Grocery Store No.514

Arc 5 – Deadly Thief

Chapter92

Looking at the female ghosts that had come close in the blink of an eye, Ling Hua’an did not panic. He pulled the Soul-Absorb Bell from his pocket and silently chanted the incantation. The golden protective shield appeared before the female ghost’s sharp claws touched his neck. When the two collided, sparks splashed, and the shield that never been broken was stabbed with five small dots. Ma Xiaohan’s eyes widened in fright, and he almost died again.

Ling Hua’an frowned and said, “With such a big resentment, you almost killed me. What exactly is the karma between us?”

There was blood and tears in the eyes of the female ghost, and the cry suddenly sounded, echoing in the empty hotel with the sound piercing the eardrums.

“Uncle…Uncle, ghosts are coming again.” Ma Xiaohan wanted to cry now. He was also a resentful ghost, but why they can shed tears, but he can not?

A figure appeared in each of the four directions of the hotel. It was a puppet whose soul was absorbed by the female ghost, leaving only their body. With white pupils, a face covered with blue veins, and a low growl like a beast coming from their throat, they quickly rushed toward Ling Hua’an.

He can handle ghosts but not puppets. Because he can’t see them, he needs help. He took a paper talisman from his pocket and silently chanted the incantation. The temperature in the initially gloomy hotel lobby dropped sharply. Before the puppets rushed over, Hei Bai Wuchang appeared before Ling Hua’an.

“Corpse puppets?”

Looking at the corpse puppet that was already close at hand, Bai Wuchang, who always greeted him with a smile, frowned. With a wave of the white flag, the corpse puppet was knocked out. It’s because these puppets are unconscious, even if they are torn apart, but if the controller doesn’t die, they can still attack the target.

Ling Hua’an cupped his hands and smiled, “This time, things are a little tricky, and I have to trouble Two Lords.”

Bai Wuchang waved his hand and said, “this hotel used to be a mass burial mound. Many people have died, and the yin energy is hefty. Some people even used this place to set up a soul-refining formation. Using the Yin energy here and the Yang energy of the people staying in the hotel as nourishment, it’s a big deal to warm up the resentful ghosts and corpse puppets!”

“You have to be punished for causing harm to the world!”

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

Without saying a word, Hei Wuchang rushed up with the iron chain in his hand.

Bai Wuchang said helplessly, “Lao Hei, be careful. This female ghost is not easy to deal with.”

The shrill cry of the female ghost sounded, and the corpse puppets rushed over again as if they had received an order. Bai Wuchang waved the white flag gently, pushing Ling Hua’an to a corner of the hotel, ” Mr. Ling, just watch the battle.”

Ling Hua’an said gratefully, “Thank you, both lords.”

Hei Wuchang’s chains are like long black snakes fighting with the female ghost. Constantly colliding with the sharp nails of the female ghost, sparks are scattered instantly.

Suddenly, with the sound of “dang”, the female ghost’s nails broke with a pair of fingers cut off, and a shrill scream was heard.

“All of you must die!” The female ghost looked at everyone with a fierce face. Suddenly, a chill wind rose. The resentment stirred as the surrounding yin energy quickly gathered. The female’s ghost cut-off fingers slowly grew out. Not only did the nails return to their original state again, but her long hair was overgrowing like a thousand thin black hairs, quickly covering the entire hotel.

Seeing that the space around him was getting smaller and smaller, Bai Wuchang’s brows furrowed even tighter. The cold expression on his face was the first time Ling Hua’an had seen it. He waved the white flag in his hand and chanted the incantation silently between his pale lips. He saw that the white flag separated into countless white strips, a white wall quickly surrounded the crowd, and spread towards the surroundings, tightly entangled with the female ghost’s black hair. The white flag is Bai Wuchang’s holy weapon. It contains pure yin energy and is intertwined with the female ghost’s grievances. With bursts of white smoke emerging, the grievances are purified. After a while, the hotel returned to its original state, and the female ghost’s strength was greatly damaged. Hei Wuchang took the opportunity to catch her.

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

Bai Wuchang looked at the corpse puppet still attacking the white wall. He frowned and said, “the controller of these corpse puppets is not this female ghost.”

Hei Wuchang said blankly, “It doesn’t matter who it is. Just destroy it.”

While speaking, Hei Wuchang threw out the chains, bound the corpse puppets tightly, tightened them slowly, and directly squeezed them into slag. Bai Wuchang flicked his fingers, and a yin fire was released. The corpses burned cleanly, and Ling Hua’an was saved from cleaning them up.

“Let go of me, let me go, I want to kill him, I want to kill him!” The female ghost looked at Ling Hua’an viciously.

Ling Hua’an approached the female ghost and asked again, “what exactly is the karma between you and me that you want to kill me so badly?”

“It’s you! If it wasn’t for you. How could my son die? It’s all because you meddled. I’ll kill you, kill you!”

“Who is your son?” Ling Hua’an frowned and guessed, “Wu Zheng?”

The one who can count as karma with Ling Hua’an and was a man should be Wu Zheng.

“If it weren’t for you, how could my son die? I want revenge. That woman is the first, and you are next!”

“So you killed Zhang Aihua?”

“That woman is the culprit. Of course, I have to kill her. I’m killing her and scattering her soul so she can’t be reborn.”

“Your son connived at Zhang Aihua’s murder and helped her dump the body. He has already planted evil consequences and will have no good end. He may have some karma with me, but it’s not your reason for doing evil.”

“I don’t care, Ah-zheng is my only son. You killed him, and I want you to die. You blind man has some skills. If I can’t kill you, I will kill the people around you and let you taste the pain of loss!”

