"Don't you think... the captain has been a bit strange lately?" Qiao Linglong said.
Inside the small wooden house, no more than a few dozen square meters, were plastered various pictures and autographed photos.
Hong Ya, Bai Wan, and Qiao Linglong gathered together.
More accurately, Bai Wan and Qiao Linglong had come to visit Hong Ya, who was on forced leave.
During the pollution source incident, when they were besieged by those black monkeys, the three of them had become comrades who had faced life and death together.
Plus, they often chatted afterward, so their relationship was quite good.
When they had time, they would get together like this.
They'd push two tables together, lay out some snacks and tea.
Everyone would eat, drink, and chat.
"He is quite strange,"
Bai Wan said casually, picking up a piece of fried peanut and crunching on it loudly.
"He seems particularly relaxed."
Qiao Linglong chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! The captain used to patrol our work, but now he doesn't even come!"
Bai Wan: "...crunch... I also heard, crunch... he went to the Shumo Zhai... crunch crunch..."
As Captain Jiang became more like a salted fish, the entire style of the Eighteenth Team changed with him.
In the past, under Jiang Lin's leadership, the entire Eighteenth Team had been driven to work hard.
Their performance ranked among the top of all Bai Wuchang teams.
But now—
The Eighteenth Team was permeated with an atmosphere of freedom and looseness.
"Isn't it amazing!"
Qiao Linglong tugged at Hong Ya, excitedly saying, "The captain actually reads novels! He's been binge-watching them all day!"
"A couple of days ago, I went to a teahouse to listen to stories, and when I turned my head, I saw the captain. I was so startled!"
Hong Ya cracked sunflower seeds, glancing at them indifferently.
"What's so strange about that? Pursuing happiness and enjoying life is only natural, isn't it?"
She added, "Ghosts are no exception."
"Besides..."
Hong Ya shifted her posture, bending one leg.
She cracked sunflower seeds while jiggling her leg.
"If you ask me, quitting is even more satisfying."
"Why work? It's just a way for upper-level ghosts to exploit lower-level ghosts. It's exhausting, thankless work."
She spoke to herself, completely oblivious to Qiao Linglong's increasingly shocked expression.
"...Sister Hong Ya?"
Qiao Linglong called out tentatively.
"What?" Hong Ya jiggled her leg and looked at her.
She was so casual.
"No, no..." Qiao Linglong was speechless.
She glanced at Bai Wan, who was equally surprised, and couldn't understand why Hong Ya would say such things.
She finally understood why she was on forced leave.
The subsequent gathering ended quickly because Hong Ya kept saying surprising things.
After leaving Hong Ya's place, Qiao Linglong mumbled, "What's wrong with Sister Hong Ya?"
Bai Wan left, holding a handful of small red fruits.
These small fruits were a specialty of the underworld, crisp and sweet.
They were delicious as snacks and made a crunching sound when eaten.
"Doesn't it seem somewhat similar to Captain Jiang's situation... crunch crunch..."
"You mean the captain..."
Qiao Linglong froze for a moment, then quickly realized.
"So, the two of them have truly undergone some kind of change... perhaps they encountered the same mission?"
"...Yes, crunch crunch... Captain Jiang is now taking on high-level missions... crunch crunch..." Bai Wan.
Qiao Linglong frowned, "Will this change last, or is it temporary..."
She felt a little worried, and a little excited.
For a moment, her expression was strange, "If it's continuous, Sister Hong Ya might be on leave forever."
"But if it's temporary..."
When Sister Hong Ya returns to normal, what will her expression and mindset be like when she recalls her current behavior?
"Cough cough..."
Qiao Linglong dared not think further, wanting to laugh but quickly suppressing it.
Bai Wan glanced at her, his mouth continuing its crunching.
...
Where did Jiang Lin find his leisurely experience at work?
Besides not urging or patrolling the team members' work.
Even when the golden area on his work log displayed missions about divine reincarnations, he seemed reluctant to deal with them.
A salted fish that turns over is still a salted fish.
Jiang Lin casually checked the mission target.
Since the target lived in the ghost market residential area, he went there after finishing his tour of the market.
It was a painter.
Around forty or fifty years old, with long, artistic hair, wearing various self-made patchwork clothing, giving an exaggerated impression.
His body was covered in paint marks and smelled of paint.
His shoes were also interesting, colorful cloth shoes with upturned tips.
Like his owner, he held his head high.
When Jiang Lin found his home, the painter was on the second-floor balcony, setting up his easel.
With a palette in one hand and a brush in the other, he was deep in thought.
Even when he noticed Jiang Lin, he merely nodded proudly.
"What is it?" the great painter asked.
Jiang Lin stood by the wooden railing, observing him for a moment, "A great painter who was extremely popular in the 20th century?"
The great painter straightened his back and raised his head.
As if to say, "Correct."
Jiang Lin recalled the mission information, "You lived in poverty, and your works were worthless. They only became popular after your death.
You were unwilling, so you couldn't reincarnate, right?"
Hearing this, the great painter's face turned red, as if his tail had been stepped on.
"Worthless? You, don't just spout nonsense!"
Jiang Lin nodded, "Well, becoming popular after death does indicate a certain appreciation value."
"Hmph!"
The great painter snorted coldly, it was unclear whether he agreed or was disdainful.
He lowered his head to continue his painting, not even willing to spare Jiang Lin another glance.
Jiang Lin didn't mind and curiously leaned closer to look at the painting.
He even changed angles from time to time to appreciate it from all sides.
Seeing him looking so intently, the great painter said, "Can you understand it?"
Jiang Lin: "I can't."
He could only see a pile of strange lines and color blocks.
"Hmph, this is abstract art. It's normal for an amateur like you not to understand."
The great painter stroked his curly hair, quite proud.
"The characteristic of abstract art is to try to break the traditional concept that painting must imitate nature..."
Perhaps it had been a long time since he had spoken to a ghost, but as soon as he talked about his specialty, he couldn't help but become talkative.
However, Jiang Lin was not here to attend a lecture.
He didn't want to know so much. Without waiting for the great painter to finish, he directly asked:
"Are you really not planning to reincarnate?"
This great painter was a reincarnation of a deity.
His recovery was also good, and perhaps after a few more treatments, he would be healed.
"If you are always fixated on the past, won't you miss out on more scenery and lose the greater for the lesser?"
"..."
The great painter stared, his breath caught in his throat because he was interrupted, unable to go up or down.
His gaze towards Jiang Lin became unfriendly again.
"What do you know about 'greater' and 'lesser'? What I think is good, that is great!"
...