Chapter 372: I’m Back Alive

Tang City.

A winding ancient city wall enclosed the central area of this thousand-year-old ancient city. In the heart of this area, an Arrow Tower stood tall and imposing.

Trailing behind the Arrow Tower was a meandering ancient street. No matter the season, rain or shine, the ancient street was always a gathering place for delicacies and crowds of tourists.

Radiating out from the ancient street on both sides were clusters of old buildings: timeworn shops, Ming and Qing dynasty courtyard houses, and squat red-brick apartments built just a few decades ago.

Amidst these buildings steeped in history, it felt like one had entered a vast labyrinth. Withered branches leaned against mottled walls, elders sat or leaned beneath the trees playing chess, children darted about playing, and all manner of shops vied to squeeze onto the bustling street.

The blacksmith’s shop, with a hundred years of history, rang with the sound of hammers; the dumpling shop bustled with patrons; in the distance, shouts rang out from the fruit and vegetable store, drawing in locals to buy their daily produce.

As the saying goes: “The greatest hermit hides in the city.”

If someone wanted to find a hiding place near Tang City, the best option would not be a remote canyon like Taoyuan, but rather these densely packed and lively quarters teeming with all sorts of people.

In one corner of the building clusters stood a very small shop, an old and faded signboard hanging high above, with faint lettering that could just barely be made out: “Pawnshop.”

Pawnshop it might be, but in truth, it had been ages since anyone had actually pawned anything here.

Inside, the ten or so square meters were split into two halves. One side displayed all kinds of uniquely shaped porcelain, calligraphy, paintings, ancient books, and old coins-though any connoisseur would immediately recognize them as shoddy modern reproductions.

The other half was stocked with eggs, fruit, snacks, toys, even mobile phone screen protectors and locksmith services.

Behind the checkout counter sat a lean middle-aged man. His beady eyes were hidden behind glasses thick as beer bottles, and his hairline was so high it made onlookers wince in sympathy.

Neighbors all called him “Stall Master Tan.” It was said that his ancestors were once among the wealthiest on this street, owning countless rice shops, salt stores, and pawnshops.

But the family had declined, and now only this pawnshop remained in Stall Master Tan’s hands. He sold counterfeits and snacks to make ends meet, occasionally appraising antiques for extra cash.

But those were jobs that depended on luck, and the income was anything but steady.

Past noon, the afternoon sun was gentle in the breeze. Stall Master Tan huddled in his thick coat, dozing off.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a hunched little old man hurried in.

Stall Master Tan lifted his eyelids to glance at the old man, then slowly closed them again, as if he hadn’t noticed the visitor at all, letting him head straight for the back of the shop.

He circled around the shelves, lifted the curtain, and climbed a creaking wooden staircase-at the top was a cramped attic space.

At this moment, the attic’s curtains were drawn tightly shut, the light inside dim. In the corner, on an antique wooden bed, a petite girl lay sound asleep. She looked seven or eight years old, her skin pale and luminous like jade, and her dark green hair cascaded down to the floor like a waterfall.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, a flash of icy killing intent-far beyond her years-flickering in her gaze.

“Patron, it’s me.”

The old man lowered his voice as he spoke. Only then did the girl’s eyes soften. With a gentle sigh, she said, “Oh, Grandpa Turtle, you startled me. Hurry, did you bring the things I asked for?”

“…”

Grandpa Turtle hesitated, then took three items from his bundle and handed them to the girl.

“They’re all here. Fortunately, they didn’t pay much mind to Chunfeng Residence, or it really would’ve been hard to get these out.”

Yes, who would’ve thought that this Gou Meng fellow, even after her lair was raided, her grave dug up, her “corpse” kidnapped, would think first and foremost about retrieving her game console, pipe, and the back scratcher she’d kept for years from Chunfeng Residence.

She took the items from Grandpa Turtle and examined them carefully. Then Gou Meng tilted her head to look at him. Noticing the worry and anxiety on his face, she frowned slightly, sat up cross-legged, and said earnestly, “Grandpa Turtle, can’t you cheer up a little? See, I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“Compared to that time a century or so ago, when the whole tree nearly got blasted to bits, isn’t this situation a lot better?”

