Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhou Ze stood beside the freezer for half an hour.

Madam Bai’s body was lying inside the freezer in the exact same spot and posture as when he left in the morning. However, it was impossible for the surveillance camera to be wrong, especially when the water inside the glass was actually a little sweet.

He was confident that he did not imagine it. He had taken a sip of the water before watching the recording.

As a matter of fact, Zhou Ze was not very disgusted by the fact that he had drunk the water. After all, he had witnessed how Xu Qinglang wolfed down the ‘delicacies’ the night before.

What he just went through was like a drizzle compared to what Xu Qinglang had gone through.

That being said, he was not particularly fond of it, either. It did not matter how beautiful the woman once was. She was already a corpse, a dead body that had been buried underground for two hundred years.

Zhou Ze, who had a little obsession with cleanliness, immediately found it a little unbearable when he realized that the woman had not brushed her teeth for two hundred years…

She was able to move. She went downstairs to take a drink, and came back up. Did that mean Madam Bai was not being honest with him?

There was another possibility; the corpse was behaving abnormally because he had touched it with his nails last night.

Madam Bai’s soul had reported herself to Hell. It was unlikely that she would pull a prank on him…

The little girl also mentioned that the ghosts in the living world had to tuck their tails between their legs at all times. Any ghost that was trying to stir up trouble was basically asking for their death.

However, storing a corpse on the second floor, and storing a corpse that could move around on the second floor were two different things to Zhou Ze. No one would want a potentially dangerous uncertainty in their house!

“Hey, sister, why don’t you wake up so we can have a little chat?” Zhou Ze said, leaning against the freezer.

He was hoping that the woman would open her eyes and either pick a fight or have a little chat with him. They were both seeking common ground, despite their differences, at least they should be honest with one another, instead of keeping their worthless little secrets.

However, the woman did not budge. She remained still inside the freezer.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath and reached his hand into the freezer. He started touching the woman’s body, including some sensitive spots. He was hoping that her eyes would angrily spring open when she could not bear his shameless acts.

Unfortunately, the corpse remained unmoving.

Zhou Ze wondered if the woman would still be able to remain still if he actually pulled his pants down…

Zhou Ze smacked his lips after withdrawing his hand. He suddenly had no idea what he was supposed to do. He was struggling to wake up the woman, who was pretending to be asleep…

Zhou Ze’s nails started growing. He stabbed the woman’s arm with his index finger and started applying more force.

His nail penetrated the woman’s arm like a sharp blade. There was no sign of blood, but a puff of black mist poured out from the cut. The second floor was suddenly covered in a sinister aura.

“Zhou Ze, what are you doing!?” he heard Xu Qinglang yell from down below.

Xu Qinglang raced up to the second floor. Zhou Ze withdrew his hand and discovered a layer of frost on his nail. His finger was stiff. It hurt a little, too.

“Are you out of your mind?” Xu Qinglang glanced at the cut on the woman’s arm and yelled, “The land within a thousand li was left barren when the drought demon was discovered, have you seriously not heard about that? It’s obvious that this woman’s corpse isn’t as deadly as the drought demon, but if the aura inside her body leaks out, it’s going to start a plague in Tongcheng!”

Zhou Ze ignored Xu Qinglang’s shout. His eyes were fixed on the woman’s arm. The cut that he left was healing slowly.

The corpse was alive!

Apart from its iciness and the lack of breathing, the woman’s corpse was no different than a living human. As a matter of fact, it was more vivid than the body of a living human!

“Hey, I lent a hand digging up the body, so if anything happens to it, I’m going to suffer the consequences too. It might cost me a few years of my lifespan, or even endanger my descendants! The same thing for you! Even though you’re an Envoy now, you are going to be in trouble if you mess up!”

The black mist that had leaked out from the woman’s body slowly dissipated. Not much of it had leaked out. Thankfully Zhou Ze and Xu Qinglang were the only people around. The two of them had slightly stronger resistance to the evil energy, so it did not do any harm to them.

However, the energy that leaked out of the woman’s body was only the tip of the iceberg.

Zhou Ze let out a sigh and said, “Xu Qinglang.”

“What?”

“Can you take your wife with you? Didn’t your parents leave recently? She can keep you company instead. Besides, she did send a bridal party to pick you up as her groom.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Xu Qinglang was confused.

“This thing, she can move,” Zhou Ze told him. “She went downstairs and drank some water this morning.”

Xu Qinglang’s face went black. His lips trembled as he took a few steps back.

He already mentioned last night that if anything happened to the corpse, it was going to turn into a gyonshi. It was not the kind of zombie in American films that kept groaning and could be killed by a shot to the head. It was the kind that would devour raw meat and drink fresh blood, and might have some extraordinary capabilities, too!

