Chapter 37

“No! Absolutely not!” The old man ghost suddenly grew agitated. He leapt up from the ground and blocked the excavator.

He completely reversed his earlier attitude of being eager for the demolition and glared angrily at Pu Li inside the excavator. “What are you trying to do to my house? Get down right now! I won’t allow it!!”

Xie An found it baffling. “Wasn’t this house already scheduled for demolition? What does it matter who tears it down?”

The old man ghost stammered but couldn’t give a proper explanation. He only kept repeating furiously, “In any case, you can’t tear it down today!”

The way he was being stubborn and unreasonable made him seem nothing like a peaceful spirit who had died naturally. If it weren’t for the fact that he could only stomp around and didn’t dare attack the living, he’d be no different from a malicious ghost.

Pu Li looked helplessly at the old man ghost standing in front of the vehicle.

Originally, if the incidents on the construction site had really been caused by these ghosts, he could’ve justifiably scolded them. But now that Ke Xingzhou had confirmed the events weren’t entirely the ghosts’ fault and that someone else was the true culprit, it was a different matter.

What’s more, the ghost really was the legal owner of the house. Even if he’d been dead for years, if he refused to cooperate, forcing a demolition would be tricky.

His upbringing and business ethics wouldn’t let him just bulldoze over someone’s rights, which gave the old man ghost the chance to act entitled.

Xie An stared at the old man ghost, finding it odd. “Why not today?”

The old man ghost’s eyes darted, but he still couldn’t come up with a reason. He just stubbornly glared at Pu Li and repeated, “It’s just not happening!”

With the stalemate dragging on, Pu Li turned pleadingly to Ke Xingzhou for help.

This whole thing had clearly been Ke Xingzhou’s idea, but now he didn’t say a word. He just looked calmly over at Lu Li.

Lu Li paused, thought for a moment, then pulled out a keyboard and began typing in front of everyone.

After a while, he narrowed his eyes at the old man ghost and said suspiciously, “Your dream-visitation application just got approved yesterday. The dream time is scheduled for tonight. Could it be that you’ve hidden some contraband in that house and don’t want us to find it?”

With Lu Li’s piercing gaze and the authority of a ghost official, the already guilty-looking old man ghost couldn’t hold up under the pressure.

He quickly turned defensive. “N-No! There’s no contraband! I just left some personal items inside. I only wanted them brought out.”

“Personal items? Absolutely impossible!” Concerned for his company’s reputation, Pu Li immediately stood up straight and responded. “We already notified all residents to take their personal items before moving out. And before construction began, I had my team double-check everything and clear out anything that could be moved. We even pulled out the cabinets to make sure! That place is completely clean—there’s no way anything’s still hidden!”

The old man ghost snorted. “Of course you didn’t find anything. I hid it on purpose. Otherwise, my useless son and grandsons would’ve found it and wasted the last of our family assets!”

Pu Li: “……”

Even so, wasn’t hiding it that well going a bit too far?

As far as he could recall, there wasn’t anything valuable left in that house. Rumor had it that the homeowner’s father got seriously ill and racked up huge debts. To pay them off, they had to sell off everything in the house.If it weren't for the sudden demolition, the homeowner's family had planned to sell the house to pay for medical treatment.

Why didn't the old man ghost come out to give a dream before this?

The old man ghost seemed to read his thoughts and shouted angrily, "That’s my son! How could I not feel heartbroken? I only hesitated for a few days before making a decision. Who knew I’d have to file a report just to give a dream...”

As he spoke, it seemed like he was about to blame the rules of the underworld, so Lu Li cleared his throat, and the old man ghost snapped out of it, muttering a few words but falling silent.

Pu Li was at his wit's end. "Where did you hide the stuff?"

The old man ghost glared at him and warily responded, "You're not my grandson. Why should I tell you?"

Pu Li: "…"

He was speechless. How did their relationship suddenly drop in rank within just two sentences?

He felt helpless, explaining in frustration, "I don’t have any intention of coveting your personal belongings. But you saw for yourself, the things affecting the construction site are in this house. If you want to finish the demolition and get the compensation, you need to cooperate with us."

When compensation was mentioned, the old man ghost's expression softened a little, but he still looked hesitant, not fully trusting Pu Li.

Pu Li said earnestly, "Don’t worry, whatever you want brought out, I’ll make sure it gets returned to your family, untouched."

The old man ghost kept double-checking. "Really? What if you go back on your word? Don’t think just because I’ve been dead a long time, I haven’t attended all those anti-fraud talks from the community!"

Lu Li knocked on his keyboard helplessly. "Stop wasting time. What did you hide?"

