51

Capítulo 5

"No! No." I tried to concentrate, though I was already quite panicked. "It was that horned snake that scratched my shoulder...she thought you were here. It hurts so much...clean the wound..."

"...You did this so I would drink your blood." She cried. "Why were you so kind to me? I always thought about killing you..."

"I don't know." I waved my hand impatiently. "I'm in so much pain I'm about to faint! Are you going to clean my wound or not?!"

No. At least not right now. Don't think about why I care about that bastard Huang E; the most important thing right now is the immediate crisis.

I can barely handle aliens, but... two humans?

The slender beauty seemed unable to see the desolation. A thought suddenly welled up in my mind: Only the underdeveloped one could see it.

Let's figure out how to get home first. Humans are bound by laws; they won't break down my door. At least I can call the police.

I knew I could get there by crossing the traffic island, but it was much bigger than I'd imagined. The lights were right in front of me, but no matter how I ran, all I saw were trees.

A human-caused maze? What the hell?!

"Here!" I heard the underdeveloped guy shout. Then another flash of silver light, and I grabbed Huang E, shoved her inside my thin coat, and took the attack on my back.

She screamed, and I almost wanted to strangle her. The horned snake was incredibly strong. I let it hit me, but the worst part wasn't the injury to my back, but that I almost broke my spine. When I fell to the ground, my face hit a tree, and my mouth was full of blood.

I've decided to stop running; what's the point?

"This is murder!" I roared. "If you want to kill me, do it yourself! I never thought I'd die at the hands of a human!"

The two girls froze, and the underdeveloped girl grabbed the slender beauty, "Arlene, no!"

The beautiful woman named Arlene glared fiercely at her companion, and only reluctantly called out to me after I had been scratched three or four times by the long-horned snake.

Luckily, the snake wasn't big, and its claws were small too. But I think I'll probably be disfigured. Fortunately, it wasn't a beautiful woman, so the damage wasn't too great.

"Ah Qiang, you're too soft-hearted," Ah Lin scolded her companion fiercely. "Eliminate evil completely!"

“That’s right,” I interjected, spitting out the blood from my mouth as I did so. “But it also made me realize what terrible things I’ve done!”

She looked at me with disdain. The streetlights, filtering through the trees, were no longer very bright, but I could still make out her expression. "Ghost raiser," she said, as if she were uttering some kind of curse.

"Oh?" I hugged Huang'e. "I have to correct you. Huang'e isn't a ghost. You're insulting her dignity as a monster. Okay, maybe you think that's what it means to be a ghost keeper... never mind. But Huang'e didn't even touch you, yet your little monster has scratched me all over. I am a ghost keeper, and you aren't?"

I've really been subtly influenced by Huang E to a great extent; just look at that smug tone!

Arlene was enraged by me and wanted to go up and teach me a lesson, but A-Qiang held her back, saying, "No, no! You said yourself that you only target bad people!"

"She keeps monsters!"

"You don't have any pets?!"

Now, the beautiful woman directed her anger at her companion, raising her hand as if to strike Ah Qiang. "Go ahead and argue, go ahead and hit her!" I prayed silently. If this "ghost wall" was their doing, their infighting might loosen the evil spell, and we might still have a chance to escape.

To my surprise, Arlene suppressed her anger, which made me sigh with sorrow. That damned Huang'e actually laughed out loud.

"...You know perfectly well that's not how it is," Arlene said sadly. So, it's true, people are kind; even someone as terrifying and fierce as her can be forgiven for showing sadness, regardless of whether she almost killed me. "You are the charioteer, I am the weapon. You are my eyes, my master. We were like this in our past lives... Have you forgotten?"

“I…I…” A-Qiang seemed to waver.

I quickly interjected, "So you two were murder partners in your past life?"

“No, that’s not true!” Arlene yelled at me. “We are saints who vanquish all evil!”

"That's really impressive. You think you can save the world?" I said sarcastically.

To my surprise, she wore a smug expression, and I was truly defeated. She couldn't even understand sarcasm; she's so stupid… I've decided to reassess her intelligence.

"But does this world necessarily need saving?" I wiped away the blood that was gushing out again. "Before you try to save me, at least ask me first, okay? You're practically saving me to death."

Beautiful women are often naive, but Ah Qiang understood immediately. "...You want to be tied to that monster? She's very fierce..."

