Unorthodox methods, cultivating immortality relies on rich women

Chapter 172 Ridiculous Obsession

After thanking Lin Yuan, Teacher Luo started to worry about him again, asking him a barrage of questions.

"How have you been all these years? —"

"Do you have a place to stay while you're all alone out there?"

"What do ghosts need to eat? Do they need money to buy it? Your father was arrested, and there's not even anyone to burn paper money for you—"

""

"Sigh, it's my fault, Aunt Zhou and I didn't think it through. We should have burned some paper money for you during the holidays—"

Lin Yuan seemed to particularly enjoy listening to Teacher Luo's ramblings, constantly scratching his head and grinning foolishly.

But Shen Qingzhou, who was listening from the side, had long been impatient.

He's not here today to do good deeds; he's here to catch ghosts and make money.

So he interrupted their reminiscing, saying directly, "Alright, now's not the time for catching up. Let's get this over with quickly; I have things to do this afternoon."

"Master, what should we do with him?"

"What should we do? Of course, we should perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife and send him on his way," Shen Qingzhou said calmly.

"No, no, Master, Lin Yuan is a good boy, you can't treat him like this." Teacher Luo became anxious upon hearing this.

Clearly, he misunderstood Shen Qingzhou's "salvation," thinking it meant to completely erase Lin Yuan from this world.

Are you sure?

Shen Qingzhou smiled, but the smile only made Teacher Luo more uneasy.

He looks exactly like a high-ranking executive in a telecom fraud park, always looking to scam people for fun with just a smile.

"What—what do you mean by that?"

At this moment, Teacher Luo had completely lost his stubborn old man temper.

"Look how weak he is! If this continues, he'll soon be gone. Wouldn't it be better if I sent him to be reincarnated?"

Teacher Luo then realized that she had misunderstood the other party.

But then a question arose in his mind: "Can't he go to be reincarnated by himself? Why does he need you to send him off?"

Shen Qingzhou was too lazy to argue with him about these basic common sense facts. He raised his eyes and gestured to Old Zhong, who was watching the commotion, to explain. He then walked straight out the door and stopped in front of room 501.

He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.

In the eyes that were staring at the tightly closed security door, runes slowly flowed, as if they could penetrate the door panel and take in everything inside the house.

Inside the house, Old Zhong was giving Teacher Luo a science lesson.

"Ghosts can't just reincarnate whenever they want. Only if they let go of their attachments within forty-nine days after death can they go to the underworld to be reincarnated on their own. After that, they won't be able to wait. If they want to enter the cycle of reincarnation again, someone has to perform a ritual for them. If no one performs a ritual for them, they will become a wandering soul in the world, until their soul completely dissipates, returning to dust and ashes."

Teacher Luo, having been a teacher her whole life, immediately grasped the key point: "Obsession? What is obsession?"

"It's an unfulfilled wish, a feeling of discontent, and a lingering attachment to this world—"

Old Zhong said several in a row, all of which were the definitions that Shen Qingzhou had given to obsession before.

Upon hearing this, Teacher Luo's gaze immediately fell on Lin Yuan, who was standing to the side.

"Xiao Yuan, you don't want to go to the underworld. Is there some unfulfilled wish? Tell your teacher, and I will do my best to help you fulfill it. If it's really impossible, I can ask a master for help, and I can pay extra."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan scratched his head again, his face full of embarrassment.

"You silly child, just say what you want to say, you're driving me crazy!" Teacher Luo urged repeatedly from the side.

Old Zhong chuckled to himself, but when Teacher Luo saw him, he snapped, "What are you laughing at?"

"Teacher, it's not that I want to laugh, it's just that you asked the wrong question."

"What's wrong?" Upon hearing this, Teacher Luo's eyes widened, and she instantly became angry.

"What if the young man has a girl he likes? Are you going to find her for him? Even if you wanted to, he'd probably be an old maid by now, no, an old lady—"

After Lao Zhong finished speaking, he first made himself laugh.

