Chapter 118 The Rain Weeps on Qingming Festival

Zhou Ze and the old Daoist followed the screams and found the right floor. Because Zhou Ze's legs weren't working well, by the time they arrived, a crowd had already gathered. Many family members of patients from nearby rooms had come out to see what the commotion was, forming layers of spectators.

Some patients, still wearing their hospital gowns and holding their IV drips, leaned against the walls to join in the gossip, truly embodying the spirit of "life never ceases, neither does watching the fun."

Several nurses were trying to calm down a girl, and someone was calling hospital security, who would likely arrive soon.

Because Zhou Ze was also wearing a white coat, he and the old Daoist easily squeezed through the crowd.

On the floor, was a puddle of brownish-yellow pus, with something like an egg yolk floating in it. Anyone who didn't know better would think someone had cracked an egg and dropped it there, but Zhou Ze knew that it was actually a human eyeball.

"Boss, this guy's water broke too."

The old Daoist whispered in Zhou Ze's ear.

Zhou Ze frowned slightly. The more critical the moment, the more the old Daoist liked to act foolishly; it was probably his self-protective mechanism under stress, a way to relax himself in tense situations.

Then, Zhou Ze extended his index finger and stirred it in the pus.

Seeing this, the old Daoist squatted down and also stuck his finger in to stir. Honestly, it was disgusting, but since the boss was doing it, he had to follow suit.

The old Daoist was a very ambitious person, whether following his previous boss or this one. He had a strong desire to learn and imitate.

Immediately, the old Daoist witnessed a scene that made him want to throw up his supper. Zhou Ze actually put his middle finger in his mouth and sucked on it, then lowered his head in thought, as if discerning the ingredients inside.

At the same time, he smacked his lips.

So dedicated?

What's the taste?

The old Daoist hesitated.

He fought many internal battles in a short amount of time, but finally, he also put the finger he had just used to stir the pus into his mouth and tasted it. The taste... a rush of acrid, pungent sensation that exploded directly, more throat-burning than drinking high-proof liquor.

The old Daoist's face turned green, but seeing his boss's expression remained normal as he continued to ponder, a feeling of reverence for Zhou Ze inexplicably arose in his heart.

He can stand that taste? He's not human!

Zhou Ze turned his head and saw the old Daoist's pitiful face as if he had just been ravished. Looking at the liquid still on the old Daoist's fingertip, he asked with some surprise, "What are you doing?"

The old Daoist gently patted his chest and said heroically, "Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs. What you can do, Boss, I can naturally do as well."

Zhou Ze nodded and smiled.

The old Daoist felt flattered, as if he had finally been recognized by the boss at this moment, like Bodhi tapping Sun Wukong three times on the back of his head.

"I used my index finger to stir, and my middle finger went into my mouth."

Zhou Ze raised his fingers at the old Daoist and continued, "I had some chives stuck in my teeth from dinner, just picking them out. Who's crazy enough to taste that stuff? Masochist?"

"............" The old Daoist.

The old Daoist wanted to say something, but his stomach immediately began to spasm. He pushed through the crowd and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.

Zhou Ze silently stroked his chin. The frightened girl was still sitting in the ward, being comforted by several nurses. Zhou Ze didn't ask her about what had happened; after all, he had experienced a similar scene in the morgue before.

It was nothing but a small scene for him, but for ordinary people, it was shocking enough.

The corpse suddenly sitting up,

The fatal wound coming from incredibly sharp, weapon-like fingernails,

The corpse eventually turning into pus...

Everything indicated that the culprit was not an ordinary person, but a demon hiding in the darkness. In fact, since Zhou Ze became a ghost messenger, he had never encountered an opponent with such mysterious and resourceful methods.

That thing clearly could not be treated as an ordinary vengeful ghost.

Standing up, Zhou Ze walked to the other end of the corridor, took out his phone, and dialed Tang Shi's number.

"Hello." Tang Shi's voice was as cold as ever.

"Help me out here. It seems like there's a... a wild jiangshi (僵尸, Chinese hopping vampire) here."

"You can go find a plant."

In other words, she was busy and didn't want to bother.

"Then help me call Bai Yingying and have her come to the hospital."

"That's no problem."

Hanging up, Zhou Ze felt once again that keeping Tang Shi around was a mistake. This woman was even more useless than a vase.

His own Yingying was so much better.

They were both women, neither one alive, yet the difference was so great.

