IWBL: Chapter 183

[Lili: It’s fine if you want to change your identity but why didn’t you tell me? I have talked about Moriarty’s gossip with other ghosts and stepped on Moriarty for Sherlock!]

[Lili shed tears after becoming a Sherlock fan.]

[Recalling what Hercule had said to the phone ghost, “Meiyou, how many surprises do you have that I don’t know of?” Now Meiyou can say, “Human, how many identities do you have that I don’t know of?]

[Laughing to death. Paying for a report. If you gain then you will lose. Meiyou, if you can see this post, help me say a few words in front of the bigshot.]

[Life is really full of wonder. The ghost call is originally the type of instance I fear most. I was still shivering when I saw people telling me about Moriarty’s experience. Who would’ve thought that I would call a phone ghost affectionately by the name of Meiyou?]

[Meiyou can navigate to find people and it is also convenient to carry. It is a qualified ghost tool.]

[The crying sister also needs a name. Crying sister: I originally wanted to ask Sherlock to get revenge on Hercule but now… will I ever get revenge for my beautiful hair?]

[Hercule: You’re all my own people and all strange stories. What is there between you and me? Besides, didn’t I give you the hair ghost?]

[Hair ghost: ?? What the hell do you think of me as?]

[Cold, shaking and crying. Can’t this world be better? It is too cruel for us ghosts!]

[Hey, it is fun to read posts about the bigshot. The post next door makes me shivers.]

[Next door? What post?]

[I know. It’s the one that says ordinary people are often experiencing ghost events in reality recently? In the past, us reincarnators might often go to ghost instances but it is very safe in reality. Recently, ghost stories are occurring all over the world. Someone organized a special post and I’ve read it.]

Zheng Yi saw this and finally closed his grinning mouth.

He looked at it and was reminded of his junior classmate, Qi Ning discovering the ghost bus. Then his entire body trembled. Zheng Yi hurriedly withdrew from this post, went to the special post mentioned by that person and started reading it intently.

He was like this the whole day. Zheng Yi was so concentrated that he didn’t eat much of lunch and even Xiao Li looked at him a bit more but didn’t ask. In the end, Zheng Yi couldn’t hold back and took the initiative to share it with Xiao Li.

Xiao Li used the little yellow book to open the link. This post was filled with stories about ghosts and monsters experienced by non-reincarnators. For example, the first one was about an office worker who had worked overtime on Friday and returned home late at night. He lived on the seventh floor and took the elevator home every day.

It was late so he was the only person on the elevator. However, the moment he got onto the elevator, the elevator issued the overweight warning. The office worker was frightened to death and immediately withdrew. He watched the elevator door close without anyone inside and rise slowly, finally stopping on the 10th floor before descending again.

It was still empty when the elevator opened again on the first floor. However, the office worker didn’t press the button again. He was shocked at the time and his legs were soft. He didn’t dare to go home so he went directly to a friend’s house and stayed for one night. Afterwards, he posted about the incident on Weibo where it was seen by a reincarnator.

Xiao Li roughly looked through the post. There were many similar experiences as well as the speculations of the reincarnators.

Zheng Yi spoke from the side. “This is the same as the ghost stories I used to read before. It is really scary and I hope I don’t encounter it. Recently, I don’t even dare to walk on the streets at night.”

Xiao Li looked at a few of the most iconic events and thoughtfully closed the little yellow book.

“Xiao Li, if one day I meet a ghost, I… can I move to your place?” Zheng Yi looked over pitifully. “Or you can come and live in my house and bring Shen Chenzhi. I don’t mind. I’ll automatically disappear at night.”

Xiao Li, “……”

Why did Zheng Yi keep mentioning Shen Chenzhi?

His thoughts drifted to that day again. After getting rid of the headache with the hangover soup, he actually slept very well. At least, he was more at ease than his previous sleep. It was as if he received some type of assurance and could go to sleep with a sense of security.

Xiao Li sat at his desk in a daze for a moment. Then he lowered his head and started doing his homework.

***

This time, the rest time between instances was a bit long. That night, Xiao Li answered a call from Ye Zeqing.

“She… No, Mo…” Ye Zeqing’s tone was quick but he was stuck on how to call Xiao Li. “Forget it, I’ll call you Moriarty. I’m more used to it.”

Xiao Li heard that this person’s tone wasn’t right and asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Zeqing was different from Zheng Yi. Zheng Yi was dependent on Xiao Li and liked to share trivial things with him, while Ye Zeqing liked to solve things by himself. He only came to Xiao Li when it was something that he couldn’t solve. After all, there was the Ye family behind Ye Zeqing.

“Moriarty, did you know that there have been a lot of supernatural events in the real world recently?”

