Grandma’s concerns over the phone were still the same old ones: Have you been eating well recently? Are you full? Have you lost weight again?
In the past, Lan He often replied that he was full but just looked thin. But now, he could finally say with great confidence, “I’m full!”
Grandma was very satisfied with this answer and then asked if he had found a partner yet. Although Lan He was not very old, in Grandma’s eyes, it was already time for him to find a partner. Why was there no sign of solving his personal issue?
Even Lan He’s mom said, “Is there anyone you fancy in the crew? If not, come back home and we’ll arrange a blind date for you.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” Lan He was focused on his career, running around for auditions when he had free time, and being incredibly busy when he was in a production. He really had no time to think about these things.
Speaking of having a crush, there was indeed a vague feeling in his heart, but this hazy feeling was so elusive that he himself couldn’t accurately grasp it. He just brushed it off, saying, “I’m quite busy with work. Let’s talk about it when I have time.”
After chatting for a while, they hung up. Not long after finishing the call, Lan He received a video call from Chen Xingyu.
Knowing that Lan He had returned from the crew, she wanted to invite him to her home. They agreed on a time, and Lan He began to pack his luggage, thinking he might as well trim his bangs.
Since filming “Treasure,” his bangs had covered his eyes. For his role in “Pursuit,” his hair was styled back, but when it was down, it covered his eyes.
Just as he picked up the scissors, he heard a noise outside the door.
Sssss… sssss…
The sound was like… like many insects crawling—not just one, but many, crawling densely over the walls, making a noise that set his teeth on edge.
Lan He walked to the door and looked through the peephole, but saw nothing but darkness.
What the heck? Who covered my peephole?
Just as Lan He was puzzled, the darkness disappeared—or rather, crawled away.
Outside, the walls were covered with countless spiders and centipedes, sometimes blocking the corridor lights, sometimes covering the peephole. These dense insects were crawling around, making a rustling sound.
Lan He felt a bit nauseous.
Were the neighbors practicing witchcraft? The noise was too much!
Lan He hesitated about whether to call the property management. If he didn’t, it would seem unscientific. If he did, he would have to deal with Ying Shao’s nonsense, and both options would involve some acting.
Lan He only worried for a moment before the insects seemed to find a path. A spider, leading the way, squeezed through the door crack and fell on his shoe. It was as big as half a palm, with long, thin legs supporting its huge body. Because of its size, he could see its eight black, hole-like eyes on its head and thorax and the fine hairs on its legs.
After its spindly legs twitched a few times, its appendages landed on the part of Lan He’s foot that was exposed in his slippers. He could almost feel the fine bristles on the spider’s legs brushing against his skin…
“Ew!” Lan He’s scalp felt like it was about to explode, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Without thinking, he took a few steps back and kicked hard, sending his slipper flying, and the spider with it. Fortunately, he moved quickly because he saw the spider spewing venom on the slipper as it flew out.
As soon as Lan He saw the Gu insects coming in, he wondered if Ying Shao had sent them to make him believe, deliberately. But when the spider spat venom, he became unsure; Ying Shao had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and didn’t seem like that kind of person.
But that was just the second one. Once one broke through, the other Gu insects followed, covering the floor and walls, turning the beige wallpaper to black and brown.
Lan He felt nauseous and ran barefoot into the room, even distractedly thinking, how could Ying Shao, who looked so poor, afford to keep so many insects? This was different from the stories Grandma told. A Gu master only kept a few insects; was Ying Shao running a farm?
Lan He didn’t look back or down, fearing he might step on something and crush it. He rushed to his room at top speed, opened his suitcase, and took out two paper packages—fingernails of First Lady Hu and Hu 79.
Lan He had once refused First Lady Hu and Hu 79, but upon seeing the Gu insects, he felt grateful to these two foxes and their life-saving gifts.
Without catching his breath, he grasped the items, and the overwhelming rustling noise outside became much clearer and quieter, as if he had activated a buff.
When he stepped out again, there were no masses of insects, just a spider and a centipede on the floor. The thousands of insects were merely an illusion created by the Gu insects to deceive people. The spider rubbed its mouthparts together, and the centipede, as long as a forearm, crawled around, producing that bone-itching sound amplified by Gu energy.
Now their movements seemed like mere posturing to Lan He.
