chapter 19

Wei Lai posed confidently in front of me to make me submit to her.

I understand very well that once someone has given in, they usually don’t have the courage to fight back anymore. But I don’t give in easily. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have quit my job at the bank to run off and fish for bodies.

I wouldn’t have had to go fishing for bodies if my relationship with my parents-in-law had been handled properly, and they hadn’t cut us off. But that’s when I thought this. My wife died. Why did my parents-in-law not come and take care of my wife’s afterlife? Why didn’t they take Jia Jia with them? I would be relieved if Jia Jia was led away by them. In the hands of this demoness, the consequences are unthinkable!

At this point, I understood one thing. The connection between Wei Lai and Jia Jia should be one-way. If something happens to Jia Jia, Wei Lai will follow suit. But if something happens to Wei Lai, Jia Jia won’t necessarily react

Wei Lai gave me a list of what questions the dean would ask tomorrow and did a walkthrough of them with me – question by question. It wasn’t until the middle of the night that she left. I collapsed into bed and had a sudden craving for cigarettes. I started to look through my pockets, but how could there be any cigarettes here!

I couldn’t sleep because of the addiction, so I did sit-ups instead. I thought that I might fall asleep when I’m tired. But I found that the more sit-ups I did, the more my heart beat faster and faster, and the questions started to pile up. But I never got exhausted.

In summary, I was like a little electric motor at this point, with my sit-ups getting faster and faster to the point where I surprised myself with the speed! It’s a good thing the lights were off, or anyone monitoring the security feed would have thought I was abnormal and given me a tranquilizer.

After doing crunches for three hours, I stopped and realised that I never even broke a sweat, but could feel the blood flowing through my body. I reached out and grabbed the iron pipe at the head of the bed, and I started to grip so hard that the pipe creaked and rattled in protest. When I let go of my hand and looked down, I found that I surprisingly managed to make indents in the railing. On closer inspection, I could even see my own fingerprints!

As time went on, I found that I could still see everything around me clearly: even in the dark! The only downside was that the world had lost its color at this point and turned black and white and gray like I was watching a black and white TV!

I looked at my hands and muttered, “What the hell is going on here?”

It was clear to me that it had all stemmed from that single piece of jade. It all started with this totem on my chest. What kind of family was the Cloud Moon family?

I collapsed and closed my eyes for a moment, but I didn’t go to sleep. Instead, I wondered why I was listening to Wei Lai. With my strength, I can just stand up for myself! Even if she does have amazing bone density, strength and resistance to blows… But are those a reason to control me?

I really don’t want what I’ve been given, so why am I going to die with my parents and wife? All this was forced on me by that bitch Wei Lai.

I stayed up in anger until dawn until the breakfast delivery came – a bowl of millet porridge, a plate of pickles, and an egg. The beauty of this was that it was still a nutritious breakfast. Actually, I know it’s a money-saving breakfast. If you really wanted to make a nutritious breakfast, why wasn’t there a glass of milk? I hate this kind of shamelessness the most. It’s like a prostitute expecting a medal for being chaste!

I doubt this hospital treated me for free. They must have charged me a lot of money – only now, my money is under the control of the Public Security Bureau. No, it must be controlled by Wei Lai. If the Public Security Bureau knew that I had such a large amount of money, they would have checked where the money came from.

The money and the bank card belonged to Lao Shen, and because it was so sudden, I didn’t have the time to transfer it to my name. In that case, the Public Security Bureau won’t be able to find out that money exists for a while

It didn’t take long after breakfast until the dean, the director, and the psychiatrist started evaluating me. Apparently, they were bribed to ask me exactly the same questions as I had gone through last night. There are cameras at the time of evaluation and seating evidence is kept. This proves that the hospital’s rating is objective and responsible, although it’s a different story if you get sick again after you leave.

Just like that, I got through the evaluation very smoothly. Once re-established in the house, Wei Lai arrived in the afternoon, looked at me with a smile, and said, “Well, come on!”

She led me into a Ford two-car sedan, and I took the passenger seat and said, “Am I allowed to go home now?”

“What are you going to do at home? There’s nothing left in your house.” She said.

“I just want to go home. Can’t I?” I said.

“You’re still on bail awaiting trial, so you don’t have any real freedom without Hu Thirteen.” She started the car’s engine and drove it out of the driveway without issue.

At this point, I realized a serious problem. She must have retained all of Wei Lai’s memories and skills! Otherwise, a female ghost trapped in a coffin for so many years could never have driven the car so skillfully.

“Even if Hu Thirteen killed someone, I haven’t!” I said. “I need to go home, and I need to see my daughter.”

Wei Lai looked at me and laughed, her laughter getting increasingly louder and unbridled! Until finally: “Would you believe me if I said I could just send you back into the hospital? If I can get you out, I can get you back in again. All it takes is one phone call from me. So don’t you dare make any demands.”

