Chapter 4: Ghost Money

Suddenly, it seemed to awaken slightly, opening its eyes as if sensing something. It turned its head seemingly unintentionally and discovered that Lord Qin had draped his finest robe over itself, leaving it astonished and dumbfounded, wearing an expression as if it had seen a ghost

Qin Mu slipped slightly underfoot and nearly stumbled

Devoid of the numbness brought by tobacco, Zhu Tian, already in a state of extreme fear, looked around and suddenly became alert. It was silent, too silent. The sound of water that should have been present while the maid was bathing, as well as the hum of the air conditioning, had vanished without a trace, as if he were in a vacuum.

The three names that were on the verge of being forgotten reappeared in his mind. Zhu Tian enlarged those images and placed them on the table. These three images were indeed of those three individuals

Following this nonsensical statement are three images, strikingly realistic. The first depicts a man swinging an axe towards his own head; the second shows a man drinking molten iron; and the third features a man with a blank expression, surrounded by blue bubbles, as if lying in a liquid.

The woman smiled and pushed him away, saying she was going to take a shower. Zhu Tian was sunk in the sofa, thinking about that damned email from 2 days ago. If it weren't for that email, his previously peaceful life would not have turned into what it is now

Looking at Qin Mu like this, Xiao Bai almost fell off Qin Mu's shoulder, and the little bit of drowsiness had long since flown away. "Mu Mu... are you okay?" Xiao Bai's two eyes were filled with two big teardrops, swaying at the bottom of her eyes, but they just wouldn't fall.

Ghost money, it is actually ghost money!

With the impact of Qianshan, Zhu Tian's mind had gone numb. He could not clearly articulate whether it was fear or anger. He had never believed in any supernatural beings; it was only later, during his business dealings, that he would pay respects to Guan Yu or the God of Wealth. Deep down, he held a dismissive attitude towards such beliefs in ghosts and deities.

Little White dodged Qin Mu's hand, hopping onto Qin Mu's shoulder with a few jumps. Its long tail wrapped around Qin Mu's arm, and its little paw pressed against Qin Mu's forehead as it murmured: "No fever..."

I have calculated it. The esteemed official Qin raised his tail, changed his shoes while speaking, and prepared to go out

Yet another voice in his heart clearly told him that it was Qianshan, his face bearing the ashen hue that the living should not possess, that of the dead

Dr. Qin ... ... Dr. Qin ... ..." Like a drowning person grasping a life-saving straw, Zhu Tian murmured Qin Mu's name, gathering all his strength to run towards Qin Mu's residence

Zhu Tian ran out of the community without even having the time to respond to the security guard's greeting, as if taking one more step would make him a bit safer. In the midst of his running, Zhu Tian could not understand why the face of Qin Mu kept appearing in his mind: "I can fulfill any wish of yours"

Where do the ghost coins come from

Without taking the elevator, Zhu Tianmai ran up the stairs with his short, stout legs, as if he were using all his strength. He wanted to escape from this place as quickly as possible, but the weight of his body made him pant after just a few steps. Why are these damned stairs so long, so endless

"What are you making a fuss about, you little rascal?" Qin Mufu said seriously, brushing aside a certain white paw.

At that moment, Zhu Tian, who was sunk into the sofa, shivered as he recalled the past

Qianshan

Squinting his eyes to take a closer look, Zhu Tian seemed to be holding a hot potato, quickly dropping it to the ground

"Who did you hear that from?" Xiao Bai was astonished, as it had been staying by Qin Mu's side and had not seen him go out.

"Liya?" Zhu Tian called out, a voice that felt as if it did not belong to him. The sound was sharp and filled with fear; in such an empty room, it not only failed to bolster his courage but instead startled him.

There is not much money left at home, so we can only eat instant noodles... Wuwuwu... I will never steal your food again, look at you, you are so hungry that you are hallucinating... If you starve to death... what will I do... I will definitely be laughed at by those colleagues... Wuwuwu... By then, you will be the first shaman to starve to death... and I will be the first spirit attendant to starve to death..." Little Bai cried out while rubbing her eyes.

Zhu Tian stared blankly at the scene before him, seemingly in a daze for a long time. Suddenly, he let out a loud roar, as the image before him overlapped with a certain scene from his memory. The memories sealed deep within his heart were awakened, and a sense of despair surged from the depths of his being, sweeping over him like seaweed. Zhu Tian shouted loudly, scrambling to his feet in a panic, and rushed out of the room.

Finally, when Zhu Tian was on the verge of despair, he burst out of that residential building. The people strolling in the community were all puzzled, wondering how such a fat man could run so fast on such a hot day, as if something was chasing him from behind.

She has returned, she has returned

Zhu Tian, undeterred, took out a cigarette once again. At that moment, something in his pocket fell to the ground along with it. Zhu Tian stiffened his neck and looked down, noticing several oddly shaped coins that had dropped at his feet. He casually picked them up.

