Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Huh? …If it’s not illegal, then go ahead." Second Master Huang held back for a long time before muttering under his breath, "…You, a grown man, checking out a handsome guy?"

"What’s it to you?" The red-clad ghost flared up immediately, hands on hips. "What’s wrong with me, a grown man, looking at a handsome guy? Who are you to tell me what to do! I’m looking! What are you gonna do about it?"

"Oh ho! Getting worked up, huh?" No sooner had Second Master Huang spoken than he and the red-clad ghost said in unison, "Hey, fellow townspeople!"

"I’m from F City."

"What a coincidence, me too!"

The young policeman watched as Second Master Huang dashed out the door, feeling a bit disappointed. "Huh?"

He’s leaving? Didn’t even get to pet him once.

Watching the ghost and the weasel outside already calling each other 'big bro' and 'little bro' with arms around each other’s shoulders, Chen Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. "He got his treat today. Next time you come, let me know. I won’t feed him, so you can do it."

The young policeman nodded. Freed from Second Master Huang’s soul-captivating array, he remembered the serious matter at hand and turned to urge, "Liu Daming, aren’t you done yet?"

Liu Daming grinned ingratiatingly, "Done, done. Can I go now?"

The young policeman and Chen Ji scanned the area and found no remnants. Just as the young policeman was about to say, "You can go," Chen Ji suddenly heard the red-clad ghost outside say, "Hey, that old bastard stuffed one in the brick crack!"

Second Master Huang: "So what if he left one?"

The red-clad ghost: "Ah, what can I do? Just following the rules, I gotta scare that handsome young guy a bit~ We’re all brothers here, I’ll just go through the formalities!"

Second Master Huang: "Deal! Let me tell you, that kid Chen Ji is a great cook. I’ll have him prepare a feast tonight, and we’ll have a few drinks, bro!"

Red-clad ghost: "Then it’s settled!"

Chen Ji’s eye twitched slightly, but he didn’t deny it. Hadn’t his grandfather’s notes written it clearly? Red-clad ghosts—avoid if possible! If unavoidable, don’t provoke them! It’s just a meal, so eat! He had plenty of pre-cooked dishes to go around.

To prevent Liu Daming from causing more trouble, the two policemen decided to escort him down the mountain. After completing the paperwork with Chen Ji, they bid farewell. Before leaving, Chen Ji added both of them on WeChat. Since no one had lived on this mountain before, the police rarely patrolled the area. But now that Chen Ji was living here, they’d have to drop by from time to time. Adding them on WeChat made it more convenient.

Once the police left, Chen Ji stepped outside. The closer he got to the red-clad ghost, the clearer it became. This red-clad ghost wasn’t like the ones in horror movies, just a piece of red cloth. Instead, he wore an elaborate red opera costume embroidered with dragons and phoenixes—or what seemed to be an opera costume? His features were delicate, tall and elegant. If not for the dark red, sinister aura surrounding him, Chen Ji would have thought it was a cosplayer who had lost their way.

As Chen Ji approached, the red-clad ghost stared intently at him, then suddenly covered his mouth with a light laugh, batting his eyes coquettishly. "Handsome, do you want to add me on WeChat too?"

Second Master Huang: "Huh? Bro, you’re really into this, huh?"

[Heehee.] The red-clad ghost giggled twice, then suddenly heard Chen Ji show his WeChat profile and say clearly, "Sure, would you like to come in for some tea?"

"Okay~" The red-clad ghost had just agreed when he seemed to realize something and abruptly stopped, then said in disbelief, "You can see me?! Huh?! You can hear me?!"

Chen Ji nodded, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Yeah."

The red-clad guy’s expression instantly shifted from eerie to dazed. He lowered his head, staring at his shoes as if trying to dig out a Seven-Star Luwang Tomb with his toes right in front of the Mountain Lord Temple and then bury himself on the spot. Forget adding WeChat friends—he just stuck his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Seeing this, Chen Ji put away his phone and tapped Second Master Huang on the head with his fingertip. Second Master Huang promptly climbed onto his shoulder, rubbing against Chen Ji’s cheek before feeling a bit embarrassed. But since Chen Ji seemed used to it, he played it cool and began introductions.

"This is your Zhang Cheng, Brother Zhang… Bro, I told you about him. This is Chen Ji, he lives in this temple!"

The red-clad ghost nodded vigorously, extending a hand to shake Chen Ji’s, then suddenly pulled back, remembering he was a ghost. "Ah, hello, hello! Sorry to bother you today!"

Red-clad ghosts are fierce spirits, heavy with malice. Living people who touch them would at least fall seriously ill, and those with weaker constitutions might even have their souls frightened away.

"Don’t mention it," Chen Ji said with a smile. "Why don’t you come in and chat? I’ll cook something, and there’s alcohol at home."

"No, no!" The red-clad ghost insisted repeatedly. "You have a proper god at home, I won’t disturb you! I’ll just sit outside!"

Chen Ji paused, but Second Master Huang couldn’t wait to start ordering food. "That’s settled then! Stop dawdling! Get us that pork hock, stir-fried greens, curry chicken… and that soup too, bring a big bowl! Also some fruit, snacks, and lots of egg yolk pies for me!"

"Alright," Chen Ji agreed, a gentle smile in his eyes. The red-clad guy glanced up at him, then silently lowered his head again. Chen Ji said, "Then I’ll go get a table for you."

"Sure, go ahead!" Second Master Huang waved a paw, jumping from Chen Ji to the red-clad ghost. Chen Ji turned and left. As he walked inside, he could still hear the red-clad ghost tugging at Second Master Huang, saying, "Oh my goodness, bro, why didn’t you tell me he could hear us? I was too embarrassed to even talk!"

