Chapter 7

The job at the noodle shop came with meals and accommodation. Gu Feiyin had initially thought she could work there for a while, save up some travel money, but who would have guessed she’d be fired on the third day? Now, even the flyer distribution gig was gone, and food and shelter became her biggest concerns.

She could make do with food-just enough to not go hungry. But finding a place to stay was trickier. The cheapest small inns cost over a hundred yuan, and renting an apartment required thousands! She couldn’t bear to spend that much. When she first arrived, she secretly stayed in an unfinished building by the riverside, thinking she’d first figure out where Mu Mountain was, save her money, and then take a bus straight home. Once home, she could live in her pit, where she had stashed her private savings for years, and wouldn’t need to pay rent. But who would have thought no one had ever heard of Mu Mountain? It wasn’t even marked on any map!

Her plan fell through, and she couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. That’s why she had taken the job with meals and accommodation.

Unfortunately, the human world’s job requirements were too high, and she became unemployed. Now she even had to spend money to fix her front tooth-she didn’t know how expensive it would be. If she couldn’t find a job, life would really become unbearable.

At night, she wrapped herself in a cotton quilt and slept in the unfinished building. The quilt was something she had bought for fifty yuan from a roadside grocery store-a whole day’s wages gone. It was warm enough, and covering her head made it less cold. The only issue was the neighbor next door, who made banging noises all night, running and jumping around, only quieting down in the morning. Of course, being an outsider, she didn’t feel it was her place to ask them to keep it down.

She woke up before dawn, washed her face, bought two meat buns from a bun shop, and hurried to the hospital.

When she arrived, she was stunned by the sea of people. After squeezing her way in, she waited in line for over two hours just to get a ticket, and her appointment wasn’t until the afternoon. Once again, she felt the hardships of the human world, and her expression grew heavy.

For lunch, she bought a boxed meal at the hospital entrance for ten yuan-two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and extra rice. The shop owner was very generous, packing the box to the brim. Gu Feiyin curled her lips into a grateful smile-she had learned by now that without her front tooth, she shouldn’t smile too widely.

The shop owner shivered, seeing the long-haired girl’s forced, eerie smile, which seemed to radiate hopelessness, as if she had a terminal illness. Her hand trembled, and she added a bit more rice to the box.

Gu Feiyin was deeply moved and decided she’d come here for lunch every day-the price was reasonable, and the portions were generous.

Only after Gu Feiyin walked away with her boxed meal did the crowd return to the shop owner’s stall.

Gu Feiyin held her boxed meal and wandered around the hospital for a while, but she couldn’t find an empty spot to sit-even the flower beds outside were packed. Left with no choice, she found a corner to squat in. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before someone else tried to claim her spot.

A man crawled over, crying beside her, his tears of blood pooling on the ground and nearly soaking her new cotton shoes-she never wanted to wear wet cotton shoes again!

Gu Feiyin carefully shifted to the side, making room. She didn’t feel it was her place to tell the young man to stop crying; he was clearly grieving. Besides, he had lost both legs, and she didn’t feel like arguing with a disabled ghost.

She quickly finished her meal, vacated the spot, and went to line up at the dental department.

Her top priority was getting a new front tooth.

……

Of course, she never expected that the cheapest option for a front tooth would cost six or seven thousand yuan!

Gu Feiyin was stunned. Who would have thought such an ordinary front tooth could be so expensive? Even if she spent all her savings, it wouldn’t be enough. With a grave expression, she asked, “Isn’t there anything cheaper?”

The dentist looked at the long-haired woman with her dark, hollow eyes, especially her pale, sorrowful face, which made him feel uneasy. “Your tooth is completely gone, and you’ll need root repair. Just the crown alone costs two to three thousand. Besides, this tooth will stay with you for life. I actually recommend not going for the cheapest option, as it could cause problems later, even damaging your gums. If that happens, you’d have to come back to the hospital, and it would be more troublesome and painful. It’s better to do it right the first time…”

By the end, the dentist’s voice trailed off. For some reason, he felt a chill in the air. The long, straight black hair framing her face cast a shadow that added to her somber demeanor. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, frowning as she said, “If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve been more careful when eating that pancake.”

The dentist: “……?” You lost a tooth eating a pancake? Was that pancake made of iron?

Gu Feiyin was filled with regret. At this moment, she felt even more grateful to the kind-hearted Bi Heng and Jiang Long. If it weren’t for their help, she might have lost even more of these precious front teeth. She couldn’t afford even one tooth now-how was she supposed to find work?

“Then I’ll hold off on getting a new tooth for now. Is there any way to temporarily fill the gap? Even if it’s not a permanent fix, I just don’t want people to see that I’m missing a tooth-something that doesn’t ruin my appearance. Do you understand what I mean? I don’t want others to notice I’m missing a tooth, and preferably, it should be cheap.”

“…The cheapest option would be a set of dentures, which costs two to three hundred.”

“…Fine, give me a set of dentures for now.”

……

By the time Gu Feiyin left the hospital with her dentures, the sky had already darkened. She stood in line outside the hospital, her long, straight black hair hanging down as she waited to buy another boxed meal. The cold wind whipped around her, sending chills through her body.

The shop owner, who had seen the long-haired girl earlier that afternoon, noticed her again in the evening. She stood there with her head down, just like she had at noon, with everyone around her keeping a distance of at least three steps. Her pale face looked normal enough, but her dark, hollow eyes gave off an eerie vibe, especially when she smiled… The shop owner’s hands trembled as she packed the box with extra rice. Strangely, she thought she saw a hint of satisfaction and gratitude on the long-haired girl’s face. Sigh, she must be seriously ill and poor-that’s why she looks so gloomy.

