In the dark night, high in the buildings.
Heads poked out of windows, pale faces, dark pupils reflecting the light of ghost fire.
What kind of underworld scene was this?
As the scent in the air grew stronger, more and more windows were opened.
When Jiu Ze poked his head out, he looked up and down and saw nothing but heads!
He almost thought there were ghost heads clinging to the building walls and immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.
But soon, he realized these were likely the residents of Building 2.
And these heads were looking around like him, seemingly searching for something.
Head after head looked at each other, silently questioning, faces contorted.
Who was releasing such a potent aroma in the middle of the night?!
Couldn't they wait until after 4 AM!
Drag them out and beat them to death!
In the dark night, no one dared to shout.
However, the sounds of empty stomachs and swallowing became increasingly noticeable in the silence.
Even ghosts who had no particular preference for food couldn't help but feel their throats move.
Everyone was supposed to be resting or cultivating, and the atmosphere was quite good.
But then someone suddenly released such an aroma, and at this time!
The more they couldn't go out, the stronger the temptation of the scent became.
Some ghosts couldn't help but open their storage bags, checking if they had any aged goods left to eat.
That night, the entire Building 2 was in an uproar.
...
Jiang Lin and the others didn't expect a meal to cause such a stir.
When they noticed the commotion in Building 2, Qin Zhouzhou even asked Da Yi and Xiao Er to look out the window.
They found everyone searching for something.
And their faces were all distorted, hateful, and terrifying.
At first, they were puzzled until they heard a knocking sound from the wall to their left.
"Big brother, are you guys making something delicious?"
"..."
Only then did Jiang Lin and the others realize that the commotion originated from the hot pot in front of them.
The three ghost envoys exchanged glances and quickly finished the remaining ingredients.
Qin Zhouzhou swiftly collected the bowls, the pot, and the ghost soldiers, then crawled back into her room through the hole.
Afterward, she crawled back and sprinkled something into Jiang Lin's room.
Instantly, a fresh scent of plants spread throughout the room.
The aroma was unique and quickly overpowered the smell of the hot pot.
Before leaving, Qin Zhouzhou glanced at the ceiling, then did the same, sticking the stone back in place and papering it over again.
Jiang Lin: "..."
He wondered if she was always this quick with everything, or if she only became so enthusiastic when it came to eating.
At four in the morning, when the bell chimed.
Jiang Lin, A Si, and Qin Zhouzhou all darted out at the same time.
Their speed stunned many ghosts who had just emerged from their rooms.
And even more ghosts flew out of the windows of Building 2, shouting into the air:
"Who was eating last night?!" You made me so hungry!
He didn't shout the latter half of the sentence. If everyone knew he was driven mad by a meal, wouldn't that be too embarrassing?
"Exactly, who was releasing poison last night?!"
"I remember the smell came from this direction."
A few more ghosts grumbled, continuously approaching the 22nd floor.
But when they searched near the window of 2203, they only smelled a faint scent of grass and wood.
The smell of hot pot was even less strong than in the adjacent room.
"Strange, did we find the wrong place?"
Those ghosts flew to the adjacent room and knocked on the window.
"Hey, were you eating something last night?"
"Who was eating?"
The ghost whose window was knocked on poked his head out. Seeing their unfriendly demeanor, he immediately scowled, "What, you looking for trouble? Want to fight?"
"If you want to fight, let's fight! Who's afraid of whom?"
The ghost who knocked on the window also had a temper, and immediately forgot the original intention of knocking.
Just as the two ghosts were rolling up their sleeves and about to fight.
Below Building 2, the plump female dorm supervisor in a white robe shouted.
"Get lost and fight elsewhere! Don't cause trouble here!"
Those two ghosts then remembered where they were and turned to say, "Dare you go to the arena?"
"Let's go! Who's afraid of whom!"
...
Jiang Lin wandered outside for a while before returning to Building 2.
When he returned, Li Suo had already been waiting at the door for some time.
When Jiang Lin appeared, he didn't ask why he was late, but he looked not in good spirits.
Jiang Lin even asked, and Li Suo glanced at him and mumbled:
"It's nothing major, it's just that around 2 or 3 AM, I don't know who was eating meat..."
As soon as Dangran came out, he went straight to the butcher shop.
If he hadn't remembered Jiang Lin's task, he would have followed.
But...
Li Suo patted his pocket. He had to earn money before he could eat meat.
"..."
Jiang Lin fell silent.
He truly didn't expect a meal to cause such a huge commotion.
"Shall we go?" Li Suo tilted his head and looked at Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin nodded slightly, "Yes, let's go."
Today, Jiang Lin was going to do missions to earn cultivation cards and contribute to exchange for skills.
Before that, Li Suo was responsible for familiarizing Jiang Lin with the underworld passages of the Southern Hall.
If he couldn't find the entrance back after completing the mission, it would be awkward.
...
In the human world, in the suburbs.
It was seven in the morning, and the sky was bright.
A white van was slowly driving on a paved road.
When it passed a fork in the road, the person in the van turned the steering wheel, and the van slowly turned onto the dirt road beside it.
That road was covered in waist-high weeds, unattended.
Only where the van had driven was there a track pressed by its wheels.
In the driver's seat, a man had stubble, his skin was dark, and there were several deep worry lines above his brow.
He held the steering wheel with one hand, and with the other, he held a cigarette, tapping the ash out the window. The thick calluses on his fingertips were faintly visible.
At this moment, the phone in the passenger seat rang.
The man answered the phone, "Coming, coming, stop rushing me. It's not like giving birth, why the rush?"
After saying a few words, he cursed and hung up the phone, tossing it aside.
The dirt road was not smooth, and the van began to shake.
After getting away from the road, the man spotted a large tree ahead, as if seeing a signal.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette and casually threw the butt out the window.
He freed both hands to steer the wheel, turning the car into the nearby woods.
In the woods, at the agreed-upon spot, there was a tricycle.
Beside the tricycle, a young man in a denim jacket and a stout woman were already waiting.
Seeing the van approaching, the young man reminded the woman, "They're here."
The van stopped in the woods.
From the driver's seat, the middle-aged man with stubble and dark skin got out of the car and pointed to the back of the car.
"The goods are all in there."
The woman, who had been resting on a stone, slowly got up, looked at the back of the car, and then checked the goods one by one.
Then she nodded to the young man.
Perhaps because she used a bit too much strength while checking, the goods in the back of the car subtly stirred.
"Hurry up, don't delay."
The lighter in the middle-aged man's hand made a 'click' sound as he lit his cigarette and waved to the young man and the woman.
"Okay." The young man didn't say much and climbed onto the driver's seat.
The woman also nimbly got into the car.
As for the middle-aged man, he went behind a tree to relieve himself, then slowly walked towards the small tricycle next to him, humming a tune.
...