I laughed at this point and said, “I don’t care. If you want to do so, you can just send me back. I don’t want to walk from one cage into another!”

Wei Lai pulled over to the side of the road, then said with a laugh, “Just go home then! I’m pretty used to living in your house anyway.”

“You’re not welcome in my house.”

“That’s not up to you!” She finished talking and drove the car back onto the road again. “All your stuff is in the back seat. Just check and see if anything is missing.”

I turned around and checked the leather bag containing my clothes. There was nothing missing, So I put the bag back again.

She drove all the way to the outside of the house. When we got out of the car, I saw a man standing in the woods next to the car. He wore a helmet and dirty overalls, had a grey face, and was staring hatefully at us.

Wei Lai stood by my side and said, “You see, there are spirits who died unjustly here in this beautiful neighborhood too! There’s no way for them to reincarnate without clearing their regrets.”

I said nothing and walked into the apartment building. Wei Lai, like Hu Thirteen, refused to take the elevator. But I insisted on it. When the doors opened, I stepped in, pulling Wei Lai inside. She struggled in my grasp until the elevator doors closed”

The moment the elevator doors closed, her body shivered, and beads of sweat, the size of beans began to form on her face, drenching her body in sweat. She looked around tremblingly and sat down in a corner as her body went limp.

The elevator door opened, and I reached down and yanked her out with one hand. When she reached the exterior of the elevator, she took a few deep breaths before raising her hand and starting to curse, “I’m going to kill you, you bastard!”

This kind of reaction surprised me quite a bit, so I replied with, “Looks like you’ve been in a coffin long enough to get claustrophobia. Do you think this elevator is like an iron coffin?”

She didn’t say anything, but instead took out her keys and opened the door to my house. Once she went inside and sat down on the couch, she fell backwards and started panting incessantly. Her chest rose and fell, and her body seemed extremely weak. At this point, I surprisingly felt a bit guilty.

But only for an instant. After the guilt, came a rage that made me want to even kill her. I was still worried that she and Jia Jia were still dependants on each other, though. So even if I strangled her now, I was scared to think of what might happen to Jia Jia.

As I was hesitating, Wei Lai’s mobile phone rang. She answered the phone and said something grimly like, “Yeah!” and then hung up the phone. She said, “Hu Thirteen wants to see you.”

I looked at her in surprise and said, ”You have a connection with Hu Thirteen? When did you guys….”

“We’re working together, and after all, it’s all about profit.” Wei Lai looked at me and grunted, “I will do what I say, and if you do what I say, I will let you see your wife.”

“I don’t need you to see my own wife. I can do that myself. As soon as I go down that road, I’m sure to see her.”

“You’d only be doing it based on the assumption you can meet her. You’d be lost on that road without a guide and never get where you want to go. You’d be stuck on that road all your life until you run out of gas! Don’t waste your life! I don’t want you to die yet. You are still of use, understand?”

Instead of speaking, I walked over and opened the fridge, which contained the scalloped fish my wife had purchased. When I took out the fish, I couldn’t hold back my tears.

Wei Lai said behind me, “I didn’t expect that from you!”

I steamed rice, stewed scalloped fish, and made a big bowl of chicken stirfry. Shortly after I finished, Hu Thirteen arrived in the apartment in disguise, took off his wig, and went to the bathroom to remove his makeup. Wei Lai hummed and said, ”You’re being really careful, huh? Hu Thirteen, your paranoia will only arouse suspicion.”

Hu Thirteen snapped instantly, “I have to be careful! I’m not like you, I’m afraid of taking a bullet!”

I said to myself, “What’s that supposed to mean? Hu Thirteen is afraid of getting shot, but Wei Lai isn’t?”

Hu Thirteen wiped his face while walking out of the bathroom, sat down on the sofa with a big grin, and took out a pack of cigarettes, throwing them on the sofa. “Don’t hold back and take one!”

I reached for one, but the moment I grabbed it, I was reminded of how hard my wife had tried to get me to quit smoking. I tossed the cigarette back onto the coffee table and said, “I quit! I quit while I was in the mental hospital.”

At this moment, I was thinking, why would Hu Thirteen want to cooperate with this demoness?

Then he spoke. “Tomorrow, I will take you to an absolutely secure location.”

Wei Lai made eye contact with me and said, ”Xing Yun, a big change happened during the time you were in the hospital. Listen to Hu Thirteen and I, okay?”

I looked at Wei Lai and then at Hu Thirteen. I had always felt a little uncomfortable about this. What were they planning to do here? It seems like the two have made some sort of agreement and are doing something that benefits both of them. But that shouldn’t be any of my business. They’re just using me.

As I contemplated this issue, I looked at Hu Thirteen and asked one thing.

“Thirteen, are we still brothers?”