Chapter 51

Although the chunks of flesh in the corridor clearly possessed no self-awareness, Zhou Fangdong decided to use [Soul Siphon] on the mass of gore ahead of him just to be sure.

The skill failed to take effect… they were indeed in a mindless state.

Zhou Fangdong sighed softly and opened his quest panel to take a look.

Even though he had already guessed that the flesh on the second floor consisted of the remaining two Cleaners, the progress for Sub-quest 4, Part ②—getting the deceased Cleaners back on duty—remained at (3/5).

The system wouldn’t give him an impossible task, so there had to be a way to restore the sanity of these two Cleaners.

He needed more records from the Sigu Society regarding the summoning ritual, especially materials related to the Flesh Ganoderma.

Recalling the two massive floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the Reading Area of the activity room and the dense collection of books upon them, Zhou Fangdong left the second floor and returned to the first-floor activity room.

The Liwan Apartments activity room had once been the site where the Sigu Society held their sacrificial rituals. There were bound to be many other records hidden here, perhaps including notes on the Flesh Ganoderma.

Arriving before the bookshelves this time, Zhou Fangdong proactively took out a stick of Offering Incense and waved it near the gaps in the shelves.

The Crevice Ghost appeared, lured by the scent: “Do you… need me to… find something?”

“Are there any records about the Flesh Ganoderma in these bookshelves?”

“There are…” As the words fell, the Crevice Ghost vanished into the darkness. It stayed gone for quite a while this time, only reappearing in the gap after a long wait, clutching several tattered pieces of paper.

Zhou Fangdong handed over the incense and took the papers.

The pages were covered in numerous corrections and were heavily wrinkled, looking as if they had been fished out of a wastepaper basket.

Furthermore, the scribbled handwriting on the paper looked very familiar; it was identical to the handwriting on the note about the Medicine Pot he had found under the cabinet in the Mahjong Room.

This feeling… it seemed these papers weren’t written by the cultists, but rather by an outsider who had recorded information while investigating the Sigu Society at the apartments.

The papers did indeed mention the Flesh Ganoderma, and it appeared they were written after the mutation on the second floor had occurred.

The methods for summoning and cultivating the Flesh Ganoderma were also written there, matching exactly with the information Hong Zhong had recovered from the Sigu Society high-ranking members.

However, unlike the cult materials which only detailed summoning and cultivation without any remedy, these papers listed several ways to resolve the Flesh Ganoderma’s mutation.

The first method was to continue watering it with the blood of young boys and girls to force the mutated Flesh Ganoderma back on track and complete its growth.

The second method was to find the Flesh Ganoderma seed within the masses of flesh on the second-floor corridor. The seed had been swallowed before it could fully mature, and it was the source of the mutation.

The recorder clearly favored the second solution, writing extensively about various ways to locate the Flesh Ganoderma seed within the flesh.

The most reliable method—and the one that caught Zhou Fangdong’s attention—was to visit the Ghost Market.

Supposedly, the Butcher Shop Owner at the Ghost Market was always collecting Flesh Ganoderma; he seemed to have a way to deal with them and extract the seeds.

While the Flesh Ganoderma mutation on the second floor could be handled according to the notes, it was clear that the recorder didn’t care about the humans who had merged with the mutated flesh.

Zhou Fangdong was somewhat concerned. If he followed the recorder’s logic to deal with the seed and clear the runaway growth in the corridor, would his two Cleaners, who were fused with the Flesh Ganoderma, disappear along with it?

If that happened, forget about helping them regain their sanity—their very bodies would cease to exist.

He needed to consider this further and see if there were other options… the Ghost Market would be a last resort.

Around five in the afternoon, Hong Zhong returned to the apartments with five cultists.

The five bald men were stacked neatly in the bed of the pickup truck like cargo, each in a state of deep, unconscious sleep.

Zhou Fangdong had tracked Hong Zhong’s movements through the special tenant watch list and was waiting at the apartment entrance early.

Miao Zheng and Duan Wenyu also came over to help Hong Zhong unload the cultists from the vehicle.

Xiao Xiaoyu and Miao Zheng had returned at noon. After spending a night at Chuyun Temple, the cursed marks connecting them to the Evil God had vanished.

Upon receiving Hong Zhong’s “come help” message, Miao Zheng, who had been idling in her room with nothing to do, immediately rushed to the entrance.

