Chapter 35

Zhou Fangdong began calling out frantically to the system in his mind: “System! Buddy! Does this mean I can leave the apartment now?”

[The host cannot leave the apartment. Leaving the apartment’s boundaries will result in immediate death with no possibility of resurrection.]

Zhou Fangdong hopped up and down on the spot twice. “Look, I’m not dead!”

[The host’s current location is the courtyard garden between the two apartment buildings. It belongs to the apartment grounds and is not considered leaving the apartment.]

“Oh, I see.” Zhou Fangdong remained cheerful, not discouraged in the slightest.

Even if he still couldn’t leave the apartment, being able to stroll through the garden every day was a good thing; he could enjoy the daylight.

Zhou Fangdong squinted, looking up at the azure sky sliced into fragments by the overhead walkways.

Those walkways were used to connect the two buildings of Liwan Apartments. By walking straight across them, one could go from the front building to the rear building where the corpses were kept.

Zhou Fangdong counted the floors and realized these walkways only started from the fifth floor and up.

Well, that didn’t matter for now; he hadn’t even finished cleaning the first floor yet.

The sunlight in the garden was just right. Perhaps because the two buildings blocked most of the direct rays, even though it was the height of summer, the sun didn’t feel scorching at all. Instead, it had the refreshing quality of spring or autumn.

Zhou Fangdong stretched his limbs, loosening up his body.

Humans were like plants; they really did need sunlight.

If he stayed in that dark, sunless apartment forever, Zhou Fangdong felt he would eventually spiral into depression.

Breathing in the long-awaited fresh air and gazing at the long-lost blue sky, it took quite a while before Zhou Fangdong began to explore the garden.

He first walked to the very edge, circling the perimeter. Both sides of the garden were enclosed by five-meter-high iron fences. The tops of the fences were lined with sharp spikes, and coils of barbed wire were wrapped around them. Unless one could fly, it was impossible to leave Liwan Apartments through this open space.

However, Zhou Fangdong’s goal in circling the garden wasn’t to escape. Behind a flower bed near the rear building, he found what he was looking for.

—The Liwan Apartments Trash Disposal Station.

The station looked like an overturned, square tin box, resembling the portable tin shacks used as housing for construction workers on building sites.

The station had no door, only two windows. Above the windows, the words “Human Trash” and “Ghost Trash” were painted in red.

Currently, both windows were boarded shut with planks. Furthermore, the iron plating of the station was covered in rust, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.

Next to the station was a small structure resembling a security booth, which had its own door and window. Zhou Fangdong poked his head inside and saw a small single bed. It clearly hadn’t been lived in for a long time, as the bedding had turned a dark, dusty gray.

Parked next to the security booth were two tricycles with cargo beds, seemingly used for transporting trash.

By the iron fence near the tricycles, there was a sealed iron gate. If that gate were opened, one could presumably drive the tricycles out of the apartment grounds.

Just as Zhou Fangdong finished his circuit, the system’s electronic voice suddenly rang out:

[Ding—Detected that the host has found the Liwan Apartments Trash Disposal Station. The station is preparing to resume operations. Automatic repairs initiated.]

[Repair time required: 2 hours.]

Zhou Fangdong had originally planned to check the System Mall for items to fix the station, but he hadn’t expected it to repair itself automatically… That was good; it saved him some Ghost Coins.

Room 107 was currently being cleaned, and the Trash Disposal Station would take some time to fix itself…

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Fangdong opened the rental interface, clicked on the small icon for the Daoist temple to the north, and selected teleport.

The sensation was the same as teleporting to a tenant’s room. With a blur of his vision, Zhou Fangdong appeared within the main hall of Chuyun Temple.

There were no divine statues inside the hall. The altars where the statues should have been had been pushed together to create a large communal sleeping platform, similar to a heated brick bed, with rows of bedding neatly laid out on top.

Zhang Qingyang hadn’t been exaggerating; there were indeed thirty-two sets of bedding.

This communal bed took up more than half the floor space. The remaining small section of the interior was occupied by four tables and various supplies like rice, flour, oil, and other foodstuffs.

These items made the room look less like the main hall of a temple and more like a small doomsday bunker.

Pushing open the hall doors and stepping outside, he was greeted by a small, square courtyard.

Aside from the main hall, Chuyun Temple had no other buildings to provide shelter from the elements. The hall was surrounded by a perimeter wall, forming a closed square—the very courtyard where Zhou Fangdong now stood.

On the eastern side of the courtyard, close to the hall, stood a lush, leafy tree. Zhou Fangdong couldn’t identify the species, but it was clearly very old; the trunk was about as thick as three adults joining hands.

