Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 109: Identity
The two small teams crossed the threshold into the old mansion, consciously separating to the left and right, distinctly divided.
This was the front courtyard of the old house. It was vast and seemingly endless. Many trees were scattered around the yard—some dead, some fallen, and others struggling to hold on to their last bit of green. Amidst the tree shadows, clumps of green ghost fire occasionally appeared, and shadows darted from corners, sending shivers down one’s spine.
The night was chillingly cold and eerily silent, making the whole mansion seem like an abandoned coffin in the wilderness, waiting for lost souls to enter.
Xu Wang looked at Wu Sheng, who slightly turned his head to the left. Understanding the cue, Xu Wang nodded and then glanced at the Camo Team captain, subtly hinting with his eyes to go left—a clear message, “We’ll take this side.”
The Camo Team captain readily agreed, tilting his chin to the right as if to say, “Then we’ll take this side.”
This level was similar to the Castle Hotel challenge, where each team’s tasks might not intersect. The Castle Hotel had various task lines like love, horror, and puzzle to choose from. In this level, it depended on which ghost NPC the team encountered first. Different ghosts led to entirely different tasks.
Also, being “exposed” was a fatal weakness in this level. Being too close to a competing team could mean disaster. If one team was exposed, the exposed team would likely drag the nearby team down with them.
Considering all these factors, parting ways as soon as possible and not interfering with each other became a common goal for both teams.
One team went left, the other right. After a short walk and looking back, they could no longer see each other’s silhouettes in the darkness.
The cold night wind blew through the old mansion’s courtyard, evoking a sense of transience and change…
Xu Wang’s reflections were interrupted as the [Man-Catching Vine] knocked on his head. Looking up, he saw Wu Sheng’s resigned face.
“Everyone’s gone. Stop being so sentimental.”
“……” Xu Wang wanted to say he was just being cautious!
Just after glaring at Wu Sheng, he turned his head and saw… Qian Ai’s head.
Xu Wang’s heart skipped a beat.
After a few seconds, he finally gasped for air and recovered.
“No, Lao Qian.” Xu Wang pushed away his teammate’s floating head. “Your look is too impactful. Stay away from me…”
Qian Ai felt aggrieved and was about to defend himself when someone nearby suddenly spat.
“Ptui!”
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was clear. After spitting, there was a barely audible murmur that couldn’t be understood. In the old house, it was particularly creepy.
The four companions tensed up, not daring to make any sudden moves. Slowly turning their heads towards the sound, they saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothes sitting on the threshold of a side door leading to the inner house, counting money. He was small and hunched, but his eyes gleamed brightly as he stared at the banknotes.
Stumbling upon an NPC was better than choosing one. The four friends exchanged looks and decided: this was their guy.
“Are you ready?” Xu Wang confirmed softly for the last time. “Once we start, there’s no turning back.”
Wu Sheng gently raised his vine-wrapped arm, saying calmly, “No problem.”
Qian Ai’s head bobbed confidently. “I’m fully confident.”
Kuang Jinxin patted the disobedient hand on his head. “Let’s go, Captain.”
Xu Wang nodded and took the lead. “Let’s move.”
[Ghost Mansion Infernal Affairs, First Challenge — Verifying Identity upon First Entry!]
The four cautiously approached the Money Counting Ghost, soon standing right in front of him, their combined shadow looming like a wall.
However, the middle-aged man was so engrossed in counting his money that he didn’t notice them at first.
“……” The companions waited patiently.
Finally, after counting the last note, the ghost contentedly stuffed it into his pocket and cheerfully stood up, apparently ready to head back inside. But as he stood up, he finally noticed the four figures… Well, three figures and a head.
“Who are you?” The previously ordinary-looking middle-aged man suddenly turned semi-transparent. His expression was wary, and his mouth split an inch wider at the corners to reveal yellow, sharp teeth.
The four felt a chilling wind behind them, penetrating their bones.
But on their faces, none showed a trace of fear.
“We are homeless ghosts with nowhere to go,” Xu Wang said, his voice steady yet filled with earnest sincerity, tinged with a pitiful tone. “We want to find shelter here.”
