The hospital didn't have patients passing away every day—sometimes it could go half a month without one, so the work at the morgue was actually pretty relaxed.
While Bai Xianxian was occupying Chen Lin's workstation reading a novel, she didn't notice when he had left.
It wasn't until nearly the end of her shift that Bai Xianxian caught up to the latest chapter and used her newly registered account to leave her first reply on the supernatural forum: "Ahhh that was so good! The author is a god! More please! More!"
After reading novels all afternoon, Bai Xianxian stood up and stretched, only then realizing Chen Lin wasn't in the office.
She called out a couple of times but got no response. Just as she was about to step out for a walk, the phone on the desk suddenly rang. Bai Xianxian froze for a moment, then quickly picked it up: "Hello, the morgue."
The voice on the other end said: "Inpatient oncology, 20th floor, bed 3. Come pick up the body."
Bai Xianxian: "…"
Panic began to set in.
She hung up and rushed to the hallway, shouting: "Chen Lin? Chen Lin, are you there? Chen Lin, where are you?"
Wuwuwu Chen Lin, save me—
It was only then that Bai Xianxian remembered that after two days on the job, she still hadn't exchanged contact information with her only coworker. Now she couldn't find him even if she wanted to.
After calling around with no response, Bai Xianxian felt utterly hopeless. But she'd already answered the call, so she had no choice but to steel herself and go.
After a moment's thought, she took out the Six-Spirit Sword and tucked it into her chest. Fortunately, it was a one-piece work jumpsuit, so it wouldn't fall out. Bai Xianxian had never seen how Chen Lin went about picking up bodies, so she could only hurry toward the oncology department.
The evening clouds were brilliant and gorgeous. When Bai Xianxian timidly poked her head into the ward, the deceased patient on the bed had already been covered with a white sheet. A doctor stood nearby, writing something on a form. Seeing Bai Xianxian arrive empty-handed, he frowned and asked: "You didn't bring the mortuary stretcher?"
Bai Xianxian said stiffly: "I just started, so I'm not entirely sure of the procedure. I'm sorry."
Seeing that she was a pretty young woman, the doctor didn't make a fuss and simply said: "Then go back and get it. I'll wait here. The family said they won't arrive until tomorrow, so the body will stay in the morgue tonight."
Bai Xianxian let out a small whimper and turned to run back toward the morgue.
As she ran, she tried to pump herself up.
Bai Xianxian! Be strong! Every beginning is hard! Once you succeed the first time, you won't be afraid anymore!
That's what she told herself, but by the time she got on the elevator, her eyes were already red from holding back tears.
The mortuary stretcher was in the morgue. In her two days here, Bai Xianxian had never once stepped inside. Fortunately, there were no bodies in there right now. She took a deep breath, ran in, and pushed the stretcher by the door out.
The wheels rolled across the floor, making a rumbling sound in the empty room.
Just as she pushed it out, a familiar blue figure turned the corner at the end of the hallway.
"Rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and passing the imperial exam"—the four great joys of life couldn't compare to how Bai Xianxian felt at this moment.
She was this close to bursting into tears: "Chen Lin! Where did you go? A patient passed away, in oncology, we need to go pick up—"
Chen Lin had been walking forward with his eyes lowered and an expressionless face. Hearing her voice, he looked up, and his gaze landed on her face that was about to cry. He visibly stiffened.
In just a second, he strode toward her. With his long legs, he reached her side in no time, took the mortuary stretcher from her hands, and his lips moved slightly as he said in a very low voice: "I'm sorry."
Bai Xianxian caught the faint scent of soap on him—he'd just showered.
So he'd gone back to the dorm to wash up.
Bai Xianxian let out a sigh. "I'm not blaming you, it's just… it happened so suddenly, I wasn't mentally prepared." She clenched her fist. "I'll go with you! After a few times, I won't be scared anymore."
Chen Lin shifted to block her path: "No need. I'll go. You can clock out."
Bai Xianxian followed behind him: "I have to get used to it eventually. What if you're not around someday—I can go by myself!"
Chen Lin paused mid-step with the stretcher, turned back to look at her, and though his voice was flat and emotionless, his tone was serious: "That won't happen. I won't wander off again."
He looked into her eyes: "You're scared. You don't have to do this."
The warm evening clouds seemed to pour straight into Bai Xianxian's heart at that moment.
Wuwuwu, what a moving, earth-shattering coworker bond!
Bai Xianxian pulled out her phone: "Alright then, let's add each other on WeChat. If anything comes up, you can call me anytime."
Chen Lin: "…I don't have WeChat."
Bai Xianxian: "…"
So he really hadn't been making excuses that day—he genuinely didn't have it.
Bai Xianxian handed him her phone: "You must have a phone number, right? Let's exchange numbers!"
Chen Lin nodded, took the phone, entered his number, and handed it back. Bai Xianxian saved his name and waved at him: "Then I'm off! What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"
Chen Lin tried to decline, but before the words left his mouth, Bai Xianxian asked with a smile: "How about shaomai and soy milk?"
