Chapter 42: The Visit

“Oh, right, this is my classmate, Wang Chenghao. An ordinary person.”
“Well, since I can't get what I want, I’d better keep a low profile. Old Zhang, how are things at the school?”
“All taken care of,” Zhang Baoguo replied, pulling a brown envelope from his side. Inside were detailed materials about the school and a stack of photographs. Qin Ye glanced at them—the environment looked excellent, and the campus was new. He was thoroughly satisfied.
“The Huizhou Provincial University branch. It was built just three years ago. The campus is well landscaped. Xiaohua studies there too—she managed to get into the student council by luck and might be of some help to you. As for the principal, I’ve already given him a heads up. You can enroll anytime, choose any department you like. Your ID and all relevant documents are in the envelope. However…”
He hesitated for a moment, visibly uneasy. “Old Qin… I won't hide it from you. You know how strict universities are nowadays—they’re not part of our system. The only reason they’re accepting you is because…”
He lowered his voice, “There… things haven’t been exactly clean lately.”
“How interesting.” Qin Ye smiled. “I’m least afraid of unclean places.”
Of course, that was assuming the ghost’s rank wasn’t too high.
“What about the Special Investigation Division?”
“They’re shorthanded… The Division only shows up if there’s been a fatality. No one’s died at the school yet, so they can’t spare the manpower. The Division has issued an internal bounty—anyone who can solve it gets this amount.”
“I know it’s not easy for someone with your status to earn money. If you settle this, I can report it while keeping your identity hidden.”
He raised a finger. Qin Ye arched his brow. “A hundred thousand?”
“It’s a million.”
Naive.
Qin Ye suddenly felt a swell of pride.
With a benefactor at his side, he couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable surge of confidence.
“Old Zhang…” he chuckled, exuding the air of a millionaire, “I don’t need money right now.”
Zhang Baoguo’s mouth fell open, having nothing to say.
His meaning was clear: there’s no need for money, so risking exposure just isn’t worth it.
Wang Chenghao, sitting nearby, pursed his lips and gave Qin Ye a resentful look. Suddenly, he spoke up, “Actually… we really do need money right now…”
What?
Qin Ye looked at Wang Chenghao as if he’d seen a ghost. Did the sixty thousand in savings just vanish? You’ve done nothing this whole time but play with your phone!
Did you tip a streamer, or did my old age and fading looks finally make me useless?
Wang Chenghao raised his phone, face woeful. “Just now… my bank card… it’s been frozen…”
What the…
Qin Ye leapt to his feet, snatching the phone in disbelief.
Impossible…
Heaven must be joking with him. No way… I just said I didn’t need money, and now karma has come full circle?
Several minutes later, Qin Ye tossed Wang Chenghao’s phone aside and collapsed onto the chair, utterly despondent.
A frozen account meant the Qingxi County incident had been wrapped up. The Special Investigation Division had traced everything back to him and Wang Chenghao.
The entire class dead, and only the two of them survived?
And they’d left Qingxi County immediately—what did they know? What had really happened back then?

In this world, if you have money, you never need to step outside. So the first step is to freeze your bank cards.
The second step… the Special Investigation Division will likely be knocking on their door soon enough.
But… compared to being alive and just losing your money, such bad news was nothing but a drizzle!
How to deal with this heart-wrenching pain…
“Old Zhang, the Special Investigation Division will probably come looking for me soon. I’ve prepared all my previous identities, so there’s no rush. If anything unexpected happens, please let me know.”
“No problem.”
“Also…” Qin Ye coughed awkwardly. “So… Huizhou University, was it… If it’s not too much trouble, I’ll just go along with it… After all, the principal didn’t object to us enrolling, which is pretty reliable… As students, we should contribute to the Four Modernizations, right?”
There’s nothing more embarrassing than being slapped in the face and then having to find your own way down.
Watching Qin Ye try to make small talk, Zhang Baoguo barely suppressed his laughter and straightened his face. “Of course, Old Qin. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll rent a hotel room for you downtown so you can get a feel for Bao’an City. Go to the university whenever you like.”
After a little more conversation, Qin Ye and Wang Chenghao left.
Zhang Baoguo stayed behind, quietly sipping his tea. After a long sigh, he dialed his phone. “Get up here!”
Thirty seconds later, Zhang Linhua appeared at the door. Zhang Baoguo’s face was thunderous. “Getting too bold, are you? Your father can’t even order you around anymore?”
“Come on, Dad, what was that all about?” Zhang Linhua’s temper flared as soon as the topic came up. “Godfather?! If you want me to call someone your age ‘godfather,’ fine, but him?”
“Is he even twenty? You want me to call a seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid ‘godfather’? Did you ever think about how I’d feel?”
“You little brat!” Zhang Baoguo slammed his chair, furious. “Do you know how rare this opportunity is? Others would beg for it! If I hadn’t formed a life-and-death friendship with him twenty years ago, he wouldn’t even spare me a glance! Now the chance is right in front of you, and you don’t want it!”
“Only your mother and I have connections with people like that. If we’re gone someday, you won’t even have the chance to get close!”
Zhang Linhua winced, his head aching. “Twenty years ago… he wasn’t even born, was he? Fine, fine… Dad, don’t get mad. But did you smell that on them?”
“No? I did. Just sweat. Can’t even afford a plane ticket. How special can they be? At least tell me what they do, right? You just told me to call him godfather without a word of explanation. I’m a council member of the student council, and now you say he’ll be at my school? Can you imagine the embarrassment?”
“Short-sighted!” Zhang Baoguo cursed, then realized he’d just insulted himself as well…
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Zhang Baoguo slumped in his chair and waved his hand. “Go, go. I tried so hard to get someone to look after our family… You just don’t understand anything.”
“Remember… at school, help them if you can. You’re grown now, with your own mind. Even if you don’t call him godfather, don’t go against him!”
Zhang Linhua lowered his head, a frown creasing his brow. Reluctantly, he replied, “I know.”
Not waiting for Zhang Baoguo to say more, he pushed the door open and left.
“Ah…” Zhang Baoguo sighed softly, a bitter smile on his face. “Children must make their own fortune…”
………………………………
In the hotel, Wang Chenghao and Qin Ye lay side by side on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Qin, want to order some takeout?” Wang Chenghao said, clutching his empty stomach.
“Sure.” Qin Ye was starving too, but so exhausted he only wanted to die, his eyes even tinged with despair. “Beef, seafood, duck soup, which one?”
Wang Chenghao swallowed hard. “Well… Qin, I was just saying. We can’t afford anything that expensive… Maybe just seafood?”
“Alright.” Qin Ye got up, walked to the corner, and tore open a pack of Master Kong’s Shrimp and Fish Noodles. “How much water?”
“….”
Wang Chenghao wanted to curse but couldn’t get the words out.