The shop owner glanced back and, sure enough, saw the long-haired girl squatting nearby to eat her meal.

Sigh, how pitiful… Before she could finish her thought, the long-haired girl turned her head, her dark eyes locking onto hers. With a friendly grin, she said, “Heh heh.”

The shop owner flinched and quickly looked away.

Gu Feiyin sighed inwardly, thinking how kind the shop owner was. She could come here for dinner too.

As she happily dug into her meal, she noticed the man who had been crying at her feet earlier that day crawling out again, chasing after someone. Blood streamed from the stumps where his legs should have been, leaving a trail behind him. This time, a red-dressed ghost floated alongside him, looking gleeful as if she were enjoying the spectacle.

Gu Feiyin glanced over and saw that the man was chasing a couple-a pregnant woman and the man supporting her, likely her husband. When the couple got into their car and drove away, the legless man crawled after them, letting out a piercing wail. The red-dressed ghost covered her mouth with a delicate laugh, her amusement growing as the man’s cries grew more desperate.

Gu Feiyin watched the ghost floating effortlessly through the air and couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. She used to float like that too-going wherever she pleased without needing legs. Now, walking too much left her legs sore, stiff, and exhausted. Of course, missing a front tooth wasn’t a big deal either…

Perhaps she had been staring too intently, because the floating woman suddenly turned her head, her cold, piercing eyes locking onto Gu Feiyin. The ghost gasped-why was this long-haired girl, squatting by the roadside with her boxed meal, looking at her with such envy and greed? Though she couldn’t sense anything unusual about her, the girl’s presence made her deeply uncomfortable. And the way she kept staring while shoveling food into her mouth… it was as if she were using her as a side dish!

The Red-Dressed Ghost’s expression turned fierce. “…You can see me? Who are you? Are you here to capture me too?”

Gu Feiyin gave her a strange look. Why would she want to capture her? She had no interest in dealing with this envy-inducing ghost. But then, as if remembering something, she forced a friendly smile and said, “Hello. You seem pretty familiar with this place. Do you know if the morgue here is hiring?”

The Red-Dressed Ghost: “…?”

The ghost deflated slightly. “A job? You’re looking for work?”

“Yeah, it’s so hard to find a job these days. I’m looking for something where I don’t have to interact with people much.” She pointed at the legless male ghost on the ground. “Seeing him reminded me-corpses don’t count as people, so they won’t care about my appearance. I think I’d be perfect for the job!”

“…?” The Red-Dressed Ghost tilted her head in confusion, her gaze locking with Gu Feiyin’s dark, gloomy stare.

The ghost was the first to break the silence. “The morgue here is guarded by specialized staff. If you want to work in the hospital, you’d have to be a nurse or a doctor. Where did you graduate from?” As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the long-haired woman’s face twist in shock. “Even watching corpses requires such high qualifications now? You need a diploma for that?”

“Of course! These days, you need a diploma for everything-even being a security guard or a janitor requires special training. If you’re not qualified, you won’t get hired.”

“……” Gu Feiyin’s expression turned grave. After all, she didn’t even have an elementary school diploma. It seemed this path was a dead end too. Thankfully, she’d made the quick decision to buy dentures earlier, or her future would’ve been even more uncertain.

The Red-Dressed Ghost found the long-haired woman utterly bizarre. Not only was she unafraid, but she was also calmly chatting with her. “You’re really not here to capture me?”

Gu Feiyin shook her head. Her mind was entirely focused on finding a job-she had no energy to think about anything else.

The ghost let out a sinister chuckle. “Actually, I have a lot of sisters around here. If you’re in a hurry to find work, I can ask them to keep an eye out for you?”

Gu Feiyin immediately replied, “Great, thank you so much.”

She hung her head, her long, straight black hair falling forward as she meticulously finished every last grain of rice in her boxed meal. Before leaving, she told the Red-Dressed Ghost she’d come back the next evening-lunch was out of the question. Until she found a job, spending ten yuan on a single meal was too much of a financial burden.

“By the way, I can do any kind of work. I’m not afraid of hardship or exhaustion. If it’s a talkative job, I’ll try my best, but a quiet one would be ideal.” Even though she had dentures now, she was afraid that talking too much might expose her missing tooth. She didn’t want to experience the pain of unemployment again.

The Red-Dressed Ghost: “……”

She watched as the long-haired woman drifted away, her straight black hair swaying in the night breeze. The sight sent a shiver down the ghost’s spine. There was something deeply unsettling about that woman-it was downright creepy.

……

After a satisfying meal and with help on the way for finding a job, Gu Feiyin was in a good mood. She managed to sleep soundly for once. However, in the middle of the night, she was abruptly awakened by a series of screams.

Groggily, she woke up to the sound of Neighbor Miss jumping around more energetically than usual. The entire building seemed to echo with the rhythmic “thud, thud, thud” of her movements. Amid the chaotic screams and frantic footsteps, it sounded like a few people-both men and women-had arrived. What they were doing here in the middle of the night was beyond her.

As for Neighbor Miss next door, she jumped around every night, sometimes even hopping near her door. Gu Feiyin had gotten used to it and couldn’t be bothered to care.

She rolled over and went back to sleep.