Ghost-Welded Door

Wu Zhong stood there in a daze, his mind buzzing.

He had experienced this kind of "door won't open" situation not long ago.

If the elevator incident had been a coincidence, then what was this?

There was nothing wrong with this Buick's door. Wu Zhong had personally taken it out for two test drives, and the door had opened and shut smoothly.

How did something go wrong the moment the owner arrived?

Thinking of the elevator incident, Wu Zhong's first thought was: I must have run into a ghost!

"Old Wang, what's going on?" The boss questioned Old Wang first.

Old Wang hurriedly said, "I don't know! I only changed the filter! Little Wu test-drove it, and he said there was no problem!"

"Little Wu!" The boss glared sharply at him.

Wu Zhong glanced at his coworker and had no choice but to bite the bullet. "There was no problem when I took it out on the road."

The man in the suit pulled out his phone and started recording. "What are we supposed to do now? You didn't deliberately break my door so you could make me pay for a replacement, did you?"

The boss immediately panicked. "No, no, of course not!"

The man in the suit checked the time. "I need my car urgently!"

The boss glared at Wu Zhong, signaling him to deal with it quickly, while soothing the car owner and asking him to wait inside.

The moment Wu Zhong got his hands on it, beep—the car door slid open smoothly.

Old Wang looked astonished. "Huh? Isn't it fine?"

"Hiss..." Instead of relaxing, Wu Zhong grew even more nervous.

He had watched the owner struggle to open it for ages, yet it opened the instant Wu Zhong touched it.

It was exactly like the elevator incident. Damn it, he really had seen a ghost.

"Brother Wang, maybe the owner is deliberately trying to make trouble? We don't know either. Look, where's the problem? Isn't it working perfectly?"

Wu Zhong spoke calmly as he repeatedly shut and opened the door, shaking it around. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

At the same time, he used the rearview mirror to check his own complexion, then checked whether something was riding on the back of his neck...

This bizarre incident sent chills down his spine.

Old Wang sneered. "Fuck, he's just a weirdo. The first thing he did was pull out his phone to record. He fucking came prepared."

Wu Zhong asked, "What do we do now?"

"Just tell the truth and let the boss send him away." Old Wang didn't care much.

Wu Zhong nodded. "All right. Brother Wang, take it for a spin and show him... I'll go talk to the boss..."

With that, he quickly walked toward the boss, who was still trying to placate the owner.

"Mm..." Old Wang climbed into the car and casually reached for the door to close it.

But no matter how long he pulled, it would not move.

"Mm?"

Old Wang was completely dumbfounded.

He got out to inspect the door, yanked it hard, and even leaned his whole body into it. His shoe soles were practically about to spark from friction, yet the door still would not close.

Forget closing it—even moving it a tiny bit was impossible. It was as if it had been welded shut.

"Huh?" Old Wang stared blankly at the sliding track of the door... staring and staring, unable to figure out what was wrong.

By then, Wu Zhong had explained everything to the boss, and the three of them walked over together.

The man in the suit said coldly, "The door can open now, right? If there are any more problems, I'll come back and settle the score with you."

The boss patted his chest. "If there's another problem, come right back. I'll fix it for free."

But Old Wang poked his head out, looking utterly lost as he looked at the owner. "Boss, this... this car..."

"What is it?" Seeing something wrong with Old Wang's expression, the boss went over, and the two whispered to each other.

The man in the suit impatiently walked over and plopped himself into the driver's seat.

He stepped on the accelerator to start the car while trying to shut the door.

To his surprise, not only would the door not close, even the accelerator would not depress.

"What? Why is the accelerator broken too?" His face twisted with anger.

And the most shocked person there was Wu Zhong.

"Fuck, even the accelerator doesn't work?"

"What the hell is this? Ghost grandpa, stop haunting me."

Wu Zhong was extremely tense. His thoughts raced, and he had no idea how to explain it. It could only be some supernatural incident.

Only he could open and close the door normally. Nobody else could open it, nor could they shut it.

Even the accelerator!

It was too bizarre, too sinister. A little ghost must have latched onto him to play tricks, right? No wonder he had been so unlucky today!

Wu Zhong was not a particularly superstitious person, but he had no choice but to believe now.

If it was not a little ghost haunting him, then did he have some kind of superpower?

What kind of bullshit superpower was this? A door he closed could not be opened by others? A door he opened could not be shut by others?

What a stupid fucking superpower! If it really was a superpower, how was he supposed to deactivate it?

He screamed inwardly, desperately hoping this strange effect would disappear.

"Little Wu! Little Wu? I'm talking to you! What are you spacing out for? Did you do this?" The boss stared sternly at Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong came back to his senses and shouted, "I didn't do this, but there's definitely a ghost involved, Boss..."

