ACIFITFDB – Chapter 8

“Tangyuan, you stay at home.” Qin Xian stood outside the door, glancing at the dog wagging its tail at him in the living room.

It was only half an hour before 2 PM. He had opened the door intending to leave directly.

But he heard the sound of claws gently scratching the floor from behind him. He turned around to see Tangyuan had squeezed back in from the balcony.

Qin Xian called its name, but the dog still didn’t wag its tail.

“Tsk, are you a lone wolf or something?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Tangyuan took a few more steps forward, half of its body sticking out of the doorway to look at Qin Xian.

Without a word, Qin Xian placed his foot against the doorway and unceremoniously pushed the dog back inside.

“Get in.”

With that, he locked the door just as the black dog’s snout was about to poke out.

The inside of the door was quiet for a moment, then the sound of the dog walking away could be heard. Only then did Qin Xian head downstairs.

McDonald’s wasn’t far from here; it would take ten minutes to get there. It was 2 PM, and there weren’t many customers in the restaurant. When he pushed the door open, there was only one customer inside.

Qin Xian froze, and the only customer also froze.

It was an acquaintance, the bespectacled man who sat next to him at the company. The one who had asked yesterday if he had low blood sugar and advised him not to act impulsively.

Qin Xian pushed the door and walked into the restaurant. The bespectacled man immediately greeted him, “Hello, Qin Xian! You’re here for McDonald’s too?”

The bespectacled man looked at Qin Xian with a strange mix of fear and reserve.

Qin Xian replied with a “Mm,” pulled out the chair opposite him, and sat down directly.

The bespectacled man blinked. “Ah, I, I’m waiting for someone. Excuse me…”

Qin Xian cut to the chase. “I’m the ‘Q’ from the forum.”

The bespectacled man stared for a moment, then exclaimed, “Huh!?”

“No way, you’re Q? When did you become a con artist scamming people?”

Qin Xian had anticipated his reaction and calmly said, “I don’t want to waste words with you. Looking at your dark circles, you must have been forcibly drawn into a dream by a grotesque being.”

“Ah… what grotesque being? A ghost? I did have nightmares… You didn’t find out from my social media, did you?”

Qin Xian’s expression was cold. “Yesterday, you tried to stop me when I was killing General Manager Zhao.”

What?! You killed General Manager Zhao??

The bespectacled man was so startled he almost screamed, but the suppressed memories poured out like a flood.

He finally recalled the terrifying scene from yesterday afternoon. At the same time, he remembered Qin Xian’s expressionless face as he severed the boss’s neck.

He shot up from his seat and retreated two steps, fearfully asking, “You, you, you really killed General Manager Zhao?? No, General Manager Zhao wasn’t human? You killed a monster? So… you’re a Heavenly Master hidden in human society, killing ghosts? Working as an office drone by day and fighting ghosts in Taoist robes by night??”

Qin Xian: “…”

Qin Xian: “I’m not that chuunibyou, but I can indeed deal with those monsters… for a fee. The thing you encountered is the culprit that killed General Manager Zhao. If it’s not dealt with, your fate will be the same as his.”

The bespectacled man thought of General Manager Zhao’s horrifying death. The real and bizarre experience sent a chill down his spine, and he immediately became anxious. “Brother Qin, no, Master! Save me!”

His shout made the two service staff behind the counter look up, their expressions full of suspicion.

Qin Xian sighed and said, “Let’s talk outside. By the way, what was your name again?”

The bespectacled man blinked again. “No way! We’ve sat together for a year! Didn’t we go eat mala tang together just a few days ago?”

He suddenly stopped, looked Qin Xian up and down, and asked hesitantly, “Are, are you still Qin Xian? I feel like you’re completely different from a few days ago… You didn’t get possessed, did you?”

Qin Xian sighed and said, “Read fewer novels. I’ve always been a loner. And you were the one who dragged me to eat mala tang.”

Qin Xian had long forgotten the trivial matters of interacting with this colleague, but he knew what kind of person he used to be. Actively going to eat mala tang with someone was something he would absolutely never do.

The bespectacled man scratched his head. “…Okay, true. But it’s still a bit sad that you don’t remember me.”

Qin Xian stood up directly. “I’m leaving. You find someone else.”

The bespectacled man immediately begged, “I was wrong! Brother, I was wrong! My name is Lin Qizhi! Brother Qin, you’re my real brother, please help me!”

Qin Xian said coldly, “You, go to the supermarket and buy a tent. Bring a quilt. We’ll meet at Bianjiang Park tonight.”

“Huh?”

“This place is too messy, too many people around. I don’t want anyone else to get involved.”

“Oh, okay, Brother!”

Lin Qizhi lived in an apartment building near the company, a densely populated area. It was estimated that those who had been close to Lin Qizhi these past few nights hadn’t slept well.

That grotesque being would try to expand its influence, first affecting General Manager Zhao, then the company employees, and then the people around the employees. As the number of affected individuals increased, its power would grow stronger, even forming a domain and controlling a large area.

But fortunately, it was still a weak entity now. Last time, his thoughts were too chaotic, and it escaped. This time, it was time to end it completely.

