Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhou Ze came down the stairs and opened the door not long after Xu Qinglang started kicking it. His forehead was covered in sweat. He looked haggard, like he did not have a good rest.

The truth was, he had just woken up, but instead of waking up naturally, he actually woke up in shock.

He saw himself tied up by strands of black hair during the final scene of the dream. He could still feel his scalp turning numb whenever he recalled it.

“Xu Le!” The sister-in-law placed her hands on her hips. She was waiting for him to explain himself!

Zhou Ze nodded at Xu Qinglang, signaling him to come in. He then slammed the door and locked it right in front of his sister-in-law, isolating her outside.

The girl could not believe it. How dare Xu Le just ignore her!?

The little princess immediately went on a tantrum. She had come to demand an explanation from Xu Le on behalf of her sister. She had also learned about the woman driving a Maserati from Xu Qinglang. How could she just leave like that?

The man thought he could get rid of her just by locking the door!

The girl leaned forward and picked up a huge rock from the ground. She was planning to smash the glass door. However, as soon as she was about to throw the rock, Zhou Ze suddenly turned around and looked at her.

She saw a dark glitter flickering in Zhou Ze’s eyes.

The girl shuddered in fear. She staggered backward and subconsciously clamped her legs.

The terrifying sight she had witnessed in the toilet immediately crossed her mind, the same night that she ended up wetting her pants…

“Xu Le, you…just you wait!” The girl snapped and left in a panic. She had begun to regret being a busybody. She should have just told her parents about it.

She would just tell her parents that their live-in son-in-law was having an affair with another woman!

——

Xu Qinglang had been trying to organize his thoughts after he went into the bookstore. He kept swallowing. He always thought he had seen much of life, but he was having a lingering fear after learning the truth.

The reason was that he, the gyonshi, and Zhou Ze had failed to see through the woman’s disguise!

It was utterly terrifying. The more he thought about it, the scarier he felt!

You might be amused when you saw someone mimicking a singer on a variety show on the TV. However, it was extremely terrifying when you could not realize someone was mimicking your parents, your husband, or your wife while staying together with you!

“Last night, the woman in the Maserati, she was not Doctor Lin, she was not your wife! Your wife never bought a new car. She has been asking for sick leave and staying at home since you spilled the beans with her!” Xu Qinglang finally got out.

Zhou Ze’s eyes widened slightly.

He remained silent. He made his way to the chair behind the counter and sat down on it.

The man in a hoodie from Chengdu had warned him in the dream. Even though he was shocked to hear it from Xu Qinglang, he was still able to remain calm.

“Why are you so calm?” Xu Qinglang asked curiously, “Or maybe you already knew who the woman was?”

Zhou Ze shook his head, “I seriously had no idea back then. I actually thought she was Doctor Lin, but now that I think about it, a lot of things didn’t make any sense. She suddenly came to visit me, as if she had thought it through. I was suddenly taking the initiative and acting on impulse too. She was conforming to my requests willingly. She seemed to be shy and embarrassed, but everything she did was pulling the strings of a man perfectly.”

“What ghost was she?” Xu Qinglang smacked his lips and asked again, “What kind of ghost was that?”

“A woman that likes to dance with her hands in the swamp along the Yellow Spring Path. She didn’t have a face.”

Zhou Ze suddenly realized something after finishing the sentence.

The faceless woman. Everyone would be spooked after seeing that she had no face, but they completely forgot that she did not have a face because she had the ability to claim anyone’s face when needed. It was the reason why she was faceless. It was the only way for her to have someone else’s face!

“The faceless woman?” Xu Qinglang frowned. “I think I’ve read about her in some horror novels. Apparently, she is the kind of ghost born from the unwillingness of the dead that passes along the Yellow Spring Path. She is always waiting for the chance to return to the living world.”

“Something like that,” Zhou Ze nodded. He said, “Are you able to find the novel? I would like to check it out.”

“I’ll try to look for it. I read it when I was young, I doubt I can find it still. By the way, did you actually do something to the ghost? Did she come to seduce you?”

“I didn’t,” Zhou Ze shook his head. He reached for the new cup on the counter that he had bought and took a sip of the tea before saying in a deep voice, “I realized something was off in the nick of time, so I decisively stepped on the brakes.”

Zhou Ze would never admit that the ghost had failed to seduce him because of the pressure he was feeling after this asshole Xu Qinglang had mentioned how Xu Le was actually placing a green hat on him, because he had claimed Xu Le’s body and his DNA.

Speaking of which, Zhou Ze was utterly speechless too. He had read lots of novels about protagonists that had reincarnated in someone else’s body, or those that had transcended to the past or different worlds.

The protagonists ended up having kids in the novels too. There was nothing odd about the stories.

However, why was he having so much trouble when it was happening to him instead? Was it because he was just too free to think about all this nonsense?

