Chapter 21
021.
After startling Rong Jing and Cheng Puyu, the taxi driver clearly wasn’t finished with the topic. Glancing at Rong Jing’s slightly peculiar expression through the rearview mirror, he straightened his back proudly, as if sharing an honor: “Don’t think this guy is just talking nonsense for attention. I’m telling you, Tianditong is truly amazing.”
Rong Jing was a zombie.
He didn’t interrupt the driver; instead, he responded with feigned curiosity and asked, “Why do you say it’s amazing?”
“Because after buying funeral items from Tianditong and burning them for my family, my family really came back in dreams,” the driver said with a sigh. Every time Tianditong was mentioned, he found it magical. “I’m not lying. I personally bought funeral items from Tianditong for my late mother, and the next day she appeared in my dream, telling me I was filial.”
Cheng Puyu was speechless.
The little ghost couldn’t help but poke Rong Jing’s arm and whisper in his ear, “Is that true?”
Rong Jing thought for a moment and replied, “It should be true. Maybe the boss has some connections in the underworld.”
But that was quite good.
Whether for the deceased or the living, Tianditong’s funeral items served as a channel to maintain longing or communication between the two.
No wonder Duan Yunshuang recommended this place. She must have known about the wonders and uniqueness of Tianditong.
The taxi soon stopped at the gates of Tianditong. Standing before its entrance, Rong Jing and Cheng Puyu—one a zombie, the other a little ghost—looked up, both displaying the amazed expressions of country bumpkins who had never seen the world.
Only then did Rong Jing truly understand the meaning behind Duan Yunshuang’s words: “largest area, most comprehensive goods.”
Tianditong in Yan City was like a massive chain supermarket. From the entrance, one could see its five-story height. A huge “Tianditong” sign was embedded in the glass, gleaming as if illuminated by sunlight.
Upon entering, a “ding-dong” welcome chime sounded, and an electronic display lit up beside a nearby counter. Rong Jing and Cheng Puyu leaned in to see that they could look up any item customers wanted.
“This is really no different from human shopping malls!” Cheng Puyu’s eyes sparkled as it floated over to the men’s clothing floor, exclaiming excitedly, “Rong Jing, buy me some clothes, will you?”
It was originally wearing the clothes from the day it died. Later, after joining the Xie family, Song Qing had gifted it this suit as a welcome present. But it didn’t like suits much, feeling restricted all over and worried it would be inconvenient if it had to fight ghosts in the future.
Rong Jing, who also liked to fight, roughly guessed why Cheng Puyu wanted to change clothes and didn’t hesitate.
He headed to the men’s clothing section and asked, holding up a piece of clothing, “What size do you wear?”
“I…” Before Cheng Puyu could answer, a sales assistant stepped forward with a sweet smile and said gently, “This gentleman can wear size 180, but you can try it on to see if it fits.”
Rong Jing and Cheng Puyu turned to look at the assistant.
The assistant winked at Cheng Puyu.
Cheng Puyu shrieked, “Whoa! Rong Jing! She can see me!”
Rong Jing was speechless.
Learning that the assistant could see it, Cheng Puyu quickly circled around her a few times before asking curiously, “Why can you see me?”
The assistant smiled, “The boss told me to be able to.”
Cheng Puyu asked again, “Who’s your boss?”
The assistant looked a little reluctant, “Sorry, our boss’s identity is generally not disclosed.”
Cheng Puyu said “Oh,” then asked again, “Aren’t you afraid of seeing me? I’m a ghost, you know!”
The assistant replied, “We’ve undergone rigorous training. We usually aren’t afraid.”
Cheng Puyu was about to ask more, but several customers came into the men’s store. Rong Jing grabbed it and said to the assistant, “I’ll take this one. Please wrap it up for us.”
The assistant asked, “Do you want us to handle the burning for you? We’re a conscientious business and don’t charge service fees.”
Rong Jing was stunned in his heart—what a truly amazing store.
Then he nodded decisively.
Before leaving, the assistant kindly reminded them, “The fifth floor is for dining, usually closed to the public. But you’re an exception, so if you have the chance, you should try it.”
…
Rong Jing and Cheng Puyu toured four floors and bought quite a few things.
Clothing, daily necessities, snacks—everything imaginable.
Fortunately, the funds given by Shu Yuan were ample, with some left over.
At Cheng Puyu’s insistence, the two went to the fifth floor. A staff member guarding the entrance glanced at the little ghost beside Rong Jing and hesitated before signaling them to enter.
Rong Jing then understood why they were exceptions.
Presumably, the fifth-floor dining was only open to ghosts.
—His little zombie was benefiting from Cheng Puyu’s presence.
After wandering around, Cheng Puyu chose hot pot. When all the side dishes arrived, Rong Jing took a photo and sent it to Xie Changshi.
