World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 201 Lin An is already 22 years old

Zhou Qingqing walked through the filthy streets of Dietrich.

The shadow was stretched long by the setting sun, revealing the shape of a fluffy tail.

Strangely, her waist was empty, and the shadow of her tail swayed with Zhou Qingqing's steps.

"Snapped!"

A withered hand reached out from the street and grabbed Zhou Qingqing's arm. It belonged to an old man with a emaciated face and unkempt hair.

"Let me go!" Zhou Qingqing shouted, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're going to the vicinity of the International Bridge?" the old woman muttered mysteriously. "I can tell you're a mysterious person and a stranger, so I'm kindly reminding you. Nowadays, anyone who wants to do business there must follow a few rules. Do you know what they are?"

“That’s weird.” Zhou Qingqing held up a will-o’-the-wisp with her fingertips, looking at the old woman warily. “You tell me, I don’t know anything about it.”

"First of all, for your safety, do not use any mystical arts lightly. At least make sure you are in a private space. Prevent being seen by others, having your story posted on the dark web, or being noticed by that 'being'."

"Secondly, you absolutely must not reveal your intention to use mystical arts to endanger the safety of ordinary people, otherwise that 'being' will easily come upon you and leave you without a complete corpse!"

"Finally, don't go near the International Bridge! Once that 'being' sees you, it will know what you look like, find you effortlessly, and appear beside you anytime, anywhere." The old woman spread her arms wide. "Like a ghost!"

"Another ghost." Zhou Qingqing curled her lip. "What do you mean by existence or non-existence? Do you think you're Descartes?"

"I'm telling the truth! You don't believe me? Haha, he'll be coming for you soon!"

"Let him come."

Zhou Qingqing picked up the plastic bag in her hand, and the takeout boxes clattered together.

“Those ‘beings’ you mentioned were still ordering food on the phone last night. ‘I want a chestnut cake and a cappuccino,’ another being said, ‘Add a donut;’ and a third being said, ‘Do you have cream puffs?’”

"what?"

The old woman was completely stunned. Upon closer inspection, she realized that Zhou Qingqing was no longer there. The person she had just spoken to was her shadow, which had now turned into a ghostly flame and disappeared with a "pop".

Her graceful figure landed on the bow of the ship in Paradise. Zhou Qingqing walked across the steaming central swimming pool and saw four people gathered around her, talking amongst themselves, showing no interest in her arrival whatsoever.

Zhou Qingqing cleared her throat, but was ignored, so she shouted from the bottom of her lungs.

"It's past three, let's have some tea first!"

Lin An reluctantly turned his head and saw Zhou Qingqing standing with one hand on her hip. He subconsciously spoke up.

"Senior, what brings you here?"

"Damn it, wasn't it you who begged me for food yesterday? Was it a piece of char siu?" Zhou Qingqing put down the plastic bag in her other hand. "Fine, I won't argue with you today. Xiao Li, Xiao Bai, Xiao Anna, I brought your things too."

"Thank you, fox spirit."

Joshua and the witch, who were given the nickname "junior," did not object and eagerly selected their "takeout."

Even those who brought endless panic to the Foundation, the Free Mystics, and the entire city of Dietrich didn't want to offend the only cook.

In fact, the three of them hardly needed to eat, but not long ago they were ordinary people and still retained their appetites.

Especially Joshua, if he weren't a mystery man, Lin An suspected that he would have gained at least twenty pounds from all the roast goose, roast duck and claypot rice he ate.

“Today I’m eating my favorite spring rolls,” Joshua said fiercely, tearing open the wrapper. “I’m going to eat thirty.”

"Xiao Bai, take it easy."

"Ah, shrimp dumplings!" the witch exclaimed, resting her chin on her hand. "How delicious they are!"

"Xiao Li, here are some meat shumai and water chestnut cake."

Anna ate her fried noodles in silence, and in less than two weeks, her complexion visibly changed from pale to rosy.

She is merely a disaster-level mystic, unlike Joshua who possesses a similar "self-repair" state, hence her weight gain.

If that old woman were to see this harmonious scene, she would probably be so frightened that she would faint on the spot, because in Michigan, ghosts are considered to be almost divine beings.

"Senior, so you think of them as gluttons?" Lin An said in Chinese. "Aren't these the major restaurants that always have leftovers?"

"I made the fried noodles; they're nutritionally balanced." Zhou Qingqing only denied one thing: "Xiao Anna is only 14 years old; she's still growing. Her family is really crazy. They hire tutors all year round, don't let her go out, and don't allow her to eat even a few meals with a little oil."

"Where's my food?"

Zhou Qingqing gave him a sharp look, and Lin An wisely changed his tune.

"Do you have one for me? Thank you so much for feeding me, senior. You're my only sister."

Zhou Qingqing nodded in satisfaction and searched through Lin An's takeout orders. The latter glanced at the system data, which was clearly displayed on the panel.

[Name]: Fox Demon, Fox Spirit, Demon Fox

[Rating]: Disaster Level D

Radiation level: 6.2%
[Pollution Level]: 13.1%
[Medium]: God of Agriculture

Fox spirits, according to legend, are monsters that foxes cultivate themselves. They have appeared frequently in the legends of the Dragon Kingdom for thousands of years, and still do today.

As early as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, there was a record of the monster "Nine-Tailed White Fox", which later became the divine beast in front of the Queen Mother of the West, protecting the peace of the region.

