Chapter 102 | Cultivating Through a Game, Becoming Unstoppable

For a place that had so many people queuing in the middle of the night, this Thai restaurant was surprisingly good, exceeding Nan Zhi’s expectations.

The green papaya salad was deliciously sour and crisp—crunchy shredded green papaya paired with ripe tomatoes and the savory aroma of fish sauce, making for a truly stunning bite.

In such sultry weather, taking a bite was sour, chilled, and refreshing, with the tongue catching the fermented aroma unique to chili paste, instantly whetting the appetite.

As for the basil pork rice, Thai curry chicken rice, seafood platter, mango sticky rice, and basil lemongrass roasted chicken bites, topped off with a cup of coconut sago soup, it was brimming with Southeast Asian flavor.

Business at this shop was brisk; even as eleven o’clock rolled around, customers were still dining inside.

Outside the building, the weather was sweltering, while inside, the air conditioning blew pleasantly cool. With upbeat Southeast Asian tunes playing in the background, Nan Zhi managed to steal a moment of leisure amidst her busy life to rest.

Lately, during the day, she went to work, shuttling between skyscrapers and modern light rails and subways.

At night, she traveled in a carriage under the backdrop of endless, boundless night skies and stars, advancing through desolate mountains and untamed wilderness.

She almost wished she could split herself in two.

Fortunately, entering a meditative trance through cultivation could replace sleep and allow her to rest.

Otherwise, with the intensity of Nan Zhi’s late nights, she wouldn't even need to pursue cultivation—half a month more, and she might as well go straight to reunite with Qu Wan in the afterlife.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the two each cradled a coconut, sipping from it.

Somehow, the conversation drifted back to the little episode in the elevator earlier.

“A fire broke out seven years ago, but looking at it now, this building was restored quite well. There are basically no visible traces left.”

Nan Zhi took a sip of coconut water and surveyed her surroundings:

“It feels like nobody really minds. Besides, in today’s information explosion, everyone receives new updates every single day. Unless someone goes out of their way to search for it, few people would pay attention to a fire from seven years ago.”

“Seven years isn’t really that long ago, actually. The main thing is that post-disaster repairs on this skyscraper took two whole years, and it only resumed operations four years ago.”

Zhang Qiuyu held her phone, pointing it out to Nan Zhi:

“Look, see the exterior of this skyscraper? Originally it had forty floors, and these are the three new floors added on top. From an aerial view, it really looks like a cross. Also, there are quite a few ghost stories about this skyscraper on the local forum. Lots of people call this building—”

She lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard:

“‘The Qianli Ghost Building.’”

It was that famous?

Nan Zhi couldn’t help but glance at her.

She opened the local forum and typed the term “Qianli Ghost Building” into the search bar, and over ten thousand related entries popped up instantly.

【The Big Reveal on the “Qianli Ghost Building”! Dalong Exploration Takes You on a Nighttime Exploration of the Ghost Building! (Hot)】

【Shadows Lurking in the Ghost Building: 50 Ultra-HD Supernatural Photos (Hot)】

【Analysis by a Ten-Year Feng Shui Master: Why Were Three Extra Floors Added When Renovating the “Ghost Building”? Listen to My Breakdown...】

【Bizarre Fire in a Bustling District: Suspicion Surrounding the Skyscraper Fire Analyzed from a Metaphysical Perspective...】

【Accidents Happen Every Year in the Ghost Building. Fellow Netizens, Are “Substitute Ghosts” Truly Real in This World?】

【Detailed Internal Structure of the Ghost Building and Origin Point Analysis—Brothers, Come Take a Look!】

There were plenty of remarkable folks on the forum.

There were experts analyzing the cause of the fire from a professional standpoint, as well as insiders analyzing the skyscraper’s geographic location and feng shui from a metaphysical perspective.

Naturally, mixed in among them were many opportunistic grifters peddling Five Emperor coins and lightning-struck wood or hawking talismans to ensure safety.

As for the so-called supernatural photos, Nan Zhi clicked in to have a look as well.

In reality, they were just photos taken from the outside of the building after the fire had ended back then.

The photo resolution was quite blurry; all one could clearly see was the building’s exterior blackened by smoke and more than a dozen shattered glass windows that had blown out.

The original poster had specifically enlarged and circled an area on the photo that vaguely resembled a human face.

