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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 75: Finding Joy in Suffering
One person and one ghost, riding a bicycle. Mi was in high spirits, either sitting on the bike frame or floating above my head, then standing upright with her arms wide open, shouting into the air. Mi had never been particularly happy as a human, but now that she was a ghost, she seemed to be even more joyful than when she was alive.
"Brother Qi, I love this feeling—carefree and unconcerned about anything." This was also something I worried about. I hoped Mi could be reincarnated as a human. If she continued like this, there would come a time when her soul would scatter, and she would lose the chance to be reborn unless I had an Underworld civil servant green card. With such a green card exclusive to Underworld officials, Mi would be half a Ghostly Enforcer, able to freely traverse between the realms of the living and the dead. She could assist the Underworld Ghostly Enforcers in investigations and capture Evil Spirits wreaking havoc in the human world.
"Mi, I want to discuss something with you."
"What is it?" Mi floated down lightly, standing on the bike frame with her hands resting on my shoulders, tilting her head playfully as she asked.
"I want to ask Master to get you a civil servant green card. That way, you can stay with me for a long time without worrying about missing your report time to the Underworld or consuming too much ghost energy, which could lead to terrible consequences."
Mi fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought while I pedaled forward.
At that moment, an electric scooter approached from the opposite direction, one veering left and the other right. A child's voice let out a startled scream as the scooter wobbled toward a tree. Just as I feared, it was happening. There were children on the scooter who saw Mi and were terrified.
The parent riding the scooter panicked for an instant and lost focus, crashing straight toward that tree.
I dropped my bicycle; even if I ran with my hands down, there was no way I could stop that scooter from colliding with the street trees. Just as it seemed inevitable that the scooter would crash into the tree—potentially leading to disaster—Mi swooped in and grabbed hold of the scooter.
The scooter screeched to a halt. The driver and his child were pale with fright as they got off, bewildered by how their vehicle had stopped on its own. The driver instinctively looked at his hands and squeezed them, seemingly unable to recall how he had braked just moments ago.
Mi remained hidden in the shadows. I rushed over to them and realized it was Mi who had saved them, yet I still expressed my concern: "It's best if nothing happened."
"Dad, there's a woman behind my brother!"
I knew Mi was hiding behind me, pretending not to know. "There's nothing going on. Look at me, I'm all alone, no women around."
The child, who looked about five years old, was with his father, who also had no women behind him. They simply didn't understand how things almost went awry just moments ago. The father explained that they lived in the countryside and had come to the hospital because the child had a cold and needed an IV treatment before heading home.
Hospitals are places where life and death intertwine. The child looked frightened at Mi, but he couldn't let fear take over after nearly causing a fatal accident. I thought there must be something following them.
"Big brother, I am..." I often found myself being too honest about my profession, which might lead to misunderstandings. I stopped myself from revealing my job and instead looked seriously at the father while pulling out the cover work ID that Qin Jian had arranged for me.
"Life Research Institute staff."
I handed my business card to the child's father. As he examined my ID, I took the opportunity to glance at the child. Behind him loomed a shadow hunched over. I smirked and warned that shadow, "Don't think you can hide; harming the innocent will ultimately lead to your downfall."
The child blinked his big, dark eyes at me and couldn't help but turn around to look. I quickly stepped forward, and under the father's puzzled gaze, I hugged the child and gently placed a safety talisman on the back of his shirt while patting his back lightly. "Repeat after me: Mommy Mommy comfort."
"Mommy Mommy comfort." The child laughed, revealing teeth that hadn't fully grown in yet. Embarrassed, he quickly covered his mouth, his eyes sparkling like peas.
That hunched shadow vanished quickly, and only then did I tell the father, "Big brother, it's best not to take him out on night roads tonight. Even in this special situation, you should wait until tomorrow to go home."
Thinking back to what had just happened, it was a close call; if it weren't for Mi, those two might have been lying on stretchers right now, uncertain of their fate. The father nodded vigorously in agreement with my advice and then left with his child.
Once they were gone, Mi stepped out.
"That was an Azure-Headed Ghost," Mi said, puzzled as to why an Azure-Headed Ghost would target a child.
"Well, he has the wrong person," I said, shifting my tone sharply. "Come out now."
Before my words faded, a shadow hunched over began to take shape in front of me and Rice Noodles.
"Do you know you can't be reincarnated as a human?"
The Azure-Headed Ghost replied, "Yes."
"Then why are you bothering a child when you can't be reincarnated?"
"I am his Uncle. I died in an accident. Who knew that the Underworld has a rule that those who die unmarried cannot be reincarnated as humans or report to the Underworld? They can only let themselves wither away."
"Even if you're his Uncle, you can't interfere with him. You're a ghost; he's a human. Children are fiery and have weak yang energy; they can't withstand your nonsense."
"I know, I know."
"If you know, then why continue? That just adds to your sins."
"Master, you are a capable person. Please help me; I want to be human again, I want to be reincarnated."
"You didn't cherish your life when you had it; now you regret it after death?"
"Sigh! Back then, I was immature, didn't want to study, was tired of the world, and ended up swallowing a whole bottle of pills. Now look where I am; I can't accept this."
"Self-inflicted suffering is inescapable."
I took Mi away. He shouted, "Master, help me, please! You must have a way to help me, I beg you."
"Brother Qi, just help him out!" Mi's heart softened; that's how people are, and that's how ghosts are too.
"Help you? How can I help! Unless you find someone willing to give you their virginity, you have no chance of being reincarnated as a human. But in this world, how could there possibly be such foolish women willing to give themselves to a stranger?"
"I... I thought about forcing it, but when they first sensed something was wrong, they would find ways to avoid me. That's why I've been troubled, trapped in the hospital. Coming out with them today was also an attempt to explore other options."
"Since that's the case, I can't do much more. Take care of yourself; I'm powerless." At this point, he should have known to back off and go about his business. But unexpectedly, when Mi and I reached the square, he followed us like a shadow.
He stood under the streetlight, hunched over, tall and thin like a bamboo pole. His pair of eyes, Yin Qi, gazed deeply at me, filled with anticipation.
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