“With resentment as sustenance…”
The incantation was completed, and the incense in Shi Pengpeng’s hand spontaneously ignited without a flame, emitting a faint sandalwood fragrance.
The white smoke drifted upwards, intertwining with ominous gray mists.
After a moment, the white smoke seemed to be guided by an invisible force, slowly drifting in one direction.
“Let’s go,” Shi Pengpeng gestured to Yan Jing and led him to follow the faint trail formed by the white smoke.
Fortunately, the garage was empty at the moment, otherwise, it would have been hard to explain.
Soon, they reached the elevator.
Yan Jing, his mind tense, hesitated and said, “This incense is quite modern, even uses an elevator.”
“Emm—” Shi Pengpeng glanced at him.
“It’s probably because the thing it’s tracking often uses the elevator.”
Yan Jing swallowed nervously.
“There really are spirits?”
Shi Pengpeng stared at the elevator that kept ascending without anyone pressing a button, seemingly lost in thought.
“Looks like it.”
Eventually, the elevator stopped at 17A.
Superstitious people believe that the 18th floor, with its connection to the number of hell, has a bad omen, so some developers, in line with this belief, use 17A instead of the 18th floor.
The elevator door opened automatically to reveal a narrow, empty hallway.
No one seemed to be waiting to go downstairs.
Yan Jing’s face grew paler, and he subtly moved a bit closer to Shi Pengpeng.
They stepped out of the elevator.
This floor housed some office spaces.
Although it was the weekend, a few office lights were still on.
Shi Pengpeng glanced at one of them and noticed it was an advertising agency, which didn’t seem surprising.
Fortunately, the smoke trail didn’t lead towards the offices but instead moved down the hallway, slowly heading toward the dim corner at the end.
Eventually, they arrived at the men’s restroom door.
The restroom door was dark and closed tightly, and the stillness made even their heartbeats seem louder.
Yan Jing swallowed and hesitated.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go in…”
“Shh—” Shi Pengpeng pressed a finger to her lips to silence him.
After a moment, she turned and grasped his suit sleeve.
Yan Jing froze, his heartbeat momentarily stopping.
She whispered, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Yan Jing: !
His heartbeat instantly resumed, and feeling embarrassed, he lifted his chin in defiance, muttering, “I’m not afraid…”
At that moment, with a faint creak, Shi Pengpeng pushed the restroom door open.
The restroom was designed in a style typical of the 1990s—square and stark.
Inside, it was empty except for a man in a shirt standing at the window with a cigarette butt in hand, seemingly a worker who had come here to sneak a smoke.
Hearing the noise behind him, the man turned around slowly and glanced at them.
The restroom lights were bright and illuminated his face clearly.
Yan Jing’s heart skipped a beat.
The man’s entire body was a pale, cement-gray color, with black and purple veins protruding, snaking from his collar and up to his face, splitting his features into a grotesque web.
Beneath his eyes, huge bags hung, and his eyes were dark, devoid of any human warmth.
He was clearly a vengeful spirit that fed on resentment.
Yan Jing’s blood almost turned cold, and almost reflexively, he grabbed Shi Pengpeng’s hand.
Shi Pengpeng, unperturbed by the vengeful spirit, was startled by his sudden grasp.
She turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes: Weren’t you not afraid?
Yan Jing looked away, his voice trembling as he muttered, “I’m afraid for you.”
Shi Pengpeng: …
Well, if humanity were to be wiped out years from now, at least this guy’s mouth would still be around for future generations to study.
The vengeful spirit, seemingly puzzled by the presence of a woman, shifted its black eyes toward their hands, which were clasped together.
Its lips curled in disgust.
“Damn, you two came to the men’s restroom for some action on a weekend? Doesn’t the smell bother you?”
Shi Pengpeng and Yan Jing: …
“There’s a hotel upstairs, but you won’t even spring for a room? What’s wrong with you! Such bad luck!”
The vengeful spirit muttered as it walked toward the door, clearly repulsed by the sight.
As it came closer, Yan Jing’s grip on Shi Pengpeng’s hand tightened.
“Hey, can you ease up?”
Shi Pengpeng had to remind him, “I’m a living person too. It hurts.”
She then turned her gaze back to the spirit and said coldly, “We’re not here for that.”
“Sure, I’m sure,” the vengeful spirit scoffed, rolling its eyes to reveal only a sliver of white.
The next moment, the spirit froze, its eyes wide in shock.
“You can see me!”
Shi Pengpeng had already thrown down an incense stick and retrieved a yellow talisman.
Her tone was more commanding now: “Do you have anything else to say?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the vengeful spirit lunged forward suddenly.
Its movement was so sudden that Yan Jing was startled and quickly took a step back.
However, Shi Pengpeng wasn’t fazed.
Her eyes narrowed, and she was about to cast a spell.
Then, to their shock, the vengeful spirit knelt before her with a loud thud.
Tears and snot dripped from its face as it begged, “Please, beautiful lady, help me. Get someone to perform a ritual for me. I can’t take it anymore. The resentment here is so heavy, if I keep absorbing it, I’ll go mad…”
Shi Pengpeng:?
