Chapter 22

After answering the questions, Qi Xu couldn’t help but ask, “Then what did you see?”

“Nothing at all. That ghost’s illusion tricks are completely useless against me.”

“Oh, you’re so amazing then.”

“…”

For some reason, Xia Zhiming felt like she had been sarcastically mocked a bit, but Qi Xu said it completely seriously, and when she looked at her, her eyes were starry-eyed, clearly genuinely thinking she was very impressive. Xia Zhiming nearly choked on her breath. A yin-yang master encountering sincere praise somehow felt like the other party was mocking her instead.

She pursed her lips and continued, “But because of that, I can’t see the many clues that ghost is hiding in the ghost domain either. That ghost is pretty strong and hides well too, so there’s no way to force an attack.”

As Xia Zhiming spoke, she turned around, patted her butt, and sat directly on the steps. Qi Xu had gone from being terrified earlier to completely relaxing after meeting Xia Zhiming, sticking close to her wherever she went. So at that moment, Qi Xu also sat down next to Xia Zhiming.

Xia Zhiming started eating a lollipop again. Qi Xu always felt like she could go through ten or so lollipops a day, which was even more exaggerated than a chain smoker. She was a bit worried that Xia Zhiming gnawing on lollipops like this would give herself cavities.

Seeing Qi Xu sit down, Xia Zhiming began a new round of conversation. “Do you know how ghosts are formed?”

“I don’t.”

The pure but foolish university student really hadn’t considered this question. She hadn’t found anything about it on the forums either, and even the employee handbook didn’t mention it. The handbook only told her the most basic things, including compensation and resignation procedures, as well as the login method and key for the internal website. It said nothing about anything else.

So even a question like “how ghosts are formed,” which seemed like it should be basic knowledge for her, wasn’t answered.

Qi Xu perked up a bit, knowing Xia Zhiming was about to lecture her.

Sure enough, Xia Zhiming answered the question next. “It’s resentment.”

“To become a ghost, either one harbors deep resentment toward others, or others harbor deep hatred toward them. Only these two possibilities can turn someone into a ghost. The stronger the resentment toward others, the stronger the ghost; or the deeper others’ hatred for it, the stronger it becomes.”

Hearing this, Qi Xu suddenly felt like—ghosts weren’t fair at all.

“Isn’t that super unfair then? Bad people do evil while alive, earn others’ resentment, and after death, they turn strong because of that resentment. They might even bully others or other ghosts in return. That’s too much.”

Qi Xu grumbled indignantly, only to see Xia Zhiming looking at her.

Qi Xu was baffled. “Huh? What do you mean…” She suddenly remembered Xia Zhiming saying she would be very strong if she turned into a ghost, which confused her even more. “I-I don’t harbor much resentment either, and I-I probably aren’t hated that much, right?”

Was she actually someone people hated a lot? Qi Xu thought she was a pretty good girl. She got along well with classmates, friends, family, and people around her on a daily basis. Many had said she was a nice person. How could she be hated?

At the temple fair before, she had been pretty scared by those events, but that didn’t mean she harbored huge resentment, right? So why, why would she turn into a strong ghost?

“Maybe you’re just a hated person, but you don’t know it.”

“!” No! She didn’t want that! She really was a good kid!

Qi Xu was so struck by the idea that “lots of people actually hated her” that she didn’t catch what Xia Zhiming said afterward. It wasn’t until Xia Zhiming finished and called her name, “Qi Xu,” that she snapped back.

“What?”

“I’m explaining the ghost domain to you.”

“Oh oh, sorry, can you say it again?”

Xia Zhiming rolled her eyes at her in annoyance but dutifully continued the explanation. “The so-called ghost domain is a subspace formed when an earthbound spirit grows powerful and twists yin energy into a tangle. In this space, they can do whatever they want. But every ghost domain has a life gate. The capable can calculate it out, while the weak get completely devoured by the ghost domain. However, no matter if the ghost wants it or not, the ghost domain will always contain details from its subconscious that it wants to exclude, reflecting its life scenes or cause of death.”

“But now there’s a very serious problem. I’ve been rejected by the ghost domain.”

“What do you mean?” At that moment, Qi Xu had a bad premonition. Xia Zhiming was being so dutiful in explaining to her, even repeating it without complaint… She had a feeling nothing good was coming.

And indeed, after finishing the explanation, Xia Zhiming revealed a very ominous smile. “I just said it too—I can’t see the illusions that ghost wants to show.”

“Ah…” Qi Xu was still a bit dazed, but her bad premonition grew stronger.