He did not use the company's external email, but instead sent it directly to his personal email. At first, he thought it was just some junk mail and did not pay attention to it. Later, after the secretary left, he remembered this matter while browsing the web out of boredom. He casually opened that email, but the content inside contained only a single line of text and a few images

In the bathtub, Lia floated on the surface of the water, her body bare. The iron wire that was originally hanging the shower curtain had somehow become entangled around Lia's neck, and blood gradually seeped through the wire into the bathtub beneath her. On the wall of the bathroom facing the door, several large characters were written in blood:

You are next

The next one is you

Once again, it is a morning, and the little fox is sleeping contentedly on the only table in the living room, its fluffy tail draped over itself like a blanket. At this moment, the sunlight has not yet reached this spot, and the little creature sleeps very satisfactorily, a hint of a suspicious silver line lingering at the corner of its mouth

Zhu Tian was taken aback, slowly moving to the bathroom door. He was shocked to see pink water flowing out from the crack of the door, seemingly in fear of something. His right hand trembled as he pushed the door open, but the sight inside made him fall to the ground.

"Where to?" Little Bai wondered if it was in a fantasy, as Qin Mu, who usually slept in, was actually awake at such an early hour. It rubbed its eyes, and Qin Mu stood in front of it with a beaming smile.

He sprang out of the sofa like a carp leaping from the water, Qianshan! Just now, while eating at the night market, the handsome man sitting across from him with an expressionless face was none other than Qianshan! That was what Qianshan looked like over twenty years ago!

After browsing through the images, Zhu Tian did not find them particularly novel; such composite images are abundant online and merely serve to attract attention without much originality. Just as Zhu Tian was about to close the email, three names suddenly sprang to his mind

Zhu Tian shook his chubby head and large ears, the chill in his heart causing the warmth he had just obtained from the female slave to vanish without a trace. He repeatedly reminded himself that such a thing was impossible; that person merely resembled Qian Shan. Moreover, in that kind of lighting, nothing could be seen clearly.

Zhu Tian felt a shiver run down his spine as a strange thought crossed his mind: could it be that the night market was not meant for the living, but for the dead? Once this thought took root, it spread through every corner of Zhu Tian's being like wild grass. Since receiving that inexplicable email, his life had been engulfed in extreme fear

"Eat." Qin Mu reached out and picked up Xiao Bai

Jian Chen, Lian Xiangnan, Qian Shan

Two days ago, what was he doing? Zhu Tian patted that bloated head, thought for a moment, and realized that he was enjoying the services of the new secretary in the office, just as he was pinning that flirtatious light beauty down on the desk when the email unexpectedly arrived

This thought made Zhu Tian, the hefty man, tremble all over. Shaking and shivering, he fished a cigarette out of his pocket, but the sweat pooling in his palm caused him to fumble several times, preventing him from igniting the lighter. Instead, he lost his grip and dropped the cigarette on the ground

If one were to fall flat on the ground, that would truly be a disgrace to the shaman. Qin Mu touched the tip of his nose, wondering how there could be a spirit attendant so fond of undermining its master.

"Mu Mu, I am not trying to criticize you..." Xiao Bai's voice sounded at Qin Mu's shoulder: "Your skills have always been below standard..."

The fear in his heart grew larger and larger, and he finally remembered what had been troubling him for two days. He originally thought that by distancing himself from that place, changing his name and identity, everything would be in the past, but he was merely deceiving himself all along

The next one is you! A scent of a curse lingered in the air, and Zhu Tian shivered. The relationship between these three individuals and Zhu Tian is something only the four of them can truly understand. Looking at the third image, with Qianshan's expression of agony, Zhu Tian's first reaction was to make a phone call

"Walking." Qin Mu tidied up his attire and was about to leave.

"Alright, Manager. " Qin Mu had three black lines on his forehead, finding it increasingly absurd as he listened. He simply interrupted it, chuckling as he patted Xiao Bai's forehead, "Someone is treating us to a meal today"

As usual, he opened the door, and a shadow rushed in. Qin Mu reacted quickly and jumped aside, causing the shadow to crash to the ground with a loud "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust. After coughing for a while, Qin Mu finally saw the face of Zhu Panzai clearly when the dust settled. Looking at the pale and unconscious figure of the hefty man, Qin Mu smiled broadly, revealing his teeth: "I told you, someone is treating us to a meal today"

It was just the series of events he encountered today that made him unable to refrain from thinking in that direction. Zhu Tian pondered carefully; aside from having a meal at the boss's place and getting some change...

It was not yet time to wake up, the little fox's ears twitched, and it stood up with its eyes closed, stretching out a long yawn, unconsciously wagging its tail, intending to change its position and continue sleeping.

Change ... ... Night Market ! Money Mountain !