“Yes,” Xiao Li replied. “Zheng Yi shared it with me.”

“I’m busy in other places recently. The Ye family’s work has increased by several times more than before. I can’t go back for the time being. Are you free now?”

Xiao Li heard a noisy conversation from the other end of the phone. “I’m very idle. Just say it, if you have anything.”

“Yes… it’s like this.” Ye Zeqing sighed deeply. “I have a friend in reality who isn’t a reincarnator. He opened a KTV that is near your home. He… he wants to invite you to sing a song.”

“……Huh?”

The last part was a shift in the conversation.

“…And help him by the way.” Ye Zeqing coughed. “His KTV has recently been haunted. Many guests say they have run into a ghost in the early morning. I should be helping him but I am currently out of town. He is a good friend of mine. Can you go… see him if you have any time?”

“Of course, I’m not just asking you for help. He will pay you. You can sing there in the future for free and there is an extra fee. If you don’t like money then you can ask for anything you like as well. I’ll tell him that you’ll help him. What do you think?”

If it was simply asking him to sing then Xiao Li definitely wouldn’t go. However, since it was about a supernatural event, the warm-hearted citizen Xiao Li replied without hesitation, “There is no need to pay me. Help me open a room and give me the address and contact information. I will go over.”

Ye Zeqing sighed with relief. “Okay, I’ll trouble you. Let me tell him.”

He hung up the phone and quickly sent over the boss’ phone number name and address along with a message: [I have already told him about you. His name is Pan Jiming. You can just go there directly.]

Xiao Li circled around his house. He picked up the school bag that had been thrown to the ground after returning home and took out all the textbooks from it. Then he pulled down the ghost painting and grabbed the little black cat. He placed the little black cat into the bag, leaving a gap for it.

The little black cat tucked in his tail and turned over in the bag.

“I’m taking you out to relax.” Xiao Li put on the school bag and waved. “Tan Li, you girls should like to sing, right?”

Tan Li was a good young ghost who was addicted to growing flowers, an activity for retired middle-aged people. Xiao Li wanted to let her develop extra hobbies and this was a good opportunity. He had never brought Tan Li out to play before. Tan Li raised her head from the flowers and entered Xiao Li’s right pocket with some confusion.

“There is also Zhou Ying. Children should look like children and can’t always play mobile games. It is good to sing.” Xiao Li tapped on his phone while also taking the light ghost that was healing on the table.

After everything was ready, Xiao Li dragged his family to the address given by Ye Zeqing. This KTV really wasn’t far from Xiao Li’s home. It was only a quarter of an hour’s walk and the sign composing of five coloured neon lights was particularly eye-catching in the darkness.

A middle-aged man with a distressed face was pacing back and forth at the entrance of the KTV. Apart from him, no other guests were entering or exiting. The middle-aged man saw Xiao Li walking over and looked him up and down suspiciously. “Master Moriarty?”

He couldn’t be blamed. Xiao Li was wearing a school uniform and carrying a black school bag. His hair fell over his forehead and he looked like an obedient and excellent student. This didn’t match the title of ‘strongest king in the ghost world’ that Ye Zeqing mentioned.

Xiao Li wondered, “Pan Jiming?”

“Yes yes, that’s me.” Pan Jiming looked a bit skeptical but he squeezed out a smile based on his trust in the Ye family behind Ye Zeqing. “Master Moriarty, please come with me.”

The interior decorations of the KTV were very luxurious. It was far more magnificent than some chain places. It should be bustling on weekdays but at this moment, it was extremely quiet. Only Pan Jiming’s leather shoes echoed on the tiled corridor.

Xiao looked at the private rooms. “There are no guests?”

“After the incident, I cleared the scene and closed it. After all, I won’t be able to open it anymore if something happens to the people who come here.” Pan Jiming spoke nervously. “The store has been open for several years and there has been no incident. Then last week, guests who had booked an all-night room reported that they heard footsteps lingering outside the box.

“They thought that it was a waiter and some people felt annoyed, so they opened the door to tell the waiter not to walk back and forth. However, after opening the door, they discovered that there was no one outside at all.”

Pan Jiming’s voice revealed some bitterly. “The guests in the box didn’t think too much at first. They thought it was an echo that amplified the waiter’s footsteps or the waiter had entered another box. Then they closed the door and the footsteps started again.”

“It wasn’t only that. The footsteps were originally walking back and forth two metres away from the door. Then it gradually reduced to one metre. In the end, it was like a person was walking right in front of the door of the box.”

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The author has something to say:

KTV Ghost: I always have a bad feeling… it must be an illusion OvO.

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Proofreader: Tofu