Chapter 166 Spit

Back behind the bar, Zhou Ze poured himself a glass of water. He’d just taken a couple of sips when the old Taoist returned.

“Stuck them on?”

“Yes, Boss.”

The old Taoist scratched his head and asked, “Boss, why are there so many wreaths behind their car?”

And they weren't real wreaths; you couldn't see them at all without applying bull's eye tears.

Chinese people all know that wreaths are for the dead; they're very unlucky for the living. For those things to suddenly appear behind their car definitely wasn't good.

Therefore, even though those two young urban management officers had almost gotten him into trouble with the boss, they were still well-intentioned. The old Taoist had willingly contributed the talisman he’d been hiding in his crotch.

“Just happens when people spit too much at the back of it.”

Zhou Ze smiled, not taking it to heart. He wanted to ask Bai Yingying to make him tea, but then remembered that Yingying was still battling it out at the internet cafe.

“Brew me some tea.”

“Aye, right away.”

The old Taoist was also very quick on his feet and quite adept at making tea. He actually knew a lot and was good at learning; Zhou Ze had previously seen him mixing cocktails for customers when Xu Qinglang wasn't around.

“Boss, what does it mean to be cursed a lot?”

“People often see the urban management car and spit at the back of it, and then curse, ‘May you die soon and be reincarnated.’

Slowly, the wreaths start to appear.”

“A curse?”

“You could say that.”

“But those two young urban management officers seem like decent guys.”

“That teacher who jumped off the building was also a decent person.”

“Um… well…”

“Don’t worry, those wreaths won’t kill anyone. At most, they’ll weaken their luck. With your talisman stuck on, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Alas, this poor Taoist just feels wronged for those two kids. Why should they bear the bad name of the urban management?”

“Because most people like to eat from the bowl but curse their mother after putting down their chopsticks.

If their way is blocked by stalls when they’re driving or walking, they’ll curse.

When they see videos of urban management ‘beating’ people or reports of them ‘bullying’ vendors online, they’ll also curse.”

“Alas, public opinion is a fearsome thing.

Boss, the tea is ready.”

The old Taoist brought over the tea and even picked up a rag with a serious expression and began wiping and touching things here and there. Even though the bookstore had been cleaned spotlessly by the zombies, the old Taoist still felt uneasy, afraid that Zhou Ze would bring up the “son” matter again to make a fuss.

Zhou, the boss, lay down on the sofa. Just as he’d settled down, Xu Qinglang came down from upstairs.

“Did you eat out for lunch?”

Xu Qinglang’s words carried a hint of accusation.

“Yeah.”

“Heh.”

The old Taoist tactfully moved further away.

“Old Zhou, come out with me for a bit and help me with something.” Xu Qinglang said to Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze opened his eyes somewhat helplessly, looking at Xu Qinglang, who had changed into a set of smart clothes. After hesitating for a moment, he still nodded.

As a friend, it's hard to refuse when someone asks for help, especially when you're lying on the sofa looking like you have nothing to do.

He couldn’t even find an excuse to brush him off.

And in any case, Old Xu had always been a big help to Zhou Ze.

Xu Qinglang drove, and Zhou Ze sat in the passenger seat.

The car was heading to Xu Qinglang's hometown, Menhai County, which wasn't far. Unless there was a traffic accident, the roads around Tongcheng were usually clear, so the drive would probably take less than an hour.

“This is what happened. The problem we encountered during the grave relocation last time has started to escalate.”

Xu Qinglang had just explained the situation to Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze knew about this; Xu Qinglang had left the bookstore more than once to return to his hometown to deal with the grave relocation. Although Xu Qinglang's Xuan Shu skill was just a half-baked amateur in Zhou Ze's and the little loli's eyes, his level was still much higher than the funeral masters and so-called itinerant Taoists in the countryside.

So Xu Qinglang had personally presided over the grave relocation. He had calculated the position and date, and everything was done in an orderly manner, but problems still occurred.

