Chapter 42 The Activity Room of Liwan Apartment and the Method of Living with a Cat Ghost...
Zhang Zhiwu stroked his beard, looking like he knew he was going to ask this, and said with a smile, "Yes, there are ways for cat ghosts to coexist harmoniously with their tenants, but it's quite troublesome to set them up."
Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.
That would be great; a little trouble is nothing.
Before Zhou Fangdong could ask again, Zhang Zhiwu said, "First, you need to put the four talismans I gave you in the four corners of the room. These talismans need to be replaced every month. You can ask me for them again when that time comes."
"However, because the cat ghost's resentment is too fierce, oil stains will still seep out on the walls on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. There will be signs before these oil stains appear. After you smell the milky smell of kittens in the room, you can ask the tenant of room 106 to go next door to find my apprentice and have him recite the 'Supreme Cat Spirit Suppression Chapter' a few times in the room."
“Secondly, the windows cannot be opened, otherwise the cat ghost might spread to other rooms…” He stopped mid-sentence, looked at the window nailed shut with wooden planks, and smiled. “Of course, you don’t need to worry too much about that. The windows in the apartment are not allowed to be opened.”
"Also, every day at four o'clock in the morning, you need to put a cup of water at the location of the seedling core, which is the door of room 106, and prick your middle finger with a needle to drip three drops of blood into the water."
"Finally, it's time to arrange the room..." Zhang Zhiwu slowly turned around, "All the mirrors in the room should be put up, and you should sleep on a bamboo mat if possible... preferably made of rattan."
Watching Zhou Fangdong's fingers fly across his phone as he took notes, the Taoist priest added, "You can't make any sharp noises in this room, otherwise it will provoke the cat ghosts and unleash their ferocity. Things like phone ringtones and alarms should be put on silent or vibrate."
Zhou Fangdong nodded: "Is that all?"
To be honest, he felt these arrangements were a bit strange. Compared to the rules in other rooms that prohibited certain actions to avoid triggering the ghosts' murderous patterns, the rules in room 106 seemed more like raising a ghost.
"Young friend, the person you choose to stay in room 106 should ideally be a man with abundant yang energy and blood. This will increase the success rate and allow you to achieve the desired effect more perfectly."
Zhou Fangdong recalled Hong Zhong's physique.
With a height of 1.9 meters and a strong body full of muscles like a bodybuilder, he looks like the type with abundant yang energy and blood, so there should be no need to worry at all.
"That's no problem either. I'm pretty sure the tenant who's about to move in will have plenty of yang energy and blood."
"Then it's alright. As long as the tenants in the room fully comply with the rules I mentioned above, they can coexist peacefully with the cat ghost."
"Understood, thank you, Daoist Master." Zhou Fangdong put away his phone with satisfaction.
That's great. With this Taoist priest around, he doesn't need to rack his brains to come up with tenant rules. He just needs to polish what the Taoist priest just said a little, and it will be a perfect rental contract.
"If you have no other questions, young friend, I will return to Chuyun Temple. It's time for me to go to work."
"Okay, no problem, Daoist Master, you can go about your business now."
As soon as Zhou Fangdong finished speaking, the Taoist priest who was believed to be a zombie disappeared from room 106.
After Zhang Zhiwu left, the large black cat that resembled a small leopard was no longer so nervous. It held its tail high, the tip of which curved slightly, and slowly strolled over to Zhou Fangdong's side, rubbed against his legs, nudged him with its head, and then returned to the floor.
The remaining twenty-odd small black cats, no bigger than the palm of a hand, did not return to the floor with the big black cat. They scattered in various corners of the room, rolling around on the floor, stretching, and licking each other's fur, completely letting their guard down.
Zhou Fangdong walked around the room again, taking a quick look at the current state of room 106.
The house is about 100 square meters. After the oil stains disappeared, there was only dust in the house, and not much garbage. However, the furniture was severely damaged, and most of it had collapsed. The surfaces of the furniture also had cat scratch marks.
