Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The young man froze for a moment, then abruptly pointed at Chen Ji: "You… you, it was you! You killed me?! So you really are a ghost servant?!"

Chen Ji couldn't even be bothered to sigh. "Forget it, take your time to think. It's too late; I'm going to sleep."

With that, Chen Ji picked up Second Master Huang and went inside.

Chen Ji paid no mind to any of this. It wasn't his concern to begin with. When someone else was in trouble, he had called the police and even gone to the station, feeling he had done his utmost. As for why the young man came here, he had no idea. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble—wasn't it said that hell guards would come to collect souls? Let the hell guards handle it.

After the day's unexpected events, Chen Ji made some late-night snacks and offered them before the deity statue to atone for his actions. As he finished tidying up and prepared for bed, he noticed a red shadow watching him from the chicken coop. His steps faltered, but his gaze didn't waver. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized it wasn't the kind of red shadow he had imagined, but a red fox.

The red fox was perched on the chicken coop fence, looking utterly pathetic. Seeing Chen Ji look its way, it let out a few extremely aggrieved whimpers. Feeling a pang of guilt, Chen Ji turned and went to the kitchen, retrieving the leftover oden and a large piece of pork belly he had just bought at the supermarket, then headed back to the chicken coop.

The red fox didn't rush to eat the food Chen Ji brought. Instead, it pawed at Chen Ji's pant leg, its two hind legs constantly bouncing as if trying to leap into his arms. Amused, Chen Ji bent down and picked it up. The red fox, as if mimicking someone, immediately buried its head against Chen Ji's cheek, rubbing vigorously.

The soft, silky fur brushed against Chen Ji's neck, making him chuckle. He gently pushed its muzzle away with one hand: "No licking."

Before he finished speaking, a pink tongue darted through the gaps between his fingers.

The red fox seemed to realize it had misbehaved, whimpering softly with a guilty air. Suddenly, a voice chimed in: "It's faking it; it's doing it on purpose."

Chen Ji looked up to see Second Master Huang, an aloof rodent, sitting cross-legged on the rooftop under the moonlight. Its eyes were slightly closed, and its body was enveloped in a faint silver glow—whether from itself or the moon was unclear.

The red fox promptly buried its head in Chen Ji's chest, trembling uncontrollably. Chen Ji chuckled, holding it tighter, and called out, "Second Master Huang, aren't you home yet?"

"The moonlight is lovely tonight, so I'm meditating here," Second Master Huang replied, then paused before adding, "This red fox sees you have good food and drink and wants to stay. It's just trying to charm you."

Chen Ji laughed, looking down at the red fox and asking, "Really?"

The red fox finally lifted its head, nodding timidly and coyly. Chen Ji ruffled its head but hadn't yet decided whether to let it stay—keeping a fox wouldn't impoverish him, but raising a small animal came with responsibilities.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then told the red fox, "You're welcome to visit me often."

Compared to having it stay permanently, he preferred relationships like the one he had with Second Master Huang—dropping by occasionally for a meal or some fun. He welcomed friends, as it kept things light and burden-free for everyone.

The red fox whimpered, rolling around in Chen Ji's arms, putting on a dramatic display of distress. Chen Ji simply set it down, letting it roll around until it was covered in grass stalks.

Seeing Chen Ji's calm and gentle expression, devoid of any softening, the red fox reluctantly got up, rubbed against Chen Ji's pants, and obediently went to eat its meal.

Chen Ji then left the chicken coop, went to the well, and slowly washed his hands with a bucket of water. Looking up, he saw Second Master Huang still meditating with a solemn expression. Curious, he fetched a ladder, climbed onto the roof, and sat beside Second Master Huang.

Second Master Huang now exuded the demeanor of an enlightened spirit, silent and unmoving, with a dignified presence. Chen Ji propped his chin in his hand, watching it, then suddenly asked, "Second Master Huang, why did that young fellow return to Little Green Mountain?"

Without opening its eyes, Second Master Huang replied: "Probably due to some karmic ties. He died here, young and unable to let go, so it's not uncommon for him to be trapped in the mountains."

"It's not a big deal. Some people move on once they come to terms with things. If the hell guards have time, they'll come to fetch him."

Chen Ji nodded at this. "Alright, then I won't worry about it."

From his vantage point, he could see a corner of the young man's bright yellow windbreaker under the eaves. The young man seemed to be sitting with his knees drawn up, lost in thought. Chen Ji smiled wryly and said to Second Master Huang, "I'll head down now. Take your time meditating."

Second Master Huang acknowledged him, and Chen Ji carefully climbed down the ladder. Passing the side bedroom, he saw that Xiangxiang was already asleep, so he softened his steps and entered the master bedroom. System Cat let out a yawn: [Wake up early tomorrow. That young man's family has already arrived in town. They'll definitely contact you tomorrow.]

Chen Ji: [They're here already?]

[Yeah.] System Cat, curious, had tapped into the official surveillance cameras to snoop. [He's their only child, so of course they came quickly.]

