Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You’ve been here for so long, but you didn’t know there was a back door all along?”

The back door here was not referring to the unspoken rules to get favorable treatment, but literally the back entrance of the temple, separated from the entrance at the front.

There was no love without a reason in this world. Even bread falling from the sky could easily kill a person with the force it contained.

If the midget old man was just giving him some tips and told him something that sounded obscure and mysterious, while knocking him on the back of the head three times just like the Buddha did to Sun Wukong, he would have been convinced that the old man was being sincere.

However, the midget old man was trying to help him passionately, so passionately that Zhou Ze could not help but feel suspicious.

Was there a trend of learning from Lei Feng and doing good deeds among the ghosts, too?

{TL Note: Lei Feng is a person made into a model of altruism and dedication to the government by propaganda in China starting in 1963.}

Zhou Ze was alarmed when the old man was reluctant to go inside the temple with him. He quickly left the temple through the back door.

It turned out that Zhou Ze had made the right choice.

It was just as what the old man had told him; there was no knowing what was in a man’s heart, let alone the heart of a ghost.

Zhou Ze was also absolutely dumbfounded after learning the reason why the old man was trying to get his revenge from him…

It turned out that a patient he saved had ended up in a car crash because he was driving drunk. Somehow, the midget old man’s descendant had died in the crash too!

As a result, the old man had put the blame on Zhou Ze because he believed that his great-great-grandson would not have died if Zhou Ze had not saved the patient’s life.

How ridiculous did that sound?

“I was a doctor in my previous life, saving lives is what I was supposed to do,” Zhou Ze smiled. “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, so it’s quite unreasonable that you bear such strong hatred toward me. I know you’re nursing a grievance because the sixty years you’ve spent here are all in vain since all the descendants of your family have died, but were you seriously trying to vent it all on me?”

The midget old man glared at Zhou Ze and licked his lips. He said in a hoarse voice, “It’s all your fault. Why did you bother saving that man when he was meant to die in the first place!?”

“In a doctor’s eyes, we only declare someone to be dead when they died after we tried our best to save them. I don’t agree with your reasoning. What you said sounds like complete bullshit to me. Doesn’t it sound ridiculous if I have to take the blame for everything that the people I saved have done?”

Zhou Ze remembered reading the memoir of an old British soldier. Apparently, the man had once had Hitler under his custody. He had the chance to shoot the man to death, but he decided to keep him prisoner instead.

Did that mean the British soldier should be held responsible for the Holocaust?

Zhou Ze shook his head. It was no use trying to convince the old man. His nails were starting to grow longer as a black mist began to circle them.

“You’re putting the old to death after killing the young?” the midget old man snapped. “You’re at a Confucian Temple, the resting place of the saints. Even a real Envoy wouldn’t dare to act recklessly here!”

“Screw you!” Zhou Ze went straight toward the midget old man and snapped, “There’s only one rule for me, since you tried to kill me, it’s my turn to kill you now!”

Zhou Ze was unable to get his revenge on the people that killed him in his previous life. However, it did not necessarily mean he was kind enough to forgive the old man now!

He was not allowed to do anything to the living, but no one said he could not do anything to the ghosts!

The midget old man tried to run away, but Zhou Ze quickly grabbed him and dragged him back strongly!

“Ah!” the midget old man cried out in agony. His body became more transparent.

“I don’t want to go to Hell, I don’t want to go to Hell. Saints, please save me!”

Unfortunately, the statues made of mud in the temple remained still. If they were real, why would they allow misfortune to befall the old man?

“Who said anything about sending you to Hell?” Zhou Ze laughed. “Do you seriously think you have a chance to go to Hell still?”

Zhou Ze stabbed the old man with his hands and spread his arms to vent the grudge that had built up in his heart. He instantly disassembled the old man’s soul!

It was a direct and simple approach.

Zhou Ze never knew how good of a fighter he was before his encounter with Bai Yingying. Now, he was very confident of his capabilities, especially against the dead. He was able to take the old man out easily because his soul was weakened after giving up on the virtue that he had saved up over sixty years.

