At that moment, Ding Shi was in the library reading On Ghosts, a book that introduced the fundamental rules governing ghosts in the Yita World. Ding Shi felt the Yita World handled this quite well, laying everything out in plain view.
First type: Common ghosts. They possessed no offensive capability, had no physical form, were invisible under normal circumstances, and could not communicate.
Second type: Obsession ghosts. For example, if someone craved braised pork before dying but never got to eat it, that desire became a lingering obsession. Over the course of seven days, the ghost would frantically search for braised pork. After seven days, it would vanish—whether to the underworld or to heaven was unknown.
This type of ghost was formed from a lingering obsession and could not be destroyed; mortal strength could not contend with it. It would only attack anyone who prevented it from eating braised pork, had no concept of killing, and possessed no intellect.
Third type: Malevolent ghosts. These were rule-based ghosts. Usually having no physical form, they could pass through walls and enter houses, manifesting a physical body only when killing. Bound by the Heavenly Dao—the rules—they could usually operate only within a restricted area, such as a single house or a boat.
Malevolent ghosts possessed low intellect and a strong urge to attack the living, yet were bound by rules. Ordinarily no different from common ghosts, the moment a living person triggered a rule, the malevolent ghost could materialize into physical form and kill them.
The rules took all kinds of forms—for instance, a living person playing rock-paper-scissors against a mirror in the dead of night and losing, or stealing something from the host's house. Even a sneeze might trigger their killing condition.
The way to eliminate a malevolent ghost was to complete a specific task without violating its rules.
Fourth type: Ghost kings. These entities were extraordinarily formidable, highly intelligent, overwhelmingly powerful, and unconstrained by territory. However, every ghost king possessed a fatal weakness and could be eliminated by humans.
Common ghosts: Found everywhere.
Obsession ghosts: Rare.
Malevolent ghosts: Appeared only in specific locations and could not be seen elsewhere.
Ghost kings: Although capable of killing at will, once their weakness was exposed, humans could easily turn the tables and slay them. Consequently, ghost kings were nearly extinct in the Yita World.
On Ghosts also mentioned ghosts, demons, spirits, and monsters. Ghosts were what humans became after death. Demons were animals that became supernatural. Spirits were plants that became supernatural. Monsters were inanimate objects that became supernatural.
Finally, On Ghosts noted that ghosts, demons, spirits, and monsters would appear only in specific instances.
On Ding Shi's system interface, a new stamp had appeared on the main task bearing the word "Ghost," signifying that ghosts haunted this instance. At the same time, the instance's danger level was adjusted from "Extremely Low" to "Low."
Grandma Wang's ghost clearly belonged to the obsession ghost category. There was something she needed to do or something she was looking for. Unable to find it at home, she would search everywhere, prioritizing her family, since family members were the most likely to help fulfill her obsession. Dealing with an obsession ghost meant either waiting seven days for it to dissipate on its own or fulfilling its lingering obsession.
Ding Shi originally planned to turn the bookshelf into a card, but the system refused. The system explained: "The information provided by the bookshelf's books is related to instance quests and cannot be stored or stolen for personal use." In the end, Ding Shi could only use the automated book lending machine to borrow two books, paying a deposit of two dao.
Just as he stepped out of the library, he was caught squarely by the village chief. "Xiao Ding, go help the Wang family find their grandson."
Zhao Liu was missing? Ding Shi knew Zhao Liu hadn't kept the funeral vigil last night and Grandma Wang's ghost hadn't found him, but he hadn't expected the living people couldn't find him either. Accepting the quest, Ding Shi headed toward the elementary school to look for Sun Qi. If Zhao Liu needed help, nine times out of ten he would turn to a fellow player first.
Yesterday, Ding Shi and Zhao Liu had clashed, so Ding Shi reasoned Zhao Liu wouldn't come to him first. And based on Ding Shi's impression of Zhang San, Zhang San wasn't someone who would selflessly help others either. The one most likely to help Zhao Liu was the soft-hearted woman—Sun Qi.
...
Sure enough, Ding Shi found Zhao Liu in Sun Qi's school dormitory.
Before Ding Shi could even speak, Zhao Liu panicked first, threatening, "Wang Wu, if you dare sell me out, don't blame me for getting nasty."
Sun Qi smoothed things over. "Don't get agitated. Wang Wu, have a seat."
Beaming, Ding Shi took a seat off to the side. "You're the one who caused this mess, aren't you? I wanted to help you fix it, but you lied to me. And now you have the nerve to threaten me. How can a person be so shameless?"
