Chapter 1 Ripples

Ding-dong...

Like the sound of a stone falling into water, crisp and melodious, the original tranquility rippled outwards.

Zhou Ze found himself lying on a pool of water. Beneath him was the surface of the water, and this surface was like glass, supporting his body.

Everything around him was a little blurry at first, but slowly it began to become clear. And after becoming clear, it was familiar.

In the distance,

the road to the Yellow Springs was always crowded, because even without world wars or plagues, people were dying every moment in this world.

There is often a line in many movies and TV dramas: "I'm afraid you'll be too lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs, so I (or someone I send) will go down to accompany you."

In fact, there's no need to worry about this at all.

When you go down, you'll find the road to the Yellow Springs very crowded, and you'll be surrounded by many white brothers, black brothers, men, women, old, and young.

Whether you're plump or slender, handsome or ugly, these external appearances cannot prevent the inevitable fate of death.

Kings and generals rise and fall, but in the end, they're just a mound of earth.

However, most people don't feel loneliness after going down to the Yellow Springs. Everyone is like a formless walking corpse, moving forward bit by bit with the crowd.

If the Yang realm is compared to a workshop in a factory, then hell is the subsequent factory for collecting waste and converting raw materials. Compared to the dazzling world of the Yang realm, hell pays more attention to a kind of rule and order,

a kind of order that makes you despair, makes you helpless, but is as solid as iron.

Zhou Ze slowly stood up.

This is a dream, right?

He,

shouldn't be dead.

There weren't many memories in his mind, only that he had almost died in front of his sister-in-law, and then, like being drunk, he had blacked out again.

Just like last time on the rooftop, as if he had handed over his body, handed over everything.

Zhou Ze didn't want to die, especially at this time. If he could choose, Zhou Ze would rather choose to be like those "walking corpses," numbly walking on, until the next end or beginning.

But now, he wasn't numb, and he wasn't muddled. If he died, he would have to endure the pain of utter loneliness with reason.

It was like undergoing a long and arduous surgery,

and the doctor told you,

"I'm sorry, we're out of anesthesia."

His palm pressed against the surface of the water.

The pool was empty. You could see the bottom at a glance. The surroundings were crystal clear.

The Faceless Woman hadn't returned yet, but things there were about to come to a conclusion.

Little Loli, the Faceless Woman, Rongcheng, there would eventually be a result.

Looking around,

Zhou Ze didn't see the man with the cat that he had seen the last time he dreamed of this place. Actually, Zhou Ze was quite looking forward to seeing him again.

He didn't know why, but that man seemed to have a special magic. Being with him could make people feel at ease.

Perhaps, that was personal charm?

Walking on the water, a mist began to rise around him, and a hazy feeling slowly enveloped everything.

Returning to an old haunt brought no surprises or accidents. Everything seemed unchanged, but Zhou Ze knew that something had changed, and it seemed to be himself.

For example, this time, when he dreamed of this place again, he seemed much calmer.

When the thick fog completely enveloped everything,

Zhou Ze felt a stinging pain in his eyes, and then he smelled the stench of mud.

Damn it,

this smell of mud again.

Opening his eyes, Zhou Ze saw that he was lying in the bedroom on the second floor of the bookstore. The old Taoist and the monkey were sitting there playing with mud, and then they started smearing it on him.

"Hehe, this is the way to knead it! Watch closely, I'll knead some big pectoral muscles for him!"

The old Taoist boasted to the monkey while kneading a steamed bun and preparing to stick it on Zhou Ze.

Turning healing into a vulgar game was something only the old Taoist could do.

However, when the old Taoist was about to stick it on, he saw that Zhou Ze on the bed had actually opened his eyes. He was immediately stunned, and then held the mud bun in both hands, at a loss.

"Is it tasty?"

Zhou Ze asked.

He didn't know why,

but this injury seemed to be much lighter than the last time. Although he didn't know how long he had been unconscious, at least he could speak directly after waking up.

Is it tasty?

The old Taoist was still frozen in place.

"Is it tasty?" Zhou Ze asked again.

The old Taoist grimaced, lowered his head, took a bite of the mud bun, and then nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Fragrant, very fragrant."

Zhou Ze turned his face away and didn't look at him anymore.

The old Taoist quickly spat out the mud in his mouth, and then flattered him, "Boss, you're awake! You really scared me to death. You've been unconscious for three days!"

Only three days?

How long was he unconscious last time?

But why did they have to smear mud on him every time?

Zhou Ze looked at the dirty stains on the bed and the dirtiness on his body. For someone with cleanliness, it was a little unbearable:

"Call Bai Yingying."

"Boss, are you hungry?" the old Taoist asked.

"I want to take a bath."

"Let me help you wash, Boss. When I used to exorcise ghosts in the bathroom to save the world, I scrubbed people in the bathroom. My technique is awesome!"

The old Taoist patted his chest.

"............" Zhou Ze.

The monkey on the side covered its mouth and laughed "squeak, squeak."

Zhou Ze wanted to say, "Look, even the monkey is laughing at you."

Why didn't this guy have any self-awareness at all?

"Call Bai Yingying."

"No need, Boss. Come on, I'll carry you to the bathroom. I guarantee I'll scrub you until you're fair and tender."

