Chapter 32 The Second Ghost Tenant: Zombie Taoist Priest Zhang Zhiwu...
Zhou Fangdong silently recited in his mind, "[Skill 5: Mysterious Shrine]".
The next instant, a shrine half the height of a person appeared in front of him.
The shrine was made of wood and looked dilapidated; the outer wood was all cracked, and there were even mold spots on the base. Cobwebs were wrapped around the edges and corners of the shrine, mixed with dust, turning the originally brown wooden shrine into a dirty lead gray.
The two wooden doors of the shrine are currently closed, making it impossible to see what deity is enshrined inside.
In front of the tightly closed wooden door, there is a sandalwood incense burner piled with incense ash; this must be where the offering incense is placed.
Zhou Fangdong took out four incense sticks, held them above his head with both hands, bowed three times to the shrine, and then inserted the incense sticks into the sandalwood incense burner.
The wisps of smoke, carrying the scent of sandalwood, drifted slowly away. Amidst the swirling smoke, the tightly closed wooden door of the shrine suddenly sprang open.
Zhou Fangdong was shocked to discover that the statue with its eyes closed in the shrine was actually a scaled-down version of himself.
Moreover, the image of himself in the shrine was actually dressed in a suit.
The moment Zhou Fangdong saw the statue, he felt as if a huge iron hammer had suddenly smashed down on his head.
In the moment before his consciousness faded, Zhou Fangdong saw the statue in the shrine change—
Blood continued to seep from the statue, and the statue's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, looking at Zhou Fangdong.
It was smiling at him.
...
When Zhou Fangdong regained consciousness, he found that the shrine and the two ghosts in room 108 had all disappeared. He stood blankly in the middle of the room, his mouth full of burnt smell.
"My head hurts a bit... Ugh... What's in my mouth?" Zhou Fangdong wiped his mouth and found that what he spat out was black ash, as if he had just eaten something burnt.
"This is disgusting. Could it be that I fainted and fell headfirst into that pile of charred garbage in the room?" Zhou Fangdong rubbed his temples, feeling his head getting more and more painful.
After using that attack skill, he passed out and had no idea what had just happened... It felt like someone was using his body to play a game and had his account stolen.
The side effects of this attack skill were rather unpleasant, comparable to those of the patron. After regaining consciousness, not only did my head throb, but my stomach also felt extremely uncomfortable, strangely experiencing a feeling of being so full I couldn't digest anything.
I wonder where those two ghosts went... They must have been driven away by his attack skills, right?
Zhou Fangdong opened his character attribute panel and found that his mental strength had indeed decreased by half.
No wonder my head hurts so much; this skill consumes too much mental energy...
After his mental energy level dropped by more than half, he not only had a headache, but he also started to lose focus. He couldn't even think straight, and he felt dizzy and disoriented, as if he had been drinking fake alcohol.
"System, can I absorb ghost coins to replenish my spirit bar?"
Yes, but replenishing the spirit bar requires more Ghost Coins than replenishing the health bar; each replenishment costs 100 Ghost Coins.
Zhou Fangdong, who possessed a huge sum of 2990, did not hesitate and directly absorbed 100 ghost coins.
My headache has eased considerably, but the spirit bar on my attribute panel isn't full yet. It's currently around four-sixths full, and I'll need to spend another two hundred ghost coins to fully recover.
Although I still have 2890 Ghost Coins left, that's plenty...
Forget it, I can't be so extravagant. Anyway, my current state doesn't affect my ability to move around.
Zhou Fangdong shook his groggy head and walked out of room 108.
However, to his surprise, as soon as he stepped out of the room, all the ghosts in the corridor sprang to their feet as if they had seen some kind of plague god, avoiding him at top speed and hiding in the shadows.
It was practically like using a kerosene lamp.
Zhou Fangdong stared blankly at the scene before him.
Why are these ghosts running away? Is it because his mouth isn't just full of black ash, but his face is covered in ash too? Is it because his face is so black that he scared away all the ghosts...? It sounds like a lame joke.
