Late Night Bookstore - Chapter 27
The delivery guy stood in place, looking at Zhou Ze sitting behind the counter.
“Don’t be afraid, there are no cameras in this shop, and I don’t have any recording devices either.” Zhou Ze stretched lazily. “Of course, even if I say this, you won’t believe me. Well, that’s up to you.”
“I don’t know what you mean by this,” the delivery guy said calmly.
Someone capable of doing such a thing had to remain calm. The police still hadn’t definitively identified the arsonist, which was his skill — though in this case, it was a derogatory term.
“I’m pretty certain it was you who started the fire,” Zhou Ze said, spreading his hands. He was simply stating a fact, one that required no further debate.
“You’re drunk,” the delivery guy said.
“I’m not.” Zhou Ze smiled.
“So, just based on this, you claim I set the fire? Are you better than the police?” The delivery guy’s expression was beginning to strain, but he still kept his composure.
“Tsk… I’m definitely not better than the police, but I’m not blind either. As for the basis of my claim, sorry, that’s not what led me to identify you. I confirmed that you’re the arsonist first, then worked backward to find evidence, like a little Conan experience.”
Zhou Ze pointed behind the delivery guy.
The delivery guy immediately turned around, expecting to see police officers standing there, but there was no one, not even the sound of sirens.
In this nearly abandoned mall, especially late at night, there wasn’t even a passerby.
“They all came in with you,” Zhou Ze said.
“Who?” The delivery guy frowned.
“The six people who died in the cinema. They followed you in, and when I saw them, I was like ‘Oh, so it’s you, the murderer.’ It was obvious. Besides that idiot behind me who holds a grudge against me, you can’t possibly say that the other six victims got the wrong person, right?”
Zhou Ze slowly stood up, looking at the delivery guy in front of him.
“Stop acting like a ghost!” The delivery guy nearly roared. For some reason, he felt the pressure increasing and cold sweat began to drip from his face.
“Don’t be nervous. They can’t hurt you.”
Zhou Ze walked out from behind the counter, carrying a plastic bag in his hand.
Inside the bag were small boxes of rice and some pickled vegetables.
In Zhou Ze’s view, six people were sitting quietly on plastic stools, both men and women, two of them elderly. They were all sitting there properly, reading books quietly, not making a sound.
In front of each of them, Zhou Ze placed a bowl of rice, with pickled vegetables on top, and disposable chopsticks standing upright in the rice. Then, Zhou Ze took out a bottle of cheap liquor, worth less than ten yuan, poured it into plastic cups from the water dispenser, and placed one cup in front of each person.
“Brothers, it hasn’t been easy for me either. This bookstore has been running at a loss for a long time. I can only offer you these things, so don’t blame me for being stingy, okay? You’re dead, but I still have to keep living.
Besides, your families will still make offerings to you, so you don’t really need anything from me, right?”
Zhou Ze bent down, speaking as if he were addressing customers as usual.
As for that idiot in the back, Zhou Ze wasn’t kind enough to leave him a share.
“Are you out of your mind!” The delivery guy couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Ha, I really should have recorded this and uploaded it online, let the viewers see what kind of person you are!”
“Do you dare?” Zhou Ze turned sideways. “You talk as if you really have the guts. You’ve only been streaming for a few days, and even the big platforms have collapsed.”
Indeed, the police hadn’t found the arsonist yet for many reasons. But if they had had a prime suspect to focus on, the arsonist would have found it difficult to stay hidden.
“I’m leaving. You’re out of your mind.”
The delivery guy’s previous politeness was gone. He had successfully turned his popularity into streaming revenue, not only because he was a “hero,” but also because of his marketing strategy. He was relatable, and his original image worked well. Streaming food deliveries, which was inherently boring, had become something people enjoyed watching.
He knew he was panicking, and he was losing control. So, he wanted to leave, to escape this bookstore.
He regretted coming here today. Very, very much.
Zhou Ze didn’t stop him. But when the delivery guy reached out to push the door open, Zhou Ze glanced at his phone and said, “It’s midnight.”
“Dong!”
There was no clock in the bookstore, but at that moment, the delivery guy seemed to hear the toll of a bell.
He pushed hard on the door, but it didn’t budge. He became furious, and checked the lock — it wasn’t locked, and there was nothing blocking it — but the door still wouldn’t open.
The delivery guy started kicking the door frantically, but it still wouldn’t move.
What he couldn’t see was that the six people who had been sitting quietly reading were all slowly standing up.
It was the seventh night after death—the night of the return of souls.
Every grievance has its debtor, and every wrong its perpetrator.
They had come here following their enemy.
Now they were all staring intently at their foe—a man who had clearly set the fire that killed them but had somehow become a hero.
“I told you to save me!”
A low growl came from behind Zhou Ze.
Zhou Ze casually blew on his fingernails, then suddenly turned around. His right hand’s nails instantly grew long, glowing with a translucent black light. Wisps of black smoke curled around his fingertips, exuding an intimidating aura.
At the same time, black mist surged in Zhou Ze’s eyes.
“Hiss hiss hiss… Ahhhhh!!!!!!!”
The man in the black suit, who had just barely transformed into a vengeful ghost, was directly grabbed by Zhou Ze on the shoulder. His whole body began to tremble as the black mist from Zhou Ze’s fingertips, like sharp blades, continuously pierced his body. Wisps of green smoke rose from the top of the man’s head.