Nonetheless, their appearance still disgusted him, especially the spider with its multiple eyes staring at him and rubbing its legs. He deeply regretted his good vision.
Lan He retreated to a corner, wondering if the insects were wary of the fox spirit aura from the nails he held. They approached slowly.
“Which one do you want to choose?” Lan He asked, holding the two paper packages disdainfully. “If you don’t choose, I’ll choose for you.”
Clearly, First Lady Hu had higher attack power, but using a sledgehammer to crack a nut seemed unnecessary. Lan He scraped off a bit of Hu 79’s nail and burned it, waiting for his right hand to grow nails. To his surprise, as the energy surged up, his right hand grew fur…
Lan He: “??”
In a blink, his right hand became a furry paw, like a gloved hand. The nails were still there but looked less menacing, especially when he tried to retract them into the paw pads.
Lan He realized this was the paw Hu 79 used to rub Director Liu’s belly. She had given him the ability to heal.
Meanwhile, Lan He’s sense of smell became sharper. He felt stronger and furrier. He discerned the Gu insects’ scent, different from the Gu ghost next door, suggesting a different owner.
So, there wasn’t really a farm, but it wasn’t Ying Shao’s doing either, Lan He thought, reassured about his neighbor.
The two Gu insects crawled closer. Lan He saw the spider’s fangs flex, ready to release Gu energy. They were the survivors of countless insect battles, the most venomous.
Lan He, born in Hunan Province, had heard many Gu insect legends. His grandma called it “releasing grass ghosts,” and Miao villages had many Gu masters. Even his grandma, having lived in a Miao village, could cure minor ailments—there were three thousand Miao medicines and eight hundred single prescriptions, some said to dispel Gu energy. Grandma had told stories of using traditional remedies to remove Gu energy.
Though raised in the city, Lan He had never seen Gu insects before. His first encounter disgusted him. Gu masters needed great perseverance.
Suppressing his discomfort, Lan He extended his paw, catching the spider Gu and then pinning down the centipede Gu. The furry paw held them as he chanted, “Golden rooster crows in the sky, grass chicken crows on the ground, two chickens together, eating up all the filth of insects and snakes on earth…”
The insects went limp in his palm, their Gu energy dissipating, gradually reverting to ordinary insects.
“Go on, catch some mosquitoes,” Lan He flicked the spider away and put the centipede in an empty wine bottle. He remembered his grandma saying that it was hard to find large centipedes in the city to make medicinal wine.
After dealing with the two Gu insects, Lan He finally sighed in relief and rushed to wash his feet, unsure if the sensation of the insects on his foot earlier was real or just an illusion.
Lan He strongly suspected that these Gu insects, like the previous ghost, had lost their way. After all, Ying Shao was the only Gu master in this building.
How did these insects have such poor sense of direction? Even though the two apartments had the same layout, they were oriented oppositely. He decided to put up a nameplate on his door to avoid such mistakes in the future.
These incidents made him feel uneasy. If more ghosts or Gu insects came in while he was out of his body, what would happen to his physical body?
With the abilities of Hu 79 still in him, Lan He immediately came up with a solution. He took out the paper he had previously gotten from Officer Wang, which had a few sheets left, and stuck them inside his doors and windows: “When people come, the paper will block them; when ghosts come, a mountain will stand in the way. Thousands of evils cannot enter, ten thousand evils cannot break through!”
After chanting, Lan He felt more at ease.
“Hmm…” Lan He washed his furry paw with hand sanitizer and dried it before retracting the spell. Honestly, if not for his rational mind, seeing fur would have made him want to apply anti-parasitic medicine.
He also washed his real hands, feeling odd since these hands were used for eating. With the unwanted guests dealt with, Lan He lay down peacefully, allowing his spirit to leave his body.
Having just helped Ying Shao with something, and since it was mealtime, why not go to Ying Shao’s place for some food?
…
In a certain residential area in Beijing.
Master Lou and a Gu master from Guizhou, whom he had known for several years, were drinking and chatting about recent schemes. Suddenly, Master Lou grew concerned, “Ying Shao is very fierce and hot-headed. If he loses, he might go for a desperate fight. What about you, old friend?”
