Chapter Three: Her Majesty the Queen

Near Jiangcheng University, there were many rooms specifically rented to students who didn't want to live in the dormitories. They were all small apartments with one bedroom and one living room, going for about four hundred yuan a month. Though Fu Yang's family couldn't be said to be wealthy, they weren't poor either; both his parents were city employees. They could easily afford this monthly rent.

Fu Yang rushed into the bathroom to wash his face.

The person in the mirror looked ashen, with bloodshot eyes—terrifying to behold.

He exhaled heavily.

Throwing himself onto the soft bed, he finally relaxed. His mind was in chaos.

"Damn it! Such bad luck. If I'd known I'd encounter something dirty at the Xishan Cemetery, I wouldn't have gone, even if it meant upsetting Qin Mei! Compared to the goddess, my life is more important. I've heard that those things can cling to people. If that ghost refuses to leave me alone..."

The thought sent a chill through him.

He'd run for his life, not knowing how far, exhausted and drenched in sweat. He planned to take a shower.

Steam clouded the room; the warm water felt wonderful on his skin.

"Scrub scrub, scrub scrub, heh heh." Fu Yang was rather carefree. An hour ago, he'd been scared out of his wits, yet now his mood had improved, singing as he scrubbed himself.

Just then, a sudden knocking sounded outside.

Bang bang bang.

"Your package is here!"

"You've got a package! Your whole family has a package!" Fu Yang answered instinctively, since he hadn't ordered anything online recently. But as soon as he spoke, every hair on his body stood up, and a chill shot from his feet to the crown of his head.

The knocking was coming from the bathroom door—inside the apartment!

He lived alone, and the front door was securely locked. So... who could possibly be inside, knocking on his bathroom door? Moreover, the voice was distinctly female.

Click, click.

He could hear the sound of his own neck creaking as he turned, his body stiff with fear.

"Damn it! I'm showering right now; if something terrifying really barges in, am I supposed to run for my life naked?"

Creak...

The bathroom door slowly opened a crack. A slender, pale woman's hand reached through the gap and clawed at the wall.

Fu Yang's vision blurred from fear; his mind buzzed and went blank.

A ghost! A female ghost! Surely the one from Xishan Cemetery...

He was scared out of his wits, but the bathroom was small, and the only exit was blocked by the ghost. There was no escape.

"Don't eat me, leave my body intact!"

It must be said, Fu Yang's mind worked in peculiar ways—even in terror, he recalled the earlier slip of the tongue.

After yelling, he noticed the ghost's hand had disappeared. The bathroom door was now properly closed, as if the terrifying scene had been nothing but a hallucination.

"Was that just a hallucination from too much... self-indulgence?" Fu Yang rubbed his eyes, incredulous.

Still afraid, he dared not leave. But he couldn't just hide naked in the bathroom, so he wrapped himself in a towel and carefully pushed open the door, sneaking out like a thief. Looking around, he found nothing amiss and finally stepped out.

Nothing! Thank goodness!

Relieved, Fu Yang was about to toss his towel aside and grabbed some clothes from the bed to wear.

Wait, what's this? The clothing... was a woman's dress!

He shuddered, dropping the dress to the floor.

A woman's voice sounded from above him: "What's wrong? Don't you like my dress?"

All the blood in Fu Yang's body seemed to freeze. He looked up in terror and immediately let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

There, sitting on the blades of the electric fan like a child on a swing, was the female ghost named Dong Weike, wearing a white skirt.

Her skin was flawless, her smile radiant; if Fu Yang didn't know she was a terrifying ghost, he'd have thought an immortal maiden had come...

Fu Yang's legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor, utterly at a loss. The words "I'm doomed today" flashed repeatedly in his mind.

Seeing he didn't run, the ghost floated down lightly and approached him, her mischievous gaze fixed on him as she giggled, "Little brother, be good and listen to me. Otherwise, I'll eat you!"

It must be said, Dong Weike was truly beautiful—her features more exquisite than many celebrities. And now, they were very close.

Fu Yang felt his body start to heat up.

Yet inwardly, he wailed in agony.

"Damn it! This is insane. How can I have thoughts about a terrifying female ghost?"

Dong Weike seemed to notice his reaction; the towel around him had a conspicuous bulge.

Pervert!!!

The ghost was furious. Her beautiful face turned pale and bluish, seeming to shrivel; her arms, once as fair as lotus roots, grew dry and black—her face distorted and fanged!

Ah!

Fu Yang screamed in terror, scrambling backward, desperately trying to crawl under the bed. Tears streamed in his heart: "If I keep getting scared hard and soft like this, I'll be ruined..."

In short, that night Fu Yang's nerves were pushed to the brink of collapse. He finally cried out in anguish, "What do you want from me, ghost lady? Please, just tell me—either eat me or stop tormenting me!"

Dong Weike returned to her beautiful form, giggling: "Simple, call me Queen! From now on, worship me."

Queen? Worship you? What does that mean?

He was baffled.

Dong Weike explained, "It's easy—set up an altar for me. Burn incense and candles, offer fruit, and every month replace the offerings with three sacrificial animals. We'll start officially on the first of next month."

Fu Yang could understand most of this, but—three sacrificial animals? Isn't that for gods or ancestors? Can a ghost even handle that?

The ghost's face darkened instantly, her eyes flashing dangerously: "What, boy? Not obeying me? Forget the three animals—just a pig, a chicken, and a sheep each month will do."

With a clang, her right fingernails shot out like sharp steel blades, and Fu Yang nearly burst into tears, begging for mercy.

"I'll worship, I'll worship, isn't that enough?" He decided to bluff his way through for now.

Besides daily incense and fruit, he had to provide a pig, a sheep, and a chicken each month. Where was he supposed to get the money for all that? The thought made him anxious.

The ghost's expression softened: "That's settled then. Rest up. Tomorrow night I want to see the altar and the first batch of offerings." With that, she turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.