“…I think we could still afford braised chicken rice… Didn’t Uncle Zhang give us a twenty-thousand credit card before we left?”
“Heh…” Qin Ye sneered. “You can save on tuition, but what about textbooks, clubs, this fee, that fee, and your living expenses? We don’t even know if things at Huizhou University will be complicated. You really think now’s the time to splurge on fancy braised chicken rice?”
Wang Chenghao, who had no concept of grains or extravagance, failed to connect ‘luxury’ with braised chicken rice. He blinked at Qin Ye, as if wanting to say something but stopping himself.
“So… what now?”
“Make money!” Qin Ye snapped, preparing the instant noodles. Wang Chenghao reached for them, but Qin Ye naturally held the bowl himself, moving to the window and pulling the curtain aside with one hand to look outside. “First, let’s get a sense of the situation in Bao’an City, then head straight to the university.”
Knock, knock. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Wang Chenghao was about to speak, but Qin Ye immediately covered his mouth, his expression grave as he made a shushing gesture.
By now, Wang Chenghao was already jumpy as a startled bird. His eyes went wide, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and Qin Ye could feel his lips trembling under his palm. Numbly, he nodded.
There was no sound in the room, yet the knocking didn’t stop. Instead, it became rhythmic—two knocks every five seconds.
Knock knock… knock knock…
Wang Chenghao’s teeth chattered so hard he could barely speak. He knew something was wrong. Hotel staff always announced themselves as “room service” when they knocked. This one didn’t.
No identification, and… the knocking went on for a full minute without pause!
Even the air in the room seemed to freeze. Suddenly, Wang Chenghao began to struggle, desperately grabbing Qin Ye’s hand, trembling as he motioned for Qin Ye to look under the door.
Someone was knocking on the door outside.
But inside… there was no shadow!
Scratch… scratch… At that moment, an unbearable scraping sounded from beneath the door. Then… a greenish-purple hand, twisted unnaturally, reached in.
It was the mark of livor mortis.
Standing at the door… was a dead person with no shadow!
His fingernails had turned black, his bloodless hand mottled with greenish-purple scars like writhing worms, yet it gripped a card, trying its best to slide it under the door.
Then, silently, the hand withdrew.
No one spoke.
It was midday—twelve o’clock. A person long dead, with no shadow, stood at the door and slid a black card inside.
“Da… Da Health Club?” Wang Chenghao’s voice had changed pitch. Qin Ye snapped, “Are you an idiot? A place like this? What, is it stylish to visit a brothel at a grave? And stop trying to push me to the front every time!”
“I’m scared…” “Me too!”
Wang Chenghao looked at Qin Ye in despair. Qin Ye pursed his lips, walked to the door, and picked up the card for a look.
It was an exquisitely crafted card, covered in silver patterns like ancient totems. These winding motifs converged in the center to form a skull. In the skull’s brow, a finger-high green ghost flame ignited as soon as it touched his hand, slowly beginning to burn.
“What is this?” Qin Ye turned the card over, and his face turned green.
“Yulan Club.”
“Plump or thin, rotten flesh and bone. Enjoy posthumous glory, all at Yulan Club.”
What the hell…