The Gu master spat and cursed in Miao language, then sneered, “That yellow-haired boy has only been raising Gu for a few years. These are my carefully nurtured spider and centipede Gu. He can try to break them…”
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt an emptiness in his chest, completely stunned.
Master Lou asked, “What’s wrong?”
The Gu master let out a miserable cry, “Ying Shao—”
…
“Achoo!” Ying Shao sneezed and rubbed his nose, “Smells so good!”
He was making a pot of mushroom and potato meat sauce rice with his two junior brothers. They were so poor that they couldn’t buy much meat. The potatoes were stewed until soft, and the diced mushrooms and meat turned a rich yellow-brown color. Red pepper and green onions added color, and the broth soaked into the rice. A quick stir made it even more fragrant, the aroma rising with the steam.
One junior brother was texting his dad, “Dad, no need to send money. I’m doing pretty well. Tonight we’re having mushroom and potato meat sauce rice. It smells so good…”
Amidst the rising steam, a shadow appeared, startling Ying Shao into putting down his spoon, “M-Master Lai?”
“Yes, I was passing by and caught a few misbehaving Gu insects,” Lan He said tentatively. “Are they related to you?”
“I didn’t release any Gu,” Ying Shao said without hesitation. “None of us did.” They didn’t have any business, so why would they release Gu?
Lan He knew it wasn’t him but wanted to lead into the next part of the conversation. “Hmm, so it’s targeted at you? Otherwise, why would they be lurking around here?”
“Could it be Master Lou…” Ying Shao didn’t have many enemies, so he immediately suspected the real culprit. “We’ve indeed offended someone, but he isn’t a Gu master… Could he have hired someone? So, have those Gu insects all been taken by you, Master Lai?”
“Yes, no need to thank me,” Lan He said, though his eyes were fixed on their rice dish.
With no time to prepare any offerings, and seeing Lan He’s eager eyes, Ying Shao couldn’t refuse. Silently enduring his hunger for thirty seconds, he finally said, “Master Lai, would you like some of our rice?”
He was quite happy to have a connection with the Underworld Officer, willing to go to any lengths for it.
“Sure,” Lan He responded almost immediately. “No need for a spoon, I’ll eat straight from the pot.”
Ying Shao: “…”
With the host’s permission, Lan He devoured the entire pot of rice.
The junior brother silently lowered his head, changing his WeChat message: “Dad, please send me 200 yuan. I might end up eating grilled gluten tonight…”
“Tastes good,” Lan He said contentedly after eating. “I’ll be off now. Enjoy your meal.”
Ying Shao wiped his tears but had to be grateful. “Thank you, Master Lai.”
…
Now out of his body, Lan He thought of something and didn’t want to waste any more time. He decided to float to Juehui Temple.
Was Xiao Song still at Juehui Temple? He still only knew part of his name.
Always wearing a hat before, today Lan He decided to just visit Xiao Song and have some fun. He folded up his hat and uniform—being a ghost’s uniform, it was naturally made of paper. He thought about scaring Xiao Song again—wondering if he could manage it this time, considering Xiao Song thought it was a dream last time.
Lan He floated toward Juehui Temple, which was somewhat off the beaten path. As he floated, the number of pedestrians dwindled.
“Beep beep—”
A horn sounded. Lan He turned to see a brightly colored bus.
Route 000.
…
Zhou Huiqin was an employee at an internet company, living in Beijing and often working overtime. The pressure was immense. To save money, she rented a place far from the office, requiring her to take the subway and then transfer to a bus every day.
Usually, she commuted with her colleague, but the colleague had taken leave for the past few days, leaving Zhou Huiqin to travel alone.
Today, after working late, she left the subway station to find the streets almost deserted. Zhou Huiqin stood by the roadside, checking the app for real-time bus updates, seeing how long it would take for the next 414 bus to arrive.
“Phew… so sleepy,” Zhou Huiqin murmured. She was not just sleepy but also exhausted. The recent days of overtime had drained her spirit, and she felt particularly unlucky today, having made several small mistakes at work.
“Beep beep.”
A bus appeared in her view, shadows of people on board, but the route number was unclear. Zhou Huiqin rubbed her eyes. Yes, it was Route 414. She raised her hand to stop the bus. As it stopped in front of her, a thought flashed through her mind:
Just two or three minutes ago, she checked the bus app, which showed it would arrive in ten minutes. This one seemed early.
