Chapter 1: Strange Phenomena in the Underworld

  He walked down the alley with a nervous heart, and the cool breeze behind him pierced his back, filling the entire alley with the breath of ghosts. This breath could only be felt by people like him who had died.

  "Could it be that a ghost has floated into this alley?" he thought to himself.

  "Chen Zhenhua——" He had just thought of this when he heard someone calling his name. The voice was hoarse and thick, cold and drawn out, like a ghostly howl. Only Chen Zhenhua seemed calm upon hearing the voice; anyone else would have been scared out of their wits.

  "Come on!" Chen Zhenhua raised his head and looked around, then smiled slightly and said, "You think you can scare me?"

  "Did you hear that it was us?" Two figures floated in front of Chen Zhenhua, one black and one white, and anyone could recognize who they were from their attire.

  "Off again, unpredictable as ever?" Chen Zhenhua said with a chuckle, looking at the figure in front of him.

  "It's almost a daily occurrence." Bai Wuchang sighed and said, "You guys are really different, with high salaries and easy work. But us? We're wandering around in the human hell all day, our shoes are worn out but we don't even have money to buy new ones. Were you scared just now? Honestly! You've got the smallest guts of all."

  "You think I'm a living person, but I'm dead, and you can even say that I'm a ghost. Can ghosts climb ghosts?" Chen Zhenhua was extremely pleased with himself for not being scared, but he turned to see Hei Wuchang's face looking somewhat displeased, as if he had something on his mind. So he said, "What's wrong? What could make our 'Ghostly Duo' so melancholy?"

  "We've got a real problem on our hands. Two days ago, we were sent to fetch the soul of a woman who was murdered, her name was... uh, Ruan Jiaolü, but she managed to slip away at Naihe Bridge during the chaos caused by those peddlers selling Meng Po's soup. I think her soul must have floated back to the mortal realm, so we're here to catch her again, but we can't find her anywhere. She might be hiding somewhere. If we don't bring her soul back before the appointed time, Yanluo Wang will definitely get angry and might even fire us. Those two dogs, Ox Head and Horse Face, have been badmouthing us in front of Yanluo Wang all this time, they've been wanting to replace us for a long time." said Hei Wuchang.

  "Wouldn't it be better to replace them?" Chen Zhenhua said with a pout, "Aren't you always complaining that the Yanwang Temple owes wages? Even business trip expenses haven't been reimbursed for years. It's better not to do such a difficult job."

  "You speak lightly," Hei Wuchang sighed and said, "If we lose our jobs, what will the two of us eat? This bitter job has low wages and high expenses. After working for over a hundred years, we don't have any savings at all. Nowadays, everything in this world costs money. Even when looking for a partner, people first ask how much you've saved up and whether your family has any villas to burn. You say if we lose this job, how will we survive?"

  "What you said makes sense," Chen Zhenhua said, "it looks like there is work, but this little salary is equivalent to nothing. However, why don't you two think of other ways?"

  "What road?" This time it was Hei Bai Wu Chang speaking together, they heard that there was a way out, and suddenly they all had spirit, their depressed mood disappeared instantly, and they curiously looked at Chen Zhenhua.

  "Look," Chen Zhenhua thought for a moment and said, "you two often run errands in the mortal world, why not take this opportunity to set up an express delivery company to help the ghosts of the underworld transport things, they'll give you both transportation fees."

  "Express delivery?" Bai Wuchang asked in surprise.

  "That's right, just like the escort agencies set up by ancient people," said Chen Zhenhua.

  "Right," Hei Wuchang seemed to have a sudden realization, "How come I didn't think of it? In the mortal world, aren't there people who burn TVs, refrigerators, and mahjong tables? Some old ladies can't even carry them, and many are discarded on the Yellow Spring Road or in the Naihe Bridge. We help them transport these things, and they have to pay us. Isn't that a great deal? A win-win situation."

  Having obtained this business, Hei Bai Wu Chang no longer felt sentimental, and the two of them began to plan how to run the express delivery company well in the future. They also started planning what they would do after making money. After expressing their gratitude to Chen Zhenhua, they turned around and left the alley, continuing their search for Ruan Jiaoluo's soul. Along the way, they kept thinking about Chen Zhenhua's suggestion to start a company.

  After Hei Bai Wu Chang left, Chen Zhenhua continued to maintain his lost mood. He returned home and lay on the steel wire bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. So he got up and lit a few incense sticks, finishing them off as if he had eaten dinner (it's said that after people die, they use incense as food). After finishing the incense, he lay back down on the bed, thinking about what Hei Bai Wu Chang had just said.

  That soul called Ruan Jiaolü escaped, isn't she the woman whose throat was cut and chest was stabbed several times? Why did Xiong Lunbing's new bride want to escape? Aren't the police already worried about her case? Is it that her resentful spirit is too heavy and wants to stay in the world to avenge herself?

