Neither one nor the other

It was probably a bucket.

A bucket of flesh, its four walls made of bright red flab covered in teeth.

It hopped and bounced toward the building's entrance.

When Chen Ying saw it coming down, he was a little worried it was coming to enjoy the old ghost's bowl of gut-wrenching rice.

But the flesh bucket clearly did not care. The incandescent light in the doorway flickered on, and it raced outside without so much as glancing at Chen Ying.

This sudden sight seemed to stun the old ghost beside him.

"...That's not right... only one can go out at a time... if you came out, no one else could possibly go out."

"Not right... not right..."

"How did you get out?"

There was a little more emotion in the old ghost's hoarse voice now.

"Me? I just opened the door and came out."

"So you can open doors?"

"Yes."

"That's right, I can open the door to put out the gut-wrenching rice, and he can reach his hand inside..."

"You... you can push the door open and walk out... there's no mistake..."

"Kid, do you want to get out?"

"Get out?"

"This is a prison for us ghosts. You can only get out when your time comes. Every so often, you move up a floor."

"And then?"

"Once you move to the fourth floor, you can never get out again."

"So?"

"So we have to find a way to escape."

The old ghost spoke.

"He told me there's a yellow talisman in a room on the fourth floor. If you stick that talisman on your head, you can leave this place."

"You want me to steal the yellow talisman for you?"

Chen Ying felt that the old ghost's supposed "intelligence" was very limited too. If this little building really was a prison for ghosts, whoever got the yellow talisman would escape immediately. Who would give something like that to someone else?

"No. If you find it, let me know when you leave."

"But we can't go up, can we?"

"Once you're here, you'll reach the third floor sooner or later. I didn't dare go up before, but now... now perhaps I should try."

The old ghost's voice gradually grew quieter.

"I'm going to sleep. In this building, even the time we can stay awake is limited. I... remember to come find me next time."

As he spoke, the old ghost reached out and took back the bowl of char siu rice. The door creaked shut.

"Sir? Old sir?"

Chen Ying tried calling a few times, but the old man inside never said another word.

Perhaps he really had fallen asleep.

Interesting.

Chen Ying stood up and brushed the dust off himself.

First, there were a few things he could confirm.

Granny Chen clearly had real abilities. Otherwise, she could not have been this little building's "landlady."

Another point was that Granny Chen and Wu Jie probably counted as "righteous people" in the broad sense.

After all, according to the old ghost, ghosts fed on human flesh and blood, or things like lifespan and luck. Every additional ghost alive meant a few more people would be harmed.

So Granny Chen, who suppressed and destroyed these ghosts, was naturally one of the righteous.

Lastly, and most importantly...

Whether it was the immensely powerful Granny Chen or the old ghost in this building...

They both regarded him as "one of their own."

The capable Granny Chen and Wu Jie did not regard him as a ghost, while the old ghost inside did not regard him as human.

He was clearly in a state of belonging to neither side now.

Call him human, and his eating habits were getting infinitely close to a ghost's. Call him a ghost, yet Granny Chen and Wu Jie still treated him as human.

Four floors were not particularly high. It took little time to walk up.

When Chen Ying returned to the fourth floor, everything was quiet, as though nothing had happened.

When he returned to the bedroom, Wu Jie was still sleeping peacefully there.

Chen Ying lay back down in bed.

Since I'm here, I might as well settle in.

In any case, in the world of his previous life, his legs had already flown higher than the wheels, so he might as well try living here for a while first.

With these thoughts, Chen Ying lay in bed until the first light of dawn and the rooster's third crow.

Yes, he had not slept all night.

Even though his body was exhausted, even though his mind was terribly weary.

For some reason, he simply tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

He had also forced himself to endure the hunger in his belly, holding out until dawn.

"Husband, did you sleep well last night?"

Wu Jie woke and began washing up. After getting herself ready, she set about helping Chen Ying dress.

"I couldn't really sleep. I don't know why."

"It shouldn't be anything serious, but if it keeps happening, it really will wear you down. That won't help your recovery, husband."

"Mm. Jie, the tenants in our building..."

"You really have forgotten, husband. Granny never lets you ask about them. Don't ask again."

They had never allowed the old "him" to ask about these things. They were protecting him, perhaps.

"Should we go pay our respects to Granny this morning?"

"No need. Granny is busy and doesn't allow us to disturb her ordinarily. Rest for now, husband. Once Granny leaves her room, she'll call for us herself."

"Granny's room?"

"Granny usually works in the room on the far right. It's an extremely important place. We mustn't go in there ordinarily."

"I see."

"Then what are we doing today?"

"Granny found you a teacher, husband. She told us to pay him a visit today."

"I don't think she mentioned that before..."

"Granny suddenly came to give me instructions last night."

Last night?

Chen Ying wondered whether his meeting with the old ghost had prompted Granny Chen to make this decision.

Everything in this little building was under her control.

"Remedial lessons?"

"A martial arts instructor. Granny said she originally kept these things from you because she wanted to put an end to the old grudges. But now it seems that even keeping to this little building can't protect us from other people's schemes."

"Since that's the case, it proves everything before was wrong. Since the young master bears the surname Chen, he cannot escape these things. So she found a teacher for you. When you venture into the martial world in the future, you'll need some skills."

"I see. Granny really has thought things through."

"We'll leave as soon as we finish eating."

"All right."

Breakfast was very simple: hot milk, tea eggs, fried dough sticks, fermented bean curd, and a small plate of vegetables boiled in plain water.

Chen Ying had no appetite to begin with and only forced himself to drink a glass of milk.

After breakfast, they went straight downstairs. A vintage car was already waiting at the entrance.

The driver was a gaunt middle-aged man with a stiff expression and large knuckles.

As soon as he saw Chen Ying and Wu Jie come down, he bowed.

"Young master, young madam."

"Uncle Qing, thank you for your trouble."

Wu Jie gently opened the car door and ushered Chen Ying inside.

"Uncle Qing is the family's driver. He doesn't normally live here."

"Oh."

"Granny brought Uncle Qing here from the north. He's a trusted member of the household."

The car slowly started and drove off into the distance.

A crow also spread its wings and took flight, soaring into the sky.