Old Wang chimed in, "It really does look like a ghost is holding the door."

"What nonsense are you talking about? What ghost?" The boss was furious.

Wu Zhong patiently explained, "Boss, it's not like you don't know cars. Can't you tell this car is cursed?"

The owner got out angrily. "I don't care about ghosts or whatever. The damn door is really stuck at an angle!"

"What, am I supposed to drive with the door crooked?"

"I can't drive it away either! Even the accelerator is welded down! Are you screwing with me?"

He took out his phone to expose them, and the boss hurriedly tried to calm him down, pinning the blame on Wu Zhong and Old Wang while asking for more time.

The moment Old Wang saw he could not escape blame either, how could he accept that? He began shouting, and the scene descended into chaos as everyone started arguing wildly.

The boss was at his wits' end. He also thought the car was cursed, but he could not say that.

Was he supposed to tell the owner, "Your car has been possessed? A ghost pulled the door? A ghost welded your car shut?"

In broad daylight, would that not make the owner explode with anger?

The guy was recording on his phone. Jiangxi Province would become a nationwide trending topic again, and a new idiom would emerge: "Jiangxi ghosts weld cars."

Then he could forget about doing business. Right now, the boss only wanted to keep things from escalating and desperately tried to placate him.

"Our shop is a legitimate auto repair shop. Let me personally handle this for you, all right?"

But the owner would not let it go. "What the fuck is legitimate about this? You locked my accelerator solid. You don't want me to leave, do you? Desperate for money?"

"I knew nothing good would happen once I drove into Jiangxi Province. It's all crooked schemes and disgusting people. No wonder Jiangxi people are poor their whole lives."

"..."

The shop instantly fell silent.

The boss straightened up at once. Old Wang's lips moved as though he were cursing under his breath.

Wu Zhong stepped forward and looked at the boss.

The boss suddenly swept one hand behind his back. The movement was so broad that it tugged up his sleeve, revealing part of a tattoo on his arm.

Wu Zhong and Old Wang exchanged a look. They both knew the boss had once been a street tough, with dozens of brothers behind him. He feared no one in a fight, and in his early years had even sold sand on the side, making a good living.

Later, after the crackdown, people like him disappeared. The boss used the money he had saved to open this shop and make an honest living.

Still, he occasionally bragged to them about his glory days. When drunk, he had a violent temper and often got into arguments on the street late at night, showing off his muscles. They were solid blocks of muscle, and he could even lift Old Wang with one arm.

He had once declared that he could still take on ten people by himself, and that anyone who dared make trouble in his shop would get beaten up.

This owner has really run into a brick wall, Wu Zhong thought.

The owner also sensed that the atmosphere had changed and retreated two steps in fright.

"Is the boss grabbing a wrench? Don't let this turn into a shitstorm..."

Worried something might happen, Wu Zhong thought he should hold the boss back if necessary. Then he followed the boss's hand with his eyes.

The boss pulled out a pack of Soft Zhonghua cigarettes from his back pocket. He usually could not even bear to smoke them himself, but now he wore a fawning smile as he took one out and offered it to the owner.

"A misunderstanding, brother. Just a misunderstanding."

Wu Zhong and Old Wang were both stunned into silence. "..."

The boss was half a head taller than the other man, yet he bowed deeply.

"Our shop is absolutely legitimate. We guarantee we'll handle this properly, and there won't be any extra charges... Here, brother, have a smoke and cool down."

He tried his best to explain and soothe the owner, lighting a cigarette for him.

Seeing this, the owner was no longer afraid. He pointed at his phone and said, "Say it to the camera yourself. Did you deliberately tamper with it?"

"No, no, how could that be? I do business with a conscience. I would never pull that kind of crooked stunt." The boss hurriedly explained.

The owner continued, "Then did I break it myself? Are you saying I'm deliberately framing you?"

The boss forced a smile. "No, no. It was an accident. We made a mistake, but we guarantee we'll repair it for you."

After much pleading and coaxing, he finally calmed the owner down by admitting to the camera that it was their side's fault. He then invited him to sit aside and drink tea.

Wu Zhong and Old Wang were both upset, but since the boss had said that, there was nothing they could do.

The boss walked out with a dark expression and studied the car by himself for a while, only to end up completely confused.

The driver-side door was welded shut, and the accelerator was welded down. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had no idea what the problem was.

Should he take it apart and inspect it?

The boss looked at Wu Zhong and Old Wang. "You two repaired this car. Tell me honestly, what did you tamper with?"

"I know you two usually make sneaky faces behind my back and hold in bad ideas, but don't screw me over like this."

"If an auto mechanic intentionally or through gross negligence damages a vehicle during repairs, then after the repair shop assumes compensation liability, it has the right to seek reimbursement from the mechanic who acted intentionally or with gross negligence."