Zhao Liu's face turned the color of pig liver, at a loss for words.
Sun Qi poured water as she asked, "Wang Wu, what exactly is going on?"
Ding Shi answered, "Zhao Liu failed to deliver the pickled vegetables to the driver on time, which led to Grandma Wang's death. Then last night, he abandoned the memorial hall, throwing away his very last glimmer of hope."
Zhao Liu asked, bewildered, "Last glimmer of hope? What do you mean?"
Ding Shi replied, "Grandma Wang will come looking for you tonight."
Zhao Liu shot to his feet. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
Ding Shi said, "Your only chance now is to guess what Grandma Wang's lingering obsession was in life and fulfill it before eleven o'clock tonight. Otherwise, you're dead meat."
Zhao Liu retorted, "How should I know what was on her mind?"
Ding Shi said, "A daily wage of one dao, no real work to do, eating and drinking your fill, plus Cuihua warming your bed—I imagine you didn't have time to pay attention to Grandma Wang's every move while she was alive. That's the situation. Decide for yourself what to do. Either commit suicide to leave the instance, or wait for Grandma Wang's ghost to knock on your door."
Sun Qi asked from the side, "Wang Wu, are there really ghosts?"
Ding Shi nodded. "Take a look at your main tasks. There's a 'Ghost' tag added to it. I have to go now. Good luck to you both." He gave Sun Qi a deep, meaningful look. The unspoken message: I've said all there is to say. If you take Zhao Liu in again tonight, you'll be the collateral damage caught in the fire.
After leaving, Ding Shi informed the Wang clan elder, and the young men of the Wang family went to corner Zhao Liu. Although Zhao Liu had fled beforehand, Ding Shi's quest was already complete.
Grandma Wang's maternal relatives had already arrived. After a round of wrangling, several middle-aged and elderly men from the neighboring village—part Buddhist, part Taoist, who specialized in performing funeral rites—set up an altar in the memorial hall to chant scriptures.
Ding Shi watched with great interest from the side. Three men draped in monastic robes chanted scriptures in the local dialect; one held a bell, one tapped a wooden fish, and one held his hands together in prayer, all circling the coffin. With every completed lap, the three dipped low. Ding Shi didn't understand the movement and asked an older woman watching the spectacle beside him. The woman whispered to Ding Shi that they were supposed to kowtow once every lap, but after decades of simplification, it had evolved into this dipping motion.
Once the circling was finished, the three sat down to chant scriptures while an assistant on the side beat gongs and drums. The rhythm was crisp and distinct, making it quite intriguing to listen to.
After lunch, Ding Shi was dispatched by the village chief to hang banners and paint slogans: "Better to add ten graves than a single person." "Family planning is good; the government will support you in old age." In the afternoon, he helped with inventory at the branch supply and marketing cooperative. The quests came one after another—none very difficult, all rather interesting. Setting aside the quests created by players courting disaster, the system quests allowed Ding Shi to fully experience rural life of that era.
Digging sweet potatoes before dinner, taking a stroll with the village chief after dinner to aid digestion—all of these were quests. It wasn't until nine in the evening that the village chief and Ding Shi returned home. The third day of life in Taoyuan Village was drawing to a close.
Ding Shi slipped out of the village chief's house, deftly scaled the wall into Cuihua's yard, and climbed the persimmon tree. Over at Grandma Wang's house, all the lights were blazing, but not a soul was in sight.
"Kid."
Ding Shi turned his head to see Blind Zhao standing outside the wall of Grandma Wang's house, looking up at him.
Ding Shi climbed down the tree, vaulted over the wall, and landed next to Blind Zhao. Grinning, he said, "Seeing as it's still early, I came over to take a look. Uncle Zhao, are you planning to catch her?"
Blind Zhao said, "Catch my foot! She's no longer something mortal strength can contend with. Unless an old fellow with profound Taoist cultivation steps in, nobody can take her down."
Ding Shi asked in puzzlement, "Then why did you come?"
Blind Zhao sighed. "In my youth, I divulged heaven's secrets, leaving me without heirs in this life. I'm hoping to earn some karmic merit so I won't be reborn into the animal realm after I die."
Ding Shi asked, "Karmic merit?"
Blind Zhao said, "Fulfilling Grandma Wang's lingering obsession earns karmic merit."
Ding Shi asked, "Has it been fulfilled?"
Blind Zhao shook his head. "Not at all."
Chapter 13