Chapter 111

Zhou Ze stood outside the intensive care unit, waiting for Old Zhang's soul to appear. If he were to get fancy, he could even present flowers and a microphone, asking Old Zhang to share his glorious post-mortem feelings.

Unfortunately, the number of people in this world who can see wandering souls is truly countable on one hand; there aren't enough to form a proper group.

Otherwise, he could really ask Old Zhang to do a national tour, reporting on his advanced deeds.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.

The lights in the hallway flickered collectively.

An ordinary person might not think much of it, assuming it was just a minor voltage issue, which is normal.

But Boss Zhou's body trembled violently. He immediately pushed open the door to the intensive care unit and rushed in. However, a dark shadow was faster than him, passing directly over the bed and flying out the window.

Old Zhang's body lay there quietly, but his soul was gone!

Why?

This wasn't how the story was supposed to go!

Wasn't Old Zhang supposed to float there on his own? What was that dark shadow that just appeared?

Actually, perhaps Lawyer An was simply flustered due to his concern and was eager to show his usefulness. After all, he was a newly recruited lackey and must have a strong desire to prove himself.

So,

he didn't mention the key point that the prisoner had reminded him of.

Or rather, it wasn't that he deliberately didn't say it,

but he may have overlooked it himself,

which was:

"You must do nothing."

This sentence had another layer of meaning:

If you mess with things, then things will mess with you in return.

Boss Zhou rushed out of the hospital building like a madman, frantically looking around the parking lot, but he couldn't see even a ghostly shadow.

His nails grew rapidly and he plunged them into the ground. Black mist began to spread from his fingertips, extending continuously towards the north.

There!

Zhou Ze ran straight in that direction. Since the black mist could guide him, it meant that the thing wasn't far away.

Outside the hospital was a street. After Zhou Ze crossed it, he reached a green garden outside a residential complex.

By the time he got there, Zhou Ze was already panting.

"Coo... Coo..."

The sound of birds?

Zhou Ze looked up.

In a tree diagonally in front of him, he saw an owl perched on a branch, its eyes fixed on him.

And around the owl's tail was a faint gray glow—a wandering soul!

At the same time that Zhou Ze noticed the owl, the owl also noticed Zhou Ze. It immediately flapped its wings and took flight.

If he let it fly away,

it would truly be gone forever.

Unless Boss Zhou transformed into Ultraman,

there was no way he could catch it!

Moreover, Zhou Ze could sense that Old Zhang's soul was constantly weakening. If it took another half an hour, Old Zhang would completely dissipate.

Zhou Ze could keep Old Zhang's soul, but only if Old Zhang was the kind of person with deep-seated grievances and strong obsessions. Otherwise, if he was destined to go to hell after death, forcing him to stay would cause Old Zhang's soul to diminish, just like Zhou Ze's did when he first returned from hell.

This was the biggest problem Zhou Ze had been facing. He originally thought he could solve it with that pen, but now there was an unexpected snag.

"Give it... back!"

Zhou Ze subconsciously reached out.

Ten strands of black mist shot out rapidly from the nails of his ten fingers, surrounding the owl in an instant.

Zhou Ze slammed his hands together.

The black mist enveloped the owl immediately.

The owl shuddered

and fell headfirst.

It landed vertically on the ground.

Zhou Ze rushed over immediately, but then, a plume of black smoke suddenly rose from the owl's body. The owl's body instantly turned into dry bones, and even its feathers became tattered.

The black smoke formed a monkey-like image, but it definitely wasn't a monkey. It was another creature with a face resembling that of the God of Thunder.

Zhou Ze had forgotten the scientific name of this thing, but he remembered seeing a similar description when he was flipping through the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* in the bookstore.

It was a being that was neither demon nor ghost, with three tails, sharp claws, and fish scales on its body. It was said to have originated in the Nether Sea.

Of course, this was just a minor creature. It was rarely mentioned in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* because it was insignificant.

Xu Qinglang had also helped Zhou Ze choose many books, mostly strange tales. During the Southern Song Dynasty, a scholar wrote a book called *Water Pond Ghost Stories*, which specifically recorded this creature. He named it "Ghost Falcon," which was more like a nickname.

The book described that they liked to be active in desolate tomb areas and loved to eat wandering souls and the yang energy of humans. During times of war, their numbers would increase dramatically, and once peace returned, these things would slowly disappear or even vanish completely.

And now, Boss Zhou felt like he'd hit the jackpot, or rather, poor Old Zhang had won the lottery. He had been targeted by a wandering Ghost Falcon who had intercepted his wandering soul.

