CH 4

Tang Baishan panicked. He went down so many steps, how could he still be in the same place! His heart was beating so fast, he almost ran downstairs in terror.

Step after step, his breathing became heavier and heavier, and sometimes he would stumble forward as he ran in a hurry, and fell in an embarrassing manner, rubbing the skin on his hands. 

The light of the mobile phone flashed across, and the sign of “19th floor” looked haunting, and no matter how hard he tried, the door out of the stairway could not be opened.

19th floor, 19th floor, 19th floor, why is it still the 19th floor?!

He stumbled down after another step, his lungs were about to burst, and the smell of blood rolled in his throat. He barely stopped and took a deep breath.

Tang Baishan calmed down a little, turned on his mobile phone with his back against the wall, and made a call with a trembling hand.

Must, must connect!

Cheerful music rang in my ears, and after a few seconds, a familiar female voice came.

“Hello?”

“Sister Li!” 

Tang Baishan almost cried out, “Where are you! I ran into a ghost in the company!” 

“I haven’t gone home yet, where are you?” The other party’s tone immediately became serious. 

“The 19th floor! I’m trapped in the stairs on the 19th floor! I’ve been going around in circles!”

“I’ll come over immediately, you stay where you are.” Then sounds of high heels thumping came through the phone, “Don’t hang up.”

Tang Baishan leaned against the wall and swallowed his saliva. His hands were shaking so badly and his phone was covered in sweat. The light swayed in the narrow space like a ghost, and his heartbeat sounded like a drum in his ears.

His hands were firmly on the wall, and the cracks between his fingernails were full of wall dust.

He didn’t know how long it took, maybe two minutes, maybe twenty minutes, when the crisp sound of high heels came from outside the stairs.

Tang Baishan immediately shouted loudly. “I am here! I am here!!”

The high heels stopped at the top of the stairway.

Two seconds later, the door was slammed open, and light poured in. The young woman with a high ponytail walked in quickly with several pieces of talisman paper, her high heels clattering. She held Tang Baishan up and said, “Let’s go quickly.”

Tang Baishan’s legs softened, barely following her pace.

They walked all the way to the elevator, which turned out to be in normal operation. As soon as the door opened, Tang Boshan rushed in, pressing the first floor button desperately.

The elevator door slowly closed. Sister Li said, “How long have you been there?” 

“…I don’t know.” Tang Baishan answered, still in shock.

“It’s very strange.” The woman curled her hair. “We have set up many layers of barriers here. It’s hard to imagine that there are still ghosts that could come in. We will investigate it later.”

Tang Baishan just shook his head and pulled off his tie, gasping for breath. He inadvertently raised his eyes, then stopped abruptly.

Sister Li was dressed up beautifully today, sprayed some perfume, styled her hair, the crane earrings were sparkling in her ears, and her fingernails were painted green. 

But above her head, the number 19 was still lit.

The elevator didn’t go down at all.

“Li..Sister Li, Sister Li.” His voice trembled violently, “The elevator didn’t move.” 

“Did it not.” Sister Li looked up, “Dear me! Maybe that ghost is still there.”

“Where, where is it?” 

“I don’t know, think of a way to get it out.” 

“Then do it!” 

“But wouldn’t it be nice if the two of us stayed on the 19th floor forever?”

“…Huh?”

The woman’s body did not change, but her head turned 180 degrees, her eyes became all white. Then she smiled, “I quite like this number.”

****

Lu Yingjiu brought with him the black and white cat to the office. When Milk arrived in the new environment, it laid lazily on the windowsill, however, it suddenly raised its head and meowed facing outside.

Lu Yingjiu looked over and saw Ye Feng’s little Honda. He was trying to park the car, adjusting it several times before entering, almost rubbing its chassis.

Ye Feng got out of the car and disappeared at the entrance of the stairs.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

Lu Yingjiu went over to open the door and said, “Ye Feng, you really did buy your driver’s license.”

