Every Lifetime I Fall {COMPLETED but undergoing revisions}

Chapter 89: The Underworld - Banking

Just what are my dreams?

Just what am I going to do in a lifetime without running into Yang Zi Huo?

Wonderful, wonderful things!

Travel the world, eat exotic foods, read all kinds of literature, befriend all kinds of people, and get rich!

I already have a plan. If only I wasn't born a poor village orphan and stupidly followed Yang Zi Huo to my death, I would have built my own following of devoted martial artists. But now I'm tired of that life. Sick of the fighting all the time for honor or revenge. Can't they get over themselves for once?

Also it's too much work. I don't want a life tied down to huge responsibilities. I want to be free. Free as the wind!

One matter I must solve concerns Gao Yi Fei. Once I get her back to her body, I won't have any more affiliations with Yang Zi Huo or should I say Kong Shuguang. I don't even think Yang Zi Huo remembers Gao Yi Fei. After all, he couldn't even remember me...

"Grandma, I'm back." I enter a popular restaurant with souls eating and talking amongst each other.

Grandma is standing behind the counter, counting her ghost money as patrons pay their tab and leave. "Ah, you're back already?!"

She places the ghost money in a box and locks it in the drawer before approaching me. She grabs my arm and twirls me around, looking for anything unnatural about my appearance.

"Grandma, I'm fine."

"What happened? You went back to earth not too long ago, and now you've already come back?" She places her hands on her hips.

"I just... "

"Forget it! Forget it! Now that you're back, don't go back and run the restaurant here with me. Settle down with a nice man."

"Grandma, you're doing well with the help you have here. Besides I'm not interested in going back right now. I'm too disappointed in myself to live another depressing lifetime."

"So something did happen." Grandma's eyebrows raises questioningly.

I sigh, "Don't worry about it. I'm going to find Gao Yi Fei."

Walking away from Grandma, I ignored her calls and went looking for Gao Yi Fei. Through the corridor to the back courtyard, I find a dense Yi Fei swirling dirty plates in a tub of water.

Over my shoulders, I yell, "Grandma! How can you put her to work?"

She answers, "Hey! Since you left her here with me, she should at least make herself useful."

I pull Gao Yi Fei away from the pile of dirty dishes. She stares at me with emptiness in her eyes.

"Gao Yi Fei, you don't have to do something if you don't want to."

She doesn't respond.

"Sorry, I left you. I was eager to go back because it had been so long. I guess it was all for nothing." I let go of her arm, and she stood still.

"Anyway, I haven't forgotten about taking you back to Invigorating Essence Sect. You would not believe the mess Jianghu is in right now. Go sit. I'll do this. I'm going to be here for awhile, might as well become Grandma's servant."

Months passes by in the ghostly restaurant that mimicks the liveliness of a restaurant in capital city. I'm glad to be spending more time with Grandma and talking with a silent Yi Fei was somewhat cathartic. I never know if she is truly listening.

Closing for day, I begin to wipe tables with a wet rag. I remember doing something similar to this in purgatory. I've become an efficient cleaner.

"Grandma, when I went to purgatory how did you decide to start up this business?" I ask. Grandma is behind the counter, counting her money once again. Has she become obsessed with money?!

Setting down the money with a guilt ridden expression, she confesses, "I guess I should have told you earlier. But I used a bit of money from your account to start this restaurant."

"Well, that's fine. I told you to use my money like it's yours, you don't have to feel bad."

Living in the Underworld isn't terrible, but we don't have the luxury of most things as we would on earth. Only offered food can give us taste, only offered clothing from the living could appear in our world, and even though souls could get married, they would not be blessed with children.

Souls can become destitute if people don't send them ghost money. If souls also stay too long here, the world of the living will begin to forget them, and they won't have a reliable source of income. I allow grandma unlimited access to my account so she would be stable. Then again, I think the restaurant keeps her busy and she likes making friends with her patrons.

"But who is it that keeps sending you ghost money?" She asks.

I tilt my head and cease my wiping. "I'm not sure. Maybe my family?"

"I see... They must have really cherished you. Every day they keep burning ghost money. So much of it!"

"Really? It seems out of character for them to burn ghost money everyday, but they did treat me well... for the most part."

Except for that time when they offered me to be a demon's meal!

Grandma walked over and waved for me to lean in. She quietly whispered, "Xin ah, don't tell anyone this. Be discreet. You never know who will make you a target."

I nod, confused by her warning.

"When you went to purgatory, I was heartbroken and decided to open up this restaurant to keep the bad thoughts away. At that time, your account started receiving various amounts of ghost money everyday. Now, it has accumulated over one hundred million!"

"Grandma... "

"W- Why? Are you angry I used your money?"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

Loudly smacking the rag onto the table, I make my way out the doors.

"Where are you going?!" Grandma yells.

With that much ghost money sitting in my account, where else could I have gone?

The Black Market.

To buy a buffer that can reverse the effects of Old Lady Meng's Tea.