Chapter 35: Swallowing the Bitter Pill, Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law Relations

Ji Yan stared, stunned, at the obese ghost whose head had been reduced to a pulp.

He turned his gaze toward his grandmother, who stood with a hunched back, and couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Why on earth was Grandma here?

"Grandma, why are you here?"

Grandma did not answer. Beneath her shock of silver hair, her features looked remarkably kind, though her squinted eyes were fixed on the wall behind Ji Yan.

The wall loosened, and Ji Yan was pushed out as if being spat out by the structure itself. The Cement Ghost immediately attempted to flee!

Grandma chuckled, her aged fingers deftly twisting a silver needle. With a light flick against the wall, the solid masonry parted as easily as fabric. Tiny, transparent threads swirled around her palm, twitching through the air. As the silver threads seeped deep into the wall, the Cement Ghost, hiding within, was dragged out with effortless ease.

It was a naked ghost, its entire body coated in cement. Now, it crouched on the floor in a panic, trembling as it looked at Grandma. "Old Lady Liu, I didn't know he was your grandson! If I had known, I would never have dared to touch him!"

"It was Fatty Liu who incited me! Please, spare me! If your grandson passes through this hallway again, I promise to look after him well!"

Grandma, however, laughed in a raspy voice. "You actually knew he was my grandson; you just didn't expect me to leave the room."

"There is someone else behind you all. You have only one chance to say who it is."

Grandma stood with her hands clasped behind her hunched back, speaking in a soft, slow tone, yet the Cement Ghost was so terrified it looked as though it were about to collapse.

Ji Yan spoke up suddenly, "Grandma, no need to interrogate him. I know who it is."

"Very well."

Grandma didn't press further. She flicked her fingertips in the air. The Cement Ghost, still pleading for mercy, felt a line of blood tear across its brow. The next moment, its entire outer layer was peeled away like the skin of an orange. The skinless corpse slumped onto the hallway floor.

Grandma picked up the bloody hide and nodded slightly. "The quality is passable. I can weave a doll for my dear granddaughter."

With that, she tucked the gory remains into a cloth bag hanging at her waist. Ji Yan, watching from behind, felt cold sweat prickle his skin.

Good heavens, is Grandma really this powerful?

Wait, why did she leave Room 404? Given that his favorability rating with her was less than half, it shouldn't have been enough to make the Ghost Grandmother come out to save him.

"Grandma, why did you come?"

Grandma tightened the drawstring of her bag and, holding it, looked at Ji Yan and smiled slowly. "I'm old, and I couldn't sleep tonight, so I came out for some air."

"I was planning to go to the first floor to feed the stray cats. I didn't expect to run into my own grandson being bullied."

Ji Yan glanced at the two ghastly corpses, his expression worried. "They’re dead—will this cause any trouble?"

"These two were just 'parasite' bugs of the apartment. Pinching them to death won't matter."

"Parasites"—Ji Yan had heard Liu Yitong mention them. These ghosts didn't have their own rooms; they could only live in the corners of the apartment like parasites by doing menial labor for the landlord for a pittance of value. They held a very low status, even lower than many of the players.

Usually, these parasitic ghosts only dared to use intimidation to swindle equipment from players; they rarely threatened a player's life, mainly out of fear of retaliation from the ghosts behind the players. But these two had been intent on killing Ji Yan from the very start. That was suspicious.

"Do you know who incited them?" the Ghost Grandmother asked.

"Someone named Long Yuan."

The hidden information that had just popped up had provided Ji Yan with the answer.

Grandma let out an "oh," her wrinkled face shifting slightly.

"You know him?"

"He's the grandson of Old Wang in 703. That family treats him like the apple of their eye."

"But I don't like that boy. He's too slippery," the Ghost Grandmother said slowly.

This confirmed that Long Yuan hadn't built any favorability with his own grandmother. Although he knew Long Yuan was responsible, Grandma merely said she didn't like him, with no intention of standing up for Ji Yan. Clearly, she didn't want to make enemies with the ghosts on the seventh floor.

Ji Yan found this reasonable. After all, Grandma was just a ghost living on the fourth floor; dealing with the seventh-floor ghosts was likely a tall order. Being saved at all was already quite something.

Still, Ji Yan was puzzled. He had only exchanged a few sharp words with the guy, yet Long Yuan had gone to such lengths to kill him. His narrow-mindedness was cut from the same cloth as Dong Chu's! Ji Yan didn't want to swallow this bitter pill, but considering the guy's maxed-out equipment and experience, he decided to let it go.

"Go back and rest. You've had a tiring night."

"Be careful of that woman if she comes looking for you tomorrow. There isn't a shred of kindness in her heart."

After giving her instructions, the Ghost Grandmother continued downstairs. Ji Yan knew "that woman" referred to the Ghost Mother, realizing this was a heads-up that she would be assigning the driver task tomorrow.

"The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict is truly universal," he muttered, returning to Room 404.

...

Elsewhere, Long Yuan had returned to his own room. His face was just as dark. He looked at the cracked kitchen knife in his hand, his eyes filled with hatred for Ji Yan. To settle the entanglement with the ghost father from 804, he had been put through the wringer and was furious.

"A clever little trick, indeed. I'll remember you, Ji Yan!"

...

Morning. The white mist was hazy. Ji Yan rose on time, though with less than three hours of sleep, his state was far from ideal.

When he stepped out of his room, Liu Yitong was already eating breakfast at the table. Even in this ghostly world, Liu Yitong gave off the vibe of a 996 corporate slave—working on time, resting on time, waking up on time. She was very detached.

"Went out again last night? I can tell by your state," Liu Yitong said, having learned to answer her own questions.

Ji Yan remained silent. Liu Yitong’s gaze was like that of a colleague watching someone overworking themselves, but in reality, he hadn't been the one to start this rat race.

Just as Grandma had said last night, when the time came, the mother’s summons arrived from the room.

"Mother is the easiest to talk to of the three ghosts, and since she already has a favorable impression of you, so..."

Liu Yitong habitually tried to comfort Ji Yan, but halfway through, she realized his survival environment was already much better than her own, so she felt a pang of bitterness and stopped.

Ji Yan knocked twice before pushing the door open and entering. The room was tidy and gave off a quiet, secluded feeling. The Mother was leaning against the bay window, staring at the grey world outside. She turned back to look at Ji Yan, a gentle smile on her face. "Did the flashlight I gave you last night come in handy?"

Ji Yan nodded. "It was very dark upstairs. Thanks to the flashlight, Mother."

"It's only right to take care of one's own child, especially since you've contributed so much to this family."

The Mother had her hair pinned up, her demeanor elegant and noble, her smile serene. "When you killed that drunken father of yours, Mother knew you were the most sensible one."

"If you go and kill your grandmother as well, Mother will only dote on you from now on."

Ji Yan: "..."

This mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair even had the same lines. Both wanted to trick him into killing the other. Was it purely a bad relationship, or was there some benefit to be gained if the other died?

"Grandma has been quite good to me, actually."

"If it hadn't been for Grandma last night, I’m afraid..."

Before Ji Yan could finish, the Mother laughed softly and shook her head. "Child, do you really think that old woman cares about you so much?"

"She was just using your hands to kill me!"