Zhou Ze did not know if there were any consequences for his actions. He also could not tell if his decision of not sending the old man to Hell fit the little girl’s approach.

However, he knew he would eventually lose it if he kept withholding the grudges in his heart.

——

Zhou Ze dusted his shoulders off and hailed a ride.

The driver was very friendly. He even took the initiative to give Zhou Ze a cigarette. Zhou Ze was a little overwhelmed. He talked to the driver perfunctorily while smoking the cigarette.

He even tipped the cigarette butt at the door, but it did not burn a hole on it.

Zhou Ze was relieved. He definitely had enough after the encounter with the driver and his car made of joss paper last time.

It was one in the morning when he reached the bookstore. Bai Yingying was sitting behind the computer at the counter while controlling the mouse clumsily

After taking a shower, Zhou Ze saw Bai Yingying still sitting in front of the computer when he was heading upstairs.

How was he supposed to fall asleep if she was still here?

Zhou Ze went closer to Bai Yingying and saw the female gyonshi was actually enjoying herself playing the video game Beach Head.

“Time to rest,” Zhou Ze reminded her.

“Oh,” Bai Yingying responded. She did not realize what Zhou Ze was referring to.

“I said, it’s time to rest!” Zhou Ze repeated slowly.

“Oh, got it!” Bai Yingying stuck her tongue out and closed the video game. She obediently went upstairs.

There were two sleeping mats on the floor. The freezer was temporarily moved into the corner. The two laid down on the sleeping mats. If someone happened to come upstairs, they might think they were just two corpses lying on the mats.

“Boss, were you tired today?” Bai Yingying asked probingly.

Zhou Ze did not answer. He was not in the mood to discuss what happened tonight, especially how he kept passing the door without entering it. It was definitely not something he would like to discuss.

Bai Yingying closed her eyes when she saw Zhou Ze remaining quiet. She continuously unleashed her cold aura. The temperature began to drop, allowing Zhou Ze to relax.

Time to sleep…

——

Zhou Ze could hear the sound of water boiling.

He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was floating in a swamp. The water around him was boiling. It felt as if he was lying in an enormous bathtub.

He saw a spacious but muddy path in the distance. A bunch of white figures were walking numbly on it.

It felt somewhat familiar.

Zhou Ze slowly sat up and saw that he was able to sit on the surface of the water without falling into it.

“You’re here, too,” the voice of a man said beside Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze immediately turned around and saw a young man in a hoodie. A tiny figure was crawling on the ground beside him. It looked like a cat.

Zhou Ze was struggling to see the man’s face, as he had the hood over his head, but somehow, the man looked familiar to him.

However, Zhou Ze could not remember who he was.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a dream,” the man said. “It’s the butterfly dream. As the dead, it’s very common for us to dream about Hell.”

{TL Note: Butterfly dream is a philosophical argument that originates from the most famous of all Zhuangzi stories, Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Being a Butterfly, which illustrates that the distinction between waking and dreaming is a false dichotomy.}

“Who are you?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Do you think names are meaningful here?” the man asked in return.

Zhou Ze was left speechless. The man in a hoodie was right; only the dead would dream about Hell, and since they were already dead, what was the meaning of telling one another their names?

“They are coming to catch me,” the man said.

“Catch you?” Zhou Ze was startled, “To send you back to Hell?”

“Heh…” the man scoffed. He turned around to take his leave. The cat beside him followed slowly.

Zhou Ze blurted out when a sudden thought crossed his mind, “Are you the guy from Chengdu? The worker in Old Dao’s shop?”

The man halted in his tracks. He turned and looked at Zhou Ze, “Worker?”

“Aren’t you… a worker?”

“Whatever you say. Do you know Old Dao?” the man asked.

“You can say that,” Zhou Ze said.

“Oh,” the man pointed around him. The mist was growing thicker. He said, “We are going to wake up soon.”

“It’s my first time having a dream like this,” Zhou Ze admitted.

