Shady Merchant

"That ghost isn't coming, is it?"

Yang Jian had stayed home all night without sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked towards the door, utterly exhausted.

The door was not closed.

He wanted to be the first to see the ghost when it appeared.

But things hadn't gone as perfectly as he'd imagined.

"I can't just wait here for this ghost to show up. If the ghost has already left and isn't planning on coming back, I'll just be wasting my time. And time is precious to me right now."

Yang Jian rubbed his bloodshot eyes, trying to clear his head and relax.

Staying on edge like this all night would drive him mad.

"If I can't find this ghost in a short amount of time, then I need to have a backup plan." Yang Jian stood up from the sofa, took a shower, packed some things, and prepared to leave.

The backup plan was twofold: first, if he survived, he would find a way to keep living.

Second, if he was truly going to die, he needed to earn some money for his parents' retirement.

With a backpack slung over his shoulder, Yang Jian walked out of the slightly rundown residential building.

He looked up at the scorching sun outside, feeling a bit dizzy.

"But ghosts don't seem to be afraid of sunlight." Yang Jian touched the back of his hand, not feeling any unusual reaction from his eye.

This meant that ghosts could appear even during the day.

Folk legends said ghosts only appeared at night, but it seemed that notion had been overturned.

It could only be said that the daylight provided a sense of security, making people less fearful.

"Boss, do you buy old phones?"

Yang Jian arrived in front of a small phone repair shop on the street.

The shop owner glanced at him and said, "I don't buy old brick phones, only smartphones released in the last two years."

Yang Jian sat down and said, "I'm not selling the phone in my hand. I'm selling these."

He took out the phones that Zhang Wei, Wang Shanshan, Zhao Lei, and others had discarded from his backpack.

"So many? Where did you steal them from?" The owner was startled and eyed Yang Jian suspiciously, looking at the various models of smartphones.

"My friends didn't want them anymore and gave them to me. Besides, would I be able to steal this many new phones? Boss, give me a price. If it's reasonable, I'll sell them all to you." Yang Jian said.

The owner looked them over. They were indeed good quality, the phones were very new, and each would normally sell for two to three thousand yuan, with some costing up to seven or eight thousand.

"This one isn't worth much, I can only give you three hundred."

"This one's good, I'll take it for a thousand. This one for thirteen hundred," the owner appraised them.

Just then, one of the phones on the counter suddenly rang.

Yang Jian glanced at it. The caller ID read: Dad.

Heaven knows which classmate's dad this was.

"The owner must be calling," the boss chuckled. "If they come looking for it, I'll be in a lot of trouble. I can only buy this phone for five hundred."

With that, he prepared to turn the phone off.

Yang Jian picked it up and answered, "It's not the owner calling, it's a friend's dad."

"Hello."

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line: "Is this Yang Jian?"

"It's me. Who is this?" Yang Jian asked.

"So Shanshan's phone is with you. I'm Wang Shanshan's father, Wang Bin. I have something I need to discuss with you. Is it convenient for you? I'd like to meet." Wang Bin said.

"It's Uncle Wang. I've been busy with some things these past couple of days, so it's not very convenient," Yang Jian replied.

Wang Bin said, "It won't take much of your time. Where are you? I'll drive over to pick you up."

"Uncle Wang, if you have something to say, just say it. I really have something going on here and can't leave for a while," Yang Jian said.

Wang Bin was silent for a moment. "It's about my daughter, Shanshan. Do you know what happened to Shanshan at school that day?"

"Didn't Wang Shanshan tell you about the haunting at school?" Yang Jian asked.

The school was haunted?

Wang Bin was stunned on the other end of the line.

Could such a ridiculous thing happen these days?

"The school is haunted? Do you high schoolers still believe in that?" he asked back with some doubt.

"I didn't believe it before, but now I do," Yang Jian said. "What happened to Wang Shanshan? Did she encounter a ghost again?"

Wang Bin said, "She might just be a bit neurasthenic, timid, and got scared. She keeps feeling like something is looking for her, following her. And Shanshan said you could help her."

"Something is following her?" Yang Jian's eyes flickered. He thought for a moment. "Is it a baby?"

A baby?

Wang Bin remembered the handprints in the bathroom. Weren't they the handprints of an infant?

"You think my house is haunted?"

Wang Bin said, "I'm asking you very seriously. Please don't brush me off with talk of hauntings. Shanshan is in a bad way. If you know anything, I hope you'll tell me the truth. Of course, I won't be ungrateful in return."

