CH 14

At the end of the night, Wu Zu woke up and sat in his bed for a long time, feeling that he hadn’t gotten any rest. The alarm clock by the bed had already rung three times, but he didn’t have the strength to get up.

‘I obviously slept through the night, but why was I studying Renaissance history and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors1 in my dream?’

Wu Zu reached out and lifted his pillow. However, there was nothing under it except for some fallen strands of hair.

‘There’s no history book down here, so why….?’

Wu Zu was puzzled, and while scratching his head, he thought: ‘Could it be that I came to understand the true meaning of studying, which gave me the possibility to study even in my sleep? Can it be possible that I will become a God of Learning2?’

Wu Zu lifted the quilt and got out of bed. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at his reflection in the mirror and remembered the dream he had. As he recalled the knowledge that he had memorized in the dream, the young teenager couldn’t help but think of the handsome young man from his dream.

On the other hand, the handsome young man, who didn’t need to take the University Entrance Exam, was completely tired and feeling quite sleepy. The work that he had to do in Wu Zu’s dream was very labor intensive. Even though he had the support of a Pixiu’s Mana3, Wen Xi’s soul hadn’t fully recovered yet. Furthermore, his energy was slightly worse than that of ordinary ghosts. After Wen Xi explained to Pi Xiu what had happened last night, Wen Xi tilted his head and went to see the Duke of Zhou4.

When Pi Xiu saw that Wen Xi was clearly tired, he asked no more questions and let Wen Xi rest. As he lifted the quilt to cover Wen Xi, Pi Xiu thought: ‘This little thing’s soul body is so weak, and he must still go to teach at night. Should I prepare something for him to make up for it?’

After raising the temperature of the air conditioner by two degrees, Pi Xiu went downstairs with the answer sheets Wu Zu had studied overnight.

As soon as he went downstairs, Pi Xiu saw Jia Suzhen standing in front of the door, with a rag in her hands, looking at the sun in the distance. She looked as if she was cold, desolate and melancholic.

Although the expression on her face looked insane, the movements of her hands didn’t stop. One by one, the newly purchased rags, in her hands, resembled torn money in Pi Xiu’s eyes.

Jia Suzhen sulked: “Scholar Wu will come today…..he will not come….he will come….”

As soon as Pi Xiu heard this, his nerves jumped wildly, and his body temperature greatly increased. Without Wen Xi around, Pi Xiu had a very difficult time keeping cool.

Each rag costs 5 yuan, and if you look at the ground, you will see at least four or five torn rags. That was, about 25 yuan! After rounding up, Pi Xiu calculated that half of the money for the daily water supply had been wasted. After rounding up again, Pi Xiu felt that he would continue to lose money if this went on.

Pi Xiu took a deep breath and tried to contain the anxiety present inside his heart. Pi Xiu had lived in the Human World for so many years, and after reading so many entrepreneurial experiences of financial predators, he learned a deep truth….

A certain price must be paid to achieve a certain goal, and any high-earning investment will need a large amount of money invested at the beginning.

In order to catch Taotie, that white-eyed wolf5, Pi Xiu didn’t even blink when he signed the check to buy the Jade Statue for Wen Xi. But now, just a few torn rags were making him lose control.

‘Pi Xiu, believe in yourself. You can endure it. You can do it.’

Mr. Pi clenched his fist and encouraged himself: ‘Life is like a play. No one could replace me if I get mad and get struck by lightning. It’s just a few rags. It’s fine even if another 100 are torn. As long as I get the merits for her reincarnation, she can rip all the rags she wants! Tear them joyfully, tear them loudly, tear them with style!’

After standing at the entrance of the stairs for so long, Pi Xiu finally steadied his anger and walked towards Jia Suzhen. He intended to take her to another place so she could continue tearing up the rags, without obstructing the entrance of the Restaurant.

As soon as Pi Xiu approached her, he heard a scream behind him. Suddenly, a black shadow passed by Pi Xiu like lightning, intending to pounce on the spooky Female Ghost standing in the doorway.

