Chapter 165: The Female Ghost Seeking Her Face

Boss Tang hesitated and said, "You know that person as well. It's about time we went to pay him a visit, and you should bring your apprentice along to get acquainted."

"Listen to you. Who on earth are you talking about?" Old Man Ma asked.

Instead of answering directly, Boss Tang said, "Old Ma, some things are in the past now, and the people from those days are gone. Sometimes there is no need to hold onto grudges like that. Times are different now."

Old Man Ma looked at Boss Tang suspiciously. "What exactly do you mean? Stop beating around the bush. Who is this friend of yours?"

Judging from Boss Tang's tone, this friend seemed to have some unresolved grievances with Old Man Ma.

Boss Tang paused for a moment and said, "He is a rising newcomer from the divination sect."

"That sect? Indeed, if it's them, they certainly have what it takes to settle this matter." Old Man Ma's tone was indifferent, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

Boss Tang looked at him. "Aren't you angry?"

Old Man Ma sighed softly. "So many years have passed. Back then, that fellow surnamed Lin was indeed infuriating with how he did things, but now that he is gone, what is there to be angry about? Who is the new head of that sect?"

Boss Tang seemed to heave a sigh of relief, as if he had been worried that Old Man Ma would harbor resentment. "It's Lin Laosan's grandson. That kid is formidable—he has fully inherited his grandfather's skills and might even surpass Lin Laosan one day."

"If that's true, it's a blessing for that sect, considering how it was driven into decline by that fellow Lin Laosan! What did you say that kid's name was?" Old Man Ma asked.

"His name is Lin Daiyu."

What? Surely Boss Tang had said "grandson" earlier—how could he be given such a name? It was just one syllable away from Lin Daiyu! The boy's parents must have been hardcore fans of Dream of the Red Chamber! With a name like that, one could only imagine what his childhood must have been like.

"If we go see him, I might as well ask him to cast a divination for me," Old Man Ma said.

Boss Tang's expression turned hesitant. "You know how strict those old esoteric sects are with their rules, especially that kid—he doesn't cast divinations easily. If he doesn't want to do it, all the money in the world won't make him budge..."

So that kid cast divinations purely based on his mood? That was quite the ego!

"If he's not willing, then forget it." Old Man Ma was remarkably open-minded about it.

Boss Tang let out another sigh of relief. It seemed that the past grievances between Old Man Ma and that Lin Laosan were far from simple, and Boss Tang had been constantly worried that Old Man Ma wouldn't be able to let go.

Then again, Old Man Ma was notorious for holding grudges. In all the time he had known him, he was virtually the type to repay every slight. For him to be so broad-minded now was truly out of character.

***

"When are we going to see him?" Old Man Ma asked.

"He'll be coming around this way in a few days, and we'll go see him then. For the next few days, just stay here with me and don't run around. At the very least, I still carry some weight around here, and those people won't be able to track you down," Boss Tang said.

Old Man Ma glanced around the surroundings. "With a dump like this, can you even find a place to put me up?"

"Having a place for you at all is a luxury! Stop being so picky! You old codger, you haven't changed at all after all these years! You never stand on ceremony with old acquaintances!"

"If we're old acquaintances and I still stood on ceremony, wouldn't that make us strangers? It's rare for us to meet, let's have a couple of drinks!" Old Man Ma said.

"Cheers!"

The two old men started drinking right then and there. Boss Tang had already consumed so much, yet he was still drinking—didn't he fear drinking himself into an early grave?

Left with nothing to do, I went to help Ah Zhou tidy up the rooms.

Although the place looked old, there were plenty of rooms. Old Man Ma and I could easily have one to ourselves. Once the rooms were tidied and the bedsheets and quilts were laid out, the two old men were already dead drunk. Old Man Ma was holding up reasonably well and could still walk on his own, but Boss Tang was completely unconscious.

Ah Zhou and I hauled him back to his room. Boss Tang certainly lived up to his generous layer of fat; he was heavier than two fattened pigs!

Lying in bed at night, I was too cold to sleep. The quilt had been fetched in a hurry and was rather thin. I had assumed the weather wasn't particularly cold and it wouldn't matter, but I hadn't expected the temperature to drop so drastically at night.

I wrapped myself tightly in the quilt and tossed and turned. Just as I was finally drifting off into a hazy sleep, a series of footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway outside.

Who on earth was pacing about so late at night? And they couldn't even bother to tread lightly. I figured it couldn't be Old Man Ma, as he had no habit of getting up in the middle of the night. Nor could it be Boss Tang, who had drunk himself into a stupor. That left only Ah Zhou.

Tap, tap, tap, tap... The footsteps paced back and forth with no intention of stopping, instantly driving away all my sleepiness.

Was this kid ever going to let people sleep? Wandering aimlessly around the hallway in the middle of the night!

Tap, tap, tap, tap... The loud footsteps echoed relentlessly, sounding just like someone wearing high heels. Surely that kid didn't have some cross-dressing fetish, taking advantage of the quiet night to prance around in high heels and indulge himself!

I sat up in bed and walked toward the door. No matter what, I had to have a word with him; this noise was simply impossible to sleep through.

As I reached the door and raised my hand to push it open, I suddenly sensed an anomaly and froze in place.

Pervading the hallway outside was an unmistakable gust of chilling yin energy!

***

I grew vigilant, retracting the force from my hand pressed against the door, and slowly pushed it open. A figure clad in a red cheongsam drifted past. The rhythmic tapping sound came precisely from the high heels on her feet.

That would be one thing anywhere else, but why on earth was there a ghost in Boss Tang's shroud shop? He was an insider in the trade, and clearly possessed considerable capability; there was no reason he couldn't handle a mere ghost.

I studied the female ghost. She was tall, with a graceful figure, and her hair was neatly pinned up in a rather dignified manner. She walked to the end of the hallway, turned sharply on the spot with a rigid posture, and headed straight back in my direction.

I couldn't help but gasp softly. I hadn't expected this female ghost to be a "back-view killer"—her face was a mangled mess, completely devoid of eyes and nose, looking as flat as if it had been hacked off with a blade and left to rot. It was as gruesome as nightmares could get!

Movement came from the adjacent room. I pushed my door open a fraction wider and peered out, only to see Boss Tang's door gently unlatch, and a bloated, chubby face peek out from within.

Boss Tang tracked the female ghost's direction, caught sight of me, and paused for a second before raising a hand to signal me for silence with a gesture over his mouth.

The female ghost walked to the end of the corridor, turned around once more, and headed toward the opposite end. I gently pulled my head back to avoid being discovered.

She walked to the end, turned her stiff body around again, and walked back. I didn't dare look at her face and averted my gaze.

Boss Tang watched her unblinkingly.

The female ghost paced back and forth for well over half an hour before finally veering into a corner of the hallway and disappearing from sight.

A sigh echoed, followed by a creaking sound as Boss Tang stepped out of his room and into the corridor.

I pushed my door open and walked over.

"I know what you kid wants to ask. I'm deliberately letting that female ghost roam free. She... sigh, she's a pitiful soul," Boss Tang said.

Actually, rather than the female ghost, I was far more curious as to how Boss Tang, who had been dead drunk and completely unresponsive earlier, was now brimming with vitality and completely unaffected.

"Why does that female ghost keep pacing back and forth in the hallway?" I asked.

"She's looking for her face."