Chapter 01 Chapter 1

At eight o'clock in the evening, a lonely alley near North City University seemed particularly quiet. A single lamp hung under the eaves at the entrance of the alley. The wattage was not high, and the not very bright light could not illuminate anything except the corner of the house.

In the night, there was an extremely deep black mist, which spread to the end of the alley and swallowed up the faint light from the single lamp.

A thin and twisted figure could be vaguely seen, with a scarlet tongue hanging from it. Scarlet light flashed in the black mist, which was chilling.

Hanged ghosts, also known as hanged ghosts, are evil ghosts with extremely heavy resentment. They may have hanged themselves with hatred, or been strangled to death by others with a rope. Even a master of cultivation would have to be cautious when seeing them.

There was another figure standing on the ground in front of the hanged ghost.

The figure looked thin and slender, and was covered with a wide black robe, which made his shoulders look even thinner. The collar was connected to a hood, which covered most of his face, leaving only a small part of his snow-white, pointed chin.

The drooping brim of the hat covered a slender neck, which looked like it could be easily broken by the hanged ghost with scarlet resentment.

At this time, the hanged ghost was raising two hands with long, sharp nails and blood on them, and putting them together with all his strength.

Then he bowed three times devoutly to the man in black.

When he bent down, the hanged ghost's long tongue fell to the ground.

He hurriedly picked up the disobedient tongue, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it back into his mouth.

Damn it, how did it fall out again.

Xibai kept his arms folded, hiding in the shadow of the black robe, watching the hanged ghost carefully roll up his tongue. His long pointed nails occasionally pierced his tongue coating, and the hanged ghost's already pale and twisted facial features showed some pain.

It was even more frightening, Xibai closed his eyes silently.

He understood why the senior in the same department said that extending the nails would make life inconvenient.

The hanged ghost rolled up his tongue and looked at Xibai hesitantly.

"Hey, don't come near." Xibai quickly raised his hand to stop the hanged ghost from approaching.

He listened carefully with his ear tilted, raised his hand and made a soothing gesture, "Don't worry, the contents will be clearly stated in the complaint. Yes, I know that you are the victim, and the judge will remember that mess, and he will be sent to hell for tongue-pulling..."

Hearing the words "hell for tongue-pulling", the hanged ghost subconsciously covered his mouth.

Pulling out the prepared paper, pen and cinnabar from his pocket, Xi Bai asked the hanged ghost to stay away, bit the phone, and wrote a brief cinnabar and ink complaint with the light of the flashlight.

"Just wait here and don't move." Xi Bai looked at the hanged ghost, "Don't look at me for a while, understand?"

The hanged ghost nodded, and his tongue almost fell out again, so he quickly covered his mouth tightly.

Using a windproof lighter to light the petition and throw it into the air, Xibai stepped back a few steps and walked to the alley entrance.

A gust of cold wind blew up, and the hanged ghost floating in place felt a sense of oppression from the three souls and seven spirits. It suppressed its instinct to escape and forced itself to stay where it was, staring at the thin figure hiding in the corner of the alley entrance with a pair of scarlet eyes.

Xibai made a gesture to turn around for it.

The hanged ghost turned his head back and remembered Xibai's instructions: never reveal his existence.

Xibai breathed a sigh of relief.

Don't look at me, it's really too scary.

"Who summoned the North City Underworld?"

In the black mist that swirled like a whirlpool, two figures, one black and one white, appeared. One held a mourning stick, and the other held a soul-catching rope. They were the two great underworld messengers of the North City Underworld - the Black and White Impermanence.

In the mist, a piece of yellow paper fluttered down with the fierce sound of the cold wind. The White Impermanence reached out to take it, and subconsciously read out the words written in cinnabar on it.

The confession of the hanged ghost was written in detail on the petition. After reading it, the White Impermanence raised his head and looked into the air.

The hanged ghost trembled and fell down, looking at the soul-catching rope in the Black Impermanence's hand, shaking unconsciously.

"Are you the plaintiff?" asked the White Impermanence.

The hanged ghost nodded and made two "uh-uh" sounds.