Either the driver was speeding, or the app was inaccurate. Although usually reliable, software could still have bugs.
Zhou Huiqin didn’t think much of it and didn’t check the app again. She boarded the bus and scanned her QR code…
“Huh?” Zhou Huiqin found that the QR code scanner wasn’t working, as it didn’t show any deduction.
Driver: “If it doesn’t work, don’t bother. No need to pay.”
“No, no, I have cash.” Zhou Huiqin glanced at the driver, seeing only a side profile. The voice didn’t sound like the usual 414 driver, and this driver had a hunched back with a lump on his neck, which looked painful, though the bus drove smoothly and quickly.
In a big city like Beijing, personnel changes were common. If she missed the bus one day, no one would notice. Zhou Huiqin looked at the driver a bit more, feeling life was tough, and tossed the cash into the fare box, turning to walk toward the back of the bus.
Today’s 414 seemed a bit crowded, almost like a moving company had boarded.
Zhou Huiqin noticed many seats occupied by household appliances such as TVs, safes, even large items like refrigerators and washing machines. The remaining space was filled with passengers, heads bowed under dim lighting, a bus full of city commuters.
She wondered if the driver had used the bus for personal moving, which might explain why he didn’t charge her fare.
Standing next to a refrigerator, she noticed a man holding onto it, possibly from the moving company. He was quite handsome, catching her attention.
Unfortunately, he kept his head slightly lowered and didn’t react to her gaze. Zhou Huiqin, not being very outgoing and feeling exhausted, reluctantly looked away.
After standing for a while, she noticed something was off. She knew the route well and the bus should have turned left at the last junction, but the driver had taken another road.
“Driver, you took the wrong turn!” Zhou Huiqin called out.
Driver: “No, I didn’t.”
Alarmed, Zhou Huiqin insisted, “But this is Route 414. The route hasn’t changed, right? The final stop should be Quanfu Plaza.”
Driver: “No, it’s not.”
Zhou Huiqin suddenly fell silent. She wanted to argue further, but then she realized that none of the other passengers reacted to the route change.
In fact, since she got on the bus, the passengers had been completely silent. She hadn’t noticed this before because she was distracted, but now she realized how unnaturally quiet they were.
Initially, she thought it was because everyone was tired late at night and a quiet bus was pleasant. However, none of these passengers spoke or used their phones. They all remained slightly hunched, heads bowed at almost the same angle.
Realizing this made her panic, cold sweat trickling down. She glanced at the man holding the refrigerator. He still looked expressionless, head bowed, not speaking.
Suddenly, the entire bus felt eerily silent…
Looking back, the strangest thing was the driver… With so many people on board, he didn’t shout, “Move to the back, there’s plenty of space!” as they usually did when new passengers boarded.
Now, not knowing where she was, the surroundings grew darker. Zhou Huiqin gripped the pole tightly, wanting to ask the driver to stop, but fear overwhelmed her. She couldn’t breathe, and she feared that breaking the silence might lead to something even more terrifying. Both options seemed deadly.
She glanced at the front, seeing the driver’s crooked half-face in the rearview mirror, with a faint smile on his lips.
Ha… Zhou Huiqin took a deep breath, her legs almost giving out. At that moment, the bus suddenly stopped, and she fell to the floor, her knee hurting.
The bus had stopped? Zhou Huiqin struggled to get up, hoping to seize the chance to get off, but the rear door didn’t open. Another passenger boarded through the front door, which then closed immediately as the bus started moving again!
“I want to get off…” Zhou Huiqin finally couldn’t take it anymore and whimpered.
Driver: “We haven’t reached the stop yet.”
The new passenger squeezed into the bus: “Young lady, where are you heading?”
Zhou Huiqin took a couple of steps back and looked at him. He seemed more normal than the others, at least his head wasn’t bowed, and he wore a mask, showing only a pair of warm brown eyes.
Was he also mistakenly on this bus? Zhou Huiqin stopped retreating, choking up, “Get off, quickly get off. This bus… these people…”
The man reached out, holding her. Maybe his eyes were too captivating, so Zhou Huiqin didn’t dodge. Feeling his cold fingers, she also heard him calmly say, “Only large or elevated paper effigies have their heads tilted thirty degrees downwards for people to view.”
