Chapter 1 Buying a Car

For those who don't understand cars, buying one can be a real headache. They inevitably have to consult friends or relatives who know about cars, because some cars do have their weaknesses, and there may be problems with them, such as quality or performance.

But when it comes down to it,

when a cigarette butt can burn a hole straight through the car door,

can you really just vaguely chalk that up to a quality issue with the car?

All of this just points to one thing:

This is a

paper car!

The driver was middle-aged, but his eldest son was probably just in elementary school, so the driver said that the car was brought to him by his son.

Actually, here, "brought,"

could also be written as "burned."

The father died,

and the son burned a paper car for him.

Zhou Ze shook his head. To be honest, he hadn't noticed it beforehand. He only belatedly realized something was wrong after getting in the car, but he still wanted to pretend to be oblivious.

He himself was just a stowaway; he had no aspirations of becoming Zhang Tianshi.

In the end, he was a ghost himself.

If he were to take up the banner of exorcising demons and defending the Dao, then he would really be no different from a traitor, a "ghost traitor."

He pressed his palm over the small hole, covering it up. Zhou Ze pretended to be sleepy, half-closing his eyes, acting as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Ze remembered that when he was in the orphanage, there was a teacher who led everyone in sports activities and also had a part-time job: guarding the gate.

And because his surname was Qin, the children called him "Grandpa Qin, the Gatekeeper."

Grandpa Qin was good at telling stories, especially ghost stories. He seemed very pleased when the children showed fear after hearing his stories. The director had talked to him about it a few times, but he didn't change his ways.

It was only before Zhou Ze left the orphanage to go to school that Grandpa Qin died of a myocardial infarction.

Zhou Ze remembered that Grandpa Qin had once told a ghost story called "The Ghost Porters."

Legend had it that in ancient times, there were many different kinds of ghosts. Most people went straight to the underworld after death, entered the Yellow Springs, drank Meng Po's soup, and were reincarnated. Very few ghosts could remain in the mortal realm.

But some ghosts did stay. They might know they were dead, or they might not. But regardless, they might still be doing the things they did in life.

For example, porters.

They specialized in appearing on the roads in the wilderness or late at night, asking people if they wanted a ride in a sedan. The price was extremely cheap. After the person rode in the sedan to their destination, money and goods were exchanged.

But doing business with ghosts and enjoying the services they provided was never so simple. The ghost porters didn't want money, but rather your lifespan, or your energy and spirit.

In the underworld, ghosts carried sedan chairs for figures like Yan Wang. What status did a living person have? Were they worthy?

It was like an eighty-year-old man kneeling before you; it would shorten your life.

Zhou Ze remembered this story, and very clearly. In fact, Zhou Ze still remembered many of the stories Grandpa Qin told, even after he grew up and started working.

Because Zhou Ze knew that the day before Grandpa Qin died suddenly, Grandpa Qin, who usually only guarded the gate and never entered the back courtyard, made an exception and walked into the children's dormitories, looking into each room, looking at each person, one by one. Zhou Ze happened to be awake at the time and saw this scene.

It seemed that Grandpa Qin knew his time was coming and came to say goodbye in advance.

Just as any fart Buffett lets can make people think there's a great secret to wealth inside,

the ghost stories told by someone who knows they might kick the bucket tomorrow couldn't really be dismissed as just absurd words.

The driver continued to ramble on, still bragging, and Zhou Ze remained calm in the back.

Shortened lifespan?

Loss of energy and spirit?

Zhou Ze wasn't very afraid. He wasn't a living person; he was also a ghost.

To put it bluntly, although Zhou Ze didn't understand the stratification and hierarchy of ghosts, he could walk in the sunlight, meet living people, and run a business. That should be much more advanced than the wandering ghosts outside, right?

Moreover, even the faceless woman in the hellish pool could be injured by his fingernails, so Zhou Ze was actually quite confident when facing other ghosts.

"In recent years, more and more people are buying and driving cars, and there are more and more people who don't follow the rules." The driver continued to chat, even though Zhou Ze didn't agree or respond, he could still keep talking.

"When the forest grows big, all kinds of birds appear. Anyway, if you really get angry at every single one of them, you'll really lose many years of your life.

Although you know you shouldn't get angry, some people go out as if they have a label on their foreheads that says, 'Hit me, go ahead and hit me!' It's really infuriating."

Zhou Ze's eyes narrowed. He felt a little sleepy, even wanting to sleep.

But he knew that he couldn't sleep, so this clear sensation must be fake.

Zhou Ze suddenly chuckled to himself.