I chuckled coldly. "Yeah, I used to think she was really fierce, but compared to you guys... she's incredibly gentle and kind. At least she only bothered me a little, making me a bit uneasy. You guys almost made me bleed to death. Whether she's good or bad is my business. She's been tied up with me for over ten years, but she hasn't hurt anyone, let alone made anyone bleed profusely... all because of two arrogant idiots who think they're 'saving the world'! Damn it... you should at least consider the occasion and the times!"

So you love to act, why don't you become a star? Now I feel even more pain.

Ah-Qiang looked at me for a while, then lowered her head and admitted her mistake, "...I'm sorry, it's our fault. Let's go, Ah-Lin."

"You actually listened to her sweet talk? Have you forgotten our vow from our past life? We swore to eradicate all evil!"

“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes, “It’s a pity this isn’t your past life. You say you want to eliminate evil, but I feel like I, this unlucky guy who’s neither a good person nor a villain, am about to be wiped out by you all.”

"Shut up!" She took a step forward, and the long-horned snake flew up again.

"Arlene, stop!"

"Don't worry about it!"

"What past life, eyes, master?" My injuries are more serious than I thought, meow. "I think you just need a pair of eyes because you're blind, so you can easily switch master and servant roles. Master? Hmph. Do you even know what master and servant mean? Miss Weapon? Do you understand the responsibilities a master should bear and the loyalty a servant should fulfill? I think you don't understand, Miss Weapon, you have an empty brain."

The long-horned snake swooped down, and I closed my eyes.

"Ah Lin, I order you to stop immediately!" Ah Qiang shouted.

She froze. "...I will never recognize you again."

"Whatever." A-Qiang sounded very disappointed. "I've been reborn as a human, and I plan to live a human life. What's past is past." She came over and helped me up, and I managed to stand up with great difficulty.

"But I can't see anything!"

"That's the fate you have to accept!"

I left them there arguing, pulled Huang'e out of my arms, and placed her on my left shoulder. "...Find a way to fool the guards." Walking in covered in blood like this would definitely arouse suspicion and trouble.

She paused for a moment, then faithfully carried out my instructions.

The guard didn't even look at me; he was staring at the monitor. I glanced at him, and my face turned bright red.

The man in the fifth apartment was very enthusiastically "attacking" the woman in the elevator, I don't know which number she was. I chose another elevator, and like an old lady, I hunched over and pressed my floor button.

I really don't know if it's right or wrong to shelter this immoral and utterly devoid of morality.

"They're holding the elevator button now, planning to move on to the next round..." Huang E said to me with great interest.

"I don't want to know the details." I wiped away the blood that almost dripped into my eyes. "Please shut up."

(Ignorance ends)

University

Before I went to university, I did have many wonderful fantasies.

Even though I encountered those two arrogant saviors who thought they were saving the world before I came to this school, and ended up with my head and face wrapped in bandages, I still felt that once I got to university, I could escape that ghostly city full of eerie occurrences and relentless rain, and all the misfortune...

But the moment I saw the campus, all my hopes were like powerless withered leaves, swept away by the autumn wind.

This is a university located atop a mountain, a new school established after the lifting of the ban on education. Its name is also quite unique, "Lotus Protector," and I only understood why it was named that when I arrived at the main gate.

Despite being a relatively new school, it already had the grandeur of a century-old tomb. At that moment, I resented being so close to the underworld... Of course, there were no "nightclubs" on the nearby hills, because the school's foundation was located within what was supposedly a relocated "nightclub."

Standing at the school gate, I felt a wave of sorrow wash over me. I guessed that the school had tried its best to reverse the situation, and they had put a lot of effort into the feng shui... but unfortunately, some of it was half-hearted and only made the "qi" of this godforsaken place even more chaotic and truly deserving of its name.

The reason it didn't cause any major chaos is probably because there are a few truly good teachers here, and most of the unusual human spirits here are named and settled people, not real vengeful ghosts.

But their curious glances at me, then at Huang'e, and their whispering among themselves still made me feel very sad. I should have studied harder so I could have gotten into a more popular university, like that one affiliated with the night market...

“That’s useless.” Huang’e said very bluntly, “Even if you get into Feng Chia University, with your physique, you can still attract all sorts of strange people or strange things… Compared to this place, it’s just a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”

"...Thank you for your insightful explanation. Now, could you please be quiet?" I said irritably.

I walked into my dorm room, a room shared by four people. The upper bunk was a bed, and the lower bunk had a desk and a wardrobe. I was early; none of my other roommates were there yet… I mean, none of them were still alive.