Zhou Fangdong bought two fully automatic cleaning tools from the mall to use in room 106.
The moment the cleaning tools took effect, the little black cats in the room began to scatter at lightning speed, one after another slipping back under the floor.
It will take about an hour to finish cleaning... Zhou Fangdong ordered a batch of new furniture on a furniture purchasing app and asked the store manager to deliver the furniture in an hour.
While waiting for room 106 to be cleaned, Zhou Fangdong planned to go find the activity room of Liwan Apartment.
He remembered the system saying that the hidden room was in the stairwell of the apartment building.
Upon arriving at the dark stairwell, Zhou Fangdong discovered that all the little ghosts who had been playing there were gone. Only one lonely ghostly figure remained—the afro-haired ghost dressed in a cleaner's uniform, Qian Duolai.
He stood alone and forlorn in the stairwell, his back to Zhou Fangdong, staring intently at the apartment staircase.
Zhou Fangdong suddenly felt a little guilty. With the stairwell closed for the past few days, could this ghost have been guarding this place the whole time?
The scene before him confirmed his suspicions—this Qian Duolai must have run down from the second floor, but the stairs were closed and he couldn't get back, so he could only stand there in the stairwell, waiting for the stairs to reopen.
When Zhou Fangdong first encountered it, it had this shape, looking towards the stairs.
Moreover, as a ghost from the second floor, Qian Duolai's strength should be terrifying, so when it stood in the corridor, the little ghosts that were playing in the corridor dared not come out to play.
Suddenly I feel sorry for this guy... He can't go home, and there are no ghosts on the first floor to play with him, so he can only stand in the stairwell like a statue.
Zhou Fangdong sighed softly, turned his back to the stairs, walked to the end of the corridor, and then walked forward while touching one side of the wall.
He hoped to use this to find the hidden activity room in the Liwan Apartments.
The walls on both sides of the stairwell have no windows or doors, so if there are any hidden spaces in the apartment, they are most likely behind the walls.
If it's not on one side of the wall, then he'll try the other side.
He has now obtained the key to the apartment's activity room, and if he touches the hidden room area, the key on his person will definitely react.
Sure enough, Zhou Fangdong had only walked a short distance when suddenly a red light flashed on the wall, and then a large red-painted door appeared out of thin air.
Unlike the ordinary single-leaf entrance door of the tenant's room, this red-lacquered door was more like a double-leaf door of an auditorium, with two brass metal handles on the door.
Zhou Fangdong grasped the doorknob, slowly pressed down, and pushed open the door.
An extremely spacious interior space unfolds before your eyes.
The activity room was very large and spacious, probably over 300 square meters, and there were a bunch of kids playing inside.
At first glance, Zhou Fangdong spotted the headless little devils kicking their heads like balls, and the red chair furniture devils playing with them.
He explained why all those kids used to crowd into the stairwell to play: it turned out there was a hidden activity room in the stairwell.
Although the afro-haired ghost who came down from the second floor now occupied that corridor, these little ghosts didn't feel wronged and had a lot of fun in the activity room.
Zhou Fangdong dodged a flying head, bypassed the little girls playing with their intestines, and arrived at the center of the activity room, looking around.
The activity room, which is over 300 square meters, is divided into several sections, including a children's reading corner, a children's craft area, an indoor slide, and a rocking horse... Several headless little devils were sitting on the rocking horse and rocking wildly. Because the rocking was too rapid, blood gushed out from the cross-section of their necks, splattering like a fountain.
Fortunately, these little devils didn't have physical forms, otherwise Zhou Fangdong was really afraid they would splatter his blood all over him.
In addition to the children's activity area, there is also an adult activity area inside the activity room.
However, compared to the completely open children's activity area, the adult activity area was divided into small rooms, including a mahjong room, a board game room, a billiards room, etc.
However, the adult reading area is not separated into a separate room, but is right next to the children's reading corner, with only a transparent glass partition between the two areas.
Within sight, every area inside the activity room bore large stains of spilled blood, and almost every facility had dried, dark red bloodstains.
