Chapter 1 A Cold, Dry Humor

That “hi” carried with it an immense, cold humor.

People often believe that ghosts carry great resentment and a kind of hysterical, deeply-rooted hatred; this is a common perception.

Zhou Ze used to think so too, until he himself became a ghost.

How much difference is there, really, between a ghost and a person?

In terms of malice,

Men fear ghosts, but ghosts know the human heart is poisonous.

In other respects,

Ghosts come from people, and in many ways, whether in personality or senses, they actually have a deep sense of identification with humans.

The only difference is that ghosts, most of the time, have an extreme personality similar to that of a "desperado" or "fugitive." It is difficult for them to linger in the human world for too long. Even if there are some accidents, and they don't make it to hell, and the ghost messengers don't find them for the time being, residing in the human world is more like hiding in the sewer like a rat.

People are afraid of ghosts, but in this world, there are too many things that can harm and restrain ghosts.

Like an old Taoist’s crotch.

Zhou Ze reached out and rubbed his head, yawning. The depression of the whole night yesterday seemed to have dissipated a lot. Someone who had walked the Road to the Yellow Springs had nothing to let go of.

Wanting to go back, to return to his own body, to return to his original life, that was natural.

But when there was no way to find a way, there was no need to be too entangled and nervous.

"Now can you tell me who killed you?" Zhou Ze asked.

The family of three was still looking at him,

And then,

Silence.

The feeling of being "stared" at by three headless people was really bad.

Even Boss Zhou felt a little uncomfortable now.

"Ding-dong..."

Next to Zhou Ze, there was a crisp sound of a spoon touching a plate. Zhou Ze turned around and saw a pretty girl sitting next to him, as if planning to have a meal.

The girl turned her head and glanced at Zhou Ze, or rather, she looked at the family of three over there and nodded lightly to them.

Great.

Zhou Ze felt a little sad and haggard.

Turns out, she was greeting someone else across from him; he had misunderstood. It was indeed a bit embarrassing.

Then,

The family of three sat up straight again, staring blankly at the food in front of them.

The girl ate slowly and deliberately. She ate very elegantly, not in a cramped or overly refined way. In fact, she ate quickly, but it showed a special temperament.

Zhou Ze just watched the girl eat.

Fortunately, the old Taoist and Lao Xu were still anxious about Zhou Ze not waking up, and hadn’t thought about coming back through the hot spring pool to take a look. Otherwise, if they came over and saw Zhou Ze staring intently at the girl eating as if nothing had happened, they might really get sick with anger.

The girl finished her meal, drank the last bit of milk in her cup, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and then got up, looking like she was about to leave.

Zhou Ze also got up and followed her, like a stalking pervert.

It wasn’t that Zhou Ze had taken a liking to her or anything. In this environment and state, Boss Zhou hadn’t fallen so far as to give up on himself to this extent. It was because this girl, in Zhou Ze’s opinion, was very different from the other people in the restaurant.

Although the other diners in the restaurant could eat, the feeling their movements gave was no different from that of the headless family of three.

Numbness,

Deathly stillness,

Carrying the aura of an old woman's foot binding.

But this girl had an aura of life about her. She seemed to be, like him, in this environment, with a higher degree of… freedom than the others.

Zhou Ze followed her out of the restaurant. To Zhou Ze’s surprise, he and she were actually walking along a glass tunnel.

It was like a beehive, intricate and complex, with each bee having its own place.

Zhou Ze continued to follow behind the girl, the two of them walking slowly one after the other.

As they walked, the girl stopped. She seemed to have only noticed Zhou Ze now.

The girl turned her head and smiled at Zhou Ze, a very pure smile.

"Konnichiwa." (Hello)

The girl bowed slightly to Zhou Ze.

Japanese?

Zhou Ze’s first reaction was to think of his own Spider-Man.

"Hello."

Zhou Ze responded.

Zhou Ze still understood this simple Japanese, but he responded in Chinese.

"Hello." The girl responded again in Chinese.

Afterward, the girl continued to walk forward, and Zhou Ze continued to follow behind.

The previous exchange and greeting seemed more like an insignificant interlude, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, quickly returning to calm after causing ripples.

All the way to the lawn outside the room door, Zhou Ze saw the girl turn in another direction.

So,

They were neighbors.

The layout of this hot spring villa hotel was like this: a single villa was divided into two for use, and everyone shared a wall.

Therefore, it was explained that the "walking" routes of the girl and Zhou Ze were the same. However, at this point, everyone had to part ways. Zhou Ze also tried to walk in the girl's direction, but was directly blocked by a thin layer of glass.

Giving up the struggle, Zhou Ze returned to his room.