“Get lost, get lost, get lost.” The Money Counting Ghost waved his hand impatiently. “This place is already overrun with ghosts. There’s no room for you.”
Wu Sheng frowned. The [Man-Catching Vine] on his body started to creep along the ground, quietly wrapping around the ghost’s feet, trying to intimidate him to show that they weren’t ordinary spirits. However, before he could exert any force, the vine passed right through the ghost’s ankles!
The [Man-Catching Vine] couldn’t touch this Money Counting Ghost at all!
Wu Sheng pursed his lips, realizing that ordinary stationery might be ineffective against the ghosts in this challenge.
“Smack—”
The severed hand that had been floating above Kuang Jinxin’s head suddenly flew over and slapped the ghost’s dismissive hand hard.
“Be polite to our big brother!” Kuang Jinxin shouted aggressively.
The Money Counting Ghost covered his sore hand. “…”
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai: “……”
They didn’t know how to react to such fierceness, but Kuang Jinxin’s show of force helped Wu Sheng resolve his doubts. It wasn’t that stationery couldn’t be used, but ordinary stationery was ineffective against ghosts. Only stationery with similar supernatural attributes could affect them.
While Wu Sheng was pondering, the Money Counting Ghost seemed less guarded after being smacked, taking a more serious look at them.
“Recently, there have been too many people pretending to be ghosts, causing trouble here,” the ghost said. “The boss asked me to guard this door, so I have to do it well.”
“Don’t pretend.” Qian Ai’s head sneered. “If it weren’t for seeing us, you would’ve run away by now. Is that how you guard?”
“Do you want to go in or not?” the ghost shouted irritably, feeling embarrassed.
“Of course we do. Why else would we be wasting our breath here?” Perhaps the costume gave him confidence, as Qian Ai now felt he was a noble among ghosts.
“Then be honest about your backgrounds.” The ghost scanned them one by one, speaking solemnly. “How did you die? What can you do? If you’re useless, don’t think about staying here eating and drinking for free.”
Qian Ai was speechless. “What can a ghost eat anyway?”
“Yuanbao candles,” the Money Counting Ghost said. “People always come to burn them in the back mountain…” He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly eyeing Qian Ai suspiciously. “You don’t even know this?”
Qian Ai was at a loss for words. After swallowing hard several times, he retorted defensively, “Right, I don’t know. My parents never cared for me. No one ever burned candles or yuanbao for me. Are you happy now?”
The Money Counting Ghost was yelled at to the point of feeling inexplicably ashamed, and within that shame, a sense of sympathy and reluctance emerged. “Err, I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot…”
“How did you die?” Having reached this point in the conversation, the Money Counting Ghost genuinely became interested in the story behind this floating head.
“Well—” Qian Ai sighed heavily while glancing at his teammates, signaling that it was his turn to take the stage as the fourth drama king.
“Everyone else becomes a ghost after they die, but not me,” Qian Ai said, sitting on the threshold with an expression of deep sorrow. “I was a ghost when I was alive—a poor ghost1.”
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Even though they had rehearsed their characters and script beforehand, they were still deeply impressed by their teammate’s performance.
“Who asked what type of ghost you are?” the Money Counting Ghost said, not quite satisfied. “I’m asking how you died.”
“How do you think I died when I was a poor ghost1!” Qian Ai glared at him. “I died of poverty!”
1Clarity: The joke here is he using poor wretch (穷鬼) to describe himself while he was still alive. The word has (鬼) which means ghost, so the Money Counting Ghost is thinking he’s saying he’s a poor ghost, when the meaning is more like “I was a poor wretch when I was alive.”
Money-counting ghost: “……”
“I was poor and addicted to gambling, losing everything in my house.” The floating head looked at the Money Counting Ghost with red eyes. His voice was hoarse and choked. “Later, when I had no money left but still wanted to gamble, what could I do? I gambled my hands, my legs, my body—”
“Are the people you gambled with sick?” The Money Counting Ghost scratched his face in confusion. “What use would they have for your body?”
“Don’t worry about that. Anyway, I lost, and as a man of my word, I gave away my arms, legs, and this body!” Qian Ai dramatically continued; his solitary head still fit the crown for best actor.