  He got up again and walked slowly to the only window in the room, his hands crossed over his chest, looking at the streetlights outside and listening to the songs that sounded like wolf howls coming from many corners of the bustling city. It was already late at night, but occasionally you could still hear the shouts of a group of young people or little girls on the streets.

  However, the whole city was still relatively quiet at night, especially now. Chen Zhenhua felt even more quiet, and it could be said that it was as quiet as death. There was also a cold wind blowing, like it was coming from the underworld. He shivered with cold, pulled his collar up again, then turned over and lay back on the bed.

  Just as he turned around, a white shadow flashed outside his window. When he felt something unusual behind him and turned around abruptly, the white shadow had disappeared. He found it strange, so he walked to the window and looked around, but still couldn't see anything outside. The sky was still bright with the moon hanging high, the autumn wind was still rustling in the air, and the city was still bustling with lights. So, he turned around and walked back, but as soon as he left the window, the white shadow reappeared. This time, Chen Zhenhua felt a pair of eyes staring at him coldly, as if they were trying to see through his heart from behind his back.

  "Since you've come to find me, why hide?" Chen Zhenhua didn't turn around this time, standing with his back to the window. He understood in his heart that except for a ghost, no one could stand so high because the window of his room was tens of meters away from the ground and it was on the third floor. There was no platform or anything below the window, and an ordinary person simply couldn't do this. Therefore, he thought it might be a wandering soul that had drifted here.

  "Aren't you afraid?!" The white shadow behind him spoke, its voice was so cold, so desolate, hearing this voice, anyone would break out in a cold sweat. Unless it's someone like Chen Zhenhua who has returned from the dead.

  Chen Zhenhua shook her head and chuckled twice, saying: "Why should I be afraid?"

  "Ghosts, aren't they something that everyone is afraid of?" The voice behind was equally cold, like the autumn wind at night, cold to the bone.

  "Because I'm just as dead as you are!" Chen Zhenhua sneered with a bitter smile. His words were equally chilling.

  "Is it?" said a voice behind him, "Then I've found the right person."

  "Since you've come looking for me, can I turn around?" Chen Zhenhua said.

  "I'll just come in!" As soon as the words fell, Chen Zhenhua only felt a white shadow flashing before his eyes, and a person suddenly appeared in front of him. This was a slender woman wearing a plain skirt, standing in front of Chen Zhenhua with her feet not touching the ground. Her hair was disheveled, her face pale and expressionless. There was a bloodstain on her chest, and blood was also oozing out from her neck. This was clearly Ruan Jiaolü, who had escaped from Naihe Bridge in the chaos, as described by Hei Bai Wuchang. Now she was a female ghost.

  "I heard you escaped back to the human world?" Chen Zhenhua looked at her and had already recognized who she was.

  "I won't rest in peace," the female ghost said, "I died so miserably, I want revenge!"

  "Do you know who's harming you?" Chen Zhenhua was worried that the case would be hard to crack, but if the female ghost told him and even revealed all the evidence, then he could show off at the police station tomorrow.

  "Sorry," said the female ghost, "I don't know! But I suspect three people."

  "You were killed at home, but you don't know who the murderer is? You just suspect three people?" Chen Zhenhua was very disappointed that Ruan Jiaolü actually said she didn't know.

  "The killer had covered my eyes at that time," said the female ghost.

  "Who do you suspect?"

  "Colleague Zhang Yuan, my husband Xiong Lunbing, police station..."

  "Wait," Chen Zhenhua was surprised to hear the female ghost say that her own husband was also a suspect, and he hastily interrupted her words, "Your husband is also a suspect? I don't think it's him, after the murder occurred we went to the crime scene and asked the neighbors around, they said you and your husband had a good relationship, and he has an alibi."

  "This I know, as for whether you and I have a good relationship or not, only I am clear about it. Right, what do you understand?" the female ghost said.

  "We also know Zhang Yuan, and currently the police have him as their main suspect. They are preparing to go find him for questioning tomorrow," said Chen Zhenhua.

  "That's good," said the female ghost. "If you can help me find the real murderer, I will definitely thank you."

  "That's not necessary," Chen Zhenhua said, "being a policeman has always been my greatest wish, and I will pay with my life for it. I will definitely help you find the murderer, so that you can rest in peace in the underworld."

  "No!" the female ghost said, "I won't go to hell, I want to see the murderer pay with his life, best if I kill him myself."

  "Why bother?" Chen Zhenhua said. "You've been drifting around for a long time, aren't you afraid that Yan Wang will get angry and make you disappear into thin air, never to be reborn?"

  "I don't care," the female ghost said, turning to look out the window before floating away. Chen Zhenhua didn't try to stop her further, but let out a deep sigh. However, he also made up his mind secretly that in order to prevent the female ghost's soul from dispersing, he had to find the murderer as soon as possible.