Chapter 9
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Can you forgive me?”
Such familiar words. Wu Shujie, lying face down with his hair pulled back, felt a soul-shaking pain.
He wanted to curse, but blood surged into his mouth, choking him.
The near-death experience cleared his head slightly. He frantically blinked at Wen Linyu, mumbling “It’s okay” repeatedly. He just wanted to be released. He felt his scalp tearing!
It hurts so damn much! What did Wen Linyu eat? Why was he suddenly so strong?
Wasn’t Wen Linyu a spineless wimp who never fought back?
Wu Shujie’s mind was a jumble of pain and confusion. The scene erupted in commotion.
“What’s going on here? Which class are you in? How dare you fight on school grounds? Let him go!” The same teachers who had been ten meters away before now rushed over, their faces dark with anger.
Wen Linyu released his grip, wiping his hand in disgust, and stood up, staring at the approaching teachers: “Didn’t you hear? I accidentally hit him. I already apologized, and he said it’s okay.”
“Nonsense!” The teachers glared at him. “You beat him to a pulp, and you call it an accident?”
“Why not?” Wen Linyu looked from the teachers to the now-standing Wu Shujie, smiling. “Isn’t that right?”
Wu Shujie flinched, too preoccupied with the pain to wipe the blood from his face, quickly agreeing: “Yes, yes, it was an accident. I’ve already forgiven him.”
The teachers were furious: “You… Come with us to the administration office!”
Wen Linyu sneered, remaining where he stood. Surrounded by onlookers, he looked around and said: “Last Friday, same time, same place, same incident. Why didn’t anyone call it nonsense then?”
“Last Friday?” One teacher looked confused, while the other, after scrutinizing Wen Linyu, looked embarrassed.
Wen Cheng, standing at a safe distance, gulped again, hesitantly stepping forward: “There are two security cameras here. We can check the footage from last Friday.”
Wen Linyu glanced back at him, remaining silent.
Wen Cheng shuddered. He was truly afraid of the current, ferocious Wen Linyu. He feared that even if he saw something, saying nothing might result in him receiving the same treatment one day. His small frame wouldn’t survive two of those blows.
Yes, Wen Cheng had witnessed the incident last Friday. Wu Shujie had smirked as he slapped Wen Linyu, who had simply covered his face and mumbled “it’s okay.” Wen Cheng had felt a surge of frustration. He had considered getting a teacher, but then thought that if Wen Linyu couldn’t stand up for himself, no one could help him.
Who could have imagined that in just three days, Wen Linyu would become this… dark and ruthless?!
In the end, the matter was brushed aside. The school’s security cameras were functional, and the footage from last Friday was easily retrieved.
Teachers had been nearby, yet they hadn’t intervened when Wen Linyu was assaulted. Therefore, they shouldn’t intervene today either. Otherwise, they would have to explain their biased behavior. Was it because Wen Linyu seemed easier to bully back then?
Wasn’t it the same today? Because the victim seemed weaker, they were persuading him to swallow his anger and let it go.
Wu Shujie was furious, cursing Wen Linyu and the teachers under his breath.
Despite this, Wen Linyu’s blatant disrespect towards the teachers prompted the school to call his parents. However, instead of the expected reprimand, they received a torrent of abuse from Wen Hongbo, who couldn’t stand hearing Wen Linyu’s name.
Worse, as Wen Hongbo was yelling, the teachers, who had the call on speakerphone, clearly heard the sound of a car crash, screams, and then the abrupt end of the call. Their faces paled.
They all feared being held responsible.
It sounded like a serious accident. If Wen Hongbo had been driving while receiving their call, his agitated state might have contributed to the crash. Even if they weren’t directly responsible, they were involved.
In the classroom, Wen Linyu, feeling the curious gazes of his classmates, twirled his pen, and suddenly chuckled. The gazes scattered like startled fish, their owners thinking: Holy crap! Why does Wen Linyu have such a villainous aura today? He’s smiling like he just eliminated someone!