The old man ghost fidgeted and finally led them to where he had hidden the things.

It wasn’t exactly an easy place to find because the old man ghost hadn’t hidden the items in movable furniture but—

He stopped at the corner of the wall, passed his body through it, and waved at Pu Li on the excavator. "Here, here! Hit here, go ahead, roll right over me!"

Pu Li: "…………"

Such a guilt-inducing command!

Anyway, the house was eventually demolished.

Though it felt inappropriate to say it, Pu Li couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as the bricks fell. It was as if a deep grudge had been avenged.

Even when the old man ghost instructed him to rummage through the rubble, covering himself in dust, he didn’t get angry.

Until he pulled out a golden Buddha the size of a human head from the rubble.

Pu Li: "?"

Everyone: "??"

The good ghosts glanced at the golden Buddha on the ground, then at the old man ghost, whose face had suddenly turned red. Their expressions grew more complicated.

The old man ghost, for some reason, looked increasingly guilty. He trembled and floated a few steps to the side, but after glancing at the golden Buddha, he couldn’t bring himself to float too far away.

Everyone was still confused about what had just happened, until the lone Qing Dynasty old woman suddenly jumped up and yelled hoarsely, "You old bastard! You had a son with no guts, a worthless scoundrel! So you’ve been lying about your family being too poor to pay the money, huh? You cheat every time you lose at cards, and now you owe me so many incense and joss paper coins!! All that stuff was taken out from my coffin!!"

Xie An, his mind spinning, curiously asked Ke Xingzhou beside him, "Bro, is this what old people mean by 'coffin money'?"It really was the capital brought out from the coffin!

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Watching as two old ghosts, both hundreds of years old, started fighting again, with a group of not-so-old ghosts eager to join in, Ke Xingzhou couldn’t take it anymore. He slapped a talisman on each one and tossed them over to Lu Li.

"Is this enough? You want to gain achievements, but don’t overdo it. Aren’t you afraid of being investigated?"

Lu Li watched as all these achievements came flying toward him, and the sparse hair on his head stood up straight.

Exactly, what’s the point of getting involved in this argument? Since he was already here, of course, he had to rack up some achievements to justify the trip.

He grabbed the two old ghosts, grinning with his eyes squinted, "Thanks, thanks, thanks to this kind-hearted living person for the support."

Then, he turned and resumed his official ghost demeanor, "Gathering a crowd for a brawl, refusing to correct their behavior. A fine of 200, come with me for a critique and education!"

Xie An wasn’t satisfied with this punishment, "Only 200? Isn’t the currency from the Heavenly Bank in ghost money worth billions?"

They had been so arrogant earlier and even tried to fight his brother, how could they only be fined so little!

Ke Xingzhou helplessly explained, "The ghost money from the Heavenly Bank is fake, not accepted in the underworld. No matter how much you print, it’s useless. The proper ghost money is made with specific materials, handcrafted by the creator, and it’s expensive. So, the exchange rate is not much different from the currency used in the living world."

Xie An still cared about the amount, "So how much were they fined?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…20."

Xie An felt that wasn’t enough.

Just as he was about to argue, he saw Lu Li pointing at the old man ghost and continuing, "Concealing the true reason for the dream, deceiving the reviewer, attempting to hide contraband. You’re fined an additional 200,000 ghost coins."

The old man ghost, who had endured being beaten up by the old woman ghost without crying out, instantly let out a miserable scream: "No!!"

His golden Buddha!!!

The old man ghost suddenly struggled with all his might, stretching out his hand and waving toward Lu Li, seemingly trying to explain himself.

Ke Xingzhou, however, coldly interrupted him, "If you don’t accept this punishment, I can have a nice chat with Judge Lu Li about the severe negative impact and significant losses your golden Buddha has caused in the living world."

"..." The old man ghost immediately fell silent.

After that, no matter whether the old woman bit his face or gnawed at his head, he didn’t make a sound again.

--

Pu Li was still rummaging through the rubble, searching for any objects that might cause problems for his construction project. When he heard Ke Xingzhou’s words, he raised his head, covered in dust, his face clearly full of confusion.

"What negative impact, what significant loss? Master, are you talking about me?"

"..." Ke Xingzhou looked at him with a hint of sympathy, pointing at the golden Buddha and explaining, "The events that have happened at your construction site recently, including the misfortune of this old man’s family in the living world, are mostly because of this golden Buddha."

"Ah!" Pu Li was startled.

He had originally thought to respect someone else’s faith and even considered setting the golden Buddha upright, but at that moment, he jumped three feet back, his face turning pale.He tremblingly asked, "But... but isn't the golden Buddha supposed to bless the family with peace? How could it turn into something bad?"