Lil Broom screamed and drove Jia Suzhen away. Then, he took a broom to sweep up the torn rags on the floor. He was stuttering so much, it was impossible to understand what he was saying.

Ren Jiao came with a sigh: “Lil Broom just cleaned up, and she stood there tearing the rags apart. This little guy has been gaining strength recently, I can’t stop him.”

Pi Xiu pressed his temples and asked: “If you can’t stop Lil Broom, then why didn’t you tell Jia Suzhen not to tear the rags?”

Ren Jiao laughed: “Don’t you think that Lil Broom looks quite cute when he gets angry?”

As the merman said that, Lil Broom screamed again, pointing at the rag in Jia Suzhen’s hand. Finally, Lil Broom managed to scream: “D-don’t, don’t t-tear it! Y-you, Fe-female G-ghost!”

Ren Jiao burst out laughing, to the point of leaning back and forth in laughter. On the other hand, Pi Xiu’s eyes turned white with anger, not understanding what was so funny.  ‘Has Ren Jiao been submerged under the sea so much that water entered his brain?’

Lil Broom was so angry that he was about to hit someone with the broom in his hand. Pi Xiu grabbed the broom and said: “Go and clean somewhere else. She will clean this by herself.”

“B-but, but…..”

Pi Xiu glared at Lil Broom: “But what?”

Lil Broom didn’t dare to speak. When Ren Jiao saw the situation, he took Lil Broom’s hand and pulled at him: “Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Don’t pay attention to him, let’s go to clean the kitchen.”

Pi Xiu’s face was extremely cold, while his body temperature rose higher and higher. At that, he thought that he should have stayed upstairs and slept together with Wen Xi, instead of coming down to add distress to his heart.

Pi Xiu called out to Ren Jiao: “Bring out the rooster prepared two days ago. Later this afternoon, kill it to make soup for Wen Xi.”

Ren Jiao waved his hand, showing that he had heard.

When Jia Suzhen saw that the spirit kid had gone, she kept tearing the rag apart. As she looked up at Pi Xiu, Jia Suzhen asked: “Pi-gongzi, do you think Scholar Wu will come back today?”

‘How the fuck will I know if he will come today?! I’m not the mad dog of Erlang Shen6! I can’t smell the flesh of other people, even if they’re kilometers away like he does!’

Pi Xiu’s cursing mood was unprecedentedly high, but he still maintained a gentle and easygoing appearance. As he gritted his teeth, Pi Xiu squeezed out a few words: “I don’t know. Maybe he will come.”

“Really?” Jia Suzhen murmured. “It’s not like I need him to come in either. Even if he just passes by, it’s fine. I simply want to see him.”

“One glance is enough.” Jia Suzhen said and then looked at Pi Xiu again. After a sigh, she said: “Pi-gongzi, have you ever had a sweetheart? If so, I’m sure you must understand how I feel.”

Pi Xiu, who has been single since birth and has never been in love even for thousands of years, sneered: “It doesn’t matter whether I understand it or not. In the end, he’s a Human and you’re a Ghost. You two can’t be together.”

“But, isn’t Wen-gongzi also a ghost?” Jia Suzhen asked.

Pi Xiu frowned: “We’re not like that.”

“But…. I clearly saw you holding Wen-gongzi in your arms that day…..” Jia Suzhen frowned and looked at Pi Xiu with reproach in her eyes. With a hated look, she said: “So you’re that kind of man!”

‘The fuck do you mean by ‘that kind of man’?’

‘Shouldn’t such an excellent man, like me, be living a rich and prosperous life? Why am I being questioned and blamed by a Female Ghost like you?’

Jia Suzhen shook her sleeves and sang: “Seeing that strong man made me gnash my teeth in anger….” She took a few steps forward, and continued: “Pooh! I approached him, spat at him, and scolded him to his face; you’re such a shameless, ruthless person7….”

Pi Xiu: “……”

After hearing this, Pi Xiu turned around and left. He couldn’t stay any longer. If he did, he would really slap the daylights out of Jia Suzhen. Which would only result in him being sent to the police station where he would spend the Mid-Autumn Festival8 and eat moon cakes sent out by the public.

