The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 19 Small Restaurant

"A formidable fellow?"

Zhou Fengchen looked at the spot where the female ghost had disappeared, scratching his head. It was clear the ghost couldn't have been joking with him before leaving. He then remembered what the old woman and the little girl downstairs had told him: living here will kill you… and if someone calls your name in the middle of the night, never answer…

It turns out they weren't talking about the mother and child ghosts in their room!

After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "As long as you don't provoke me, what's it to me?"

It was almost dawn when he got back to his rented room. After all that commotion, he wasn't sleepy at all, so he washed up and started practicing his morning exercises.

Around 8 a.m., I finished my practice and headed out to work. As I passed the second floor, I happened to run into three new neighbors coming out of the building. All three of them looked unwell, with dark circles under their eyes and a listless demeanor.

Zhou Fengchen thought to himself, "They really know how to have fun. I wonder if they played cards all night or did something else last night." He nodded, said hello, and went downstairs first.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the alley outside the residential area, the three men jogged up to them. The short-haired girl, catching her breath, said, "Hello handsome! I wanted to ask if there's anything wrong with our residential area?"

Zhou Fengchen said, "A question? What are you trying to say?"

The three women exchanged glances, and the short-haired girl said, "We just moved in yesterday, and the old lady downstairs told us that we couldn't live here because people would die! And last night, all three of us had nightmares all night."

"To be honest, I only moved here a day earlier than you, and that old lady said the same thing to me, but I slept very well and didn't have any dreams. Are you overthinking this?" Zhou Fengchen didn't know how to answer this kind of question, so he had to lie. In fact, he did sleep very well in the first half of the night.

"But……"

The three seemed to have encountered something terrifying; their faces suddenly turned extremely pale, and their bodies began to tremble involuntarily. The short-haired girl said, "We had the exact same dream... isn't this a bit eerie?"

"What dream?" Zhou Fengchen asked subconsciously.

The boy said, "In my dream, we all saw a pond, and then a woman's corpse floated on it, staring at us with wide eyes! Have you ever had a dream like that?"

At this point, the three looked around and shuddered simultaneously, as if the dream they had last night still left them with lingering fear.

"I didn't do it!" Zhou Fengchen shook his head and then advised, "Why don't you... move out and not live here anymore?"

The boy said dejectedly, "That's impossible! We came here from out of town to work. Land is incredibly expensive in Donghai City, and we finally found a place to live. We paid three months' rent as a deposit, totaling 1,800 yuan. The landlord won't refund it!"

Eighteen hundred yuan? Zhou Fengchen held back his laughter for a moment, but finally burst out laughing. He had really gotten a great deal! It seemed that if the house hadn't been haunted, he wouldn't have anywhere to live. He said, "Well... there's nothing I can do about it!"

The three exchanged glances, sensing that the man's smile was somewhat gloating. They muttered to themselves as they left the alley and walked away.

……

When Zhou Fengchen arrived at the food stall, the proprietress and Lao Li were already there. Seeing that he had arrived at work on time, they inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day was busy. When he had a moment to spare, Zhou Fengchen thought of the strange events of the previous night and asked Lao Li about it. But Lao Li, who was quite talkative, hesitated and changed the subject whenever the topic came up. This made Zhou Fengchen very curious. He thought to himself that there must be something wrong here. If all else failed, he would stay and take a look at the place tonight. This was related to his work and he couldn't ignore it.

Around 7 p.m., coincidentally, a table of guests arrived outside. There were seven or eight burly men with shaved heads and tattoos, who looked quite intimidating. The proprietress was not prepared to serve them, but the men were quite aggressive and glared at her. The proprietress had no choice but to obediently take their orders and serve them drinks.

It was almost eight o'clock when all the dishes were served. The proprietress hurriedly urged the two female workers to leave, leaving only Lao Li and Zhou Fengchen behind.

At around 7:55, the proprietress ran into the kitchen with pepper spray and hid in a corner. Old Li cooperated by picking up a kitchen knife and squeezing next to her.

Zhou Fengchen chuckled upon seeing this and asked, "What are you all doing?"

Old Li snapped, "Little Zhou, get over here and squat down right now!"

"But you have to give a reason, why?" Zhou Fengchen asked, feigning ignorance.