Wait, it was Xu Qinglang who was too free. Only idiots like him would bother analyzing and thinking about something so philosophical on his behalf!

On the other hand, he suddenly felt like he should not blame Xu Qinglang. If the man had not told him all that nonsense, he might have found himself in deep trouble that could have resulted in serious consequences.

If he bit the bait that was laid by someone, he would eventually end up as the meat on a chopping board!

“So she failed?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“Yeah,” Zhou Ze nodded.

“But why is she aiming for you?”

“Maybe she isn’t too fussy about finding someone that is an appropriate match for her, like Madam Bai?” Zhou Ze smiled.

“…”

“Maybe she’s jealous that I was able to come back to life, but she can’t. I also managed to claim someone’s body and life,” Zhou Ze speculated.

“She has come back too, and it’s quite obvious that she’s coming for you.” Xu Qinglang analyzed. “But it also means the reason behind her return isn’t as simple as it seems. There might be other restrictions too…”

“Perhaps there’s some reason why she’s able to come back?” Zhou Ze was trying to look at the picture from a different angle.

“Why do I feel like you already know something? Am I being worried for no reason, since you already knew the answer?”

“I learned it all from a dream.”

“Do you seriously think I’m that dumb to believe it?” Xu Qinglang asked in return.

Zhou Ze patted his forehead softly.

The little girl had asked him to take over her job and left in an urgent manner. The faceless woman had come to the living world from Hell.

It was very likely that they were both trying to catch the man from Chengdu, the same man that he had met in his dream.

Meanwhile, the faceless woman was obviously using the chance of coming to the living world to settle some personal debt, such as her attempt to set him up…

“Anyway, I’ll try my best not to leave the bookstore until it’s over.”

“I think so too,” Xu Qinglang nodded. He went closer to Zhou Ze and said, “Hey, are you still bothered by the fact that you have Xu Le’s body and DNA?”

Zhou Ze shook his head, “Am I really that bored?”

“Well, it’s pretty easy to get over it. DNA is just the code, but your kids are the fruit of your soul. Forget what I said, I don’t even know it myself. Anyway, some people who didn’t claim someone else’s body like you did wouldn’t even know that their kids aren’t even theirs, so you shouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“I seriously didn’t know that you are so good at comforting others,” Zhou Ze stood up and said, “Come with me to the bathroom.”

Xu Qinglang followed Zhou Ze to the bathroom.

Zhou Ze took off his jacket and his shirt.

“You should really put more work into your body!” Xu Qinglang shook his head in dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, the gyonshi happened to be coming down the stairs. Since the bathroom was just beside the stairs, she immediately saw the two men in it.

“Oh my, I suddenly realized that I haven’t had enough sleep,” Bai Yingying pretended to yawn and went back up the stairs. She did not want to disturb the two from having their private time.

“Get the first aid kit from upstairs, and prepare some bandages and antiseptic,” Zhou Ze told Bai Yingying.

“Right away, boss.” Bai Yingying quickly went upstairs. She was actually wondering how vigorous the exercise they were doing was, that they had to prepare for bleeding in advance.

“What are you trying to do?” Xu Qinglang wrapped his arms around himself and looked at Zhou Ze. There was a strong disgust in his eyes.

Zhou Ze laughed, “You’re obviously not a homosexual person, why do you have to act like one?”

“It’s just my way of having some fun, would you even understand it?” Xu Qinglang pointed at Zhou Ze’s stomach. “I know it’s someone else’s body, but you really need some exercise. Look at that fat, tsk tsk, how disgusting…”

Zhou Ze’s nails grew longer.

Xu Qinglang was startled. -Holy crap, wasn’t I just complaining about your body? What are you being so mad for?-

However, Zhou Ze surprisingly swept his nails down along his chest, starting from just below his jaw. Blood started to leak out from the cut.

Some black powder suddenly became visible from Zhou Ze’s throat to his stomach. The powder was similar to the inked line that a carpenter might use. It was so thin that it was almost impossible to spot in the first place.

The inked lines fell off when the nails swept past them.

Zhou Ze let out a relieved sigh. He glanced into the mirror and looked at the long cut

“What the hell is this?” Xu Qinglang held his breath and crouched down to inspect the black dust that had fallen off.

“It’s hair,” Zhou Ze said. Hair that was coiling around his soul!

“Boss, I’m coming in,” Bai Yingying came in with the first-aid kit. She had a strange look when she saw the black powder on the ground. “Boss, are you using that to liven things up?”

“You know what it is?” Xu Qinglang pointed at the black powder and said.

“It’s Fragrant Ghost Amber, something that can be found on a ghost that has existed for more than a hundred years. My madam would have some, too.”

“What is it used for?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“To excite someone to act on impulse. For example, if you’re under its influence when you’re trying to do something, you will feel ten times the urge to get it done.”

Xu Qinglang grinned and glanced at Zhou Ze. “Old Zhou, was the faceless woman seriously trying to mate with you?”