Upon entering, we were immediately met with a host of uninvited "natives" who gave us a frank and unceremonious look.

"Excuse me, could you move aside?" I asked politely, but they didn't really pay any attention to me.

Huang E was quite displeased. "You should have stepped aside when you saw me. What are you still standing here for? Do you want to die?!"

As soon as she spoke, these guys burst out of the door... well, some burst out of the ceiling, some burst out of the wall, crying, yelling and shouting for help, as if Huang E had done something terrible.

…Indeed, sometimes force is stronger than reason.

Huang E was very proud of himself, standing on my left shoulder and chattering away, boasting about himself. I've heard it all by heart.

"If you're so powerful, why don't you just show off your power?" I said with a smile. "Is this your territory? It's not good to let people cause trouble here."

“Absolutely!” she exclaimed arrogantly. “I’m going to teach them what manners are!”

She swept out like a gust of wind, and the whole girls' dormitory was filled with the squawking of chickens and cats. Fortunately, humans couldn't hear her, otherwise those with weaker hearts would have had to call an ambulance. The mountain road here is steep and long, and they might not even survive if they got to the hospital.

I put my luggage on the table, took out the red cloth wrapped around the little ghost altar, searched for a while, and finally found the exhausted Earth God at the back door.

I tucked the jar into a corner under the altar, lit incense, and offered sacrifices. The Earth God looked at me helplessly, and I looked at Him with even more helplessness.

"Can I say I don't want it?" He asked wearily.

“I can’t keep it in the dormitory.” I also feel very tired. “I make them listen to you, and they can be at your beck and call if they need anything.”

He gave a sad laugh. "As long as they don't cause trouble, I don't expect them to do anything. You should pity this old man who's already thinking of hanging himself just managing a school, and then he sends these four troublemakers over here!"

"Don't be like that, sir," I pleaded. "Just consider it a good deed. These four are unruly and have inexplicably fallen into my hands. I'd rather die than take care of just one Huang'e, how could I possibly manage them? I won't skimp on the three incense sticks morning and night, and I'll definitely offer the blood sacrifice on the 26th of each month. You're kind-hearted, sir, try to reason with them. Maybe they'll have a chance to be reborn. Consider it doing good deeds, sir..."

"Stop calling me 'Grandpa' all the time..." He grumbled. I quickly offered him the wine. Seeing the wine, he sighed, "It's fate that I came to this school. Please help me out a bit. I'm really exhausted."

To be honest, I don't want to agree. I'm already exhausted enough just trying to keep myself alive, how can I care about others? But when someone asks for my help, can I really say no?

“Sir,” I poured him a drink, “I’m just a nobody, but I’ll help as much as I can, okay?”

He took a sip of wine and sighed. "That's all we can do."

When I returned to my dormitory, I could still hear screams and curses coming from afar.

There are too many, even the desolate wilderness can't finish them all... but she rarely has a chance to show off her power, so let her go... Opening the wardrobe, a head stretched its tongue out as far as it could, putting on the most terrifying appearance.

I think he might scare others, but it would be difficult for him to frighten me. I've lived with Huang E for over ten years, and I'm tired of seeing him. It's sad; anyone with even a little bit of human instinct would be frightened. No matter how long I watch, my instincts have been worn away.

"Are you going to walk by yourself, or do you want me to bring the salt water laundry cabinet?" I said as kindly as possible. "We still have at least a year to go, so don't do this. When Huang E comes back... the Li Niao has a bad temper."

He shut his mouth in boredom, muttering a complaint, "The old man's only hobby is scaring people, and you can't even do it yourself..." before burying himself at the bottom of the closet.

…So it was my fault for not pleasing the elder?

I listlessly tidied up my meager wardrobe and overwhelming number of books. Once I placed my 3.5-kilogram laptop—so worn out its battery and keyboard completely destroyed—on the table, I considered my tidying up finished.

I wanted to go eat, but the school cafeteria hadn't opened yet. A kind guard lent me a motorcycle so I could go down the mountain to get food. Looking at the approaching evening sky, I really wanted to just go hungry for the night. But then I thought about how I'd be studying here for four years, and I'd have to get used to it sooner or later.

"Huang'e, I'm going to eat," I called to her in my heart.

She came back immediately, still wanting more, "Tsk, I haven't had enough fun yet."

"You have four years to 'play' as much as you want." I sighed resentfully. Actually, what I wanted most was to escape down the mountain and never come back. But I had already paid my tuition.

Poverty can really kill people.