“If you dig deeper, there are many more interesting things,” the Smiling Merchant said, glancing at the white fluff floating in the air, his mouth curved in the same calm arc. “No harm in letting me deliver some props more often—it’s also a chance to take a look around.”
Su Er’s eyes lit up. “There’s no limit on the number of times?”
The Smiling Merchant dashed his unrealistic hopes. “An instance allows at most three deliveries, or it would disrupt the balance.”
The echo of his words lingered, but the host had vanished without a trace.
Su Er stared at the spot where the Smiling Merchant disappeared and shook his head, soon returning his attention to the props. The three items he had just chosen were all for healing—and only for minor flesh wounds.
“Benefits are like a piece of meat; I didn’t even get a sip of the broth.”
Ji Heng: “Expected.”
The game was cruel, yet insisted on fairness. Even if Gou Baopu wanted to give more, he couldn’t get any extra.
Su Er sighed. “Princess Tea Flowerplays a good game of scheming—most ghosts just hope to be persecuted so they can claim insurance compensation.”
Princess Tea Flower, however, went the opposite route. Using the host’s identity, he hindered ghosts from scamming the insurance and then took benefits from Gou Baopu. Even if he ultimately didn’t succeed in tricking anyone, he could still gain something for free.
Ji Heng teased, “Is that why they call him Tea Flower?”
Su Er pursed his lips. “This green tea burns the mouth.”
Ji Heng’s mouth twitched slightly. “It’s fine as long as the situation’s favorable to you.”
For a moment, his smile disappeared, his brows furrowing. “Be careful—I have a feeling he has other plans.”
With many insect eggs destroyed, the white fluff that had been relentlessly pursuing the little clay figure finally paused for a while. Su Er felt his breathing ease, ready to take advantage of the moment to act.
Ji Heng: “Go to the fourth floor.”
After the ghost attacked the insects, it had used up some strength and was now drifting toward the fourth floor.
Seeing it move so freely, as if he could trace the ghost’s path with his eyes, Su Er couldn’t help but marvel at the advantage of high spiritual power. On the way upstairs, he said, “I’m floating.”
In the past, he had barely managed to dodge; now he had to actively chase the ghost.
He spoke lightly, but neither of them smiled. Ghosts were not to be trifled with; if it weren’t for the current lack of critical ‘sexual’ clues, no one would take such a risk.
The higher they went, the stronger the sense of cold and isolation. Just as they were about to step onto the last flight of stairs, Su Er’s expression changed in surprise. “Zhu Yu?”
Zhu Yu hadn’t expected anyone to appear suddenly. After her initial shock, she quickly regained composure. “It’s you.”
Her clothes were streaked with blood, and there were several cuts on her arms.
Su Er tossed a healing item he had just gotten from the Smiling Merchant. Before it could be refused, he spoke: “I don’t like owing favors.”
Previously, she had helped rescue the little clay figure, spending one item in the process.
“Thanks.” Zhu Yu didn’t fuss over taking the item downstairs and explained as she left, “I’m going to the restroom.”
“We…” Su Er noticed Ji Heng seemed to be watching Zhu Yu’s retreat with his peripheral vision. He swallowed the unfinished sentence and asked, “Something wrong?”
“The wounds.” Ji Heng said, “All neat scratches, nothing to do with insect bites. From the angles, it looks more like she cut herself.”
“Self-harm?”
Ji Heng nodded.
There were countless enemies in the instance, but this was the first time he’d seen someone harm themselves. Su Er recalled Xu Yangyang saying Zhu Yu was a bit ‘spooky,’ and now it made some sense.
“Forget it,” unable to figure out why, he decided to act pragmatically. “Zhu Yu doesn’t seem to want to get too involved. Ignore her for now.”
After all, the favor had been repaid; if things escalated in the future, there would be no need to hold back.
The fourth floor had very few white fluffs. The two of them deliberately chose dark, narrow corridors, like a sightseeing tour making stops along the way, but no ghost appeared.
Su Er said uncertainly, “Doesn’t seem to like us very much.”
“There must be another reason.”
Using his spiritual power, Ji Heng sensed an indescribable chill moving through the fourth floor.
Su Er gradually realized something was wrong. His senses were extremely sharp; he perked up his ears and caught faint ‘tap-tap’ sounds.
“South.”