Under the tree sat several divine statues with their heads covered in red cloth. Zhang Zhiwu sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, sharing the shade with the statues. Layers of yellow talismans obscured half his face, hiding his expression. He sat motionless, as if asleep, blending perfectly into the cluster of statues.

Aside from Zhang Zhiwu, Zhou Fangdong saw no other adults in the courtyard. Zhang Qingyang was nowhere to be seen.

To maintain the temple’s daily expenses, the adults sheltered here wore talismans given by Zhang Qingyang and went out to work during the day, returning only at night to sleep.

The ordinary people protected by Chuyun Temple were mostly those with physical disabilities who could only find daily manual labor or survive by scavenging.

These people struggled on the edge of survival, unable to afford the exorbitant rents in the city, and had come to the suburbs to try their luck. In the process, they had encountered ghosts and were rescued by Zhang Qingyang while being hunted.

In addition to these adults, there were several children in the temple—orphans or those with disabilities. They didn’t leave the temple during the day, staying behind to help with cleaning and cooking.

As Zhou Fangdong stepped out of the hall and scanned the courtyard, his eyes met those of a child holding a broom in the center of the yard.

The child had a large blue birthmark on his face. Upon seeing Zhou Fangdong appear out of thin air, he let out a scream like an air-raid siren: “Priest Qingyang!! There’s—a—GHOST!!!”

Zhang Qingyang was cooking at the stove behind the main hall. Hearing the scream, he rushed out clutching a cooking ladle. “Where did this stray ghost come from, looking for death?! How dare you invade the temple right in front of my Master! I think you’re tired of liv… Ah, Mr. Landlord.”

Seeing it was Zhou Fangdong, Zhang Qingyang gave an embarrassed smile and casually swatted the back of the child’s head. “You brat, what are you yelling for? This isn’t a ghost, it’s the temple’s new landlord.”

The child with the birthmark wiped his nose, looking shocked. “Priest Qingyang, why did you sell the temple? Have we finally run out of food?”

“What does a kid like you know? Go, go, go, help me watch the fire at the stove.” Zhang Qingyang snatched the broom from the child’s hand and shoved the ladle into his.

“Oh.” The child said no more and scurried off toward the back of the hall.

Zhang Qingyang was about to say something to Zhou Fangdong when he, too, received a slap to the back of his head.

Zhang Zhiwu, who had been sitting cross-legged in the shade, had somehow materialized behind Zhang Qingyang. “You’re letting that little sprout¹ watch the stove? Does he even know how? You get back there and watch it too, or else nobody in this temple is eating today.”

Zhang Qingyang forced a smile, not daring to argue back. He nodded apologetically to Zhou Fangdong, then clutched his broom and ran toward the back of the main hall.

Only Zhou Fangdong and Zhang Zhiwu remained in the courtyard.

Zhang Zhiwu stroked his beard, his expression softening considerably as he spoke to Zhou Fangdong. “Little friend, have you come to Chuyun Temple to find me for something?”

“It’s like this. While I was cleaning a room today, I found a strange object.” Zhou Fangdong pulled out the Apothecary Gourd and handed it to Zhang Zhiwu. “Daoist, do you know what this is? It doesn’t feel quite like a ghost to me, yet it carries the aura of a ghostly creature.”

“Oh? Isn’t this my Apothecary Gourd? I remember it was already…” Zhang Zhiwu stopped mid-sentence, his tone becoming sentimental. “Little friend, you truly are capable. To be able to enter and leave that place at will and even bring back my gourd—you are truly a promising young man.”

Zhang Zhiwu took the gourd. He didn’t open it, but gave it a gentle shake and leaned in to sniff the mouth of the vessel. He immediately knew what was inside. “It’s no wonder you didn’t recognize it. This is a monster called a ‘Blood Shadow Sac.’ It should have been extinct for a long time. I didn’t expect it to appear in the Liwan Apartments.”

Hearing this, Zhou Fangdong was stunned.

A monster?

That was right; the system had always referred to the “ghosts and monsters” of Liwan Apartments. If there were ghosts in the apartments, it was only natural there would be monsters as well.

The old man stroked his beard and continued his explanation. “This is a monster formed from the blood of a human corpse, most common in ancient times. If a person died a wrongful death and their corpse had open wounds seeping blood during burial, and if it was directly exposed to moonlight for three quarters of an hour… well, forty-five minutes, then a Blood Shadow Sac might form.”

“This kind of monster has no physical form; most of the time, it’s just a puddle of blood. In environments with strong sunlight, it won’t manifest, and ordinary people cannot see it. There are two ways to distinguish it from ordinary blood: one is the smell, and the other is its state when being cleaned.”

“The bloodstains transformed from a Blood Shadow Sac have a sweet, fishy scent, like the smell of rotting fruit, and they cannot be cleaned away. Even if you wipe it clean, it will reappear in its original position.”