He looked at her bright, sparkling eyes as she smiled and gave a very slight nod.
When the workday ended, Bai Xianxian had once again spent the day slacking off and goofing around. After returning to the dorm and lying down, she mentioned it in the "Four Flowers of the Machine Workshop" group chat, and her three roommates were green with envy.
Before going to sleep, Bai Xianxian lit three sticks of incense for the Patriarch and thought to herself, wondering if the Patriarch would come again tonight.
Sure enough, the moment she fell asleep, the white-bearded old man with three little gourds on his head appeared in her dream, smiling and waving at her: "Of course I'm coming."
When she got up the next morning, Bai Xianxian sadly discovered that she had dark circles under her eyes.
Another day of slacking off began.
Chen Lin seemed to have gotten used to her habit of coming to the hospital every morning to catch up on sleep. He had already put the little blanket away in the cabinet, but seeing her lazily lying down on the sofa, he silently took it out again.
After lunch, Bai Xianxian first went to the forum to read today's update of the serialized novel, then continued browsing posts.
After two hours of scrolling, among a bunch of made-up story posts, she finally found one that seemed to be a genuine ghost encounter:
—"HELP! I think I saw a haunting at a streamer's house in the livestream today!"
Main post: He's a gaming streamer, not a famous one, but I really like his streaming style and watch him every day. This morning when he started streaming, I was there on time. Since he doesn't show his face, the camera was angled diagonally at the wall cabinet behind him. Then I saw the decorative painting hanging on the wall cabinet keep moving! Like swinging left and right! Even an air conditioner couldn't blow it with that much force. I told him in the chat right away, and the moment the streamer turned his head, the painting stopped moving! Over a hundred people in the livestream saw it! Video clip below!
Bai Xianxian clicked on the video. The quality wasn't very clear, but she could indeed see the painting swinging left and right, as if someone was standing beside it, bored and pushing it back and forth.
But the netizens on the paranormal forum, perhaps spoiled by all those fabricated horror stories, replied things like, "It's just a painting moving, what's the big deal? Maybe the window wasn't closed and the wind blew it?"
Bai Xianxian also replied in the post: Which streamer? I want to check it out!
The OP replied with a link, and Bai Xianxian clicked it, which redirected her to the livestream interface.
The gaming streamer happened to be live at that moment. The camera was still pointed at the wall cabinet, but the painting looked perfectly normal now. Someone in the chat asked: Hey Doggo, I heard your livestream was haunted this morning?
The streamer was dismissive: "You guys are just trying to scare me, right? As if I'd believe you have ghosts! This team fight we can win, we can win, bros! Watch me get a pentakill!"
Bai Xianxian registered an account on the streaming platform and sent him a private message: Hello, I'm a professional ghost remover. If anything paranormal happens at your place again, feel free to contact me.
The low-popularity streamer read almost every private message he received, so naturally he saw Bai Xianxian's message.
After finishing his game, he laughed: "Hahahaha bros, I got a message saying they're a professional ghost remover and asking me to contact them! Damn, I'm just a small streamer with low income, don't come scam me! There's nothing to gain here."
After sending the message, Bai Xianxian went back to browsing posts on the forum.
As she scrolled, she sighed. No wonder her father had been in such dire straits financially a few years back—the Daoist business was really hard to drum up these days.
She left replies on several posts that seemed like genuine ghost encounters: Hello, I'm a professional ghost remover. If you need help, feel free to contact me. I offer on-site service at a reasonable price, and no charge if I can't solve the problem. I've sent you my contact info in a private message~ OVO~!
Unsurprisingly, she was treated as a scammer:
—Scammers are into acting cute now?
—Checked the account history. New account registered yesterday. First reply was asking for an update on Yizhichun's serialized novel. I'm dying laughing. You're a professional ghost remover and you read ghost-hunting novels?
Bai Xianxian refused to back down, typing furiously: Professionals don't have the right to read novels?
The netizens were almost dying of laughter at this scammer, and in a post with hundreds of replies, they egged on the OP who claimed to see ghosts: Just contact him, see what trick he's trying to pull! Then do a livestream and we'll all come watch!
This OP was an old-timer on the forum who claimed to have been born with Yin-Yang Eyes, so he could always see some unclean things. Whenever anything happened, he would post and share it with everyone.
Hearing what the netizens said, and being bored out of his mind anyway, he actually called Bai Xianxian.
When the call connected and he heard a crisp female voice on the other end, he was caught off guard for a moment.
Bai Xianxian said, "Hello, who is this?"
The OP with the ID Xianren coughed dryly: "Hello, I'm from the Ghost-Seeing Forum. You just sent me a private message—the one about always hearing crying in the office building bathroom. Are you free to come over now?"
Bai Xianxian's face lit up with joy!
Had her first opportunity finally arrived?!
For the first mission, she absolutely had to leave a calm and composed impression of a master!