It wasn’t mealtime now. Xie Changshi was sitting at the head of a conference room listening to senior executives argue. Leaning back in his chair, his eyelids half-closed, his temples twitching, his scarce patience was fading.
Until his phone vibrated lightly on the table.
Xie Changshi didn’t have many contacts who would reach him at such a time. Besides Rong Jing, there was no one else.
He picked up the phone and saw the hot pot photo.
He glanced at the time uncertainly.
3:20 p.m.
This little zombie’s eating schedule was truly chaotic.
He typed, “Is it good?”
Rong Jing: “Delicious!”
Rong Jing: “Next time I’ll bring you here!”
Two seconds later, the message “Next time I’ll bring you here!” was quickly retracted.
Xie Changshi raised an eyebrow slightly. After waiting a minute without new messages, his eyes deepened and he asked, “Don’t want to bring me?”
Rong Jing scratched his head and typed: “That sentence sounds a little ominous, but if you don’t mind, when either you or I die, we can go together.”
Rong Jing: “Order their A set—lots of meat and cheap.”
Xie Changshi: “...?”
*
After leaving Tianditong, Rong Jing returned to Changhua Street.
It was a weekday; the busiest time on Changhua Street was at night. As a street vendor, Rong Jing couldn’t miss that opportunity.
Having bought many things and already completely fallen in love with Tianditong, Cheng Puyu followed him without hesitation.
It asked, “Can you call me to help with any enforcer jobs in the future?”
This side job was much more interesting than the main job.
Rong Jing didn’t refuse but stated upfront, “If we encounter ghosts stronger than you, I won’t call you.”
“No problem!”
When facing powerful ghosts, even if Rong Jing called Cheng Puyu, it might not be willing to help.
After all, humans can become ghosts after death, but when a ghost dies, it truly dissipates into nothingness.
Cheng Puyu, having experienced the benefits of being a ghost, wouldn’t easily give up its existence.
Returning to Changhua Street just as the workday ended, the street soon filled with people.
A lot of customers gathered around Mo Jingtong’s stall; his hands pressed orange juice so fast they almost left ghostly afterimages, yet one juicer wasn’t enough—even if Rong Jing wanted to help, there was no machine.
Coincidentally, Rong Jing also had two customers arrive, two young girls who came together—one for career luck, the other for love luck.
The first one had booming career fortune; the second’s love luck was dismal.
After Rong Jing finished, the second girl’s eyes reddened, tears rapidly welling up, about to fall.
Rong Jing hurriedly took out a lollipop from his bag and offered it dryly to comfort her: “D-Don’t cry! We’re only calculating for this one boyfriend. If he’s no good, that’s okay—the next one will be better!”
The girl pursed her lips, holding back tears, and asked in a choked voice, “Is this one really no good?”
Rong Jing: “...The ancestor said he’s no good, so he definitely isn’t.”
Though sad, the girl obviously heeded advice. She said she was a fan of Liu Liu and understood Rong Jing’s skill.
She nodded, swallowing her tears and about to leave when a brisk figure rushed over from afar. As it brushed past the girl, it stirred a cool breeze. Before she could understand what was happening, the figure plopped down on a simple chair beside her and fixed its bright eyes on Rong Jing.
Rong Jing looked at Yuan Siyu, dressed casually and made-up finely but unable to conceal her anger. He recalled the fortune he had told her earlier.
Sure enough, before Rong Jing could ask, Yuan Siyu blurted out, “Master Rong, do you remember the love fortune you told me? You warned me to be cautious about my blind date, right?”
As she spoke, the girl with red eyes who had just stood up sat back down, sensing juicy drama.
Yuan Siyu ignored her and continued, “I really found out some problems. That idiot is a fraud pretending to be an intellectual, just scamming girls for money!”
She pulled out her phone and showed Rong Jing: “Look, he looks decent, right? But besides me, the blind date, I know of two other girls he’s scammed.”
The red-eyed girl instinctively leaned closer.
When their eyes focused on the screen, she suddenly exclaimed loudly, “Holy crap!”
Yuan Siyu was startled by the fierce shout, her eardrums vibrating. Covering her ears, she turned to look but saw the girl’s gaze glued to the phone screen.
The girl met Yuan Siyu’s eyes and asked, “This is your blind date? How long have you been seeing him?”
Yuan Siyu blinked, recalling, “A bit over a month.”
Over a month...
The girl turned back, angrily glaring at Rong Jing: “Master, this is my boyfriend!”
Rong Jing was puzzled.
Yuan Siyu was stunned and instinctively said, “...But you’re not in my records.”
The girl held her breath, feeling both wronged and angry, “Could it be that I’m a third one besides the two of you?”
Yuan Siyu was speechless.