Chapter 67: Building 26, Room 408
Oh no! This development was completely unexpected for Chang Xile. She had originally planned to try her luck meeting Xie Wuya today, asking him about Yang Shu and some basic knowledge about ghosts. She hadn't expected to be working on the spot tonight. She was still just a trainee ghost!
But seeing that the underworld had opened its doors to her, and there were indeed ghosts that needed to be dealt with, it seemed there was no reason to ignore it.
Sigh. Chang Xile sighed heavily. She scratched her ears, trying to block out the ghost's incessant pleading. She bound her hands with a soul-catching rope and dragged her towards the main door.
As they neared the door, Chang Xile couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Why are you so resistant? Isn't reincarnation good enough? Being a ghost means you have to suffer hunger in the human world, even having to snatch food from the street."
The female ghost was stunned for a moment, then told Chang Xile as a matter of course, "I don't know what's on the Yellow Springs Road. Will I go to the Eighteen Levels of Hell or be reincarnated? I don't know if I'll be reborn as a human. If I'm reborn as a pig, a dog, or some ignorant girl from a mountain village, then I'd rather be a ghost here on the road!"
Then, as if she knew everything, she turned to Chang Xile and said, "Besides, judging by your slow and hesitant steps, you clearly don't want to go down, do you?"
Chang Xile was struck by her words, and the provocation was incredibly effective. She knew she couldn't let the ghost overpower her, so she held her head high and said, "Why should I be afraid? I've been to the underworld before, and I came back safe and sound. The first time is the first time, the second time is the first time. I'll lead you down now."
She turned around and mustered up the courage to continue moving forward, not noticing the cold smile that appeared at the corner of the ghost girl's mouth.
"I saved your life with great difficulty, you should cherish it." A gentle complaint came from behind the man and the ghost. Chang Xile turned around and saw Anping slowly walking towards the two of them.
"Why are you here?"
"Are you going to leave it like this?"
Two people asked the question at the same time, paused for a moment, and then answered at the same time.
“Just passing by.”
"yes."
Anping said he was just passing by, but Chang Xile looked unconvinced. This cat and she had been running into each other far too often.
Anping stared into Chang Xile's eyes, and seeing her answer him so firmly and confidently, he couldn't bear it any longer and tapped her on the forehead.
"Ah!" Chang Xile covered her head and stared at him in disbelief. She hadn't even bothered with him following her yet, and he was already angry. Is there any justice in the world?
"You entered the underworld with a mortal body, aren't you afraid that you'll never return?" An Ping laughed in anger. "Even ordinary living people who accidentally enter the underworld will only escape when their souls escape from their bodies while they are asleep."
Chang Xile blinked, finally remembering that she wasn't in spirit form. Lacking common sense, she let out a soft "Ah," finally realizing what would have happened if she had just stepped through the door in her physical form.
The two of them looked at the female ghost who had been fanning the flames and tempting Chang Xile to go straight to the underworld. Seeing her plan fail, the female ghost turned her head away with a guilty look on her face, and forced herself to complain, "Excuse me, can you tell me what's going on here? Are you still going to send me to the underworld? If not, I'll just leave on my own." She tentatively reached out to break free from the soul-binding rope, but Chang Xile tightened his grip and pulled her back.
"What did Wuchang teach you? He didn't even tell you such basic things." Anping originally wanted to teach Chang Xile something, but he held back.
In short, if Chang Xile wanted to send this female ghost to the underworld, he had to find a place for his soul to leave his body. Lying straight on the street like he had just done was definitely not feasible, but returning to the dormitory would inevitably scare his roommates.
What a trouble... For a moment, Chang Xile really wanted to let the female ghost go, but she quickly restrained herself because she was a woman with professional ethics.
Seeing her distress, Anping suddenly asked, "Why don't you go to my house?"
Chang Xile raised her head, a little puzzled: "Your home?"
Anping blinked and changed the subject: "My...residence?"
So Anping rents a house? Chang Xile nodded. She was actually a little curious about Anping's daily source of income, and she asked directly without any hesitation.
"I don't have much money. I just sell a few paintings when I have nothing to do to make a living." An Ping said calmly.
Chang Xile couldn't imagine someone like Anping trying to promote his own paintings. She didn't know much about such creative professions, so she nodded, half-comprehending, thinking Anping's suggestion was feasible. Then, waving her hand forward as if to lead the way, she said, "Okay, then. You lead the way."
However, Anping was first confused about the direction of departure. Chang Xile looked at him touching his chin in confusion, and then he chose the direction to go forward at a crossroads ahead.
They arrived at the entrance of a clearly older residential complex. While the buildings were somewhat dated, the security was quite good. The large iron gate at the entrance required a card to open. Anping, of course, didn't have his access card. Seeing the two of them pause, the security guard opened the window and asked him which building and which day he lived.
