A ghost capable of following her home in broad daylight must possess considerable strength.
It would be best if it could stay and protect her for a while—then she wouldn’t be afraid of encountering other ghosts in the future.
“Hahaha, protect you? Human, what kind of joke are you making!”
The Usher Ghost laughed so hard that her eyeballs popped out, dangling by her mouth. She stuffed them back into their sockets, then immediately resumed a fierce expression.
“If I kill you, I can still take this stone! So why should I make a deal with you?”
“Do you think I only have one?”
Shi Qing remained calm as she pulled out another Ghost Stone from her person. Tilting her head, she leisurely studied the stunned Usher Ghost before her.
“You don’t actually think this is all I have, do you?”
Shi Qing grinned, tucked the Ghost Stone into her pocket, and placed her left hand back on the doorknob.
“Or you could just try to kill me—if you can.”
After silently reciting an incantation in her mind, Shi Qing easily opened the door and stepped inside.
With a loud slam, the door shut heavily.
The Usher Ghost’s head was still stuck in the door at that moment. When she retracted her head back inside, she was utterly bewildered.
Where was she?
That human—she clearly saw her open the door and come in, so how was she gone?!
Had she… seen a ghost?!
Just then, the door opened again, and Shi Qing strolled in leisurely from outside.
“So? Do we have a deal or not?”
“Not unless you tell me first how you disappeared and reappeared.”
She had clearly watched her open the door and enter, yet there was no one inside. How bizarre—in all her years as a ghost, she had never encountered anything so absurd.
“Dream on. All you need to tell me is whether you’ll take the deal or not. If you refuse, I’m sure other ghosts would be quite willing…”
“I agree!”
…
Half an hour later, the Usher Ghost had restored her appearance from when she was alive. She wore a light pink floral dress, her features delicate and pure, with an air of youthful innocence, looking no older than eighteen or nineteen.
Such a tender age—how had she ended up becoming a ghost?
“What’s your name?”
Shi Qing, having washed up and changed clothes, stepped out of the bathroom.
That wretched Female Ghost had been licking her hands, getting rotting flesh everywhere—it was utterly disgusting.
“I’ve forgotten…”
The Usher Ghost was now hugging the Ghost Stone, her face filled with bliss.
Shi Qing rolled her eyes. “Since you’ve forgotten, from now on, you’ll be called Suihua.”
The Usher Ghost: “…That sounds awful…”
Shi Qing: “I think so too. Right, Suihua?”
The Usher Ghost: “I’m angry!”
“Fine, you can leave. I’ll find someone else! Let’s see if anyone else can offer you such favorable terms!”
Shi Qing waved a hand dismissively. Staring at the Ghost Stone in Shi Qing’s hand, the Usher Ghost burst into tears.
“Suihua… actually sounds quite nice…”
She hated this human! How could she humiliate her like this?!
But… she was offering far too much!
…
No new customers entered the Space-Time Shop that day. Shi Qing bought some instant noodles, bread, mineral water, and cola from the Small Shop downstairs and tossed them onto the shelves.
The shelves’ evaluation of these items was that they were utterly insignificant.Shi Qing didn’t mind and went to check the backyard again. After a day had passed, the previous apple tree had already borne fruit, with bright red apples hanging from its branches, exceptionally beautiful.
She plucked an apple from the tree. It was sweet, crisp, and refreshing, bursting with juice—unlike the cloyingly sweet apples sold outside nowadays.
It was delicious.
After finishing the apple, Shi Qing finally had time to examine the other plants.
The Rejuvenation Grass had sprouted, the Ghost Hand Vine had grown knee-high, but the Celestial Origin Fruit Tree showed no signs of movement.
The growth period of the Celestial Origin Fruit Tree was too long. Although Shi Qing liked it, she didn’t have high expectations for it.
Compared to the Celestial Origin Fruit Tree, she was more looking forward to the Ghost Hand Vine.
With the Ghost Hand Vine, she might have the means to protect herself in this world.
She picked seven or eight more apples from the tree and placed two of them on the shelf.
[Apple: Sweet and delicious, produced by the Space-Time Shop. Contains a trace of spiritual energy. Long-term consumption nourishes the body.]
Seeing the description displayed on the shelf, Shi Qing’s eyes lit up.
She suddenly felt like buying more seeds to plant all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the empty space in the backyard.
…
Just as Shi Qing stepped out of the Space-Time Shop, holding the remaining apples, Suihua drifted over unsteadily, looking at her up and down with an incredulous expression.
“Where did you go behind my back again?”
Suihua’s voice was full of grievance.
She had only turned on the TV for a moment, and the woman’s presence had vanished from the room. She had searched everywhere but couldn’t find her.
“Be good, I picked some apples for you. Want one?”
Shi Qing smiled and placed the apples on the dining table. Seeing the sweet apples on the table, Suihua immediately forgot what she had asked and pounced on them, taking several deep sniffs.
“They smell so good…”
Soon, the two apples lost their color and fragrance.
As Suihua reached for the third apple, Shi Qing slapped her head away.
These weren’t ordinary apples, and she would feel heartbroken if they were wasted like this.
But she had used too much force, and Suihua’s head flew off.
Shi Qing: “…”
“You… hit me?”
Suihua’s hands fumbled around, picked up her head, and reattached it to her neck. Her eyes turned red with anger.
Shi Qing blinked and nodded.
“Yeah, so what?”
“You actually hit me???”
Suihua widened her eyes in disbelief. How could she hit her and still act so righteous?
Wait, she was a Ghost! Why could a human hit her?
“Human, why can you hit me?”
Suihua’s anger instantly subsided, and she drifted closer to Shi Qing, poking her cheek.
Shi Qing rolled her eyes. “Don’t I have a name? You keep calling me ‘human’ all the time. How would I know why I can hit you?”
As for why she could touch Ghosts, she wasn’t sure of the exact reason, but she guessed it had something to do with the Space-Time Shop.
However, Suihua was the first Ghost she had encountered, so she didn’t know when this ability had appeared.
“Hu… Shi Qing, I want to eat an apple.Suihua tugged at Shi Qing’s sleeve, her tone clearly acting cute.
She felt that after eating the apple, the restless ghost energy inside her had calmed down considerably.
Looking at the three remaining apples on the table, Shi Qing pushed one toward Suihua.
“This is the last one. If you eat it today, there won’t be any more.””Wow, you’re so kind, human!”
Suihua excitedly pounced directly onto the apple, sniffing it vigorously.
…
“I’m going to sleep now. From now on, you’re not allowed to enter or leave my bedroom without my permission, understand?”
Before going to bed that night, Shi Qing specifically reminded Suihua. She was afraid of opening her eyes in the middle of the night only to see a bloody head staring back at her—that would be truly terrifying.
“Got it, got it…”
Suihua waved her hand dismissively.
The night passed quietly.
The next day, Shi Qing woke up early and immediately checked her phone.
Hmm, 6:00 AM.
But as soon as she turned on her internet, messages from the residents’ group chat started pouring in one after another.
Shi Qing clicked to take a look…
2#1302: Aaaah, there seems to be something unclean in my house! Last night, the TV wouldn’t turn off no matter what, and it kept changing channels on its own!!!