Chapter 1 Strange Encounters

A person's fate can be a strange thing sometimes.

But even if you're dead,

the fate of being a ghost can be even stranger.

Take this female ghost, for example.

She believed she had this man with his "barely flickering" and extremely weak aura completely under her control. She was experienced and "unbeatable."

But the moment she was brought to the bookstore,

she suddenly felt a sense of bewilderment.

Yes, bewilderment.

Originally, her suggestion was to go to a hotel.

She said

that in a private space, the two of them alone, she could indulge in sentimental thoughts while "reminiscing over objects."

Zhou Ze said

that he had a bookstore nearby,

with coffee and conversation on the first floor,

and a bed on the second.

So, she followed him.

From the moment she entered the bookstore, the female ghost felt an acutely oppressive sensation, much like when she had inadvertently approached a temple shortly after becoming a ghost.

Then, she sat on the sofa.

Her gaze swept across the room and landed on a white fox lying on a sofa in the corner.

A white fox?

Wealthy people keeping cheetahs wasn't even news anymore; owning a white fox was acceptable.

The white fox opened its eyes, glanced over, raised its paw, and waved it at Zhou Ze.

She had just returned. She hadn't been around when Zhou Ze woke up earlier, so she naturally had to say hello. But honestly, everyone at the bookstore knew that Zhou Ze wasn't in any real danger; his return was only a matter of time.

That's why even Lawyer An didn't put on any "tearful reunion" performance when she saw Zhou Ze awake.

Zhou Ze nodded back to the white fox and then sat down across from the woman.

The woman's gaze would occasionally drift towards the white fox. She hadn't clearly seen the interaction between the fox and Zhou Ze earlier, but she instinctively sensed the subtle pressure that the white fox exerted on her.

Sometimes, certain black dogs or black cats could attract her attention, but none had ever made her feel this uneasy.

Moreover, she was constantly maturing and growing; she could sense her own progress.

After it was all over,

watching those dirty men still lying in bed with satisfied smiles on their faces,

she felt genuinely happy.

These men got the carnal pleasure they desired,

and she,

in turn, gained their essence.

Their bodies would be depleted, and they might even get sick as a result, but while they were in bed, they would often exclaim in ecstasy:

You're so beautiful; with you, I'd be willing to die!

Listen to that.

They were asking for it themselves.

However, now, in the atmosphere of this bookstore,

she suddenly didn't want to keep sitting here; she wanted to get to the bed.

But,

before she could even open her mouth,

a car pulled up in front of the bookstore.

A beautiful woman stepped out.

No, wait,

it was a man!

Xu Qinglang's skin was indeed better than it had been a year ago.

One could imagine

that he hadn't been too worried about Zhou Ze this past year; he didn't look "worn out" at all.

"Old Zhou, you're awake? Heh, let's add a dish tonight."

Xu Qinglang was carrying a large bag of crayfish. This season was perfect for eating them.

Spicy crayfish with ice-cold beer was the greatest pleasure of summer.

Old Xu used to run a noodle shop, and he would also open a crayfish stall in the summer evenings, so he had a knack for making crayfish.

The woman looked at Xu Qinglang somewhat nervously.

Xu Qinglang naturally saw the woman as well.

He smiled at the woman

as a greeting.

The woman stood up, preparing to respond, but the man turned and went straight into the kitchen.

If some other friend of yours was being haunted by a ghost, you would definitely be worried.

But for Xu Qinglang,

with Zhou Ze being haunted by a ghost,

did he really need to worry about Zhou Ze or the ghost?

The woman could only awkwardly sit back down, feeling somewhat uneasy. That handsome man seemed to exude an aura that made her very afraid.

After she became a ghost, she had faced two major crises. Once, in Yancheng, she encountered a local ghost official, and she barely managed to escape.

Another time, she ran into a blind fortune-teller and was almost captured by his talismans. Luckily, she escaped.

"Let's go u-"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!!!"

The little monkey's voice rang out.

With a "whoosh,"

it swung down from the ceiling and landed on the counter.

While the woman stared in stunned silence,

she watched as the little monkey turned on the computer,

then watched as the little monkey opened the browser,

then continued to watch as the little monkey opened the live-streaming page for the MSI Mid-Season Invitational,

and then finally watched as the little monkey opened the recharge account,

and then started showering the stream with gifts...

The old Daoist was generous with other children, sponsoring them when necessary without hesitation, and he was naturally even better to the little monkey.

In this day and age, people generally emphasized "doing what one can." Doing good deeds and making contributions were certainly virtues, but if you impoverished your own children and wife to constantly sponsor others,

the public didn't really approve of that approach anymore.

Therefore,

the little monkey had a lot of pocket money,

so much that the little monkey's Douyu account was still an Emperor tier.