The boss's words completely stunned Old Wang.

"What the hell? Why? It has nothing to do with me! I only changed a filter. Little Wu drove it out for a lap, and it was like this when he came back. Who the hell knows where he drove it?" Old Wang hurriedly said.

Wu Zhong frowned and glared at him. "What? I was opening and closing the door just now, and you said there wasn't any problem at all."

"Now you're saying you don't know where I drove it?"

"Master Wang, you're an experienced mechanic too. Does this look like something an ordinary person could tamper with? I think there's a ghost involved!"

"If you keep lying, be careful a ghost might knock on your door tonight."

Old Wang wanted to clear himself of responsibility, but he too felt that the car was cursed. It did not look like the kind of damage a person could have caused.

Fuck, he could not make sense of it.

The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Could it really be a supernatural incident?

Jiangxi Satellite TV was not famous for much else, but it aired supernatural and paranormal programs every day.

Things like Classic Legends and Strange Tales—every sort of horror and bizarre program. They had been steeped in that stuff day and night.

On top of that, Dragon-Tiger Mountain, the ancestral seat of Zhengyi Dao, was also in Jiangxi Province. There were countless Taoist temples of all sizes, locals often held rituals, and many stories circulated there.

Taoist priests could be seen everywhere. Folk customs and paranormal beliefs were deeply ingrained throughout Jiangxi Province.

This was especially true in the auto repair business. Drivers from all over the country talked about everything under the sun, and after enough conversations, they would inevitably bring up superstitions. They often hung charms to ward off evil in their vehicles.

Wu Zhong pressed on. "There was no problem when I drove it. The moment the owner arrived, something went wrong. Then it got better, but when you touched it, something went wrong again..."

"I don't know what the owner brought with him, but if there really is something unclean here, who do you think it's on now?"

At those words, even the boss backed away three steps, staring at Old Wang in horror.

Wu Zhong's words frightened Old Wang too. He felt uncomfortable all over and muttered, "Boss, this car is too cursed. Maybe your shop attracted something unclean."

"I suggest you find a Taoist priest to take a look. It might solve the problem."

The boss fell silent.

It was also his first time experiencing something so strange. He had always heard people talk about this paranormal thing or that ghost story.

He had heard of ghosts making people lose their way, ghosts pinning people to their beds, and ghosts pulling brakes, but "ghosts welding cars shut" was something he was hearing for the first time.

The three looked at one another while the owner grew impatient.

"No, you're auto mechanics. You can't even fix a door? Fix it already! What are you standing around for?" The owner urged them. He did not believe any of that ghost nonsense at all.

The boss said darkly to Wu Zhong and Old Wang, "This is fucking cursed. Nothing like this has ever happened in my shop. You two caused this today."

"Like I said, you two are responsible for repairing cars. Now there's a problem with the customer's car, so you have to fix it."

Wu Zhong took a deep breath. "I'll try repairing it. Old Wang, you might have picked up something unclean. Doesn't the shop have a statue of Guan Yu? You haven't worshipped him in a long time, right? Go pay your respects."

Old Wang had been thoroughly confused by his words. He immediately went to burn an incense stick before the shop's Guan Yu statue, trying to pray his way out of trouble at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Wu Zhong held the car door and pretended to inspect it for a while before getting inside.

"Whether it's a ghost or a superpower, deactivate. Hurry up and deactivate."

Wu Zhong silently repeated the words as he reached out and shut the door.

The owner was drinking tea when he saw this and raised his brows. "Huh? It's fixed?"

Wu Zhong started the car and pressed the accelerator inside. The whole time, he screamed inwardly, trying to control the strange effect.

Finally, he opened the door and got out. "Try it..."

The owner stepped forward, while Wu Zhong stood to the side with his heart in his throat.

The owner moved the door, and everything went smoothly. Then he sat inside and tested the accelerator. There was no problem.

Wu Zhong let out a sigh of relief, then lowered his head to stare thoughtfully at his hands.

Old Wang came over after burning incense. "Fuck, there really was something unclean? It got fixed just by burning an incense stick?"

"Guan Yu really is reliable."

Old Wang completely believed it now. He thought they had encountered a ghost earlier.

Otherwise, how could it have been fixed after burning a stick of incense?

Wu Zhong, however, realized that it was probably not some little ghost welding the car shut. Somehow, he had acquired a superpower.

The boss was overjoyed and hurried over to the car with a smile. "See? See? It was all a misunderstanding. Just a small problem."

But because everything had happened too quickly, the owner instead began cursing. "So you really did tamper with it!"

"Heh, have you no shame? A bunch of deadbeats and you still won't admit it? You just saw I wasn't easy to push around, got scared, and didn't dare rip me off."