"We have understood your complaint."

Bai Wuchang said, while Hei Wuchang beside him had already finished reading the Book of Life and Death.

"The person who hurt you died in an accident half a year ago, and his soul has not yet been reincarnated. You will go back to the underworld with us, and after explaining to the judge, the person who hurt you will be brought to court."

The hanged ghost was stunned, not daring to believe his ears.

He thought he would have to wander in the world in misery, and as his resentment deepened, he lost his mind, hurt innocent people, and was eventually strangled by the Heavenly Master, and there would be no afterlife. But

he didn't expect that there would be a day when his grievances would be redressed.

The hanged ghost subconsciously turned his head to look at the alley, but at this moment, under the street light on the eaves, it was already empty.

"What are you daydreaming about? Come with us." Hei Wuchang urged.

The hanged ghost obediently stretched out his hands and let the Black Impermanence tie his hands with the soul-catching rope. As the black mist surged around him and wrapped around his body, two lines of blood and tears flowed from his sunken eyeballs.

That man is really a kind person.

I don’t know what he looks like under the black robe. He should be cold and untainted by the world, just like a god.

Thinking of this, the hanged ghost was excited.

Then he heard the voice of the man in black robe with a little anxiety, and it seemed to be accompanied by footsteps that were getting farther and farther away.

"Grilled cold noodles are leaving? Wait for me, sweet and sour, slightly spicy, with more sauce!"

The hanged ghost: ...

Black and White Impermanence seemed to have heard the sound and looked over in confusion.

"Who is that man?" They subconsciously looked at the hanged ghost.

The hanged ghost was silent for a moment.

Remembering Xibai's admonition "don't expose yourself", it pulled out its tongue and made a question mark.

My two lords, I don't know either.

※

The Northeastern Grilled Cold Noodles stall at the gate of North City University is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Every time, there is a queue of a hundred meters long. Xibai and a few friends agreed to take turns to be the front car. Tonight, he was busy with the hanged ghost and almost missed the car.

While rushing to the main street outside the alley, Xibai was so anxious that he spoke directly.

"Zhuang Suan, have you seen my message? Add me!"

However, when he ran to the intersection and turned into the main street, and took off his hood, he did not see the familiar snack street. Instead,

it was an alley exactly the same as the one where he had just sent away the hanged ghost!

It was deep and long, and there was almost no end in sight.

The air was filled with the smell of burnt paper ash.

His footsteps stopped abruptly, and the soles of his shoes rubbed against the damp soft sand on the ground, making a harsh friction sound.

A gust of cold wind blew the corner lamp under the eaves, and the wire contact was poor. The light flickered a few times, giving Xi Bai goose bumps.

A few footsteps came from behind.

Click.

The first sound seemed to be a hundred meters away.

Click.

The second sound was within ten meters.

Click...

When Xibai reacted, the third footsteps sounded.

It was already behind him.

Instinctively, Xibai turned around, and he felt a bump on his shoulder. He closed his eyes subconsciously, and in the pitch-black vision, there was a deep voice.

"Yeah, it's him."

When Xibai opened his eyes again, his eardrums were suddenly filled with a noisy sound, from the hawking to the payment voice, to the voice of the takeaway boy impatiently urging the store owner, accompanied by the aroma of various fried, braised and grilled foods, occupying Xibai's five senses.

He's back?

Xibai was stunned for a long time, and turned his head subconsciously.

The surging flow of people passed by him on both sides, with countless young faces and backs, and he couldn't tell which one had bumped into him.

When he lowered his eyes to look at his slightly numb shoulders, Xibai smelled something and his nose twitched subconsciously.

The fabric on his shoulders was stained with a very refreshing cold pine scent.

The phone vibrated twice, and Xibai subconsciously clicked on the message.

[The God of Calculation: @White Are you coming for the cold noodles? Hurry up, it's almost my turn .]

And on the left side of the voice message he just sent to the group, there was a bright red exclamation mark.

Xibai quickly replied to the message and got in the car. Soon, Zhuang Suan sent several voice messages.

The voices were accompanied by the unique noise near the snack stand, and Zhuang Suan's exceptionally loud voice.

