“Who needs you to take responsibility? I couldn’t care less about you taking responsibility.”
A shameless scoundrel like him—I wouldn’t want him even if he were thrown at me for free.
“Let me go.”
“It’s not that I won’t let you go, it’s that you can’t leave yet. Before I explain everything that needs to be explained, leaving like this would undoubtedly be very dangerous.”
“Stop spouting useless nonsense and open the door.”
Only a fool would believe his words.
“If you run into danger and lose your life, I’ll suffer along with you.”
“Selfish jerk, only thinking about yourself.”
October shrugged, speaking with great ease, “If one doesn’t look out for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them.”
I knew that no matter how long I argued with October, he wouldn’t let me go, so I had no choice but to figure out a way myself.
Wiping away my tears, I rushed downstairs, glanced around the hall, grabbed a chair from the square table, and headed straight for the pitch-black door.
October chased after me.
Seeing me raise the chair to smash the door, he urgently said, “Smashing the door won’t help.”
“Whether it helps or not, I’ll only know after trying.”
“Can’t you calm down and sit down to talk with me properly? Once I explain everything that needs to be explained, I’ll naturally let you go.”
Ignoring him, I swung the chair and smashed it against the door again and again with all my might.
But this door seemed to have some kind of spell cast on it—no matter how much effort I put in, it still wouldn’t budge.
Soon, the chair in my hands was smashed to pieces, but the door remained intact.
I was stunned, looking incredulously at October beside me.
“What did you do to this door?”
He pursed his lips, staring intently at the broken chair, and muttered, “You owe me a new chair.”
“I’m asking you a question, can you answer me first?”
“I just set up a Barrier.”
As he spoke, he raised his arm and gently waved it toward the door. Instantly, a barrier emitting a faint blue light appeared. The light from the barrier flickered, now strong, now weak. Reaching out to touch it, the barrier seemed thin but was as solid as a fortress—this must be what he called the Barrier.
Moreover, the Barrier wasn’t just set up in front of the door; its area was vast, almost enveloping the entire ancient building.
“Only I can undo this Barrier. Don’t waste your energy anymore.” October clasped his hands behind his back and strode over to me.
Looking down at me, he suddenly grinned shamelessly and said, “First, make me something to eat, and then I’ll explain everything that needs to be explained.”
Even though I was a hundred times unwilling, going against him was simply not an option for me.
“Will you let me go?”
“Once everything is explained, I’ll naturally let you go.”
“You promise?”
“Of course.”
“…”
At this point, aside from doing as he said, I seemed to have no other choice. I might as well trust him this once.
“Where’s the kitchen?” I asked him.
He immediately walked toward the north side of the hall, his steps unusually light. As he walked, he turned back and said to me, “Come.”
I quickly followed him. He led me to a door, pushed it open, and went in first.
The kitchen was more modern than I had imagined. The cabinets, kitchenware, and stove were all brand new, though the style remained classically antique.
“The fridge has everything you need, feel free to get creative.” After saying this, he leaned sideways against the wall, hands tucked into his pockets, and watched me with great interest.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
He shook his head.
“Are you afraid I’ll poison your food?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then why are you staring at me like this?”
“I’m afraid you’ll spit in the food.”
“…”
If he hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have thought of it. But even if I wanted to cause trouble, with him staring so intently, I wouldn’t have a chance.
“Go ahead with your work, don’t mind me.” He smiled at me and gestured toward the fridge. “Feel free to use any ingredients.”
I shot him a cold glare and pulled open the fridge door. Inside, vegetables, fruits, and various meats were packed to the brim. It was hard to understand why someone who couldn’t cook would have such a well-stocked fridge.
I randomly picked a few ingredients and got to work.
While I was chopping vegetables, October’s voice came from behind me.
“Chang Sheng told me before he left that he saved your life last night. Is that true?”
“He did save me, and he told me to come find you.”
“If that’s the case, then Chang Sheng’s guess is probably correct.” He suddenly muttered quietly to himself.
His words caught my attention.
“What guess?”
“Chang Sheng believes that after you gained my abilities, you now represent me.”
“I represent you?” I was taken aback.
He nodded thoughtfully. “That should be the case. The female ghost that troubled you last night probably mistook you for me. Moreover, she is likely one of the souls I collected three years ago. Originally, I was supposed to guide those ghosts to reincarnate, but an accident occurred while I was preparing to collect your soul. As a result, my abilities transferred to you, and the collected ghosts took the chance to escape.”
“What do you mean by ‘one of the souls’? Are there others besides that female ghost?”
October pinched his chin and thought very seriously before saying, “At least ten.”
“What? Ten?”
“More or less.”
“They all escaped?”
“Yes.”
“…”
After hearing October’s words, I couldn’t help but recall the terrifying female ghost that appeared in my dormitory last night and nearly took my life. If she could find me, then the other ghosts should be able to find me too.
Thinking about it now, I could understand the female ghost’s words a little better.
She must have mistaken me for the Grim Reaper. She said I collected her soul but didn’t guide her to reincarnate, leaving her to wander as a lonely wandering ghost until now…
Oh my god! I almost became October’s scapegoat.
“The most urgent task now is for you to master the abilities of the Grim Reaper and complete the backlog of work from the past three years.”
A sense of foreboding washed over me. “What do you mean by ‘backlog of work’?”
“The Grim Reaper, simply put, collects the souls of the dead. Since most of my abilities have transferred to you, I can no longer perform the Grim Reaper’s duties. Over time, the number of wandering ghosts has grown, resulting in the current situation where lonely wandering ghosts are everywhere on the streets.”
“Everywhere on the streets…”
I could hardly imagine what it would be like to have lonely wandering ghosts all over the streets.
“Actually, you don’t need to worry too much. I’ll help you.”
October said this with a relaxed expression.
I glared at him fiercely. “You’re helping me? I think you’re helping yourself. Those were originally your tasks, and you couldn’t complete them, so you’re asking me to do them for you.”
“You must complete them.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then you have only one path—death.” As he said this, a cold glint flashed in October’s eyes, his gaze so ruthless it seemed as if he would execute me on the spot if I didn’t do as he said.