First, the ancestral grave site had flooded. According to Xu Qinglang, it was like an underground hot spring had seeped out. The water was even steaming and hot.

Then, when they started digging, they encountered an unknown collapse. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it scared the villagers who were responsible for the relocation badly enough.

In the end, there was no other way but to carry out an emergency excavation, unearthing a pile of bones and such. Some of the coffins had rotted away over time, and the bones were buried in the soil. Some people had been poor in the past, and they hadn't even had a coffin when they were buried, just a straw mat.

Except for the tombstones with inscriptions from recent years, most of the bones couldn't be identified by their families. Anyway, most of the villagers shared the same surname, so it didn't matter. They were all hastily moved to another location and collectively reburied.

As for whether there were any remaining corpses that hadn't been relocated in the old grave area, no one bothered to look for them anymore, and it was too difficult to find them. They couldn't just call in an excavator to dig up the entire area again, could they?

But after that, strange things began to happen. Things started to disappear from the village, and some of the livestock raised by the families also started to die inexplicably. Some people even dreamed of their great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers coming to complain. In short, it would be an exaggeration to say that the village was thrown into chaos, but at least everyone was on edge.

Xu Qinglang had tried to find a way to solve the problem, but all his efforts had been in vain, so he had to ask Zhou Ze for help.

When they arrived at Xu Qinglang's village, it was already past three in the afternoon. Although it was a village, almost every household had a two-story villa. Outside, not far away, was the main highway, and the village roads were all made of cement. Many families even had nice cars parked in their yards.

The rural areas in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai were very different from those in the southwest. This was partly due to the local economic development and partly due to the geographical environment, which made development much more convenient and suitable than in the mountainous areas of the southwest.

Xu Qinglang parked the car on the cement road by the side of the field. He was straightforward and didn't bother to take Zhou Ze to see any elders or relatives in his hometown. He directly took Zhou Ze to the cemetery.

The old ancestral grave area was overgrown with weeds, looking very desolate.

“The grave relocation was because of land acquisition. A high-speed rail line will pass through here. The village wasn't very willing at first, but after receiving a sum of compensation, everyone agreed.”

Xu Qinglang squatted by the side of the field and lit a cigarette.

Zhou Ze walked around the grave site and then shrugged, saying:

“I didn't find any problems, and I didn't sense any ghostly energy. It’s as clean as your face after a nightly mask.”

“I also tried to look for it, but I didn't find anything here. I originally thought it was because my Taoist skills weren't good enough, but since you can't find anything either, the problem might not be here.”

“What was the final disposal of the corpses that were dug up earlier?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Apart from those that could be identified and were buried separately, the rest were basically buried together.” Xu Qinglang said.

“Then maybe Grandma Seven and Grandma Eight were enemies in life and ended up being buried together by accident, and now they’re arguing?”

Zhou Ze said half-jokingly.

“It's not that simple. Would ghosts eat livestock?”

Just as the two were smoking and discussing the matter, a loud shout suddenly came from a distance:

“Someone’s drowning! Someone’s drowning! Someone’s drowning!!!!!!”

The one shouting was an old woman. She was old, but her voice was still loud and clear. This shout was enough to startle half the village.

Xu Qinglang and Zhou Ze ran over immediately. Several men had already gone down into the pond. Before Xu Qinglang and Zhou Ze could react, those people had pulled a woman out of the pond.

The rural areas of Jiangnan have a habit of building their own ponds, so they can raise fish and do some aquaculture.

When the woman was pulled up, her face was pale, but she was still conscious. Her hands were unconsciously grabbing at something, as if she was still stuck in the desperate stage of just having drowned.

Xu Qinglang immediately went over to check on her condition, and the surrounding villagers also greeted Xu Qinglang one after another.

Zhou Ze stood on the side watching. He suddenly thought of a question. Didn’t Old Xu get twenty or thirty apartments because of the demolition? And this is his hometown, so why isn't this place being demolished?

