I forced down the fear churning inside me and kept walking forward. Grandfather had told me that ordinary ghosts each had their own fixed territory, never spanning more than a hundred meters. That territory could be where they were buried, or it could be the scene of their death. The spot I'd just passed had no grave mound, so it was very likely the place where this ghost with half its skull sheared off had died. In other words, if I walked beyond that hundred-meter range, the ghost should automatically leave me alone. But Grandfather had also said that some ghosts were vengeful souls seeking to claim lives, or wandering spirits with no home—those kinds would keep following passersby, searching for a better place to settle. I was born under an extremely yin destiny. Though Zhao Yixian's immortal energy had once neutralized some of it, three years had passed, and her immortal energy had gradually faded. The jade ring pressed against my chest radiated wave after wave of warmth—Zhao Yixian was warning me that I'd attracted something bad. But there was nothing I could do right now, except pray this wasn't a vengeful soul or a wandering spirit. I deeply regretted why I'd been so stupid as to look at him earlier. If I hadn't looked, probably nothing would have happened at all.
Dragging my heavy suitcase past five abandoned storefronts, I reached the entrance of shop number twenty-four when the suitcase suddenly became much lighter. I turned to look around—nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But at the door of shop twenty-four, there was a pile of spirit money that hadn't fully burned out. The fire was strikingly visible in this pitch-dark environment. I looked closely at the flames and instantly understood—someone was burning paper offerings. Beside it lay a stack of sacrificial offerings and an apple with three sticks of incense stuck into it. I didn't bother wondering why someone was paying respects here. At least the ghost that had been sitting on my suitcase was gone now—perhaps lured away by the offerings and spirit money. Just as I was about to step forward, I suddenly heard a cry for help from inside, followed by muffled "mmm-mmm" sounds, as if someone's mouth had been covered. Then came the crash of wooden shelves toppling over.
"Someone's committing a crime!" My heart jolted. I let go of my suitcase and, without a second thought, dashed straight inside.
Once I burst in, I realized this was a large coffin shop. Though the store had been abandoned, it still held many coffins scattered haphazardly throughout. Coffins didn't scare me—I'd slept in one since I was a child. Besides that, there were many paper effigies standing upright in a corner. Because the light was so dim, I could only make out shadowy figures about a meter tall. I furrowed my brow. It was very quiet in here—nothing unusual besides the creepiness. Had I misheard earlier? I hadn't brought a flashlight, but when you stay in darkness long enough, your eyes gradually adjust. With moonlight filtering in, even indoors, you could make out the general shapes. Just as I was about to leave, a low male voice came from deeper inside the coffin shop: "Damn it, go easy, you idiot. If you kill the girl, there's no fun left."
"Boss, she was screaming. I was afraid someone might hear."
"This is Qianhun Lu. Even if she screamed her throat raw, no one would hear her."
"But isn't there supposed to be a ghost here? What if we attract it?"
"Look at you, scared shitless. We burned spirit money and set out offerings outside. If there are ghosts, they'll take them. Take a gift, owe a favor—ghosts are the same. Even if there are ghosts, they won't come bothering us."