The moment he determined the direction, he stepped toward it. As he neared the source, his steps slowed.
The sound seemed closer.
At the next corner, he suddenly faced an enlarged face. Su Er’s heart skipped a beat—managing not to fall backward already showed remarkable composure.
It was an aged face, wrinkles deep as ravines.
The old man had white hair, dressed plainly, his reading glasses loose and resting on the tip of his nose. Despite his age, his features still showed that in youth he had been a handsome, distinguished man.
He first looked at Su Er and disdainfully muttered, “No brains.” Then he strolled to Ji Heng, craned his neck to look, eyes glaring terrifyingly.
Ji Heng let the old man scrutinize him.
“Y-you, you are…” The old man felt a sense of familiarity. He banged his head hard but still couldn’t remember, finally saying, “You seem to have a brain.”
Su Er’s anger spiked, but he tried to keep his tone calm. “In another instance, he even copied my homework.”
Ji Heng did not deny it. He had once been a top student; after years without reviewing, almost everything had been returned to the school.
The old man stubbornly jumped to another topic, smiling eerily. “Before the moon appears, I want to eat the best brain.” He licked his dry lips. “Otherwise, I’ll take your brains.”
Su Er was speechless—just moments ago, the old man had looked down on him for being brainless.
Like an NPC that had finished giving a mission, the old man ignored them, hunched over, pacing back and forth while muttering complex formulas.
Ji Heng whispered a few words. Su Er shook his head. “Not sure… looks like the character for ‘horse.’”
The old man had a work ID hanging on his chest, though the details were blurry. Seeing the two of them hesitate, his hostility surged. “Go find something to eat!”
Ji Heng signaled with his eyes to move to a safe area.
After going down one floor and confirming they were out of the ghost’s sight, Su Er finally spoke: “That old man is mentally unstable.”
Ji Heng was evaluated purely on strength. “Ordinary ghosts tend to avoid; if he doesn’t, it means he’s extremely powerful.”
Su Er understood the implication. No matter how persuasive one was, it would be hard to convince a powerful madman. Completing the mission was the only way forward.
Ji Heng suddenly asked, “What do you think his profession was in life?”
Su Er thought for a moment.
“Go with your first instinct.”
Su Er: “Scientist.”
The old man constantly emphasized intelligence, liked reciting formulas—an unusual quirk.
“Also…” Su Er hesitated, then said, “The first time he saw you, his face screamed: ‘Where have I seen this person before?’”
Ji Heng found a place to sit and used his tablet to search for scientists with the surname Ma. The results were a mess.
Su Er: “Top-level research scholars usually have mostly hidden records.”
“Even if mad, his domineering personality is still obvious,” Ji Heng shook his head. “Such a person won’t settle for obscurity.”
Thinking further, he changed the search term to “academic celebrity from thirty years ago.”
There was too much information. Su Er helped search, and after straining his eyes, finally found an old photo. The media title read “Witness the True Style of a Great Figure.”
Su Er pointed at a person in the front row. “Is it him?”
The facial features were similar, though the person in the photo looked more spirited. The names were listed at the bottom; the third from the left was Feng Peng.
He quickly searched Feng Peng’s biography, ignoring high-level terminology he didn’t understand. Su Er focused on the information, though he still couldn’t help glancing at Ji Heng.
Twenty-seven years ago, the Peach Blossom Banquet was canceled. Feng Peng had been a prominent scientist of that era, possibly even acquainted with Ji Heng. Could there be a connection?
Ji Heng’s expression remained unchanged as he scrolled through the text, pausing on the last paragraph.
Feng Peng’s end was somewhat tragic. After a bitter argument, he angrily left the academy and soon died of a sudden heart attack. Rumors about his death circulated widely, with the most common saying he had actually committed suicide. Witnesses claimed that before leaving, Feng Peng had argued passionately, insisting that no one could surpass his intellect.
Su Er snapped back to focus, immediately catching the key detail. “Feng Peng also died twenty-seven years ago?”
Ji Heng: “Don’t overthink it yet.”
If the whistleblower was truthful, Feng Peng considered himself a genius. What they were after was his brain.
Su Er chuckled. “Catch the vengeful ghost, crack open his skull, and take the brain for reverse feeding?”
What an absolutely daring operation!
Before the experiment even begins, Feng Peng would probably treat them as dessert.
