Late Night Bookstore - Chapter 33

Xu Qinglang vomited so much that he almost expelled bile.

Zhou Ze shook his head slightly. This kid was still too young, perhaps he hadn’t watched enough ghost movies as a child. Situations like encountering ghosts in the wild and eating meals with them were classic scenes.

The delicacies originally served on the plates were, in fact, maggots, earthworms, cockroaches, ants, and the like.

This trope has been overused to the point of exhaustion.

Even if he didn’t have an eating disorder, he still wouldn’t touch this food with chopsticks.

Did you expect the ghosts here to go grocery shopping every day and set up a kitchen to cook for you?

Zhou Ze recalled a case from the past. A man went to visit a friend. The friend mentioned that his wife was away on a trip, so he had to host him alone. The man stayed at the friend’s house for a week, and the only complaint he had was the lack of vegetarian dishes. The meals were mostly meat, but the broth was really delicious.

When the man was leaving, he ran into a neighbor, who remarked that the friend hadn’t left home for nearly a month, always keeping himself shut inside.

Upon hearing this, the man immediately vomited.

Zhou Ze instinctively picked up the wine in front of him but then put it down.

He nearly forgot—it was urine from a passerby.

“Since my dear groom isn’t feeling well, he should go rest,” the ghost bride said to the maid in the black dress beside her.

The maid nodded and walked over to help Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang directly pushed her away, straightened his back, and said, “Get to the point. I don’t want to play any more games.”

Yes, Xu Qinglang was angry, genuinely furious.

The ghost bride stood up and approached Zhou Ze, who could smell the fragrance emanating from her. Her graceful figure and voluptuous curves were enough to spark wild thoughts.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath.

Although he had been around Xu Qinglang for a while, he was still normal.

However, Zhou Ze didn’t dare lift the ghost bride’s red veil.

Behind the beauty lies decay, naturally so.

From the layout and decor here, it was evident that the ghost bride had been dead for a long time. If you lifted her veil, she might be in a good mood and show you her face from when she was alive. If your luck was bad, you’d be greeted by a skull covered in maggots, corroding flesh, and enough horror to blind you.

Zhou Ze recalled reading a report in his previous life. It had been trendy for husbands to accompany their wives into the delivery room, as it was believed this would make them appreciate their wives’ sacrifices and greatness. However, a Japanese husband became so traumatized after witnessing childbirth that he developed psychological issues, could no longer engage in normal marital relations, and eventually had to divorce.

In the present, Zhou Ze knew he had a neighbor who was prettier than most women. If he got scared by this ghost bride’s face, his orientation might veer into uncharted territory.

Across his past and present lives, Zhou Ze seemed to have never truly achieved satisfaction with women. He had no intention of rushing into an avant-garde game in this life.

“This lowly one invited Esteemed Official here instead of personally visiting not because this lowly one was being disrespectful or deliberately neglectful, but because this lowly one truly has no means of leaving this place,” the ghost bride lamented to Zhou Ze.

“As for this gentleman, the reason for inviting him is merely that over a decade ago, when he was still a child, he once passed through here and left a jesting remark. Back then, he joked with his companions that if a female ghost were as beautiful as Joey Wong in the movies, he’d be willing to marry her.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qinglang was stunned. He’d completely forgotten about this.

Zhou Ze cast a sidelong glance at Xu Qinglang as if to say, “I didn’t expect you, such a delicate guy, to be so precocious.”

“So, what do you want?”

Zhou Ze didn’t outright say, “You’re misbehaving; I’ll drag you back to hell.”

The little girl had once called him the most self-aware person she’d met.

Indeed, Zhou Ze was self-aware. Without benefits, rewards, or assigned tasks, he saw no reason to sacrifice himself for the prosperity of hell.

“Esteemed Official need not worry. This lowly one will depart today returning my soul to the underworld,” the ghost bride smiled faintly and continued. “This lowly one is surnamed Bai, born into a scholarly family during the Daoguang era. Unfortunately, fate was unkind, and this lowly one died prematurely on the eve of my wedding. My body has been buried here for nearly two hundred years.

Although this lowly one is a ghost, I have never committed harmful deeds. On the contrary, I once protected the villagers and their livelihoods. A gentleman named Si’an inscribed a plaque for my shrine, and since then, this lowly one gained a place of worship.

But over the past sixty years, the shrine has fallen into ruin and is no longer traceable. Now, no one remembers that such a shrine once existed here.”

“Who is Mr. Si’an?” Xu Qinglang blinked and asked.

“Zhang Jian,” Zhou Ze replied.

“Oh, him,” Xu Qinglang said, suddenly understanding.

Zhang Jian was a well-known figure in Tongcheng during the late Qing dynasty. He drafted the abdication edict for the Qing emperor, was a top scorer in the imperial examination, and was also a prominent national entrepreneur.

The shrine mentioned by the ghost bride was not a legitimate religious temple sanctioned by the court but a place of worship for an unrecognized deity—a form of unofficial veneration.

“You’re quite remarkable,” Xu Qinglang said, recovering from his earlier nausea. After hearing that he was summoned because of a childhood remark, he relaxed; it wasn’t about being forced into a marriage, after all.

Cultivating for two centuries and being honored with a shrine and offerings, surely this transcends the realm of ordinary ghosts.