Anping thought about it for a while, but couldn't remember it. "Sorry, I haven't been back for so long that I don't quite remember the building number."
Chang Xile asked, "It's been so long that I can't even remember where I lived. How long will this take? And if it's vacant, wouldn't that just be a waste of rent?"
The security guard was easy to talk to and asked him to go into the security room to verify the information.
"Young man, what's your name? We have to register the information of outside residents when renting out houses here. Tell me and I will help you check." The security guard asked him while clicking on the information on the computer.
Anping looked out the window at Chang Xile and said, "Anping."
"Okay. Wait, I'll find it for you." The security guard agreed.
Chang Xile leaned against the wall outside the door, staring at the female ghost. She asked, "What's your name?"
"Why do you care so much? You're going to send me away anyway, so what does it matter what my name is?" The female ghost turned her face away and didn't look at her.
Chang Xile reached out and took out the volume of the Book of Life and Death that Xie Wuya had just stuffed into her mouth. She said, "You are the first ghost I have dealt with in my career. I have to know who you are and send you to your destination safely, right?"
The female ghost was silent for a while before she said, "Ya Ya."
"What's the surname?" Chang Xile flipped through the book of life and death, and based on common sense, he felt that this was not a formal name.
Yaya wiped her face and asked, "Why do I have to have a surname? Generations of people have been asking to take Dad's last name, but what did that dead man do besides produce sperm? I don't have a last name!"
Chang Xile paused for a long moment before he said softly, "You're right. If you don't have a surname, then don't have one."
She put the notebook away and turned to see what was happening over at Anping.
The security guard saw Chang Xile mumbling to herself outside the window, looked at An Ping who was also watching her, and asked, "Is this your girlfriend?"
Anping turned his head to look at him without saying anything.
The security guard felt a little eerie, and asked with a wry smile: "Is she..." What's the problem? Such a good girl shouldn't be possessed by evil spirits.
Before he could finish his words, An Ping interrupted him and asked, "Did you find it?"
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm looking for him, I'm looking for him." The security guard lowered his head and continued to check the information. He muttered, "That's not right... This person is not among the tenants. Anping, Anping... This name... Wait, you are the owner?"
No wonder he felt the name was familiar!
"How is it? Have you found out?" Chang Xile came in at this moment, lifting the curtain.
"It's 26..."
Before the security guard could finish his words, Anping took over: "Building 26, Unit 3, Room 402, let's go."
Chang Xile's mood had visibly become depressed since then. She nodded and followed Anping out.
The security guard watched them leave, then turned his gaze back to his computer and muttered to himself, "Isn't this entire Building 26 his?"
When the two men and the ghost arrived at the door of Room 402, Anping fell silent again.
"Where is the key?" Chang Xile asked.
"I'm not saying, can you guys be more professional? You're making so much trouble, I'm going to complain to you guys." Yaya was driven crazy by this slow knife-sharpening method. It would be better to send her away in one go.
"If someone is willing to accept it." An Ping lowered his eyes, pushed up the cover next to the door handle, and pressed his index finger on the fingerprint recognition area.
With a ding-dong sound, the door opened.
Yaya walked in first, her head down. Chang Xile approached Anping and asked softly, "What will happen to me if she complains?"
Anping looked at her and said, "No one will accept your application." Then he went in first, leaving Chang Xile standing alone in the back for a while.
It’s really strange, why does Anping seem so familiar with the underworld?
This home looked like it hadn't been lived in for a long time; a thick layer of dust was visible on the floors and counters. The decor resembled a model apartment online; aside from the standard bed, cabinets, sofa, and chairs, there were no traces of the owner's unique life.
"How long have you been away?" Chang Xile had no idea where to put her feet, but Yaya could float without touching the ground. She glanced at Anping again. Wherever he walked, the dust disappeared. She lowered her head and followed his footsteps.
"I don't remember." Anping turned back halfway through his walk, causing Chang Xile to unexpectedly bump into his arms.
He subconsciously lifted her face to check, and saw Chang Xile rubbing her forehead in pain, complaining, "Why didn't you tell me when you came back?"
She looked up and met his deep blue eyes. Moonlight poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. No one spoke for a moment.
Yaya's voice came from the inner room, asking, "Can we go now?" The two of them suddenly came to their senses. Chang Xile immediately took a big step back, scratched his head and looked around, then chose a sofa chair, wiped the dust off with a tissue, and sat down.
She said as if she was about to flee: "I'm leaving now, so you...?"
Anping walked up to her and told her, "I'm here to protect you."
He looked into her eyes intently and said, "Have a safe journey."
Chang Xile nodded, and with a thought, her soul escaped from her body. As Chang Xile's body fell diagonally to the right, Anping reached out to support her head.
After the room was illuminated by a dim light and then extinguished, returning to silence, Anping slowly sat down beside Chang Xile and carefully placed her head on his shoulder.
Then he looked at the moon outside the window in silence, not knowing what he was thinking.
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