Chapter 135 Human Nature

Accompanying someone is the longest confession of love, and this kind of accompanying is the kind where you can't even see each other. The female streamer finally left; she didn't wait for the person who asked her to come here. She'll probably go back and ask that account why it stood her up.

But what she probably doesn't know is that person has already left this mortal realm forever.

The boy took the initiative to have Zhou Ze send him off. Zhou Ze didn't ask him what obsession was keeping him lingering in the mortal realm, and he didn't answer. This time, sending a deceased soul to hell was easy and simple.

It could even be described as "peaceful."

No resistance, no struggle, no dissatisfaction, only a kind of composure.

After finishing this business, Zhou Ze went to take a shower and went upstairs to rest. After moving to the new store, "business" had actually gotten a lot better. Looking at those stacks of ghost money, it really gave "ghosts" a great sense of satisfaction.

When he woke up, it was already noon. When he went downstairs, Zhou Ze saw the old Taoist sitting behind the bar, teasing the little monkey.

"Good morning, Boss," the old Taoist greeted.

Zhou Ze nodded.

He sat down in the sofa by the window, ready to start another lazy day soaking up the sun. This kind of life was really comfortable, especially looking at the endless stream of people outside South Street.

Everyone under heaven bustles and hustles for profit. Watching other people busying themselves for a living and for their dreams, while he could steal half a day of leisure, the contrast created a sense of superiority, and with superiority came greater enjoyment.

"Boss, what would you like to drink?"

Bai Yingying would wake up whenever Zhou Ze did. If she left him for too long, Zhou Ze’s sleep would be interrupted.

"Tea, please."

Bai Yingying quickly brewed some tea and brought it over, placing an ashtray in front of Zhou Ze at the same time. Then, she lit his cigarette for him before leaving.

Sometimes, Zhou Ze himself was a little confused whether Bai Yingying knew about the instructions that Madam Bai had left behind, which was why she was so attentive to him. But from the looks of it, she really seemed a bit simple and innocent, and she was very respectful and worshipful towards her Madam Bai.

Some questions weren’t suitable to dig into. That would ruin the fun, and Zhou Ze was willing to continue playing dumb.

Drinking tea,

Smoking a cigarette,

Anyway, there weren't many ghosts during the day. He would only really get busy at night.

Actually, Zhou Ze still liked sitting in the bookstore, waiting for customers to come to him, like Jiang Taigong fishing—those who were willing would take the bait. It wasn't that this was classy, but he just felt it wasn't tiring.

He didn't like running around; that was too much hassle.

He picked up today's newspaper and flipped through it. The gambling-with-lives case was already brewing and being tried. The police had acted very quickly, and all the behind-the-scenes investors and so on had been controlled and arrested. They would be waiting for a fair trial.

Just then, the bookstore door behind Zhou Ze was pushed open. The person who walked in made the old Taoist's eyes light up, and he immediately revealed a fierce look!

It wasn't surprising that the old Taoist suddenly acted like this, because the person who came in was a monk with precepts scars on his head, who also seemed to have ringworm. A leper monk; quite interesting.

The monk wasn't tall, only about 1.6 meters, and a bit chubby. He didn't have the demeanor of a venerable monk, far inferior to the old Taoist's aura of a sage.

Since ancient times, Buddhism and Taoism had disliked each other. During ancient dynasties, when Taoism flourished, it suppressed Buddhism, and when Buddhism flourished, it suppressed Taoism. After all, they were competing for followers and resources; if you had more, naturally I would have less.

From the old Taoist's point of view, the bookstore was his territory, and this leper monk was like he was coming to challenge him.

But what he didn't expect was that the leper monk didn't even look at the old Taoist. He just smiled at the "sense of antagonism" the old Taoist was releasing, and then walked directly to the opposite of Zhou Ze and sat down.

"A cup of tea."

The leper monk said.

The old Taoist, with a dark face, brought over a cup of tea and reminded him at the same time, "The minimum charge here is one hundred, and we don't accept fortune-telling or feng shui readings."

The leper monk slightly raised his head, looked at the old Taoist, and smiled:

"We are different."

We are different.

A very profound sentence, which both belittled the old Taoist and elevated himself.

The meaning was that you're just a swindler getting by, while I have real skills. We are different.

Zhou Ze exhaled a smoke ring, which happened to blow onto the other's face.

It wasn't that Zhou Ze wanted to stick up for the old Taoist. After all, the customer was king, but the moment the other party entered the bookstore, Zhou Ze felt a vague sense of unease.

The leper monk wasn't angry, but just put his hands together and chanted, "Amitabha."

Instantly, Zhou Ze suddenly felt uncomfortable all over, as if ants were crawling all over him.

Then, the fingernails on Zhou Ze's fingers holding the cigarette slowly began to grow out black.

"Layman, please calm your anger. This humble monk has come to drink tea and read books, with no malicious intent."

The leper monk released his hands, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of tea. Instantly, Zhou Ze's discomfort subsided.

"Go ahead and do your thing," Zhou Ze said to the old Taoist.

The old Taoist could only retreat.

"Layman, it's quite interesting that this store is open in the middle of a bustling city. Gaining elegance and tranquility in a noisy city."

Zhou Ze didn't speak.

"This humble monk is currently traveling around. I happened to come to Tong City today, but I found that my two old friends were gone. I was really curious, and after some investigation, I learned that Layman, you, have appeared in Tong City."

"Who are your two friends?"

"One is a woman, in the prime of her life. One is an old man, working at the Confucian Temple."

Zhou Ze pondered slightly in his heart. The former should be referring to the female ghost official who had the problem, and the latter should be the dwarf old man at the Confucian Temple.

"Are you here to avenge them?"

