Chapter 12: The Negotiation Master

"You are not allowed to speak ill of the Daoist."

The three ghosts seemed to have been struck in their vital points; they let out shrill, piercing cries in unison, each revealing a hideous, ghostly visage as they lunged toward the doorway simultaneously.

Black mist billowed, and gusts of chilling wind blew.

A wave of cold air rushed toward his face, causing Lin Bai to shiver and reflexively take a step back.

A flash of white light.

An invisible barrier blocked them all inside.

Watching the three ghosts baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, Lin Bai let out a soft breath. Fine, the old Daoist was a good man; at the very least, he had given him the courage to face ghosts head-on.

However, the spell trapping the ghosts also served as a warning to Lin Bai.

This world truly possessed immortals; given the growth speed and characteristics of players, one day they would master these marvelous Immortal Arts and martial prowess.

Unless one lived in total anonymity.

Whenever he actively pursued system quests, he would inevitably become the most dazzling among the NPCs.

Lin Bai knew his own personality; he was destined never to live a life of obscurity.

The road ahead is fraught with difficulties; one must never give up on striving!

……

The three ghosts panted heavily, glaring at Lin Bai with fury, as if they wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces.

The first day of missing the Negative Emotion quests!

Lin Bai looked at the three ghosts, who were so angry their hair stood on end. Well, they were die-hard fans, after all.

Xiao Apiao bared her fangs and brandished her claws: "Evil person, you are not allowed to speak ill of the Daoist. He is the benefactor of our family..."

"Benefactor?" As long as they couldn't get out, no matter how fierce they acted, Lin Bai didn't take it to heart; he just treated it like watching a live-action horror movie. He stood outside the door, "The world is bustling, all for the sake of profit; the world is jostling, all for the sake of gain. You were business people before you died; you should understand this principle."

"A Daoist who takes subduing demons and eliminating devils as his own duty is hired to exorcise ghosts, yet he goes so far as to defy human nature, willing to let such a large place lie desolate for ten years just to keep you here. If you say he has a compassionate heart, I find that hard to believe."

"Don't think everyone is like you. Just because you aren't a good person, does that mean there are no good people in the world?" the female ghost said.

"Those who are not of my kind must have a different heart. Whether a person is good or bad is not determined by what they say, but by what they do." Lin Bai smiled, "If he truly sympathized with you, why not perform a ritual to liberate you, allowing you to be reincarnated and become human again? For three lonely, wandering ghosts, that would be the best destination, wouldn't it?"

"The Daoist kept us here to guide us onto the path of cultivation, eventually allowing us to become immortals," Xiao Apiao said.

"That is precisely the problem." Lin Bai snapped his fingers and said, "Since he wants to lead you onto the path of cultivation, why didn't he take you away to teach you personally, instead of casting a spell to trap you for ten whole years?"

"He cast the Immortal Art to ensure we wouldn't hurt people," the female ghost's voice was much lower as she argued.

"Then why didn't he seal this shop completely, yet still allowed living people to come and go? Could it not be assumed that he deliberately left a loophole for you to turn into vengeful spirits?" Lin Bai laughed with Zhaofeng, "I ask you, he wants to lead you onto the path of cultivation, but has he taught you any methods of cultivation?"

The three ghosts were left speechless, unable to say a word.

"I really don't know if you are innocent or just stupid. The old Daoist drew a pie in the sky for you, and you willingly sat in prison here for ten years." Lin Bai shook his head, "To be honest, I don't see what is so good about him."

The male ghost said viciously: "The Daoist has no reason to deal with us. He has vast magical powers and could wipe us out with a wave of his hand, yet he spared the lives of our family of three..."

Lin Bai glanced at him and said, "Correction, you are already dead."

"Fine, even if we are already dead," the black mist on the male ghost's body fluctuated, "tell me, what benefit does he get from doing this?"

"Benefit? That fire back then burned everything around it to the ground, yet your shop remained unscathed; this fact itself is very strange." Lin Bai said, "Perhaps there is something wrong with the building, or perhaps there is something wrong with the feng shui here. I am not versed in the arts of cultivation, but putting myself in his shoes, for a Daoist to give up a chance for fame that everyone praises to keep you here, it must be more useful than killing you..."