Seeing Gou Meng’s cheerful demeanor, Grandpa Turtle wasn’t sure whether to be happy or angry. He opened his mouth but, for a long moment, couldn’t say a word.

But… this time was different from last time. That person had returned! Grandpa Turtle fumed inwardly.

After fiddling with the game console for a bit, Gou Meng raised an eyebrow and asked casually, “By the way, Grandpa Turtle, what’s the situation over in Taoyuan? Did you manage to find out?”

Finally getting to the main point… Grandpa Turtle muttered to himself, then respectfully replied, “I did.”

“The ones leading the group are indeed the exiled criminals driven out a thousand years ago. Their goal seems to be awakening Fuyang.”

At this, Gou Meng curled her lips in disdain. “Good grief! They dug up someone’s grave, and now they want to hold a summoning ritual in it? Aren’t they afraid of calling forth something weird?”

“And what about everyone over in Taoyuan? They didn’t give everyone a hard time, did they?”

“…” Grandpa Turtle’s face darkened. He hesitated several times, but still couldn’t get the words out.

“What’s so hard to say?” Gou Meng said calmly. “It’s not like I don’t know what Taoyuan is like-just a bunch of fence-sitters, right? I’ve known that for a long time!”

In fact, those ancient refugees who settled here never worshipped Gou Mang; they revered the divine tree Fusang.

As for which deity was born from Fusang-Gou Meng or Fuyang-they likely didn’t care all that much.

This was something Gou Meng had always known.

Now that she had been driven out and Fuyang’s devotees had returned, it was only natural that some would switch sides.

“Lady Gou Meng, it’s not what you think!” Perhaps sensing Gou Meng’s thoughts, Grandpa Turtle even changed his form of address, hastily saying, “Actually, after you were attacked, there were still many people desperately resisting those criminals. But those criminals brought along a bunch of mysterious helpers, so many of our people…”

“Dead?” Gou Meng said indifferently.

“…” Grandpa Turtle fell silent, nodding. “Most of the others have been imprisoned. Only a small number managed to escape, scattered around the outskirts of Tang City. I’m afraid they’re in danger, so I haven’t dared to contact them for now.”

Pausing, Grandpa Turtle clenched his wrinkled fist, his eyes burning as he looked at Gou Meng, bowing low and folding his hands in salute.

“Lady Gou Meng, it is everyone’s honor to follow you, so you must fight your way back. Everyone is waiting for you!”

In truth, they still cared.

“Tch!” Gou Meng’s cheeks flushed slightly. She waved her hand and smiled awkwardly, “What’s so honorable about that? What do you all want from me? Because I like to play games? Because I embezzle public funds for in-game purchases? But…”

“Since you put it that way, I guess I can’t just not fight my way back, can I?”

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, if I refuse to give it up, that guy can forget about taking it!”

With a proud expression, Gou Meng said this, her distant gaze towards Taoyuan filled with a biting chill. Seeing her like this, Grandpa Turtle seemed to see once again that invincible deity who had swept through the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts for eight hundred miles without ever being defeated.

Like a headless fly, Lu Yibei wandered for most of the day, but in the end, still couldn’t find Jiang Li.

She hadn’t told anyone where she went, and in broad daylight, Lu Yibei couldn’t use haunting transformation to draw on ley line energy. And dispatching Hua City’s hauntings to investigate the whereabouts of a Midnight Watchers Society operator was even less possible.

Moreover…

“What the heck? Today’s their day off, and they have the right to refuse work?” Lu Yibei stared in disbelief at the headless senior sister and voiced his question.

The headless senior sister nodded, holding her head, “Yes, that’s right. Isn’t this the rule you set?”

Lu Yibei, “…”

What the hell, when did I ever set such a… wait!

Lu Yibei turned and gazed in the direction of Xingfu Community, narrowing his eyes.

Since he couldn’t find Jiang Li for now, it looked like it was necessary to go check out Xingfu Community first.

…

Half an hour later.

After passing through the first level of the underground parking lot, Lu Yibei stopped in front of the railings at the entrance to the second level. He frowned as he looked at the sign standing ahead.

[This area is privately owned. No entry without permission. No visitors allowed.]

Lu Yibei, “…”

Looks like a certain young lady has used her money power again.