“In this era, bodies are cremated, and there aren’t many burials left. Logically, this thing should be nearly extinct…” Zhang Zhiwu’s hand paused on his beard as he asked, “Little friend, where in the apartments did you find this Blood Shadow Sac?”

“Room 107.”

“Room 107…” Zhang Zhiwu fell silent for a moment, seemingly recalling something. “I remember now. It seems a few young men in Room 107 were swindled. They used themselves as sacrifices for some dark sorcery. This should be a modern Blood Shadow Sac created from their corpses and blood.”

After finishing his explanation, the old man asked another question: “Little friend, did you catch this thing to eat it or to keep it as a pet?”

Hearing this, Zhou Fangdong felt his stomach churn again.

He was practically traumatized.

“This belongs to Room 107. Once the room is cleaned, I intend to put it back.” After a moment of thought, Zhou Fangdong asked, “By the way, Daoist, if this thing wants to kill someone, is there a Killing Pattern²?”

He needed to draft a Rental Contract based on this thing’s Killing Pattern, so he might as well ask everything now.

“A Killing Pattern… it only moves at night and locks onto targets by the sound of their snoring. As long as you don’t snore while sleeping at night, it can’t harm you.” Pausing, Zhang Zhiwu continued, “Also, it kills by crawling into the brain through the ears to specifically eat the brain. If you’re really worried, just wear earplugs when you sleep.”

“However, if one doesn’t know the origin of this thing, it’s quite difficult to guard against… Little friend, are you planning to rent Room 107 to an enemy?”

Zhou Fangdong was silent for a moment before telling the truth. “No, I plan to rent Room 107 to Zhang Qingyang.”

“Hahahaha, very good, very good. Then there’s no problem.” Zhang Zhiwu laughed and returned the Apothecary Gourd to Zhou Fangdong. “That boy has practiced with me since he was a child and understands the habits of these spirits and monsters very well. You can rest easy renting it to him, little friend. It’ll be fine.”

Just as they were talking about Zhang Qingyang, he walked over, carrying a stool in his hand.

“Mr. Landlord, does your apartment still take in ghosts? I have a stool that’s injured, and I’d like to send it to the apartment to recuperate.”

This morning, Zhang Qingyang had heard from his master that the Yin Energy in the first-floor corridor of the apartment had stabilized, making it a safe place to nourish the wounded soul of a ghostly object.

This stool was something he had bought from a furniture store when he first learned how to make Offering Incense, and it had been with him for many years. The little ghost inside the stool was very familiar with him. If possible, Zhang Qingyang wanted to find a better environment for it.

Zhou Fangdong nodded. “That’s fine. There’s no limit on the number of ghostly objects in the apartment; you can bring as many as you like… By the way, what time do you plan to come to the apartment today?”

“After my master finishes his shift. I should arrive at the apartment around 5:30 PM. Now that the temple is under your protection, Mr. Landlord, there won’t be any ghost invasions at night, so I don’t need to patrol anymore. I can stay at the apartment at night.”

“Then before you come to the apartment this afternoon, help me buy some things in the city. I’ll reimburse you once you’re back at the apartment.”

“Sure, no problem. What do you need me to get, Mr. Landlord?”

“An MP3 player… if you can’t find one, a regular voice recorder will do. Also, help me record a few audio files.” Zhou Fangdong pondered for a moment. “Record a copy of ‘Common Knowledge of Ideology and Morality’ and ‘Common Legal Knowledge’… that’s all for now. If it’s not dark yet after you’re done shopping, help me look for some literacy books, the kind for adults learning to read.”

Zhang Qingyang nodded without question. Although he didn’t know what the landlord wanted these for, he was sure the landlord had his reasons.

These items were actually prepared by Zhou Fangdong for Mu Yuechan. Only when Mu Yuechan could recite these by heart would Zhou Fangdong consider letting him out.

Before leaving Chuyun Temple, Zhou Fangdong looked at the cramped little temple and called out to the system in his mind: “System, how many Ghost Coins would it cost to expand the area of Chuyun Temple?”

[1,000 Ghost Coins]

Hearing the amount, Zhou Fangdong hesitated and ultimately gave up on the idea.

Although he could afford it now, expanding the temple wasn’t an urgent necessity. He would save his Ghost Coins until after the Night Attack of a Hundred Ghosts mission was over.

When Zhou Fangdong returned to the apartment, Room 107 had already been cleaned.

He skillfully opened the furniture procurement app and placed an order.

Since Zhao Dawei was on leave today and there was no one to deliver the furniture, Zhou Fangdong placed a delivery order with Hong Zhong.

After confirming that Hong Zhong had accepted the order, Zhou Fangdong headed to the courtyard garden between the two apartment buildings to see how the repair of the Trash Disposal Station was progressing.