“Thanks, I have gotten used to the loneliness.” -Are you kidding me? Why would I even bother holding the hot potato… no, the hot atomic bomb?-

“Don’t you have those runic papers? Can you put some on her?” Zhou Ze asked him.

“Those useless runic papers that I have are only going to worsen the situation, since they are only going to provoke her,” Xu Qinglang admitted with a wry smile.

“What should we do, then?” Zhou Ze felt his head hurting. “Should we dump it into the sea? If she does turn into a gyonshi, she can go trouble the Dragon King instead.”

“She won’t be able to leave Tongcheng. She was born in Tongcheng and died in Tongcheng, too. It’s going to be a problem once her body leaves the city . Otherwise, why didn’t Madam Bai get rid of the body before she went back to Hell, after perfecting her cultivation?”

Zhou Ze slammed the door of the freezer shut. It was quite obvious that there was nothing he could do about it.

He could not burn the body, or move the body away. It was dangerous to dump the body somewhere else, too!

-Does that mean I have no choice but to look after it, despite the risks involved?-

Zhou Ze suddenly understood why the little girl had gone back to Hell all of a sudden. It turned out that working as an Envoy was not an easy task after all.

Even though he was working for the ‘government’, the workers at the lowest level had to work the hardest, just like him!

“Just get over it. I’ll make more plum juice for you tonight,” Xu Qinglang comforted him.

“And?”

“And I’m moving away! Didn’t I tell you I’m thinking of moving to the country? I think it’s necessary to do so earlier,” Xu Qinglang said. He was basically thinking of sacrificing Zhou Ze rather than himself.

——

The two went downstairs after locking the freezer.

Xu Qinglang warned Zhou Ze not to do anything stupid and went back to his restaurant. He was likely in the middle of something, but he had come over quickly when he sensed the evil aura.

Zhou Ze sat behind the counter. He picked up the glass and waved it around.

His phone rang. It was an unknown number.

“Hello, am I talking to Mr. Xu Le? I’m from the traffic police of Chongchuan district.”

“Yeah, Xu Le speaking, what happened?”

“Are you related to Xu Dachuan? He was caught in an accident. They are sending him to the People’s Hospital.”

“Got it, I’m on my way.”

Zhou Ze closed his eyes and harrumphed discontentedly. His hands were already full of annoying matters to deal with, yet more problems were troubling him still. Xu Dachuan was the uncle that he just had lunch with.

However, he still had to pay a visit to the hospital. Even though the man had come to visit Xu Le, not him, he still ended up giving the gifts he brought to Xu Qinglang to be used for ingredients.

Zhou Ze looked at his nails.

-If Xu Dachuan’s life is in danger, should I save him?-

Zhou Ze shivered when he remembered the pain he endured when he saved the little girl last time. He hoped that the man was not in danger…

——

He went out of the bookstore and hailed a ride. He sent a text to Xu Qinglang telling him that he would be away and asking him to look after the bookstore for him.

It was eight at night when he reached the hospital. Zhou Ze asked the receptionist and was relieved to learn that Xu Dachuan’s life was no longer in danger. The man had been transferred to a normal ward.

Zhou Ze was startled when he stepped into the room. He saw Doctor Lin standing beside Xu Dachuan’s bed while talking to him.

Xu Dachuan’s leg was hanging in a sling. He had likely suffered a fracture. There were some bruises on his face too, but he seemed to be in good shape, and at least he was quite energetic when he was talking to his niece-in-law.

Zhou Ze went up and exchanged glances with Doctor Lin.

“Thank you. Sorry for bothering you,” Zhou Ze said.

“I just did what I was supposed to,” Doctor Lin said. She added, “Sorry that I wasn’t home during the day.”

“It’s fine,” Zhou Ze waved his hand.

Doctor Lin left the room, and Zhou Ze stayed behind to talk to his uncle. The bus was involved in an accident before it left the city. Xu Dachuan happened to be the unluckiest one. He suffered a fracture while the rest of the passengers only bruised themselves.

Xu Dachuan did not seem too bothered by his injuries. He kept repeating, “At least my niece-in-law is still a good person.”

Zhou Ze smiled. He asked Xu Dachuan to get some rest and left the ward.

——

Doctor Lin was standing at the receptionist. There was a nurse sitting at the counter. She seemed to be uncomfortable.

Zhou Ze was preparing to leave. He was only going to say goodbye to Doctor Lin. The two had not spoken for some time, but it was still necessary to maintain their image in front of her colleagues.

However, when Zhou Ze went closer, he heard the faint cry of an infant. It was like the purr of a little kitten.

Zhou Ze did not take it seriously, but when he went closer to Doctor Lin, he noticed that the cry was slightly louder.