Following Zhou Fangdong’s instructions, the three of them placed the cultists into the Liwan Apartments activity room.

Although Miao Zheng was curious about this room that seemed to have appeared out of thin air, she had suffered greatly in this hallway before. She suppressed her curiosity and forced down the urge to explore.

…If she stayed here too long, who knew when a flight of stairs might suddenly pop out and trap her again. It would be far too embarrassing if she fell into danger and had to be rescued by the Landlord again.

After settling the five cultists, Hong Zhong remembered the events of the afternoon and asked, “Landlord, I didn’t return to my room last night, and I didn’t prick my finger to draw blood at four in the morning. Does that count as a violation of the Tenant Rules?”

The question caught Zhou Fangdong off guard.

The Tenant Rules for Room 106 weren’t something he had tested himself; he had simply polished and copied Zhang Zhiwu’s words. He didn’t actually know if failing to draw blood would cause problems.

This was different from the rules for Room 102, which explicitly stated that [when the tenant is not in the room, they must leave enough food under the bed in the utility room]. The rules for Room 106 didn’t specify whether bloodletting was required if the tenant was away.

Zhang Zhiwu wasn’t by his side… so when in doubt, ask the system.

After receiving an affirmative response from the system, Zhou Fangdong relaxed. “It’s fine. If you aren’t in the room, you don’t need to follow that rule. It isn’t considered a breach of the Tenant Contract.”

Hong Zhong’s heart settled. After offering his thanks, he headed back toward Room 106. Just as he was about to enter, he happened to run into Zhang Zhiwu, who was returning from Chuyun Temple.

The Zombie Taoist Master gave Hong Zhong a long, scrutinizing look. Instead of returning to his own room, he sought out Zhou Fangdong, who appeared to be dazing off at the apartment entrance but was actually checking his system interface.

“Young friend, that Seedling Man¹ you’re keeping in Room 106 only moved in yesterday, right? The speed at which he’s linking with the Cat Ghost is quite fast. Remind him to draw blood every day, otherwise the side effects might become rather obvious.”

Zhou Fangdong looked utterly confused.

A Seedling Man? Hong Zhong looked like a standard local man; how did Zhang Zhiwu see him as a “seedling”?

Thinking this, Zhou Fangdong simply asked directly, “What is a Seedling Man? And what are the side effects if he doesn’t draw blood?”

“Didn’t you keep the Cat Ghost and ask me for a way for it to coexist with a human specifically to raise a Seedling Man?” Zhang Zhiwu was also a bit puzzled. “I thought you felt the tenants in the apartment were too weak and lacked the ability to resist ghosts, so you wanted to take an unconventional path to raise a tenant who could help you.”

After a pause, Zhang Zhiwu continued, “In life, humans raise cats; in death, cats raise humans. A Seedling Man is a human raised by a Cat Ghost. The stronger their Yang energy and the more robust their blood, the more of the Cat Ghost’s power they can withstand.”

“The daily bloodletting at four in the morning is a way to use one’s own Yang energy to feed back into the Cat Ghost. The purpose is to stabilize the connection between the Cat Ghost and the Seedling Man, letting the human tell the ghost, ‘I’m not dead yet.'”

“If they don’t draw blood, it’s not a massive problem, but the Cat Ghost will worry that its human has died. Because of the apartment tenant contract, it will use the room key to accelerate the assimilation process. If assimilation happens too quickly, the Seedling Man might start manifesting certain feline characteristics.”

“Taoist Master, you mentioned some feline traits appearing…” Zhou Fangdong felt his throat go dry, making it difficult to speak. “These feline traits… do they involve growing cat ears?”

—A muscular giant, 1.9 meters tall and built like a professional bodybuilder… with cat ears.

Just imagining the scene made Zhou Fangdong feel a twinge of pity for Hong Zhong.

Zhang Zhiwu nodded. “In the later stages, it is indeed possible to grow cat ears, and the hands may shift toward the shape of cat paws. However, the current symptoms are very weak and won’t change physical features yet. He’ll only experience things like enhanced night vision, a keen sense of smell, increased agility, and a craving for raw meat.”

“But even if feline traits do appear, it’s fine. If he maintains a steady schedule of bloodletting, he will slowly recover.”

Zhou Fangdong let out a long sigh of relief… That was good.

Seeing Zhang Zhiwu about to leave, Zhou Fangdong snapped back to his senses and quickly called out to him, “Taoist Master, wait a moment.”

