Chapter 129: Overrun by Ghosts [4]

The two and the ghost arrived at the hospital entrance. Su Han insisted that one shouldn't visit a patient empty-handed, so she told Yan Yu to go buy some flowers and a fruit basket, while Zhao Qingqing wandered into the hospital ahead of them.

Yan Yu stepped outside and suddenly heard someone shouting, "Get your fresh fruit baskets and flowers here!"

Taking a closer look, he was astonished to see that the person hawking the goods was none other than Master Cao.

"Old Cao? What are you doing here?" Yan Yu asked, puzzled.

Master Cao was equally surprised to see Yan Yu. "Master, what are you doing here... I'm just working a side job."

"I'm here to visit Yang Xuefei," Yan Yu replied. "Old Cao, I never would have guessed you were this industrious. You only got back to Rongcheng yesterday, and you haven't even recovered yet, but you're already out here working?"

Master Cao looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, I ran out of money..."

"What happened to the money from last time?" Yan Yu widened his eyes. When they helped Old Shepherd Yang exorcise ghosts, the old man had given them forty thousand yuan, which meant they each got thirteen thousand.

"Spent it all. What can I say? I was born with a knack for bleeding money," Master Cao laughed.

Just then, the shop owner walked out, clutching a hundred-yuan bill, and shoved it into Master Cao's hand.

"Old Cao, this is your pay for today. I know you're broke, so I'm paying you in advance," the owner said.

Master Cao nodded repeatedly, a smile spreading across his face.

"That child with leukemia you asked me to donate to last time has already finished the first round of treatment, but it looks like they'll need another hundred thousand for the follow-up," the owner sighed. "You're getting on in years, you know. You really should think about yourself. Donating tens of thousands every month—and it’s not like there’s ever a shortage of patients in this hospital."

Master Cao grinned, revealing his two gold teeth. "What is there to think about? No wife, no kids; if I can do a little extra, I will... A hundred thousand, you say? I'll try my best to figure something out."

"Alright, I won't pester you anymore. I've ordered lunch for you; I added two extra chicken legs. Watch the shop for me, I’m off to restock."

"Be careful on the road!"

After the owner left, Yan Yu looked at Master Cao with a different light in his eyes.

"Master, why are you looking at me like that?" Master Cao asked suspiciously.

"Old Cao..." Yan Yu gave him a thumbs-up. "I admire you."

"Hey, it's just a trivial matter," Master Cao said dismissively.

Yan Yu truly admired him. Although the guy could be shameless and vulgar, his heart was the kindest Yan Yu had ever encountered. A truly good person never calculates how much good they have done, nor do they consider themselves to be "good," because everything they do is, in their mind, simply the right thing to do and not worth mentioning.

As Yan Yu was feeling moved, a burly woman with a round, plate-like face walked past the shop. Master Cao’s expression darkened, and he shouted loudly, "Hey you, stop right there, you with the melon-seed face!"

The woman turned around, confused. "Are you calling me?"

"Yes, that's right, I'm talking to you, long-legs!"

It was the first time anyone had ever called her that, and the woman beamed. "Uncle, is there something you need?"

"Check out these flowers and fruit baskets!" Master Cao chirped with a smile.

"For that sweet talk, I'll take one!" The woman paid on the spot.

"Much obliged, beautiful!" Master Cao expertly packed the goods and took the money. Before leaving, the woman even asked for his WeChat.

This display left Yan Yu stunned. He finally understood why the shop owner hired Master Cao; with him around, the shop essentially had a lucky cat working the register. Thinking back to Master Cao donating money to the sick child, Yan Yu felt he should do something too. He said goodbye to Master Cao and went back to the hospital entrance to find Su Han.

"I thought I told you to buy flowers and a fruit basket, why are you back?" Su Han asked, confused.

Yan Yu coughed twice. "Well, uh, can I borrow your gold card? Let me charge a hundred thousand, I'll pay you back in a few days."

"A hundred thousand?! What do you need that for?"

"To donate to a child with leukemia..."

"Did someone scam you or something? No way!" Su Han turned to leave.

In a panic, Yan Yu remembered Master Cao’s technique. He shouted, "Hey, stop right there, you with the melon-seed legs!"

"What did you call me!?" Su Han spun around, her face dark.

Yan Yu’s brain short-circuited, and he blurted out, "I meant you, long-face!"

"...Yan Yu! Do you want to die?" Su Han’s teeth ground together with a terrifying crunch.

"..."

Yan Yu paused. "I can explain..."

"Don't bother, I'll just finish you off!"

Su Han grabbed Yan Yu and gave him a sound thrashing. Passersby watched, trembling, some even considering whether they should call the hospital to have an emergency room cleared out for him...

After a while, a bruised and swollen Yan Yu returned with Su Han to meet Master Cao. Once the situation was explained, Su Han was surprisingly generous, immediately transferring 150,000 yuan to the poor child—100,000 for medical expenses and 50,000 for nutrition.

With the flowers and fruit basket in hand, they returned to the hospital to meet Zhao Qingqing. Seeing Yan Yu’s "panda eyes," she asked, "Husband, what happened to you?"

"I didn't sleep well last night..." Yan Yu answered weakly.

"But you didn't have black eyes this morning!"

"...Maybe the black circles had poor network connectivity and were delayed."

The yin energy in the hospital was heavy. The living naturally disliked staying here, but for Zhao Qingqing, this place was like Disneyland for ghosts; she felt perfectly at home.

At the service desk, Yan Yu asked for Yang Xuefei’s room number and headed for the elevator. When the elevator "dinged" and the doors opened, Yan Yu stepped inside with the gifts. Looking back, he saw Su Han and Zhao Qingqing standing still outside. He asked, "Why aren't you getting on?"

"It's full," Su Han replied.

Yan Yu looked around; the elevator was clearly empty. Suddenly, it dawned on him, and he asked with a dark expression, "Is it really that full?"

Zhao Qingqing nodded. "There's no room left. An old gentleman asked me to tell you that you're stepping on his foot."

"...My apologies."

Yan Yu quietly backed out of the elevator and watched it descend to the second basement level. Su Han and Zhao Qingqing could both see ghosts, but Yan Yu could only see them when he activated his Yin-Yang Eyes, which left him feeling quite frustrated. He decided that once he got home, he would dig through the blue book Lin Xuan had left him to see if there was a way to open his eyes without needing willow leaves or ox tears.

Since the elevator was "crowded with ghosts," they had to take the stairs. The stairwell was dimly lit and chillingly cold. As they were walking up, a dark shadow came rushing down, colliding straight into Yan Yu.

They both stumbled back a step, but neither fell. The person glared at Yan Yu and then hurried down the stairs.

"They bumped into you and didn't even apologize! What kind of person is that?" Zhao Qingqing muttered.

Yan Yu frowned. "That guy... he wasn't an ordinary person."