That night, Lin Qizhi arrived at the park early with camping gear and set up a barbecue grill in a suitable spot.

Qin Xian arrived empty-handed and was speechless.

“Did you think we were actually here to camp?”

Lin Qizhi scratched his head sheepishly. “Uh, I thought… before the battle, I needed to replenish my energy…”

Qin Xian sighed.

Lin Qizhi chuckled and started barbecuing.

Qin Xian checked the time on his phone and looked around.

He hadn’t expected it to be almost 9:30 PM, and there were still many people strolling in the park. Fortunately, there was no one else setting up a tent in the park like them.

“Forget it, since you brought it, let’s eat. We have to wait until there are no people around before we start, to avoid getting others involved.”

“Involved?” Lin Qizhi asked.

Qin Xian sat on a small stool and explained, “This thing is very weak. It only has the ability to draw people into dreams or illusions. If you get close, you’ll be affected, so I specifically chose a less crowded place. We’ll have to enter a sleep state to find it.”

Lin Qizhi suddenly became curious. “Is this thing a ghost? So ghosts really exist in this world…”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask. If you want to die, keep asking,” Qin Xian stared directly into Lin Qizhi’s eyes.

Lin Qizhi shivered. Fear finally overcame curiosity.

After that, he diligently grilled the food and respectfully handed it to Qin Xian, portion by portion. After eating their fill, Lin Qizhi crawled into the tent and lay down, while Qin Xian sat right beside him.

Lin Qizhi, pulling the quilt, poked his head out and asked, “Brother Qin, aren’t you going to lie down?”

Qin Xian bent one leg, casually resting his arm on it, and replied, “No need, I can sleep like this.”

Lin Qizhi looked at him and gave him a thumbs-up. “Brother Qin, you’re so cool.”

Qin Xian pulled at the corner of his mouth with a forced smile. “Sleep.”

Lin Qizhi immediately straightened up and lay down, pulling the quilt up to his nose, leaving only his eyes peeking out as he looked at Qin Xian with admiration. Qin Xian’s previous impression of him was handsome but somewhat gloomy and reclusive, not very social. But now, Qin Xian’s aura was one of mystery, aloofness, power, and of course, beauty.

Was Qin Xian like this in private? So… cool!

Most of his unease had dissipated. With someone so powerful helping him, there shouldn’t be any major problems…

Lin Qizhi took one last quiet look at Qin Xian. Qin Xian was already sitting there with his eyes closed.

He also yawned, and before long, he had fallen asleep.

————

When Qin Xian opened his eyes, he thought he had returned to yesterday.

The familiar office, the familiar computer, the familiar 99+ WeChat notifications.

Qin Xian kicked his chair, and the screech of the chair against the floor attracted the attention of those around him.

He stood up from his chair, ignoring the scrutinizing gazes from his colleagues, and pointed at the empty seat next to him, asking, “Where’s Lin Qizhi?”

The people around exchanged glances. One person weakly replied, “You mean General Manager Lin? He, he went somewhere for some reason?”

“General Manager Lin?” Qin Xian raised an eyebrow.

The other person replied, “Yes, he just got promoted. He’s quite arrogant now, you should be careful.”

Qin Xian sneered.

As expected of a dream, he’s even a general manager in his dream.

He crossed his arms and looked around, shouting, “Lin Qizhi, where are you? Come out!”

The other people in the office immediately looked at Qin Xian with terrified eyes.

A few seconds later, a “thump, thump” sound came from the doorway. The entire office trembled as if something massive was stomping around.

Then, from the small office door, a strong, muscular man emerged like a balloon, his rigid black-rimmed glasses indicating his identity.

It seemed that in his dream, he had projected all his daily fantasies onto himself.

Lin Qizhi directly roared, “Who is it! So rude! You have to call me General Manager Lin now, do you know who General Manager Lin is!?”

He looked at Qin Xian and angrily said, “It’s you, kid, right? Making noise during work hours, kicking office property, and yelling at people disrespectfully. What, you want to reform the workplace!?”

Qin Xian gave him a direct eye-roll.

Lin Qizhi was furious. His current physique looked three times larger than Qin Xian’s, and his courage had inflated countless times.

“Looks like you won’t learn workplace etiquette unless I teach you a lesson!!” he roared, directly raising his muscular right arm, clenching his fist, and swinging it towards Qin Xian’s head!

But the next second, Qin Xian nimbly squatted down, dodging the attack. Then, he powerfully straightened his bent leg, clenched his right fist, and delivered an “uppercut” directly to Lin Qizhi’s jaw!

“Awooo!” Lin Qizhi let out a pained howl and crashed to the ground behind him.

Qin Xian rubbed his fist and looked down at him with a cold smile, saying, “How was it? Does the righteous iron fist of workplace reform taste good? Want another serving?”

Author’s note:

———————-

Forgot to mention, I enabled comment sections a few days ago. I just realized I hadn’t enabled them! Welcome to comment! [Heart]

Also, a rant: I commissioned art of the character taking off his clothes, but I can’t post it on any platform. Annoying! I guess I’ll just have to look at it myself… [Dog emoji], it’s really well drawn [Red heart][Red heart][Red heart]