As he said that, the old Taoist eagerly prepared to pick up Zhou Ze and get out of bed.

If Zhou Ze still had the strength, his nails would probably have grown out already,

and he would have opened up several new air vents in the old Taoist's body.

Unfortunately, the current Zhou Ze was just a weakling.

Fortunately, Bai Yingying happened to push the door in at this time, holding tea in her hand. Seeing Zhou Ze awake, Bai Yingying happily put down her things and walked to the bed.

Zhou Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

............

With the experience from last time, Bai Yingying seemed very natural in helping Zhou Ze take a bath this time.

"How are the Lin family's affairs?"

Zhou Ze asked.

"Boss, when we went, you were already unconscious on the ground. The Lin sisters were fine, but their house was in a mess, especially the bathroom. The glass and tiles were all broken.

We brought you out. Later, no one from the Lin family came to ask about anything. I know what you want to ask. The younger Lin sister has already gone back to school, and Doctor Lin has gone back to work."

Zhou Ze nodded, looked in the mirror, and saw that his hair seemed a little long. He said to Bai Yingying, "Help me cut my hair a little shorter."

"Okay."

Bai Yingying went out to get scissors and came back to cut Zhou Ze's hair.

After everything was cleaned up neatly, Zhou Ze was placed in a wheelchair. The wheelchair was new, shiny, and electric, with a joystick, like a bumper car in an amusement park.

"Who bought this?" Zhou Ze's face was dark.

"Boss, do you like it? I prepared it especially for you, thinking that you'll probably need to use it often in the future,

so I simply got you one.

Boss, look here, this button can be pressed!"

The old Taoist pressed the button for Zhou Ze like he was showing off a treasure,

and then the whole wheelchair began to glow, with colorful lights.

"Wooooooo"

There was also a train whistle sound effect.

The old Taoist thought Zhou Ze would definitely be very satisfied.

Little did he know that if Zhou Ze's body wasn't so weak right now,

he would have died twice today.

Instead of choosing to sit in the wheelchair, Zhou Ze chose to sit on a soft sofa by the window in the bookstore.

Xu Qinglang wasn't in the store. It seemed that something had happened at his home, so he went back first, but he left a lot of juice,

saying that Zhou Ze could drink it if he woke up.

Life seemed to have returned to its familiar rhythm.

After all this tossing, in the end, nothing had changed.

The truth was ridiculous, but it was what had actually happened.

Perhaps,

finding out the truth about the ghost messenger's wraith on his sister-in-law would have to wait until Little Loli came back. As ghost messengers who were originally in the same city, it was impossible for Little Loli to not know anything about that ghost messenger.

Of course, that was on the premise that Little Loli could still come back.

Zhou Ze, the boss, leaned on the sofa and basked in the sun through the glass, while Bai Yingying was responsible for greeting the customers. Although Xu Qinglang wasn't there, Bai Yingying had already learned how to mix ordinary pastries and drinks.

At the table next to Zhou Ze, sat two long-haired women, but their voices were a little hoarse and a little awkward. The two women flipped through fashion magazines while chatting, and they became more and more excited as they talked.

"Let me tell you, I recently discovered something that's making me very worried."

"Tell me, tell me quickly."

"Last week, I noticed that the stockings and bras that I left on top of the washing machine in the bathroom at home waiting to be washed had been touched."

"Ah, who touched them? Did someone break into your house? Could it be a thief?"

"But nothing was stolen from the house. At first, I also thought it was a thief, but then I found out it wasn't."

"Then who touched them?"

"It was Xiaowen. I noticed it that time. It was Xiaowen. He went into the bathroom after I finished taking a bath, and then when I went back in, I found that my stockings, bras, and other underwear had been rummaged through, and there were wet marks on them."

"Ah."

The other woman covered her mouth.

"How could Xiaowen do this?"

"I'm also very troubled."

"It's okay. Maybe Xiaowen is just growing up and has become a little curious about women's things. Most boys go through this stage."

"I've looked it up online. If it was just these problems, it would be fine."

"It would be fine? It can't be considered fine. You have to try to guide him and help him establish the right values."

"I originally planned to have an open and honest talk with him, but then I discovered something else. That was that one weekend, I came home early from work, and I saw Xiaowen in my bedroom, wearing my usual stockings, bras, and skirts, standing in front of the mirror and looking at himself."

"This..."

"If it was just the previous things, I think I could still guide him a little, but now things have become very serious. He's actually wearing my clothes and looking in the mirror. This is obviously not a problem of a boy's adolescence."

"Oh, my son's calling. I'll answer it."

The woman answered the phone and then said to her bestie, "Sorry, my son said he's hungry. I have to go back and feed him."

"Okay, you go back quickly."

"Waiter, check, please."

Bai Yingying walked over and gave them the bill.

Zhou Ze watched the two long-haired women walk out of the store, lost in thought.

"Boss, would you like me to add some hot water to your tea?" Bai Yingying asked.

"No need." Zhou Ze shook his head and picked up his teacup.

Bai Yingying put one hand on her hip and held the money in the other, and said helplessly:

"Those two guys just now were really sick, right? They were obviously men, but they dressed themselves up like women. Luckily, I have sharp eyes."

"Cough cough..."

Zhou Ze, who was drinking water, suddenly choked.