Chapter 3

12:12 midnight

In the pitch-black room, Luo Yu put the prepared glutinous rice, garlic, and copper coins into his pocket, closed his eyes, and began to chant.

"I am a little spirit child...sad, sad, sad."

His mind buzzed, Luo Yu opened his eyes, and his teeth began to chatter.

Luo Yu was no longer in his room. He was surrounded by a thick black fog, and in the black fog was a hint of blood-red light. The blood-red light was wandering around, and the surroundings were desolate.

Luo Yu heard his own rapid heartbeat, and he reached into his pocket with trembling hands, trying to hold the object for exorcism.

However, when he put his hand into his pocket, it was empty. His glutinous rice, garlic, and copper coins were all gone!

"Oh, there are so many little gadgets and tricks."

When this sound came out, Luo Yu's heart almost jumped out of his throat.

This voice is exactly the same as the one in my dream last night!

The thick, obscuring black fog began to dissipate. Luo Yu gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and trembled as he looked around. This was a large hall. Twelve animals were carved on the walls, occupying the entire hall. The rabbit on the wall to Luo Yu's right had glowing red eyes.

As the black fog faded, Luo Yu saw a person sitting in front of him.

Oh no, it should be a ghost.

The shape of the ghost sitting in front of him became more and more clear, and the black mist was actually his ghost body.

The blood-red light stopped moving and the black fog dissipated.

A ghost wearing a black robe and with his entire face covered in black mist was sitting upright on a red and golden dragon chair, staring at Luo Yu.

He fell to his knees. His legs gave out.

The ghost on the red and golden dragon chair seemed to look down on Luo Yu's appearance. He shook his head twice, looked at the ghost who had been standing silently on the left side of the lobby, and then pulled off a red silk flower from both sides of the chair.

The ghost hand was thrown and hit Luo Yu on the head.

Luo Yu was frightened by the blow again, and the hairs that had just subsided stood up again. He was afraid that the thing thrown at him was a ghost snake or something like that.

But when he took a closer look, he was really surprised. Why would this ghost give him a flower for no reason?

Let him eat it? Or... let him rub his ears and perform a seductive dance for him?

At this time, the ghost on the left spoke: "The person in front of you is the ruler of the underworld, the Ghost King. What you dreamed about last night was entrusted by the Ghost King." His voice was low, but very pleasant to hear. It was not at all like the Ghost King's voice that made people feel weak as soon as he opened his mouth.

Luo Yu couldn't help but look at the ghost that was talking. This look really shocked him, and he even forgot where he was.

This talking ghost has absolutely nothing to do with the word ghost.

He was wearing a dark grey windbreaker with a high black collar that fitted snugly around his slender, fair neck. Looking up, his face, framed by gold-rimmed glasses, was as elegant as a meticulously crafted work of art.

This elegant ghost turned its head slightly to look at Luo Yu, its eyes lit up, and then returned to calm.

When Luo Yu was looked at by him, she immediately felt a strange feeling in her heart and quickly turned her head away.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha..." The Ghost King suddenly laughed, and there seemed to be a sense of cheerfulness in his laughter.

When his laughter subsided, Luo Yuwei shivered and bowed to him, imitating the ancient courtiers bowing to their superiors. After all, he was the Ghost King, so the ceremony still had to be followed.

The Ghost King tapped the armrest lightly, the sound crisp and rhythmic. Every time he tapped, Luo Yu's heart skipped a beat. If the sound was any louder, Luo Yu felt that his heart might be broken.

The Ghost King paused and said, "Every centennial in the underworld, a small shop will be set up for a year in the human world. In your human terms, this is a significant celebration. Whatever the human world has, we in the underworld will also have."

"So we will choose a lucky person who is about to die to hold this celebration."

"You're lucky to be chosen."

Luo Yu looked up at the Ghost King, sweat beginning to form on his forehead: "Does this mean that if I complete it, the disaster for my entire family will be lifted?"

The Ghost King said, "Yes, the one-year period is up and the deal is done."

"Okay." Luo Yu agreed without hesitation and asked, "Then what should I do first? Where should I open the store?"

The Ghost King said, "He will be your partner from now on. You will run the store together for the next year."

The Ghost King did not point at any ghost, and Luo Yu almost subconsciously looked in the direction of the elegant ghost.

The elegant ghost saw him looking at him and nodded slightly.

Luo Yu was stunned for a moment, then nodded back.

It was not known whether it was Luo Yu's illusion or something, but he seemed to have just caught a glimpse of this elegant ghost smiling for a very short moment, as if he couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth.

