Chapter 11 - Who Are You?
Zhou Chang was stumped by Fu Li’s question. For a long time, he was speechless.
“The world is very big, and also very mysterious,” There seemed to be countless secrets hidden in Fu Li’s pitch-black eyes. Zhou Chang had parked the car by the roadside and was gazing into Fu Li’s eyes. To him, it felt like he was gazing into the abyss.
“Certain things you a.s.sume don’t exist are actually hidden by your side,” Fu Li glanced behind Zhou Chang. “You will never know how many unseen things are hidden by your side.”
Someone who looked very likable was saying such hair-raising things. Struck by an indescribable fear, Zhou Chang’s neck shrank back. He seemed to feel a slight chill. “Handsome, can we have a proper conversation. I-I’m someone who believes in materialism.”
“Materialism is good, it can promote the advancement of science, technology, and production capability,” Fu Li shifted his line of sight and straightened his body. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Didn’t you say you would send me home?”
“Oh,” Zhou Chang nodded and obediently drove according to the roads Fu Li mentioned.
The area Fu Li lived at was very remote and didn’t have a very good environment. On the way there, Zhou Chang’s car was jolted from left to right. He couldn’t help mocking, “Handsome, if you really have so much panacea, why don’t you take it out and sell it for money? Why are you still living at this kind of lousy place?”
“I don’t know who to sell it to,” Fu Li c.o.c.ked his head and looked at him. “I didn’t take any money when I gave you the medicine.”
Zhou Chang stared blankly for a short while but very quickly understood the meaning behind Fu Li’s words. The medicine was given to him free of charge, and he hadn’t forked out anything either. It seemed like he didn’t have any qualifications to call the other party a fake medicine swindler. No, the headlight of his beloved car was broken by this youngster, didn’t he not ask him for reimburs.e.m.e.nt?
The car stopped outside a shabby alley once again. Zhou Chang told Fu Li sincerely and earnestly, “Brother, I know your life might be a bit more tough. An idle, rich second generation like me doesn’t have the right to lecture you. But you’re still young. Some things can’t be done, you won’t be able to turn back once you do them. Things like medicine can save lives but can also do harm. Sometimes, fake medicine can take someone’s life. You look even younger than me, and neither are you a bad person. Don’t step onto the wrong path for the sake of money.”
Fu Li looked at this solemn-looking young human and took out a stalk of ginseng from his backpack. “You make a lot of sense, but I never lie.”
“What are you doing?” Zhou Chang looked at the stalk of ginseng, feeling somewhat disappointed in the young man. He had spoken this much, yet he still refused to change. Was there any meaning in cheating people this way?
“Car fee,” Fu Li pulled open the car door and got off. Standing on the steps, he looked at Zhou Chang. “Although your natural disposition is a lazy one, your moral conduct is pure. By nature, you will lead a happy and prosperous life. A human like you is very cute.”
“Ai!” Zhou Chang wanted to reject it, but the young man walked off so quickly that it seemed a little strange. He had merely s.p.a.ced out for an instant, but the young man had already walked a great distance, very quickly vanishing into the alley.
The scent of ginseng permeated the inside of the car. Zhou Chang gritted his teeth and made a U-turn. He went to find an elder in his family who knew how to examine traditional Chinese medicine products.
What if… this person hadn’t lied?
Even if the possibility of this was so small that it was pitiful, Zhou Chang still wanted to give it a try. Perhaps it was because the other party’s gaze was too serious. So serious that he felt that it would be a sin to not trust in him.
The elder received the ginseng Zhou Chang handed to him with trembling hands. The elder’s look of excited infatuation couldn’t help but make Zhou Chang doubt whether he had brought a stalk of ginseng or some bewitching monster.
“Little Zhou, where did you find this high-quality ginseng?!” The elder cautiously placed the ginseng onto a tray. “Although its been sitting for a number of years, it’s pure ginseng from the wild mountains. Moreover, it’s a product of the highest quality that can’t be bought with money. Tell me, where did you get such a good thing?”
“Uncle, this thing… is real?” Zhou Chang swallowed, feeling that the way he had carried this hundred-year-old ginseng might have been a bit too casual.
The elder nodded. “Some time back, a fifty-year-old stalk of ginseng from the wild mountains was auctioned for a high price of nearly one million. This thing of yours is good stuff that can’t be bought even with money. Bring it back and show some filial respect to your parents. But only use a bit every time, this thing has very concentrated medicinal properties.”
Zhou Chang sat there in a daze. Only after a long period of time had gone by did he realize that his face was extremely flushed.
He was a hedonistic son who had flaunted himself as a rich second generation, yet he had taken advantage of someone and even called someone else’s things fake medicine.
At five o’clock in the afternoon, Fu Li appeared at the hotel punctually to take over from the previous shift’s security guard. After putting on the uniform, Fu Li walked out of the changing room. The corridor was extremely quiet. He looked around his surroundings without seeing anyone.
Ding, ding, ding.
A ringing sound that seemed to exist yet not exist echoed from the ground. Fu Li came to a halt, not walking forward any longer.
There was a saying in the human world that there were soul-catching yinchai in the underworld. With a Soul-Pulling Bell and Soul-Locking Chain in their hands, they would guide living souls whose lives had come to an end towards the underworld.
Fu Li had seen yinchai twice previously. Perhaps this would be the third time.
The ringing sound grew louder and louder. Fu Li turned and saw a young man dressed in a black uniform with a belt around his waist walking in his direction hastily. In his hands was a rectangular object that was four fingers wide. It looked like the handphone that humans liked to use.