“Shit!” Ye Feng scolded, “You won’t just let it go, will you? Let me in, I have something to tell you.”

Ye Feng entered the room, sat on the sofa and poured a large glass of water before continuing. “Something happened to Tang Baishan.”

“What happened?”

“He ran into a ghost.” Ye Feng pointed to his shoulder, “Here, a small piece of flesh was bitten off by the ghost on his shoulder, and it looked painful. After that, he kept having nightmares, and then several people from the Green Lantern Association went but still couldn’t solve the problem.”

Lu Yingjiu also took a glass of ice water, raised his head and took a sip.

The ice cubes floated up and down, and there were small water droplets condensed on the glass. He gently stroked a few of them with his slender fingers, and the coolness soaked through his fingertips.

Lu Yingjiu: “There are a lot of barriers in that building, ordinary ghosts can’t get in and Tang Baishan being slightly injured…. a ghost with that kind of power, it would be easy for them to kill someone directly. “

Ye Feng hesitated for a few seconds and said “Are you going to help him? To be honest, I think he’s quite an asshole, but we can also raise the conditions for a live broadcast if we help him this time. At worst, if he still won’t help us, we’ll just never contact him ever again.”

Lu Yingjiu didn’t answer him directly, swiped a few times on the phone, opened up a page, and said, “This is my application for the live broadcast. It was rejected within two hours of submission.”

“So fast,” Ye Feng frowned, “It was Tang Baishan who did it. Damn, he really is a piece of shit.”

“Therefore, we should just wait for the dog to find us himself.” Lu Yingjiu folded his hands and showed a smile, “To be honest, I’m very interested in that ghost, but it’s not that urgent. If Tang Baishan can’t sleep every day, he won’t be able to survive in a few days. Then we can talk to him about terms after.”

Ye Feng said with awe, “You are still ruthless.”

As the matter was settled, he wiped the sweat from his face and wanted to find a bottle of drink. As soon as he opened the refrigerator door, he saw the milk and eggs, and asked, “Ah? You haven’t found the owner of these yet?”

“No. “

Ye Feng muttered, “This person must have a big heart, that he can just fill the address incorrectly. I think you can eat it, better not to waste it.” 

“I’ll just wait a bit longer,” Lu Yingjiu said, “after all, it’s something of unknown origin. “

Ye Feng: “What if someone who has a crush on you sent it, and if you rejected it, how sad would that person be.” 

Lu Yingjiu smiled: “How can there be such a person?”

Ye Fengxin: “You haven’t seen the group of people in the meeting who have a secret crush on you. They keep talking about how beautiful Chief Lu looked every day.”

****

After two days, Lu Yingjiu was still not in a hurry, and only played with his cat every day and organized the office once a day.

At noon on the third day, he turned on his mobile phone and saw a WeChat message from Tang Baishan. 

[Mr. Lu, I really have no choice, but to contact you..]

Lu Yingjiu replied, saying that he had a request recently and it was inconvenient to come.

After that, Tang Baishan sent several text messages, made phone calls, and asked acquaintances to deliver his message for him. Lu Yingjiu had been at leisure. Anyways, it was none of his business. After ignoring Tang Baishan for several days, he made his way to Ye Feng at a slow pace then nodded.

Driving all the way, one could already see the newly built office building of “Two Faced Buddha” from a distance, which was dedicated to live broadcasting, and the half-crying half-laughing mask icon was on the top most part of the building.

On the surface, the “Two-Faced Buddha” was a group with strong financial resources, secretly uniting and coordinating different exorcists, so that they were no longer scattered. In a sense, it was more like an informal ghost exorcist alliance, and the Green Lantern Association was the main force.

Lu Yingjiu looked out from the car window. Half of the glass of the building reflected the sunny sky making it shone brightly.

Lu Yingjiu blocked the light with his hands.

The car was parked in the parking lot. He and Ye Feng got out of the car and found Tang Baishan.