Zhou Fangdong wiped his face and found that it wasn't as dirty as he had imagined; only some ash remained at the corner of his mouth.
But it's a bit tricky now that all these ghosts have run away. He was originally planning to find a ghost in the corridor to be the ghost in room 108.
Room 108 is currently without ghosts. The system says that rooms without ghosts cannot be rented out. The tenant contract is not only a lease between a human tenant and the apartment, but also a contract between humans and ghosts.
Where is he supposed to catch ghosts now? He never imagined that one day he would complain that there aren't enough ghosts in the Liwan Apartment.
By the way, just catching ghosts isn't enough. Zhou Fangdong remembered the system saying before that when catching ghosts, you also need to identify which ghost can afford the rent...
So how do you tell which ghost can pay ghost coins every month?
Zhou Fangdong rubbed his hair, feeling a headache coming on whenever he thought about something.
Forget it, when in doubt, consult the system.
"System, how do I tell which ghost can afford the rent?"
The higher the ghost's level, the more ghost coins you'll receive. If you want to select a ghost to enter your apartment, please try to avoid choosing a ghost with a very low level. Otherwise, after the contract is signed with the human tenant, this ghost will be unable to resist the intrusion of other ghosts and will be unable to protect the tenant's safety.
Zhou Fangdong nodded; he roughly understood.
However, finding high-level ghosts is actually quite difficult, since he doesn't currently have the skill to determine the level of a ghost.
Staggering to the door of the convenience store in Room 104, Zhou Fangdong noticed that the long-tongued ghost was listlessly lying on the counter, playing with his employee ID card with his tongue.
Because the long-tongued ghost and the wedding dress ghost had a fight this morning, the convenience store had to temporarily close on its first day of operation.
Now, the wedding dress ghost is cleaning up the red envelopes containing money for buying lives that it left behind around the apartment, and only the long-tongued ghost is left in the convenience store.
Noticing Zhou Fangdong's approaching figure, the long-tongued ghost turned its head and looked over.
The next instant, it arched its back like a cat with its fur standing on end, and climbed up to the ceiling at top speed.
Zhou Fangdong actually saw terror in its bloodied and mangled face.
He frowned in confusion and subconsciously touched his face.
So, what happened? Why are the ghosts in the apartment so afraid of him?
Fortunately, the long-tongued ghost didn't disappear like the other ghosts in the corridor; it just lay on the ceiling of room 104, watching him warily.
Zhou Fangdong remembered that the long-tongued ghost used to wander around the corridor often, and maybe it knew where to find higher-level ghosts.
Thinking of this, Zhou Fangdong took out three incense sticks from his inventory, shook them gently, and said to the long-tongued ghost on the ceiling, "Find me a ghost with similar strength to you, and these three incense sticks will be yours once you find one."
The long-tongued ghost didn't approach directly as usual. Instead, it cautiously circled the ceiling a few times. In the end, the temptation of the offering incense overcame its fear. It finally mustered its courage, carefully lowered its tongue, and snatched the three incense sticks from Zhou Fangdong's hand.
After accepting the offering of incense, the long-tongued ghost took off his convenience store work badge and placed it on the cashier counter, then climbed out of room 104 along the ceiling.
After going outside, it moved its tongue, signaling Zhou Fangdong to follow it.
Zhou Fangdong followed the long-tongued ghost towards the apartment entrance.
During this time, he discovered that he could now keep up with the speed of the long-tongued ghost, and no longer needed it to stop and wait for him as it used to.
It's probably because the effects of the attack skill I just used haven't completely dissipated yet.
This attack skill is incredibly useful; it easily banishes two ghosts and even provides a deterrent buff afterward. The only downside is a brief temporary disconnection of consciousness, followed by a slight headache due to the stamina bar being more than half depleted.
Thinking that he had been incredibly lucky to unleash such a useful attack skill, Zhou Fangdong's steps became much lighter.
To Zhou Fangdong's surprise, the long-tongued ghost led him to the elevator.
The elevator in Liwan Apartment faces the apartment entrance. Although the red indicator light on the elevator is on, the numbers on the floor display screen are not changing.
