Poor Thing

Within the blue mist, the surrounding scenery had undergone subtle changes at some point. After the Sheqing Ghost finished asking his question, these changes were finalized. The space where the two people and three ghosts were located was no longer the toilet, but a bamboo house that exuded a sense of elegance.

The fog hadn't dissipated, shrouding everything in a hazy mist, and the unknown—what lay within it—caused a slight unease.

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, glanced around, and unceremoniously sat down on the bamboo chair behind her. "You said it yourself, you haven't found a way to kill me yet, so what do I have to be afraid of?"

The Sheqing Ghost smiled and said, "That's true."

He waved his hand, and the twins in red robes floated up, their long red gowns dripping with blood. Before the blood could even touch the ground of the bamboo house, it was evaporated into the air by an unseen force.

"I'd like to know, when did you figure out my true identity?" Sheqing Ghost sat down on another bamboo chair, seemingly quite interested in chatting.

Zhao Yijiu ignored the bamboo chair beside her, standing there coldly and stiffly, but quietly pricked up her ears after hearing the question.

Yu Xing did not answer, but touched the bloody hole on his head and sighed.

If this continues, his anemia will only get worse sooner or later.

After confirming that the external wound had mostly healed, but the internal wound was still healing and causing the pain to persist, he said, "Actually, it was just a gut feeling. The details made me suspicious of you, but I wasn't sure until you successfully brought these twins here."

The Sheqing Ghost uttered an "Oh?"

"You deliberately gave yourself away. At first, you foolishly closed only one stall door, letting me discover you. Then, you showed great knowledge about the owner of the Sheqing Ghost, who was rarely seen in bars according to other ghosts, and even timed it perfectly, using the noise outside as an opportunity to escape at the crucial moment. After that, despite your initial stupid actions, you brilliantly completed the mission of bringing the Red-Clad Ghost with fabricated reasons. Your character is inconsistent." Yu Xing noticed a square table next to her, with a steaming cup of tea inexplicably appearing on it, the steam and billowing blue mist mingling together.

"Thanks." He picked up his teacup, blew on it, and took a sip. A warm current flowed straight to his stomach, suppressing much of the chilling aura of his curse. "All of that was part of your plan. The purpose... wasn't it just to arouse my suspicion? A performance is meaningless without an audience, and I am your audience. I need to react. What you're expecting is my reaction when you find out you're the Sheqing Ghost, right? Rather than being curious about how I figured out your identity, you're more curious about which point in your carefully crafted persona I noticed."

"Because you acted so suspiciously, I began to suspect you when you displayed an intelligence level that didn't match what you'd expect from a coward in gray. I have a lot of confidence in my intuition, but to be sure, I tested you with the twins, and the result was as expected."

"Good, good!" The Sheqing Ghost clapped happily. "It's rare to find that you can keep up with my thoughts!"

Yu Xing smiled.

Of course! After all, we do have something in common – that living a long life is boring.

The Sheqing Ghost asked, "What if I hadn't brought the twins with me?"

"That means they doubted your story. Either you're not smart enough and are just an ordinary discouraged Ghost, in which case they'll probably kill you because they find you annoying, which would just accomplish what I didn't finish, wouldn't that be great? Or, you did it on purpose, and you are the Sheqing Ghost. But you can't really die at their hands, so I must have noticed something amiss when you were tampering with things."

It means that no matter the outcome, he will profit.

Yu Xing's small teacup was quickly emptied, but he didn't shamelessly ask for another cup; he simply put the teacup down.

The Sheqing Ghost did indeed like leaving clues for fun, wavering between helping and playing with people, but Yu Xing was not one to suffer losses.

"Very good, very good!" The Sheqing Ghost increasingly pleased. He pointed to the red-clad twins in the air, "You truly are my confidant. Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush. If you want to kill them, I have no objection. I don't care about the bar's reputation at all."

"But, as an evil spirit, I now intend to use them to blackmail you. Promise me one thing, and I will give them to you. Otherwise, I will hide them, ensuring you will never find them, and all your efforts will be in vain."

Yu Xing gave him a look that said, "What do you mean, 'what are you going to do'?" "This doesn't seem very reasonable. We've been following the rules, and you're just interfering. Is that alright?"

"Hahahaha... It's all about being unreasonable, otherwise it wouldn't be fun." The Sheqing Ghost leaned forward, the crystal beads on his ornate robes clinking together, making a pleasant sound. "So, what's your answer?"

"Wait a moment," Yu Xing said to Sheqing Ghost first, then turned to Zhao Yijiu and asked, "Do you agree or not?"

Zhao Yijiu: "Me?"

"Yes, you and I killed the woman in red together. I need to use her as a bargaining chip, so naturally I need your consent."

"..." Zhao Yijiu paused for a moment, then said coldly, "You decide. I don't care. I didn't contribute much anyway."

"Good."

