"Qu Nanzhu!"
The furious roar rang out alongside the sound of something smashing against the wall.
Inside Du Congcai's office, Qu Nanzhu glanced impassively at the wooden pixiu carving hurled his way, his heart cold.
He was getting a little angry.
Du Congcai, meanwhile, braced himself against the desk, pale-faced and panting. A dozen breaths passed before he seemed to calm down somewhat, and a false smile returned to his face. "Little Qu, tell your uncle who told you all this. What exactly did they say?"
Deep down, Du Congcai did not believe Qu Nanzhu really knew any mystical arts. The earlier remarks could have been wild guesses, but what he had said afterward about that woman...
I can't be careless, Du Congcai told himself. Get the information out of him first. I can deal with the rest later.
The boy had only just come of age.
The boy who had only just come of age and was already a little angry ground his teeth almost imperceptibly.
He raised his eyes to meet Du Congcai's gaze, making his stance clear. "Mr. Du, if you want to fish information out of me, you'll have to show some sincerity."
He could not be bothered to argue with him. Since Du Congcai wanted to draw him out, he would go along with it.
"Fine." Swallowing his anger at being toyed with and threatened by a brat who had only just come of age, Du Congcai called the HR manager and told him to bring over a contract termination agreement.
He even stressed that it was an amicable termination.
The HR manager was startled by the call. He knew how the company usually operated. There was no such thing as an amicable termination, especially for the big streamers. Anyone who wanted to leave had to pay through the nose.
But he had not heard of anyone demanding to terminate their contract lately...
Puzzled, the HR manager pushed open Du Congcai's office door and immediately spotted the exceptionally good-looking young man standing inside with him.
When the young man saw him arrive, he even smiled and nodded.
He could not help wondering, The company is actually willing to let such a handsome young man go?!
Still bewildered, the HR manager handed over the agreement, said a few words to Du Congcai, and left.
Even after leaving, he kept feeling that the atmosphere had been strange.
Du Congcai was seething, and his tone was far from pleasant as he told Qu Nanzhu to read the agreement himself and sign it if everything was in order.
The agreement ran to four densely filled pages. Qu Nanzhu read it carefully from beginning to end, and an hour had passed by the time he signed.
Du Congcai's patience had been worn down again and again. Now, he could not even be bothered to pretend. "You can tell me now," he said coldly.
Qu Nanzhu put away the agreement and nodded, then pointed behind Du Congcai. What he said sent a chill down Du Congcai's spine.
"A floral dress, shoulder-length hair, around one hundred and sixty-four centimeters tall, and a mole beside the right corner of her mouth."
Without waiting for Du Congcai to recover, he stood, turned, and walked away.
The moment he took hold of the doorknob, Du Congcai finally snapped out of his overwhelming terror. Abandoning all dignity and decorum, he stumbled over and dropped to his knees beside Qu Nanzhu.
"Master! Master!" He grabbed the hand Qu Nanzhu was about to open the door with. "Save me, save me! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! Please save me!!"
Afraid that the people outside would hear, he deliberately lowered his voice, weeping with tears and snot streaming down his face.
Honestly, it made him look even more disgusting.
Du Congcai had every reason to react so strongly. Back then, drunk and out of control, he had been unbearably lustful and slipped into an alley intending to do something. He had set his sights on a girl who happened to be returning home after working late.
There was no need to spell out what happened next. He knew he had broken the law, and, afraid of going to prison, he had gone all the way and strangled the girl to death.
It had been nighttime. While doing that to her, Du Congcai had not even noticed the mole by her mouth. His eyes had only fallen on it afterward, while he was strangling her.
She had glared fixedly at him, as though she wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces. He had been afraid, but his grip had only tightened. The girl's limbs had flailed a few times before she finally died, her resentment unappeased.
Those eyes and that red mole had jolted him awake on countless nights. Only in recent years, after making connections and getting rich, had he paid a hefty sum to have someone obtain a treasure to calm his mind, allowing him a few peaceful years.
But Qu Nanzhu's words had just shattered that peace.
Before, seeking evil-repelling talismans and protection talismans had only been a way to reassure himself. This was different. The person before him had even described the mole beside that woman's mouth. Du Congcai dared not disbelieve him.
He thought that since Qu Nanzhu could see her, he must also have a way to save him. He could no longer care about status or dignity. If he died, none of those things would mean anything!
He truly regretted it now, but not because he had done something wrong. He regretted that it would cost him his life.
He could not die. Absolutely not.
Looking at the older man kneeling on the floor and bawling, Qu Nanzhu was reminded of a line-
I preferred you when you were all arrogant and defiant.
