Chapter 164 The Mud Ghost was one of the few ghosts in the Red Wedding Dress stall that she could talk to, because of the mud...
The Mud Ghost was one of the few ghosts Red Wedding Dress could talk to at the stall. Because the Mud Ghost was a good ghost, Red Wedding Dress was willing to talk to it after hearing what others said. Over time, the Mud Ghost remembered the eerie scent emanating from Red Wedding Dress.
But at this moment, it was still broad daylight, and pedestrians were coming and going as they walked past the manhole cover. A few rays of sunlight were also falling through the small holes in the manhole cover. To prevent the sunlight from falling on him, the mud ghost carefully hid inside, really looking like a puddle of mud in the corner of the sewer.
In the bright daylight, the red wedding dress appeared beneath the manhole cover. It stood on the other side of the sunlight streaming through the manhole cover, gazing at the mud ghost through that tiny yet intense light.
The Mud Ghost was genuinely surprised. First, it was surprised that the Mud Ghost had arrived; it was already terrifying for a ghost to be able to roam around freely in broad daylight. Second, it was surprised that the Mud Ghost knew where it was and had come looking for it!
The Mud Demon didn't speak immediately; it knew that something was amiss, so it chose to remain silent in the face of the red wedding dress.
But the woman in red was a chatterbox, and that hadn't changed at all since the mud ghost met her. The woman in red greeted the mud ghost warmly, "Hey, long time no see! I've been looking everywhere for you. How have you been? Did you miss me?"
"..." To be honest, no. During these seven days, the Mud Ghost often thought of He Zhao, and occasionally of the old woman or even that troublesome child ghost. But the Red Wedding Dress ghost, whom he hadn't met many times, was someone the Mud Ghost hadn't really thought about much.
The woman in the red wedding dress didn't seem to mind the mud ghost's silence at all; instead, she smiled at it. Actually, her smile was quite eerie, especially in this environment. There was light, but not much; the sliver of light filtering down from the road only illuminated a small part of the waterway.
Most of the others were shrouded in darkness, but because the woman in the red wedding dress was closer to the light source, a glimpse of her face could still be seen. However, with her heavy makeup and deathly pale skin, her smile resembled that of a typical ghost bride from a horror movie.
In short, I don't really like Mud Demons.
It's just a lump of mud; if it doesn't change its appearance, it's hard for others to tell what its expression or mood is. Only He Zhao can tell what it's thinking even when it doesn't mimic any expressions, as if it really shows everything on its face.
The woman in the red wedding dress continued, "That boss named He Zhao, didn't he always call you 'Mud Ghost'? It's a descriptive name, but it doesn't sound good at all. Actually, I've seen your news. Can I call you Yu Xinlan?"
The Mud Demon paused, for it hadn't heard that name in a long time. It seemed to have accepted He Zhao's description of it as "Mud Demon," completely discarding its past as "Yu Xinlan." It was now a dead person, a ghost, and its past life was like a fleeting dream to it.
If it's already dead, what does its name really matter to it?
The mud demon still replied to the woman in the red wedding dress, "Whatever."
The woman in the red wedding dress nodded and began to call it "Yu Xinlan," even dropping the surname and simply calling it "Xinlan" in a very familiar way: "By the way, Xinlan, do you know where the boss has been all this time? We haven't seen the boss for seven days, and I really miss the rice he makes. That was the first time I tasted rice since I became a ghost. It turns out that even as a ghost, I can still taste food."
"I don't know." The Mud Demon was wary of the red wedding dress, but when it came to He Zhao, it told the truth.
The woman in the red wedding dress smiled and said, "I know."
Without pausing for a moment, the Mud Demon asked directly, "Where is the boss? How is she?" The Mud Demon's concern was palpable; even though it was just a lump of mud, its obvious care was still palpable.
After a moment of silence, the woman in the red wedding dress replied, "The boss has been arrested by the Countermeasures Bureau. They suspect that the boss has a connection with Tonghuan Society."
This wasn't the first time the Mud Demon had heard the words "Joyful Gathering." The boss had asked it about it before. But it truly had no information and couldn't offer He Zhao any assistance. Yet, at this moment, hearing the question posed by the woman in red wedding dress, the Mud Demon suddenly had a sudden realization:
"You are a member of the same party."
The Mud Demon didn't even use a question, but a statement; it was certain that the Red Wedding Dress was related to the Pleasure Gathering, otherwise it wouldn't have mentioned it so directly. This time, the Red Wedding Dress remained silent for a while before continuing:
"Yes, I am a member of the Tonghuan Society. I was in the Tonghuan Society when I was alive, and I voluntarily became a ghost because I wanted to fulfill the Tonghuan Society's dream. Xinlan, do you want to know about the Tonghuan Society, understand the Tonghuan Society, and join the Tonghuan Society?"
The Mud Demon harbored a strong sense of unease, deeply believing that the current Red Wedding Dress organization was no different from the pyramid schemes that used to recruit members—it couldn't possibly be anything good. Especially after what happened with Hua Hua, it felt these cult members who possessed magic were particularly insane. However, it also wanted to learn more about the Tonghuan Society from the Red Wedding Dress.