Chen Ji rubbed the corner of his eye and carried the Ba Xian table from the main hall outside, along with three plastic stools. System Cat, who had hidden inside Chen Ji the moment it saw the red-clad ghost through his eyes, whispered, "Want me to give you a live commentary?"

"No need," Chen Ji said gently. "If you’re scared, hide. Don’t look too much, go browse online."

"Okay~ Love you, mwah~!"

System Cat went quiet, and Chen Ji headed into the kitchen. Outside, the ghost and the weasel were chatting animatedly, not bothering to lower their voices. Even in the kitchen, Chen Ji could hear everything clearly.

"Bro, what happened today? Was that old guy your enemy?" Second Master Huang had already taken a seat on a plastic stool, asking curiously.

Actually, it had come today because it sensed a red-clad ghost had come up the mountain to Chen Ji’s place. Thinking it had eaten and taken so much from Chen Ji, it felt somewhat indebted, so it hurried over. Who’d have thought it’d see two policemen, glowing with golden light (a supernatural perception), standing at the door? Since nothing seemed urgent, it decided to watch the show.

The red-clad ghost didn’t hold back. "Sort of an enemy, I guess! Brother Huang, you know our rules. That was my enemy’s father. Tsk, his son is scum, and so is he. He bought some sinister object from someone with skills to lure me here. If those two cops hadn’t shown up so fast, I’d have thought Chen Ji was with them!"

Once you become a red-clad fierce ghost, it’s standard practice to take out the enemy’s entire family.

"Huh? His son did you in?"

"Well, I was foolish, got tricked out of money and love. After we broke up, he killed me! Who else would I go after?"

The water in the pot was boiling now. Chen Ji put several bags of pre-made dishes in to heat. He first unpacked roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, and the like, arranging them on plates along with alcohol, and brought them out. The red-clad guy became noticeably more reserved upon seeing him and fell silent. Chen Ji set the food on the table, took out an incense burner, and lit three sticks of incense. The red-clad guy said sheepishly, "Thanks!"

"Don’t mention it. Enjoy the food; the main dishes are still cooking." Chen Ji nodded and went back inside. Once he was gone, the red-clad guy grabbed a bottle and chugged half of it. His social anxiety vanished instantly. He put a foot on the stool, slammed the table, and started cursing—calling the other guy a scumbag, himself a love-struck fool—with great passion.

By the time Chen Ji brought out the cooked dishes, the red-clad guy had already finished a bottle of liquor. His pale face was flushed, and in the sunset, he almost looked like a living person. When Chen Ji appeared, he didn’t bother to lower his foot, just waved and said, "Come, come! Sit!"

Chen Ji sat down, playing the part of a good host. He’d figured out the red-clad ghost’s story: he was gay, tricked by a man who took everything from him. The man said he wanted to come out and marry him but had no money for a house or car, making it hard to explain to his family. He manipulated the red-clad guy into scraping together funds.

After they bought the car and house, the man secretly started dating a woman and had a child. When the red-clad guy found out, he confronted him. The man pretended to comply, tricking him into taking wedding photos, then drugged him to stage cheating evidence. But he overdosed the drug, killing him.

The problem was, the man, thinking he was already dead, hired a feng shui master to bury him in front of his family’s old house—a Yin-heavy spot. With people constantly walking over him, the resentment festered, turning him into a fierce ghost. Later, the man sensed something wrong and actually found a master to help him flee abroad. So, the red-clad guy had to start with his family.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Help with what?" The red-clad guy slammed the table. "If I can’t chop him into eight pieces myself, I’m a coward! You’ve already been great, treating us to a feast… My family’s still being fooled by that idiot; they don’t even know I’m dead! Wahhh!"

Just as Second Master Huang was about to say something, a beam of light suddenly shone on them. The three instinctively turned toward the source and saw three young guys riding up on motorcycles, the light coming from their searchlights.

"Brother Chen!" Xiao Wang waved at Chen Ji, who was sitting alone at the temple entrance. "Brother Chen, we’re here!"

Chen Ji was surprised and stood up to greet them. "What brings you here?"

Xiao Wang got off the motorcycle and patted the pile of packages on the back seat. "Well, I saw your packages piling up. I had some free time today, so I thought I’d bring them up on my bike!"

Xiao Wang is Aunt Wang’s nephew. His parents run the village’s only small shop, which also serves as a courier station.

Chen Ji quickly thanked him. "This is a huge help! I’ve been busy lately and was worried about this!"

Xiao Wang and his friends had already noticed Chen Ji sitting alone but with three chairs set and incense burning on the table—probably honoring spirits or something. It gave him the creeps, and he was a little scared. He didn’t want to intrude. "We’re from the same village, don't mention it! We haven't even properly thanked you for what you did for my aunt! You go ahead with your business, we’ll head off now!"

With that, he ignored Chen Ji's attempt to stop him, turned around, and left. Chen Ji had no choice but to make a mental note to discuss it later.

The guy in red looked at the pile of packages and asked, "Chen Ji, what did you buy?"

Chen Ji hadn’t planned on checking, but at the question, he glanced down. The shipping address read "Maoshan Daoyuan Specialty Store, Ziwei Talismans (3 items)." A little embarrassed, he said, "Just some small things. Things have been a bit unsettled in the mountains lately, so I thought I’d buy something for protection."

Unexpectedly, the guy in red grew excited. "Protection? That’s great! Show us, quick! Luckily, both Brother Huang and I are here—just test it out on us! We’ll know right away if it works!"

Chen Ji: "…?"

Wait, can you just test this stuff so casually?