Having nearly died in front of an elevator once, Zhou Fangdong felt no fear upon seeing it up close again; instead, he felt an urge to take it upstairs.
Fortunately, the sound made by the long-tongued ghost brought him back to his senses.
Zhou Fangdong took several steps back, forcibly pulling himself away from the urge to take the elevator upstairs.
It seems that this attack skill not only gave him a deterrent buff after it ended, but also a debuff that made him lose his mind... He can't go near the elevator anymore. Although it's not nighttime, he still needs to be careful to prevent any accidents. If something really happens, the system won't be able to save him.
The long-tongued ghost clung to the wall next to the elevator like a giant gecko, pointing with its tongue at the wall beneath it.
Because he had never been so close to the elevator before, Zhou Fangdong only now realized that there was a small, narrow door pointing to the spot where the long-tongued ghost's tongue was pointing.
He initially thought the narrow door was for elevator maintenance, but when he opened it, he found himself in a tunnel leading to an unknown destination.
The tunnel was completely dark and undecorated, just a simple layer of cement plaster, like a secret passage leading to some hidden area.
Seeing that Zhou Fangdong had opened the narrow door, the long-tongued ghost was the first to squeeze inside.
Zhou Fangdong followed it and went through the door.
He was momentarily dazed as he stepped through the door.
So, he probably asked the long-tongued ghost to guide him because he wanted to find a high-level vengeful spirit. Why did it bring him to this strange tunnel? Could it be that the high-level vengeful spirit is at the end of the tunnel?
Although he felt something was off, Zhou Fangdong did not stop what he was doing.
His head was still a little dizzy, and his brain and body seemed to be disconnected, each doing its own thing. His mind was thinking about its own things, while his body was performing the actions he had just set up.
By the time Zhou Fangdong realized what was happening, he had already been walking in this strange tunnel for quite some time, and the faint light at the entrance had shrunk to a small white dot.
Although something felt off, since we were already here, we might as well keep going.
However, the tunnel was really narrow; even Zhou Fangdong, with his thin frame, had to turn slightly to the side to walk through it.
Following the long-tongued ghost to the end of the tunnel, a blinding light suddenly appeared before their eyes.
Zhou Fangdong squinted uncomfortably.
Having spent so much time in the dark and gloomy Liwan Apartment, seeing natural light again felt like stepping into another world.
Yes, this tunnel actually leads to the outside of the Liwan Apartments.
Beyond the figure blocking the exit, one could clearly see the withered garden, the dried-up fountain, and another dilapidated, eerie building emanating an ominous black aura—that building must be the legendary back building of the Liwan Apartments, where corpses were said to be kept.
Thinking of this, Zhou Fangdong belatedly realized something and turned his gaze back to the figure blocking the exit.
Oh right, there's another person blocking the tunnel exit. Is this the high-level vengeful ghost that the long-tongued ghost is trying to find?
The man was thin and emaciated, slightly hunched over, and looked like an elderly man. He wore a dark robe of indeterminate color, had a goatee, and long hair tied in a high bun with a wooden hairpin.
His face was obscured because it was covered with many yellow talismans.
Yellow talismans drawn in cinnabar were stacked one on top of another and pasted onto his face, completely obscuring the upper half. On top of these talismans, a purple talisman was pasted on his forehead, hanging down naturally like a veil.
The little old man sat cross-legged on the ground, a wooden sword stuck in the ground in front of him. He held the hilt of the wooden sword as if he were using a cane, as if he were guarding something here, or as if he had been waiting for someone, but because he had waited for too long, he had become one with the wooden sword in his hand, turning into an ancient and decaying piece of dead wood.
Zhou Fangdong walked up to the old man, bent down slightly, and touched his arm.
He didn't use mind-reading skills, but he could still touch him... This little old man had a physical body, but his body was abnormally cold and had no body temperature.
Looking at the little old man, Zhou Fangdong inexplicably thought of the manager of Guijia Furniture Store. The two seemed somewhat similar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Moreover, he always felt that the little old man in front of him was in better condition than the manager and looked more like a human being.
