Everyone's Suppressing Ghosts: Others Contract Divine Weapons, I Contract Blank Paper

The door was right behind Zhou Cheng.

The black wooden door was damp and cold, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

Water was still dripping from the handprint on the door.

a drop.

a drop.

It landed on the floor of the stairwell without making a sound.

Zhou Cheng froze on the spot, the color draining from his face bit by bit.

The voice outside the door rang out again.

"Are any members of the Zhou family here?"

It's very light.

very slow.

Like a person soaked by the rain, standing outside the door, waiting for many years.

Zhou Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he forced himself to speak, "Who...who's playing tricks?"

No one answered.

Behind the black door, the echo of the third knock could be heard.

thump—

Zhou Cheng's hand rose uncontrollably.

His movements were slow, as if he were being led by something, his fingers slowly reaching for the doorknob.

The administrator's expression changed drastically: "Zhou Cheng!"

He raised the awakening bell and shook it violently.

jingle!

The crisp sound of the bell rang out in the hallway.

The students around her were jolted awake, and Shen Li also became more fully conscious.

Zhou Cheng's eyelids twitched slightly, but his hand continued to reach forward.

The wake-up call bell didn't work.

The administrator's forehead instantly broke out in a sweat.

Xu Du stepped forward, placing the white paper soul-guiding lamp between Zhou Cheng and the black door.

The stark white light shone on the back of Zhou Cheng's hand.

Zhou Cheng shuddered, and his fingers finally stopped.

He gasped for breath, as if he had been pulled out of the water.

"What...what happened to me just now?"

Xu Du did not answer.

He looked at the black door.

When the light shone on it, the wet handprints on the door slowly stretched out, eventually turning into a line of crooked, bloody words.

Debts must be repaid.

Zhou Cheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

"This has nothing to do with me!"

Xu Du looked at him.

"It recognizes Zhou's Construction."

Zhou Cheng immediately roared, "That's my dad's company! Not mine!"

"You were holding Zhou's black card just now."

"So what?!"

Xu Du's voice was very flat.

"You're taking Zhou's money, enjoying Zhou's resources, and you were just showing off with it. Now Zhou's debts are knocking on your door, and you're saying it has nothing to do with you?"

Zhou Cheng's face was a mixture of pale and flushed.

He wanted to argue, but couldn't find the words.

The voice from behind the door sounded again.

"Are any members of the Zhou family here?"

This time, there was a hint of resentment in his voice.

The temperature in the stairwell dropped sharply.

Water began to seep into the wall.

Drops of black water fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground and splashing up tiny bits of paper dust.

Shen Li shrank behind the administrator and said in a trembling voice, "I...heard that sound last night too."

The administrator asked in a deep voice, "What exactly is it?"

Xu Du raised the lantern and shone it down below Gate No. 3.

A stark white light shone through the crack in the door.

The next moment, a yellowed old paper slowly slid out from under the door.

The paper was mottled from being soaked in water, but a few lines of text were still legible.

Renovation project of the old staff building of Jiangcheng No. 3 Middle School.

Temporary worker: Chen Dayou.

Wages settled: Not paid.

Incident handling: Left his post without permission and went missing.

The administrator's expression immediately changed.

"A worker did die during the renovation of the old staff building... but the records say he left on his own and we never found him."

Xu Du looked down at the paper.

The Book of Return Gifts was turned to the next page.

[The Unresolved Case of Debt-for-Finance Arrangements.]

[The deceased, Chen Dayou, died after being trapped outside gate number seventeen on a rainy night while demanding unpaid wages.]

The remains have not been recovered, the roster has been removed, and wages have not been paid.

[Changed address, tangled debt paths.]

[At the third watch, after three knocks, the soul that answers the door on the third night will surely be taken.]

Solution: Rectify names, repay debts, and pave the way.

Xu Du closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had turned cold.

"It's not him who went missing."

"He died in this building."

The hallway was deathly silent.

Zhou Cheng's voice trembled: "Xu Du, don't talk nonsense. Do you have any evidence of this?

Xu Du pointed to the black gate.

"Do you want to open the door and go in to take a look?"

Zhou Cheng immediately shut up.

The black door swayed slightly.

The door handle slowly turned.

There was the sound of water inside.

It was like someone dragging their soaking wet feet, step by step, to the door.

Xu Du did not wait any longer.

He took out a few sheets of yellow paper from his pocket and spread them on the ground.

He bit his fingertip again and wrote three words on the first piece of paper.

Chen Dayou.

The second one says:

Zhou's Construction.

The third one reads:

The unpaid wages amount to 18,400 yuan.

As the last stroke was written, the white paper guiding lamp suddenly lit up.

When the light shone on the three yellow papers, a line of small characters appeared on the paper by itself.

An additional 3,000 in funeral expenses are owed.

I also owe 300 yuan for travel expenses.

Total: 21,700.

Xu Du looked at Zhou Cheng.

"Transfer money."

Zhou Cheng's eyes widened.

"Are you crazy? You want me to transfer money to a dead person?"

Xu Du asked, "Are you going to give it to me or not?"