Ordinary people worshipped the Queen Mother of the West, but they believed that the "minor gods" active in the countryside were better able to solve the trivial difficulties in life than the "great gods," so they built temples for the fox spirits.

During the Han and Wei-Jin periods, Taoism, a religion focused on immortality, flourished.

In their quest to cultivate immortality, scholars often ventured alone into the deep mountains, where they would encounter animals. They would then contemplate that these animals might also become spirits, and thus wrote down many stories.

The Jin Dynasty scholar Ge Hong recorded a story in his book *Baopuzi* about a fox in the mountains that transformed into a human named "Chengyang Gong." He claimed that as long as one correctly called out its name, one would not be harmed. Later, the *Taiping Guangji* further enriched the fox spirit legend, adding new elements by suggesting that fox spirits, after cultivating to a certain level, could transform into celestial beauties to seduce strong men and bewitch people.

Zhou Qingqing's prototype comes from the strange tales written by Ming and Qing literati, similar to "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio". She is a benevolent demon who appears and disappears mysteriously and silently helps scholars.

The mystery of the Dragon Kingdom seems to have many different attributes due to differences in region, origin, and heritage. Lin An thought.

"Here, eat."

Zhou Qingqing handed Lin An a bowl of steaming hot soup noodles and a piece of chestnut cake, with a colorful lotus candle stuck on top.

"This is……"

“Cake and longevity noodles. Today is your 22nd birthday.” Zhou Qingqing turned her head away nonchalantly, her ponytail falling from her shoulder. “It’s circled in red on my calendar.”

Lin An was startled, recalling the scene of his senior helping him celebrate his birthday two years ago. The fragments of the past seemed so distant, yet they surged up again at this moment, leaving him with vivid memories.

"White Dove, can I borrow a light?"

Joshua, busy with his work, gave an OK sign, and a flame suddenly appeared. The lotus flower opened with a "pop," its petals fell, and a rather eerie melody of "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You" began to play.

"call."

Lin An blew out the candles, but the soaring melody still lingered, as enduring as the Great Compassion Mantra.

"What did you wish for?" Zhou Qingqing asked.

"Anyway, it's related to the occult," Lin An replied. "Senior, how long will this candle be kept burning?"

"At least a week."

"..."

“Xiao Lin, I’ve seen all those news stories, whether they’re true or just riding the wave.” Zhou Qingqing wiped the dust off her sleeve and sat down on the ground. “The ghost of Dietrich, right?”

"Could you please not read it aloud?"

"Why? That's what everyone calls you."

“That’s in English. You can read it in Chinese and it will be fine…” Lin An pinched the candle that kept singing and threw it aside. “You’re not afraid of me, nor are you afraid of witches and white doves.”

The two remained silent until Zhou Qingqing broke the silence.

"Xiaolin, I have no intention of interfering, because I hate it when people tell me how to live my life. But I have to remind you that 'Comers' is just a ten-year illusion, a fleeting dream."

She spread out her calloused hands, and a will-o'-the-wisp rose up.

"No matter how powerful the force is, it is just a projection of another planet. If you become addicted to it, where will you go when the prosperity fades? The land beneath your feet has never belonged to 'Comers'."

Lin An remained silent for a while before answering.

“Senior, I once hoped that ‘Commes’ would last forever, but that’s unrealistic. Therefore, I just want to take advantage of this rare opportunity to touch true spirituality within the limited time I have. This is very important to me; you could say it’s the meaning of my life.”

“Life doesn’t involve so much metaphysics,” Zhou Qingqing said. “The meaning of life is to live, to continue living, and to continue living in various ways.”

"This is our disagreement."

"Exactly the same as the last blind date." Zhou Qingqing waved her hand. "Looks like we're not cut out for marriage. Let's not chat anymore, let's eat first."

Lin An slurped up a mouthful of noodles and took the initiative to change the subject.

"Senior, my wish just now was 'I hope this experiment will be a success.'"

"Is Lord Ghost about to create another urban legend?"

"...Senior."

"What's wrong, Lord Ghost?"

"Did you do it on purpose or by accident?" Lin An asked helplessly, putting down his chopsticks.

"Just kidding. Xiaolin, I don't like that nickname at all, it sounds like a ghost." Zhou Qingqing unscrewed the lid of the thermos, letting the hot tea inside cool down. "What kind of experiment?"

"A test on the Dreamer's transfer of the 'Bottle Man'."

"That artificial life form you placed in the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Yes."

Lin An pointed to the center where the four of them had just been watching, and then took out a clay pipe as a gift. The faint scent of licorice wafted into Zhou Qingqing's nose, like a forest after the rain.

"In addition, the witch located the coordinates of its creator from this mysterious object."

"where?"

“The rainforest of Brasilia.” Lin An toyed with his pipe, a look of nostalgia and anticipation on his face. “It’s a pity that a mythical visionary can’t teleport me to such a distant place, but a ‘miniature in a bottle’ that is lighter than a human has a chance to succeed.”

"You're going to Xia Dongzhou? Now?" Zhou Qingqing asked in surprise.

“Recently, my radiation level increased by 2%, and my pollution level increased by 5.5%. The medium has been collected, and it’s time to make final preparations and figure out how to use the ‘man in a bottle’.”

Lin An glanced at the three people who were engrossed in eating.

"But we have to wait until they finish eating—did you put poppy shells in it? Why can't they stop eating?"

"It's fermented black beans, I added fermented black beans."

(End of this chapter)