Chapter 109 Although the tall man knew him, was a regular customer, and had even helped He Zhao before, but…

Although the tall man was someone He Zhao knew, a regular customer, and had even helped her before, He Zhao still preferred to see things from a woman's perspective. She had just felt that it would be better for her wife and daughter to assume it was infidelity; that way, she could openly hate the tall man.

So when Qiao Yanyu said that others hated it, she subconsciously thought it was the tall man's wife and children.

But Qiao Yanyu placed her hands in front of her, tightened her grip slightly, and calmly said, "Not necessarily."

He Zhao was somewhat stunned by this answer, but she wasn't stupid. After thinking about it carefully, she understood Qiao Yanyu's implication: "Could it be that some of the children it sponsors resent it?!"

The mere thought of this possibility sent a chill down He Zhao's spine, raising goosebumps. Qiao Yanyu's silence, however, unequivocally confirmed the answer.

He Zhao was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, he sighed and said nothing.

If some of the children sponsored by the tall man hated him, and their resentment turned the tall man into a ghost, it seems... not impossible. As the saying goes, "A small favor is appreciated, but a large favor breeds resentment." The tall man had given so much to those children. His sudden death, without further donations, might cause some ungrateful children to turn around and hate the tall man.

Having witnessed the ugliness of human nature, He Zhao did not hesitate to use the most malicious thoughts to speculate about other people's ideas.

The incident of Gossian helping an elderly person but being resented is still fresh in our minds, so it doesn't seem unreasonable for a tall person to be resented.

But even so, the tall man's life was too tragic. He hadn't had a good life in ten years; his clothes were always tattered and worn. His wife and children, along with him, hadn't had many comfortable days either, and were left to starve. He died young from overwork, and even after his death, his wife and children hated and loathed him. Even among the children he sponsored, there were ungrateful wretches who resented him for suddenly stopping his donations.

This whole mess has left He Zhao feeling utterly dejected. He had originally planned to help the tall guy find a wife, even if it was just to catch a glimpse of her from afar—something he thought would be easy to handle. The tall guy was a good person when he was human, and not too bad even as a ghost, but… He Zhao couldn't really say or evaluate him.

The key question is whether or not to tell the tall man the truth now, and if he does, will he tell the mother and daughter the truth? He Zhao genuinely doesn't want to put the tall man's wife and daughter in a difficult position.

Later that evening, the old woman arrived. He Zhaoqiang mustered his spirits and told her about the water ghost incident involving the sutures. The old woman smiled and her eyes narrowed: "Good, good, the little girl has found a way out, this is a good thing."

The old woman had regained some of her senses. Seeing that He Zhao still looked worried after talking about the sutured water ghost, she asked her if there was anything else. He Zhao didn't want to tell the old woman, but Qiao Yanyu suddenly spoke up: "This matter is not easy to handle. Old woman, don't tell other ghosts."

Perhaps sensing the spice of gossip, the old woman's somewhat cloudy eyes brightened a little, and she spoke up directly: "You tell me, even though I'm old, I can still analyze things with you."

Since Qiao Yanyu had spoken up, He Zhao didn't hold back anymore and told the old woman everything. After listening, the old woman also felt that this matter was quite difficult to handle. She thought for a while before slowly saying, "You're thinking of not telling the tall man's wife and daughter, but who knows, they might find out soon."

"?" Confusion appeared on He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu's faces, but the old woman's expression became much calmer. However, her voice, heard in the quiet night, suddenly took on a chill: "Some people, once they have something, will try their best to find it again once they lose it. Besides, what they lost was money. Who knows, before you even have a chance to ask or not, someone will find them and ask them for money."

He Zhao's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and his expression became somewhat strained: "It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

She knew that people in this world were treacherous, but He Zhao always felt that such a thing wouldn't happen: "The tall guy had always donated anonymously before, and they didn't know that it was the tall guy who did it."

The old woman pursed her lips: "Life is unpredictable. You'll see if it's as I say."

After finishing her meal, the old woman left. She seemed to be in a bad mood this time, as she didn't even do what she usually did—smilingly promising to buy He Zhao candy. She simply walked away alone, looking forlorn. He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu exchanged a glance. He Zhao couldn't help but ask Qiao Yanyu, "Sister Qiao, it shouldn't... happen like that, right?"

Qiao Yanyu paused for a moment, then continued, "I'll report this to my superiors and ask them to keep an eye on the tall man's wife and daughter. If they get into trouble, have the relevant departments intervene promptly."

Under normal circumstances, the relevant departments might ignore such unfounded rumors, but if it's an order from the Countermeasures Bureau, then it's a different story. The safety of the mother and daughter is closely related to the tall man. If something like this really happens, and the tall man becomes irrational and turns into a demon, then things will become extremely troublesome.