—In fact, in Nan Zhi’s eyes, there was nothing supernatural about this photo; that so-called “human face” pattern looked far more like a mark left behind by light reflecting off glass.

It was merely human imagination and a zeal for mystery that added a touch of the “supernatural” to an otherwise ordinary photograph.

“The posts also claim that accidents happen in this building every year because the spirits of those burned to death linger on with grievances... Hey, do you think what they were saying earlier could actually be true? Otherwise, why would a perfectly good skyscraper add three extra floors? And specifically shape it like a cross, too.”

Seeing that Nan Zhi hadn’t spoken for a while, Zhang Qiuyu nudged her with an elbow, looking a little frightened:

“It’s almost twelve o’clock now. How about we head out first? I don’t know if it’s just in my head, but I keep feeling a chill down my spine.”

“Even if ghosts really existed, wouldn’t suppressing a Great Xia ghost require talismans or a dragon head? Why use a cross?”

Nan Zhi slurped up the last bit of coconut water and said casually:

“You probably feel cold because the shop’s AC is cranked high. If you’re scared, let’s leave; it’s getting late anyway. By the way, remember to bring me the documents I need when we go to work the day after tomorrow.”

“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!”

“Woof woof!”

“Meow! Meoowwwwww!”

“Woof woof!”

“Meow meow meow!!”

The moment their words fell, an outbreak of wild barking and caterwauling erupted outside the shop without warning.

—These were not the playful yelps of pets being teased, but hysterical barking and screeching, as if they had encountered a stranger or suffered a severe fright.

The hallway was narrow, and the wild cries of cats and dogs echoed down the long corridor. Sound-activated lights flickered on and off, creating an inexplicably eerie atmosphere.

Whether it was psychological or merely an illusion, Nan Zhi seemed to catch a faint, subtle burnt smell.

It smelled like something singed, or like the dusty scent left behind after burning crop straw in rural fields.

She twitched her nose.

“Sorry, so sorry about that!”

The shopkeeper hurriedly ran out and apologized loudly to the customers:

“Don’t be alarmed, everyone! It’s the dogs and cats from the pet cafe next door. Her pets are usually very well-behaved. I don’t know what’s gotten into them these past few nights, but as soon as this hour hits, her dogs and cats start crying out wildly. It’ll stop in a moment, though.”

Just as the boss finished speaking, as if in response to his words, the hand on the wall clock swept past eleven-forty, and the screeching and barking came to an abrupt halt.

Cats and dogs alike all fell dead silent simultaneously.

The uniformity of it was distinctly eerie.

The burnt smell Nan Zhi had caught also vanished without a trace.

Just now, the atmosphere in the building had felt off.

She had vaguely sensed that something was wandering through the building.

Yet just as she was on the verge of grasping that faint intuition, that thing disappeared again.

Could it be that the legend of the “Ghost Building” wasn’t entirely fabricated after all?

Nan Zhi lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable.

...

Even though the animals had stopped howling, the mood of many diners had been ruined, and they got up to leave one after another, grumbling as they went.

The restaurant owner could only offer apologetic smiles and repeat his apologies.

“Boss, have the pets next door been acting like this every day lately? Starting to howl as soon as this hour arrives?”

Nan Zhi deliberately lingered behind, asking casually as if making idle conversation:

“And it stops after ten minutes—how strange. Are the animals in heat?”

“Tell me about it. Doing business these days is really tough.”

The owner was a young man, and upon hearing this, he couldn’t resist venting to Nan Zhi:

“Actually, it’s not just the shop next door. For the past half month, every single day at eleven-thirty, any place in this building with cats or dogs is guaranteed to start making a ruckus, crying non-stop. The first time or two, I was terrified it might be a sign of an impending earthquake. But every time the animals start acting up, they only make noise for about ten minutes before stopping, so I stopped paying much attention to it.”

Nan Zhi smiled and chimed in, “That precise? No way, you make it sound like a ghost story.”

“Why would I lie to you? In February and June this year, the fire alarm was triggered twice in this building, and something went wrong every time. Both incidents happened just after eleven, close to midnight. We tenants have to organize fire drills three or four times a month alone—we’re just terrified of something happening!”

Seeing that Nan Zhi seemed skeptical, the owner couldn’t help adding a few more words:

“Everyone says there’s something wrong with this building... Over time, we tenants get scared too. But what can we do? The rent here is cheaper than anywhere else.”