“You will slowly get used to it,” It seemed like the man was willing to talk after learning that Zhou Ze knew who Old Dao was. He was no longer in a rush to leave. He pointed at the swamp under his feet, “Do you remember this place?”

Zhou Ze looked down and nodded.

“Go down!”

The man walked up to Zhou Ze and pressed on his shoulder. The two sank into the water.

The water was very clear, so they could easily see under the surface.

“Did you realize that something is missing?” the man asked.

Zhou Ze noticed something as he looked around under the surface. The faceless woman that he stumbled into the first time he came here was missing! “The…the woman… she’s gone.”

“Oh,” the man said. Right after it, Zhou Ze saw two glowing red lights under the hood. They were the man’s eyes.

Blood-red eyes! Terror struck Zhou Ze, along with an overwhelming sense of danger.

Zhou Ze’s nails started to grow. His eyes had a black gleam to them. “What are you doing?” he exclaimed sharply.

The man smiled and pointed at him. “Take a look at yourself.”

Zhou Ze lowered his gaze and looked at himself.

He was surprised to see layers of black hair coiled around him. He was totally unaware that they were there before…

“She already went to find you!” the man warned him.

——

The sunlight in the morning was warm and soothing. Xu Qinglang made a cup of tea and moved a rattan chair to the entrance to enjoy the sunlight. It was unlikely that anyone would place a takeaway order at this time, so he was free to enjoy some time leisurely.

A cab stopped at the junction. A high school girl came out of it.

The girl was quite pretty. She had some baby fat on her face. She was obviously going to turn into a beautiful woman in the future.

The girl went to the bookstore. She kicked at the door when she realized it was locked.

“Xu Le, you assh***, come out here right now!”

There was no response.

Xu Qinglang took a sip of the tea and said, “What do you want from him?”

“My sister has been asking for sick leave and stayed home for more than a week. She just shut herself in her room all day. She has no appetite, either. I’m quite sure it’s because that assh*** Xu Le has made my sister angry again! I’ll bring him back with me and let him apologize to my sister!”

“Your sister?” Xu Qinglang realized something, “Your sister must be very tired after last night.”

“What do you mean by that?” the girl asked with a frown.

“Nothing, the relationship between adults is none of the concern of a kid like you. You just need to worry about your little boyfriend.” Xu Qinglang sounded like he was giving the girl a piece of advice.

“You’re a weird man. Do you seriously think I don’t dare to hit you just because you’re good-looking!? Who do you think you are to comment on my family’s business?”

The girl raised her hand as if she was really going to hit Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang smacked his lips and said indifferently, “Don’t you worry, I can guarantee that your sister is on good terms with your brother-in-law.”

Xu Qinglang actually kept something to himself. Doctor Lin seemed like such a traditional woman, yet she was surprisingly open-minded the other night. How quickly she adapted to the shocking truth! Tsk tsk, one could never underestimate the power of love. Since ancient times, many men and women had been diving into a fire called love like moths.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing really, just forget it. A little advice for you; tell your sister that it’s more spacious in the Cayenne than in the white Maserati. It’s more comfortable doing it in the Cayenne.”

“Maserati?” the girl sounded confused.

“Yeah, isn’t that your sister’s new car?”

“My sister hasn’t stepped out of the house since more than a week ago. How could she buy a new car, not to mention a Maserati?”

The girl looked at Xu Qinglang in confusion. She began to kick the door even harder after she realized something.

“Damn you, Xu Le, I understand now! You took my family’s money! My sister even gave you the money to open the bookstore, but you’re now having an affair with some rich woman instead? That woman owns a Maserati, right!? Xu Le, how dare you bite the hand that feeds you, you are a disgrace!”

Smash! A loud noise took the girl by surprise.

She turned around and saw Xu Qinglang leaning against the rattan chair. The sound was from a cup smashing into pieces after he dropped it.

Xu Qinglang’s mouth was wide open. He seemed terrified.

He quickly jumped off the rattan chair and kicked fiercely on the door. “Holy crap, you better wake up now. Stop f**king sleeping, you seriously messed with a ghost the other night!”