Chapter 1 Money Talks

Money was the old Taoist's, he could spend it however he wanted, and Zhou Ze didn't interject, nor did he have the right to.

After all, although the old Taoist was nominally his subordinate employee, he had never received a penny of salary from him. Sometimes when he followed Zhou Ze on "business trips," the old Taoist even had to pay for some expenses himself.

Moreover, discussing things like ungratefulness or whether it was worth it with the old Taoist was useless.

He was a seventy-year-old man who had traveled all over the country and experienced all kinds of storms.

He had met all sorts of people from all walks of life.

He wasn't the kind of old man or woman who mistakenly believed in lottery scams and wanted to take advantage. Perhaps, he was as clear as a mirror in his heart, but was pretending to be confused.

After the old Taoist finished remitting the money, Zhou Ze pushed his wheelchair and took him back to the bookstore. On the way, the old Taoist bought some snacks for the monkey at a convenience store.

Back at the bookstore, Zhou Ze washed and disinfected his hands, then put on his white coat and checked the physical condition of the old Taoist, Lao Xu, and Bai Yingying one by one. By the time he finished, it was already evening.

Taking off his white coat, he let out a long sigh and went into the bathroom to wash his face.

Fear, of course there was lingering fear.

That night a week ago, he had almost become a "lonely man." His previous life had been almost completely burned, and he had finally managed to live out his rhythm in this life, but that old man had almost made his life "start from scratch."

Sensing the stimulation of the cold water on his face, Zhou Ze shook his head, picked up a towel, and prepared to wipe his face.

But at that moment, Zhou Ze saw a dark shadow in the mirror. The towel in Zhou Ze's hand instantly fell to the ground.

He turned around, but there was no one behind him.

Turning back again, the dark shadow in the mirror had disappeared.

It wasn't an illusion, nor could it be an illusion. Zhou Ze now had great confidence in his "big heart." He wasn't so fragile as to be frightened by his own shadow.

He pushed open the bathroom door, but before he could step out, a familiar and aged voice came from inside the bathroom:

"Looking for me?"

This time, Zhou Ze didn't turn his head, but slightly tilted his body and said:

"Yes."

He,

was indeed not dead.

The one inside him was right, he wasn't dead,

he had appeared again.

Zhou Ze was a little surprised. He had originally thought that even if the one inside him couldn't completely kill him, he could at least ensure that he wouldn't reappear in a short period of time. Who would have thought that only a week had passed, and he had really come back like a lingering ghost.

However, this time, it seemed a little different.

That night, when he faced this old man, he could clearly perceive the extremely stubborn obsession emanating from him. This time, however, he seemed excessively clean and pure, as if he had been purified.

He was originally a jar of old vinegar, but now he was a pool of clear water.

But the old man was, after all, an old man. His appearance was mysterious, his experiences were mysterious, and even his death was mysterious.

The one inside him could only leave a sentence, "He's not dead," and then fall back into slumber, which was enough to prove his specialness. Otherwise, with that one's characteristics, he would definitely have cut the weeds and eliminated the roots.

He disdained causing too much trouble. Even though he was still in the process of repairing himself, his narcissistic aura of "I'm the best in the world" was almost bursting, and he didn't care about anyone, even less considerate than the monkey in *Journey to the West*.

"You killed me, so I thought I'd come and see you, but it's a bit strange. You don't seem surprised that I'm not dead at all."

"You're really like a piece of chewing gum," Zhou Ze said helplessly.

"Heh heh." The old man laughed, and then his voice changed, receding into the distance.

Zhou Ze looked up and saw the old man's figure standing at the entrance of the bookstore. He seemed to be waiting for Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze walked over and pushed open the door of the bookstore.

"I died a long time ago. Before you killed me, I was already dead," the old man said calmly.

He was still wearing his green coat, and his feet were in muddy liberation shoes. He seemed slightly awkward, with a kind of inherent simplicity and shyness on his face.

But it was this kind of old man,

who, a week ago,

almost killed everyone in the bookstore except Zhou Ze.

If Zhou Ze had just been an ordinary ghost messenger, perhaps none of this could have been changed.

Zhou Ze walked out of the bookstore.

"I was already dead."

"Mm," Zhou Ze said. He had personally watched the old man be killed.

"Haha, I'm really dead."

The old man turned around, took two steps forward, and walked to a bus stop, standing with the people waiting for the bus after work.

Zhou Ze looked back at the bookstore. He was hesitating whether this was a feint to lure him away.

But after a moment, Zhou Ze still followed him.