As soon as the class ended, Wen Cheng rushed in, his forehead covered in sweat: “Brother, Dad’s been in a car accident! Come with me to the hospital!”
Wen Linyu stopped twirling his pen, thought for a moment, and smiled: “Alright.”
At the hospital, however, he was slightly disappointed. Wen Hongbo, sitting up in bed, was ranting and raving, his only injury a cast on one leg. He didn’t look like someone who had just been in a serious accident.
Was the white-bearded ghost incompetent? He would visit the graveyard again after school.
Or perhaps it was because he hadn’t spent any of his fortune today?
Thinking this, Wen Linyu went to the nearest lottery booth and bought a hundred lottery tickets. If he won the jackpot, he would receive five hundred million. Even after taxes, it would be a substantial sum.
As for how many years of his lifespan this fortune would cost, what did it matter to Wen Linyu? It wasn’t his life anyway.
After buying the tickets, he returned to school for his next class. His classmates were stunned. His father was in the hospital after a car accident, and he was attending class?
Wen Linyu remained focused. Ten years of studying had ingrained the habit. Although this school taught ordinary subjects, he had already learned them all in Gu Chi’s world.
He remembered his teacher’s speechless reaction when he had taken out a college entrance exam paper.
The thought of his teacher brightened his mood. A faint smile played on his lips all day, making the others even more uneasy.
However, his good mood was shattered. As soon as he left school, his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed “Wu Shuhao,” the son of the family his parents had abandoned him with, his foster parents’ precious child, his “dear” younger brother.
“Wen Linyu, you’ve gotten bold, haven’t you? Daring to hit my brother?” Wu Shuhao didn’t attend this prestigious academy, but he didn’t need to be in the same school to bully Wen Linyu.
“8 pm, come to XX Street, XX Apartment Complex. Alone. Otherwise, heh, those photos of yours will be enjoyed by every student and teacher in your school tomorrow.” Wu Shuhao’s threat was practiced and smooth. This leverage was too effective. Every time he used it, Wen Linyu would obediently comply, trembling with despair.
Like a lamb led to slaughter.
The thought excited Wu Shuhao. His voice was eager: “Come quickly. You know I’m not a patient person.”
Wen Linyu had dared to hit his cousin today. He needed to teach him a lesson.
Wen Linyu remained silent, a silence Wu Shuhao interpreted as his usual feeble resistance. It didn’t matter. He would come anyway.
This time, however, Wen Linyu’s silence was because he was looking up the address.
It was an abandoned apartment complex near the outskirts of the city, rumored to have terrible feng shui. Several workers had died mysteriously during construction. A master had been hired to perform a ritual, but he had died as well. The place was considered haunted, and no one dared to touch it.
A haunted, abandoned building. Wu Shuhao was so unoriginal, resorting to his usual ghost tricks.
The call had already ended, but Wen Linyu slowly replied: “Alright, I’ll be there.”
His plan to visit the graveyard could be postponed.
At 8 pm sharp, Wen Linyu arrived.
Weeds grew rampant in the abandoned complex. The green construction netting was torn and tattered, swaying eerily in the cool night breeze. The wind whistled through the building, making it sound like a mournful cry.
In the past, just entering such a place would have filled Wen Linyu with dread, but now—
He looked around. To his left, a fat ghost was sprawled on a pile of sand, picking its toes. To his right, an old lady ghost was collecting plastic bottles. Above, a long-haired female ghost was practicing her singing, only to crack on the first note, sending the other ghosts who had gathered to listen into fits of laughter.
It was hard to be scared. Ghosts were much more endearing than some humans.
He even asked a student ghost who was laughing heartily: “What are you doing?”
The student ghost, caught off guard, replied: “Hey, listening to Sister Hong’s concert. She used to be a big star, completely tone-deaf but insists she’s a diva, hahaha…”
“Haha, hic! Wait, you’re alive!” The student ghost suddenly realized, screaming, “Someone’s here, run!”
In the blink of an eye, the building was empty.
But the mournful cries continued, a trick orchestrated by Wu Shuhao. As Wen Linyu ascended the stairs, shadowy figures occasionally flitted past.
