Chapter 023: Paths Not Imagined.

Chapter 023: Paths Not Imagined.

The next day, Chi Shen went to work as usual.

Despite working overtime the previous day and lacking proper rest, the thought of facing a squeaky-clean office lifted his spirits, and he cheerfully got up, got dressed, and headed out.

Since the Bai family's old mansion was located quite remotely from the bus station, requiring an hour-long commute, Chi Shen often took naps during the bumpy bus rides, trusting Ji Xingchen to wake him up if needed.

Chi Shen slowly drifted off to sleep on the bus, while the Bai family's old mansion, after a tumultuous night, also plunged into deep slumber.

The autumn sun gradually climbed over the moss-covered, gray-tiled roofs of the old house. Yellow flowers, growing amidst the moss, blossomed brilliantly under the sun's embrace, gently swaying along with the weeds in the soft breeze.

In the gentle breeze, a pale hand closed the door to Chi Shen’s room. Silence followed. The headless ghost, which had been wandering around searching for its head, took its massive axe and entered a room. The door shut behind, and everything inside went quiet. Bai Wan’s room returned to its dilapidated state, with the red wedding decorations and candles nowhere in sight. Only an ancestral tablet remained on the deteriorating bedside. Countless spirits retreated to the shadows, choosing to hibernate under the ample sunlight.

At that moment, the haunted mansion exuded a tranquil ambiance, reminiscent of age-old southern mansions, evoking a sense of time's gentle caress, as if a handful of sand lost in the river of time.

Soon, a group of people entered the mansion, breaking the serenity.

They carried altars, candelabras, offerings, a golden statue of the Bai family's ancestor, and the remnants of an old telephone into the mansion.

They were all members of the Bai family.

The current patriarch of the Bai family was Bai Ximing, but he didn’t hold unilateral power over decisions regarding the old mansion. Clans are intricate entities, and for prominent clans like the Bai's, who tread between the realms of the living and the dead, complexities abound.

Just the family meeting the day before had lasted an entire day. Although Bai Ximing's father had passed away, he still had uncles alive. There were younger relatives whom he had to address as 'grandfather' and those who hoped for his early demise so they could claim the patriarch's position. The convoluted relations made discussions in meetings intricate.

Nevertheless, Bai Ximing was a resourceful individual. He spent a day unraveling the tangled web of opinions, asserted his authority as the patriarch, cited the Bai family's traditions, and forcefully pushed for a ritual to be held at the Bai family's old mansion.

Still, some disagreed. After all, it was Bai Ximing who had died, not them. And forcefully conducting a ritual at the Bai ancestral home could unleash a vengeful spirit that might lead to the downfall of the entire Bai family.

Ultimately, it was not Bai Ximing who came to conduct the ceremony but one of his uncles. Among the older generation, this uncle held significant prestige. He almost became the head of the Bai family but chose to honor tradition, yielding the position to his elder brother’s son, Bai Ximing, the direct heir.

The timing of the ritual was meticulously planned to coincide with the sun fully illuminating every rooftop of the Bai ancestral home. At this time, the spirits within the house would be most pacified, refraining from wandering, ensuring maximum safety.

By then, the office worker, Chi Shen, had already left for work, inadvertently missing their activities.

Chi Shen arrived at the office in high spirits. He cleaned his workspace, cheerfully turned on his computer, and prepared to embark on his day's "learning."

His colleague arrived shortly after. After clocking in, he exchanged a few words with Chi Shen, handed him a steamed bun, and then hurried off to the restroom.

In just one day, Chi Shen felt a close bond with his coworker, Ma Caijin. He even learned of his nickname, Ma Wencai, but since Ma insisted on not being called by that, Chi Shen simply referred to him as "Brother Ma."

Chi Shen believed his rapport with Brother Ma was not his doing but credited it to Ma Caijin's incredibly outgoing nature. Ma was so gregarious that he seemed less like someone working in game copywriting and more like a public relations specialist.

Just as Chi Shen launched a horror game, he saw Ma Caijin approaching from the restroom, a constipated look on his face, slowly making his way towards him.

Drawing close, Ma Caijin whispered mysteriously, "What did you do in the restroom yesterday?"

Chi Shen shot him a questioning look.

Ma Caijin went on without waiting, "I found a half-burnt candle on the sink and an entire unbroken apple peel in the trash! Someone was in the restroom last night, lighting a candle and peeling an apple. Incredible!"

Chi Shen nodded in agreement, "Incredible."

"You didn't listen to me and went to the restroom, right?" Ma Caijin continued, "After the boss and I left, you were the only one remaining. The janitors had cleared the trash by then. So, if someone went to the restroom afterward, it had to be you, right?"