Upon receiving another order from Liwan Apartments, Hong Zhong wasn’t as nervous as he used to be.

He had already received word from the Director that those cruel supernatural incidents were orchestrated by a Main God System and had nothing to do with Liwan Apartments.

Furthermore, Liwan Apartments was intentionally targeting that terrorist-like Main God System. The Bureau of Paranormal Oversight was currently on the same side as Liwan Apartments.

Hong Zhong expertly parked his vehicle in front of the Guijia Furniture Store.

The furniture on the order was just like before—already packed and neatly placed in front of the store.

A faint blood-colored mist suddenly drifted from the furniture store’s entrance, creating a pale red space between the pickup truck Hong Zhong had driven and the storefront.

This time, the packed furniture didn’t even bother pretending. They lined up within the pale red space, shuffled toward the back of the pickup truck, and hopped into the bed one after another.

Hong Zhong stood silently to the side, watching. Only after confirming that all the furniture was on board did he slide the tailgate shut.

As he drove back to Liwan Apartments along the familiar route, Hong Zhong spent the entire trip ruminating on the building’s history.

Liwan Apartments had always existed in a state of peculiar contradiction.

If one called it a good place, they had to ignore that it was the original source of the supernatural outbreaks… Setting aside how many people had died inside the building, one only had to look at the surrounding area.

Back when the apartments were first built, the neighborhood—though suburban and lacking the bustle of the city center—was still a lively place. It was a hub for the working poor struggling on the poverty line, filled with street vendors, wholesale markets, and assembly-line factories.

Every single one of those people had been slaughtered by the ghosts that escaped from the apartments.

Yet, if one called it a bad place, the ghosts had actually stopped coming out long before Liwan Apartments was officially cordoned off. They seemed trapped within the building by some unknown force. The Bureau’s blockade of the apartments and surrounding roads was merely a precaution to keep reckless thrill-seekers from wandering in and getting themselves killed.

Over the years since the lockdown, the area had remained calm. In fact, more supernatural incidents occurred in the city center than near Liwan Apartments.

Then came the appearance of that mysterious landlord.

Not only were there no more supernatural incidents around Liwan Apartments, but the building was now actively helping to resolve them… The shift was a complete leap from one extreme to the other.

Since the roads were restricted, Hong Zhong’s truck was the only vehicle out there. He drove fast, and it wasn’t long before the silhouette of the Liwan Apartments building appeared ahead.

The road Hong Zhong took ran along the side of the complex, offering a view of the abandoned garden nestled between the two towers.

In a daze, Hong Zhong’s peripheral vision caught a familiar figure. The man was standing in the garden, seemingly admiring the long-withered flowers.

Hong Zhong instinctively slowed down. Then he saw the face clearly—the face that had appeared in his nightmares countless times.

As if sensing something, the man looked up at that exact moment and locked eyes with Hong Zhong.

Those pitch-black eyes were like deep abysses, devoid of joy or sorrow. They looked like two pieces of obsidian embedded in a clay sculpture, lacking any flicker of human emotion.

The truck continued forward, but that brief moment of eye contact left Hong Zhong’s back drenched in a cold sweat. That piercing gaze felt as though it had looked right through his soul, stripping bare every thought in his mind.

That mysterious landlord could actually leave the apartments now?! Did this mean the power of Liwan Apartments was growing even stronger?

He couldn’t tell if this change was a blessing or a curse for Linjiang City.

Back when he was restricted by the apartments, the landlord’s power was already terrifyingly immense. Hong Zhong didn’t even dare to imagine what level of power a landlord who could walk free would possess.

As Hong Zhong drove past, Zhou Fangdong was standing in front of the Trash Disposal Station checking its repair status. Suddenly, he heard a system notification stating that a human meeting the criteria for the Trash Disposal Station manager had been detected.

When he looked up, he happened to see the passing pickup truck and Hong Zhong’s slightly terrified face in the driver’s seat.

Zhou Fangdong remembered that for Side Quest 4: Repairing the Trash Disposal Station, the first requirement—aside from finding the station itself—was to appoint a person or ghost to manage it.

He hadn’t expected Hong Zhong to actually meet the criteria for the manager position.

As expected of a cleaner with an hourly wage of fifty thousand; he was so professional that even the system recognized his expertise.

Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.

Excellent. Side Quest 4 could finally move forward.

He would find Hong Zhong in a moment to see if he still wanted to rent a room in the apartments. While he was at it, he’d ask if he was interested in a career change—specifically, turning his part-time gig into a full-time job.

This wouldn’t just progress Side Quest 4; if Hong Zhong moved in, Main Quest 1 would be only one room away from completion. It was perfect.

Translator’s Notes