"I've bought it. I bought it according to your usual taste, sweet and sour, slightly spicy, with lots of sauce. How about that? Is that loyal enough?"

"Still put it at the door of your dormitory as usual?"

Xibai went against the flow of people and rushed towards the campus.

He didn't have much appetite for grilled cold noodles. He just held the phone to his lips and blocked the external noise with his other hand.

"No! No need to put it at my door."

"Well, I'll go to your dormitory to eat."

※

Xibai studied in the Department of Literature at North City University. He was in the same class as Zhuang Suan. They became friends in the first class on the day of enrollment. The reason why their revolutionary friendship has lasted all the way to today is because they are both a little "special" - the two are collectively known as "the two great charlatans of North City University."

This title was given by Zhuang Suan himself.

Zhuang is a family-inherited celestial master, but he has no talent. Although he is a half-baked one, he still knows a little about divination.

Xi Bai is more mysterious.

He can hear the "inner thoughts" of ghosts.

Ghosts wander in the human world, mostly because they are attached to something, but more often because they have resentment in their hearts.

For example, the hanged ghost tonight was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend, and the resentment turned into evil spirits, becoming a fierce ghost.

Ghosts like it with their tongues hanging out cannot speak after death.

They died with resentment, and they have no way to complain after death, so the resentment is even worse.

If it weren't for Xi Bai, it is estimated that the hanged ghost would lose his mind soon and hurt people everywhere. At that time, we can only ask the Celestial Master Association to strangle him.

Xi Bai's talent made him an outlet for these unjustly dead ghosts to vent.

The heavenly masters in the world practice catching ghosts to accumulate merits, and the judgment of merits lies in the judge Yanluo in the underworld.

Other heavenly masters can only catch souls and kill ghosts when they see them. If they kill innocent ghosts who have never harmed anyone, not only will they fail to accumulate merits, but they will also lose their Yin virtues.

But Xi Bai's horoscope is very Yin, and he can hear the voices of ghosts. He can accurately judge which ghosts died unjustly and avoid killing them by mistake. He can be said to be gifted.

But this is a gift from heaven, but also a kind of pressure.

Qiyin's horoscope indicates a short life span. If Xibai wants to live a long life, he must accumulate more merits, that is, help more innocent souls.

But there is a problem.

Xibai is afraid of ghosts.

"So you say I encountered a ghost wall when I left the alley today?"

Xibai threw the bitten bamboo sticks and the empty bowl into the trash can, looked at Zhuang Suan with a pair of watery eyes, and asked nervously.

Zhuang Suan groaned.

"It's hard to say."

He uttered these two words with difficulty.

"Xibao, you have to confirm whether that sentence is the 'voice of your heart' that you heard, or the words of the 'person' who bumped into you." Xibai

was frustrated.

If he could be sure, he wouldn't have to come to Zhuang Suan.

If it was a person, it would be fine.

If that sentence was the "voice of the heart", it means that he has indeed encountered a ghost wall, and the ghost that bumped into him has probably already targeted him.

But why is it targeting him!

What does "Yeah, it's him" mean?

The faint cold pine scent on his shoulder seemed to still be there. Xibai remembered the scene of another alley that was exactly the same after he turned out of the alley tonight, and he shuddered.

He got up and went to the balcony to squeeze some hand sanitizer, and rubbed the fabric on his shoulders vigorously.

Until his fingertips turned white, the pine scent seemed to be covered by the smell of hand sanitizer.

Xibai calmed down a little.

Zhuang Suan gave Xi Bai a family amulet and asked him to keep it in his pocket.

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Zhuang Suan's roommate came back. Xi Bai went out with his black robe. Before they parted, Zhuang Suan suddenly thought of a good idea and said to Xi Bai:

"It's not so scary if there's one more person staying together."

"Xi Bao, why don't you find a roommate as soon as possible."

The dormitories at North City University are standard double rooms, but if there are vacancies, students can apply for a single room.

Xi Bai has always lived alone.

He returned to the dormitory, folded his black robe, stuffed it into the innermost layer of the closet, and closed the closet door tightly.