But the creatures playing in the activity room are all ghosts, and the bloody atmosphere surprisingly matches the little ghosts very well... It's a very simple and perfect haunted house.
Although it looked bloody, there was no stench of blood in the room, only a familiar scent of gardenias.
Following the trail of blood, Zhou Fangdong arrived at the place where the blood was most concentrated—the adult reading area.
Compared to the children's reading area with its few low cabinets that are only half a person's height and have only a few books, the adult reading area is more like a small library. There are two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves placed against the wall, and each shelf is densely filled with books.
To the west of the adult reading area is a glass partition adjacent to the children's reading area. The two large bookshelves that reach the ceiling are located on the north and east walls, forming a corner.
Beneath the two bookshelves, there was a large patch of blood, vaguely resembling a human figure. Scattered beside this bloodstain were some photographs and several torn pages from a book.
Zhou Fangdong bent down and picked up the photos.
He discovered that the photos all depicted a male corpse that had been disemboweled, and that the body was being photographed from various angles, as if it were a specimen being studied.
Looking at the photo of the male corpse in the white coat, whose lower half of the face had been completely torn off and whose abdominal organs were gone, Zhou Fangdong felt that it looked familiar.
He suddenly remembered that when he visited Xiao Xiaoyu in room 105 just now, he seemed to have seen a similar ghost in her room.
The wounds are exactly the same, they are all wearing white coats, and their body shapes look very similar... Could it be that all the blood in the activity room was left by the ghost in room 105 before he died?
No, the blood splattered in the activity room covers too large an area. It's impossible for one person's body to bleed that much; it must only be a portion of it.
But what is certain is that this reading area is most likely the scene of the death of the ripper in room 105.
Apartment rooms are allocated based on the strength of the ghosts in the apartment. Although every tenant who dies in a room may become a ghost and take over the room, if the ghost is too weak, the room will be taken over by other ghosts.
The ripped-open ghost was very likely the one who entered room 105 later.
Zhou Fangdong tidied up the photos of the corpses and placed them on the table next to him, then picked up the scattered pages of books from the floor.
He glanced through the pages, and as he looked at the words that were not stained with blood, Zhou Fangdong's brows furrowed more and more.
Finally, he put the pages and photos together, and then took out a stick of incense from his inventory.
The moment the incense appeared, the little devils playing in the activity room suddenly stopped and all turned to look at Zhou Fangdong's location.
Does anyone know which book this page was torn from?
Upon hearing Zhou Fangdong's question, the little devils in the room exchanged glances, and finally shook their heads in unison.
“I…know…” A hoarse, unpleasant voice suddenly came from beside me.
Zhou Fangdong subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.
From the gap in the bookshelf beside him, a pair of scarlet eyes appeared.
In this narrow crevice, no thicker than a book, was a pale-skinned adult ghost. Its body was so flat and twisted that its gender was completely obscured.
Its wet hair clung to its face, and its skin was wrinkled like paper that had been soaked in water.
Noticing that Zhou Fangdong was staring at it, the ghost in the crevice shrank even further into the crevice. Then it stretched out a flat hand, pulled out a yellowed ancient book from the bookshelf next to it, and handed it to Zhou Fangdong.
Zhou Fangdong silently took the book from its hands, and then handed it the incense offering.
Fortunately, his mental fortitude had been honed by the ghosts in the building over the past few days; otherwise, the sudden fright he experienced just now would have probably sent him flying back to his room.
The gap ghost, having received the offering of incense, let out a satisfied sigh, its body merging into the darkness and disappearing from sight.
Zhou Fangdong flipped through the ancient book and found the corresponding torn-out page number.
After seeing the familiar characters on the pages of the book on the ground, Zhou Fangdong felt something was wrong.
Now that he has found the ancient book to which this page belongs, he is certain that this thing is the record book used by the cultists of the Bone Inheritance Society to record rituals.
The ripped ghost in room 105 likely died from a ritual performed by these cultists.