"You think everyone is like you? You went to spy on Widow Liu when you were in junior high, and she even came to your school to find you—"

"—" Teacher Luo said irritably.

"Huh? Is that true? I don't remember that."

Old Zhong feigned confusion, his expression calm, as if he had truly forgotten.

But how could I possibly forget something like that?

Teacher Luo ignored him and turned to look at Lin Yuan again.

This child was introverted, sensitive, and somewhat insecure. Even though Teacher Luo kept asking him, he remained hesitant and refused to speak.

Teacher Luo wasn't in a hurry, but Old Zhong next to her was.

He urged repeatedly, "Say what you wish for quickly. Once this incense stick has burned out, Teacher Luo will never see you again, and even if you want to say it, he won't be able to hear you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan also became anxious, so he stopped hesitating and said directly, "I want to eat Auntie's sweet and sour pork."

"Well----"

Upon hearing this, both Teacher Luo and Lao Zhong were stunned into silence.

"this one?"

"Is my request too much?" Lin Yuan lowered his head in a fluster.

Teacher Luo immediately realized what was going on and quickly reassured her, "It's not excessive at all! It's just sweet and sour pork, such a simple thing. But why do you specifically want to eat sweet and sour pork?"

"Because—because the first time I came to my teacher's house, my aunt made me sweet and sour pork, which was—that was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life."

When Lin Yuan talked about this, his face was full of happiness and his eyes were full of anticipation.

His obsession was surprising, yet heartbreaking.

"But—the teacher's family never made sweet and sour pork again after that. Don't you like it, teacher?" Lin Yuan's expression instantly darkened.

Upon seeing this, Teacher Luo quickly explained, "No, it's because your aunt was diagnosed with diabetes, and her health has been poor ever since, so she rarely cooks anymore and has never made this dish again."

Old Zhong stopped listening to their chatter, looked around, and seeing Shen Qingzhou still standing at the door, he walked straight over.

"What did you figure out?" He leaned close to Shen Qingzhou's ear and asked curiously in a low voice.

"Nothing, are you done talking?"

"Well, you would never guess what that little guy's wish is." Old Zhong couldn't help but laugh when he talked about it.

Before Shen Qingzhou could reply, he blurted out, "It's sweet and sour pork. He just wanted to eat a bowl of sweet and sour pork made by Teacher Luo's wife, and he didn't want to be reincarnated because of that. Isn't that hilarious?"

After saying that, he chuckled incessantly to himself.

Shen Qingzhou showed no amusement whatsoever. She glanced at him sideways and said coldly, "What's so funny about this? You're making a fuss over nothing."

"Human obsessions are incredibly diverse. You don't really believe that all those ghosts who linger in the human world and refuse to enter the underworld wish to save the world, do you?"

"Some people do it just to see the person they've been longing for one last time."

"Some people are waiting for a flower that is about to bloom."

"Some people do this so that their children can grow up safely."

"Some people are wondering how long it will take for their loved ones to completely forget them."

"Some people are unwilling to leave because of their dogs."

"Some people do it so they can see their wives sleeping with other men."

"Wait, has something strange gotten mixed in?" Old Zhong interrupted him, looking shocked.

"What's so strange about that?" Shen Qingzhou scoffed, her tone flat. "Obsessions don't distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong. With love and attachment, there will naturally be resentment and hatred as well."

"Some people endure the pain of not dispersing their anger so that they can witness their enemies suffer a terrible death."

"Some people stay put in the hope that their boss will go bankrupt."

"Some people risk their lives to see those who betray them abandoned by everyone and meet a terrible end."

"Love can bind a ghost, and so can hate; these are all obsessions."

"For example, this one over there." Shen Qingzhou landed on the multi-faceted security door.

Then he stepped forward and placed his hand on the door lock.

Before he could even open the door, his phone rang in his pocket. He picked it up and saw that it was Bai Yukui calling.