This time, the old man's appearance gave him a very different feeling. Moreover, he didn't need to lure him away. Being able to suddenly appear in his bathroom meant that if the old man still had the ability to "kill" now, whether he was in the bookstore or not, Xu Qinglang and Bai Yingying would not be safe.

Some things ultimately needed to be asked and clarified.

Zhou Ze couldn't live the life of a detective novel forever, where everyone in the bookstore had to eat, live, and travel together, unable to separate, otherwise, it would give the murderer an opportunity.

That kind of life was too tiring,

and it wasn't realistic.

A bus stopped, some people got off, but more people got on. This was South Street, the city center, and the flow of people was already high, especially now that it was the end of the workday.

The old man turned around, looked at Zhou Ze, smiled, and got on the bus.

Zhou Ze also got on the bus, dropped two coins into the fare box, and walked inside. His eyes were fixed on the old man. He wanted to know what the old man was selling in his gourd this time.

There were many people on the bus, and Zhou Ze stood, like the old man.

"I lost that night. The one inside you is too powerful," the old man said calmly, as if he could completely take it and let it go.

"But...even if you're powerful, you can't kill me," the old man said, but there was no hint of smugness in his words, just calmly stating a fact.

He didn't seem like a person anymore,

really didn't seem like a person.

The old man who liked to lecture, liked to see himself as a preacher, liked to put himself on the moral high ground in everything,

the one in front of him now, and the one who appeared a week ago,

were like two different people.

"What the hell are you?"

Zhou Ze didn't ask who he was, but asked what he was.

Obviously, Zhou Ze had discovered some anomalies, and seemed to understand something,

the old man,

didn't seem to be a person.

"What am I?" The old man pointed to himself. "I am something that is dead but still continues to exist.

My appearance was an accident, so accidental that I have forgotten how I appeared.

My ending has happened many times, including the last time in your hands. After too many times, I have forgotten when the real ending will be.

I'm not bragging or showing off. I'm tired of it myself, but every time I die, I can come back, and I will come back sooner or later.

Of course,

maybe the next time I come back, I won't be like this anymore."

The bus stopped at the next stop, and another group of people got on.

An old woman, about sixty years old, got on the bus, walked inside, and stopped in front of Zhou Ze.

The bus started to move again, and the carriage began to shake.

"Move aside and let me sit down, my legs are killing me."

The old woman standing in front of Zhou Ze pointed at the girl in front of her.

The girl seemed to have heard, but she had been closing her eyes. When the old woman walked past, she kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to give up her seat, but she felt it wasn't good not to give up her seat to an elderly person, so she pretended not to see.

There was a plastic bag beside the girl, which probably contained the uniform of a shop assistant from a nearby shopping mall. She must have been very tired after standing all day.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

The old woman reached out and pulled the girl's hair.

The girl opened her eyes, looking confused. She didn't seem to expect the old woman to be so direct.

"Do you know what politeness is?

Do you know what it means to respect the old and love the young?

I'm so old, I walked all the way to you, and you're still pretending to be asleep, pretending you can't see me, is that interesting?

Don't you have elderly people in your family?

Didn't your family teach you how to be a good person when you were a kid?"

The girl's face flushed red, but she still got up, stood up, and gave up her seat.

The old woman sat down with her head held high, like a victorious rooster, and began to massage her calves, but she still kept talking:

"I'm educating you on behalf of your parents, teaching you how to be a good person.

You're not married yet, right? I'm also helping your future in-laws teach you.

Young people these days,

none of them know what politeness is, or what it means to respect the old and love the young. What will become of this society if it continues like this?"

Many people on the bus cast their eyes over, and the girl standing next to her face turned even redder.

When the bus arrived at the next stop, the girl got off as if she was escaping. Her eyes were red, and she was obviously trying to restrain herself from crying.

"Heh."

Seeing the girl get off the bus, the old woman seemed not satisfied, with a sense of disappointment.

The bus started again,

Zhou Ze suddenly realized that the old man was gone. Where had he gone?

Zhou Ze swore that he had been staring at the old man the whole time, but he had disappeared in an instant.

He hadn't finished speaking,

was he just tricking him onto the bus?

Incomplete,

what exactly did he want to say?

"Hey."

The old man's voice sounded.

Zhou Ze looked over and found that it was the old woman who spoke.

At this time,

the old woman turned her face and looked out the window.

And her sparse hair also fluttered open,

revealing the old man's wrinkled face on the back of her head,

the old man was smiling,

revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth,

he was smiling happily,

smiling heartily,

and said at the same time:

"Now you know,

why I died but I'm still not dead, right?"