So the mud demon said, "You tell me first."
Having probably been involved in too many pyramid schemes, Red Wedding Dress didn't really care what Mud Ghost's attitude was. As long as Mud Ghost spoke first, it had the power to start persuading. Red Wedding Dress's voice was somewhat impassioned, sounding just like those mentors Mud Ghost had seen in videos he watched in his previous life.
"Tonghuan Society has great goals and aspirations, as you know. Nowadays, ghosts can't roam around at all, and they easily scare ordinary people. Just look at me and you'll know that Tonghuan Society is definitely not the kind of ghost that would harm ordinary people. If I were really that kind of ghost, I would have been taken down in front of the boss's stall. That Howling Celestial Dog would have eaten me without making a sound."
The Mud Demon agreed with this point and nodded.
If the Red Wedding Dress had truly harmed ordinary people, it certainly wouldn't have been able to hide it. Anyone who has successfully stood here after seeing the Celestial Hound several times must not have harmed any living people or ordinary citizens. Otherwise, the Mud Demon wouldn't have listened to a single word it uttered.
"I became a ghost, but I don't harm ordinary people. Not only that, I also dealt with many evil ghosts. I ate all the ghosts that harmed ordinary people."
Hearing this, even the Mud Demon was somewhat shocked: "You ate a demon?"
The woman in the red wedding dress nodded matter-of-factly: "That's right, since they're all absorbing yin energy anyway, and as ghosts, they have a lot of yin energy on them, isn't it better to eat bad ghosts than to eat human souls?" The mud ghost fell silent, which had a great impact on it as well.
It had never known that ghosts could eat other ghosts, and it had never even entertained such a thought. After all, ghosts were originally human beings in disguise. Besides, everyone at He Zhao's stall was an equal. What kind of thought would lead someone to eat their own kind? The Mud Ghost, for one, simply couldn't accept it.
"Then what does this have to do with the dream of Tonghuanhui?"
The woman in the red wedding dress smiled. Compared to her previous eerie or perfunctory smile, her current smile was not only more genuine but also carried a sense of compassion. In a sense, it resembled a portrait of the Virgin Mary: "We, the Tonghuan Society, want to create a world where good ghosts and humans can coexist harmoniously!"
"ah?"
The Mud Demon was particularly shocked. Its first reaction was: This guy has gone mad.
It's truly hard to imagine a ghost having such a wish; it's almost impossible for it to be fulfilled. Ghosts are inherently imbued with yin energy and negative emotions. If they become powerful ghosts, they will affect the living. At best, they will cause the living to experience negative emotions; at worst, they will affect the living's health, making them weak, prone to illness, and even bringing bad luck or accidents upon them.
Yang energy and Yin energy are like two completely incompatible energies. Under these circumstances, ghosts simply cannot approach humans. Even benevolent ghosts, without any intention to harm people, can still affect the living. This is a passive effect that cannot be shut off.
It had been following He Zhao for a long time and also knew Ge Sinian. He was the ghost who died saving people from the fire at the beginning; in the heart of the Mud Ghost, he was undoubtedly a good ghost. But even such a ghost, due to its unconscious actions, affected the living and was investigated by Qiao Yanyu.
No matter how you put it, humans and ghosts are different, so they shouldn't appear in front of humans.
Therefore, the Mud Ghost, who was in short supply, rejected the Red Wedding Dress theory: "That's impossible. As long as ghosts exist, they will affect the living. The best way to coexist harmoniously with humans is to stay far away from them, and preferably not even touch them."
Just like it, it died at the crossroads above, but it didn't always stand at the crossroads looking for a shady spot. Instead, it obediently nestled in the sewer under the manhole cover, completely cutting itself off from any possibility of meeting others.
A truly good ghost should be just like yourself.
The Mud Demon was resolute, but the "mentor" in Red Wedding Dress possessed extraordinary abilities: "No, no, we good ghosts can truly coexist harmoniously with humans. We can spread negative emotions, but we can also absorb them. We absorb the negative emotions from humans, and from then on, they only have healthy and positive emotions. They will be very happy, and we can also survive by absorbing negative emotions. Wouldn't it be better if everyone were happy?"
"This is the very purpose of our Joyful Gathering! Isn't it wonderful that we all smile together? As long as we don't think about harming the living, they will definitely be fine! Moreover, with enough Yin energy, we can leave our small, confined places, and if we are strong enough, we can even walk during the day. Isn't that great?"
The smile on the woman in the red wedding dress grew even brighter, as if she were truly thinking of humanity.
It must be said that every word it uttered was incredibly tempting, and it hit the core of every ghost's heart: the desire to walk freely and to live, even as a ghost.
Unfortunately, its explanation had little effect on the Mud Demon.
It had heard Qiao Yanyu say something: "Ghosts have no future."
The Mud Demon wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.
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