Tang Baishan was still barely working these days. That is, his office had been moved to the first floor of the adjacent building.

He never dared to touch stairs and elevators again.

When Lu Yingjiu came, two ghost exorcists were beside him.

Tang Baishan was covered in sweat and his eyes were as black as that of a panda. 

He was arguing with them. “It’s useless! I will never go back to the 19th floor!” 

One ghost exorcist said, “Let’s go back again and find out why you are being targeted by ghosts.”

“I’ve been there twice!” 

The other ghost exorcist then said, “This time the ghost was very strange, and the time it took was really beyond one’s imagination. After all, this was a newly built building and the barrier had been strengthened.”

“You have no clue at all!” Tang Baishan was so agitated, then suddenly he hissed again, subconsciously realizing his injured shoulder.

During their argument, Tang Baishan saw Lu Yingjiu, and immediately his eyes lit up. 

“Mr. Lu!” His face was full of relief.

The men’s expressions changed, and they became quite embarrassed. Lu Yingjiu glanced at them. He had a little impression of their faces, but he couldn’t remember their names.

However, he was rather puzzled for a few seconds.

Behind Tang Baishan was a hideous looking kid with fangs, but the two of them didn’t seem to see it at all……it was as if the kid deliberately did not want to avoid Lu Yingjiu at all.

It poked its head from behind and looked at Lu Yingjiu, a strange expression appeared on its ugly face. 

It seemed a trembling a little. But not of fear.

Lu Yingjiu looked at it, it moved a bit uneasy, and its sharp claws carefully took out something, trying hard to hand it to Lu Yingjiu.

A bright red small flower from the underworld floated in the air.

Lu Yingjiu: “…?”

He didn’t understand why this kid wanted to show some affection, but he didn’t pick it up, and only said calmly, “What’s the situation now?”

One person answered angrily: “Mr. Tang said that he can’t remember who he has offended. According to the preliminary judgment, it may be a ghost of a person who jumped off the building, or someone who accidentally died in the elevator, and that had nowhere to vent its grievances.”

“There have been no murders during the construction of this building.” Lu Yingjiu said, “Not even disputes.” 

“This used to be an urban village, so it may have happened in the past.”

“No. Before the foundation was built, a spell was casted to clear all the resentments.”

Another person said: “Why are you so sure? Maybe there was an omission at the time.” 

Lu Yingjiu said: “It’s impossible, I was the one in charge at that time.”

Two ghost exorcists: “…..” 

What Lu Yingjiu did, they really didn’t dare to question.

Thus no one dared to say anything, Lu Yingjiu sat on the sofa and listened to Tang Baishan describing his nightmare.

The plot was simple: the not-moving elevator, the inescapable 19th floor, and the sound of women’s high heels echoing in the empty corridor.

Tang Baishan was trapped in this dream for seven days, and was about almost ready to collapse. He was so frightened that he deleted the contact information of Sister Li. Aside from high heeled shoes, he was even afraid of seeing stilts on TV.

Lu Yingjiu said, “I’ll go to the 19th floor first.” 

He glanced at Tang Baishan, “Just stay here.”

He didn’t believe that just such a small ghost kid could break into the barrier. There must be a messenger behind it.

Therefore, he still had to go and see for himself.

Tang Baishan nodded again and again, Ye Feng stayed there and continued to ask for more details.

Lu Yingjiu went to the corridor and pressed the elevator.

Just as the elevator door was about to close, an exorcist hurried in, prevented the door from closing, and came in as well. His face was extraordinarily immature, he looked less than 20 years old.

“Brother Lu, I, I will go up and have a look together with you. We have met before, you can just call me Xiao Li.” He paused, ” I was there when you came to talk about the live broadcast that day.”

When they got to the 19th floor, the surroundings were empty. It was said that disinsectization was done on this floor. This was the usual trick of exorcists.

Every year during the Ghost Festival, ghosts were rampant, and many places in the City would start “exterminating” or do a “thorough cleaning” for no reason. 