Her sixth sense was actually pretty accurate. Just as she thought that, Xia Zhiming bared her fangs and told her why it felt off. “So, the task of finding out what this ghost is, and what exactly happened to it in life, falls to you, Qi Xu.”

“Ah?”

Qi Xu always had the absurd feeling that Xia Zhiming was sending her to deal with Tang Sanzang and his disciples. She really couldn’t do it. If she could handle Tang Sanzang and his disciples, she wouldn’t have been chased all over by the ghost. And… why did they need to know what happened to it in life anyway?

Xia Zhiming wasn’t the type who would gently exorcise a ghost if she found out its life story was particularly pitiful, was she?

Qi Xu raised this question.

Xia Zhiming laughed. “Haven’t known me long, but you understand me pretty well already.” She had just been laughing, but the next moment, the smile vanished from her face. Her eyes stared straight at Qi Xu as she said slowly, “Indeed, whether that ghost was hated in life or an innocent person harmed with sky-high resentment—none of that has anything to do with me. I’m too lazy to care.”

She extended a finger and lifted Qi Xu’s chin. “But it’s different for you, because you have to write a report. If I just take it down, how would you write your report? ‘On such and such date, subdued little ghost XX together with Xia Zhiming, then returned to Xintan City to sleep’?”

“Are you worthy of your salary like that?”

Saying it like that… didn’t seem much like Xia Zhiming’s style, but she really hit Qi Xu’s sore spot, because she really would feel bad taking money without working for it! She couldn’t just take such a high salary every month and turn in a report like that, right?

No way, she didn’t want to be a freeloader who just ate without working!

Qi Xu shuddered, then finally stood up. Before leaving, she confirmed with Xia Zhiming several times. “I-I should be fine, right?”

“You’ll be fine. You’re super strong if you turn into a ghost.” She waved her hand.

Seeing that she really had no intention of coming along, Qi Xu could only take a deep breath, turn around, and walk toward the hotel. Inside the glass doors of the Vivid Red Hotel, it was still “Xia Zhiming” and that man. Qi Xu didn’t understand—if she didn’t go in and the plot didn’t progress, would those two just stand there forever?

It felt a bit like a dumb AI that didn’t know what to do without instructions.

Before pushing open the glass door to go in, Qi Xu looked back and happened to meet Xia Zhiming’s gaze. Xia Zhiming made a gesture to her, ending with a “fighting” pose.

No hope, she’d have to rely on herself.

Gripping the handrail, Qi Xu pushed open the door and walked inside.

This ghost domain really did have some connection. After pushing open the door, the scene inside changed again. The setting was still the front desk lobby of the Vivid Red Hotel, but the people were different. As a hotel in town, the Vivid Red Hotel’s front desk wasn’t large. Straight ahead was the service counter, about as wide as an ordinary desk, while on the left and right sides of the lobby were small tea tables each with two chairs.

Just now, looking in from outside, Qi Xu had only seen “Xia Zhiming” and that man, but now that she was inside, she saw someone standing behind the front desk, and the chairs on both sides were full of people. In an instant, there were five people in the lobby.

Qi Xu’s gaze met those of the people sitting nearby—both men and women, but their faces were strange. Their faces were shrouded in black lines and mosaics, making it impossible to see their specific features at first glance. They wore somewhat old-fashioned clothes, like those of aunts and uncles.

These four people, two on each side, a man and a woman, whispered to each other, seemingly saying something.

Their voices were low, their speech fast, and laced with local dialect, so Qi Xu couldn’t make out what they were saying at all. But she knew that those four were speaking the dialect of this town.

Qi Xu pursed her lips. She had a guess in her heart. Earlier on the outer floor, she had randomly entered a room full of “Xia Zhiming” photos; just now outside, “Xia Zhiming” had been waiting for her inside… Clearly, this ghost domain’s plot—or rather, its method of killing—was to follow the plot.

The ghost had to kill in a specific way.

This wasn’t something Qi Xu had been taught; it was Xia Zhiming’s deduction. Even if not, it had to follow some programmed procedure, satisfying certain conditions before acting. In the previous temple fair ghost domain, it had been like that—one needed fingerprints on the head, to go before the God of Wealth statue, and ideally kowtow to it for the complete process.

It was the same in this Vivid Red Hotel.

Of course, this was Qi Xu’s guess and might be wrong, but since she had faced that ghost head-on before and it hadn’t taken her out, her guess was likely correct.

With her mind set, she walked toward the front desk.

And it was at that moment that a mixed male-female voice rang out: 【Look, it’s that guy’s woman, always going in and out of the hotel with other people. Who knows how many green hats he’s worn on his head.】