In the process of persuading the ghosts to surrender, Lin Bai's train of thought gradually became clear.

He felt his deduction was the truth.

Perhaps the difficulties he would face after leasing this shop were not just the few ghosts inside, but also the mysterious old Daoist who treated the ghosts as reserve rations.

A spell that could be sustained for ten years with a casual gesture—the Daoist should be more powerful than he imagined, at least at the level of a big boss.

However.

Fortunately, only three years had passed; he at least had seven more years to grow.

Seven years.

Enough for many things to happen.

……

The ghosts returned to their human forms.

The male ghost's expression was one of struggle, his voice somewhat hoarse: "We are just three ordinary people, and even after death, we are just ordinary ghosts. What could he possibly get from us?"

"Who knows? I'm not a Daoist, am I?" Lin Bai shrugged. His eyes swept across the three ghosts one by one, and when he saw the male ghost, "Perhaps to refine you into a Magic Tool, like a Ten Thousand Ghost Banner or something."

Looking at the female ghost, "Perhaps he wants to harvest the Negative Emotion and yin energy you've accumulated over the years for his cultivation; there's no shame in that!"

Looking at the young female ghost, "Perhaps he wants to use you to soak in wine..."

……

Every word of Lin Bai's could precisely strike the most vulnerable part of their hearts; he was good at this. To be honest, he started missing the Negative Emotion quests again.

Collapse of Faith.

The ghosts' Spirit shook violently, and the black mist on their bodies began to roll uncontrollably.

"Why would it be like this?"

"Why would it be like this?"

"Father, Mother, I don't want to be soaked in wine."

The three ghosts seemed to have lost their sanity; their eyes became dull, black mist surged from their seven orifices, and their faces began to evolve in a hideous and ugly direction.

"……" Lin Bai was dumbfounded.

This is the rhythm of turning into vengeful spirits!

Is their psychological endurance really this poor?

I was just saying, turning into a vengeful spirit is definitely not a method.

"There is a way to solve this." Everything done before was just a setup; this was his shop, so Lin Bai naturally couldn't watch them turn into vengeful spirits. Without receiving a response from the ghosts, he continued, "The three of you, fate can never be left for others to arrange. Rely on the mountains and they will crumble, rely on the water and it will dry up; only by holding your fate in your own hands can you see a beautiful tomorrow..."

"I know that after learning the truth, you are in pain, lost, and even in despair..."

But because of this.

Are you going to give up on yourselves?

Perhaps that Daoist is exactly what wants you to become vengeful spirits!

You have already been trapped here for three years, why not give yourselves a glimmer of hope?

It has already been three years, do you not want to know the truth at all?

Furthermore, even if that Daoist truly wants to harm you, do you not want to take revenge?

Your daughter looks like she is only in her teens; she has not yet seen what this colorful world is truly like..."

Perhaps it was because Xiao Apiao was mentioned.

The emotions of the two adult ghosts gradually stabilized.

The male ghost looked at Lin Bai, his eyes full of despair, but his emotions had stabilized, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "How do we take revenge?"

As expected.

The Emotion System was right; learn to manipulate the emotions of others, and you are the master of the world.

As it stands, the system tasks can no longer keep up with the pace of progress; that broken system should just issue the rewards all at once, then exit the stage of history and make room for other systems.

Lin Bai secretly flattered himself and smiled: "We can cooperate."

The male ghost gave a contemptuous smile: "Cooperate? You have no idea how powerful that Daoist is..."

"You are also more powerful than me, yet you have no way to deal with me, whereas I can easily manipulate you." Lin Bai smiled confidently and pointed to his own head, "Sometimes, wisdom is more important than force. Everything has its counter; no matter how strong the Daoist is, he still has to live in this world and is still a person. If he is a person, he has weaknesses. We still have seven years to prepare. Planning with intent against the unsuspecting is enough..."

"You are just an ordinary person..." the female ghost said.

Lin Bai struggled for a moment and decided to give them some hope: "I am a bad person."

He looked at the three of them with pity and sighed, "Evil people must be dealt with by evil people. Even if I am still very weak right now, why don't you give yourselves a glimmer of hope? Even if there are a thousand reasons to give up, as long as there is one reason, you should persist!"

(End of this chapter)