Sometimes, when the little monkey watched a live stream and entered the room, the streamer would immediately start licking up to it, hoping to please the wealthy patron and get a reward.

The little monkey would always type "Squeak, squeak, squeak,"

and then the streamer and the viewers in the live stream would all start spamming "Squeak, squeak, squeak" together.

So, in the Douyu live streaming community,

the little monkey was always known as "Squeak Emperor."

The monkey was smart; the woman already knew that.

But a monkey this smart... she had never seen one, or even imagined one.

She was terrified.

Yes,

as a ghost,

a fierce ghost who had already absorbed the essence of many men,

she was truly scared.

She couldn't help but think of the movies she had watched when she was alive.

Right now,

she felt like those mischievous children who had accidentally entered Narnia,

or like she had put on the glass slippers and entered the Land of Oz.

But she was a ghost, she was a ghost!

It was supposed to be her giving others this kind of feeling!

"Boss, the food is almost ready."

Yingying came out of the kitchen to clear the table.

At this moment,

Yingying also noticed the woman sitting in front of her boss.

Yingying's first reaction

was vigilance.

Her second reaction

was magnanimity!

But with this tightening and loosening,

the woman felt her soul start to tremble.

As if just now,

she had been targeted by a terrifying beast.

She couldn't sweat,

or rather,

she wouldn't have sweat unless she actively conjured it; no moisture would appear.

But if she still had a physical body, she would definitely be drenched in cold sweat all over.

She wanted to cry,

she wanted to leave,

she wanted to get out of here.

This bookstore was too scary.

Scary fox, scary monkey, scary handsome man, and that scary woman!

This simply wasn't a place for ghosts!

The woman stood up

and said to Zhou Ze:

"I have something to do; I have to go."

The woman quickly walked toward the door.

"Oh, what a coincidence; are you getting ready to eat?"

Old Zhang in his police uniform appeared at the right time in the right place.

The old Daoist had specifically checked the bookstore up and down.

He felt like Old Zhang had installed pinhole cameras in the bookstore,

otherwise, how could he always arrive so precisely at meal times?

The inspection revealed nothing.

Not giving up, the old Daoist specifically asked the little monkey and the white fox to help him search again.

There really wasn't anything.

Lawyer An's words cleared up the old Daoist's doubts:

A dog's nose is the sharpest.

Anyway, the blame was placed directly on Wangcai.

The woman, who was quickly walking toward the door, bumped directly into Old Zhang.

"Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The woman immediately let out a scream,

crying out in pain as she fell to the ground and started rolling around.

Old Zhang had just gotten off work and was still wearing his police uniform. The national emblem, in the glow of the evening sun, radiated a majestic light.

In addition, Old Zhang was a good police officer himself; his uprightness, coupled with the enhancement of the police uniform, might be fine for a great demon, but small evil spirits couldn't get close to Old Zhang's body at all.

"Are you okay?"

Old Zhang was stunned for a moment

and bent over to help her up.

"Ah, don't touch me, don't touch me, stay away, stay away!!!!"

The woman curled up in fear.

Old Zhang stopped moving.

Then,

Old Zhang seemed to realize something

and looked at the woman with sharp eyes.

The old criminal police officer learned everything quickly. In the past, Old Zhang was just a rookie ghost official, supported by everyone in the bookstore, and almost put on a plaque as a symbol of "political correctness."

But in this past year, because of the frequent occurrences of fierce ghosts and supernatural events, Old Zhang had gone out on a few missions and resolved several mischievous little ghosts, which naturally trained him as well.

Immediately,

Old Zhang subconsciously reached for his waist, preparing to touch his gun,

and pointed his other finger at the woman on the ground,

and shouted sternly:

"Everyone be careful, she's a ghost!"

Boss Zhou sat on the sofa and looked over.

Yingying stood by the dining table and looked over.

The little monkey poked its head out from behind the screen.

Xu Qinglang leaned against the kitchen door frame.

Everyone wasn't looking at the female ghost,

but at Old Zhang,

as if

looking at a wise and courageous symbol of political correctness.

Old Zhang's face immediately turned embarrassed.

That's right,

even he could see it,

how could they not have seen it?

However,

Old Zhang immediately realized something,

looked at Zhou Ze,

and exclaimed:

"Boss, you're awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake."

Zhou Ze sighed,

got up,

and walked over from the sofa.

The woman was already huddled in the corner near the counter, sobbing.

She was a ghost,

but since coming to this bookstore,

she actually felt like she had when her ex-boyfriend first brought her into a haunted house when she was alive.

She cried.

She felt like she had shamed the ghosts; no, she had disgraced them.

Zhou Ze bent down towards the woman

and said:

"Are you alright?"

"Wuwuwuwu... Wuwuwuwu...

I'm so scared; I want to go back to my grave..."