He had been checking the system interface earlier to see where Zhang Zhiwu was because he had thought of something he wanted to verify. He hadn’t expected to be interrupted by the matter of the ‘Seedling Man.’

“Does my young friend have another matter?”

Zhou Fangdong continued, “I wanted to ask, if one is parasitized by Flesh Ganoderma, does that count as a curse?”

Hearing the term ‘Flesh Ganoderma’ come from Zhou Fangdong’s mouth, Zhang Zhiwu’s voice turned cold. “Flesh Ganoderma? That wicked thing created by the Sigu Society? It can be considered a physical flesh-and-blood curse.”

“They claim it can raise the dead and regrow bone, hmph. I don’t know where they got it from, but they truly dare to touch anything.” Zhang Zhiwu shook his head. “If you’re asking if there’s a way to deal with the Flesh Ganoderma on the second floor, I really don’t know. Since Flesh Ganoderma isn’t something from this world, I’ve never encountered this type of flesh-and-blood curse before.”

“Take my advice, young friend—don’t touch those fleshy lumps on the second floor for now. That thing was fierce to begin with, and then it was eaten before it could even finish growing after being summoned. Its resentment is immeasurable. If you want to rent out the rooms, look at the third floor first. With your strength, even the top floor should be no problem for you.”

…The problem is huge, Taoist Master. The things on the top floor can insta-kill me.

After grumbling silently in his heart, Zhou Fangdong said gratefully, “Thank you, Taoist Master. I know how to handle it now. Confirming that the Flesh Ganoderma is a curse is enough.”

After Zhang Zhiwu left, Zhou Fangdong opened the Favorability interface, his eyes burning as he looked at the unclaimed reward for reaching 100 Favorability with the Zombie Taoist Master.

[Cursed Item: Blood Compass]

One of the item descriptions read: The Blood Compass can dissolve curses, but the curse will rebound onto the user with several times the original intensity.

Zhou Fangdong planned to use his [Ghost Pupils] to control the cultists into using the Blood Compass, directly transferring the Flesh Ganoderma’s flesh-and-blood curse onto them.

His [Ghost Pupils] skill could briefly control a human if their willpower was weak.

He would try using [Ghost Pupils] on those cultists in a bit. If their willpower wasn’t weak enough, he’d just have the ghosts in the apartment scare them a few more times until it was.

That way, the fate of becoming a mindless mass of flesh growing incessantly in the hallway—the ‘Afro’ who endlessly cleaned the flesh in the corridor—would become the fate of those cultists.

Then he could deal with the Flesh Ganoderma however he pleased without having his hands tied.

This method required at least five cultists, and Hong Zhong had conveniently brought back exactly five. It was perfect.

However, before controlling the cultists to use the Blood Compass, he needed to make a trip to the Ghost Market to ask the Butcher Shop Owner for a way to strip away the Flesh Ganoderma seeds. Only then could he solve all the problems on the second floor once and for all.

Otherwise, when the Flesh Ganoderma curse rebounded onto the cultists with multiplied force, the situation on the second floor would only become worse.

But this meant he couldn’t sell these cultists for the time being. He would have to pay out of pocket to buy furniture at the Ghost Market.

Sigh… he didn’t know if the Yin Energy on the second floor would stabilize after removing the Flesh Ganoderma.

He decided not to rush the furniture purchase tonight. He would wait until he finished clearing the Flesh Ganoderma tomorrow. If the Yin Energy on the second floor really stabilized, he could re-order furniture from the Guijia Furniture Store without having to spend his own Ghost Coins.

That night, Zhou Fangdong successfully used the Possession Feature on Mu Yuechan’s body and teleported directly to the Ghost Market.

Perhaps because the resentment on Mu Yuechan was too heavy, the moment he entered the Ghost Market, the vendors on both sides of the street and the pedestrians carrying lanterns all turned to look at him in unison.

At the same time, a patch of black mist suddenly emerged on the eerie street. Following a series of ‘thump, thump, thump’ sounds, a thin, tall figure wearing a bamboo hat appeared out of thin air. Carrying a shoulder pole, he swayed as he walked up to Zhou Fangdong.

Because Zhou Fangdong had used the [Invoicing List], there was a sales contract between him and The Peddler. Therefore, even though he appeared in the Ghost Market using Mu Yuechan’s body, The Peddler recognized him at a glance.