It's the Bone-Succession Cult again... How many apartment tenants have been killed by this cult now? Do those cult members treat the Liwan Apartments as their property? They really go all out to harm the people in the apartment.
Zhou Fangdong stared into thought as he looked at the note written in blood below a ritual in an ancient book: "Can summon evil gods."
Since ghosts and monsters exist in this world, is it possible that the evil god worshipped by the Sigu Society also exists in reality?
Could this summoning ritual actually summon an evil god?
*
In Unit 2, Building 6, Penghu Jiayuan, Jinxi District, Linjiang City, Zhu Di, wearing pajamas and carrying a garbage bag, walked out of the unit door.
She looked somewhat listless, casually tossed the trash bag into the bin, and then staggered back home.
Although it was already past eight in the morning, she still felt like she hadn't slept enough and wanted to go home and catch up on her sleep.
Ever since that strange dream, Zhu Di has been having trouble sleeping.
As soon as I close my eyes, I automatically picture six bald men holding hands and dancing on a stage. This bizarre image is really a bit torturous.
Zhu Di yawned and walked up the stairs.
Then, as I reached the corner of the stairs, I almost bumped into someone.
She quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice anyone here."
“It’s nothing…” a deep, magnetic voice sounded. “Young lady, have you been having nightmares every night lately?”
Upon hearing that pleasant voice, Zhu Di subconsciously looked up.
In a daze, she seemed to see a black bald man again... No, not a bald man, but a middle-aged man wearing a melon-shaped hat and a gray long coat. His attire made him look like a crosstalk performer.
Compared to that magnetic voice, the middle-aged man's face was rather disappointing.
He's not exactly ugly, just too ordinary. His appearance is too generic, lacking any distinctive features, making it impossible for anyone to remember his face.
When the middle-aged man asked if he was troubled by nightmares, Zhu Di hesitated for a moment and did not answer.
I always felt that this person had a charlatan-like aura about him, as if as soon as she spoke to him, he would say that she was possessed by an evil spirit and needed to buy a talisman to dispel it, and that the talisman only cost 998.
Moreover, it's obvious that her nightmares are nothing compared to how dark her dark circles are, as anyone with eyes can see.
Seemingly sensing the distrust in Zhu Di's eyes, the man in the melon-shaped hat smiled and continued, "You dreamt of six bald men, didn't you?"
Zhu Di's eyes widened.
Amazing! She has never told anyone about the details of her nightmares, how did this person know?
The middle-aged man in the melon-shaped hat smiled without saying a word and handed her a talisman folded into a triangle shape: "Put this talisman under your pillow, and you won't have nightmares anymore... Don't worry, it's free, I won't charge you, consider it my good deed for the day."
Zhu Di gratefully accepted the talisman: "Thank you, Master."
*
Zhou Fangdong put the ancient book, which seemed to be able to summon an evil god, into his inventory and then walked out of the activity room.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw that same guy with the afro standing like a statue in the stairwell, staring longingly at the stairs.
Zhou Fangdong pondered for a moment, then walked towards the stairwell.
He plans to reopen the apartment building's staircase.
Room 106 will be ready soon, and once Hong Zhong moves in, his first main quest will be completed immediately. He'll eventually have to go up to the second floor of the apartment building to rent out all the rooms.
Moreover, he had instructed the tenants on the first floor not to go out at night, so opening the stairwell should prevent any accidents.
Zhang Zhiwu, who often leaves his room for a stroll at night, is an exception. He's a ghost tenant, and a Taoist priest specializing in zombies, far more powerful than the ghosts in the corridor. Rather than worrying about him being attacked by the apartment stairs at night, we should be more concerned about whether the stairs can successfully escape his attacks.
Thinking of this, Zhou Fangdong took out the sandalwood memorial tablet from his inventory, placed it on the steps with the pattern of dried corpses, and then lit an incense stick in front of the tablet.
As the sandalwood incense wafted through the air, a faint vibration could be heard emanating from above the staircase... The staircase leading to the second floor of the apartment building reopened.
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