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nEditor: SimoB

nWhile Zhang Haixiang was stunned, the clear and joyful shout of his five-year-old daughter came from behind him: “Daddy! Daddy!!”

nHe turned around to see his daughter in his wife’s arms. She smiled at him with her arms wide open.

n“NiuNiu…”

nHe whispered his daughter’s name. The little girl became even happier in her mother’s arms, calling out for her daddy with all her might.

nHis wife was in tears while holding her, choking and whispering to her daughter, “Daddy’s in there, but he’ll be out soon.”

nNiuNiu tilted her head in confusion.

nBut wasn’t daddy’s right there?

n“Your daughter isn’t even five years old yet, but she can still see you.”

nShi Qing pulled out another egg tart and ate it happily. After a few bites, Meng Qing was already prepared with a handkerchief in hand.

nZhang Haixiang was at a loss. He looked away from his wife and daughter reluctantly and turned to Shi Qing.

n“So I’m…dead?”

n“Not yet, but it’s just a matter of time now.”

nShi Qing patted Meng Qing, “You talk to him.”

nMeng Qing glanced at the little girl who was looking this way and whispered to Zhang Haixiang, “Your lifespan will run out today. Before, because your body was in a coma, your still living spirit floated out and became a ghost doctor.”

n“A ghost doctor…”

nZhang Haixiang finally understood the strange words of the young man who kept coming and all his recent patients as well.

nThey turned out to all be…ghosts.

nAll the muddled memories of these past few days came rushing back.

nEvery morning, he went through the same day. Going through the same hours yawning, retracing the same routes each time, working on the same bustling lines of patients.

nTurns out he was dead…

nHe felt like he was going to faint, so he held onto the wall and slowly sat down on the bench.

n“So are you guys here to pick me up? Are you guides to the Underworld?”

n“We’re not guides, we’re here to…” Meng Qing paused and looked at Shi Qing, “What are we doing here?”

nShi Qing raised his eyebrows, “We’re here to watch a good show, of course. This is the first time I’ve seen someone like him, whose body is still alive while his spirit has become a ghost doctor. And he’s going to the Underworld today, so we’ll just catch a ride with him.”

nMeng Qing looked at the demon king hesitantly, deliberating over his words before carefully leaning towards Shi Qing’s ear and whispering, “Can’t you be more tactful? He’s already going through a lot.”

nShi Qing tilted his head and his lips fell beside the young cultivator’s ear. He was also whispering, but the action held an indescribable charm. It was more apt to say that he was lowering his voice seductively.

n“I’m the demon king, the personification of all the negative energy in the world, and you expect me to be considerate of others?”

nHe pulled the young cultivator to sit down without any chance for refusal and stretched his long legs comfortably over the other’s lap. “Alright. Now just wait until his time is up.”

nMeng Qing wasn’t surprised at Shi Qing’s answer. He just somehow felt that Shi Qing wasn’t who he described himself to be.

nJust now at the morgue, it was Shi Qing who had asked him to perform an exorcism.

nBut he didn’t give voice to these thoughts. He just silently pulled out a small bag from his pocket, opened it and poured the almonds inside into his hand. He took one and handed it to the demon king.

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nThe demon king was stunned before looking at him with a hostile expression. “What are you trying to do?”

nMeng Qing’s face reddened even more at his fierce tone. He handed the almond over and stammered, “This is an almond. It’s delicious. My senior brother brought it for me, and he said that the villagers at the bottom of the mountain grew them themselves. There are no pesticides and the taste is very fresh.”

nSeeing that Shi Qing was still staring at him without speaking, the young cultivator’s handsome face was dyed an even deeper shade of red.

nHe added, “I used to eat a few from time to time, and the taste lingers pleasantly in my mouth afterwards. I might as well share some with you since we’re going to wait.”

nShi Qing glanced at the almonds he put in his hand. His eyes curved slightly as he tilted back his head and opened his mouth.

nIt was obvious that he wanted to be fed.

nWhen Meng Qing saw this, he blushed even more but still took the almond and delivered it to the demon king’s mouth.

nThe demon king’s lips didn’t move. His tongue came out and flicked the almond into his mouth.

nThe young cultivator’s hand trembled.

