Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Doctor Lin was a very traditional woman, but it did not necessarily mean she was the kind that could turn a blind eye at her husband having affairs with other women just because she wanted to maintain her reputation.

She was willing to make compromises, but she had her own principles too!

She could force herself to accept being mistreated by Zhou Ze. She could also slowly accept her role as Xu Le’s wife, but she could not accept Zhou Ze having an affair while they were still married. It was the line for her!

She was angry, extremely angry! She even had the urge to just turn around and leave!

She only stayed because she was waiting for Zhou Ze to explain himself. Either way, Zhou Ze should make a decision to settle the matter right away. Even if it meant she would be scolded by her mother, even if her father was going to blame her for bringing shame to their family, she would accept the outcome!

However, Zhou Ze did not say a single word. It was as if he had agreed tacitly.

Doctor Lin immediately had a grim look in her eyes.

-He did not even bother to explain himself?-

The truth was, Doctor Lin had misunderstood Zhou Ze. The man was having difficulty reacting to the situation. He was totally unaware of Doctor Lin’s feelings.

In Zhou Ze’s perspective, the hairs on his neck were standing upright.

-The corpse is alive!-

It was no longer as simple as coming down the stairs to drink some water. She had blatantly walked up to him; she was talking and interacting with him!

Zhou Ze quickly remembered how his fingers were ‘roaming’ on her during the day, when he was trying to wake her up. He immediately had the urge to rush for the exit and run as far away as possible.

It also explained why Xu Qinglang was sitting still and reading a book upside down. He was simply too scared to move!

The place fell into an awkward silence.

“Hi,” the woman was smiling. After she greeted Zhou Ze like a typical Japanese woman who purposely went to the door to greet their husband who had just come home from work, she immediately gave Lin Wanqiu a mocking look.

“Hello,” Doctor Lin replied coldly.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath. He immediately grabbed Xu Qinglang and lifted him up to his feet.

“Wanqiu, allow me to introduce you. This here is my good friend and my neighbor across the street, the owner of the restaurant who has more than twenty properties to his name, Xu Qinglang!”

“Hello,” Xu Qinglang said, but his eyes were still fixed on the dead woman. He had totally lost his mind. He was like a terrified little bird.

“Nice to meet you,” Lin Wanqiu said.

“And this woman here…” Zhou Ze pointed at the walking corpse, “is Xu Qinglang’s lover.”

“Yes, wait, what?” Xu Qinglang was stunned. However, he soon staggered forward and leaned against the woman after he was pushed forward by Zhou Ze.

“Yeah, she’s my lover. Her name is Bai Su… Bai Susu,” Xu Qinglang looked at Lin Wanqiu and placed his hand around the woman’s shoulder intimately.

{TL Note: Xu Qinglang was initially going to say Bai Suzhen. Bai Suzhen is the name of Madame White Snake. It’s a Chinese legend about a white snake that disguised herself as a woman.} 

He immediately felt the same coldness that he felt the previous night surging into his soul.

“Ah… oh…. ow…. ugh…” Xu Qinglang shivered for a brief moment and moved his hand away, “HAHA, dear, your body is so soft, it feels so good touching you, HAHAHA!”

“You guys go on ahead. Wanqiu, come with me. I have something to tell you.”

Zhou Ze grabbed Lin Wanqiu’s hand and dragged her out of the bookstore without her consent.

“Hey, Xu Le, I suddenly remembered I have something important to discuss with you, something along the lines of I have too many properties, so I was thinking of giving you one.”

Xu Qinglang waved and followed behind Zhou Ze.

The woman remained in place. However, Xu Qinglang felt a terrifying chill circling his neck, as if his neck would snap in half the moment he set foot outside.

Xu Qinglang decisively halted in his tracks and laughed, “Dear, don’t be angry, there’s no way I’m giving our properties away. We’ll wait until the country allows us to have twenty kids, and we’ll let the kids inherit the properties. You might even receive a badge for having so many kids.”

Xu Qinglang went back to his seat…

—

Zhou Ze dragged Doctor Lin out of the bookstore and brought her to the car.

“What is it? Just say it,” Doctor Lin asked.

“Have you put on some weight recently? You should stop eating supper,” Zhou Ze pushed Doctor Lin toward her car. “Time for you to drive home. Remember to go jogging or rope skipping if you have nothing to do at night.”

“What exactly is going on?” Doctor Lin grabbed Zhou Ze before he could make his way back to the bookstore.

“Don’t worry about it, just leave, now,” Zhou Ze urged her.

Doctor Lin did not say another word . She went inside her car and started the engine. She gave Zhou Ze a thoughtful look before driving the car away.

—

Zhou Ze took a deep breath. He crouched beside the road and lit up a cigarette.

To be honest, he did not feel like going back to the bookstore. His mind was telling him that leaving with Doctor Lin was the right choice, but he could not help it. He was the one that dug up the corpse.