“Now, this lowly one’s cultivation is complete, and I am ready to descend into the underworld. However, there is one matter I cannot leave unresolved.”

The ghost bride bowed slightly to Zhou Ze, pleading, “This lowly one’s physical body, buried for nearly two hundred years, has remained undecayed due to the circumstances of the burial. It still appears lifelike. But as my soul descends, my body cannot follow me.

Over these two centuries, due to the connection between my soul and body, my remains have developed a malevolent aura. This lowly one fears that once my soul departs, my body may awaken due to unforeseen circumstances and commit heinous acts. Thus, I humbly ask for the Esteemed Official’s assistance.”

“And how exactly should I help you?”

Zhou Ze rubbed his hands. Since the ghost bride was voluntarily going to the underworld, this was ideal, like someone turning themselves in.

No, this didn’t feel like she was surrendering herself for judgment. Instead, it was more akin to a rebellious army in ancient times, after growing strong enough, would accept an official amnesty to legitimize their status.

In any case, it was better than confrontation.

“This lowly one asks the Esteemed Official to watch over my body and, on the next Hanyi Festival, burn it using bamboo and wood,” the ghost bride said.

“Watch over it?” Zhou Ze thought for a moment before nodding.

“Esteemed Official has agreed, then?” the ghost bride asked for confirmation. “If so, this lowly one expresses her deepest gratitude.”

“There’s no need for such formality,” Zhou Ze replied, instinctively picking up his wine cup—and then putting it back down again.

“In that case, this lowly one will take her leave,” the ghost bride said. Her figure began to fade slowly, disappearing decisively.

Zhou Ze pursed his lips. In the next instant, the entire surrounding scene dissolved. He and Xu Qinglang found themselves sitting on two stone blocks.

The grand banquet had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only jagged stones and overgrown weeds.

Xu Qinglang lit a cigarette, looking somewhat melancholic.

“Disappointed you didn’t get to see what your wife looks like?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Why didn’t you lift her veil and look for yourself?” Xu Qinglang retorted with a cold snort.

Time reveals true character, and tonight’s repeated betrayals from Zhou Ze were noted in Xu Qinglang’s little book in his heart

“How could I dare encroach upon your wife?” Zhou Ze muttered, looking around. He tapped the ground lightly with his shoe and asked, “Lady Bai’s body is buried right here?”

“Probably,” Xu Qinglang said uncertainly, then noticed two rusty shovels lying in the grass nearby. “Must be. The shovels are even prepared for us.”

Zhou Ze walked over, picked up a shovel, and handed the other to Xu Qinglang. No more words were needed; they started digging.

The two dug until the early hours of the morning, drenched in sweat, before hitting something hard. Brushing away the dirt, they revealed a redwood coffin beneath the soil.

After another thirty minutes of effort, they fully unearthed the coffin.

“Let’s open the coffin,” Zhou Ze said. “It’s almost dawn. Let’s wrap this up quickly. If someone sees us, they might call the police and think we’re grave robbers.”

“You do it,” Xu Qinglang said, wiping sweat from his brow. “I find it disgusting.”

“Didn’t she say her body hasn’t decayed?”

“Who knows if that’s true?”

Zhou Ze shook his head. There was no way around it, this was his promise to fulfill. Xu Qinglang was only here to help out of goodwill. If he didn’t want to do something, Zhou Ze had no choice but to handle it himself.

He pried open the coffin nails and stood to the side, pulling hard to lift the coffin lid. Once it was open, Zhou Ze took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it down into the coffin.

“Well… She’s actually quite beautiful.”

Xu Qinglang leaned in as well. Sure enough, lying inside the coffin was a woman in a white dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders. Her face was elegant and serene, with no signs of decay. She looked as though she were merely asleep.

“She’s your wife. Do you want to, uh, take advantage while she’s still warm…”

Xu Qinglang shoved Zhou Ze hard. “Shut up! Stop talking nonsense. Quickly, get her out and take her back.”

This time, Xu Qinglang took the initiative. He jumped into the coffin and picked up the woman’s body.

But as soon as he lifted her off the ground, Xu Qinglang’s expression changed abruptly. He immediately set the corpse back down and began rubbing his hands furiously.

“Damn… So cold, bone-chilling cold. This body is brimming with malevolent energy. She’s definitely turning into a zombie! That Lady Bai must not have told us the whole truth.

She must’ve spent the past two centuries, in typical female vanity, deliberately preserving and nourishing her corpse. Now that she’s ready to move on, she’s dumping this huge problem on us.”

Zhou Ze climbed into the coffin himself. When he picked up the corpse, he too felt that bone-piercing cold, a chill that seemed to pierce directly into his soul.

But in the next moment, Zhou Ze noticed his nails beginning to grow. The icy energy—what Xu Qinglang had called malevolent energy—started pouring into Zhou Ze’s nails.

At that moment, a tingling sensation surged through him, making his very soul tremble. It felt almost like nourishment.

“Ah… Uh… Huff… Uh…”

Standing to the side and inspecting his hands for frostbite, Xu Qinglang heard Zhou Ze’s noises and looked up, his face instantly filled with shock. He pointed at Zhou Ze.

“You beast! You’re actually seizing the moment like that!”