Last time, he casually hung his robe on the head of another empty bed. When he came out of the bathroom in the middle of the night, a gust of wind blew from the balcony. Xibai looked at the black robe that seemed to be blowing towards him and almost shouted "Expect God to Guard".

Turning on all the lights inside and outside the dormitory, Xibai carried his clothes into the bathroom.

The dormitory next door seemed to be a sports academy. Xibai was taking a hot shower, listening to the boys in the next dormitory singing high notes, while thinking about the best suggestions.

Speaking of which, if there really was a roommate, it might not be so scary.

But when he finished taking a shower and was hanging clothes on the balcony, he heard the boy next door start shouting while playing games on the microphone, and smelled a sweat odor coming from the balcony next door that could not be covered by shower gel.

Xibai thought it was good to live alone.

However, he still had the

clothes hanger given by Zhuang Suan... Xibai paused with his hands holding the hanger, and touched his left and right pockets.

Wait, where's the amulet? !

After searching in the washing machine, Xibai found a crumpled amulet in his trouser pocket.

Just now, Xibai was so focused on tonight's affairs that he forgot to check his pockets before washing clothes.

The cinnabar ink on the amulet paper had spread, and it looked useless no matter how he looked at it.

[The Divine Calculator: Ah! Washed off? ]

[White: I'm sorry QωQ]

[The Divine Calculator: It's okay, it's just a talisman, I have plenty at home]

It just happened to be the last amulet in Zhuang Suan's hand. If Xibai wanted to get another one, he could only wait until Zhuang Suan came home on the weekend.

"After all, I'm just a novice, and I haven't learned how to draw talismans yet..."

Zhuang Suan said with some embarrassment.

[The Divine Calculator: By the way, what are your plans for finding a roommate? ]

[The Divine Calculator: In theory, it is most appropriate to find a roommate with strong Yang energy. After all, ghosts are Yin objects, and the stronger the Yang energy, the less they dare to approach.]

Xibai asked what strong Yang energy meant.

[The Divine Calculator: Broad shoulders, narrow waist, tall and strong, preferably those who exercise regularly, oh yes, those who are in sports academies, the strongest Yang energy! ]

This is a smelly message.

The olfactory tribulation that he just experienced on the balcony reappeared in Xibai's mind.

Xibai, who has a slight obsession with cleanliness, thought it would be better to forget it.

[The Divine Calculator: Oh, all right]

[The Divine Calculator: I said I would ask for you]

Xibai declined Zhuang Suan's kindness, said good night and prepared to turn off the lights and go to bed.

His sleep and rest schedule is healthier than most college students. At this time, the entire dormitory area of ​​Beicheng University is still brightly lit.

But as the darkness enveloped the entire dormitory, Xibai looked at the ceiling and still felt a little scared.

He retracted his two feet into the quilt, lifted his legs and pressed under the quilt, turned left and right, pressed down both corners of the quilt, closed his eyes, and calmed his breathing.

It was full of ritual.

But it didn't help to fall asleep at all.

After watching it three times in a row, Xibai got up from the bed and ran to the bathroom again.

When he came out to wash his hands, he heard a knock on the door.

Zhuang Suan was basically the only one who would come to him at this point. Xi Bai thought he had found an amulet somewhere, and happily stepped forward to open the door.

The doorway was empty.

Only a gust of night wind mixed with the cold fragrance of pine wood lifted the hair in front of Xi Bai's forehead and blew into the room behind him.

The wind was still in his arms, leaving an unknown flower petal.

Not long after, a classmate who happened to be passing by looked at a beautiful and delicate boy with blank expression on his face as he threw something into the corridor with wide eyes, and then closed his dormitory door with a bang.

Then I saw a broken petal, picked up by the wind from nowhere, and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The passing classmate blinked.

I have seen people throwing bouquets, but I have never seen people throwing petals.

And today is not Valentine's Day?

On the other side, Zhuang Suan, who was just lying on the bed and preparing to watch a few short videos before going to sleep, received a message.

[White: Um, about my roommate, why don't you ask for me QωQ]