Chapter 1 Going Back

On the way back, Xu Qinglang drove, and Lawyer An sat in the passenger seat, his face bruised and swollen.

Yingying hadn’t held back; each punch was a solid hit.

Lawyer An didn’t resist or dodge, enduring several blows. Though Yingying hadn't aimed to kill, a female zombie's punches were not to be trifled with.

His face was okay, just a broken nose. But his arms and legs likely had several fractures.

However, there was no resentment on his face, rather a sense of relief. If his lip hadn't been split, he might have whistled to express his joy.

If the boss said nothing, seeming calm, the debt would still be noted, and eventually, there would be a reckoning.

Compared to everyone’s superficial "peace,"

having Yingying beat him up directly,

was a kind of "raising high and lowering gently."

This matter,

was thus resolved,

considering everyone’s relationship.

Therefore, despite being beaten, Lawyer An was in a good mood. A stone had been weighing on his heart, and now it had finally landed.

He called the Late Night Bookstore. Old Daoist reported that Gou Xin and the others were still unconscious in the intensive care unit. Because of the police investigation into the explosion, the bookstore's renovation had only just begun and would take a long time. Even after completion, it would need to be aired out.

Therefore, Zhou Ze and the others decided not to rush back. Since they were out, they might as well have fun and relax, a kind of company team-building exercise.

After all, there were two patients among the four in the car. The beautiful scenery of Yunnan was suitable for recovery.

Finally,

they chose to go to Lijiang.

Lawyer An, dragging his bandaged arm, chose a guesthouse in Lijiang Old Town.

When the car arrived in Lijiang, it was already evening. After getting out, Yingying supported Zhou Ze, and Xu Qinglang supported Lawyer An. The group entered the guesthouse, led by the enthusiastic owner.

The owner was tall and thin, his face full of smiles and warmth. Though he was surprised by the number of injured people, he didn’t show it.

When arranging the rooms,

Zhou Ze and Yingying took one room,

Lawyer An originally wanted to insist on sharing with Xu Qinglang because he was badly injured and wouldn’t be able to manage alone. But Xu Qinglang insisted on separate rooms.

After settling in,

Lawyer An hobbled into Zhou Ze's room.

Zhou Ze was lying on the bed, and Yingying was filling the bathtub and adjusting the water temperature. After such a long and tiring journey, she knew her boss would want to take a bath.

At the bookstore, Zhou Ze always took two baths a day, morning and night, without fail. If he went out, he would take another one upon returning.

Lawyer An took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed them onto Zhou Ze's bed. He took out another pack, removed two cigarettes, gave one to Zhou Ze, and put one in his own mouth.

“Hey, I got some ‘powder’ from the owner. Boss, do you want some?”

“Powder?”

“Yeah, Boss, you’re a doctor, you should have seen it. The owner's hooked on that stuff; his body's almost hollowed out. Even without any other bad luck, he probably doesn’t have many years left.

But this stuff can relieve pain. When I asked him for it, he played dumb at first.”

“I don’t want any.”

“Okay, right, they’re holding a barbecue tonight, Boss, are you going? There are residents here and friends the owner invited. It's called a barbecue, but it's kind of like a speed-dating party.

Damn it, I didn’t notice before, but now I feel like this Lijiang is full of the scent of lust.”

In fact, not only Lijiang but also Dali and other places actively used this as a selling point in their external promotion and hotel and guesthouse marketing.

Zhou Ze shook his head.

He wasn’t interested in anything related to "high."

At that moment, Yingying, who was filling the bathtub, turned around and said,

“Boss is injured; how can he go?”

Lawyer An smiled slyly, put his palms together, and said,

“Can do the Amitabha.”

Seeing that Zhou Ze wasn’t interested, Lawyer An didn’t linger. He got up and limped out again.

Looking at Lawyer An’s desolate and embarrassed figure,

Zhou Ze felt a sense of admiration rising in his heart.

Even in this state,

he still wanted to have fun,

wasn’t he afraid of Amitabha-ing his bone fractures into complete breaks?

“Boss, the water’s ready. Come soak.”

With Yingying’s support,

Zhou Ze got into the bathtub,

and found the water a bit too hot.

“Too hot? Boss, should I add some cold water?”

“No need, just sit in here with me.”

………………

The evening barbecue party was held on the roof of the guesthouse. Two barbecue grills were set up, and a group of men and women sat around them. More residents and friends of the owner were arriving.

Xu Qinglang sat on a chair to the side, drinking beer. Lawyer An had dragged him here.

“Those few, you can tell at a glance, are in that business nearby. Though they’re trying to act innocent, that air of debauchery can’t be hidden.

Those sitting over there should be tourists staying here. Too bad they’re not that pretty, tsk tsk."