“I understand you, but you disgust me.”
Zhou Ze said in a low voice, “So, time to say goodbye.”
Zhou Ze’s fingers exerted more force, and the man in the black suit howled in pain, his expression turning to one of pleading. He hoped Zhou Ze would let him go. He had already become a vengeful ghost, and if he “died” again, his soul would be completely obliterated, with no chance even to enter hell.
But Zhou Ze didn’t let go.
His gaze remained cold.
Only after the black-suited man’s body completely disintegrated and evaporated did Zhou Ze withdraw his hand. A trace of ash was barely visible in his palm.
“Phew…”
Zhou Ze blew on his palm and clapped his hands.
When he turned around, he sighed.
He didn’t know if it was because of his presence that the bookstore’s layout had changed.
Or maybe it was just a coincidence.
The six who had been quietly reading before were now surrounded by thick black mist, on the verge of turning into vengeful spirits.
Meanwhile, the delivery guy was still banging his fists and kicking at the wall in desperation.
Looking up, Zhou Ze thought, Perhaps this scene reflects that saying — “Heaven spares no one.”
These six victims had panicked in the thick smoke and raging fire, unaware of what was happening, ultimately failing to escape and dying miserably.
“Everyone, can you give me a little face? Don’t rush to turn into vengeful spirits.”
Zhou Ze stepped into the crowd and gestured to the six people.
“Come on, relax a bit. Give me a smile, will you?”
Zhou Ze tried to ease the atmosphere. Once they became vengeful spirits, they would no longer reincarnate. After seeking revenge, once their obsession was gone, they would vanish into the wind.
That would be the most tragic ending.
Zhou Ze felt it wasn’t worth it, really not worth it.
The arsonist had already caused their deaths, separating them from their families, leaving their children without parents and their parents without children.
There was no need to let this murderer push them into an even darker abyss.
But Zhou Ze’s words had no effect.
The six people’s faces remained cold, and the black mist around them grew thicker. Dark lines began to spread from the corners of their eyes and mouths.
They were about to take on the same form as the idiot in the black suit who had just charged at him.
“If you won’t smile for me, I’ll smile for you?”
Zhou Ze forced a stiff smile.
It’s over. The sin is done, and there’s no going back.
Zhou Ze knew it would be easy for him to completely annihilate these vengeful spirits, just like the idiot who had been following him for a week. He had just finished his cooldown and was about to unleash a big move when Zhou Ze slapped him to death.
But when it came to sending them off to the afterlife, he didn’t know how to do it. After all, Zhou Ze was a ghost himself, not someone suited for this kind of work. It was like asking Zhang Fei1 to embroider.
“There’s a path to the underworld, and the Yellow Springs can be crossed!”
A loud voice came from outside, and the bookstore door was pushed open. Xu Qinglang entered, holding a small porcelain bowl. Inside the bowl were grains of rice, with three sticks of incense inserted into it.
“Rise!”
The three sticks of incense quickly burned down.
At the same time, the grains of rice in the bowl turned from crystalline white to black. The black mist surrounding the six people began to dissipate, and their faces softened, changing from cold and murderous to calm and serene.
The six people slowly sat back down in front of their rice bowls.
“Xu Qinglang!” Zhou Ze shouted, pointing at Xu Qinglang, feeling incredibly excited.
Really excited.
Even more excited than seeing Dr. Lin getting out of the bath.
Just think of how difficult it had been for him to eat this past week. How could he not be excited?
As for Xu Qinglang’s performance just now, Zhou Ze wasn’t surprised. After all, they had long seen through each other but just hadn’t spoken about it.
Xu Qinglang rolled his eyes at Zhou Ze. In an instant, he was full of charm, like blooming azaleas on a mountain, but at the same time, he said irritably, “Are you holding a New Year’s Eve party here?”
“I didn’t want to,” Zhou Ze briefly explained what had happened to Xu Qinglang.
Xu Qinglang nodded in understanding, then bowed to the six people and said, “Tonight is the seventh night after your deaths. Go back and visit your families. They’re probably waiting for you at home. As for what happened here, I’ll give you an explanation.”
Hearing this, the six people silently passed through the glass and left.
Zhou Ze’s eyes fell on the bowl of “black rice.”
“Why doesn’t this stuff affect me?”
Xu Qinglang’s lips twitched as he suppressed the urge to fight Zhou Ze for 300 rounds, and snorted, “You’re different.”
He was still angry, still holding a grudge against Zhou Ze, still feeling unbalanced. But his appearance, temperament, and voice made the phrase “You’re different” sound like it was filled with deep, longing resentment.
Then, Xu Qinglang looked at the delivery boy, who was curled up in the corner and had fainted in fright. “What should we do with him?”
As he spoke, Xu Qinglang made a slashing gesture.
Zhou Ze shook his head and said, “Let’s hand him over to the authorities.”
TL Notes:
1. Zhang Fei (张飞) is a well-known historical figure from the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei and is famed for his bravery, fierceness, and strength in battle. The phrase “like asking Zhang Fei to embroider” (让张飞去绣花) is a metaphor implying assigning an inappropriate or ill-suited task to someone, as Zhang Fei, known for his roughness and warrior persona, would obviously not be suited to a delicate task like embroidery.
Storyteller BambooNinja's Words
Hi! Thank you for reading!❤️ I hope you enjoyed it! (❁´◡`❁)