Zhou Ze eventually called the police. The police arrived quickly. According to Zhou Ze, the delivery guy had gone crazy after entering the store, claiming that the vengeful spirits of those he had burned to death were after him. He then began kicking and smashing the wall before finally collapsing.

By the time he finished giving his statement at the police station, it was already dawn. The cinema arson case had taken many twists and turns, but at least a breakthrough had been made. Previously, the police might have been too focused on the obvious, failing to suspect the heroic delivery guy. Now, even without concrete evidence, as long as they focused their investigation on him, the truth should be uncovered soon.

As for the subsequent shift in public opinion, the stunned reactions of online spectators, and those who had showered the delivery guy with gifts – that was no longer Zhou Ze's concern. He could only do so much, and was only willing to do so much.

The affairs of ghosts were best left to ghosts, and the affairs of humans were best left to the police.

Standing at the entrance of the police station, he took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, his mind feeling clear.

When he took a taxi back to the store, Zhou Ze saw that Xu Qinglang's shop next door had already reopened. Xu Qinglang himself, dressed in more casual clothes, sat at the entrance of his shop, picking vegetables while basking in the sun, humming a "Children's Opera" (local opera genre) tune. He was relaxed and carefree, exuding a certain romantic charm.

Everything,

seemed as it always was.

Zhou Ze walked into the store. Xu Qinglang clapped his hands and asked, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything, really. I want a sour plum juice."

Xu Qinglang nodded.

Zhou Ze sat down in the store, his fingers gently tapping the table.

Soon, Xu Qinglang brought over a bowl of egg noodles. The broth was clear, the noodles were springy. Of course, none of that mattered. The most important thing was that the familiar sour plum juice had reappeared before Zhou Ze.

"Make me a bucket, how much?" Zhou Ze pointed to the water dispenser bucket in the store. "Make a bucket first."

"Wait a while," Xu Qinglang said as he sat down across from Zhou Ze, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He seemed to want to strike a cool, rebellious pose, but instead, he gave off a vibe of "even a woman smoking can be this beautiful."

He wasn't effeminate, nor was he gay. It was just that fate had given him the wrong appearance.

He finished the noodles along with the sour plum juice. Unusually, the nausea wasn't as strong this time, but he still drank several glasses of water to soothe himself.

"Remember what happened to Lin Daiyu after her first meal in the Jia mansion?" Xu Qinglang asked, exhaling a smoke ring.

Zhou Ze thought for a moment and understood.

When Lin Daiyu first entered the Jia mansion, at the end of her first family dinner, the servants brought tea. Lin Daiyu had been taught by her father not to drink tea after meals as it could cause indigestion. But seeing that Grandmother Jia and all her cousins were drinking it, she had no choice but to follow suit.

"I just need to be able to eat my fill," Zhou Ze said, shaking his head. In his current condition, he probably wouldn't be able to become a gourmet or foodie in this lifetime. As for digestion problems, he'd worry about that later.

"I feel a little unbalanced," Xu Qinglang said bluntly. "My parents are gone."

Xu Qinglang's parents had been gone for a long time, but Zhou Ze knew what Xu Qinglang meant this time by "gone." They must have gone below.

"How did they suddenly leave?" Zhou Ze asked, wanting to offer a "condolences," but thinking it wasn't appropriate.

"They were discovered."

Zhou Ze's hand, which was reaching for a cigarette, trembled slightly.

Discovered?

Zhou Ze remembered that the old man had also shouted "They found me!" before he died.

Xu Qinglang looked at Zhou Ze. "I'm very unwilling, and I feel very unbalanced. Why did she take my parents away, but not you?"

"He? She?" The image of the little loli appeared in Zhou Ze's mind, and combining that with Xu Qinglang's state that day and his departure that night, he guessed most of it.

"She, that's impossible."

"The Netherworld has its order, the deceased must embark on their journey!" Xu Qinglang lowered his voice, staring into Zhou Ze's eyes. "A long tongue as a road guide, a deep throat promises the Netherworld, familiar?"

"Black and White Impermanence?"

"That's just a general term." Xu Qinglang sighed. "But they are indeed enforcers, traveling the mortal realm, maintaining order, separating humans and ghosts. Humans have the human path, and ghosts have the Bridge of Helplessness." (Bridge in the Netherworld)

"Oh."

Zhou Ze still didn't quite believe it. If the little loli was really someone like White Impermanence, then how would one explain her revealing her true form and sticking out her long tongue on the school bus, causing the accident and the driver's death?

"She didn't take me, but took your parents instead. So, you hate me?" Zhou Ze pointed at himself.

"Yes," Xu Qinglang nodded.

"Then there's no poison in these noodles, right?"

"............" Xu Qinglang.

"No poison, right?" Zhou Ze asked again.

"No," Xu Qinglang replied.

"That's good." Zhou Ze didn't know that poison had been added to the Twice-Cooked Pork Rice Bowl that day. If Doctor Lin hadn't arrived early, he might have actually eaten that meal.