Xu Qinglang continued to drink,

ignoring the chattering guy beside him.

The owner was in charge of the barbecue. He seemed to have just done some powder, full of energy, and in high spirits. After the barbecue started, to liven up the atmosphere, he let anyone who wanted to try take over the barbecue while he picked up his guitar and started playing and singing.

Surprisingly,

he sang really well,

his level was no worse than those popular resident singers in bars,

and he was singing his own original songs.

Lawyer An sighed, feeling a little sorry. The guesthouse was doing well, and he was talented. If he didn't touch that stuff, how carefree and comfortable would his life be?

Halfway through the barbecue party, several newly acquainted men and women had caught each other’s eyes and gone downstairs to the rooms for further exchanges.

Of course, while some were indulging in impulse, most were negotiating prices.

“Why don’t you go have some fun?”

The owner walked to Lawyer An with a beer, smiling.

He treated Lawyer An as one of his own, after all, Lawyer An had bought things from him before.

“There aren’t many good-looking ones.”

Lawyer An’s taste had always been very picky.

Sometimes Lawyer An was quite envious of Old Daoist. Old Daoist never lacked big sisters in difficult life needing care wherever he went.

“Can’t find anyone you like? Isn’t the one next to you quite pret…”

The owner reached out and pointed at Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang heard this,

and glanced over coldly.

Only then did the owner see Xu Qinglang’s Adam’s apple.

“Uh…”

He was actually a man.

“Hahahaha!”

Lawyer An laughed,

and poked Xu Qinglang.

“Hey, aren’t you going to have some fun?”

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?

Xu Qinglang shook his head and continued drinking.

Seeing Lao Xu playing profound and lonely there, Lawyer An pouted jealously.

What was that saying,

because you’re not handsome enough, you can’t know how proactive girls can be.

At this time,

someone downstairs seemed to be calling for the owner.

The owner chuckled and went down.

Lawyer An then said to Xu Qinglang, “Why don’t we get a deck of cards and go downstairs to play Dou Dizhu with the boss and Yingying?”

“I’m going to walk around the Old Town.”

“Hey, you’re no fun.”

Xu Qinglang went downstairs, and Lawyer An continued to sit on the roof, looking at the stars and drinking beer.

…………

After taking a bath,

he felt refreshed.

Yingying helped Zhou Ze change his clothes. Zhou Ze didn't go back to bed but sat in the armchair in the room. Yingying stood behind him, massaging his head.

Zhou Ze picked up the token. To be honest, he wasn’t used to the change from a booklet to a token. It was convenient to carry the ghost-hunter certificate in his wallet, but would he have to tie this token around his waist?

If people saw it outside, they would probably think he was an idiot, after all, this wasn’t the era of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Little Loli Yue Ya and the others had called. Yingying answered, congratulating their boss on finally being promoted to Constable, and they had finally gone from contract workers to permanent staff.

Moreover, after officially becoming a Constable, Zhou Ze’s merit points were reset to 2100, and a column for merit value was added. However, Zhou Ze’s merit value was 100100, already off the charts.

The merit of guiding tens of thousands of military souls back was indeed terrifyingly large.

Furthermore, after officially becoming a Constable, when Little Loli and the others did business, even if he did nothing, he would get a share, and his merit points would slowly increase.

After the promotion, Zhou Ze didn’t feel much joy. Perhaps after seeing the ugly state of the Yama Kings in Hell, he felt that this Constable position wasn’t a big deal.

The reason he was thinking of getting promoted now was first to protect himself, and second to stand higher so he could more easily find a way to awaken Tie Hanhan (Iron Head).

At this moment,

the token in his hand suddenly trembled.

A blue dot appeared on the token, in the very center. Next to the blue dot was a black dot, and the black dot was moving toward here.

Was it a local ghost-hunter from Lijiang?

Running towards me?

Zhou Ze felt strange. He was a Constable from Tongcheng, thousands of kilometers away, and there shouldn’t be any connection.

Moreover, given Zhou Ze’s personality and his current injuries, he really didn’t want to socialize at this time.

After thinking for a while,

he looked down at the token again, only to find that the moving black dot had disappeared.

Did it,

die?

Or…

“Yingying, open the door.”

“Okay, Boss.”

Yingying opened the room door.

The moment the door opened,

a woman in a black rider's outfit, covered in blood, fell directly down.

“Boss, what do we do?”

Yingying turned to look at her boss.

Zhou Ze waved his hand.

“See if she’s dead or not?”

Yingying squatted down to check and replied,

“She’s badly injured; it feels like she’s about to die.”

“Oh,

then give her another stab,

to make sure she’s dead.”

“…………” Female ghost-hunter.