Ji Heng put away the tablet. “I’ll distract him. You try to take the photo.”
Su Er reacted immediately. “You suspect the old man doesn’t have a physical body?”
Ji Heng nodded.
Su Er: “But he makes sounds when he walks, and he’s very strong.”
Usually, only a corporeal ghost possesses such strength.
Ji Heng stood and looked upstairs. “We’ll see. By the way, how many items does Gou Baopu still owe you?”
Su Er shrugged. “Not many. The split was nine for him, one for me.”
Ji Heng: “Send a few more. Ghosts are sensitive to photos and can be easily provoked.”
Su Er didn’t hesitate, doing exactly as instructed.
Though they gained little benefit, they certainly enjoyed the fastest delivery—before the blood drops even spread on the stone, the Smiling Merchant had appeared.
“Meet again,” he said with a smile.
Su Er and Ji Heng prepared to extract information from the old man, while Princess Tea Flower studied an insurance contract.
Previously, Gou Baopu, worried about too many insurance-scamming ghosts, privately gave him a thousand strands of yin energy to prevent them.
Princess Tea Flower was not satisfied. The more severe the persecution, the higher the compensation. If this world were destroyed… a slow curl of his lips betrayed his plan. By guiding events step by step, he could achieve his intended effect.
But he had to control the process carefully to withdraw successfully before the instance collapsed.
“Anyway, this world is already full of holes…”
Might as well make the most of the last bit of energy.
After neatly folding the contract, Princess Tea Flower appeared in a dark corner the next second, watching with satisfaction as the Smiling Merchant traded items with Su Er.
The plan required a witness to show that the destruction of the world was caused by Su Er. The Smiling Merchant was perfect for that role. If all went smoothly, he would be the first—and last—to claim the insurance.
While still plotting his grand plan, a metallic, sweet taste suddenly filled his throat. Princess Tea Flower’s face changed drastically; blood spewed as his soul felt shredded.
Rule backlash.
“Why is this happening?” Princess Tea Flower struggled to figure out where he had gone wrong—he hadn’t directly violated any rules.
The sudden, intense pain prevented even basic analysis. The Smiling Merchant seemed to sense something unusual.
If the cause of the injury were discovered, it would inevitably become a joke among hosts. Princess Tea Flower valued his image and would never allow that.
What to do?
Seeing the Smiling Merchant about to turn, he swallowed his blood, gritted his teeth, and made a hard decision.
“Su Er! Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off!”
The anguished voice broke the silence of the library.
The next moment, the Smiling Merchant appeared.
“What happened?”
Princess Tea Flower gave a bitter smile: “I still underestimated Su Er…”
For the first time in history, the Smiling Merchant furrowed his brow.
Many hosts had suffered at Su Er’s hands, but one had almost lost half their life—this was a first.
After careful consideration, he made a judgment: the news must be made public, so everyone would know… Su Er had grown to a terrifying level.
Noticing the Smiling Merchant’s incredibly complex gaze on him, Su Er looked confused in the distance. Combining this with Princess Tea Flower’ previous furious roar, he froze for a moment: “He wouldn’t… think it was me?”
A cold laugh escaped Princess Tea Flower, her expression particularly grim: “Any sensible person would know it was Tea Flower scamming the insurance.”
Ji Heng shook his head: “Looks like the injuries are serious. Even if it were an insurance scam, it shouldn’t have reached this level.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment, both of them flickered simultaneously.
“......”a
Given all the previous reckless operations, sometimes even the hosts were inadvertently involved without realizing it. Su Er’s tone gradually became less certain: “Could it… really be me?”
The only person who knew the truth was still spitting blood, partly from injury, partly from anger.
Failing to steal the chicken but losing the rice as well, Princess Tea Flower paid a price far exceeding a thousand strands of yin energy to buy healing special medicine from the Smiling Merchant.
Once the transaction was completed, the Smiling Merchant immediately notified several of his regular colleagues. As a businessman, occasionally giving away some information for free was necessary to expand and grow the business.
Soon, the news spread like lightning among the hosts—and grew increasingly exaggerated.
- Princess Tea Flower was almost killed by Su Er, her body covered in blood.
- Princess Tea Flower was severely injured and disfigured by Su Er’s scheme, living a fate worse than death.
- Princess Tea Flower was on the verge of death; Su Er was terrifying beyond measure!
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