Zhou Fangdong asked the long-tongued ghost, "Did you bring me here just to find this person? Do you think this person has the strength of a high-level vengeful ghost and can stay in room 108?"
After not hearing a response from the gossipy ghost for a long time, Zhou Fangdong turned around in confusion.
The long-tongued ghost that had been beside him had somehow started running back. If he turned around any later, he probably wouldn't be able to see the long-tongued ghost anymore.
Zhou Fangdong hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
This feeling is just like when I was a kid and some unscrupulous relative took me to play with firecrackers to blow up poop. After the fuse was lit, the relative ran away first, while the little kid stood there bewildered in front of the poop, waiting for the fuse to burn out, completely not understanding why the relative had run so far away...
What the hell is he thinking at a time like this? This isn't about setting off firecrackers to blow up poop. The fact that this old man with the yellow talisman on his face is making the long-tongued ghost so scared is really ominous.
Or, spend two hundred ghost coins to fully replenish your spirit bar, and then use that shrine?
In this way, if the old man in front of him wants to attack him, he will still have the ability to fight back.
However, before Zhou Fangdong could act, the old man made his move first.
He stood up haltingly, his joints and bones creaking and grinding, like a door hinge that hadn't been lubricated in ages. With each movement, countless clumps of black mud splattered off his face and clothes.
"Has the time come...?" Though he didn't open his mouth, a hoarse, deep voice still escaped from his throat, "This old man has waited far too long..."
The old man, carrying a wooden sword, slowly walked up to Zhou Fangdong. "Young friend, it seems you are now the owner of this building... Could you spare a room for me?"
Seeing that the man had no intention of attacking him, Zhou Fangdong relaxed. "Sure, no problem at all. I happen to have an empty room here, how about room 108?"
"A room on the first floor..." The old man stroked his beard, a relieved smile appearing on the lower half of his face, which wasn't covered by talismans. "Very good, very good..."
As the old man agreed, the system's electronic voice simultaneously rang in Zhou Fangdong's ears:
[Ding—Congratulations, host, you have acquired your second ghost tenant!]
[Zombie Master Zhang Zhiwu has successfully checked into room 108!!]
[A ghost tenant moves into the automatically renovated room. Side quest 5: Clean and rent out room 108. Completed]
Side Quest 5 Rewards: 300 Ghost Coins, 1000 Experience Points, 1 Random Skill Point
[The tenant profile [Special Tenant - Zombie Taoist Priest] has been unlocked. Please claim your profile reward in time.]
[Special Ghost Guest Residency Bonus: 2000 Ghost Coins (per month)]
Zhou Fangdong stared at the series of pop-up windows, his already somewhat dazed mind unable to process them any further.
He originally just wanted to find a ghost for room 108, but how did it turn into a ghost tenant?
Good heavens! The side quest in room 108 was completed automatically. The 300 ghost coins from the side quest and the 2000 ghost coins from the second ghost tenant, plus the 2890 ghost coins he had left—5190!! A huge sum of over five thousand!
Zhou Fangdong suddenly felt a little lightheaded.
He became rich overnight; this incredible fortune finally fell on his head.
Most importantly, this Taoist priest Zhang seemed very polite and easy to talk to, unlike Mu Yuechan who had a terrible attitude. He really hit the jackpot this time.
Zhou Fangdong decided to forgive the gossipy ghost for abandoning him and leaving alone.
"Young friend..."
An old, hoarse voice brought Zhou Fangdong back to his senses from the euphoria of sudden wealth.
The zombie Taoist priest shakily reached out and produced a yellow talisman from somewhere, handing it to Zhou Fangdong: "If you feel stomach discomfort, you can burn this talisman and mix it with water to drink."
Zhou Fangdong took the yellow talisman and asked in astonishment, "Taoist Master, how did you know my stomach was upset?" Is this the legendary fortune telling? It's amazing that you could even tell I was upset.
"Because you didn't wipe your mouth clean." Zhang Zhiwu shook his head helplessly. "Sigh, you young people, sometimes you're just greedy."