The elegant ghost walked towards Luo Yu with no expression on his face, but if you were to take a picture, he would be full of material.

Luo Yu didn't know where his courage came from, but facing this elegant ghost that was a head taller than him, he didn't panic at all, instead he felt an indescribable sense of intimacy. It was really ridiculous.

Gao Yagui stopped when he was five feet away from him and asked softly, "What's your name?"

This distance was just right for him to take in every detail of the other person. After more than ten seconds, Luo Yu said, "Luo Yu. What's your name?"

Luo Yu's subsequent questions were a bit awkward. He didn't know whether ghosts had names, and whether the names of ghosts were similar to those in the human world.

He once thought that if ghosts had names, they should be names like "Chimei Wangliang" that are difficult to pronounce.

The elegant ghost said, "Fall into obsession."

Luo Yu was surprised. The name sounded nice, and they both had the same surname as him. He couldn't help but ask, "Is Luo your surname or your given name?"

Luo Zhi said, "Surname."

Luo Yu was a little excited: "Me too, we still have... a little bit of fate."

Luo Zhi smiled at him and he said, "Yeah."

When he smiled, Luo Yu felt that he looked even more handsome. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw that the Ghost King on the Dragon Throne was no longer there.

The Ghost King disappeared without a trace, leaving only Luo Zhiluo, one person, and one ghost in the hall. Seeing the Ghost King gone, Luo Zhiluo grew bolder, speaking in his usual light-hearted tone, less awkwardly.

Luo Yu jumped to Luo Zhi's side and asked him the question he wanted to ask just now: "Luo Zhi, are you really a ghost? Why don't you look like one at all?" Luo Yu was a head shorter than Luo Zhi, and was looking up at him at this time.

Luo Zhi glanced at him and said, "If it doesn't look like a ghost, then what does it look like?"

Luo Yu said without hesitation: "It's like a carefully crafted work of art."

After a long pause, Luo Zhi said, "...Doesn't it look like a human?"

Luo Yu thought the ghost was quite interesting and not scary at all. He said, "Yes, I mean, you're as pretty as a work of art." After pondering for a moment, he said, "...I've never seen anyone as pretty as you in my life."

After Luo Yu finished speaking, he felt that he was a little crazy. He praised the ghost so much when he saw it for the first time, and he was not afraid that the ghost would pester him.

But the reason he was so bold now was because of the ghost before him. This ghost was called Luo Zhi, and for some reason, he had no fear of him at all. Perhaps it was his appearance, or perhaps he was just a good ghost.

Luo Zhi said, "That's good."

"?" Luo Yu's face was full of question marks.

Luo Zhi didn't explain this, but said, "Opening a small shop in the underworld is similar to opening a shop in the human world. You need to choose a location, raise money, find ghost workers to decorate the shop, and then go to the human world to buy goods and sell them."

Luo Yu felt that things wouldn't be that simple after all, they were opening a shop in the underworld. Sure enough, Luo Zhi said, "To open a shop in the underworld, the money must be ghost money, so we have to raise money first."

Luo Yu said, "So do I have to work in the underworld?"

Luo Yu thought to himself that his career luck was amazing. He had never been a slave in the human world, but instead he was a slave in the underworld.

Wait, that doesn't make sense. Are there working ghosts in the underworld? That would be too hard, even as a ghost, they still have to work.

Luo Zhi said: "No need, there is a way to get the ghost money quickly."

When he heard there was a backdoor, Luo Yu immediately asked, "How do we do it?"

Luo Zhi said, "Find a grave on earth, burn some money for him, and then go back to the underworld to get it from this ghost."

“…” Luo Yu felt that this didn’t seem to be a back door, but a front door.

Luo Yu said: "So should I go back and look for it now?"

Luo Zhi said, "No need. I'll take you to explore the ghost town first. You will go back when the time comes." He walked towards the big stone door at the back, and Luo Yu had to follow closely behind.

After Luo Zhiluo left, a thick black mist rose from the red-gold armchair in the lobby, and the Ghost King reappeared on it. The rabbit on the wall also transformed into a half-human, half-rabbit form and perched at the Ghost King's knees. Its body was fluffy white, with twin ponytails and two rabbit teeth showing.