Yan Jing:???
The plot development was completely unexpected.
Not only Yan Jing but even Shi Pengpeng was taken aback.
However, seeing that the vengeful spirit clearly didn’t have any intention of attacking, she slowly put away the yellow talisman and led the spirit into the stairwell to ask questions.
The vengeful spirit introduced itself as She Manting, a regular worker who used to work nearby.
A year ago, the company held its annual meeting at the Lujin Building Hotel.
At the event, She Manting was heavily drunk after being pressured by his coworkers.
In the middle of the night, he accidentally choked on his own vomit and tragically died in the hotel room.
She Manting died unfairly, and with his resentment unresolved, his soul could not move on, causing him to become trapped in the Lujin Building, wandering endlessly.
Initially, this wasn’t a big deal.
He had been upset for a while but assumed that with time, he would eventually let go and could break free of the building’s hold.
However, the Lujin Building was permeated with an overwhelming amount of resentment.
She Manting, unable to rest in peace, was constantly disturbed by this negative energy.
Not only did his own resentment remain unresolved, but he also began to absorb large amounts of this malicious energy.
Slowly, he transformed into a terrifying vengeful spirit.
“Waahhh—I’m just an ordinary ghost, I really can’t bear all this resentment. I want to be reborn…”
She Manting cried loudly, his blood vessels bulging even more, looking like they might burst.
The scene was grotesque, but strangely, it evoked no fear.
Instead, there was a sense of absurdity.
At this point, Shi Pengpeng had already found a news article on her phone from a year ago confirming the accidental death at the Lujin Building.
It had even sparked discussions about the responsibility for such incidents.
However, with so much information circulating these days, the news quickly faded and was forgotten.
Shi Pengpeng clicked her tongue, saying, “Drinking culture is really harmful.”
“Not just harmful,” She Manting pounded his chest, “It harms ghosts too.”
Yan Jing, standing behind Shi Pengpeng, looked over her shoulder at She Manting, asking with some confusion, “Isn’t all this resentment caused by you?”
“Wow, don’t say nonsense. How could I have such power?” She Manting cried out in protest.
“You probably don’t understand how heavy the resentment here is. Do you know how much resentment is here? Enough to create a whole batch of ghosts like me…”
Yan Jing: …
“He’s right,” Shi Pengpeng said, having already assessed the situation.
“She Manting is indeed a vengeful spirit, but he wasn’t a bad person. He never intended to harm others. Instead, because he absorbed too much resentment, his willpower clashed with it.
The resentment built up inside him but couldn’t be processed, which led to him becoming what he is now.”
However, if this situation continued, he would eventually be consumed by the resentment and become a truly malicious spirit.
“Don’t worry, I’ll perform a ritual to help you soon and remove the resentment,” Shi Pengpeng reassured.
“That’s great, thank you so much!”
She Manting cried in gratitude.
“I’m so glad I met you!”
“But,” Shi Pengpeng still had questions, “Why is there so much resentment here?”
“Why else?”
She Manting rolled his eyes.
“It’s all the resentment of the workers!”
Shi Pengpeng: … Huh?
She Manting began ranting, “You should know the situation these days. Work keeps getting more competitive, and workers are doing overtime every day, with wages getting lower and lower.
We constantly get yelled at by bosses and clients. Take me for example—I’m already exhausted from work, and then at the annual meeting, they force me to drink. How can that not build resentment?”
The more he talked, the more agitated he became.
In the end, he snorted, grumbling, “If you ask me, I’m nothing compared to those greedy capitalists. They’re the real evil spirits who devour people whole…”
Although Shi Pengpeng had only been working for half a year, the relentless pressure of society had already worn her down.
She nodded vigorously, “You’re right, brother!”
Yan Jing silently glanced at her, wanting to say something but holding back.
At this point, they finally understood the truth behind the strange happenings in the Lujin Building.
The Lujin Building had good feng shui, but it couldn’t withstand the overwhelming resentment of the workers.
The building was old, and the companies operating in it were numerous, constantly absorbing the negative energy of thousands of people.
Especially in the last decade, with the rise of the internet economy, businesses became more competitive, and workers were working longer hours, even sometimes pulling all-nighters at the office.
Nighttime was already the prime time for spirits to be active, and under these conditions, the resentment grew exponentially.
This CBD area became a gathering place for negative energy.
Over time, no matter how good the feng shui, it couldn’t bear the weight of it, leading to the situation they were dealing with now.
This stifling atmosphere not only affected the mental and physical health of the living but also made it easy for malicious spirits to thrive.
As for She Manting, he was just an ordinary soul, but after being exposed to the Lujin Building’s energy for a year, he had turned into a vengeful spirit.
To avoid becoming more depressed, She Manting usually avoided the workers and would often hide in the bathroom to smoke and relieve some of his emotions—using discarded cigarette butts he found.
Shi Pengpeng sighed, “The resentment of workers really is heavier than that of vengeful spirits.”
She Manting sighed, “I’m not exaggerating. I think it could resurrect ten evil sword immortals.”
Yan Jing: …