Money-counting ghost: “So you died?”
Qian Ai: “With just a head left, wouldn’t you die?”
The Money Counting Ghost felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint any major flaw. Hesitating, he saw Kuang Jinxin and the hand on his shoulder, asking instinctively, “What about you? He’s only left with a head; why do you have an extra hand?”
Kuang Jinxin said, “This hand is his.”
The Money Counting Ghost’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I gambled with him. He had no money, so he bet his hand. He lost and gave it to me,” Kuang Jinxin explained earnestly.
The Money Counting Ghost was still puzzled. “But you won. Why did you turn into a ghost?”
“Ever since he gave me his hand, I’ve been getting weaker. The doctors couldn’t find any cause, and then I died.” Kuang Jinxin looked at the hand on his shoulder and then at the ghost, his expression turning solemn and his voice growing husky. “After I died, I realized this hand had never left me. I didn’t die of illness.” He leaned closer to the ghost, speaking in a dark, ominous tone. “The severed hand claimed my life.”
Money-counting ghost: “……”
He was a ghost, yet he was still scared by ghosts!
At this moment, Kuang Jinxin was no longer fierce but a ghostly actor of the highest caliber.
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai: “……”
They were completely immersed in their roles.
“No, wait,” the Money Counting Ghost frowned, looking at Qian Ai and then at Kuang Jinxin, finally noticing the problem. “If that’s the case, you two should be enemies. Why are you together after death?”
Qian Ai: “……”
Kuang Jinxin: “……”
That was a sharp question.
“Haa.” Xu Wang patted the Money Counting Ghost’s shoulder. “There’s a kind of relationship in this world called ‘love and hate’. You wouldn’t understand.”
The Money Counting Ghost turned to look at him. “If you tell me you died because of gambling and happened to know them before death, I really will be angry.”
“No way. That would turn into a soap opera.” Xu Wang gave him a “reassuring” look, then looked back at the shadowy figure behind him and then at the Money Counting Ghost. His eyes darkened. “I was killed by it.”
The Money Counting Ghost didn’t understand. “Who?”
Xu Wang pointed to his own face. “It.”
The Money Counting Ghost stared at him blankly for a long time. “Brother, you’re pointing at yourself.”
“No, this isn’t me.” Xu Wang shook his head, pointing to the shadowy figure. “This is me, the one talking to you right now.” He pointed at himself again. “This is just an empty shell.”
Money-counting ghost: “But it’s moving its mouth…”
“Shh, don’t interrupt.” Xu Wang placed his finger on his lips, blinked, and then pointed back at the shadow. “I was born a ghost. You can call me ‘Spirit Behind’. The only bad thing I ever did was want a body, so I killed this person…” He pointed at himself again. “But after killing him, I realized that I could control this body, but it would never truly be mine.” He pointed back at the shadow. “So I could only forever follow behind this body, watching the sin I once committed, eternally tormented…”
The Money Counting Ghost’s head followed Xu Wang’s finger back and forth, back and forth, successfully getting confused.
Xu Wang sighed wearily. “You might not be able to understand the relationship between me and it…”
“Enough!” The Money Counting Ghost had no desire to understand!
“In short, it died, and you died too. You two are inseparable. End of story!” The ghost succinctly concluded, holding onto his last shred of sanity, then looked at Wu Sheng. “And you…”
“I died in the mountains. I’m a mountain ghost.” Wu Sheng stood still as the [Man-Catching Vine] slowly winded around him.
The Money Counting Ghost narrowed his eyes. “Mountain ghost?”
Wu Sheng nodded. “Mountain ghost.”
The Money Counting Ghost frowned. “That’s it? No life story?”
Wu Sheng replied, “That’s it.”
The Money Counting Ghost grabbed Wu Sheng’s hand. “Brother, I admire you!”
“Ding—”
A unifying notification sound rang out.
The Money Counting Ghost showed no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard it.
[Cheat Sheet]: [Identity Verification] successful.
The author has something to say:
Sheng Ge’s acting style is called minimalist.
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Kinky Translations 
Wu Shengs story only works because the other three went first xD
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