Reluctantly, Chi Shen admitted, "It was me."

He hadn’t expected his seemingly unreliable coworker to be so observant and connect the dots. Although he could have denied it, there was no point. So, he confessed.

Ma Caijin slapped his thigh, "I knew it was you! Come on, Boss Li wants to see you!"

Chi Shen followed Ma Caijin to Li Xu's office.

The entire atmosphere of Le Dao Culture had lightened considerably. The once-omnipresent gloomy ambiance had vanished, even the receptionist appeared more vibrant. The entire office environment felt much more lively compared to the previous day.

Chi Shen was rather fond of this place. The pay was good, colleagues were amiable, the boss wasn't troublesome, and after his intervention, the ambiance had improved considerably. It would've been even better if there wasn't any overtime.

As he pushed open the office door, Chi Shen hesitated.

The temperature in Mr. Li Xue's office was at least a degree cooler than outside. He was draped in numerous specters, and behind him today was a new spirit that Chi Shen hadn't seen before—an elderly man, very old, struggling to walk, yet persistently attempting to cling to Li Xue.

Chi Shen became contemplative. If he wanted the company's environment to remain peaceful forever, he needed to address the root of the issue. However, that root was the boss, and he couldn't exactly tackle the boss...

A vicious cycle.

In that case, he'd opt for a more troublesome approach: finding out why Li Xue attracted spirits and resolving that issue.

As Chi Shen entered, Li Xue nervously adjusted his collar and asked with concern, "You were peeling an apple in the restroom last night. Did anything strange happen?"

"Yes."

Since they were all aware of the ghostly presence in the restroom, Chi Shen didn't hide the truth. He spoke slowly and calmly, "The person in the mirror smiled at me."

At his words, both individuals in the office inhaled sharply.

Li Xue leaned slightly forward, causing the elderly spirit, who had just clambered onto him, to abruptly fall. With worry evident in his eyes, Li Xue inquired, "And then?"

Chi Shen recalled, "He choked me, trying to drag me into the mirror."

Already cold, the atmosphere in Li Xue's office became even chillier upon hearing this. Ma Caijin shivered and remarked, "You're quite brave, coming to work in one piece after that. What happened next?"

"I called the police," Chi Shen stated.

Both of them: "...?"

A completely unexpected move!

"They rescued me and kindly escorted me home," Chi Shen explained. "They also informed me that the ghosts in the company had been dealt with, so I could return to work as usual."

Ma Caijin stared in disbelief, his entire worldview seemingly shattered, "That's... that's a thing?"

Li Xue nodded sagely, "Seems like calling the police did help."

"But isn't it too late to call the police if a ghost is already choking you?"

Li Xue mused, "Perhaps the police were already nearby."

"Or maybe his vitality is robust, allowing him to hold on longer?"

Chi Shen remained silent, just watching from the side. The two horror game designers quickly pieced together the story, unanimously agreeing that Chi Shen had a unique imagination and was truly talented.

"I initially considered convincing you to switch to programming, but it's clear now that you're truly suited for story design," Li Xu sighed with relief, smiling as he took a file from his drawer, "This is information on the game we're developing. Take a look."

Ma Caijin patted Chi Shen's shoulder but quickly withdrew his hand, feeling it was a bit cold. Laughing, he said, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I've been the planner getting criticized by players daily for three years!"

Chi Shen nodded, "Thank you, Brother Li and Brother Ma."

Before leaving, Chi Shen cast another glance at the elderly figure behind Li Xu. After the old man had fallen to the ground, a beam of sunlight happened to shine upon him. His already transparent body quickly vanished, leaving nothing behind.

Holding the files, Chi Shen returned to his desk, regretfully closing the "study material" on his computer. Recognizing that his proactive overtime work the previous night marked the end of his learning journey, he knew it was time to get to work.

Opening the file folder, he glanced inside. There were two documents: one was a proposal for a horror game based on a real serial killing case, specifically the Harbour City Serial Killings.

The other document contained detailed information on the Harbour City Serial Killings. It not only detailed the case's progression but also featured photos of the victims, insight into the murderer's psyche, and many photos taken by Li Xu himself. For this horror game, he had visited the actual crime scenes.

Chi Shen was aware that Li Xu had visited the scenes, and the broken floral dress had been brought back from one of those trips.

Through these documents, Chi Shen discovered even more.

He noticed that one of the victim's clothes looked familiar, seemingly identical to what his headless neighbor wore. He quickly looked at that victim's details.

Zheng Ming, decapitated.

The weapon used to behead Zheng Ming was a miniature version of the ax dragged around by the headless ghost.