Sitting down in the living room and lighting a cigarette, Zhou Ze stood up again and walked to the painting frame to take a look. In the mirror, he was still lying on the sofa, the old Taoist was sitting next to him dozing off, and Xu Qinglang was on the phone, as if he was contacting someone.

Zhou Ze guessed that he was contacting Bai Yingying at the bookstore, or contacting the little loli again. After all, his state in reality, in which he couldn’t be woken up no matter what, really made Lao Xu and the others a little unable to understand and cope with.

The feeling of being cared for was not bad. Of course, the feeling of peeping was also very good.

Zhou Ze stretched, flicked the ashes of his cigarette, and at this moment, he heard the sound of water running into the hot spring pool from next door.

The courtyard was also divided into two, with a hot spring pool on each side. The sound of the water was very loud, enough for the neighbors to hear.

Zhou Ze walked to the courtyard and sat down on the wicker chair.

There was nothing he could do. In the world inside the mirror, you were lonely, like a prisoner being held captive, only able to go to the cafeteria at specific times and follow specific routes, and then return to your cell.

Of course, he could also peek through the mirror at what Xu Qinglang and the others were doing in reality, but it wasn't like watching that kind of movie. It was fine to just see the picture without sound. And this kind of situation where you could only peek but couldn't communicate, you could only stand by and worry, was really boring and only made him more and more irritable.

Now that he had a neighbor next door, listening to her movements was also pretty good. Of course, if this neighbor was a burly, fat guy, Zhou Ze probably wouldn't be interested.

The water was quickly filled. Zhou Ze heard footsteps, and even the sound of "rustling" clothes being taken off.

He could only hear, not see, which was always a regret. And in the spirit of not missing a single clue, Boss Zhou simply moved the wicker chair to the bottom of the wall, and then stood there.

There was also a thin layer of glass on the wall, preventing you from entering or leaving, preventing you from stepping beyond the line. But this couldn't stop you from seeing. This thin layer of glass was more like a thin layer of mosaic, adding a hazy beauty to the picture, which was more aesthetically pleasing than that kind of crude and direct… no, had more research value.

Zhou Ze held a cigarette in one hand and grabbed the wall with the other, gazing inside.

The girl had already entered the hot spring pool, and then she began to sing, singing a lyrical Japanese song. Zhou Ze didn't understand the lyrics, but it felt pretty good, quite nice to listen to.

Slowly, Zhou Ze turned around, no longer looking inside, but leaning against the wall with his back.

He didn’t know why, but Zhou Ze heard a sense of loneliness in the girl’s singing, not the kind of loneliness of a woman having an affair, but the loneliness of being imprisoned here for a long time.

Zhou Ze even thought that perhaps the other people in the restaurant, at the beginning, were like him, wanting to get out, wanting to doubt, wanting to do something, but slowly they were tormented into numbness by this day-to-day cage life, becoming like that family of three.

Himself,

Would he have such a day too?

"Splash..."

The girl finished singing and began to take a bath, wiping herself with a bath towel. Zhou Ze could hear the sound of the water, and even the girl's breathing.

Because the distance was really too close, the hot spring pools on both sides were actually built against the wall, so the girl and Zhou Ze were really only separated by a wall.

"What's your name?" Zhou Ze asked.

A pervert who had peeped at someone taking a bath, brazenly spoke and asked her name.

"Tsukino Saori."

The girl replied.

She had actually noticed Zhou Ze's peeping long ago.

"What about you?" the girl asked.

"Xu Qinglang."

"A very nice name," the girl said.

"Mm," Zhou Ze echoed.

"Did you also die near here?" the girl asked again.

"Die?"

"Yes, die."

"Are you already dead?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Aren't you dead yet?" The girl was a little puzzled, and then said, "Or, is it that Mr. Xu has not realized that he has already died?"

"I died a long time ago, a long, long time ago," Zhou Ze replied. "Can you tell me how you died?"

"I don't really want to answer that question," the girl refused.

"But I really want to know. Anyway, we don't have anything else to do right now, do we?" Zhou Ze tempted.

"We can take a bath," the girl said very seriously.

"Take a bath?"

"Yes, we can soak in the hot spring every day, take a bath, and wash every part of our body clean.

People should be clean, no matter when, no matter what the situation, they must be clean, and must be clean."

As a man with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Zhou Ze actually felt some resonance in his heart when he heard the girl's words.

The girl really didn't chat with Zhou Ze anymore. She began to wipe her body carefully, that is, to wash herself clean.

Zhou Ze felt that she was washing too clean. Zhou Ze could clearly hear the feeling of the bath towel rubbing hard on her skin. It must be very painful, right?

After a while,

The girl took the initiative to say, "Mr. Xu, can you do me a favor?"

"Speak."

"One of my legs,

Is in your pool over there,

Can you help me,

Wash it clean?"

chun jie di xiao long