A raspy voice came from The Peddler: “The goods… are sold out… here is… the payment…”

As the words fell, a cluster of black mist rose from the bamboo basket and merged into Zhou Fangdong’s body.

Immediately, the system’s voice sounded:

[Detected 2,000 Ghost Coins credited to your account.]

Zhou Fangdong was shocked.

He really hadn’t expected that pile of junk from Room 103 to sell for two thousand Ghost Coins. This was practically free money.

After delivering the payment, The Peddler disappeared, and the ‘people’ on the street looked away.

Although no one was staring at him openly anymore, Zhou Fangdong could still feel several gazes peeking from the shadows.

Zhou Fangdong roughly knew what they were looking at. In the entire Ghost Market, he was the only one who hadn’t concealed his face.

But it didn’t matter. He was currently using Mu Yuechan’s body, not his original appearance, so it was no different from wearing a mask.

Following his memory from the previous night, Zhou Fangdong found the location of the butcher shop and walked inside.

The interior of the butcher shop was pitch black, filled with a sweet, strange, fishy smell… as if a lot of perfume had been sprayed to cover up the scent of blood. The smell was somewhat choking.

Noticing a customer enter, the Butcher Shop Owner, who was swinging a cleaver to chop meat behind the counter, said in a muffled voice, “What does the guest wish to buy?”

The Butcher Shop Owner wore an iron mask embedded into his flesh, making it impossible to see his face. His physique was overly massive, making his head look small and disproportionate.

“I heard you have a method for stripping away Flesh Ganoderma seeds.”

Hearing Zhou Fangdong say this, the Butcher Shop Owner’s hand paused mid-swing. He slowly raised his head.

“This scent… you came from the Liwan Apartments, didn’t you? Working for that Landlord gentleman?” Although he asked, he seemed to have a certain answer in his heart and didn’t care about Zhou Fangdong’s reply.

“I have a blade here. Take it.” With that, he took a blade down from the nearby wall.

The sound of rattling chains echoed as he carried the blade, walking toward Zhou Fangdong with heavy steps.

It was a very strangely shaped blade. It had no handle; the front was a massive blade edge, while the back was a sharp iron hook, connected in the middle by a chain.

After Zhou Fangdong took the blade, he was surprised to find that he actually couldn’t put it into his Inventory.

“Flesh Ganoderma shredded by this blade cannot regenerate. The hook at the back can help you pinpoint the location of the Flesh Ganoderma seed and hook it out.” The Butcher Shop Owner patiently explained how to use the weapon.

“Just take the knife. It’s free. If you can bring back Flesh Ganoderma seeds or fragments, do so; if not, it’s fine. Consider it a token of gratitude to the one who allowed the Ghost Market to remain until now.”

Seeing that the Butcher Shop Owner was quite easy to talk to, Zhou Fangdong told him about the situation with Qian Duolai and the other two. He asked if there was any remedy for them to have heads again now that the Flesh Ganoderma on their necks had vanished.

After all, Qian Duolai and his companions were the apartment’s Cleaners and would be working in Liwan Apartments in the future. To facilitate communication, Zhou Fangdong had to find a way to get their heads back.

“The situation you’re describing sounds like they were parasitized by corrupted Flesh Ganoderma. However, as for a remedy…” Mid-sentence, the Butcher Shop Owner suddenly stopped and stared at Zhou Fangdong in silence.

Although he couldn’t see the Butcher Shop Owner’s face clearly, Zhou Fangdong could distinctly feel that cold gaze acting like a butcher’s cleaver, meticulously dissecting him from the outside in.

He let out a cold snort, his previous friendly demeanor vanishing instantly. “The way you ask that makes me doubt if you’re even a ghost. You’ve received the apartment’s favor and gained a human body, yet you’ve forgotten even the basic common sense of ghosts? What are you trying to show off for… If they don’t have heads, go to the Paper Effigy Shop next door and buy some. Buy whatever is missing. Don’t waste my time with such trivial nonsense.”

With that, the Butcher Shop Owner waved him off and turned back toward his chopping block, clearly intending to ignore Zhou Fangdong further.

Feeling a bit awkward, Zhou Fangdong left the butcher shop clutching the knife.

He really hadn’t intended to toy with the Butcher Shop Owner; as a living person, he truly didn’t know this was common knowledge in the ghost realm.

Just as he reached the entrance of the Paper Effigy Shop next door, before he could even step inside, the pair of paper-doll children at the door gave him a full 180-degree bow.