The probability of this happening was like encountering a South China tiger while picnicking in the mountains.

Fortunately, Boss Zhou had persevered and chased after it, not giving the Ghost Falcon a chance to feed. Old Zhang's soul was still wrapped around the Ghost Falcon's tail. If Zhou Ze had arrived any later, Old Zhang's soul might have already become its nourishment.

"Be good, put down its soul, or you're dead today."

Zhou Ze didn't know if it could understand human language, but he had to try.

In fact, despite its cunning and special abilities, the Ghost Falcon was nothing significant. Otherwise, its presence in the world of novels wouldn't be so low.

The Ghost Falcon stared coldly at Zhou Ze, but its inner fear was evident. Clearly, it knew that Zhou Ze was not someone it could handle.

"Put him down, and you can leave!"

Zhou Ze said.

It wasn't that Zhou Ze wanted to waste time talking,

but since the Ghost Falcon had Old Zhang's soul, it was like a robber holding a hostage. This was completely different from Boss Zhou's situation in Changzhou a few days ago. You could kill that kidnapped fat monk if you wanted; was he going to let that threaten him? Was he crazy?

But right now,

Zhou Ze had to ensure the safety of Old Zhang's soul, otherwise, all his hard work would have been in vain.

The Ghost Falcon's eyes darted around, as if thinking. Its expression gradually relaxed, revealing a look of fear and retreat.

However,

Zhou Ze suddenly remembered something.

In the hospital,

he hadn't used Lawyer An's method to conceal his aura because he was a ghost messenger. Sometimes, he could be more carefree. In other words, the Ghost Falcon still chose to snatch food from the tiger's mouth even after sensing his aura!

So,

the fear and retreat it was showing in its eyes

was fake!

"Do you have a way?"

Zhou Ze said in his heart.

He was asking the presence within him.

Although the situation was only a little strange and Boss Zhou wasn't facing a real crisis, he hoped to rescue Old Zhang's soul completely as soon as possible.

So,

he could only ask for help from the presence within him.

However,

this time,

the presence within him didn't respond at all, as if it were completely dead.

In the past, when Zhou Ze called out to it, it wouldn't engage in conversation, but it would emit a slight tremor, like a "hmph" in its throat when it was half-asleep, to appease Boss Zhou. But this time, there was no response at all.

What's going on?

The Ghost Falcon's obvious oddness,

coupled with the sudden loss of contact,

gave Zhou Ze a very bad feeling,

as if someone had set a trap for him, luring him in. At the same time, Old Zhang's soul had been accidentally caught up in this trap.

"Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh..."

A wind blew,

stirring the surrounding flowerbeds and greenery.

At the same time,

white flowers grew on the original vegetation at a speed visible to the naked eye,

releasing a faint mist.

It was a little like the barrier formed by the black mist emitted by both sides when Zhou Ze fought the demon monkey, which was imperceptible to ordinary people.

"Flowers bloom on two paths, souls return to the Yellow Springs;

Alas, alas, no fate in the previous life."

Someone was chanting softly. In the mist, the illusion of a bridge appeared.

At one end of the bridge were two stone tablets,

inscribed with "Previous Life."

On the bridge was a memorial arch,

inscribed with "Naihe" (Bridge of Helplessness).

Naihe Bridge!

………………

In the prison library, the lights were still on. Even at this late hour, a prisoner in a prison uniform was still sitting inside, writing something with a pen.

As a model prisoner, a promotional face for the prison, and a model for the prison leaders' achievements, he was rightly given this special privilege.

After all, creation isn't assembly-line work; the emergence of inspiration isn't bound by any time.

But,

his creative state today seemed a little off.

He wrote for a while,

and then had to stop,

and drink some water.

He had writer's block.

A very uncomfortable one.

He scratched his hair,

and then looked up at the moonlight outside the window. He frowned slightly and stood by the window.

Then,

he walked back,

picked up the pen again,

thought for a long time,

and put it down again.

The original planned story couldn't be written. It was as if a hand had unexpectedly reached out and disrupted everything in the story.

He bit the tip of his pen,

and finally had to put the pen down again.

He took several gulps of water,

and a hint of panic finally appeared on his usually calm face with a faint smile.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

He frantically reached out and tore up the pieces of paper in front of him on which he had written some words.

He sat in the chair, his chest heaving violently.

"It's collapsed, it's collapsed, the story has collapsed..."

He tilted his head back,

unwilling,

but helpless,

"Brother-in-law, I can't save you..."

Then,

he began banging his forehead frantically against the desk,

while crying out:

"Just like I couldn't save her and the children back then!!!"