"Not at all, not at all. The arising and ceasing of karma, all have a fixed number. Joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, all depend on fate. Everything cannot be forced, nor should it be forced. This humble monk has come today just to see Layman, to sit down and have a meeting with Layman, and to form a good karmic connection."

"It seems like the people who form good karmic connections with you don't have good endings."

The leper monk smiled speechlessly upon hearing this.

Then, Zhou Ze didn't speak, and the leper monk didn't speak either. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

It was probably when the tea had cooled that the leper monk opened his mouth and said:

"This humble monk has come to say some thoughts to the underworld official, to talk about some ideas. This humble monk always seeks out the local officials to talk when I arrive somewhere."

"You talk, and I'll listen. After you're done, you still have to pay."

"The Buddha says that all living beings are equal. The 'living beings' here actually includes not only the living, but also the dead. They were born here, grew up here, and are actually no different from the living.

In this humble monk's eyes, they are also people, also members of all living beings.

Those who seek good are the foundation of all living beings and should be cherished.

Those who fall into evil are the disaster of all living beings and should be punished.

There are ghosts and demons who harm people, so there is naturally the Vajra wrathful appearance to deal with them, but as for ordinary deceased souls, or those who linger in the mortal realm due to obsessions or various reasons, this humble monk feels that they have this right, and also this freedom.

However, the affairs of the underworld, since the collapse of Mount Tai's Lord, have been carried out using a system of points and performance. All ghosts lingering in the mortal realm must be sent down to hell.

This humble monk has always disagreed with this kind of behavior.

Therefore, I have come to persuade the superior official that ghosts also have likes and dislikes, and also have advantages and disadvantages. Everything cannot be approached with a one-size-fits-all approach, otherwise it is lazy governance, it is negligent governance."

Zhou Ze wanted to laugh a little.

Seeing Zhou Ze's reaction, the leper monk sighed. A practitioner of the Way should sail against the current, knowing that it is impossible, yet still doing it.

He picked up the newspaper in front of Zhou Ze, flipped it open to the last page, which had news from another province about a murder case.

"This humble monk has read this newspaper. When this incident happened, this humble monk was not far from there.

A man went missing, and his relatives reported the case. The police suspected that he might have been murdered, but they couldn't find the body and were at a loss.

At this time, a woman from the same village told the police that her deceased mother had appeared to her in a dream last night, telling her that someone had been buried next to her house, occupying her land.

The police initially dismissed it as a joke, but when they sent people to check near her mother's grave, they found a newly turned clod of earth. After digging, they found the body of the missing man.

Later, based on the evidence left on the body, they found the real murderer, who was Li from the same village.

The real murderer was caught, and the victim could rest in peace.

In this, the soul of the woman's mother did a good deed. Good and evil are in the heart.

Although she lingered in the local area without going to hell, she didn't harm anyone, and even helped people. Do you think the underworld should take this kind of ghost into hell?

She may just want to watch her children and grandchildren grow up, to carry on the family line, and nothing more."

Zhou Ze picked up the cold tea, took a sip, and shook his head.

Clearly, Zhou Ze didn't agree with this statement.

"You still haven't managed to convince me. I'm sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing. You can go to other cities and other places, and talk to other ghost officials about your ideals and ideas. Maybe you can find a kindred spirit, and then work together to fight for ghost rights."

The leper monk smiled helplessly. Obviously, he had seen this kind of feedback many times. He felt somewhat helpless and picked up the newspaper again, looked at the news on it, and sighed again.

Zhou Ze reached out and pressed the newspaper down.

The leper monk looked at Zhou Ze with some puzzlement.

"Monk, there's a saying: don't rush to run before you've learned to walk. You say you've been fighting for the rights of ghosts, but you can't even understand people, so what qualifications do you have to speak for ghosts?"

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Ze reached out and poked at the news, shook his head, and said:

"You said you were in that place at the time, so did you find the old mother's soul in that village?"

The leper monk shook his head. "This humble monk was not fortunate enough to meet her. If I were fortunate enough to meet her, I would definitely treat her with courtesy. Although the old woman's body has perished, her kindness still exists."

Zhou Ze smiled. "I haven't been to that place, but I can bet you a drawer of ghost money that there is no soul of this old mother at all. After she died, her soul went to hell long ago."

"How is that possible... You're a ghost official, don't you believe that there are ghosts in this world?"

The leper monk felt it was absurd.

"The person who went missing and was murdered was from the same village.

The murderer who hid the body was also from the same village.

And then there's a woman who had a dream and told the police the clue, also from the same village. Isn't that obvious enough?"

Zhou Ze lit another cigarette and said, "The newspaper said that the police didn't believe it at first, but after excavating the grave and finding the body, they also found it very strange. This is the reporter's writing, in order to make the news interesting and attract attention.

But in reality, I believe that the local police are clear about it in their hearts.

The woman came to report it. It's very likely that she passed by and saw the murderer hiding the body."

"Then why didn't she tell the police directly?" the leper monk asked.

"Because the murderer is also from the same village. The murderer may have parents and children, and also siblings. If she goes directly to report it, wouldn't she be resented by the murderer's family?

Therefore, she used the excuse of ghosts and gods, something about her old mother appearing in a dream, vaguely revealing the clues in this way, so as to avoid being resented.

It's like in some remote areas with cases of abduction and trafficking. Do you think the neighbors don't know that this family bought a person back?

Or, do you think that everyone in the entire village is a bad person, that no one has a conscience, that no one has kindness in their heart?

It's just because everyone feels that if they report it, they will offend the neighbors they see every day. Even if they sympathize with the poor woman who was trafficked, they can only pretend they didn't see it."

The leper monk was stunned for a moment and said blankly, "What is this?"

"Human nature."