"It's not the golden Buddha's problem," Ke Xingzhou said. "The golden Buddha can indeed bless its worshippers with peace, good fortune, and abundance. It still has that power now. But when it's sealed within a wall, the Buddha's eyes cannot see the human world, so it loses its protective power. Not only that, but it can also have a reverse effect."

Ke Xingzhou slowly glanced at the corner, where there were clearly too many benevolent ghosts gathered, and his gaze finally landed on the old man ghost.

He added, "In addition to attracting a gathering of ghosts, it will affect the health of the family, ruin their wealth, and even... cause the residents to have bad luck and an unfortunate end."

"..."

Pu Li and Xie An both looked at the golden Buddha with lingering fear. Even though they knew it was now exposed to the world and wouldn’t bring harm, they still didn’t dare approach it.

Xie An silently asked the old man ghost, "What were you doing, why did you seal the golden Buddha inside the wall?"

The old man ghost, no longer having the arrogance he once had, started crying as soon as Ke Xingzhou began explaining the consequences of sealing the golden Buddha in the wall. "I was afraid my son would squander it too! I had no choice, that's why I did it! I even asked someone to make a golden Buddha to bring good fortune for him! Who knew hiding it would have this kind of reverse effect!"

He was crying bitterly, but strangely, neither the humans nor the ghosts present felt any sympathy for him.

If anyone was to be pitied, it would be his descendants in the living world, and Pu Li and the nearby residents.

What an unprovoked disaster!

Pu Li was terrified by the whole chain of events, and even now, he still felt an unreal sense, mumbling to Ke Xingzhou, "Master, is this really solved? Do I not need to change the feng shui or anything?"

Ke Xingzhou gave him a silent look, "Do you think there's any need for feng shui here?"

Pu Li followed his gaze and looked ahead, falling silent.

The first phase of clearing the land had already started. When the nearby residents caused trouble, only the last few houses remained, and the one he had just demolished was the last one that was still somewhat intact.

At this moment, looking around, everything was in ruins, most of it already leveled.

...There really was no feng shui left to talk about.

Pu Li stared blankly at the scene before him. For some reason, an indescribable emotion suddenly surged in his heart, leaving him feeling disoriented.

He hesitantly asked, "So, for today’s ritual, how much compensation should I give you?"

Ke Xingzhou glanced at his "merit ATM" on his phone, his tone flat, "100,000."

Pu Li: "…?"

He was stunned for a moment and instinctively looked up at Ke Xingzhou. But when their eyes met, he froze.

Perhaps it was because the golden Buddha had been unearthed, and the strange aura surrounding the area had dissipated. The previously dim lights had brightened, and a halo seemed to radiate from behind Ke Xingzhou.

Ke Xingzhou's eyes were shadowed, making them seem even darker and purer. As he stared at him without a flicker of emotion, Pu Li couldn't help but feel as if he was being pitied by some kind of divine being.

The question he was about to ask quietly slipped back into his throat.

For some reason, he had an intuitive sense that if he were to ask Ke Xingzhou why the payment for the ritual was so low, this merciful deity would probably deliver a punishment.

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

He stared at Pu Li with a blank expression. Fortunately, Pu Li was a seasoned worker with good observational skills and didn't ask that painful question in the end.Ke Xingzhou, satisfied with Pu Li's performance, stared at his brows and eyes for a while, then suddenly said, "Your forehead is wide and round, your ears are extended, and your occipital bone is prominent—these are signs of great business talent. After this turmoil passes, the future will be smooth sailing for you. By next year at the latest, you’ll rise quickly, surpassing the old to make way for the new. Don’t worry too much."

He was simply offering a few casual words of comfort, but to his surprise, upon hearing this, Pu Li seemed to revive instantly, like a withered eggplant coming back to life, and his expression brightened.

He grabbed Ke Xingzhou's arm with both hands, saying, "Thank you, Master, thank you! Wuwu, I'm sorry, I really... anyway, thank you!!"

He was crying with snot and tears, mixing with the dust and dirt on him, looking utterly disheveled.

Xie An, now Ke Xingzhou's number one fan, immediately sensed danger the moment Pu Li lunged toward him. He rushed forward with a big stride, standing next to them, glaring at Pu Li with vigilance.

At this moment, seeing that Pu Li was about to hug Ke Xingzhou, he couldn’t help but shout, "What are you doing! What do you want to do to my brother? Get your dirty hands off! Do you think you can touch my brother’s hand, you pervert! Give my brother back to me!!"

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

No.

When did he become Xie An's brother?