The Countermeasures Bureau has now ascertained the tall man's identity and where he is. Before he came to He Zhao's stall, he was probably somewhere in the shade near the pork stall. But if he really becomes an evil spirit, driven by instinct, hatred, and yin energy, he might actually break free from the constraints of earthbound spirits at night and run around killing people, murdering those who bullied his wife and daughters.

This is clearly not the situation the countermeasures bureau wants to see. Therefore, this matter must be addressed at its source; we absolutely cannot allow the tall man's wife and daughter to actually be bullied.

If the tall guy really was an evil spirit, he might have already been eliminated by the investigators from the Countermeasures Bureau. However, based on the two previous cases—from Gossian to the suture-line water ghost, and the news that they helped the Countermeasures Bureau in the previous Flower incident—more investigators from the friendly faction have taken notice of this area.

They believe that He Zhao's stall is beneficial in establishing a positive image of ghosts and humans. They also believe that tall ghosts are kind-hearted, have never done anything bad, and were even worthy of respect in their previous lives. People would prefer to see such ghosts fulfill their wishes and be successfully exorcised and reincarnated.

Therefore, the current attitude of the Countermeasures Bureau towards the tall girl is: observe and wait for He Zhao and the others to take action, and intervene when necessary.

After Qiao Yanyu finished her call, she turned around and saw He Zhao propping his cheek up with his hand, sighing deeply, "Alas, are people really as bad as Grandma said?"

“Not necessarily,” Qiao Yanyu replied. “Grandma has become much clearer now, and she may have remembered many things from her life. She may be thinking about it based on her own experiences.” Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao analyzed for a moment, and then Qiao Yanyu continued, “But there are not only bad people in the world.”

He Zhao thought about it and agreed: "That makes sense, after all, there are still bad guys around."

He Zhao's statement made Qiao Yanyu laugh out loud: "Yes, and there are bad guys too."

Some things really shouldn't be said carelessly. After the two of them mentioned a bad ghost, a bad ghost really did appear. It looked like a sleazy person, dressed casually, and had large tattoos on its exposed arms. It didn't seem like a good person in life.

Even as a ghost, it wasn't a good one. The yin energy emanating from its body carried a heavy feeling, making He Zhao realize that this ghost was quite different from his usual guests. In fact, it was somewhat similar to the seam-stitched water ghost he had first encountered.

But since he was a guest, and one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, He Zhao calmed himself down and gestured for the unfamiliar ghost to sit down. The tattooed ghost, after sitting down, wasn't still; his eyes darted around, and after a moment he looked at He Zhao again, a grin on his face—a sly, roguish smile.

"I heard that even ghosts can taste the flavor of the things you sell here, is that true?"

The mockery was obvious. He Zhao concluded that it was definitely not a good ghost. But business had to be done; after all, she still owed the system money. Besides, with Qiao Yanyu by her side, even a battle-damaged version, she was confident that this wicked ghost couldn't harm her at all.

He Zhao nodded: "Yes, ten yuan in ghost money per serving, plus white rice. Do you want some?"

He Zhao didn't actually know the value of ghost money among ghosts, but it was clear it wouldn't be cheap. Sure enough, after He Zhao finished speaking, the tattooed ghost's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "How much?!"

"Ten yuan in ghost money." He Zhao picked at his ear. The tattooed ghost looked like it wanted to overturn the stall, but then it suddenly remembered something, sat down, and even crossed its legs. Its posture was more like the owner of the stall than He Zhao's.

"Ten yuan it is, come on, give me one, let me try it and see if I can really experience what it tastes like!"

Without hesitation, He Zhao served it an extra spicy version. He always believed that carrying an extra spicy version was a reliable way to deal with unlucky creatures like this; just give it a good shove of the extra spicy version. The tattooed ghost's face immediately changed color upon eating the extra spicy version, turning extremely green, then red after a while. If ghosts weren't forbidden from crying, and if it didn't have the mechanism of a mud ghost or a stitched-up water ghost to fake tears, it would have been snotting its eyes out long ago.

It didn't like the taste of this extra spicy version, but it couldn't bear to give up the first thing it could eat after becoming a ghost, and the taste of the best thing it had ever eaten in its life when it was in a spicier food gift. With its face contorted, it finished the bowl of extra spicy food.

He Zhao found this ghost quite impressive. Even the mud ghost couldn't help but leave halfway through its meal to walk around and relieve the spiciness, and the tall ghost would use regular rice to balance it out. Yet this tattooed ghost actually ate the whole bowl dry.

However, after finishing the meal, it revealed its true colors. It pulled out a toothpick from somewhere, casually picked at its teeth, and said, "I didn't expect what they said on the street to be true. This rice of yours can actually make even ghosts taste it."

After picking its teeth, it casually tossed the toothpick aside, looking ready to run away. He Zhao watched, amused and exasperated, but before he could speak, Qiao Yanyu spoke up: "Wait, you haven't paid yet."