In the underworld, the Ghost King commands twelve spirit beasts to protect the underworld. They are the twelve Chinese zodiac animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Each spirit beast possesses corresponding magical powers and authority. Becoming a spirit beast is through a martial arts competition. The Ghost King will determine the individual's zodiac sign and behavior as a human. Those deemed too vicious or possessing inferior character will be disqualified. The martial arts competition is similar to a fighting arena in the human world. Ghosts in the underworld who share the same zodiac sign have the opportunity to become a spirit beast. The rules remain the same: winner is king, loser is a bandit.

The martial arts competition is held every five hundred years in the underworld, but for some unknown reason, the Ghost King insisted on holding it early this year, even though it was originally scheduled for two years later.

In the southeast of the underworld lies a large, auspicious site, and that's where the ghosts fight. The ghosts who live there are either wealthy or noble, each one affluent and wealthy. The main reason they chose that spot for the fighting arena is that after a fight, a ghost can emerge with half their life remaining, barely alive, and thus considered somewhat powerful.

Since they could live, they naturally wanted to enjoy the life in this Feng Shui treasure land. And this was also something that the Ghost King tacitly approved, so every five hundred years, the ghosts in that area would experience a period of bankruptcy.

The ghost who ultimately defeats the previous champion in the fighting arena, now one of the Twelve Spirit Beasts, will take its place and rule for the next five hundred years. If it fails to defeat the previous champion, the spirit beast will continue to rule for the next five hundred years, and so on.

This has always been the case with the twelve spirit beasts in the underworld. This is a hard-and-fast rule that no one, not even the Ghost King, can disobey. If a Ghost King disobeys, his power will be reduced by 60%, and he will be tortured in the Gnawing Hell for another half month.

The "Gnawing Hell" is the place that ghosts fear the most, bar none. It is located at the top of Stairs Mountain behind the Ghost Palace. The name of Stairs Mountain comes from its shape, which is like a staircase with steps one after another. At the top is the Gnawing Hell.

However, ghosts often change the name of this staircase mountain to "Broken Body Mountain". This name is actually more appropriate, because if a ghost steps into it, his body will never be intact.

The reason why the Gnawing Prison is so scary to ghosts is that it is a natural ghost prison formed by the luck accumulated by the ghosts when they were alive. It is a natural ghost prison formed by the yang energy. Even the ghost king has some effect when he approaches. The ghosts tremble when they hear this name.

Those with some strength, like the twelve divine beasts, could barely hold out for a few minutes once inside. Ghosts would feel uncomfortable all over if they were two or three miles away from the Gnawing Hell, and within a minute, their bodies would become limp and rotten.

However, the Ghost King generally wouldn't do anything that broke the rules of the underworld. After all, he had cultivated for tens of thousands of years to achieve his current achievements. He wouldn't be that stupid.

If ghosts interfered with human affairs, they would be punished accordingly. Usually, if they played pranks on the human world, the ghost king would break their limbs and throw them into the territory of the starving ghosts, where they would gnaw and gnaw at each other. Even more serious punishments included murder.

The first rule of crucifixion in the underworld is that you are absolutely forbidden to kill anyone in the human world.

The murderer will be sent to the Gnawing Hell and tortured until his body turns into a pile of mud. Then his soul will be shattered and he will never be reborn.

The rabbit ghost said, "Ghost King, Young Master, aren't you afraid of being watched by the ghosts when you take this living person to visit the ghost town? Young Master hates the noise of ghosts around him. Also, why did you suddenly want to open a human convenience store? Has there been one before? I have no recollection of it."

The Ghost King said: "Your brain is not good, of course you don't remember."

The rabbit ghost was speechless for a moment. This was the first time she was scolded by the Ghost King, and she immediately felt wronged.

Each spirit beast has its own duties, and the rabbit ghost is in charge of order in the underworld, which is also the police force in the human world. She was one of the winners of the fighting arena five hundred years ago, and this year she will fight again.

A spirit beast's fighting time limit is one month, and it is currently the Rat Demon's fighting time. In two months, it will be her turn.

The Ghost King said, "Don't hang around in the Ghost Mansion if you have nothing to do. The order of the underworld has been good under your management for the past five hundred years. I don't want you to be eliminated."

As soon as these words came out, the Bunny Ghost's aggrieved feeling instantly vanished. She shouted, "Yes! Baibai, go practice now! I'm going to win the MVP of this match!"

The Ghost King asked, "What is MVP?"

The rabbit ghost laughed, baring its two long rabbit teeth as it jumped away.

The Ghost King wanted to yell at her to stop, but then he thought about how as the King of the Underworld, asking his subordinates for advice on a word they didn't understand would be a joke to the ghosts.

He gave up and continued to stare at what his rebellious son Luo Zhi had done with that living person!