Chapter 1 The Beginning

The sound of the wind roared in my ears, as if constantly pouring in. I felt like a lone boat on the ocean, unable to determine where I was or where I was going.

First, there was an unbearable, piercing pain,

as if my soul had been torn apart countless times.

Usually, ordinary people would faint from this level of pain; it's the body's self-defense mechanism.

But Zhou Ze was a wandering soul, his senses even more acute than when he had a body, so the pain he endured was naturally even greater.

It was like having skin as sensitive as foreskin on the soles of your feet,

and walking barefoot.

My soul drifted, and my consciousness began to descend into chaos.

It felt like that golden, shimmering monk was still standing beside me, repeating the same old "the sea of suffering has no bounds, turn back to the shore" nonsense.

I was clearly wandering in the city,

but in Zhou Ze's vision, one moment he saw the streets,

and the next, he saw the bookstore.

Zhou Ze knew that this was a sign that memories and reality were beginning to blur. For ordinary people, it was a sign of their final moments. Zhou Ze had seen too many patients die in his previous life.

In many cases, even the best doctors could only do their best.

Before death, many patients would hallucinate and talk nonsense.

Zhou Ze didn't understand it before, but now he did. It was a sign that the soul and the body were about to separate. The soul, which had been bound inside the body, was about to leave its shell, and the resulting discomfort would manifest itself.

But for a wandering soul, this situation was a sign that the soul was about to collapse.

If his physical body had been here, the eminent monk's relic would never have caused Zhou Ze so much damage. Ultimately, it was because his soul was too weak.

Taoist texts record many stories of Taoist masters whose souls wandered to the heavens, but in reality, the Taoists who could actually accomplish this were only able to take their souls for a stroll, at most from their own living room to the toilet.

Any further than that, and they would have to be prepared for their disciples to assume that their master had passed away and start preparing for the funeral.

Glug...

The sound of drowning.

Zhou Ze was still walking, still drifting. He vaguely saw bright lights ahead and, below, an operating table. Doctors and nurses in white coats stood on either side of the operating table.

The instruments on both sides emitted their own beeping sounds from time to time, which were the most beautiful and pleasing notes to the doctors.

At this moment, Zhou Ze had an illusion, as if it was all just a dream, and when he woke up, he would still be the youngest and most outstanding surgeon in Tong City.

However,

the scene before him was completely torn apart in the next moment,

revealing a dead and silent ocean.

Countless ghosts roared and howled within the ocean.

A man sat on a high rock by the sea,

his upper body bare,

as if talking to someone.

He seemed to be saying:

"Ying Gou acts according to his own will in this life; why should he explain himself to others?"

Zhou Ze was confused.

The pain of his soul being torn apart was constantly intensifying.

At this point, he even began to give up on himself.

It wasn't that his mental will had weakened to this point, but that the pain and despair had already exceeded the limits of what ordinary people could imagine.

A pink snake suddenly emerged, coiling around Zhou Ze. It emitted a faint glow, like a stream nourishing the cracked earth, and Zhou Ze immediately seized this suddenly appearing lifeline!

So,

you still have a conscience.

For some reason, a feeling of gratitude suddenly welled up in Zhou Ze's heart.

The ghost jade was an evil thing, and its nature was destined from its birth.

But like a weapon, it was just a weapon. The difference was who was holding it. Now, it was in his hands, and it had changed.

However,

at this moment,

the ghost jade suddenly let out a miserable scream, like a snake whose seven inches had been seized, losing its bearings all at once.

"It... wants... to take advantage of the weakness... to rebel... against... you..."

"..." Zhou Ze.

Suddenly,

Zhou Ze felt that the previous feeling of gratitude had been fed to the dogs.

"Hey, have you finished digesting?"

"Thanks to you... what I swallowed last time... I've spat it all out this time... and... and I've had to add more..."

"Otherwise... otherwise, do you think... you would still be alive?"

Zhou Ze suddenly wanted to laugh.

He knew it was wrong to laugh at this time,

but he couldn't help it.

"Then take over, I feel like I'm about to fall apart."

"You don't... have a physical body now... I can't take over..."

"Why not? I'll just let the idiot undo the seal."

"That Hou Qing... that grandson..."

"If he comes out... the land will be scorched for a thousand miles..."

"Without a physical body... if I take over your soul... the scene... will be even bigger..."

"It's okay, you're very weak now. I believe it's impossible for the land to be scorched for a thousand miles. At most, it'll scare away the stray dogs around here."

"Once my aura is released... out... we... will die even more miserably..."

"Aren't we just waiting to die now?"

"You quickly find... find a body to possess... temporarily stabilize... stabilize your soul... I'm going to sleep..."

"You're going to sleep?"