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nEven his neck was stained red. He stammered nervously as he put his hands behind his back, “W-what are you doing?!”

n“Eating almonds, ah. What else is there to do.”

nShi Qing laid down across the bench and opened his mouth again. “It tastes good, little cultivator. Keep feeding me.”

nMeng Qing blushed and used his handkerchief to wipe away the smear of wetness on his fingers. As he did so, he lifted his eyes to peek at Shi Qing with red cheeks.

nHe whispered, “Don’t touch me again.”

n“It’ll depend on my mood.” Shi Qing opened his mouth wider, “Ah.”

nSo the young cultivator sat next to the demon king, who had one of his long legs strewn across his lap, and fed him almonds one by one.

nSeeing how happy Shi Qing was while eating, he couldn’t resist and ate one himself.

nIn the end, it ended up being–

nOne for him, one for Shi Qing.

nThe two of them snacked happily.

nThe young man who ran up after Zhang Haixiang watched the scene. “…”

nHe was dead, so he could naturally see the energy surrounding Shi Qing and Meng Qing.

nOne was dark enough to scare people to death.

nThe other was white enough to scare people to death.

nThese two people actually managed to coexist long enough to peacefully share a snack together.

nThis world really was crazy.

nNot daring to provoke these two strangers, who were obviously big shots out of his league, the young man tiptoed over to Zhang Haixiang and carefully squatted down beside him.

nZhang Haixiang faced the wall, looking like he was dead to the world.

n“Dr. Zhang.”, the young man poked Zhang Haixiang carefully.

n“Um, you shouldn’t be too sad. Things like life and death are predetermined by fate. You might as well accept it, right?”

nZhang Haixiang’s head slammed against the wall. “I don’t want to die.”

nThe young man expressed understanding. “Um, actually Dr. Zhang, why don’t you think of it this way? This world is so big that our deaths won’t have much of an effect.”

nHe sighed, “I actually couldn’t accept it either when I died, but then I thought about how I wasn’t married yet and that I have two brothers still living on. I didn’t have much money either, nevermind a house. My parents would probably grieve for a while, but eventually they could move on with the help of my brothers.

n“Dr. Zhang, does thinking of it this way make you feel any better?”

nZhang Haixiang became even more depressed. His head rhythmically bounced off the wall.

n“How can I die now? My wife and I are both the only children of our parents. Her body is unwell and our daughter is still so young. My mother is getting on in age and my father has a constant cough after the car accident. Not to mention my father-in-law and mother-in-law… If I leave, what will they do?”

n“The mortgage and car loan haven’t been paid off yet, and my daughter isn’t even in kindergarten yet. She likes to draw so we had discussed waiting for her to get a little older and sending her to art classes. But we definitely can’t afford that now that I’m dead.”

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nThe young man with no house, no car, no wife and no children: “……”

nHe laughed awkwardly, “Looking at it like that, it does seem like your death is rather unfortunate, haha. But since things are already like this, there’s no way to change it, is there? You might as well accept reality.”

nZhang Haixiang continued slamming his head against the wall.

n“Hey hey hey, Dr. Zhang! Don’t hurt yourself with the wall, don’t do this!”

nZhang Haixiang shook off the hand pulling him away, “Don’t stop me! I’m a ghost anyways! It doesn’t hurt when I hit the wall, so let me calm down a bit.”

nAfter a few more impacts, he suddenly felt like something wasn’t right. He blankly shifted back and stretched out his hand to touch a large bump.

nZhang Haixiang: “……”

nThe young man: “I was just going to say, even though we’re ghosts, we can touch everything other than living people. Of course hitting a wall would hurt, but you won’t die from it. Or, I should say, won’t die from it again.”

