Chapter 22: Taoyuan Square, the White Robe Unsoiled

Taoyuan Square is located in the Jinning District of Yujing City, an prime location.

It is said to sit atop the dragon vein of that district, historically a bustling commercial hub, but since Taoyuan Square was built, accidents have been constant, with deaths occurring every year.

Some claim the square’s position is especially ominous, resting atop seven dragon teeth of the dragon vein, the most ferocious of all.

Originally, a Daoist priest buried seven coffins here, called the “Seven Stars Sealing Mouth,” also known as “Seven Coffins Subduing Evil,” so that by placing food upon the dragon’s teeth, the dragon’s mouth would be fed and bloodshed avoided.

Later, when construction began on Taoyuan Square, they unearthed those seven coffins, breaking the original formation; since then, accidents have been unceasing. Moreover, the character “ Guang ” in the square’s name was written in a swirling, dragon-like script, resembling the character “ Shi ” for corpse—so locals call it Taoyuan Corpse Square.

“Why the hell am I here?” Zhang Fan scowled and slapped himself.

“I’m a Daoist priest now—what’s there to fear?”

After his journey to Zhenwu Mountain, his worldview had been shattered; even if supernatural forces truly existed, he was now part of the same system—so he had nothing to fear.

At noon, Zhang Fan grabbed a quick bite and stepped out, squeezed onto the subway, and arrived at Taoyuan Square.

“Not as deserted as the rumors claimed.”

Just past noon, Taoyuan Square wasn’t crowded, but it wasn’t deserted either—there were still plenty of people.

Though Zhang Fan had grown up in Yujing City, this was his first time here.

“Seventeenth floor…”

Zhang Fan checked the address on his phone, found the office building’s elevator, and pressed 17.

“Broken?”

He pressed twice, but the elevator didn’t respond. He frowned, about to step out—when suddenly, the 17th-floor button lit up, and the elevator began rising slowly.

“Probably just old wiring,” Zhang Fan muttered, recalling the legends of Taoyuan Square, trying to reassure himself.

Ding…

When the elevator doors opened on the 17th floor, Zhang Fan shuddered, feeling a wave of cold air rush over him.

“This…”

In places of extreme yin, the magnetic field differs from elsewhere—not only do phones lose signal, but the temperature is always lower than normal.

“This place is really unclean.”

Zhang Fan’s expression darkened slightly; he stepped out cautiously. From his professional perspective, this building was definitely unclean.

“Damn it, who turned the AC down so low? Don’t they know the wiring’s old? Afraid of tripping the breaker… shit…”

At that moment, an angry shout came from a company beside the elevator.

“…”

“Brother Pojie was right—believe in science.”

Zhang Fan glanced around; the 17th floor had about five or six companies, and Ye Buliang was at the very back.

“First, I’ll use the restroom.”

For his first interview, Zhang Fan was nervous—it was his livelihood. He went to the restroom at the end of the corridor, stepped inside, and saw the dim yellow light flickering—clearly, the wiring was old.

“Huh!?”

Watching the flickering light, Zhang Fan unconsciously recalled movie scenes where restrooms were the most yin, the most unclean places…

It was said that every year, someone died in the restrooms at Taoyuan Square—last year, a middle-aged man, unemployed and denied his wages, sneaked into the building late at night and hanged himself in a toilet stall…

The next day, the cleaning old woman nearly died of fright.

“No ghosts here… online rumors aren’t trustworthy.”

Zhang Fan urinated, feeling a deep sense of relief, shook off three times, and walked out of the restroom with a light step.

At that moment, the light flickered more frequently—and from the farthest, empty stall, the sound of flushing came.

“Holy shit… was that even a person? I nearly lost my form from fright.”

“Who? I only saw a flash of fire… What’s the world coming to? Even overtime workers have more resentment than we do… that’s fine…”

“But in broad daylight… to run into this? Even ghosts have a hard time these days.”

“This building is as sinister as the legends say…”

In the empty restroom, the old light flickered on and off, the drip of water mingling with whispering voices like murmured dreams.

…

Ye Buliang Culture Co., Ltd.

Zhang Fan peered through the glass door—the office was tiny, with only five or six desks in the common area, two private offices beside them, and no reception desk at all…

At this moment, Zhang Fan even suspected it might be a shell company.

“Hello… is anyone here?”