He understood why the driver had been rambling on all the way. It wasn't that he didn't know he was being annoying by talking so much,

but because he hadn't fallen asleep, he had to keep talking to pretend that everything was normal.

He wanted him to fall asleep,

and he was always very slow to react to sleep.

A smile appeared on the corner of Zhou Ze's mouth as he placed his hand on the car seat and closed his eyes.

Sleep then.

The car began to slow down.

The driver's voice also became smaller and smaller as Zhou Ze fell asleep.

At the same time, the driver specifically turned his head to look behind him.

However, at that moment, a look of struggle suddenly appeared on the driver's face. Finally, he shook his head abruptly, sighed, and continued driving forward.

It looked like he was almost at the bookstore.

Zhou Ze didn't know how a ghost driving a paper car could carry a person with a physical body,

which was difficult to explain because there was no "ghost mechanics" branch in physics.

Moreover, ancient Chinese legends mentioned "Yellow Turban Warriors" and "Qimen Dunjia," so it was probably similar to those principles.

Zhou Ze slowly woke up because he sensed that the driver's body was slowly emitting light.

Interesting,

it seemed like he had been encountering good ghosts lately.

This driver should have been "collecting money" from him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It must have been the first time he had done something like this, and he couldn't go through with it. In this struggle, he achieved self-liberation and redemption.

He began to dissipate.

After dissipating, he would enter hell and be reincarnated.

This showed that the driver's "nonsense" earlier wasn't all false. He had four children, he liked being a father, he worked hard to earn money to support his family, and he provided his children with a good environment to grow up in.

He was a good father, and his character was decent enough. After becoming a ghost, he wanted to try the "ghost porters" business, but he ended up being too soft-hearted.

Zhou Ze slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. The driver didn't notice and was still driving on his own.

Slowly, Zhou Ze noticed light shining in from the outside. Through the window, he could see the traffic on the road.

The driver was about to dissipate.

This must be a memory from the driver's life.

Similar to how lightning plus a special environment could record a scene.

Zhou Ze subconsciously lit a cigarette again. Since the driver had already liberated himself, it didn't matter even if he burned the whole car.

The car was playing music, a very popular song recently, "Liang Liang."

The driver was humming along while driving. He must have just finished a big order, was in a good mood, and planned to buy himself a plate of peanuts and chat with his children via video. Although life was hard, it was pretty good.

Just then, Zhou Ze saw a minibus appear on the road ahead.

It must have been a school bus, with the school emblem and the words "xxx Elementary School" printed on it.

Zhou Ze didn't think much of it at first, but suddenly a girl stood up in the back seat of the car. She faced the back of the car, and even sitting in the car behind, he could clearly see her through the car window.

The girl was wearing a blue lily dress, very cute.

Zhou Ze frowned slightly.

He knew this girl. He had saved her. It was said that she had already woken up. The other day, Doctor Lin had told him that the girl's father wanted to throw a thank-you banquet and had planned to invite him as well.

Zhou Ze's eyes darkened. So, this driver was the culprit behind the car accident?

So many children were injured,

and some would have even died if he hadn't intervened.

"What a pretty little girl, just like my youngest."

The driver muttered to himself. This was the last memory scene from his life, so he didn't know that there was someone sitting in the back seat at this time.

Zhou Ze looked around. He didn't think the driver had been drinking, nor did he think the driver had any other problems. So, what exactly caused the driver to crash into the school bus? What caused that car accident?

Was it a chain reaction caused by other cars nearby?

At that moment,

the girl in the lily dress who was originally standing at the back of the school bus suddenly opened her mouth, and her tongue came out.

Yes,

came out,

like a red carpet for a new person to walk on, it came right out, very long… very long… so long that it made your scalp tingle.

At the same time,

the girl had a mocking smile in her eyes, staring fixedly at the driver who was driving in front of her.

"Mommy, a ghost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The driver panicked and stepped on the gas pedal. The car crashed directly into the school bus in front of him.

"Boom!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

Zhou Ze stood at the entrance of the bookstore.

Around him on the ground were the ashes of the paper car that had not yet completely burned, scattering in the wind, curling and falling, turning into the final twinkling specks.

Zhou Ze was not injured, not at all.

And the driver had kept his promise and brought him to his destination.

But Zhou Ze was not in a hurry to return to the bookstore.

In his hand, he still held that cigarette, slowly burning.

Taking a deep breath,

Zhou Ze licked his lips.

"Uncle, you can't smoke in the hospital." The girl's voice still echoed in his ears.

What,

exactly,

did he save?