nZhang Haixiang: “……”

nThe guy patted him on the shoulder. “That’s why we came to see you, to heal our injuries, ah. You’re a ghost doctor, so the injuries you’ve treated will heal quickly. Only when they don’t hurt can we go to the Underworld, otherwise you’ll be stuck here in pain forever. You might as well just dissipate at that point.”

nZhang Haixiang: “……”

nHe had heard something about a ghost doctor and assumed it was a doctor who turned into a ghost. It turned out to be a literal ghost doctor.

nWith a large lump on his forehead, he looked up at the young man in front of him.

n“You can’t go to the Underworld if you’re injured?”

n“Yep. I’ve wanted to leave for a long time, but I couldn’t because it just kept hurting.”

nZhang Haixiang looked at his wife, who was anxiously waiting at the door of the operating room, and then at his daughter, who had been staring at him the whole time. He clenched his teeth and turned to continue banging his head against the wall.

n“Huh?! Dr. Zhang, what are you doing?!!”

nZhang Haixiang gritted his teeth through the pain. “I’m not going to the Underworld! I’m going to stay here and guard my family!”

nThe young man: “Wait a minute Dr. Zhang! Calm down, don’t be impulsive!”

nZhang Haixiang continued to hit his head against the wall.

n“I’m not impulsive, I’m thinking very clearly! I can’t go yet! I want to stay with them! What’s a little pain to a man?! Don’t you dare stop me, I have to stay!”

nThe young man: “No, I’m just saying that since you’re a ghost doctor, you’ve accumulated merit. Even if you die with an injury you’ll go straight to the Underworld, ah.”

nZhang Haixiang, who hurt himself for nothing: “…”

nHe stopped and turned to look at the lad, “Can I give this ‘merit’ away? Like to you?”

n“Merit is such a good thing, how can you give it to me? With merit, you can definitely be reincarnated into a good family in your next life.”

nZhang Haixiang touched the bump on his forehead and turned around with an expressionless face. He leaned against the wall as his eyes fell on his wife and daughter.

n“What does the next life have to do with this one? I was frail as a child and always sickly. It was my parents who took care of me every night without closing their eyes and raised me to adulthood. My wife and I dated for eight years before we got married. Our daughter has always been a good girl, but I’ve never been the best father to her. I was too busy with work to spend more time with her.”

nHe looked at the little girl who didn’t know that she was about to lose her father. She was bouncing around chasing the ripples of sunlight on the floor with bright peals of laughter.

nZhang Haixiang laughed as well.

n“My NiuNiu is a good girl. She never blames daddy for not playing with her. On the rare occasion I come home from work at a normal hour, she calls out for her daddy as soon as I open the door and comes running over. Then she follows me everywhere like a little cuddlebug.”

nHis laughter gradually turned into tears.

n“She’s so young. She doesn’t know anything yet, she hasn’t learned anything yet. So how can I…how can I leave her here?! My wife is unwell too, how can she survive on her own…”

nZhang Haixiang sniffed his nose and wiped his tears, “Even if they can’t see me, I want to stay here. I want to stay with them and watch my daughter grow up.”

nShi Qing bit into an almond, chewed a few times and swallowed. He looked over at Zhang Haixiang, “That’s not a bad idea, but there’s a problem.”

n“After a ghost stays in the mortal realm for a long time, it will slowly lose its memories and identity before finally becoming a wandering spirit cursed to walk the Earth forever.”

n“Only the obsessions of those wandering spirits remain, but they can’t differentiate between love and hate anymore. I’m sure you don’t want to become a wandering spirit to follow your family, only to unconsciously harm them one day.”

nZhang Haixiang was in even more pain.

nSnot and tears covered his face as he turned around to press his head against the wall and continued to cry silently.

nThe young man next to him sighed and patted him on the shoulder, “Dr. Zhang, I’m sorry. Actually you’re already lucky to go like this. A big hospital like this has countless ghosts stranded here because of their injuries. There’s never enough ghost doctors like you, and they usually stay for a day at most before being picked up by a guide. Everyone stuck here is probably going to dissipate or become wandering spirits. Isn’t your fate much kinder than theirs?”