""

When Su An saw that his boss was angry, he put down the account book on his hand and said: “This month’s electricity bill is a bit high.”

“So be it.” Pi Xiu sighed.

Pi Xiu had a hard time depriving himself of the capriciousness of turning the air conditioner to 16 degrees.

Su An pushed up his glasses and said: “But in your room, you already have…” The Abacus Spirit still didn’t know how to refer to Wen Xi. Therefore, Su An simply avoided mentioning Wen Xi and continued: “If holding him can make you calm and cool down, then I recommend that you hold him more often. That way, we can save energy and spend less money.”

Pi Xiu wiped his face, looked at his own accountant, and thought: ‘It was a good idea to pick him up from the bank. In terms of the economy and saving money, he has gotten the best out of my guidance.’

“Every year, in the summer, we pay more for the electricity bill. So stop worrying about it.” Pi Xiu handed Wu Zu’s answer sheets to Su An, raised his chin, and asked: “Calculate, what is the percentage probability that Wu Zu will get First Place in the Entrance Exam with his current level of education?”

The Abacus Spirit rarely changed his stoic expression, but this time, his face turned pale. As he glanced at Pi Xiu, Su An thought: ‘Is this Capitalism, which oppresses the working and peasant classes, intentional, on purpose or deliberate?’

How could he say something like that out loud? As he was about to blurt it out, Su An thought that the evil Mr. Pi could beat him with a single blow. Therefore, Su An could only say: “Wait a minute, let me take a look.”

Pi Xiu nodded: “Do it. It doesn’t need to be too accurate, it’s enough even if it’s two decimals away from First Place.”

Su An’s eyes darkened. The hand holding the pen trembled slightly, at the same time, he squeezed out a ‘good’ though clenched teeth.

When Pi Xiu saw Su An reach out for a calculator, Pi Xiu couldn’t help but wonder: “Aren’t you an abacus? Why do you need to use a calculator?”

Su An: “……”

Su An: “Boss, you’re interrupting my thoughts.”

Pi Xiu: “Oh, then I won’t talk anymore.”

Su An took the calculator to operate, and wrote a draft on a piece of paper. According to the city and provincial ranking of Wu Zu’s simulated exam, along with the range of his usual scores, Su An ultimately got a 30% chance of taking First Place.

When Pi Xiu looked at the results, he was worried: “30% is too low.”

Keeping a shallow smile on his face, Su An said: “I can’t change the result. Of course, if Boss eats all of the people who are ahead of this man’s scores, then the probability percentage will increase rapidly. However…..”

Pi Xiu raised an eyebrow, indicating him to go on.

“However, you may end up with indigestion.” Su An pushed up his glasses and faintly said: “In view of your unique physique, I suggest you don’t do it. After all, if something happens and you need to be sent to the gastroenterology department in the hospital, you may not be able to find a doctor that can treat you.”

Pi Xiu: “…..”

Su An carefully observed his Boss’s expression and continued: “Jia Suzhen’s work as a waitress has increased the number of customers. Last night, she sang in front of the customers, which made many interested in the show, saying that they would still come at night. Having her sing on a small stage is better than letting her stand in the doorway breaking dishes and tearing up rags.”

Hearing this, Pi Xiu nodded: “Alright, let her sing. Give her a list of the songs she can sing. If the customers are interested, make them pay for it. She doesn’t need to sing the full songs, just a few lines is enough. The money earned will go to the account to buy rags.”

Su An listened to him with respect, thinking: ‘Indeed, mountains are higher than hills9, and there are demons who are stronger than old spirits. Pi Xiu continues to do things systematically, consistently and logically with knowledge.’

After Mr. Pi made arrangements to earn more money, he went to the backyard to see the rooster, who was temporarily still alive. After that, Pi Xiu went upstairs to continue worrying about Wu Zu’s academic results.

Once upstairs, Pi Xiu looked at the still sleeping Wen Xi and thought: ‘Tonight, Wu Zu’s studies must be intensified. Otherwise, he won’t be able to be the top scorer in the Entrance Exams, and I will lose the merits.’

A Pixiu never does a business that will make them lose profit.