The scene on this floor was really as what was said. There were big bags of cockroach medicine and insect medicine piled up in the corners, and there were all kinds of pest control equipment. Xiao Li passed by and coughed as soon as he smelled the spray.

Lu Yingjiu started from Tang Baishan’s office and went all the way to the corridor and emergency stairs.

After Xiao Li coughed, he followed behind him and asked carefully, “Did you find anything?” He was so nervous that his voice trembled a little, and added, “We have checked here many times, and there is no resentment.”

Lu Yingjiu didn’t say a few words along the way, and even smiled at him a few times, his eyebrows were really gentle and handsome. However, he was really inexplicably afraid of Lu Yingjiu, perhaps because Lu Yingjiu used to be the Chief, or because Lu Yingjiu had an inexplicable sense of alienation, making it impossible for people to approach.

Lu Yingjiu shook his head. “Let’s go back to the elevator and have a look.” The elevator door was closed, and it stayed in place because it didn’t leave the floor. Lu Yingjiu stood silently, facing it.

Xiao Li didn’t see it, but his eyes glowed with red light.

Many ghost exorcists from aristocratic families have formed bonds with supernatural beings. Divine beasts, ominous beasts, or priests of the underworld. For example, the Ye family made a pact with the Li Serpent and protected them for generations. The Chu family also made a contract with the Divine Peacock, and from then on, the wind and the water sailed smoothly.

For so many years in the Lu family, Lu Yingjiu was the first ever to become a ghost exorcist.

Therefore, he started empty-handed, and the objects of the contract were all picked up from trash bins by the roadside.

Now, Lu Yingjiu was summoning his contracted supernatural creature. At the top of the elevator, a small furry black beast appeared out of thin air. It had four short horns on its first head and was very small, but it made the elevator sink down. Looking up, the dark and empty elevator shaft was reflected in its silver-gray pupils.

Xiao Li swallowed. “Mr. Lu, did you do something? Why do I think the elevator seems to be sinking a little?” 

“Really?” Lu Yingjiu said casually, “Maybe there is someone above the elevator.”

At his will, the black furball quickly searched the surroundings.

No abnormality was found. Not even the slightest resentment.

This was a very special case.

Lu Yingjiu lowered his eyes slightly. When he turned around, he found that Xiao Li was restless and kept looking up at the elevator. He pressed the button corresponding to the first floor and the elevator began to descend, as Xiao Li became startled.

“Mr. Lu ,Lu… Mr. Lu,” His voice was tight, “If it’s a ghost and we can’t even feel its presence at the moment, does it mean it’s very powerful?”

“Yeah. “

“Then why don’t you have any reaction…”

Lu Yingjiu rubbed his chin and said, “Xiao Li, don’t you think it’s a little strange.”

“What, what?” 

“Tang Baishan said he had never offended anyone, but according to experience, this kind of ghost usually comes to seek revenge.” 

“Yeah.” 

“He started having nightmares seven days ago. Do you remember what happened that day?”

“That day….nothing special happened that day.” Xiao Li tried hard to recall. “Didn’t you and Mr. Ye came here that day?” 

“Then my live broadcast application was rejected, and Tang Baishan refused to help me.”

“Ah…ah?”

Lu Yingjiu turned back and smiled, his peach blossom eyes bent. “Now, do you still think that he hadn’t offended anyone?”

The elevator descends slowly. Xiao Li looked at him in astonishment.

The elevator sank slightly again—then several more times, as if someone was stomping above the elevator! He looked carefully at Lu Yingjiu again, his skin was impeccably good-looking, the corners of his mouth were hooked, and there was a faint red light in his eyes!

The elevator slowly descended, and the floor numbers jumped down one by one. Xiao Li didn’t dare to breathe, and subconsciously took a half step back and pressed his back against the wall. 

“You, you, you…what do you want to do!” he stammered, “I have talisman paper in my hand! A lot of talisman paper!!”