Or, it’s true that this is his hometown, but wasn't he living in a different village with his parents back then?

Zhou Ze was too embarrassed to ask Xu Qinglang this. He was already anxious, so this wasn't the time for him to show off his twenty or thirty apartments.

Attempted suicide by drowning wasn’t uncommon anywhere. Zhou Ze squatted down by the pond. The water in the pond wasn't very clear, and there were many green algae floating on it.

He reached out and pushed aside the green algae in front of him. Zhou Ze tilted his head slightly and looked at the surface of the water below. He still didn't find anything, and he didn't see anything either. The pond was dirty, but it wasn't dirty with “dirty things.”

The woman was carried back to her house, and many villagers gathered nearby. Tongcheng was located in the eastern coastal area, so even young and middle-aged people in the countryside could find jobs nearby without having to leave their hometowns to work elsewhere. The countryside was still very lively.

Xu Qinglang was still busy inside, and Zhou Ze stood outside the crowd, smoking his cigarette.

Just then, an old man with somewhat disheveled clothes walked over, scolding as he walked. The surrounding villagers showed disgusted and repulsive expressions and quickly made way for him.

The old man muttered to himself,

First scolding the government,

Then scolding the village chief,

And then scolding these villagers who were blinded by money,

As if feeling sorry for them for not living up to expectations,

He walked and scolded, spitting everywhere, using the harshest words possible,

Shameless, greedy for money, sorry for the ancestors…

Zhou Ze watched the excitement from the side, leaning against a locust tree.

The old man was quite endearing in Zhou Ze's eyes. At his age, there was nothing to take to heart or not take to heart. He could curse if he wanted to, make a fuss if he wanted to, and go crazy if he wanted to. Anyway, he didn't have many years left to live, so why should he put up with this shit?

But,

As the old man cursed, he actually turned towards Zhou Ze. When he saw Zhou Ze, he subconsciously widened his eyes.

“Grandpa, Grandpa…”

A little girl ran from afar, grabbing her grandfather’s hand. She was afraid that her grandfather would run around and cause trouble.

But the old man continued to stare at Zhou Ze.

“This is an uncle from outside, not from the village.”

The little girl said to her grandfather. Her grandfather was old and couldn’t remember things well anymore.

“What uncle!”

The old man spat directly at Zhou Ze,

Spitting on Zhou Ze's shoes,

“Evil spirit!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Uncle, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The little girl immediately squatted down and used her sleeve to wipe Zhou Ze’s shoes, afraid that this uncle from outside would hit her grandfather.

“Come back, why are you wiping shoes for a little ghost!

Our old Cui family can't afford to lose face like this!

People are people, and ghosts are ghosts. Live righteously when you’re alive,

So you don’t have to kowtow to these little ghosts after you die!”

The old man scolded his granddaughter and pulled her back to his side.

The granddaughter stood next to the old man and kept apologizing to Zhou Ze, saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Zhou Ze lowered his head and looked at his shoes, which had just been wiped by the little girl. He was a germaphobe, and although the old man’s glob of phlegm had been wiped away, the disgust in his heart was hard to eliminate.

Seeing this old man, although he seemed crazy and was disliked by the villagers, he was actually a hidden dragon, seemingly crazy and foolish, but in reality, he saw things more clearly than everyone else in the village.

“You’re not afraid of the King of Hell, but what about your granddaughter? Or, should I take her down first?”

Zhou Ze said half-jokingly.

“You brat, how dare you!”

The old man roared,

And charged directly at Zhou Ze.

“Plop!”

Zhou Ze was already standing by the pond,

And with the old man’s bump,

He actually fell into the pond water with the old man.

“Someone’s drowning again! Someone’s drowning again!!”

“Save him, save him, hurry and save him!”

“Grandpa, Grandpa!”

“Cui the Madman has fallen into the water!!”

The shouts of the villagers came from the shore…