He was no bleeding heart. The only reason he had not dealt with Du Congcai on the spot was that he obeyed the law. How could he possibly help him get rid of a ghost?
He glanced again at the ghost baring her teeth behind Du Congcai, both amused and helpless. She could not become a malicious ghost, yet she could not let go of her obsession or enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Following Du Congcai around would indeed cause his health to deteriorate day by day and shorten his lifespan.
But that also violated the underworld's rules, and she would be the one to suffer in the end. Ruining her next life over a scumbag was not worth it.
With that thought, he spoke. "Actually, it's not as though there are no other options." It was unclear whom he was addressing, but both the man and the ghost looked at him.
Qu Nanzhu carried himself gracefully, and his voice always made people feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze. "Just because the living can't handle certain matters doesn't mean no one in the underworld can."
As he spoke, his gaze settled on the female ghost in the floral dress. "File a complaint in the underworld. The City God will see justice done for you."
Before either the man or the ghost could react, Qu Nanzhu opened the door and left.
Du Congcai repeated Qu Nanzhu's words under his breath, gradually realizing that those words had not been meant to help him!! He was helping a ghost harm him!
Rage surged through him.
Bastard!
Bastard!!
Qu Nanzhu was trying to destroy him!!
But he had no time to think about how to get revenge on Qu Nanzhu now. He had to save his own life first!
Yes, save my life first!
Du Congcai climbed off the floor, opened his phone with trembling hands, and found a contact.
Behind him, the female ghost watched his actions. Her earlier ferocity was gone, and her delicately pretty face held a desolate sadness.
For herself.
Du Congcai wanted to find someone to get rid of her. She had to listen to that young man and go file a complaint in the underworld right now!
Find the City God!
Seek justice!
Nanzhu had left Yinxie in one piece, and he had even terminated his contract without paying a single cent in penalties.
That was not all. Apparently, several loud noises had come from Mr. Du's office at the time, as though they had been having a fierce argument.
And that very night, his former manager, Li Mao, had been taken away by the police.
Yet Qu Nanzhu had left Yinxie as though nothing had happened. The stranger and more baffling the whole affair became, the more curious people grew.
But in the end, no one knew how Qu Nanzhu had managed to leave Yinxie.
As for Du Congcai, he had not appeared at the company since that day. He had even handed his work over to his secretary.
It was almost noon by the time Qu Nanzhu left Yinxie. He was starting to miss Little Zhu at home, so he simply bought a takeaway lunch to eat there.
In the taxi, the driver saw how handsome he was and jokingly asked whether he was a celebrity.
Qu Nanzhu shook his head. "No."
The middle-aged driver asked, "An internet celebrity, then?"
This time, Qu Nanzhu did not immediately deny it. After a short while, he said, "Mm."
He urgently needed money now, and the internet was definitely the fastest way to earn it. He had no plans to leave it for the time being.
He had considered setting up a fortune-telling stall on the street, but that would probably land him in the police station faster.
The driver started asking what exactly he did. Qu Nanzhu answered honestly that he told fortunes. The driver chuckled and pointed at himself. "Then tell me, what sort of fate do I have?"
Qu Nanzhu really did look up at him, and that single glance nearly scared him to death.
"Stop the car!!!"
His shout startled the driver into slamming on the brakes. The very next second, several deafening crashes rang out from outside.
An enormous truck plowed through the planted median and barreled toward them. The cars ahead were sent flying or crushed flat.
At the same time, the taxi carrying Qu Nanzhu was rear-ended. Three tremendous bangs all but announced that the car's time had come.
The driver had no time to mourn his car, and neither did anyone else. Their hearts were pounding from the chain-reaction collision unfolding before their eyes.
If that young man had not shouted for him to stop, they would have been the first to take the impact...
He did not dare imagine the consequences.
By comparison, Qu Nanzhu in the back seat was much calmer. He patted the driver on the shoulder and picked up their earlier conversation. "Sir, having survived a great calamity, you're bound to enjoy good fortune."
With that, he kicked open the slightly twisted door and climbed out. "Call the police, sir."
His takeaway lunch had spilled everywhere, but he had no time to mourn it now.
Cries for help rose all around him. He alone moved against the flow of the crowd.
The occasional explosions at the scene made people's hearts leap with fear.
Qu Nanzhu silently cast a Protective Vajra Mantra on himself, then called over several powerful ghosts watching nearby to look for people who were still alive.
"Have them make incense offerings to you."
At those words, the powerful ghosts instantly sprang into action.