The Ghost and the Mud Pit

Logically speaking, Yuan Anqing had already transmigrated, so he should no longer be startled by illogical occurrences. Yet, this world already teemed with countless bizarre species; how could there still be ghosts?

The ghost on the bridge vanished instantly after seeing Zhuo’s true form, yet Zhuo showed no sign of reverting to his own.

“Why are there ghosts in this world?” Yuan Anqing simply could not comprehend it.

Zhuo pondered for a moment, then replied, “Humans die.”

“People died in the world I came from too, but I never saw a ghost,” Yuan Anqing said, still processing the situation.

Zhuo then asked him, “Did you ever see demi-humans in that world?”

Yuan Anqing fell silent.

“Your world didn’t have me either, did it?” Zhuo added.

Yuan Anqing took a deep breath, then let out a heavy sigh. “I was just too agitated.”

This world could not be judged by the conventional logic he was accustomed to.

Before he could fully recover his composure, he felt a massive, soft ‘pillar’ poke him. It was Zhuo’s finger.

One of Zhuo’s knuckles was currently larger than Yuan Anqing’s entire head, yet Zhuo poked him very gently.

“You got scared!” Zhuo exclaimed delightedly. “You’re afraid of ghosts!”

Yuan Anqing’s eyes had widened, and Zhuo found Yuan Anqing in this state utterly fascinating.

“I’m not afraid of ghosts,” Yuan Anqing said, reaching out and pushing Zhuo’s finger away. “I simply didn’t realize this world had—”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Zhuo’s exclamations interrupted Yuan Anqing, startling him.

Zhuo extended his head towards Yuan Anqing, and just as his muzzle was about to touch him, Yuan Anqing reached out to stop him.

In terms of sheer strength, Yuan Anqing was no match for Zhuo, yet Zhuo stopped the very instant Yuan Anqing’s hand touched him.

Zhuo widened his pitch-black eyes. “Woah!!”

‘This sensation is so peculiar!’

Zhuo rarely revealed this form, and his previous intimate contact with humanoid creatures had always involved devouring inferior Differentiated Beings.

Now, Yuan Anqing’s hand felt absurdly small compared to Zhuo’s massive body. The hand was cool to the touch, and Zhuo absolutely loved it!

“Touch the top of my head again,” Zhuo rumbled, lowering his head and carefully cupping Yuan Anqing in his hand.

Yuan Anqing then slapped him on the skull. “Change back.”

He finally understood Zhuo’s intent.

Back when he was at the orphanage, the children there once caught a hedgehog in the corner of the courtyard wall. Knowing hedgehogs weren’t particularly hygienic, Yuan Anqing hadn’t participated in their activities.

The children cared for the hedgehog for a while. One day, as Yuan Anqing passed by, he heard them suddenly shriek excitedly, realizing the hedgehog’s claws had rested on one of their fingers.

Zhuo now resembled those children in his excitement, but Yuan Anqing did not fancy being treated as a ‘pet.’

Zhuo placed Yuan Anqing beside the riverbank, then slowly reverted to his human form himself.

“You actually hit me,” Zhuo said, rubbing the top of his head. He wasn’t angry, as it hadn’t hurt.

He was simply amazed that Yuan Anqing had actually laid a hand on him.

After all, considering the fact that Zhuo would be living with him long-term, Yuan Anqing had often given in to him previously.

Yuan Anqing also felt a jolt of surprise. He glanced at his palm, then at the top of Zhuo’s head.

However, Yuan Anqing couldn’t dwell on it for long, as there was a more pressing matter to address at that very moment. “Where are your clothes?”

“They’re ruined,” Zhuo replied, standing brazenly before Yuan Anqing with his calves still wet. “No clothes could stretch that much, you know.”

“If you go back to the hotel like that, the front desk will think you’re a pervert,” Yuan Anqing said, rubbing his forehead. It was summer, and he had no spare clothes to offer Zhuo.

“We could just steal someone else’s clothes,” Zhuo suggested, not seeing this as a problem.

“It’s late at night now; who would have clothes drying outside?” Yuan Anqing retorted. Most people in the town hung their laundry in open areas, but they had to bring their clothes in by dusk.

After all, no one knew if it might suddenly rain at night.

“Then what do we do?” Zhuo finally realized something was amiss. He quickly covered his private parts. “They’ll stare at me.”

“Do you remember that set of clothes we saw when we detoured into the fields earlier?” Yuan Anqing asked him.

“Which—” Before he could finish speaking, Zhuo understood. “No! Absolutely not!”

The clothes in the fields belonged to a scarecrow meant to ward off birds. They were likely old garments from the field owner, with both the shirt and pants riddled with holes.

“Then you’ll just have to go back naked,” Yuan Anqing shrugged.

****

The young woman at the hotel’s front desk was chatting on her phone. Hearing footsteps, she instinctively looked up, only to be so startled by the giant mud-covered figure entering the lobby that she dropped her phone. “What in the world is that?!”

“My apologies,” Yuan Anqing said, who followed close behind, offering the young woman an apologetic smile. “My friend isn’t familiar with the path and fell into a mud pit.”

“Oh, Mr. Yuan,” the young woman said, clearly recognizing Yuan Anqing. After greeting him, she looked at Zhuo. “Mr. Zhuo?”

Zhuo didn’t respond, merely continuing to walk forward silently.