Wu Shuhao hid, chuckling, planning to record Wen Linyu’s terrified reaction and send it to his brother, Wu Shujie.
Of course, he had more than just childish scares planned. He had devised various “games” to humiliate Wen Linyu.
“What’s so funny?” Suddenly, a voice echoed behind him, accompanied by a gust of cold wind.
Wu Shuhao jumped, turning to see Wen Linyu. His momentary fear turned to disdain: “Tch, you actually found me this time.”
“Have you thought about how you’re going to atone for your sins tonight?” He grinned maliciously, his eyes raking over Wen Linyu, as if deciding where to “focus” his attention.
But as he looked, something felt wrong. Wen Linyu seemed… thin.
Not his clothes, but his body itself, as if translucent.
Wu Shuhao instinctively stepped back, but seeing the smile on Wen Linyu’s face, his anger returned: “You’re trying to scare me with ghost tricks? My brother was right, you need to learn your lesson!”
He threw a punch.
His fist met only air, sending him stumbling forward.
He steadied himself, his face registering shock. He turned to see Wen Linyu still standing there.
His feet weren’t touching the ground. He was floating, still smiling. The moonlight shone through his body, casting no shadow.
“Impossible!” Goosebumps erupted on Wu Shuhao’s skin. He tried again, his fist passing right through Wen Linyu’s body.
Empty.
He wasn’t human!
Wu Shuhao wet himself, his soul fleeing his body, literally.
Wen Linyu, disgusted, moved away, easily catching the fleeing soul, compressing it and pocketing it, without returning it to Wu Shuhao’s body.
“You’re so easily scared.” Wen Linyu returned to his own body. In Gu Chi’s world, there was a special secret realm where time flowed thirty times slower than the outside world.
He had spent a full year there. Although he hadn’t undergone the tribulation, his teacher had said he had reached Nascent Soul level, which meant he could project his soul.
Wu Shuhao, so fond of playing ghost, was so pathetically weak. Wen Linyu found it rather boring.
He pulled some hair from Wu Shuhao’s head and collected a drop of his blood, then, with his unexpected souvenir, took a taxi back to the graveyard.
“New job, who’s taking it?” Wen Linyu’s timing was perfect. The graveyard was hosting a party, bustling with ghostly activity.
Many ghosts were about to flee at his arrival, but then they heard his next words.
“Complimentary late-night snack included.”
He threw out Wu Shuhao’s captured soul. The ghosts stopped, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the cowering soul.
The white-bearded ghost arrived quickly, appearing before Wen Linyu before any other ghost dared to take the job.
He smiled kindly: “Young friend, you’ve returned. And you even brought a gift. How thoughtful.”
Wen Linyu looked at him, his voice cold: “You seem rather inefficient. I need someone who works fast.”
The white-bearded ghost’s ashen face turned green: “You… ahem. Perhaps you could be more specific, young friend? How could I possibly be inefficient?”
Wen Linyu glanced at him, reminding him: “Legs.”
The ghost fell silent. Truly a filial son, not only anticipating his desire for his father’s legs, but also so impatient.
He stroked his beard, explaining: “We’ve only just begun. These things take time. No other ghost is faster than I am.”
Ghosts had rules too. Taking something from a living person required their consent, regardless of how that consent was obtained. He had only been haunting Wen Hongbo for a day. How could it be so fast?
“Fine.” Wen Linyu wasn’t entirely satisfied, but didn’t press the issue. He produced another strand of hair and a drop of blood. “Exchange this one’s lifespan for money as well.”
He sounded slightly regretful: “This one isn’t a blood relative, so the fortune might not be as much. But it’s still profit, right?”
White-bearded ghost: “…”
Profit? Who could profit more than you?
“If you don’t mind me asking, are these all yours?”
Wen Linyu’s reply was concise: “Enemies.”
The white-bearded ghost imagined years later, the graves of this living Yama’s enemies covered in two-meter-tall weeds, while he himself became a super-rich tycoon…
This is… a true dark comedy.