"If it had been someone easier to bully, wouldn't you have cheated them out of some money? People from Jiangxi Province are all fucking savages!"

The owner's expression stiffened.

When Wu Zhong heard him go on, he angrily stepped forward and raised his fist. "Who the hell are you talking about? Why are you dragging an entire region into this? Do people from Jiangxi Province owe you something?"

"We fixed your car and didn't even charge you. Why are you spewing shit?"

The car owner seemed to have been angry already. Seeing Wu Zhong dare to talk back, he grew even more furious. "You failed to scam me and now you want to hit me? Your quality is fucking low."

"Did I say anything wrong? It's a poor shithole—filthy, chaotic, and backward, with nothing there. Even getting a meal or a room costs a fortune."

"You screwed up my car over some tiny issue. Isn't fixing it your damn job? And you still dared to charge me? Mention money again and I'll call the cops right now."

Hearing that, the owner hurriedly grabbed Wu Zhong and pulled him back. He was incredibly strong, and Wu Zhong simply could not break free.

He shouted, "Forget it, forget it. We won't charge you."

Seeing how cowardly the owner was, Wu Zhong was momentarily speechless. Unable to free himself, he gritted his teeth and said, "Being poor is an objective condition. What does that have to do with someone's character?"

Seeing the two of them tangled together, the car owner sneered disdainfully. "Objective condition? How many excuses are you going to make? Everywhere around here is doing fine, so why are you the only ones who can't?"

"Have you ever considered why your reputation online is so bad? What contribution have people from Jiangxi Province ever made to the country?"

"Poor, greedy, lazy, and uncivilized, every last one of you. You're an embarrassment to the country and drag down the image of everyone nationwide."

"Why else have you rebelled countless times throughout history, yet never produced a single emperor? Nothing but bandits."

"'Bad mountains and foul waters breed troublesome people.' That's talking about your Jiangxi Province."

Wu Zhong truly could not take it anymore. He wanted nothing more than to pounce on the man and slap him twice.

"Fuck your mother! The troublesome people Jiangxi Province produced specialize in beating emperors and high officials!"

"My great-grandfather was climbing snow mountains and crossing grasslands while you didn't even know where the hell you were! Fuck!"

Still unable to break free from the owner's grip, he kept kicking desperately, trying to reach the other man.

"Get out here! Let's see if I beat you to death!"

"Don't fucking cower inside! What are you hiding for?"

Wu Zhong was about to explode with rage. Though he had never met his father or grandfather, his mother had told him when he was young that they had both been heroes.

And his great-grandfather had even taken part in the Nanchang Uprising. What right did this man have to insult Jiangxi Province like that?

But the owner's face darkened as he forcibly held him down.

Seeing Wu Zhong's fury, the car owner did not argue further. He merely gave a faint sideways smile from the driver's seat, too lazy to bother with him, then started the car and drove away.

The three people in the shop could only watch as he left.

Wu Zhong snapped, "Boss! Don't you always brag about how tough you are? You didn't even dare hit that bastard? Why were you holding me back?"

The owner let him go, lit a cigarette, and said, "You've been working away from home for three years, and your temper is still this bad?"

"I held you back for your own good. If you hit him, no matter why you did it, you'd be the one in the wrong."

"People like that are like sticky plasters. If something happens afterward, can you afford the consequences?"

Wu Zhong deflated and said, "I... I wasn't going to hurt him badly..."

The owner patted him on the shoulder and handed him a cigarette. "You're still too young. Didn't you see him recording the whole time? People like him are the hardest to deal with."

"If this blows up, I won't be able to bear the consequences either. The higher-ups will come down and order rectification. They won't care about anything else—they'll just shut everything down across the board. Then I can forget about keeping this shop open."

Wu Zhong fell silent, utterly deflated. He could not refute the owner's words.

Honestly, he had only acted on impulse. Once he calmed down and thought about it, if he had really beaten that man, the trouble would have been enormous.

He was so busy now that he barely had time to sleep. After work, he still had to work as a wake-up caller. He could not let his cash flow dry up. If he acted rashly, what would happen to his grandfather?

Thinking of that, his anger vanished completely. He sat in a chair and stared blankly into space.

The owner and Old Wang, meanwhile, looked unconcerned. They only cursed over how they had made no money from this job, bickering over whose fault it was.

Wu Zhong could not be bothered to join them. Instead, he thought about his inexplicable ability to weld doors shut.

In the end, swallowing his anger was all because of poverty.

When people were poor, their ambitions shrank. When a province was poor, all sorts of problems surfaced. When a country was poor, it was hard to hold one's head up anywhere.

That made him pay even more attention to the strange ability that had suddenly appeared within him.