“My apologies, my apologies. I’ll clean this place up for you both later,” Yuan Anqing said helplessly. “He’s in a bad mood after falling in the mud pit.”

“No need, uh, you two just rest up,” the young woman said, a little bewildered as she scratched her head. “It’s certainly been quite eventful today, hasn’t it?”

She could no longer discern the original color of Zhuo’s clothes, and several large tears had appeared in them.

“Indeed, we’ve encountered quite a lot,” Yuan Anqing replied, then, without further pleasantries with the young woman, he followed Zhuo back to their room.

Upon entering the room, Zhuo stood motionless, requiring Yuan Anqing, who followed him in, to close the door.

“You made me wear these tattered clothes,” Zhuo complained, tugging at the fabric on his body. He was still wearing the scarecrow’s shirt and pants, which, though originally loose, now fit his frame incredibly tightly.

To prevent the clothes from tearing completely apart, Yuan Anqing had even ripped some slits into them for him. “And you made me roll in the mud!”

Yuan Anqing worried someone would recognize the outfit; it was better safe than sorry. Moreover, Zhuo hadn’t worn these when they left, so what would it look like if he returned in different clothes?

Since the clothes were already ruined, he reasoned, making them even dirtier, ideally beyond recognition, was the best approach.

“I hate you!” Zhuo didn’t dare to yell loudly, aware that the room’s soundproofing wasn’t very good.

Yuan Anqing, who had grown accustomed to Zhuo’s declarations of dislike countless times by now, soothed him. “Just take a shower first; you’ll feel much better once you’ve washed up and changed.”

“I won’t wash!” Zhuo retorted, pointing at his body. “I demand you look at it! It’s the one that ruined its clothes to save you, and yet you treat it like this!”

Yuan Anqing looked at Zhuo’s body as requested. It had to be said, Zhuo’s physique was truly superb.

The impact of it was even more striking with the clothes stretched so tightly.

At this moment, the best way to respond would have been to tell Zhuo that he had no intention of making him feel wronged, given that Zhuo couldn’t truly enter the hotel stark naked.

In truth, Zhuo would listen to reason; he was angry, yes, but he just needed an excuse to back down.

Yet this time, the usually mature Yuan Anqing did not provide a suitable path for retreat. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he quite solemnly placed his hand on Zhuo’s abdomen.

Then, he addressed Zhuo’s body with an apology: “My sincerest apologies; I’ve made you suffer.”

Zhuo: ‘…’

He quickly retreated, darting into the bathroom.

Yuan Anqing watched Zhuo close the door, believing he had discovered a new way to solve problems, and a much more effective one at that.

Inside the bathroom, Zhuo still hadn’t turned on the shower.

A dozen seconds later, the bathroom door opened again, and Zhuo peered out. “You come in too.”

“Hm?” Yuan Anqing was a little perplexed.

“It’s not safe for you to be out of my sight right now,” Zhuo explained. He didn’t actually want to be cramped together with Yuan Anqing, but with ghosts appearing, the situation had become quite complex.

Yuan Anqing understood. He walked into the bathroom, where he and Zhuo stared at each other.

“Can you cover your eyes?” Zhuo asked him. Yuan Anqing’s calm gaze made him a little nervous; Zhuo felt as if Yuan Anqing was about to inspect his cleaning work.

“I’ll just turn around,” Yuan Anqing conceded, also finding the situation strange. “Just don’t get any water on me.”

“I won’t,” Zhuo said, utterly confident in his control.

Yuan Anqing heard the rustle of clothes being removed behind him, followed by the sound of water hitting skin.

It was a little odd, but Yuan Anqing accepted it fairly well.

“Why did you hit me earlier?” Zhuo suddenly asked from under the shower.

“I wasn’t hitting you,” Yuan Anqing replied.

“You slapped my head.”

“Did it hurt, then?”

“Of course not.”

“There you go,” Yuan Anqing said. He couldn’t quite articulate his reasons, as it was somewhat against his usual conduct, but he couldn’t let Zhuo dwell on it. So, he countered, “Then why did you poke me?”

“Because I like poking,” Zhuo said quite directly. “And your hand on my finger and mouth felt really comfortable.”

“Even though you hit me, I don’t dislike you hitting me, you know,” Zhuo continued, still considering it a beating. “But I don’t like rolling in the mud.”

“But you still rolled.”

Zhuo fell silent.

Only the sound of water remained in the bathroom.

After a while, the water stopped, and Zhuo began squeezing shower gel. “Are you bored just standing there?”

“Not really; I’m using the opportunity to ponder what exactly ghosts are,” Yuan Anqing responded.

“Eh?! You’re so boring! I thought you were secretly planning to turn around and look at me,” Zhuo said, sounding a little disappointed.

“What’s there to see?” Yuan Anqing asked, perplexed.

Zhuo held no secrets from him now; after all, they slept wrapped tightly together every night. Yuan Anqing was intimately familiar with Zhuo’s exact physique.

Besides, Zhuo had been naked earlier when he transformed into human form.

“Of course there’s something to see; I’m a monster that incites desire!” Zhuo protested loudly. “Don’t you want to sneak a peek through the reflection? You must have looked! Even just once!”

Yuan Anqing sighed helplessly. “Zhuo.”

“What?”

“I’m wearing glasses.”

Zhuo understood. “So you can see even clearer?”

Yuan Anqing shook his head. “From the moment you turned on the hot water, all I’ve seen is a blurry white.” His lenses had long since fogged up.