…

In the evening, when Wen Xi finally woke up, he sat on the bed for a bit. But then, he was taken downstairs by Pi Xiu to eat. A wave of clients had already come to the Restaurant, so at this time they were no longer so busy.

“When did you set up a stage for her to sing?” Wen Xi asked, as soon as he saw the stage.

Pi Xiu: “This afternoon.”

Wen Xi ‘hmm-ed’ in response. Before he could turn his head, Wen Xi saw Ren Jiao carrying a rooster with a broken neck. The blood of the rooster was dripping down Ren Jiao’s hand, with a strong Yang Qi coming out of it.

“Fu—!” Wen Xi jumped a few meters high, and then hid behind Pi Xiu. Wen Xi said with a shrill voice: “Pi Xiu, what are you doing?! A rooster?! Take it away from me! Take it away!”

Roosters have heavy Yang Qi in their blood. If you place a bowl of rooster blood on the ground, you would scare little demons and ghosts away. It was even more effective than the electric mosquito repellent.

Ren Jiao froze in place, surprised by the sudden shout. He didn’t know what was going on.

The smell of rooster blood had made Wen Xi dizzy, but he still managed to stretch out his hands to grab Pi Xiu by the shoulders and yell at him: “Don’t I let you do whatever you want, every day, without complaint? In the end, am I hindering your work so much that you want to do this to me? You really don’t want me to live anymore!”

The veins in Pi Xiu’s temples showed up wildly. He lowered his voice and said: “Why are you spouting such nonsense? You are already dead! What life can I take away from you?”

When some of the little demons, who came to eat, heard these words, they couldn’t help but stretch out their heads to see what was going on. Some of them were even quick enough to pull out their cell phones and start posting on the forum.

‘Why would an ancient demon poison his lover? It’s impossible to recover the love of the past, and this womanizing old demon is as vicious as Pan Jinlian10.’

Pi Xiu had no time to worry about them, since behind him, Wen Xi was still trembling in fear looking at the rooster blood, cursing incessantly. Pi Xiu said in a low voice: “Stop arguing. Rooster blood can’t do anything to you now, but it’s understandable that the smell makes you nauseous.”

Wen Xi: “You fucker! You did it on purpose! Are you still upset about the time I slapped you on the face?!”

Ren Jiao, who was still standing to the side, froze in astonishment. He thought: ‘This little guy is a fucking hero! Who would have thought that he would have the guts to slap Pi Xiu’s face? If there isn’t an affair between these two, I’ll use my own money to pay for Qiu Fu’s plastic surgery!’

The severely wronged Pi Xiu’s rare attempt at being a good person hasn’t been rewarded. Therefore, Pi Xiu became so furious that his body temperature soared with anger. He grabbed Wen Xi, who was still in front of him, and said in a low voice: “You’re not an ordinary ghost! I just wanted to make you some chicken soup to make it up to you. If you cause trouble again, I will….”

“What will you do?” Wen Xi raised his eyebrows, and a series of red patterns appeared on his pale face, looking like paper-cut for window decoration11. Wen Xi’s body was also emitting a powerful demonic energy identical to that of the Taotie.

Pi Xiu froze, stunned. His face changed immediately, took Wen Xi in his arms, and hurried upstairs.

As soon as the little demons saw this, they hurriedly moved their fingers like crazy to tell their friends the gossip. Boldly speculating on what would happen next upstairs.

The popularity of a post on the Monster Forum increased rapidly, taking a prominent place on the home page.

“Li Tao, as we all know, this old demon had a fight with his wife today. How long do you think they will last? The owner of the post in the Forum has speculated that it’s very possible that he will lose the baby.”

Feng Du was sitting in the office, looking at the photos of the Monster Forum post. His eyes lingered for a moment on a photo of Pi Xiu holding Wen Xi and taking him upstairs. After a long silence, Feng Du took out his cell phone and tried to communicate with Pi Xiu. But Pi Xiu didn’t reply. After hanging up the call, Feng Du used the office landline phone to dial a long phone number.

“Hello, is this the Demon Federation for the Protection of Vulnerable Women? I want to….”