"Given your current physical condition, you should be more restrained when eating ghosts in the future. It's best to eat only one a day, otherwise it will be difficult to digest..."
A ghost eater?
In a daze, Zhou Fangdong seemed to understand something, and his drowsy mind gradually regained a sliver of clarity.
He stiffly wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand again.
Looking at the black ash on the back of his hand, Zhou Fangdong fell into deep thought.
It is known that the two ghosts in room 108 were charred beyond recognition, their bodies covered in black ash, resembling two pieces of charcoal.
He lost consciousness while using the [Strange Shrine] attack skill. When he woke up, the two ghosts were gone. Besides feeling dizzy, he also felt a bit uncomfortable in his stomach, as if he had overeaten.
Q: During the time his consciousness was overtaken, what did the thing in the shrine do to his body?
Ahhhhhhh—
vomit.
How could this be?!
Zhou Fangdong, one hand against the wall and the other clutching his stomach, desperately called out to the system in his mind: "System! System! Come out here, tell me this isn't real, is it?!"
It's true. After [Strange Shrine] is upgraded to [Eerie Shrine], the skill's attack effect is to devour ghosts and monsters.
Zhou Fangdong was desperate: "System, could you please tell me in advance if something like this happens again... If I had known it was this kind of attack, I wouldn't have upgraded."
[Before the host officially upgrades the skill, the system has no authority to reveal too much information about the skill upgrade.]
Zhou Fangdong was completely exasperated. "Fine, now that I've leveled up, please tell me, is my headache a side effect of this skill? What other side effects does this skill have? Please tell me everything clearly."
This skill inflicts a [Dementia Debuff] upon use. Increasing the sanity bar increases the duration of [Strange Shrine]. The longer the skill is used, the longer the [Dementia Debuff] lasts after the skill ends. This negative effect cannot be offset by replenishing the sanity bar.
[The host has likely already experienced the effects of this debuff during this period.]
...Damn it, the longer the spirit bar is, the longer the side effects last. And just now he was worried that he wouldn't have enough spirit points, so he specifically allocated three attribute points to the spirit bar.
When people are extremely angry, they can actually laugh out loud.
"System, the [Strange Shrine] skill is a detachable skill, right? Now, immediately, throw it out of my character attribute panel, throw it far, far away, into the deepest part of your program code. I never want to see this skill again in my life."
[The system suggests to the host that since the skill has already been upgraded, please continue to use skill points to upgrade it. The host will not be disappointed.]
After a moment of silence, Zhou Fangdong, looking pale and sickly, finally gave up on the disassembly skill.
Forget it, let's leave it for now. Although the skill effect is a bit annoying, it is still his only attack skill, and there are three skill points sunk cost here.
The skill effects and the "dementia" debuff are just too disgusting; he won't use them unless absolutely necessary.
Eating ghosts felt almost the same to him as eating human corpses. He was a perfectly healthy person; what if he got sick from eating too many ghosts?
And that dementia debuff, it's like being under the influence of fake alcohol, he's really afraid that he might do something he'll regret under the influence of this negative effect.
In the eyes of the zombie Taoist priest Zhang Zhiwu, the young friend in front of him, whose strength and origin were mysterious and unpredictable, clutched his stomach and leaned against the wall in silence for a while after he discovered that the young man was eating ghosts. Then, he suddenly chuckled softly.
The fearless and carefree spirit in that laughter seemed to indicate that she no longer intended to hide her strength from him.
That's right.
Zhang Zhiwu stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction.
As practitioners of Taoism, we should prioritize our own feelings and follow the natural way. Suppressing ourselves because of the opinions of others is simply a losing proposition.
Zhou Fangdong was too exhausted to talk to the zombie Taoist priest. He silently led the priest back to the entrance of Liwan Apartment from the tunnel.
After returning to the entrance hall, Master Zhang didn't even need Zhou Fangdong to lead the way. He walked leisurely towards room 108 as if he were returning to his own home.
Seeing this, Zhou Fangdong dragged his tired body back to his room.
