leaving him to wander the stairwell?

If that were the case, he would have to visit the second floor to complete this side quest…

Whatever, he wouldn’t overthink it for now. He needed to find the trash disposal site first.

Before leaving Room 107, Zhou Fangdong casually opened the rental interface.

He had intended to check the room previews to see what his tenants were up to, but he hadn’t expected the interface to have changed. In addition to the room previews, a pixelated mini-map centered on Liwan Apartments had appeared.

There were currently three icons on the map. To the north was a small temple, to the west was a shop, and to the east was a factory. The factory was closest to Liwan Apartments, located just below the building’s position.

Looking at these three icons, Zhou Fangdong remembered that when the Apartment Surroundings Beautification feature first appeared, the system told him he could now teleport to the apartment’s surrounding facilities via the rental interface.

These icons likely represented Chuyun Temple, Guijia Furniture Store, and the Delicious Slaughterhouse… Just like teleporting to a tenant’s room, he should be able to teleport there directly by clicking the icons.

However, he was currently busy with the trash station quest and had no immediate need to go out.

On the room preview page, he saw a short-haired pixel sprite representing Miao Zheng hopping out of the 104 Convenience Store. She was carrying several bags and entered Room 101.

He clicked into Room 101. A chubby pixel sprite was lying on the bed, and Miao Zheng placed the bags she was carrying on the bedside table…

It looked like Miao Zheng had bought some things from the convenience store to visit Zhao Dawei.

Zhao Dawei had been attacked by those two cultists yesterday. Although his wounds were gone, his lost blood hadn’t been replenished. He was older, after all, and his constitution wasn’t as resilient as a young person’s. He had spent all of yesterday in bed and still hadn’t recovered, lying there in a weakened state.

Fortunately, today was his day off, so he didn’t have to go to work at the furniture store and could get some proper rest.

Exiting the rental page, Zhou Fangdong walked out of Room 107. Just as he reached the vicinity of Room 102, he ran into Duan Wenyu, who was about to head out.

“Good morning, Mr. Landlord!” Duan Wenyu greeted Zhou Fangdong with high spirits.

Seeing him wearing a sun hat and carrying a backpack as if he were going on a long trip, Zhou Fangdong asked curiously, “Where are you heading?”

Duan Wenyu replied obediently, “I’m going to work today. I’m an intern investigator for the Paranormal Affairs Department now. I just picked up a mission yesterday to help investigate a place with abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations.”

That sounded a bit dangerous… Zhou Fangdong thought for a moment, opened the System Mall, and bought another phone.

Duan Wenyu noticed the phone that was originally in his pocket suddenly appear in Zhou Fangdong’s hand. He didn’t know what the landlord did, but the phone’s model and appearance completely changed, transforming into something else entirely.

Zhou Fangdong handed the phone back to Duan Wenyu and said, “If you run into any danger, you can use this phone to contact me. No matter where you are trapped, this phone will always have a signal.”

Duan Wenyu took the phone back, his eyes full of gratitude.

The landlord was truly too thoughtful. This overwhelming sense of security instantly dispelled the nervousness he felt about his first day on the job… With the landlord around, he felt like he had nothing to fear.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Fangdong, Duan Wenyu left Liwan Apartments.

Watching Duan Wenyu’s retreating back with his backpack, Zhou Fangdong had a vision of a little game he used to play called Travel Frog… The frog in the game often went on long trips with a pack just like that.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t need Duan Wenyu to bring back souvenirs like the little frog; he just hoped the boy would return safely.

After seeing Duan Wenyu off, Zhou Fangdong circled the first floor but found nothing that looked like a trash disposal station.

Finally, he stood in the apartment foyer, looking at the narrow door next to the elevator that he had entered yesterday.

This was the only place he hadn’t checked yet… Yesterday, due to the mental fog caused by the negative side effects of using an attack skill, he had followed the Long-tongued Ghost inside with a dazed mind, failing to notice if there were any forks or side paths in the tunnel.

Could one of those side paths lead to the Trash Disposal Station?

Zhou Fangdong hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.

He hadn’t encountered any danger yesterday, so it should be fine today as well.

He walked smoothly through the tunnel until he reached the exit. Fortunately, he truly didn’t encounter any danger; unfortunately, the tunnel had no forks—it was a straight line.

Standing at the tunnel’s exit, Zhou Fangdong looked at the dilapidated garden and the dried-up fountain situated between the two buildings of the Liwan Apartments. He hesitated, then summoned his courage and slowly stepped out of the tunnel, planting one foot into the garden.

Half of his body was now bathed in sunlight, yet his physical form remained unchanged. He hadn’t reverted to the state he was in at the moment of his death as the system had described.

Zhou Fangdong froze. In disbelief, he walked completely out of the tunnel and stood outside.

Still, there was no change.

A wave of immense joy crashed over him like a literal tidal wave, leaving him feeling dazed and stunned.

Did this mean he could leave the apartments now?!

Translator’s Notes