The old Daoist had vomited out all the acid from his stomach. He came out of the bathroom and walked to Zhou Ze's side, asking with some resentment, "Why did that thing have to make such a show of killing people?"

"He did it on purpose," Zhou Ze said.

"Does everyone he kills turn into a jiangshi? Hey, like those old Hong Kong jiangshi movies from the eighties and nineties. People bitten by a jiangshi also turn into one."

As he spoke, the old Daoist looked at Zhou Ze with some eagerness.

"What are you looking at?"

"Uh, Boss, I have a small request. Can all jiangshi become like Bai Yingying?"

"Get to the point. Don't beat around the bush."

"Uh, cough, cough... what I mean is, you see, Boss, I'm getting old. Who knows when I'll kick the bucket and go to the Western Paradise."

"You're a Daoist, not a monk."

"Uh, right, kick the bucket and ascend to immortality, but I'm worried that if I'm gone, who will take care of you?"

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

"So, Boss, if that day comes, could you bite me?"

"I find that disgusting."

"............" The old Daoist.

Can't we be friends and have fun anymore!

"It's not as exaggerated as you think. Being bitten by a jiangshi won't turn you into one. If you don't believe me, you can have Bai Yingying bite your neck when we get back. Besides accelerating your demise with corpse poison, I guarantee there won't be any other effects.

As for becoming a jiangshi, you might as well choose an inauspicious tomb and bury yourself in it. Maybe after a hundred years or so, you can jump out, but the you after that won't have anything to do with the you now. It'll be a new life."

"The movies are all lies?"

"What do you think?"

The old Daoist was a little dejected. He had thought he had found a way to prolong his life, but it turned out this way. But the old Daoist was still a little unwilling to give up, and said, "Then what's the deal with those two people?"

"The end result?" Zhou Ze asked. "They just split apart, and their bones and organs all turned into pus."

"Why is that?"

"Because they were used as nourishment, absorbed by someone. They didn't become jiangshi. Even if they did, would you want to become that kind of jiangshi?"

"Will he continue to kill people?" The old Daoist asked worriedly.

"If he's not full," Zhou Ze pursed his lips. "Of course, even if he is full, he won't never be hungry again."

Zhou Ze suddenly seemed to have thought of something again and said to the old Daoist, "Find a way to help me check what happened to the other corpses in the end. Did similar situations occur..."

His phone rang at this moment. Zhou Ze picked it up and saw that the caller ID showed the name "Wang Ke."

Since the last "eating meat" incident, Zhou Ze hadn't contacted Wang Ke again, and Wang Ke had promised him that he wouldn't contact him voluntarily.

"Hello," Zhou Ze answered the phone anyway.

"I'm sorry I have to break my promise, but I think you'll be interested in this," Wang Ke's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Speak."

"Have you heard about the mass death incident at that small hospital?"

Zhou Ze turned his head and looked at the puddle of pus behind him and said, "Just heard about it."

"I'm a part-time consultant for the police station, usually helping with psychological profiling and the like. This time the matter is very serious, and I was also invited to help. Based on the existing known conditions, I have to create a psychological and physical profile of the murderer. Haha, for this, I drew a sketch. Would you like to see it?"

"Okay."

"Ding-dong..."

A WeChat message notification sound.

Zhou Ze minimized the call, opened WeChat.

It was a very rough sketch, but the person in the sketch made Zhou Ze's pupils shrink.

"What are you kidding me?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Haha, I don't believe it's you, but the person I drew based on the known conditions and clues really looks like you. What do you think? This time I'm not asking you for a favor, I'm just asking if you're interested?"

"Interested in what?"

"I can get all the information from the police investigation here." Wang Ke rubbed his eyebrows on the other end of the phone, saying with some fatigue: "Although I don't want to admit it, and I feel a little helpless, I increasingly feel that the murderer in this case may not be a person."

"Are you at the police station?"

"No, I'm at home. You can come to my house. The case files and the latest information will be compiled here." Wang Ke paused and said, "Also, I'm still cooking meat soup for a midnight snack. You can come and eat some."

Zhou Ze directly ignored the last sentence. He said directly, "I'll come over."

After speaking, Zhou Ze was about to hang up, but Wang Ke's voice came again: "Don't be in a hurry to hang up."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I never had the chance to say it to others before, and it's not good to say this kind of thing to others, like scolding someone;

But this time, I finally have this opportunity, this is the first time I said this sentence to others:

Happy Qingming Festival."