After lying in bed until nightfall, the dementia debuff completely disappeared, and Zhou Fangdong, whose mind had returned to clarity, suddenly remembered that his stand interface should now have one more option.
Upon opening the stand-in interface, in addition to a wiggling pixelated female character, a pixelated old Taoist priest appears, constantly slapping his palm with a wooden sword.
Zhou Fangdong tapped the old Taoist priest's pixelated figure and discovered that the zombie Taoist priest's favorability rating was only 50, less than Mu Yuechan's.
A favorability rating of 41-60 corresponds to [Respect and Appreciation - Trustworthy], while Mu Yuechan's favorability rating of 70 falls within the [Honest and Open Communication - Absolute Trust] range.
After a moment's thought, Zhou Fangdong decided to use Mu Yuechan's body to perform the substitute function.
The substitute function can only be restarted 24 hours after being rejected by the ghost tenant, so using Mu Yuechan is safer.
After clicking to use it, Zhou Fangdong suddenly felt his consciousness detach for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, the antique-style bedroom in room 103 appeared before his eyes.
He seemed to have shrunk in height. Zhou Fangdong raised his hand and realized that he was wearing a white theatrical costume... Was he now inside Mu Yuechan's body?
Just as he was thinking this, Mu Yuechan's somewhat ethereal voice rang in his ears.
"Sigh... No wonder, Mr. Landlord, you are even more terrifying than I imagined, you were able to take over my body so easily."
[Beep—The favorability rating of the Republic-era actress Mu Yuechan has reached 80.]
[Your affinity level has been reached. Open the affinity interface to claim your reward.]
"Landlord, I've thought about this all day, and I think you're absolutely right. Everything I have is given to me by you, and you have the right to decide my fate. From now on, I will obey your will..."
"Tonight, my body is yours to use. Please make good use of it~"
Wow... This is so strange, the conversation is going so strangely.
Zhou Fangdong felt a chill run down his spine.
After Mu Yuechan's consciousness completely disappeared, the system voice sounded:
[Host has been equipped. Based on the causal threads on the ghost tenant, would you like to randomly teleport them to a specific paranormal location?]
What is the causal relationship?
[People or places related to the ghost tenant, such as the person who killed it, the location of people it killed, or the person it most desperately wants to find or the place it most wants to go to.]
"Understood. Then let's teleport randomly based on the causal threads on Mu Yuechan's body."
It would be quite boring for him to walk around on his own. His tenants said that Liwan Apartment is in the suburbs, and even taking the ghost bus to the city would take more than half an hour.
This random teleportation based on causal lines might lead to the base of the cult called the Heirs of the Bones, which killed Mu Yuechan and Xiao Di.
Even if we can't find their base, we should be able to find the followers of this cult... Once we find them, we can just deal with them and consider it an act of kindness for the day. Anyway, none of these cult members are good people.
After receiving Zhou Fangdong's affirmative reply, the system began a countdown.
The moment the countdown ended, the scenery in front of me began to rush by as if it were a video shot at more than ten times the speed.
After the image froze and became clear again, a somewhat dilapidated Taoist temple appeared before Zhou Fangdong's eyes.
Before Zhou Fangdong could even get a good look at his surroundings, a sudden, high-pitched tenor voice caught his attention:
"Oh my god!! Another ghost has appeared?!"
Zhou Fangdong looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome young man with long hair standing not far in front of him.
Although the young man was handsome, his appearance was quite unique... He had a chair in his left hand, a chair in his right hand, a stool on his head, and a bed behind him.
Moreover, the furniture he was holding showed signs of being possessed by ghosts.
Zhou Fangdong narrowed his eyes slightly, the more he looked at the furniture, the more familiar it seemed.
—Aren't these all the junk furniture from Guijia Furniture Store? Did this guy rob Guijia Furniture Store?
No, impossible. The store manager wouldn't just stand by and watch him rob the furniture.
Just as Zhou Fangdong was pondering, the long-haired young man had already huddled on the bed, clutching a chair and stool, and uttered words that sounded like his last words:
"It's over, it's over, I really can't beat this, Master, your unfilial disciple may have to go down and join you today."
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