Chen Ji spaced out for a moment, lost in thought, before going to shower and sleep.

Around midnight, Chen Ji was awakened by faint, distant crying. He had become sensitive to such noises lately, and once he heard them, he couldn't ignore them.

3 a.m.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and got out of bed with a grim expression.

The moment his feet touched the floor, System Cat jolted awake and bit his arm. [Holy shit! Chen Ji, wake up!... Oh, you're already awake?]

System Cat met Chen Ji's alert eyes and sheepishly let go.

Two small puncture wounds welled up on Chen Ji's arm. He grabbed a tissue to press against the wound, but a faint smile touched his lips. He ruffled System Cat's head. [It's fine. I suddenly felt like having a snack. I'll go get some. You stay here.]

[Okay... bring some for me too.] System Cat laid its head down and fell asleep instantly.

***

The young man sat with his knees drawn up, silently weeping, sniffling occasionally. This mountain was terrifying. For some reason, sitting alone here made his skin crawl—even though he was a ghost himself! Why did he still feel like he was being watched by something sinister?

He was certain that if he left the temple gate, he would die. Something had already set its sights on him but was holding back because of the mountain god's presence. So he had no choice but to stay put, hoping for dawn to come quickly... Weren't the hell guards supposed to come for him? Where were they?

His mother had probably seen his body by now, but he couldn't be there with her. He had thrown his life away so young, and he didn't know how heartbroken she would be... The thought made his tears flow uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he felt a faint light beside him. Rubbing his tear-blurred eyes, he turned to look and saw a pile of snacks, a large bottle of cola, and an older-model Huawei tablet that had appeared out of nowhere.

He stared in disbelief for a while before tentatively reaching out to touch them. To his surprise, he could interact with the items—even the tablet lit up when he touched it, and it was connected to Wi-Fi!

Why were these things here? Had his mother burned them for him?

The young man was starving. Even though he was dead, his stomach felt like it was on fire. He glanced around cautiously, then tore open a pack of beef jerky and stuffed it into his mouth. The savory, rich flavor spread across his tongue, and he nearly cried from how moved he was by the simple snack.

After wolfing down half the snacks and gulping down a good portion of the cola, he felt much better. He picked up the tablet, which clearly belonged to someone else. It had several high-tech looking apps he didn't understand, filled with black backgrounds and green code.

He closed the apps and obediently opened a video platform, selecting a random video to watch.

...

On the other side, Chen Ji waited until the fire in the brazier had completely died down before dousing it with water to prevent accidents. Turning to the white tiger, he said, "Xiangxiang, I'm done."

The white tiger, lazily lying nearby, got up and walked over to Chen Ji.

The yard smelled unpleasant, but Chen Ji felt lucky the battery hadn't exploded, so he didn't mind too much. He reached out and rubbed the white tiger's head. The white tiger was used to this by now and even tilted its head to nuzzle his palm.

Chen Ji smiled faintly and pinched its ear. "Mimi, are you sure we don't need to do anything about the person outside?"

The white tiger nodded. Chen Ji let out a relieved sigh. "That's good."

He patted the white tiger's rear, causing it to leap three feet into the air as if startled. It landed and looked back at Chen Ji warily. Chen Ji kept a straight face. "Let's go, time for bed."

He walked past the white tiger, which hesitated for a moment before following him back inside.

Chen Ji slept relatively well that night, though he occasionally heard sounds like "FirstBlood" and "Double Kill" in his half-dreams. Otherwise, everything was peaceful.

The next day, around 8 a.m., Chen Ji received a phone call. The voice on the other end was hoarse: "Hello, I'm Zhou Yunfan's mother. Thank you for bringing my son back yesterday... Could we meet? I'd like to thank you in person."

Chen Ji replied, "I'm sorry, Ms. Zhou. I live up in the mountains, and it's not convenient for me to go to town. If you'd like to discuss the situation, we could do a video call?"

"Okay, thank you... Are you available now? Would half an hour from now work?"

Chen Ji checked the time and agreed.

"Thank you," Ms. Zhou said and hung up.

Her assistant, seeing she'd hung up, approached and whispered in her ear, "Boss Zhou, we've looked into it. He really is just someone from the mountains with no connection to the young master... I've sent the information to you."

Her eyes red and swollen, the woman wiped them with a handkerchief and said hoarsely, "Yeah, get the money ready. We should thank them properly."

"Got it, Boss Zhou."

Ms. Zhou opened Chen Ji's file. She had barely slept all night, only crying until she passed out just before dawn. In that moment, she had a dream—a dream of that little brat sitting at the entrance of a temple, eating chips and playing games... That rascal!

At the thought, tears fell from her eyes again.

Suddenly, her finger stopped as she scrolled through the documents.

...This temple... How is it the same as the one in her dream?!

She immediately said, "Get everything ready. We're leaving for Little Green Mountain in forty-five minutes."

"Yes, Boss Zhou."