Chapter 131 After a while, the Mud Demon arrived. Upon seeing He Zhao, it said it hadn't seen the person from yesterday…
A little while later, the Mud Ghost arrived. Upon seeing He Zhao, it said it hadn't seen the child ghost from yesterday. He Zhao chuckled, "You're still thinking about that child ghost? What, are you planning to treat everyone to dinner today too?"
The Mud Demon paused for a moment, somewhat embarrassed, but after a while she said, "Well, it's not impossible. This young lady is quite wealthy."
He Zhao pursed his lips: "Still thinking about her?"
"What?"
He Zhao didn't want the Mud Ghost to be kept in the dark any longer, so he told it directly, "That kid ghost has money. It came early this morning. It was already standing there waiting before I even set up my stall. It's not that it doesn't know the way. Of course, it's not that it doesn't have money either. It bought two bowls of rice today, one spicy and one non-spicy, and it ate them all. It paid for them itself."
The Mud Ghost froze, completely stunned, seemingly not expecting such a thing to happen. Seeing this, He Zhao first served it some rice: "Don't think too highly of the little ghost. I thought it had money yesterday, but when it heard you were treating it, it didn't say anything and just waited for you to pay. Today it even called me and Sister Qiao 'bad auntie,' trying to cheat again. Luckily, I have sharp eyes and saw right through it."
He Zhao was getting into the swing of things when Qiao Yanyu tugged at her. He Zhao paused, then looked at the Mud Ghost and realized it was unhappy.
The mud ghost's entire muddy body collapsed, looking like a dog's ears drooping down. He Zhao abruptly shut his mouth, then said somewhat awkwardly, "But you didn't do anything wrong. You're a good ghost, it's just that the child ghost is bad."
He Zhao thought for a moment, then simply came around from the back and sat down next to the Mud Ghost: "You're so great as a ghost, and you were great as a human too. I bet you remember how you died."
Upon hearing this topic, the Mud Demon stirred, slowly nodded, and even responded with a sound.
Given the location and appearance of the Mud Ghost, Qiao Yanyu quickly figured out its past life after encountering it. It must be said, the Mud Ghost was truly a good ghost; it was a good person when it was alive. The Mud Ghost remembered its death from the beginning: it was crushed under an asphalt truck, and then asphalt poured out of the truck, covering it completely.
The scalding asphalt, like hot oil, killed it in no time.
But it wasn't entirely unlucky; the asphalt truck wasn't originally going to fall on it. It was the Mud Demon who pushed a child away to save him from crossing the road. The asphalt truck couldn't brake in time, and when it made a sharp turn, it tilted over, causing the asphalt to spill onto the Mud Demon.
It was a good person in life, and it died saving a child. As a result, even after death, because of its compassion for the child's ghost, it was unexpectedly scammed out of ten yuan in ghost money.
He Zhao patted the Mud Demon on the shoulder. Although his hand felt cold and sticky, He Zhao showed no disgust: "You should learn to behave yourself. Not all children are angels." The Mud Demon pouted: "You always talk about me like that."
"Why did I only think of you? Haven't I been good to you? Look at other people, do they have this outfit that Sister Qiao and I personally dressed them up?"
He Zhao thought she had said something very touching, but the Mud Ghost quickly saw through her: "Yes, you also bought the clothes that Grandma is wearing now."
"...If you just tell me the truth, it loses its meaning."
However, He Zhao's bickering with it finally cheered it up, and it immediately said cheerfully, "Maybe it's my fate to fall into the hands of a child. But I'm quite happy to hear that you have money. At least I won't go hungry."
The Mud Demon didn't actually have any unfulfilled wishes; it just wanted to spend more time with He Zhao, Qiao Yanyu, and even Wang Yu, which is why it hadn't reincarnated yet. It also didn't want to visit the people it had saved, because that family was actually quite grateful, especially the child it had rescued. The child would often bring a small flower it had picked from its own garden to the crossroads, expressing its gratitude.
Under such circumstances, even a mud ghost could not possibly become an evil ghost.
It's unbelievable that such a kind-hearted ghost, who's been a ghost for so long, would suddenly be betrayed by a child ghost. Even He Zhao would be shocked. For the Mud Ghost to utter such a righteous indignation, He Zhao really wants to give him a thumbs up.
In the following days, the child ghost still came to their stall, but it had learned its lesson and knew that He Zhao wouldn't give it free food, so it set its sights on the free meal ticket, the Mud Ghost. It could time its arrival perfectly, arriving at the stall right before or after the Mud Ghost.
It didn't say anything, just stared longingly at the mud ghost, its little eyes looking so pitiful that the mud ghost was almost overwhelmed with sympathy. But then it remembered what He Zhao had told it yesterday, and it hardened its heart and said directly to the child ghost, "I know you have money in your pocket, you can pay for it yourself, I won't pay for you."
One sentence immediately brought tears to the child ghost's eyes, and it continued to curse the mud ghost: "Bad ghost! You're a bad ghost too!"
