Chapter 14: Luring the Spirit at the Canteen

The Helper Community Canteen was once the busiest place nearby.

But now it has been abandoned.

Tables and chairs lay scattered haphazardly, utensils discarded everywhere, water dripped incessantly from a corner, nurturing a patch of moss; even in daylight, the canteen radiated a thick aura of unease.

Wu Xian and Shi Ji stood at the canteen’s entrance.

“Yesterday, I tried to find ingredients for everyone to make a hot meal, and ended up here—I found some frozen pig intestines and some utensils in the freezer outside, these are for cooking.”

“After that, I went inside the canteen to look for more ingredients.”

“Everything was fine at first, but suddenly I felt ravenous, as if lured by something, desperately needing to find something to eat.”

So Wu Xian drew his copper coin sword, preparing to reveal his hidden cards.

Shi Ji’s plan was sound, but killing with ordinary weapons was far too slow—this way, it would take forever to wear down the hungry ghost; acceptable for Shi Ji, but a terrible waste for Wu Xian.

After a brief discussion, the two began their move.

Seizing the moment, Wu Xian tugged the intestine while Shi Ji swung the mop handle down at the hungry ghost.

It hurt, but barely scratched its core.

Yet this time, the hungry ghost refused to bite, letting the intestine swing wildly inside the canteen without reacting at all.

The half-cooked end of the intestine was thrown into shadow; Wu Xian had assumed the malevolent spirit, at least smarter than a fish, would wait a moment.

After several such attempts, Wu Xian grew annoyed.

“No—use the intestine to lure it!”

But now it seemed otherwise.

Perhaps sunlight was merely an environment that discomforted malevolent spirits; perhaps different spirits had varying tolerances to sunlight; perhaps…

“When I woke up…”

“Precisely because I hadn’t washed it, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it—that’s when I finally came to my senses.”

He opened the bag—inside lay a full load of pig intestines, reeking of a pungent stench, appearing half-cooked.

“Thank goodness I didn’t wash it!”

“I’ll make it pay for what it did to me yesterday!”

Shi Ji pulled up his shirt to show Wu Xian—his left chest and abdomen bore dozens of dense tooth marks; had he woken even a moment later, he might have been ripped open.

“I didn’t survive yesterday for nothing—I gained two useful pieces of information.”

“First, this thing’s mind-affecting power works only in areas inside the canteen not directly exposed to sunlight; second… its teeth are terrible.”

Wu Xian stared in silence—Shi Ji’s entire operation had been as fierce as a tiger, yet dealt only 2.5 damage; after all this time, the hungry ghost had merely broken the skin.

The thing that flew out was a man.

“I saw a skeletal man clinging to me, biting furiously—his eyes glowed green, and as he bit, he kept shouting.”

Yet this gave Wu Xian a new insight.

Shi Ji excitedly slapped his thigh.

Because after a brief exposure to sunlight, the hungry ghost suffered no fundamental damage—only appeared weaker, its vitality diminished slightly.

But neither worried: the myth that fish have seven-second memories was false, yet things driven by desire might have even shorter memories.

This time, Shi Ji held the intestine while Wu Xian slashed wildly with his bloodstained cleaver, leaving deep gashes across the hungry ghost’s body.

Did it hurt?

“Since this thing is a hungry ghost, it surely can’t refuse food—the half-cooked intestine is toughest; I’ll lure it beyond its range, then…”

Shi Ji lifted the bag: “Of course, use this!”

Shi Ji sneered.

Wu Xian suddenly remembered—Shi Ji had worn different pants yesterday morning and evening…

He faintly saw two blurred statues on the altar at the far end of the canteen—this proved Shi Ji hadn’t lied to him.

Wu Xian asked Shi Ji: “From your words, this malevolent spirit is extremely hard to deal with—once you enter the canteen, it ensnares your mind, so you won’t even notice when it’s devouring you. So how do you plan to worship the gods?”

Shi Ji’s expression was grotesque, teeth grinding as if about to shatter, each swing fueled by all his strength—yet his body was too weak; after a few swings, sweat already drenched his forehead.

Before the intestine’s end even hit the ground, a mouth snapped up.

As he turned his gaze back, Wu Xian caught a glimpse of half a skeletal face behind a pillar—its mouth dripped saliva endlessly, its eyes seeming ready to devour Wu Xian whole.

Many possibilities exist, but no matter the answer, clinging to the notion that sunlight guarantees safety will only lead to disaster.

Wu Xian’s expression turned odd: “If I recall correctly, the pig intestines you found were unwashed.”

Feeling the tug from the other end of the intestine, Wu Xian and Shi Ji yanked hard together—a gaunt figure was immediately dragged flying out.

First, Qi Zhiyong’s distributed weapons were genuinely useful—but only useful.

…

“At that point, I lost all reason—I grabbed the pig intestine and…”

Also, when dealing with Mr. Wang the fridge ghost, Mr. Wang had emitted black smoke after sun exposure; Wu Xian deduced sunlight harmed malevolent spirits, even killing them.

Shi Ji threw the intestine again; soon after, the malevolent spirit bit again.

Wu Xian thought for a long while before understanding—his gaze turned strange; what kind of spirit could conceive such a method?

From Wu Xian’s observation, Shi Ji’s personality seemed simple and honest, rarely prone to anger—what could have made him this furious, this desperate to tear the spirit’s flesh and sleep on its skin?

Like a couple playfully whipping each other.

He wore only tattered beach shorts; his body was emaciated beyond human form, skin stretched thin over bones, deep yellow and rough, his legs splayed like a frog’s, allowing him to move on all fours like livestock.

“Hungry… I’m so hungry…”

Shi Ji’s expression was monstrous, as if he bore a grudge against the spirit deeper than bone.

The hungry ghost retreated.

After taking several blows, the hungry ghost could no longer endure—it curled into shadow like a wounded puppy.

The plan to lure the spirit, though absurd, was Wu Xian’s only option.

“I barely escaped with my life—I was terrified, beyond words…”

“Teeth… so that’s it!”

As soon as it was dragged out, black smoke rose from its body, accompanied by piercing screams; it began to shrink backward, yet couldn’t bear to let go of the intestine, retreating only reluctantly.

Wu Xian was baffled: “Strangle him with the intestine?”

He pushed away the disturbing thoughts and gazed into the canteen.

“Lure it?”

His ordeal was surely worse than he made it sound.

For instance, when biting the intestine, it wasn’t that he couldn’t bite down…

Wu Xian immediately grew anxious.

If it didn’t come out, what about all the time wasted?

Thank you to readers Huan Ye Yi Meng, Feng Pi, Xiao Ying Han, Yi He Xi Yuan, and Pin Zui Dao Shi for your tips—thank you all for your support and encouragement; I’ll keep writing diligently!

(End of Chapter)