nZhang Haixiang wiped away his tears and looked in the direction of his wife and daughter. He touched his hair that thinned much faster than other men his age and cried like a child.

n“Is there really no other way? Do I have to go?”

nShi Qing twisted so that he was lying on Meng Qing’s lap. “Usually, when your lifespan is up, you have to leave.”

nMeng Qing turned to look at Zhang Haixiang, but the demon king grabbed his head and made him look at himself again.

n“Why are you always looking at other people? I’m your companion. Look at me.”

nHe opened his mouth once more. “Ah.”

nThe young cultivator blushed. With the shame of having an audience, he continued to feed Shi Qing almonds.

nBefore he fed him, he would spread the almonds out on his palm.

nThe big and good-looking ones went to Shi Qing.

nThe small and unattractive ones he left for himself.

nThe young man looked at the two with envy and sighed, “Why do I have to watch people be all lovey-dovey even after I died? I hope I won’t be a single dog in my next life.”

nThen he patted Zhang Haixiang on the shoulder.

n“It’s okay Dr. Zhang, no need to comfort me. I’m much better now that you’re here to suffer with me.”

nZhang Haixiang also looked at them with a face full of grief.

n“My wife and I are like this at home as well.”

nThe young man: “……”

nHe wondered why he ate dog food everyday when he was clearly still a human.

nAnd after becoming a ghost, the portions somehow doubled?!?

nThen he saw Zhang Haixiang stagger to his feet and head towards Shi Qing’s side.

nHe was going to pull Zhang Haixiang back, but he was just a tad too slow. He could only quickly whisper, “Dr. Zhang, don’t go over there! Those are totally big shots! They can kill us with a wave of their hand!”

nZhang Haixiang didn’t listen to him. Touching his swollen forehead, he approached the two men.

nHe bowed before asking, “Gentlemen, you said earlier that you would be catching a ride with me to the Underworld. May I ask if you know my time of death then?”

nShi Qing nuzzled against Meng Qing: “You tell him.”

nMeng Qing obeyed and made a few hand signs. He looked up after a few seconds, “At 12:53:07 in the afternoon.”

n“You have three hours.”

nShi Qing waved his hand. Immediately, an oversized clock appeared on the wall, ticking away.

n“If there’s anything you haven’t done yet, you should do it quickly.”

nZhang Haixiang looked at this clock that symbolized the countdown of his life. He wiped his tears and bowed once more.

n“Thank you.”

nHe returned to the young man, “You said the hospital was full of ghosts who couldn’t leave because of their injuries. Let them come to me, I’ll heal their wounds.”

n“Huh?”

nThe guy was confused, “Now? But there’s a lot, ah. Treatment also requires energy. You’ll be really tired.”

n“Alas, I’m a doctor. What’s being a little tired?”

nZhang Haixiang wiped away his tears and tried to straighten his back, “I could die from tiredness when I was alive. I can’t die again now can I? I can’t stay anyway, so I might as well do good deeds in hopes that, that…” He almost started crying again. “I don’t need a good reincarnation. If I do more good deeds, I hope that some of the merit might go to my family. ”

nThe young man: “That’s not how it works. The merit is yours alone, so only you can use it.”

n“Then I will fulfill the duties of a doctor to the end.”

n“Sure. As long as you don’t mind being tired.”

nHe ran to the window, poke out his head and yelled downwards.

n“Hey!! People down there!! The ghost doctor is on the top floor! If you want treatment, come quickly! He’s only here for three more hours!!!”

nThen he sat back down next to Zhang Haixiang, who looked around the empty corridor. “There’s no ghosts here, ah.”

n“They’re all on their way up.”

nThe young man looked out the window again. “There are way too many ghosts that can’t leave the hospital. Besides Dr. Zhang, you’re still technically a living spirit, so many ghosts can’t recognize you. Otherwise I wouldn’t have taken so long to find you.”

nZhang Haixiang also followed him to the window, “Are there really a lot? I didn’t notice any on my way up-”

nHe choked on his words.

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