Lin Ze started from the far right, his right hand covering the wooden doll's head, and he began to exert force. With a cracking sound, the doll's head instantly shattered.
“Not this one.”
Moving to the second doll, Lin Ze gave a live demonstration of tearing a doll apart.
The third was a tin doll. Lin Ze simply crumpled it into a ball of metal.
The fourth, the fifth…
Ba Chi watched with great interest from the side. This was the first time she had seen Lin Ze get this angry, and his methods of destroying the dolls were bizarre, even using props from the warehouse.
As Lin Ze destroyed the sixth doll, the seventh one next to it suddenly moved, its hand reaching for Lin Ze’s throat.
“Found you.” Lin Ze revealed a brilliant smile, grabbed the seventh doll’s arm, and pulled. He discovered that the doll’s hardness was countless times greater than that of ordinary wooden dolls. The detachable arm felt like it was permanently attached to the body, as if it had grown.
“Can’t tear it off, huh?” Lin Ze threw the doll to the ground, his feet stepping on it. With his hands pulling on the doll’s two arms, the veins in Lin Ze’s arms began to bulge. Accompanied by a low growl, the doll let out a heart-rending scream.
“You can talk?” Lin Ze casually tossed the doll’s arm aside, asking.
But the doll did not respond, just struggling desperately on the ground.
Lin Ze suddenly remembered that the doll had no mouth, so it couldn’t speak. The sound he heard earlier must have been from the impact.
Placing his hand on the doll's head, Lin Ze kindly said, “Why didn’t you come out when I called you earlier? Are you being deliberately obstinate?”
“You… what kind of monster are you?” A low, male voice came, filled with pain and confusion.
“Being called a monster by a ghost, hehe… You can’t be a ghost for the first time, can you?”
“You… how do you know? Why… why… why did I become a ghost and still have to suffer this humiliation! Damn it, damn it, damn it, liar! You’re all liars! You deceive the people and make them completely unaware of the existence of ghosts!”
“Hold on, it sounds like you’re the victim, huh? So, you still have grievances?”
“Isn’t it just that I liked his wife? Isn’t it just that I was with his mother? Did he have to chase me down with a sword? He’s been better than me in everything since we were kids. His wife should have been mine, but he snatched her away. I wanted to take her back, is that wrong? Then I couldn’t get her back, so I wanted to find another wife, is that wrong? My love for his mother is true, is that wrong?”
“…That’s a lot of information. Why don’t you go directly to them? Why are you here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, you’ve got a tough mouth! Brave! Let me be upfront with you. If you truly have some grievance, go find those involved to take revenge. I won’t say anything. But if you involve innocent people, then that’s your problem. Ba Chi, get ready.” Lin Ze gave him a thumbs up, then turned to call out to Ba Chi.
“Wait! I really don’t know, I… I wasn’t actually a ghost at the beginning. I was just a wandering soul, a bit dazed and confused. I suddenly became conscious here.”
Lin Ze noted this information, then smashed the doll’s head with a single blow. When the core floated out, Ba Chi directly used her spiritual power to fix the armless ghost in place.
“You! I told you I don’t know!”
“You’re a newly formed ghost who wants to harm others. How could I let you live? Ba Chi, slap him to death.”
Ba Chi enveloped her palm with spirit energy and slapped the ghost, directly dispersing it.
Qin Zi had explained to Lin Ze that after death, people become ghosts. Either they’re possessed by a curse, or they have lingering attachments or have died with grievances. After resolving their attachments or taking revenge, they disperse. But if they refuse to disperse or kill innocent people, they become evil spirits. Exorcists will kill them on sight.
“Whew, letting off steam feels much better.” Lin Ze turned and walked towards the exit. Twenty minutes had already passed, he had to hurry back.
As for the tool person, Ba Chi, she had already started complaining about wanting to go back and play on her phone.
“Mr. Lin Ze, did you solve it?”
“Yes, leave the clean-up to you. By the way, did you get the things I asked you to buy?”
Taking the bag the other person handed over, Lin Ze expressed his thanks before leaving.
Returning quietly to his seat, Kayako curiously asked Lin Ze why he had been gone so long.
Lin Ze held up the bag in his hand, “I bought a few souvenirs for you guys.”
“What are they?” Fu Jiang leaned over Kayako to see.
“Little gifts, I’ll give them to you later.”
“Bought them for us? No wonder you were gone so long. We were just discussing whether to watch the fireworks display tonight, what about you?”
“Let’s watch, it’s Sunday tomorrow. Since we’re here to play, we’ll have a complete experience watching the fireworks display.”
After watching a performance and playing a few games, the group arrived early to find a good spot to watch the fireworks.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?” Kayako asked Hua Zi and Fu Jiang in a low voice.
“I do, what about Fu Jiang?”
“You two go ahead, I don’t need to.”
After Kayako and Hua Zi walked away, Fu Jiang, who was sitting next to Lin Ze, spoke in a blurry voice, “Thank you… today.”
“Huh? I didn’t hear you clearly, can you wait until I take out my phone to say it again?” Lin Ze held up one hand to his ear, and with the other, pretended to take out his phone.
“Can’t you be less annoying?” Fu Jiang grumbled, hitting Lin Ze's arm with a punch.
“Haha, seriously, today, don’t say you were scared, I was scared too. But thankfully you’re safe, otherwise…” Lin Ze’s expression was one of great relief.
“Otherwise what?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have anyone to annoy anymore.”
“Lin Ze!!!”
“Don’t bite, don’t bite, are you a dog?”
Fu Jiang’s strength on Lin Ze’s back gradually weakened. “Lin Ze’s appearance today was very clichéd, but it was also very touching. When he found her, she noticed the panic in his eyes. When he held her in his arms, she felt his heart beating faster. Hua Zi said that Lin Ze rushed from the fourth floor to the first floor exit to find her, and then from the first floor back to the fourth floor. She also said Lin Ze’s expression was a little scary at the time.”
“He’s very worried about me.” Fu Jiang’s eyes were a bit hazy, looking at his side profile while still clinging to his back.
Although it wasn’t the same as with Kayako, the concern was the same. It was the first time someone cared about her so much, worried about her, and protected her.
“Lin Ze…”
“Ouch… it hurts, huh? What’s wrong?”
Fu Jiang suddenly leaned her head forward, the warmth of her cheek against his for a fleeting moment, making Lin Ze jump. No! Are you serious, Ah Jiang?
Fu Jiang's face grew redder under Lin Ze's stunned gaze.
“Don’t… don’t overthink it! It’s just a thank you! Yes, a thank you gift, nothing is more valuable than my kiss! You… what are you doing?” Fu Jiang looked at Lin Ze, who was leaning his other cheek towards her, with a strange expression.
“I helped you with the school matter the other day, so I still owe you a thank-you gift.”
“…Lin Ze.”
“Huh?”
“You’re shameless.”