He was a successful man, how could he believe in such nonsense as ghosts?

Yang Jian fell into thought.

Judging from the tone and attitude in Wang Bin's voice on the phone, Wang Shanshan had indeed encountered a ghost.

It was very likely that ghost infant that had escaped from the school.

But it didn't make sense.

Although the ghost infant wasn't as terrifying as that old man who knocked on doors, Wang Shanshan was just an ordinary person. If she had truly encountered it, she wouldn't be alive now.

Ghosts don't negotiate when they kill.

"Hello, can you hear me?" Wang Bin asked when he heard Yang Jian's silence on the other end of the line.

Yang Jian snapped back to attention and said, "I can resolve Wang Shanshan's issue, but it's a very troublesome matter. The last time I saved your daughter for free, I almost didn't make it out of the school alive. But this time, I won't be doing you any favors, nor will I help for free. So, Uncle Wang, name your price. How much are you willing to pay to have this matter resolved?"

Wang Bin was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and immediately said, "If Shanshan can return to normal, I'll privately give you a 20,000 yuan bonus. Of course, if you can't help my daughter, you won't get a single cent."

He hadn't expected this student named Yang Jian to be so business-minded, knowing to get paid for his services.

His tone immediately became much more distant.

"Twenty thousand? I thought you'd say two hundred. Twenty thousand is too little. This matter is very dangerous and not as simple as you think. If I don't step in, it won't just be Wang Shanshan; your entire family might die. That thing is ruthless when it kills." Yang Jian said.

If he wanted to deal with that ghost infant, he would have to use the power of a vengeful ghost.

And doing so would accelerate the ghost resurgence.

In other words, this was helping at the risk of his own life.

Sacrificing oneself to illuminate others was the role of a candle.

Yang Jian felt it was necessary to earn a labor fee. Besides, Wang Shanshan's family was wealthy, while he himself was dirt poor.

"Fifty thousand, how about that?" Wang Bin replied.

"It seems Uncle Wang doesn't quite understand the market value of such matters. Overseas, resolving a similar incident starts at least at five million US dollars. However, I'm a fair person. Considering we're classmates, how about five hundred thousand?" Yang Jian said seriously.

"Damn it, five hundred thousand! Are you out of your mind for money? And you have the nerve to say 'considering we're classmates'!" Wang Bin, who usually had a good temper, couldn't help but lash out at the price.

Yang Jian wasn't angry. He chuckled, "Uncle Wang, there's no need to get angry. With your family's financial situation, fifty thousand might sting a bit, but it's not an amount you can't afford. After all, one of your houses is worth at least four million or more. Alright, let's end the call here. Uncle Wang, think it over and send me a reply. And make it quick."

"Because if it's too late, it won't just be Wang Shanshan who dies, but me too. I can't live for long, and I still have my mother to support. Earning this money is trading my life for it, and it's not easy. If it's too late, by the time you look for help again, it won't be a matter of just spending this much money. Also, don't call this number again in the future. Call my other phone. Calls on that phone are free."

After saying that, he gave Wang Bin Zhou Zheng's satellite positioning phone number and hung up directly.

"Friend, for all these phones, I'll give you five thousand yuan." the shop owner said at this moment.

Five thousand?

Yang Jian put down the phone and frowned. "That's too little? Boss, are you kidding me?"

"These phones of yours aren't worth much. For example, this latest model of the fruit phone is fake," the boss said. "If you don't believe me, I'll take it apart for you to see."

He then proceeded to dismantle the phone, and indeed, it was fake.

Fake?

What a load of crap from this unscrupulous merchant.

Did he not know if Zhang Wei's phone was real or fake?

Yang Jian's face darkened. "Boss, you didn't happen to swap the phones while I was on the phone, did you?"

"I run my business with integrity. How could I do such a thing? Your phone is clearly fake. If you don't want to sell it, you can take it back. I won't buy these other phones either."

The boss appeared indifferent and immediately changed his attitude, waving Yang Jian away.

Yang Jian stood up and grabbed the boss by his collar. His bloodshot eyes glowed with a faint red light, carrying a strange indifference. "Are you trying to die, you unscrupulous merchant? If you want to die, just say the word, and I'll grant you your wish. You dare to lie to me?"

Looking at Yang Jian's eyes, the boss was startled.

Were these the eyes a human should have?

Indifferent, devoid of any emotion, with a terrifying strangeness.