“Come in.”

No sooner had the words spoken than the door to the innermost office opened…

A middle-aged man stepped out—sharp features, quite handsome, but with a scruffy beard, disheveled appearance, and a languid expression. Most crucially, he wore a plain white robe…

A funeral robe!

“Here to apply?” The middle-aged man glanced over Zhang Fan from head to toe, standing at the office doorway.

“Who are you?” Zhang Fan asked.

“I’m Bai Buran… the boss. Come in.”

“Bai Buran? The boss?” Zhang Fan blinked, then hurried inside. The office was even more shabby than outside—his desk was piled with clutter and figurines…

“Second Monkey?”

Zhang Fan’s expression grew stranger as he stared at the figurine in a swimsuit, then glanced at the wall—where, in the corner, hung a bronze sword, broken halfway.

“Zhang Fan… right?” Bai Buran leaned back in his chair, casually.

“How do you know? I haven’t introduced myself yet…” Zhang Fan blinked.

“We don’t recruit publicly,” Bai Buran said offhandedly. “Congratulations—you’re hired.”

“Huh!?”

Zhang Fan blinked again: “You haven’t asked me anything, and I haven’t said a word—already hired?”

“Young man, you’ve already taken the back door—do you still want to go through the formalities?” Bai Buran smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded. “Fine, fine, I’ll humor you.”

“Are you afraid of too much work? Do you find it annoying?”

“Uh… I…”

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be annoyed—work never ends.”

Before Zhang Fan could answer, Bai Buran went on: “Young man, if you get this job, will you slack off?”

“I…”

“You slack off, I slack off, the boss becomes a vagrant… better not.” Bai Buran interjected.

“If there’s dirty or hard work, will you volunteer for it?”

“Well, I…”

“You don’t do it, I don’t do it, the boss picks up trash next year… young man, better to be ambitious.” Bai Buran cut in.

“…“

“Last question… what do you think of overtime?” Bai Buran finally grew serious.

“About overtime, I mean…”

“Overtime every day, worries every day; hauling bricks every day, acting like a monkey…” Bai Buran’s lips curled slightly as he smiled.

“Huh!?”

“Just kidding, young man—don’t you have any sense of humor?”

Bai Buran’s smile grew brighter: “Don’t worry—we don’t pay overtime here.”

“Oh, then I’ll relax… wait, no overtime pay?” Zhang Fan blinked.

“We don’t encourage overtime—it’s entirely voluntary,” Bai Buran said, displaying the boss’s vision.

“If there are no issues, report for work next Monday. Probation: three months. Salary: four thousand during probation, five thousand after.”

As he spoke, Bai Buran stood up and shook Zhang Fan’s hand.

“Uh…”

Zhang Fan stood stunned, still not reacting, when the man had already ushered him out the door.

“So simple? I thought the interview would be harder.”

Zhang Fan muttered to himself as he walked to the elevator and pressed Yilou .

“Huh? Broken again?”

The elevator didn’t respond. He pressed twice more.

At that moment, the elevator doors slowly opened—and a figure rushed in.

“Young man, how did you get up here?”

It was an old security guard—gray-white hair, deeply wrinkled face, looking sixty or seventy. He panted heavily, staring at Zhang Fan with grave intensity.

“I took the elevator up… I came for the interview…” Zhang Fan, fearing the man thought he was a trespasser, explained nervously.

“Interview?” The old guard’s face changed instantly—he slammed the elevator button.

The elevator descended slowly; his expression eased slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“The 17th floor has been sealed for years—there’s no company there. What interview?” The guard said heavily.

“Huh!?” Zhang Fan was stunned.

“Young man, don’t say a word about this when you go back—not a single word. Pretend nothing happened…” The guard stared at Zhang Fan, hesitated, then finally warned him.

Ding…

At that moment, the elevator arrived at the first floor; surrounded by the elderly security guards, Zhang Fan stepped out, glanced back at the upper floors in confusion, then turned around—only to find the elderly guards gone.

“Excuse me…”

Zhang Fan walked into the lobby, found a young security guard, and asked: “Where is the elderly guard with white hair here? I need to speak with him.”

“Elderly guard!?” The young guard blinked, then scrutinized Zhang Fan with suspicion.

“We don’t have any security guards over thirty-five here…”

“What elderly guard!?”

(End of Chapter)