Zhou Ze was no saint. He was actually afraid of getting into trouble. However, even putting his role as a temporary Envoy of Hell aside, he would feel guilty if the corpse he dug up ended up causing a disaster in his hometown.

As for Xu Qinglang whom he left behind in the bookstore…

Oh, he almost forgot that the man was still in the bookstore. How bad a person was he… he was still mistreating people, even after he died!

He took a puff of the cigarette and tossed it on the ground. He stepped on the cigarette and walked up to the door.

When he went into the bookstore, his eyes began to emit a black light. His nails were growing too.

“You’re back again.” The ‘corpse’ was still standing at the same spot elegantly, yet the disdain in her eyes was a lot clearer.

“Go back to the second floor and lie still,” Zhou Ze pointed at the woman and snapped. It did not matter if he stood a chance against the woman in a fight. It did not hurt to act bossily first.

“Do you guys prefer Durex or SYKN? I have both, I’ll go grab you some,” Xu Qinglang started heading for the door again.

He was regretting it. He should have moved away that morning. Why would he bother staying?

The woman suddenly reached out her hand to grab Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang screamed, “Wuji of the Heavens and Earth, Laws of the Taoist Doctrine!” A mirror appeared in his hand, facing the woman.

However, the mirror cracked into pieces in an instant. Xu Qinglang went flying and slammed into the wall.

The woman was utterly terrifying!

Zhou Ze sprang forward. It was his first time in a real fight. He was not feeling confident, either.

However, the woman glanced at Zhou Ze’s hands and slowly backed away. She did not dare move forward.

Xu Qinglang coughed and rose to his feet, grabbing his gut. He initially thought Zhou Ze would be knocked flying just like him, and immediately felt it was unfair when he saw the woman slowly backing away from Zhou Ze.

“Damn it, why are you going easy on him instead!?”

The woman was eventually forced into a corner. She finally lost her calm and pounced at Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze subconsciously reached his hand forward.

The woman slammed heavily into the wall. It even caved in a little.

A hole was torn close to the woman’s chest as she fell to the floor. If she was not wearing some underclothes beneath, she would have exposed herself.

“Holy crap, he’s that strong!?” Xu Qinglang dropped his jaw. He shivered in fear when he recalled how he was planning to force Zhou Ze to tell him the secret of his reincarnation when they first met.

It turned out that his neighbor had never gotten into a fight before today. Xu Qinglang could easily tell how scared Zhou Ze was.

It was actually quite simple; his neighbor never knew how strong he actually was!

It was true that Zhou Ze had never gotten into a fight. He had grown up at an orphanage. The kids were extremely friendly to one another. He became a doctor when he grew up. He only knew how to save peoples’ lives. He never had the time to learn martial arts or go boxing, either.

As such, Zhou Ze knew how clumsy he would be in a fight.

He knew the ghost was afraid of his nails, so he was basically swiping his nails like two women in a catfight. He did not look like an authoritative Envoy of Hell.

Unlike the little girl who chanted “Hell has its order, the Yellow Spring is crossable” whenever she was doing her job, he was clearly a lot less impressive.

However, how he looked did not really matter as long as it worked!

The outcome was definitely a lot better than what Zhou Ze had imagined. He had even prepared himself mentally for the possibility that he would be torn into pieces by the woman.

“AH!” The woman was knocked flying again. Every time she got close to Zhou Ze’s nails, the black mist circling the nails would penetrate her body and inflict serious damage on her.

“Wuji of the Heavens and Earth, Laws of the Taoist Doctrine!”

Xu Qinglang took out two runic papers and placed them on the floor. The icy aura in the bookstore weakened slightly. Every time the woman fell to the floor, the runic papers would shudder. The woman felt a strong heat, as if her body was burning.

The woman’s eyes flickered. She no longer dared confront Zhou Ze directly. She was planning to run away. She quickly moved past Zhou Ze and ran straight at the door to smash through the glass.

However, Zhou Ze was starting to get the hang of it. As the saying went, even if he hadn’t eaten pork before, he would still know how the pigs oinked!

He had seen lots of Hong Kong dramas and Chinese ancient dramas, and knew what he was meant to be doing.

He clenched his hands and placed his attention on the door.

Wisps of black light suddenly shrouded the door when the woman tried to smash her way through it. The woman only managed to leave a few scratches on it.

The woman cried out in agony as she was forced back and fell to the ground. Zhou Ze quickly went forward while catching his breath.

The woman was kneeling on the floor. She pointed at Zhou Ze with one hand while covering her face with the other.

“I swear I’m going to beat the crap out of you!” Xu Qinglang took out another piece of runic paper.

However, the woman cried out in grievance, “Not only did you touch me, you even beat me up! You’re inhumane!”

Zhou Ze subconsciously twisted his lips. It was rather dumbfounding to see the woman that was initially bringing immense pressure to bear on both him and Xu Qinglang suddenly admitting defeat.

Zhou Ze said in a deep voice, “I’m a ghost.”