Old Li looked grim and remained silent, while the proprietress pursed her lips, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.

zizi——

Just then, the light flickered twice and went out, plunging the entire kitchen into darkness. The tense, heavy breathing of the landlady and Old Li could be clearly heard. Zhou Fengchen looked up at the fluorescent clock on the wall: 20:00 PM, not a minute more, not a minute less.

"Boss lady!" came the angry shout from the customers outside. "Where the hell have you been? The power's out, how are we supposed to... damn it!"

Just then, the tables and chairs started shaking, and the sound of beer bottles shattering came from behind. Then, footsteps became chaotic, and the group of people ran out.

The proprietress was already crying, and Old Li was also breathing rapidly.

"Interesting!" Zhou Fengchen chuckled and walked towards the kitchen door.

In the darkness, Old Li saw Zhou Fengchen's movements and cried out in alarm, "Little Zhou! Come back!"

Zhou Fengchen ignored him, paused at the kitchen door, and then disappeared from sight.

"He's going to die!" The landlady covered her mouth, suppressing her sobs as she cried.

Old Li was also terrified. He gritted his teeth and said, "Boss lady, he's still an employee of our store. We can't just watch him die. Let's go check on him."

The proprietress nodded, and the two of them, supporting each other, walked shakily to the kitchen door, and only after much deliberation did they peek out.

Upon seeing this, fear, terror, and doubt surged into his heart all at once. The hall outside was pitch black, and the lights from outside the shop seemed not to reach here. At the table where the group of men had just been sitting, a strange-looking person was vaguely sitting, and Zhou Fengchen was sitting opposite him, eating peanuts and making crunching sounds.

The proprietress and Old Li exchanged a glance, temporarily forgetting their fear, both stunned by the scene before them. Even racking their brains, they couldn't understand what was going on! A young man they'd just hired yesterday was sitting next to that terrifying thing!?

At this moment, Zhou Fengchen finished a plate of peanuts in a few bites and said, "Whether you die or leave, the choice is yours!"

The strange man's voice was hoarse, "I'll only sit for ten minutes!"

"No way!" Zhou Fengchen refused decisively.

"I've come seeking revenge. The underworld allows it. Can you, Taoist priest, disregard the rules of Yin and Yang?"

"If you ignored the rules of Yin and Yang, I would have killed you long ago!"

Zhou Fengchen stared at the monster before him, its brains spilling out, its teeth bared, and its flesh dripping with blood. He clenched his fist and sneered, "Die or go! Three, two..."

The strange man glared at him fiercely, turned around and walked out, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Fengchen then snapped his fingers.

hum-

The fluorescent lights on the ceiling lit up at the same time, and the voices of passersby outside could be heard.

The proprietress and Old Li squinted for a while to adjust to the blinding brightness, then walked out with pale faces, staring at Zhou Fengchen from head to toe as if he were a monster.

"I learned some skills back in my hometown, so I'm not afraid of this," Zhou Fengchen explained, then asked, "What grudge does this vengeful ghost have come for? Can you tell me?"

Having witnessed Zhou Fengchen's methods, the proprietress dared not hide anything. With a wry smile, she honestly said, "Three months ago, a group of four customers came to the shop. They drank five bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and one of them died of alcohol poisoning on the spot. Afterwards, his family brought the body to the shop to demand an explanation. They were asking for an exorbitant amount of compensation, demanding one million yuan right off the bat. Of course, I refused. You can't blame the whole thing on our shop, can you? Later, I pulled some strings and went to court. I only received one hundred thousand yuan in compensation, and that was the end of it."

Old Li continued, "But, starting on the seventh day after the compensation, the power went out in the shop every night at eight o'clock. The dead person then appeared in the seats of one of the customers, scaring all the customers away. We were terrified too."

The proprietress added, "That person died around 8 PM!"

"That's it?" Zhou Fengchen said, "Don't lie."

The proprietress and Old Li nodded: "Absolutely true!"

Zhou Fengchen cursed, pulled a piece of yellow paper from his pocket, folded it into a "Spirit-Seeking Paper Crane" in a few quick movements, and clasped his hands together: "Soul-Locking Trace, Tracking Talisman, by the power of the law! Go!"

The paper crane fluttered its wings and flew away, startling the proprietress and Old Li, who trembled and turned pale.

"Old Li is going home!"

Zhou Fengchen stood up. "Boss lady, come with me to meet him!"