She cleared her throat: "I'm free. Send me the address, and I'll come right now."
Xianren sent her an address. When Bai Xianxian looked at it, it turned out to be in the commercial center of Yunchang City, an area full of bustling, modern office buildings. In truth, whether it's capital or government, whether building residential or commercial properties, feng shui always matters.
As the CBD of Yunchang City, the commercial center's location and building orientations were all carefully considered. Moreover, since most of the city's office workers were concentrated here, coming and going every day, such a place generally wouldn't have any problems.
Bai Xianxian was disappointed the moment she saw the address, knowing this person was most likely spinning a tale.
But since the call had already been made, she didn't mind making the trip.
Previously, Yu Anding had said that in the hospital she was essentially a mascot—just there to hold things down—and that taking on other jobs was fine too. Bai Xianxian gave Chen Lin a heads-up and headed out with her backpack.
Traffic wasn't bad, and the cab ride took half an hour.
Bai Xianxian sent Xianren a message. Before long, a young man wearing glasses walked out. Seeing Bai Xianxian standing there, he didn't dare believe it.
Bai Xianxian said, "You're Xianren, right?"
The young man was utterly astonished.
A girl this pretty didn't look like a scammer, did she?
His heart was full of doubt, but he didn't say anything. He just secretly pulled out his phone, ready to livestream to his online friends. But Bai Xianxian had sharp eyes and turned her head to look over: "Are you recording?"
Xianren explained sheepishly, "It's just that the netizens want to see how a master exorcises ghosts." He added with a hint of provocation, "The master doesn't mind, right? Since you're a professional."
Bai Xianxian said, "Just don't point it at my face. Mind my portrait rights."
Xianren nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course!"
The livestream room he'd opened in advance already had no fewer than two hundred people, all spamming in the comments: "Sounds like a really young girl! Young as she is, why not do something useful instead of being a scammer!"
Bai Xianxian followed Xianren into the elevator. During the ride up, he kept sizing her up, then asked, "Master, didn't you bring any magical artifacts or anything? Are you planning to fight ghosts with your bare hands?"
Bai Xianxian glanced at him. "Whether there's even a ghost is still up for debate. Let's take a look first."
The tone was oddly aloof.
Xianren no longer had the mood to toy with a scammer like before. He was a bit nervous.
The elevator reached the eighteenth floor. Bai Xianxian stepped out, looked around left and right, and asked him, "This is the floor where you heard the crying in the restroom?"
Xianren nodded.
Bai Xianxian said, "Take me to see it."
The office building's restroom was clean and spacious. Xianren said it was the women's restroom. Bai Xianxian pushed the door open and looked inside—no one was there. She turned to look at Xianren standing behind her: "Aren't you coming in?"
Xianren said awkwardly, "How can I go into the women's restroom?"
Bai Xianxian: "If you don't come in, how are you going to livestream?"
Xianren: "…"
He glanced at his phone—the comments were indeed all urging him to go in. He had no choice but to steel himself and walk in.
Bai Xianxian just stood in the middle with her backpack on, looking around. She was certain this place was perfectly normal, so she was as calm as if she were on a tour.
Xianren's phone happened to be aimed at her hands hanging at her sides, and the netizens in the livestream saw those slender, fair fingers rapidly form a hand seal they couldn't understand.
A low chanting sound echoed through the empty restroom. Her voice was soft and fast, and most netizens couldn't make out what she was saying—only catching words like "Heavenly Eye," "Spirit Sect," and "Five Elements Supreme Purity." But the last line, everyone understood clearly.
"Urgent as the law commands!"
Some auras simply can't be faked.
Xianren, standing behind her, felt it most keenly.
The comments fell silent for a moment, then erupted again.
—Damn! Seems real! That hand seal just now was super professional!
—She said "urgent as the law commands"! So she's from the Daoist sect?
—The way she chanted the incantation is exactly like the Taoist priest I saw at Zhenwu Temple last time! Just as mysterious as a doctor's handwriting!
Others said scammers these days really worked too hard.
Bai Xianxian opened her Heavenly Eye and took a look around, then turned to Xianren and said, "This place is very clean. There's nothing here at all."
Xianren was starting to panic and was about to speak when Bai Xianxian asked again, "When did you first hear the crying here? Day or night? How often? Do you hear it every day? What kind of crying is it? Have you only heard it here?"
The barrage of questions left Xianren completely stunned.
Finally, Bai Xianxian asked him, "Do you really have Yin-Yang Eyes?"
The most gifted heir of the Bai family in a century—Spirit Bone at her core, upholding righteousness and dispelling evil, radiating pure and upright energy that no evil dared approach. Locked in place by that clean, honest gaze, Xianren couldn't force out a single lie.
Faced with his silence, Bai Xianxian didn't press further. She just waved her hand toward the phone camera and greeted the netizens with a smile: "Hello everyone, I'm a professional ghost exorcist. If you need anything, feel free to contact me. No results, no charge. My forum ID is Xianxianzi."