-Is some ghost bothering Doctor Lin?– Zhou Ze stood beside Doctor Lin and glanced at her shoulders.

“It’s fine, Sister Lin, I’ve always had a weak stomach. I’ll be fine after taking some medicine later,” The nurse was grateful for Doctor Lin’s concern.

“You should take good care of yourself,” Doctor Lin said.

Doctor Lin finally noticed Zhou Ze ‘sneaking up’ behind her.

“What are you…”

“Wait,” Zhou Ze raised his hand and listened carefully. He looked at the nurse’s stomach.

The sound was not coming from Doctor Lin. It was coming from the nurse!

Zhou Ze used to be a doctor, and immediately realized what was going on.

“You’re pregnant,” Zhou Ze told the nurse blatantly.

“I’m what?” The nurse was confused.

“What are you talking about? Xiao Chen isn’t married yet. She doesn’t have a boyfriend either,” Doctor Lin rolled her eyes at her ‘husband’.

“I don’t know who the father is, but you better get your body checked out. I have to warn you, there’s a risk that you might have a miscarriage,” Zhou Ze said confidently.

The embryo was not in a stable condition. The faint cry was a sign that the unborn child was feeling despair. It was why Zhou Ze spilled the beans so blatantly. A human life was at stake!

The nurse quickly rose to her feet in a panic. It was obvious that she was totally unaware that she was pregnant, but she knew that she did have intercourse during the ‘dangerous’ period, thus she had a very high chance of getting pregnant.

Doctor Lin was able to tell the same from the nurse’s reaction. She immediately left with the nurse.

——

Zhou Ze stretched out. It was quite a pity that Xu Le had only learned construction. If Xu Le was a doctor too, he could easily become the best doctor in not just Tongcheng, but in the entire Jiangsu!

Zhou Ze went downstairs and bought Xu Dachuan a tray of milk and some daily necessities. He brought them back into Xu Dachuan’s ward and walked out of the door. He was on his way back, since he was feeling a little uneasy about the ‘uncertainty’ in his bookstore.

Doctor Lin happened to be walking out of the elevator. She had a grim face.

“What happened?”

“How could you tell Xiao Chen was pregnant?” Doctor Lin asked him.

“I learned some Chinese medicine before,” Zhou Ze bluffed. “How is she doing?”

“She’s thinking of keeping the child, but it’s hard to tell if she can actually do it. She wasn’t mindful of it before,” Doctor Lin said. “Are you going back? I can give you a ride, I’ll go change.”

——

As a result, Zhou Ze left the hospital in Doctor Lin’s Porsche Cayenne.

The two did not talk along the way. Their relationship as husband and wife had reached the freezing point after what had happened last time.

When they were almost at the bookstore, Zhou Ze believed he should find a topic to break the silence. He said, “I saw a lot of photographs of you wearing a hanfu in your Moments. You like it?”

{TL Note: ‘Moments’ here is a place where people can share about their life in WeChat.}

“Yeah,” Doctor Lin nodded.

“I liked it too,” Zhou Ze rubbed his nose. “Do you have one? Can you wear it someday?”

Doctor Lin did not respond, as if she could not be bothered to do so.

—

Her car stopped in front of the bookstore. Zhou Ze got out of the car. To his surprise, Doctor Lin followed too. It seemed like she was planning to go into the bookstore.

-Hehe, the woman is pretty daring. Isn’t she afraid of the same thing happening again?-

“I’m going to take some magazines to read when I’m at work,” Doctor Lin said.

“Mm,” Zhou Ze nodded. He knew it was Doctor Lin’s way of reconciling with him. It was pretty tough for her to do so.

If he was to describe the woman with Lu Xun’s style of writing again, it would be, “The woman had once again lowered her head toward feudalism by compromising herself in front of her husband.”

If they were in ancient times, Doctor Lin was the typical type of woman who was ruined by the strong feudalism of the country.

Zhou Ze pushed the door open. He was surprised to see Xu Qinglang sitting on a plastic stool while reading a book, even though he was holding the book upside down. What the heck was he doing?

Xu Qinglang forced a smile at Zhou Ze. It was worse than him actually crying.

Doctor Lin glanced at the man that was prettier than most women, and went over to the shelves to pick some magazines.

Zhou Ze gave Xu Qinglang a cigarette and whispered, “What happened? What’s bothering you?”

Meanwhile, Zhou Ze heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A woman with an alluring figure wearing an ancient, white dress came down the stairs elegantly.

She smiled when she saw Zhou Ze and said respectfully, “You’re back.”

The magazines that Doctor Lin was holding fell to the floor. She snapped coldly, “It seems like there’s no need for me to wear a hanfu for you!”