Zhou Huiqin’s breath hitched, paper, paper effigies…?
The driver also laughed: “Yes, young lady, you’re the only living person on this bus. The final stop is Han Jun Cemetery!”
So he was also a ghost? Zhou Huiqin looked at the cold hand on her wrist and then at his eyes, almost fainting.
“Don’t faint yet. I’m here to help.” Lan He firmly supported the girl and said to the driver, “Please turn around and drop this girl back at the intersection.”
Lan He had noticed something was off when he saw the bus filled with paper effigies. It was one thing if the driver was a ghost, likely transporting furniture, but there was also a living person, so he boarded immediately.
The driver got angry hearing Lan He, “I kindly gave you a lift, and now you’re spouting nonsense.”
Lan He calmly replied, “I should ask you, why did you trick her into boarding?”
Maybe it was as First Lady Hu said, but the city seemed increasingly chaotic. Lan He had lived in Beijing for years, and while he was cautious about avoiding secluded places, such incidents were rare before. Yan San had said there were many experts in Beijing, likely resolving issues before Lan He even noticed them.
The driver abruptly braked, stopping the bus. He grinned, “Who tricked her? She flagged me down. I’m just transporting my goods.”
Lan He said, “Since it’s a mistake, let her off.”
The driver sneered, “I think since she’s here, she should stay with me and join the party with all these buddies.”
Buddies, referring to these paper effigies? Lan He found it odd. His grandfather was a tailor, so he knew how many paper effigies were prepared for funerals. Such elaborate large paper effigies, one pair was enough. “Are these all yours?”
“Of course not, they’re stolen. So what?” The driver answered confidently, rubbing the lump on his neck.
In the past, people hid to make paper money, or the family did it themselves during the ceremony because if it was left out, it could be taken by spirits. Wandering ghosts would steal it, and underworld gods would confiscate it.
That’s why before burning things for deceased relatives, people recited or wrote names. During funerals, they also burned incense before burning paper money, ensuring the deceased received it.
Zhou Huiqin’s teeth chattered, making a constant rattling noise as she involuntarily leaned closer to Lan He. Initially, she had been quite scared, but now it was clear that only this ghost was trying to help her.
However, at this moment, the hunched driver spoke eerily, “I just want to take you to a party. Do you know what he wants to do with you if you get off with him?”
Zhou Huiqin’s face stiffened.
The driver cackled, “Look at this guy, he doesn’t even dare to show his face. He must have died horribly. You, girl, will die the same way, becoming a substitute ghost…”
The malicious driver and the seemingly kind young man—Zhou Huiqin felt more afraid of the latter for some reason. Was it true that the more dangerous a thing was, the more it needed to disguise itself to deceive people? She glanced up at Lan He, who wore a mask. What was under that mask? The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She screamed and shook off Lan He’s hand.
“Don’t be scared. He’s trying to frighten you. The more scared you are, the weaker your energy!” Lan He warned.
“Would you dare to get off with him? Look outside…” The driver said sinisterly.
Outside? There was no light at all. Zhou Huiqin felt trapped between a rock and a hard place.
The driver noticed her distrust in Lan He and continued to sow doubt, “The more harmless they appear, the scarier they are. Girl, come over here, and I’ll send you back safely…”
His voice was full of temptation. Zhou Huiqin looked at him, feeling her mental state completely collapse. How could she make a choice? She cried out desperately, “Please, just let me go!”
…
Lan He, speechless, let the chains he had hidden in his sleeve fall.
The driver’s eyes froze: “??”
Zhou Huiqin, seeing the chains, didn’t immediately understand and screamed, “What are you going to do?”
Lan He then pulled out his thin uniform, gave it a shake to unfold it, and put it on. He donned the tall hat, completing his transformation into a recognizable figure of traditional folklore, unmistakably a justice-serving Underworld Officer. “What nonsense. I’m just an ordinary Underworld Officer passing by after work. Now, do you believe him or me?”
Zhou Huiqin: “…”
Driver: “…………”
Author’s Note:
Lan He: Trial version is great! Don’t want the full version, just want to keep stocking up on trial versions!
He was just going undercover for a bit XD Also I imagine him wearing a white mask that look a bit medical to match his white uniform as well