He threw the talisman papers in the air and they flew like flying snowflakes.

Lu Yingjiu was unmoved.

Xiao Li became even more frightened.

They had already arrived on the first floor.

The Yin soldier disappeared out of thin air, and the elevator door opened. Outside stood a man, about the same age as him, wearing a clean white shirt. Looking carefully, from his watch to his leather shoes, they were all big brands. He looked like a young master who had a mine at home.

Behind him were two or three ghost exorcists, and at a glance he immediately saw Lu Yingjiu, and Xiao Li, who was huddled in the corner of the elevator, trembling. He frowned. “What’s the matter with you?”

When Xiao Li saw the person, he almost shed tears. “Master! I tried my best! Take it, it’s up to you now!” With the courage of a master, he suddenly emboldened himself and ran out of the elevator without a shadow left. 

After playing with Xiao Li, Lu Yingjiu was in a good mood and stepped out of the elevator to look at Chu Banyang. The auspicious cloud collar button was pinned to his snow-white neckline. Which he himself had just taken off, that logo of the Chief of the Green Lantern Association, not long ago.

Chu Banyang came from an aristocratic family of exorcists. It was said that people from aristocratic families have their own deterrentament, and he was one of the best among them. Going from that, he had a natural model face, young and handsome look, sword eyebrows and star eyes, and a cold air that seemed to make people back off by three points.

It’s a pity that he and Lu Yingjiu had always been at odds with each other. After all, Lu Yingjiu overwhelmed him at everything. If he hadn’t been there from the beginning, Chu Banyang would have been the chief.

Chu Banyang asked, “What did you tell him?”

“Scared him a bit.” Lu Yingjiu leisurely said, “Your apprentice is so cute, I believe so.” 

Chu Banyang frowned, “Lu Yingjiu, you are still as naive as before.”

Lu Yingjiu only smiled at him and walked towards Tang Baishan.

Chu Banyang was half a position behind him, which he felt wasn’t right.

——In the past few years, Lu Yingjiu had been ahead of him, but now his identity had drastically changed. Lu Yingjiu was now under serious investigation, had no position, and opened a firm that could close down at any time. However, he himself was now the Chief of the Green Lantern Association. It stands to reason that Lu Yingjiu should be following him around and asking for some good commissions.

But in the end, it was still this same scene!

Chu Banyang almost gnashed his teeth. “Your office has just opened and you need to accept some requests, right? Shall I introduce…” 

“No need.” Lu Yingjiu said, “Thank you, second place.”

Chu Banyang almost didn’t catch his breath.

Xiao Li, who had just run away, sneaked back by himself, and followed behind Chu Banyang.

He knew that his master was not in harmony with the Chief Lu. Now Xiao Li was very careful, for fear that if he was not careful, he would die under the gunfire of the two bosses– and he estimated that there would be no ashes left.

However, people should not run away! Especially as he was an excellent ghost exorcist!

Xiao Li, with the mentality of “sacrificing one’s self for others”, was very careful, and observed his words and expressions.

Sure enough, Chu Banyang’s face was as gloomy as a dark cloud, while staring at Lu Yingjiu. After so many years, all he could see was Lu Yingjiu’s back.

But staring at him, his frowning brows slowly calmed down, as if they were slowly smoothed out by a pair of hands.

Perhaps even Chu Banyang didn’t realize that the corner of his mouth evoked a very shallow smile. A smile that would have come from the heart, like seeing something that he had been pursuing and fascinated by his whole life. It was almost even a…..gentle smile??

Xiao Li’s eyes widened, and felt that the world had collapsed. As a result, Chu Banyang turned around and said, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, nothing, nothing,” Xiao Li stammered, “I was just thinking….what were you smiling at, Master?”

“Was I smiling?” Chu Banyang frowned, “What’s so funny here, is it possible that I smiled at that guy Lu Yingjiu? What nonsense are you talking about, go back and copy a book for me immediately.”

Xiao Li: ”???”