"Are you really stupid or pretending to be stupid?" Xu Qinglang looked at Zhou Ze, somewhat annoyed. "Why didn't she catch you?"

"Yeah, why didn't she catch me?" Zhou Ze also asked.

"I'm asking you!" Xu Qinglang raised his voice.

"I don't know," Zhou Ze shrugged. "Maybe it's because I saved her once."

"............" Xu Qinglang.

The conversation between the two ended with a burnt-out cigarette butt.

This time, both sides had been straightforward, breaking the original unspoken understanding.

Zhou Ze walked back to his store. While tidying up the plastic stools on the ground, he noticed that uneven stacks of ghost money were stuck under six of the stools.

Was this money for books or for meals?

Zhou Ze remembered that the old Taoist priest who did live broadcasts had also given him a stack of ghost money, saying it could accumulate Yin virtue. So, was this how he had obtained those ghost notes?

How did he get them?

Zhou Ze collected the ghost money, a whole stack of it. It felt good, not as rough as the ghost money he usually saw. When he touched it, it felt like silk.

This reminded Zhou Ze of the underworld shop the old Taoist had mentioned. The best shop to do business with ghosts was naturally an underworld shop because the things sold there were all for the dead.

Therefore, if the ghost money he was holding now was the "currency" of the dead, then opening an underworld shop would definitely earn him more than he was making now.

The image of the man struggling to drink porridge behind the counter in the video reappeared in his mind.

Zhou Ze suddenly felt that

he might have discovered something that could be very interesting.

Of course, no matter how interesting things were, he didn't have the energy to deal with them right now. He hadn't slept all night, and now that he was back, he needed to get a good sleep.

Zhou Ze pulled down the roller shutter of the bookstore and locked it. For some reason, his bookstore was now open more at night than during the day. Perhaps, he could make another sign in the future,

called

Late Night Bookstore.

Anyway, there wasn't much business during the day, and the bookstore was constantly losing money. He could play around with some gimmicks and do some things as he pleased. The worst-case scenario wouldn't be any worse than it was now.

The delivery guy's actions were a heinous mistake, but they gave Zhou Ze some inspiration.

The shower equipment in the bathroom had been installed. Zhou Ze had bought an electric water heater. He took off his clothes, took a shower, changed into a set of clean clothes, and went upstairs.

When Zhou Ze bent down to adjust the temperature of the freezer, he froze.

Because inside the freezer in front of him,

lay a person.

The person's eyes were closed, as if in a deep sleep, breathing steadily, with hands crossed over their chest, exuding a sense of childlike peace.

Very calm, and very cute,

provided that

her tongue didn't get so long.

The little loli,

had taken over his nest.

Zhou Ze really wanted to shout and call Xu Qinglang from next door to come and take revenge.

But he thought better of it. It wasn't that he thought calling Xu Qinglang to take revenge would harm him, but that he didn't think Xu Qinglang had the courage to come and take revenge. Maybe if he came, he would kindly greet her:

"You're awake?

What would you like to eat?

I'll go make it for you."

The little loli opened her eyes. Her pupils were very deep, no longer the clear and innocent eyes he had seen before.

She reached out her hand, and Zhou Ze helped open the freezer lid.

The little loli sat up from inside. Zhou Ze noticed that she hadn't actually set a temperature, but had only chosen ventilation.

"Aren't you cold lying here?" the little loli asked, sitting in the freezer. Before Zhou Ze could answer, the little loli added, "Oh, I forgot, you're different."

With that, the little loli, still sitting in the freezer, patted the empty space next to her gently and looked at Zhou Ze with an innocent expression:

"Wanna sleep together?"

Zhou Ze reached out to rub the girl's head, but his hand stopped in mid-air.

She was an existence like Black and White Impermanence, an enforcer of the Netherworld in the human realm.

The little loli reached out and grabbed Zhou Ze's large hand with her small hand, pressing Zhou Ze's hand against her head, and then using Zhou Ze's hand to rub her head back and forth.

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

"You, are good." The little loli finally stood up from the freezer, but seemed to have some difficulty climbing out due to her short legs.

Zhou Ze took her out of the freezer,

wondering how she had managed to lie down in there earlier.

"You, are good," the little loli repeated, pointing at Zhou Ze.

"Uh... thank you," Zhou Ze didn't know how to respond.

"I'm leaving," the little loli turned around, her back to Zhou Ze, her hands clasped behind her back. Zhou Ze knew she was trying to project an aura of imposing grandeur.

But her problem was the same as Xu Qinglang's,

fate had given her the wrong appearance.

No matter what, she just looked so cute.

Hold it in,

don't laugh.

Zhou Ze kept reminding himself,

this is Lord Black and White Impermanence,

don't laugh!

Hahahahaha!

But he couldn't help it!

He was courting death, hahahaha!

He was doomed, hahahaha!

The harder he tried to hold it in, the more exaggerated his laughter became, and even tears streamed down his face.

The little loli ignored Zhou Ze's laughter, nor did she punish Zhou Ze for disrespect,

but instead asked:

"Do you want to take my place?"