Grocery Store No.514

After Sun Ming left, Ling Hua’an flipped the open sign in front of the store and pulled down the shutter, enough to cover his upper body.
He was fumbling to remove the bell on the door before silently reciting the incantation to release the female ghost trapped inside.

The female ghost was freed along with the chill wind that suddenly blew up.
Her long hair suddenly grew like black snakes, surrounding Ling Hua’an.
Almost covering the entire grocery store.
The female ghost stared at Ling Hua’an coldly with her blood-red eyes, “you dare to hurt me, I want you to die!”

Her long hair like a snake wrapped Ling Hua’an’s body in the blink of an eye.
Slowly tightening it, and tightening it more and more.
But Ling Hua’an looked at the female ghost quietly as if he didn’t feel it, his thin lips murmuring something silently making the long hair that wrapped around him suddenly catch fire.
In an instant, the fire in the grocery store soared into the sky, along with the flames that were spreading rapidly.
The female ghost’s hair and clothes were ignited, and there were sharp screams that can sting people’s eardrums.

Ling Hua’an looked at the female ghost indifferently, “you have harmed people and you cannot be reincarnated.
The Underworld Messenger will take you back to hell.
Before they arrive, you can tell me your grievances.
I’ll help you with your retribution and make you suffer less from the fire of hell for several years.”

The moment Ling Hua’an spoke, the fire dissipated and everything around him returned to normal along with the pain from the female ghost’s soul.
She looked at Ling Hua’an blankly and asked, “who are you?”

Ling Hua’an answered lightly, “I’m a Spirit Guide.”

“Spirit Guide?” The female ghost slowly climbed up and looked at Ling Hua’an with a defensive look, “why are you helping me?”

Ling Hua’an took out the bell in his pocket and let Shen Xin out.

The female ghost saw Shen Xin, who had suffered the same thing, and said in shock, “your child also…”

Shen Xin nodded, “I’m luckier than you.
I met Mr.
Ling not long after I died.
He was willing to help me find out the truth and help me find my child.
This, Jie1, Mr.
Ling is a good person, and he can help us.”

“Child, my child ……” the female ghost let out a whimpering cry, tears of blood flowing down her rotten face.
Ling Hua’an sighed in his heart and said, “you don’t have much time, the underworld’s messenger will come soon.
If you want to say anything, it’s better to do it as soon as possible.”

The female ghost stopped crying and looked up at Ling Hua’an, “Mr.
Ling, can you help me find my child?”

“The one who killed you should be the same murderer, I saw a ghost baby on him before, maybe it’s your child.”

“Have you seen my child?” The female ghost was surprised for a moment, and then said sadly, “Ghost baby? So my child is dead, huhu, why…why is this? My child…my poor child…”

The time was running out and Ling Hua’an had to interrupt the female ghost.
He asked, “what is your name, where are you from, who killed you, and how many things do you remember?”

“My name is Su Meiqi, a native of Yuancheng.
I came to Huacheng to work alone.
I used to work as a cashier in the Meihua supermarket chain.
Later, I met Zhang Linghua by chance.
She is gentle, generous, and kind.
It didn’t take long for us to become good friends.”

“After her introduction, I got to know a man named Wu Yang.
He is tall, handsome, gentle, and considerate.
Soon I fell for him.
I was pregnant in March this year.
I told Wu Yang that I wanted to marry him, but Wu Yang disappeared like he was evaporated.
I can’t find him.”

“Later I reported to the police accompanied by Zhang Linghua, but the police said that Wu Yang’s identity information was fake.
Only then did I know that I had been deceived.
I wanted to abort the child, but Zhang Linghua said that I had a physical problem.
If I do that, it’s likely that I will not be able to get pregnant again in the future.”

“I didn’t know what to do for a while, but Zhang Linghua encouraged me to give birth to the child and said that she was willing to raise the child with me.
After thinking about it for a long time, I finally decided to give birth to the child.
During the past few months of pregnancy, Zhang Linghua took great care of me.
She also took care of my food and clothing.
I was both moved and grateful.”

“Just last month, I was eight months pregnant.
Zhang Linghua accompanied me to the maternity check-up.
When I went back, I somehow fell asleep.
Then when I regained consciousness, I found that I had become a ghost and the child in my stomach was gone.”

“How much do you know about this Zhang Linghua?”

“Knew?” The female ghost said with a bitter smile, “I thought I knew her very well before, but now I think I know nothing about her except her name and mobile phone number.”

Ling Hua’an frowned slightly.
He turned on the phone, and sent a message to Yan Yu, “Yan Yu, send a photo of Wu Zheng here.”

The phone rang immediately, Ling Hua’an clicked it on, and Yan Yu’s voice sounded, “Okay, wait a minute.”

A minute later, the phone rang again, Ling Hua’an handed the phone to Su Meiqi and said, “Do you know this man?”

Su Meiqi looked at it carefully and said, “I don’t know him.”

Ling Hua’an took back the phone.
He frowned even tighter, “Then tell me Zhang Linghua’s phone number.”

“139****4314。”

Ling Hua’an saved the phone number in the address book, and then said, “Describe Zhang Linghua’s appearance.”

“She has an oval face, almond eyes, double eyelids, low bridge of the nose, a little thick lips, and two dimples on his face when she smiles.
She was about 160 cm tall, and her figure is very good.”

“Apart from these, what other characteristics does she have that make people will recognize her at a glance?”

“She is very beautiful, she is the kind of intellectual beauty.
Especially when she smiles, she looks very gentle and makes it easy for people to get close.
As for the characteristics…” Su Meiqi thought about it before continuing, “By the way, she has a tattoo on her right wrist.
It’s a red spider lily.
I checked it online.”