He Zhao scoffed, "When you call others bad ghosts, take a look at yourself first. How are you any good ghosts? You're not only a bad ghost, but also a bad kid."
The child ghost was stunned by He Zhao's scolding, unable to shed a tear for a moment. The mud ghost, seeing this, felt a pang of pity. The mud ghost was truly a good person and a good ghost, the kind of ghost with an innate tolerance for children, so seeing it like this, it couldn't help but sigh.
However, the Mud Demon didn't speak to the Child Demon because it knew that the Child Demon was in the wrong and shouldn't have protected it when He Zhao was disciplining it, otherwise the Child Demon wouldn't get better, it would only get worse.
Qiao Yanyu sat in the back, observing the mud ghost's every move. In fact, during many battles against the child ghosts, the more difficult targets were the people and ghosts bewitched by them. Humans were somewhat easier to deal with, as they were mostly acting on impulse, but ghosts were different.
They know they are all ghosts, and won't suddenly realize it just because they're reminded that the child ghost they're holding is also a ghost. Some ghosts were originally mothers who died with their children, and only they themselves became ghosts. In such cases, if they find a child ghost, they basically treat it as their own child.
These kinds of ghosts are truly born powerful. Their resentment towards the world makes them more difficult to deal with than ordinary ghosts. Moreover, they will spare no effort and go to great lengths for the sake of child ghosts. The investigators have to deal with these powerful ghosts who protect child ghosts while also guarding against attacks from the child ghosts. It's really not an easy task.
The Mud Demon happens to have this tendency to become a protector of children. It is inherently kind and died protecting children, so it naturally has a good impression of child ghosts. The first time it brought a child ghost, it paid for its bill. If He Zhao hadn't interrupted and allowed the Mud Demon to discover the child ghost's true nature, things might have really developed that way.
Fortunately, the Mud Demons have a nemesis – He Zhao.
Even if it still harbored some pity for the child ghost, with He Zhao around, it was impossible for it to become the kind of being that would protect the child ghost. Not only the mud ghost, but anyone who frequently visited He Zhao's stall might initially find the child ghost both pitiful and cute, but under He Zhao's relentless mockery, they would only keep their distance from the child ghost.
After all, no ghost wants to let another ghost spend the money in its pocket, let alone that ghost has money in its hands.
Yes, after discovering that the Mud Demon wouldn't become its free ATM, the Child Demon turned its attention to the other demons. It arrived early but didn't sit down, instead waiting for the other demons to come over. While they ate, it stood beside them, looking at them with particularly pitiful eyes.
Several ghosts almost couldn't resist the child ghost's gaze, feeling sorry for it and wanting He Zhao to give it a bowl of rice. But then He Zhao's cool voice rang out, sounding even more sinister than the ghosts themselves: "What, you're broke and want to be a kind ghost? You only see its small size, have you considered that it might be older than you? You want to treat it to a meal? It has money in its pocket. Especially you, you're so clueless and don't even have a brain. You might not even have as much money as it does."
"He didn't know how to donate more money to impoverished children in mountainous areas when he was alive, but now that he's dead, he has the leisure to spread his love. He's insane."
The ghosts that were scolded lowered their heads and thought for a while. It seemed that what He Zhao said was true. They could only eat obediently and then leave the stall.
The little ghost was repeatedly thwarted by He Zhao, yet it dared not act recklessly towards him. Because Qiao Yanyu, sitting next to He Zhao, was someone it truly couldn't afford to offend. At this point, it dared not utter its demonic cries, fearing someone else would pinch its mouth shut again.
So in the end, the child ghost collapsed to the ground and started rolling around. Its rolling was quite artistic; it wasn't the kind that rolls back and forth, but rather a 360-degree spin, as if it wanted to wipe the entire floor clean with its snow-white dress.
In reality, its parents would be having a headache, after all, the pristine white dress had been tumbling around on the floor like that, and it would definitely need a good scrubbing when it got home. Unfortunately, it was a ghost, and ghosts' clothes don't get dirty, and besides, it wasn't He Zhao's child, so no matter how dirty it was, it had nothing to do with He Zhao.
He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu sat quietly to the side watching it roll around. Its rolling was quite amusing; usually, children would cry and fuss, but it didn't dare, turning it into a farce. He Zhao watched for a while with her arms crossed, feeling like one of those 90s-born aunties described in online videos.
Wow, this feels pretty good. So this is what it's like to see kids I know rolling around in the air.
It rolled around for a while, its arms still flailing about, when a guest walked over from afar. He Zhao recognized it; it was the old woman. She suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed. He Zhao worried that the old woman, being an elderly person, would be moved by the child ghost's pitiful cuteness and actually take money out of her pocket to buy it food.
He Zhao still vividly remembered how his grandmother would spend money every day trying to buy him candy, and he didn't want to see her being tricked by a child.
Unfortunately, before He Zhao could come up with a solution, the child ghost also saw the old woman slowly approaching. At that moment, it also realized: the elderly are easier to target.
The little ghost immediately stood up, patted off non-existent dust, and grinned, trying to ingratiate himself with the old woman.
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