“How did you know the Soul Refining Array? Who is the controller of the corpse puppet?”

“Haha, you think I will tell you? Dream on! Ling Hua’an. If I can’t kill you, someone will kill you anyway. I’ll wait for you in the Underworld to see how badly you die, haha!”

Hei Wuchang waved his hand; the female ghost’s sharp voice stopped abruptly and said, “You don’t have to talk nonsense with her. When we get to the Underworld, there are ways to make her talk.”

Ling Hua’an bowed slightly and said, “I am grateful to the two lords for this matter.”

Bai Wuchang returned the salute and said, “It’s our duty to catch the ghosts and spirits causing trouble in the human realm. So you are welcome, Mr. Ling.”

Hei Wuchang tugged on the chain and said with a blank face, “It’s over. Let’s go.”

Hearing this, Bai Wuchang smiled helplessly and said, “Goodbye, Mr. Ling.”

“Two lords, take care.”

In the blink of an eye, Hei Bai Wuchang and the female ghost disappeared before him. Everything in the hotel returned to normal. Ma Xiaohan, hiding behind Ling Hua’an, stuck his head out and looked around with big eyes. After confirming there was no danger, he was curious and asked, “Uncle, who were those two powerful people just now?”

“Hei Bai Wuchang.” Ling Hua’an turned around and said, “Let’s go out.”

“Who is Hei Bai Wuchang? Why does uncle call them lords?” Ma Xiaohan asked as they walked out.

“Hei Bai Wuchang are the underworld’s messengers. Calling them lords is a respectful term.” Ling Hua’an answered patiently.

“Then what is a soul-refining array, and what is a corpse puppet?”

Ling Hua’an said with amusement, “Ling Hua’an said with amusement, “Are you a hundred thousand whys¹

? You shouldn’t understand these questions yet. So, from now on, unless I ask you, don’t talk anymore.”

Ma Xiaohan pouted. Although he was a little unhappy, he didn’t say much.

A person and one ghost walked to the parking lot, and before the two of them got close, they heard footsteps, and Zhang Mian’s worried voice came, “Mr. Ling, are you alright?”

Ling Hua’an shook his head and said, “I’m fine. The matter here is settled. Plant more peach and willow trees around the hotel to drive away evil spirits.”

Zhang Mian nodded hurriedly. He didn’t believe in ghosts before, but since he saw ghosts after checking accounts in the hotel, his worldview changed. Now, he believes in these things.

“The hotel is all good, and those guests can also return. After taking me back, you can go back to work.”

Zhang Mian drove Ling Hua’an home. It was just near noon. As soon as he got home, he went preparing to cook some food, and Jiang Chengyan came in from the outside with the vegetables he had just bought downstairs.

“The hotel is all good, and those guests can also return. After taking me back, you can go back to work.”

Zhang Mian drove Ling Hua’an home. It was just near noon. As soon as he got home, he went preparing to cook some food, and Jiang Chengyan came in from the outside with the vegetables he had just bought downstairs.

Jiang Chengyan couldn’t help rolling his eyes and retorted,  “Shy? Then what are you doing now?”

“We haven’t seen each other all morning, of course. I miss Captain Jiang, doesn’t Captain Jiang miss me?”

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

Jiang Chengyan’s face became hot, and he changed the subject, “How was the hotel matter? Did you encounter any danger? Is there a ghost there?”

Ling Hua’an patted his lips, “Captain Jiang, kiss me first, and I will say it.”

“What’s wrong? Are you going to say it or not?”  Although he said that, but Jiang Chengyan’s eyes unconsciously looked at Ling Hua’an’s lips and unconsciously swallowed saliva.

“Aiya, Captain Jiang still doesn’t understand the situation. “Ling Hua’an decided to stop talking and kissed him directly.

Familiar temperature, familiar touch, and familiar taste, although they repeated every day, Ling Hua’an seemed to be possessed and especially liked the feeling of kissing him.

Jiang Chengyan leaned on Ling Hua’an’s shoulder and gasped slightly. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but rise and said, “you’ve finished taking all the advantages. Now, say it.”

“It’s just kissing. How can it be called ‘finished’? Captain Jiang, you have completely wronged me.”

After the two had been together for so long, Jiang Chengyan naturally understood Ling Hua’an’s meaning. His face turned red involuntarily, and he said, “Then why don’t you say it?”

“Let’s talk about it,” Ling  Hua’an paused momentarily, saying,  “There is indeed a ghost in the hotel, the female ghost in red who attacked Yan Yu. And she is Wu Zheng’s mother. According to her, Zhang Aihua died and devoured her soul.”

“Wu Zheng’s mother?” Jiang Chengyan frowned and was puzzled, “Zhang Aihua caused Wu Zheng’s death. She wanted revenge on Zhang Aihua. It’s understandable. Why would she want to harm you?”

“I always feel that someone is deliberately misleading her and wants to use her to get rid of me.”

When he heard this, Jiang Chengyan frowned even more and asked, “Why do you say that? Hua’an, did you find something?”

“I went to the Yan’s Hotel today and found a lot of yin energy there. Later, I learned that it turned out to be a mass grave a long time ago. The amount of Yin energy over the years made it a good place for soul refining, and a soul-refining array was arranged there. This warms the female ghost’s soul, makes her more capable, and refines a corpse puppet. If I don’t go there in time, I’m afraid there will be deaths one after another in the hotel.”

“Hua’an, I don’t understand what you said, but I understand what you mean. Is someone targeting you?”

“Yes, and I can roughly guess who it is. I’m just not sure yet.”

Footnotes

1. referred to a  book : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Hundred_Thousand_Whys↺