Zhou Cheng gritted his teeth: "Why should I give it to you?!"

The black door suddenly opened an inch inward.

A hand, white from being soaked in water, reached out from under the door.

The fingernails were full of mud, and a section of safety rope was wrapped around the wrist.

Zhou Cheng screamed, completely losing his composure.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!"

He shakily pulled out his phone.

"To whom? To whom should I transfer it?"

Xu Du looked at the administrator.

The administrator, with a complicated expression, pulled out his phone: "The college has a temporary account for accident compensation. Call here first, and I will report to the Department of the Underworld and the school to reinvestigate Chen Dayou's case."

Zhou Cheng's fingers were shaking violently.

Twenty-one thousand seven hundred.

Transfer successful.

The next second, the three pieces of yellow paper on the ground spontaneously combusted without any fire.

The pale flames swirled up the ashes, turning into a thin gray line that drifted toward the black door.

The sound of water behind the door stopped.

The pale hand was gradually withdrawn.

But the black gate did not disappear.

Xu Du frowned.

One more step.

The last four characters on the "Return Gift Book" glowed faintly.

To rectify names and pave the way.

Xu Du looked at the yellowed old paper.

It says above:

He left his post without permission and has gone missing.

This is not a name.

This is a stigma.

Xu Du picked up the old paper, turned it over, bit his fingertip again, and wrote down stroke by stroke:

Chen Dayou, a worker repairing the old staff building at Jiangcheng No. 3 Middle School.

Demanding unpaid wages on a rainy night, they were trapped and died outside Gate 17.

Neither absent from their post nor missing.

Now, let this lamp illuminate the road and guide him back to his rightful place.

After writing, he folded the old paper and placed it under the white paper lamp.

The lights suddenly blazed on.

A very long sigh suddenly echoed in the hallway.

The black door finally opened slowly.

There is no room behind the door.

Instead, it was a dark and damp stairwell.

At the end of the corridor stood a man in old work clothes.

He was soaking wet, his face was ashen, and he was clutching a moldy safety helmet in his hand.

He didn't come out.

She was just looking at Xu Du through the door.

"I...I didn't skip work."

Xu Du nodded.

"I know."

The man then looked at the administrator.

"That day... I just wanted to get my salary and go home. My child had a fever, and I needed the money to buy medicine."

The administrator was pale, his lips moved but he couldn't speak.

The man finally looked at Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng shrank back in fright.

The man did not pounce.

He just whispered:

Tell Zhou Jianye.

"I've waited twenty years."

"Money can come later."

"A name must not be tainted."

As soon as these words were spoken, the light from the white paper soul-guiding lamp suddenly softened.

At the end of that pitch-black corridor, a distant point of light seemed to appear.

The man turned around and slowly walked towards the light.

step.

Two steps.

The watermarks on his body gradually faded.

When he reached the end, he suddenly stopped, turned around and bowed to Xu Du.

"Thanks."

The black door closed silently.

The next moment, it crumbled into countless black powders like ashes scattered by the wind.

The chill in the old staff dormitory building also dissipated.

Gate No. 3 was restored to its original state.

However, the character "three" on the doorplate had completely peeled off, revealing the old character "seventeen" underneath.

No one spoke in the hallway.

Zhou Cheng slumped to the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He was just mocking Xu Du.

But now, he doesn't even have the courage to look up at Xu Du.

The administrator looked at the transfer records in his hand, then at the old paper dust on the ground, and his throat tightened.

"I will report this matter immediately."

Xu Du nodded.

He looked down at the white paper soul-guiding lamp.

The charred edge on the lamp paper had faded a little.

At the same time, the pages of the "Return Gift Register" slowly turned.

The case of knocking on the door at midnight has been resolved; the person has returned home.

[One person's name has been cleared.]

[Paying off a debt.]

【Send off once. 】

[Accumulated merit: Thirty.]

[The white paper lantern, guiding the soul, awakens anew.]

[Compatibility: 5/5]

Xu Du's heart stirred.

Five points?

The compatibility of items in this world is usually calculated on a percentage basis.

For most students, achieving even one point on their first attempt at contracting a talisman is considered a success.

A score of 3 or higher is considered excellent.

Five points is enough to rank you among the top students in the class.

And this is only the beginning.

Xu Du raised his head.

It was right in front of Zhou Cheng's pale face.

Zhou Cheng's lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.

But Xu Du spoke first.

"Zhou Cheng".

"Have your dad come to the academy tomorrow."

Zhou Cheng's voice was weak: "W-what are you doing?"

Xu Du looked at Gate 17, his tone calm.

"There might be more than just Chen Da living under the old staff building."

Upon hearing this, the administrator's expression changed drastically.

Just then, the white paper soul-guiding lamp in Xu Du's hand suddenly swayed slightly.

The light shines down the stairs.

There used to be a sealed cement wall there.

But at this moment, under the light, a crack in the old door, soaked by water, slowly appeared on the wall.

A very soft knock came from under the door.

Not a sound.

Instead, there were many sounds.

thump.

thump.

thump.

There were many people waiting behind the wall for the door to open.