"Yeah... tired..."

"Get up, I want to sleep, come on, I won't fight, I give up, come on."

"Sleep well."

"..." Zhou Ze.

The ghost jade, which had originally wanted to take advantage of the weakness, became much more docile after being pinched by Ying Gou inside his body, and dared not act rashly again. Moreover, its fate was intertwined with Zhou Ze's, so it had to unconditionally replenish Zhou Ze with the essence it had just absorbed from the qipao woman.

Zhou Ze felt like a drunk person, very sleepy, wanting to sleep, and wandering around in a daze. He didn't know where he was drifting, and he had almost lost his ability to think.

Possessing a person's body and resurrecting through possession are two different concepts.

Ordinary wandering souls can only resurrect through possession once. For example, Tie Guai Li of the Eight Immortals, after his physical body was destroyed, had no choice but to enter the body of a crippled beggar. If he could, he would of course choose a more handsome body, but he had no choice.

But relying on a body is like finding a dilapidated house where you can temporarily shelter from the wind and rain, at least allowing you to settle down.

Drifting and drifting,

Zhou Ze seemed to sense something in the dark.

This feeling was like the warm call he had sensed when he came out of hell and passed Xu Le's bookstore after his first death.

He staggered over,

and then,

lay down.

At first,

it was a little dry and stiff,

but with a little effort,

he finally entered.

Phew,

that's comfortable.

............

"Splash, splash!"

The sound of water,

steam.

Zhou Ze's vision was completely black.

It was still uncomfortable, but at least it wasn't the dazed state he had been in before, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

His perception of the outside world had also become much clearer.

Whose body am I in?

Zhou Ze wondered.

Never mind,

no matter whose body I'm in, I'll take this opportunity to rest for a while first.

When I get my body back, I'll give this person some compensation.

After all, a person who is possessed by a ghost will have their body damaged in some way, and this can only be compensated with money.

The sound of water,

and someone was giving him a foot massage.

Huh?

Not just one person,

there was also someone giving him a leg massage,

and someone was cleaning his ears.

Several technicians were serving him at the same time.

Although he couldn't open his eyes to see, his senses provided a lot of information.

The old brother whose body I'm in

really knows how to enjoy himself,

going to a club and hiring so many technicians.

To be honest, Boss Zhou had never really spent money at a club in his life, whether it was a healthy one or an unhealthy one.

He didn't have the time or the interest in his previous life.

In this life,

well,

the technicians at his own place were better and more considerate in every way,

and even if they wore uniforms,

could they compare to Doctor Lin's black stockings and white coat?

Home flowers are not as fragrant as wild flowers, but that's based on the premise that the home flowers are not pretty or gentle enough.

But at this time,

Boss Zhou was really enjoying himself.

After going to hell and being inexplicably hit by an eminent monk's relic,

he was now exhausted both physically and mentally.

It wasn't bad to take this opportunity to enjoy a full-body spa.

At first,

he had some expectations,

but in the end, he let out a long sigh of relief.

This old brother was getting a normal massage.

There were no special services.

The technicians were very proper, not teasing him or hinting at anything. They massaged very dutifully.

An hour passed,

and Zhou Ze tried to open his eyes, but couldn't.

Because he was only possessing the body, he didn't have real control over it.

Oh well,

that's it for now.

I should rest first, and then find a way to contact Yingying and the others after I've recovered.

Ghosts should be able to make phone calls, right?

Otherwise, how did the story of "a ghost calling in the middle of the night" come about?

The spa ended,

and Zhou Ze felt himself being pushed out.

Someone was also putting clothes on him.

The service is so thorough?

Why didn't Lawyer An and the old Taoist ever tell me that the service at the club was so good?

Boss Zhou felt like an honest man going out for fun for the first time,

full of the wonders of a new world.

Just then,

Boss Zhou heard someone crying beside him,

and someone else said:

"Ms. Sun, our funeral home's spa farewell service for the deceased is complete. Are you satisfied?"

"Thank you, Director Zhao."

"Okay, the bill will be issued later. There's no rush. The memorial service was held this morning, and Mr. Wu's body has also been reassembled.

Next,

we'll proceed with the cremation, shall we?"

"Okay, Director Zhao."

"........." Zhou Ze!

............

P.S.: Several funeral homes launched this type of farewell service for the deceased several years ago, called "Honoring the Deceased Body," so don't let readers say that long is writing nonsense...

Also, a while ago, a reader contacted Long privately, asking if the "gambling with life" plot was real or fake. A friend he knew in the hospital seemed to have encountered something similar, but Long asked, and the other party didn't want to make the chat history public without censoring it, so there was no way to post it for everyone to see.

Reality is always more like a novel than a novel.