As Lu Yibei stood there in a daze, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder from behind. Turning around, he saw Du Sixian’s frightened face.

“Senior, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re investigating a haunting incident? This place is, uh-“

“I know.” Lu Yibei suppressed a strong sense of shame and replied calmly, “It’s my sister’s headquarters.”

Du Sixian froze for a moment, then smiled, “Hehe, senior, are you here as your benefactor’s inspector?”

“…” Lu Yibei was silent for two seconds, expressionless. “You could say that.”

“That’s great! I’ve been waiting for my benefactor to come by!” Du Sixian said with a smile. “Even though she can’t come personally, seeing you lets me know my efforts haven’t been in vain.”

With that, she gestured for Lu Yibei to follow. “Come on, senior, let me show you the results of my work.”

Lu Yibei nodded and followed Du Sixian into the second level of the underground parking lot. Upon entering, the first thing that caught his eye were rows of luxurious cars, and further ahead, a newly built brick wall dividing the space in half.

Du Sixian walked ahead with a light step, hands behind her back, introducing things to Lu Yibei as if reciting her family treasures. “I’ve sectioned off most of the area in the back, opened up the old Opera House and turned it into an office area, temporarily split into Human Resources Department, Planning, Logistics, and Publicity-four departments.”

“Oh, that’s not right, it should be called the Department of Hauntings.” Du Sixian stuck out her tongue. “The project is pretty big, it’s almost emptied out my little coffer.”

Lu Yibei frowned slightly. “Aren’t your family going to say anything about you doing things like this?”

Isn’t scamming money through hauntings still a scam? If someone investigates, it might even attract the attention of the Midnight Watchers Society.

Sure, Xing Yuan could probably settle it, but it would still be a hassle.

Hearing this, Du Sixian seemed to recall something unpleasant. She fell silent for a few seconds, a shadow passing through her eyes, but it quickly faded. “Hehe, of course not! My dad has always supported my entrepreneurship!”

Lu Yibei, “…” If your dad knew your start-up is a criminal hauntings organization, he’d probably clean house, wouldn’t he?

Seeing Lu Yibei remain silent, Du Sixian went on, “The Department of Hauntings is made up of little bosses from various haunting gathering places in Hua City. They’re mainly responsible for counting the number of hauntings in each region and keeping records. Then, based on the psychic energy each haunting needs each month, we plan out how many frightening incidents to create.”

A distribution system based on need? Not bad, Lu Yibei thought.

“The Planning Department has three web novel authors who wrote themselves to death, two short video creators who worked themselves into haunting transformation, and a few mobile game planners cursed to death by players-they’re in charge of designing frightening incidents for each haunting.”

Lu Yibei nodded approvingly, especially at that last group of hauntings.

They’d always been skilled at dirty tricks.

“I did some field research before. A lot of hauntings only know how to scare people, but that usually isn’t effective enough. So I found a few hauntings with psychology backgrounds, some with prop-making and atmosphere experience, and most importantly, two who can identify criminals by scent.”

“These form the Logistics Department, which analyzes the psychological state of fright targets, hands over the data to the planning team to make tailored plans, supports hauntings that can’t complete scares on their own, and searches for criminals.”

As she spoke, Du Sixian leaned close to Lu Yibei, lowering her voice. “Don’t worry, I know that every Tuesday-and sometimes Thursday-we go out hunting human criminals. I won’t let Operator Li or Operator Bai Kai find out.”

Lu Yibei, “……”

Well, you really are a qualified traitor of The Midnight Watchers Society.

“Lastly, there’s the publicity department.” Du Sixian said, spinning in a little circle on her heel.

Lively and adorable, she looked nothing like the mastermind pushing Hua City toward becoming, one day, the most terrifying city in Country Z, or even the entire world.

“They’re all hauntings capable of disguising themselves as humans, responsible for spreading haunting legends in specific areas before each scare campaign, so as to achieve the best results.”

As she spoke, Du Sixian reached out and tapped lightly on the wall in front of her. Accompanied by a faint rumble, the haunting with wall-blending power attached to the wall shifted aside, revealing the “Hua City Calamity Irresponsible Scare Company” before Lu Yibei.