The two little paper dolls hit the ground face-first with a ‘thwack’ while shouting in unison, “Hello! Welcome!”

How enthusiastic… Zhou Fangdong helped the two children up and walked into the Paper Effigy Shop.

There was no owner inside the shop; instead, the paper effigies were all busy marketing themselves.

Amidst a flurry of aggressive self-promotion, Zhou Fangdong selected three silent heads.

These incomplete paper effigies lacked spirituality and weren’t expensive; one could be bought for 60 Ghost Coins. The three heads cost him a total of 180 Ghost Coins.

Earlier, he had accidentally brushed against a paper effigy that claimed it could do laundry, cook, and give massages, which gave Zhou Fangdong quite a shock—a paper doll with self-awareness and the ability to move actually cost a thousand Ghost Coins. That was equivalent to half a Ghost Tenant; it was practically highway robbery.

This trip to the Ghost Market had been quite productive. He had the tool to eliminate the Flesh Ganoderma and had finished buying the paper heads. He felt he could head straight back to the apartment.

Just as Zhou Fangdong was preparing to teleport back, he suddenly heard someone calling him.

Though the call was faint, it was very distinct in the silent Ghost Market.

Following the sound, he saw a faceless vendor at a roadside stall not far away waving at him. “Boss~ Boss~ Over here!”

Zhou Fangdong looked at the toilets being sold at the stall, paused for a moment, and walked over.

“Oh my, I’ve finally waited for you to come out!” Although the vendor had no face, his expression could be imagined from his fawning tone.

“Boss, I actually noticed you a long time ago. You went to the Butcher Shop Owner’s place, didn’t you? Did he want you to collect some ‘special’ blood or meat?”

Zhou Fangdong didn’t refute him, wanting to see what the vendor would say next.

The vendor lowered his voice. “What he asked you for… it wouldn’t happen to be Flesh Ganoderma, would it? I heard that the people from the Sigu Society spent a fortune to commission the Peddler to capture a lot of children and store them in the Ghost Market, all to remake Flesh Ganoderma. Just yesterday, they took all the children out of the Ghost Market in one go…”

It seemed this person didn’t know where the children had actually gone and assumed they had been taken by the Sigu Society. Zhou Fangdong was indeed interested now. “What, do you have a lead? Do you know the location where the Sigu Society produces Flesh Ganoderma?”

“Guess what? I actually have a lead! I know a location where the Sigu Society keeps ‘flesh and blood catalysts’ in captivity. I heard they’re planning to cultivate Flesh Ganoderma there. But, hehe…” The small vendor rubbed his hands together as he spoke.

‘Captivity’ and ‘flesh and blood catalysts’—those two terms together didn’t sound good at all… Could this cult be holding ordinary people prisoner, preparing to slaughter them?

After a moment of silence, Zhou Fangdong asked, “How much do you want?”

“No money, no money. You’re too kind, Boss.” The faceless vendor paused, and Zhou Fangdong sensed he was a bit nervous. “Well, I see you look like you’ve come from Liwan Apartments? Could I trouble you to put in a good word for me? If there’s a vacant room in the apartment, hehe, I’d also like to…”

“You want to rent a room in the apartment?” Zhou Fangdong sized up the vendor.

He hadn’t expected to pick up a tenant for free while browsing the Ghost Market.

Regardless of whether this fellow was human or ghost, the fact that he could set up a stall in the Ghost Market meant he certainly had the ability to survive among ghosts. Perhaps he would be like Xiao Xiaoyu or the other Ghost Tenants, able to live normally in a room without needing the Tenancy Rules at all.

Furthermore, if he moved in, there might be a discount if Zhou Fangdong needed to buy Spiritual Furniture from him in the future.

Zhou Fangdong agreed. “Alright, that’s a small matter. A new room might be available for rent in a couple of days. I’ll mention you to the landlord. Give me your contact information, and I’ll notify you to come over when the time comes.”

Once he handled the Flesh Ganoderma issue and rented out Room 201, he could clean up Room 202. He would see then if this person was suitable.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you for the trouble.” The faceless vendor pulled a business card from his robe and handed it to Zhou Fangdong, then continued, “There’s an abandoned hospital in the northern suburbs, do you know it? When I was steal—secretly visiting, I happened upon it. The place where the Sigu Society keeps the flesh and blood catalysts is right there.”

Translator’s Notes