Yu Xing a reply, Yu Xing looked back at Sheqing Ghost, stretched, and said, "It sounds like... we don't have a choice. What are your requests?"

The Sheqing Ghost smiled, not at all surprised by the answer. He said, "I can sense some strange power within you. You're not from here, are you?"

Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu both showed a hint of surprise.

They could tell that the person Sheqing Ghost was referring to wasn't from this place; it seemed to mean more than just a city, a province, or even a country. Although the other person's tone was natural, they all understood what Sheqing Ghost meant immediately.

The Sheqing Ghost is asking about a world!

He was asking: You're not from this world, are you?

This was the first time Yu Xing had encountered an "NPC" who was aware of the existence of this Absurd World!

Seeing their expressions, the Sheqing Ghost spoke in a calm, smiling tone, "Sheqing Ghost, having transcended the boundaries of humans, ghosts, and gods, you'd better not look at me with the same eyes you would an ordinary ghost. I've long sensed something about this world. I suspect your world is far more interesting than this world I'm tired of seeing, so I want you..."

He pointed at Yu Xing: "Take me with you."

Yu Xing was speechless for a moment.

He really wanted to tell the Sheqing Ghost, "Young man, you have a great idea, but whether or not you can abduct the BOSS is not up to him. If the system doesn't allow it, there's nothing he can do."

"Didn't you want [Sheqing Dreamscape]? That's something I put in the vending machine myself." A fan appeared in the Sheqing Ghost's hand. He didn't open it, just tapped it idly in his hand. "Since you're going to exchange it anyway, I'll hide it inside this thing and go with it."

"It's so rare to meet someone as interesting as you. I want to follow you; I'm sure I'll encounter many interesting things."

Yu Xing: "Hmmm..." Is she going to cling to him? The key question is, even if the Sheqing Ghost can leave, can it really travel with him through the various simulation worlds?

"Let me think... what do humans usually call this... right, a weapon spirit. You got a weapon and also got a good weapon spirit like me for free. No matter how you look at it, this is a good deal for you." The Sheqing Ghost smiled broadly. "If you're worried that mysterious force will stop you, you don't need to. It will respect my choice. If you don't believe me, think back and see if anything was different from before."

It sounds Sheqing Ghost not only noticed the events of the Absurd World, but also had some awareness of the system's existence.

Yu Xing listened, he suddenly remembered a strange deduction prompt that appeared when the system first released team and leaderboard information.

[A note from the bar owner: "The Sheqing Ghost Bar" will not be held responsible for any deaths incurred while on duty.]

That's right, that's it!

Yu Xing was initially a little confused as to why the system would give such a sentence. He thought it was a rendition of the bar owner's words, meant to warn the user to cherish life.

Now it seems that this was actually the Sheqing Ghost himself, who somehow managed to add his own words to the system notification!

Is the Sheqing Ghost really that strong?

Yu Xing processed the information, something suddenly occurred to her. "You're so strong, what if you leave with [The Sheqing Dreamscape]? Wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

"I won't leave, I won't leave." Sheqing Ghost elegantly shook his fan. "What's interesting is never the scenery, it's the people. If you can't find an interesting person, the scenery will always be the same... If you really don't trust me, that's fine too. Just do it the way you trust me."

As soon as he finished speaking, an unexpected system notification suddenly appeared in front of Yu Xing's eyes.

[The Sheqing Ghost "Yiqing" attempts to make an agreement with you, becoming a temporary resident of the sacrificial offering "Sheqing Dreamscape." Before your death, Yiqing is forbidden from leaving this sacrificial offering's control and from harming you.]

[Conditions: You must remove him from the "Haunted Bar" deduction scenario, and you must not transfer "Sheqing Dreamscape" to others or remove it from the Persona Mask slot.]

[Do you agree? This agreement cannot be revoked once signed.]

Something's not right.

What exactly is the relationship between the Sheqing Ghost and the system that allows him to so easily get the system to do things his way?

Looking at the deduction prompt, Yu Xing asked, "So your name is Yi Qing?"

"I can't reveal the ghost's real name, Yiqing is just a title, you can just treat it as my name," Yiqing said with a smile.

Yu Xing made no attempt to hide his hesitation, muttering, "I didn't expect there to be such an agreement... but..."

"So? Will you agree to my request now?"

Yu Xing asked, as if confirming, "Are you really sure? Once I agree, you'll really lose your freedom before I die, okay? No regrets?"

"Of course I don't regret it." Yi Qing thought to himself: Even if he did regret it, human life is so short, at most eighty or a hundred years, and he would be free again.

So Yu Xing said to the deduction system, "I agree."

He showed no hesitation whatsoever; what he was thinking was: This "Sheqing Ghost Chapter" is practically a contract of servitude! He only knows that I am "unkillable," but he doesn't know that I don't age at all.

Ha, trying to blackmail me, how could you expect to get away with it without paying a price?

Poor Yiqing.