The spacious area was decorated like a cozy Cafe, its lighting provided only by the greenish glow of exit signs and the faint light emitted from the hauntings themselves.

One by one, bizarre, bloody, ghostly “employees” hurried back and forth, seemingly busy.

A Cafe with a haunted house theme, or maybe a Cafe haunted at midnight? Lu Yibei thought.

But…

“Alive, you’re a wage slave; dead, you become a wage-slave haunting. Isn’t that a bit too tragic?” Lu Yibei asked Du Sixian.

Du Sixian propped her chin on her hand, pondering for two seconds before saying, “It’s not so bad? They’re on a 2333 schedule: work from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., three days a week.”

“Huh? Isn’t that easier than The Midnight Watchers Society?” Lu Yibei blurted out.

“Exactly!” Du Sixian raised her eyebrows at Lu Yibei and teased, “Senior, want to consider a career change?”

“……”

Lu Yibei opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly a familiar voice came from nearby.

“Tsk! You’re finally back, Lady-“

“Ahh-!”

The hairball hadn’t even finished saying “Lady Witch” before Lu Yibei delivered a flying kick, sending it out of sight. Then, scanning the hauntings who were about to greet him, his blank stare made them instantly fall silent.

At the same time, Lu Yibei glanced at Meng, who looked hesitant to speak, and secretly sent her a message through the familiars’ mark: “Meng, she doesn’t know about my identity yet, does she?”

“Reporting, Lady Witch, Miss Du doesn’t know for now,” Meng replied.

When Du Sixian found her way here, Meng had instantly recognized the aura of the familiar mark on her, treated her as one of their own, and hadn’t mentioned much about Lu Yibei.

“Good. Never let her find out.”

“Yes,” Meng replied, “I’ll find time to notify everyone.”

But…

Why does Lady Witch want to do this? Isn’t Miss Du her familiar? Is it really necessary to hide this from familiars? Meng wondered.

Night fell on the streets of University Town in Hua City.

Lu Yibei, chewing on a spicy strip, walked in the direction of Jingyi Apartment, deep in thought.

Although Du Sixian had arranged everything nicely, and all the hauntings in Hua City were operating like a well-oiled machine-leaving him with nothing much to worry about-why did he still feel a little lost?

At this rate, am I going to end up as some sort of mascot?

No, no, even so, I should be more like a strategic weapon, a deterrent to the lowlifes lurking around here.

…

Lu Yibei’s thoughts drifted aimlessly as he unknowingly arrived at the door of his home.

He deftly took out his key and opened the door. No sooner had he stepped inside than he heard the sound of someone softly sobbing.

The sobbing was faint, as if the person was desperately trying to stifle it.

Who’s crying?

Lu Yibei paused for a moment, gently closed the door, then tiptoed upstairs, following the sound. As soon as his gaze crossed the landing, he saw Jiang Li curled up on his bed, knees hugged to her chest.

She stared unblinking at her phone screen, her eyes slightly red, her delicate body trembling from time to time. Each faint sob seemed to be torn painfully from her chest, filling the dark room with a suffocating sense of sorrow.

“Some things pass through my heart, but I can’t go back. I mean, I can’t live that way anymore…”

Classic lines from the film “doomed to be fugitives” came from the phone speaker.

Hearing this, Lu Yibei felt his heart clench. The anger he’d felt just moments ago-the urge to rush over and scold Jiang Li-was instantly extinguished.

He approached quietly, sat down beside Jiang Li, and said softly, “It’s not good to be watching such a tragic movie all alone at night, is it? How about we watch something cheerful?”

“Disney or DreamWorks?”

Jiang Li seemed not to notice Lu Yibei’s presence at all, staring blankly at her phone. Only when Lu Yibei repeated his question did she finally look up, giving him a bitter smile and murmuring, “Another hallucination? But… it feels so real…”

As she spoke, she sat up and gently hugged Lu Yibei, burying her face in his chest and nuzzling him. Then, as the warmth of his body touched her cheek, her whole body went stiff.

Lu Yibei turned away and muttered, “It’s not ‘like’-it really is! I’m back. Alive.”

As the words fell, Jiang Li’s eyes flew wide open. Blush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, and with a soft “poof!” a wisp of white smoke rose from the top of her head…