His other hand held onto a metal rope, which was looped around a young man wearing a bathrobe. The man was shrieking about how he ‘didn’t want to die’, had a ‘lot of money’, and other similarly meaningless things. Yet, the young yinchai was preoccupied with playing with his handphone while walking, completely disregarding the man.
Ding.
The yinchai came to a stop and the ringing sound vanished. He raised his head and saw Fu Li, who was three steps away from him. Stuffing his handphone into the pocket of his pants, he fished out his identification doc.u.ment. “Yinchai’s working. Idlers should not disturb.”
Fu Lu glanced at the yinchai’s identification doc.u.ment. The two words Niu Zhen was written on it in calligraphy.
“You can see me?” The young man who was locked up pounced onto Fu Li. “Save me, save me. I have plenty of money, I can give you lots of money.”
Niu Zhen sneered. “Anyone wanted by our underworld has to go. It’s no use no matter who you plead with.” He didn’t acc.u.mulate merit or do good deeds while alive, nor did he cherish his body. Only after his corpse had turned stiff did he know how to fear death. This sort of human was also interesting.
“You’re a security guard at this hotel, you should be protecting the people inside the hotel!” The young man had already lost all reason. He clutched at the leg of Fu Li’s pants. “Save me!”
Fu Li took a step back and gently removed the man’s hand. “I only protect the customers in this hotel who are alive. You are already dead.”
“No, no. I don’t want to die,” The man’s struggles intensified. The Soul-Locking Chain around his wrist grew increasingly tight, to the point where it seemed like it had fused with his bones and flesh. The man howled in pain, his facial features contorting into a ma.s.s.
“Fu Li, what are you doing still standing there!” A colleague from the security department walked over, his tone of voice unfriendly. “It’s almost time for you to start work. Don’t a.s.sume that you can slack off just because a few female customers praised you.”
Fu Li looked at this colleague who was unknowingly stepping on the wailing man’s soul and nodded silently.
The security guard touched his lower leg doubtfully. Wasn’t the air-conditioning along the corridor a little too low? Upon looking up, he saw Fu Li still remaining silent, so he said unhappily, “You…”
At this moment, the walkie-talkie at his waist sounded.
“Team two, emergency gathering now. Popular artist Lu Renjia met with a mishap in our hotel!”
Holding the walkie-talkie, the security guard ran towards the stairs. Just as he reached the staircase, his legs weakened all of a sudden and he landed smack on the ground. He climbed up and glanced back at Fu Li who was still standing along the corridor, before running off in embarra.s.sment.
Niu Zhen tightened the Soul-Locking Chain, nodded at Fu Li, and then dragged the young man’s soul into the distance.
After the ringing sound vanished, Fu Li turned around, brushed his sleeves, and cut open the barrier. “You can leave, don’t casually enter the men’s changing room next time.”
A young girl wearing a short skirt walked out of the room. She shot a smile at Fu Li, two lines of blood dripping down the sockets of her eyes. “Many thanks to this Daoist priest for lending a hand.”
Fu Li didn’t reply. He still couldn’t understand humans. That man was clearly already nearing the end of his life, so why did this female ghost still risk acquiring baleful qi just to let that man die in advance?
“Although no yinchai has come to ferry you, this can help you find the path to the underworld,” Fu Li placed a Migu Branch in the female ghost’s hands. “I hope your next life will be peaceful.”
“I am incompetent and powerless and can only hope to be able to repay this Daoist priest in my next life,” The female ghost solemnly swore an oath. “If not for this Daoist priest, I would have been regarded as an evil ghost and taken away. I wouldn’t have had a chance to be reincarnated.”
“No need, this is merely something done in pa.s.sing,” Fu Li shook his head. “I dislike raising humans as pets.”
The female ghost was astounded. Seeing that the Daoist Priest wasn’t making a joke, she bowed deeply towards him before leaving with the Migu Branch.
An hour later, the news of the popular artist Lu Renjia’s death spread widely through the various major entertainment media platforms. Soon after, the police reported the cause of his death. It wasn’t suicide or homicide, but an accidental death caused by a drug overdose.
The entire country went into an uproar the moment the cause of his death was reported. What was even more shocking was that the police once again announced something two days later – Lu Renjia was linked to the death of a certain female university student who had fallen to her death half a year ago.
This female student was a fan of Lu Renjia. Seeing that she was pretty, Lu Renjia intentionally invited her out and not only got her onto drugs but also wanted to r*pe her. His original intention was to get her hooked onto drugs so that she would be completely submissive towards him. However, he hadn’t expected for the girl to have an unyielding personality. As she was grappling with him, she unexpectedly fell from the building.
After the girl’s death, some said that she deserved it for getting a room at a hotel even after consuming drugs, and that she received her due retribution by losing her footing and falling to her death.
The pervasive insults from bystanders and her parents’ tears prevented the girl from resting in peace even after her death. In the end, she transformed into a resentful ghost and bothered Lu Renjia every day as revenge for that day’s grudge.
The only thing Fu Li did was to hide her behind a barrier he erected while she was evading the yinchai.
During the night shift, Fu Li was listening to the front-counter ladies gossiping about Lu Renjia and gazing into the night outside the hotel when he heard a familiar ringing sound.
He stood at the main entrance and saw the yinchai who had just pa.s.sed by.
“It’s you!” Although this yinchai was wearing a black uniform, his hair was done up in a bun reminiscent of a style from many years back. It looked a little out of place.
“It’s been so many years. You’re actually still alive?”
Fu Li’s jet-black eyes stared at the yinchai. “Who are you?”
The yinchai didn’t speak. Footsteps sounded from the other end of the street.