“Spider lily flower?” Ling Hua’an’s eyes lit up, picked up the phone, and sent a message to Yan Yu, “Yan Yu, do you have a photo of Wu Zheng’s wife?”

“Yes, wait a minute.”

When the phone rang, Ling Hua’an handed it to Su Meiqi.
Su Meiqi recognized the woman in the photo at a glance and said, “Yes, that’s he.
She’s Zhang Linghua!”

“Zhang Linghua? Wu Zheng?” Ling Hua’an put away the phone, pondered for a while, and asked, “Where did you live before you died?”

“Donghu, 5th Floor, Unit 1, Building 9, Ping An Community.”

While the two were talking, the bell that Ling Hua’an placed on the cashier suddenly rang.
The lights in the store dimmed, and two pale ghosts suddenly appeared.
One wore a black coat and a high black hat and the other wore a white coat and a high white hat.
Needless to say, they also know that this is the Heibai Wuchang.2

Bai Wuchang looked at the one person and three ghosts in front of him, and greeted with a smile, “Mr.
Ling, long time no see.”

Ling Hua’an nodded and replied with a smile, “Mr.
Bai, long time no see.”

“Those two have a contract with this gentleman,  we are not at liberty to interfere.
But this one has already harmed human life, we must bring her to the Underworld to be judged.” Bai Wuchang pointed to each of the three ghosts beside Ling Hua’an and said bluntly.

“Mr.
Bai, go ahead.
”

Hei Wuchang raised his hand, and suddenly a chain appeared on his empty hand.
With a flick, Su Meiqi is chained.

Su Meiqi struggled with the chains.
She looked at Ling Hua’an and begged, “Mr.
Ling, please help my child, he lost his life before he was born, and his death was unfair.
If he made a mistake, I am willing to replace him.
I will accept whatever punishment he takes.
I beg Mr.
Ling to help him find a chance to be reincarnated.”

“If he hasn’t harmed anyone yet, I can help.
But if he does, then I can’t do anything.
Everyone’s cause and effect will be paid by themselves, which cannot be replaced by others.”

“But he’s still a child… Mr.
Ling, I beg you!”

Ling Hua’an sighed and said, “this is the rule.
I can’t change it.”

Bai Wuchang ignored the crying Su Meiqi, he salute Ling Hua’an, and said, “Mr.
Ling, goodbye.”

Ling Hua’an saluted back, “Goodbye, two lords”

Hei Bai Wuchang pushed Su Meiqi out through the door and disappeared from Ling Hua’an’s line of sight, and the store returned to normal.
Wang Lei asked in disbelief, “Laoban, why did Su Meiqi regain her memory so quickly?”

“Because she killed someone and sucked up that person’s yang energy.
Her resentment grew, and her memory slowly recovered.”

“Then why didn’t Hei Bai Wuchang pick her up after she died? That way, she would have no chance of harming anyone.”

Ling Hua’an said with amusement, “The underworld is also limited.
They also have to go to work on time, get off work, and vacation.
Otherwise, who would want to go to work as an underworld messenger? If it were you, would you do it?”

Wang Lei rubbed his nose in embarrassment, “then why did they come as soon as Su Meiqi appeared in our store?”

“Because I sent a message to the Underworld.”

“Send a message?” Wang Lei blinked and asked blankly, “I’ve been here all the time, why didn’t I see Laoban sending a message?”

Ling Hua’an didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but just as he was about to speak, he heard movement at the door.

“Hua’an, Hua’an, are you still there?” Jiang Chengyan’s voice came in, followed by the sound of the rolling shutter door being pushed up.

Ling Hua’an looked towards the door and said indifferently, “Captain Jiang, what brings you here?”

The coldness in Ling Hua’an’s tone made Jiang Chengyan’s heart tighten.
He explained, “I just got off work and saw the rolling shutter door in the store halfway down.
I thought something was going on, so I came over to take a look.”

“It’s okay, I just went to the toilet just now.
If Captain Jiang has nothing to do, go back early.
“

Ling Hua’an turned around and went back to the cashier after finishing speaking.
He put on his headphones and listened to the music, completely ignoring Jiang Chengyan.

Seeing this, Jiang Chengyan felt uncomfortable and walked toward the cashier, “Hua’an, I haven’t had dinner yet.
Do you still have braised pork rice?”

“Sorry, Captain Jiang.
I gave the braised pork rice to Sun Ming.  If you want to eat, you should order takeout.” Ling Hua’an paused for a moment, then said, “by the way, Captain Jiang, Yan Yu feels sorry for me and said that he will come over to cook for me every day.
I’m afraid there will be no extra food for you in the future.”

Jiang Chengyan’s heart is like being knocked over a bottle of five flavors.
He looked at Ling Hua’an and fell silent for a long time.
Ling Hua’an also had no intention of making a conversation just to let Jiang Chengyan look at him.

Wang Lei looked at them and said to Shen Xin, “maybe, we better avoid them.”

Shen Xin nodded in deep thought and said, “I think the night view outside is pretty good, why don’t we go out to see the moon and count the stars?

“I think it’s okay, let’s go for a walk.
”

The two ghosts wore out of the store, leaving them a chance to get along together.
Jiang Chengyan suddenly turned and walked to the door, pulled down the rolling shutter door at once.
He walked around behind the cashier in hurry to approach Ling Hua’an.

He took a deep breath before saying at great speed, “Ling Hua’an, I have something to say to you!”

Footnotes

Jie as in Sister (not related).
I’m kinda confused to stick to using English or changed it into pinyin since from the start some words like Laoban, Ge, etc was in pinyin.
Feel free to give me some advice  ↺ Hei Bai Wuchang is the two legendary black and white impermanence. More ↺