Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

Zachary was about to put the towels in the bathroom. He heard Lilly's words and stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and reentered the room.

Lilly asked curiously, “Zac, aren't you going to put the towels away?” Zachary remained unfazed and said, “I thought about it and decided to make the bed first!” Lilly replied, “Oh...” She looked at the female spirit, who was wearing pajamas and had a towel draped over her shoulder. The spirit leisurely walked into the room and sat down by the bed.

The spirit said, “Oh, we have new tenants again? Why have the new tenants turned out to be two kids?” Lilly looked toward the direction of the bed and politely responded, “Sorry for the disturbance! We'll be here for two days. We'll be heading out soon!” When Zachary got to the bed, he suddenly went completely still. He turned toward the bathroom and said, “I think | should put the towels down first.” Polly tilted its head and asked in puzzlement, “Caw caw, why did you come back?” Zachary ignored Polly.

“I know you are afraid of ghosts,” Polly said.

Zachary sneered and said, “Ghosts don't exist in this world.” Those nightmares terrified him. Even though he came here with Lilly, he still held the attitude that it's preferable to believe something is real or true than to believe it is nonexistent or false. In essence, he still believes that ghosts do not exist in this world.

Zachary was contemplating this when a man came out of the bathroom.

Zachary screamed inwardly. Urghh! Urgh, is this a dream? Am | hallucinating? Josh would unquestionably jump three feet high, start to scream, run, and hide behind Lilly if he had seen the middle-aged man at this point.

On the contrary, Zachary was frozen in place like a statue. He had a blank look on his face. He spotted a middle-aged woman sitting by the bed in addition to this man.

Where did these two come from when there was nobody else in the room just now? If they were ghosts, then how could | see them? Zachary’s reflexes took forever to react.

That middle-aged man cast an unhappy glance Zachary’s way and grumbled, “New tenants again? Seriously, the constant coming and going drives me crazy. These people don’t pay and make a mess!” Lilly hurriedly ran to the luggage and took out the gear that Uncle Anthony had prepared for them. She generously pulled out a stack of ritual papers and said, “Sorry for the interruption! We will pay!” She painted a circle on the ground while holding the ritual papers in her other hand. She left a gap in the circle’s northwest corner, lit the ritual papers, and chanted some words.

Zachary finally snapped out of it when he saw Lilly burn the ritual papers. He shuddered. He had goosebumps all over his body.

He felt scared and asked, “What are you doing?” Lilly explained, “I'm burning ritual papers for Uncle and Auntie. We'll be renting their place to stay for temporary.” Zachary walked over unnaturally to Lilly, sitting next to her like a cyborg, his back stiffening as he did so. Zachary quickly lowered his head and turned to look at Lilly when he noticed that both ghosts were staring at him.

He fumbled to say something, “Why do you need to draw circles?” Lilly explained, “We have to draw circles so that they can get the offering. Otherwise, it will be blown away by the wind!” Zachary remained silent.

Lilly urged, “Zac, keep in mind that you must draw circles before burning the ritual papers intended for someone. You must jot down the person’s name and birth chart if they are not around. They won't get it otherwise.” He had witnessed others doing it without drawing anything. Zachary pondered, “What about those people burning the ritual paper at the crossroads on July 14th? They don’t draw any circles.” Lilly said, “That is why the majority of the offerings they burn never make it to their loved ones. When they burn the ritual papers, there are many wandering spirits around; the offering could have reached them.” “Do you get it now?” Lilly asked worriedly in the end.

Zachary remained silent. No, | mean Why am | learning all this? Lilly pulled out a ritual blade and brushed off the ashes as the last bit of the ritual papers was consumed by the flames. She said, “Alright, Auntie and Uncle, this is your rent!” Mrs. Ghost's face lit up with joy.

Someone sensible has finally arrived after all these years. There was no one to offer sacrifice for wandering spirits like them.

They had to struggle to get the ritual papers by picking them up at various crossroads on July 14th. Few people still burn ritual papers at the crossroads in today’s society.

Mrs. Ghost and Mr. Ghost happily picked up the ritual papers as they entered the circle through a hole in the northwest.

Mrs. Ghost said with a smile, “Oh my, you're such a sensible girl! Come, you can have this suite. We're going to move in with the neighbors next door for two days!” Mr. Ghost's mood had greatly improved. He asked cheerfully, “Is there anything we can do to help you? Just let us know!” Zachary was astonished. Before him, the door to a new world had opened. He appeared utterly perplexed.

Lilly pondered for a moment and asked, “Who lives next door now?” The couple who had received the ritual papers cooperatively responded, “Next door? Do you mean the current tenant or the first dark spirit who lived there? Lilly asked incredulously, “The first dark spirit?” It turned out that the building was not designed to house living human beings.

Mr. Ghost explained, “This land used to be unmarked graves. Later, wasn't it being developed?” Lilly nodded in response.

Mrs. Ghost continued, “Before they laid the foundation, they hired a practitioner. It was unclear how many people had been buried in this mass grave for hundreds of years. Where else could the thousands of dark spirits go after they leave here? They can't leave.

“The practitioner wanted to make money and couldn't fit all of us in, so he came up with an idea and told the building's owner.

They talked about balancing the energy. They would assign a room to each of the shadow ghosts who had been buried here originally after the building was completed.

“The doors would be open to the outside, and the corridor would be filled with a bad aura. The design of the rooms would reflect those of the underworld. This means that most of the rooms are quite small.” Lilly was bewildered, and she asked, “Wouldn't this design have an impact on living people? Would the owner agree to house so many ghosts?” Mrs. Ghost explained, “It's fine, as long as the living people don’t stay here for too long. This building has a constant flow of people, so short stays wouldn't have an impact on them. Wandering spirits like us can't exist forever. We slowly fade away over time. Why would the owner object when he doesn't reside here?” “Well, some recent graduates dislike the environment of an urban village but cannot afford the rent in a residential area. They consequently decided to stay here for a while. Oh, one of them is the girl who lives next door.” When she heard this, Lilly perked up her ears and put her chin on her hands while listening to the story with a serious expression.

Mrs. Ghost thought Lilly was so cute. She could not help but speak slower. She said, “That girl has lived here for three years. Her mental health has suffered as a result of her extended stay here.” Lilly nodded, and she said, “Before | came here, my dad helped me investigate this place. People have jumped off the roof of Cherry Inn numerous times.” In other words, the female spirit that haunted Zachary was not the first to commit suicide.

Mrs. Ghost nodded and said, “Yes, if you stay here for a long time, those who are weak may become confused, depressed, and melancholic.” There are bad people in society, and the same goes for the spirit realm. Many opportunities targeted these people and sought to claim their lives.

“The spirit of the deceased would become trapped here and serve the first dark spirits if the family of the deceased tenant were unaware of the proper ritual and failed to properly guide the soul after they passed away.” The situation finally became clear to Lilly. She asked, “So the ones living next door are the first dark spirits and the troubled spirit of the girl who jumped from the building?” Mr. and Mrs. Ghost were surprised. How did she know? Mrs. Ghost revealed, “That girl who lives next door doesn’t go out very often. She likes to relax at home and play games after work. | overheard that she often interacts with a game coaching streamer.” Zachary was astonished.

Motherf*cker! A game coach... Could it be me?