"Are you sure about this, bro?" "Of course I'm sure. All the brothers in the business do it this way—it works every time. But dammit, you knocked this chick out. How am I supposed to have fun now?" "Bro, she's just unconscious, not dead. It's the same thing." "Same my ass! Playing with a dead fish? We finally got our hands on such a top-notch girl, and you knocked her out. Damn it!" The male voice sounded angry. "Don't worry, bro. I'll splash some water on her to wake her up." "Hurry it up!" The male voice said impatiently. I followed the sound and looked over. In the corner of this coffin shop, there was actually another door, but it was closed. I instantly understood what was going on. I walked around a few coffins and reached the door in the corner. The door was well-sealed, and only a faint sliver of light could be seen through the gap near the lock. If you didn't stand right there, you wouldn't even see that light. I peered through the crack and saw a bed inside. A beautiful girl, only about seventeen or eighteen, lay on it with her eyes closed—clearly knocked out. Her top had been torn open, revealing a large expanse of pale skin, and her short skirt had been hiked up. Two men sat around the bed. One was a burly, bald man with tattoos covering his bare torso. The other was much thinner, about my height—around 1.7 meters—with a crew cut and glasses. On the bedside table, two red candles burned, their flames casting flickering light on the two men, making their expressions look vicious. I took a deep breath. I knew exactly what these two bastards were planning. How dare they pull something like this here on Qianhunlu? Weren't they afraid of being killed by ghosts? At the same time, I knew I was no match for them. I was only fifteen. If I went in there, I wouldn't even last a single punch. What should I do? I watched anxiously. The man with glasses had already taken a big gulp of mineral water and sprayed it onto the girl's face. Her body jolted, and her eyes slowly opened. When she saw the two vicious men, she quickly sat up, shielding herself with her arms, and shouted, "What do you want?" "Heh heh… Look at your clothes. Isn't it obvious? We're civilized people. If you cooperate nicely, we'll just take what we want. If you don't cooperate, we'll take it by force anyway. But whether you'll live to see tomorrow's sun—that's anyone's guess." The bald man leered, pulling out a gleaming dagger from behind him. Seeing that dagger made me even more worried. If I didn't do something, this girl was probably done for. My mind raced. I was alone. Charging in would be suicide. And if I ruined their fun, they'd definitely come after me. "Ah~ Get away! Get away!" The girl's desperate scream rang out, followed by the sound of tearing fabric. I didn't dare hesitate. I kicked the door open, then turned and ran to hide among the pile of paper effigies in another corner. I knew clearly that I couldn't show my face. If I did, not only would I be in danger, but the girl wouldn't be saved either. "Bang!" The flimsy door burst open from my kick. Inside, there was two seconds of silence, followed by the bald man's furious roar: "Who? Who the hell is interrupting my fun?"
I crouched motionless among a pile of paper effigies, not daring to move a muscle—if I were discovered, I'd be completely done for. Then I saw the bald man and the glasses-wearing man burst out, shining their flashlights around in every direction without spotting me. "B-B-Boss… there's no one here… could there really be ghosts in this place?" the glasses-wearing man stammered. Hearing this, the bald man shuddered involuntarily and muttered, "Don't fucking jinx it." "Then what was that just now?" the glasses-wearing man asked, glancing around warily with a look of terror on his face. The bald man's breathing grew heavier, his eye twitching a few times as if deep in thought. Before he could make a decision, they suddenly heard the sound of suitcase wheels scraping against the floor. That sound was familiar to me—it was the same noise my suitcase made when I dragged it. I'd left the suitcase outside, so could someone have dragged it in? I turned my head slightly and suddenly saw something that sent me into a panic: my black suitcase was moving on its own, with no one holding it. "Holy shit! Boss, look at that suitcase—what the hell's going on?!" The glasses-wearing man was the first to shine his flashlight on it. Following the beam of light, I could see clearly: my suitcase was indeed moving across the floor, and at a tilt, with only the front two wheels touching the ground. But there was nothing in front of the suitcase, and it was moving straight toward me. "Fuck!" Faced with this supernatural phenomenon, the bald man could no longer keep his composure—he bolted for the door of the funeral shop. The glasses-wearing man was so scared he nearly shit himself, screaming and stumbling as he charged out. I stayed crouched in place, not moving, watching as the suitcase slowly moved to the side of the pair of paper effigies, stopped, straightened itself up, and then remained still. I was trembling all over. I'd seen ghosts before, but this eerie situation still made me uneasy. If I could have seen a ghost dragging the suitcase, the visual experience would have been much easier to handle, but I couldn't see a damn thing. Humans, after all, have a far harder time accepting the terror of the unknown than the terror they can see. After waiting a moment, my nerves settled a bit. No matter what, the ghost dragging that suitcase had helped me—otherwise, those two would have found me sooner or later. With that thought, I felt a sense of gratitude and wasn't as scared anymore. I even made a show of cupping my fists toward the suitcase and said, "Much obliged, brave warrior." I didn't rush to grab the suitcase but instead quickly walked into the room in the corner. The girl was still on the bed, trembling all over as she leaned against the headboard, hugging her knees with her head buried between them, her clothes still in disarray. I let out a sigh of relief, walked over, and said, "Hey, miss, are you okay?" The girl gave a violent start, slowly lifting her head to look at me. Her face was wet—whether from tears or the mineral water the glasses-wearing man had sprayed from his mouth, I couldn't tell. "Y-You… you you you… are you a ghost???" She shrank back as she stared at me in terror. I smiled and said casually, "I'm not a ghost. Have you ever seen a ghost this handsome?" The girl froze for a moment, her expression softening slightly, and she said, "But just now, they said there really are ghosts. What is this place…"