William White said, "Civil servant!"

"Civil servant?" I was stunned. I'm just an ordinary poor guy, so why would a bona fide government official come to pick me up? Usually, when I go to their office windows to get things done, those civil servants act all high and mighty, barely giving me the time of day. So why is it that today, as if the sun rose in the west, one of them actually came here to pick me up?

Feeling puzzled, I asked him, "Which department do you work in? What are you doing here in the middle of the night to pick me up?"

"The Department of Arrests in the Underworld. Today, I'm here to escort you down to report in." William White rolled his eyes and grinned at me.

"Holy crap, you really are a Wuchang ghost!" My butt clenched tight, I nearly shit myself from fright, and cold sweat broke out all over me.

"Is there anyone else in this world who would dare call themselves William White?" William White gave a lewd smile, then waved the booklet in his hand and said, "I was just about to look for you. The King of Hell wants you dead at the third watch. It's only the second watch now, but you were smart enough to come to me yourself."

I glanced at the little booklet in his hand and saw the three big characters "Life and Death Register" written on it.

I was dumbfounded. I never thought my life would really end here.

William White patted my shoulder with a look of deep concern and said, "Little brother, why are you acting like you're about to die, as if you've seen a ghost!"

Pfft, isn't it because I really have seen you, you old ghost? How could I possibly survive after meeting you! Instantly, a herd of grass-mud horses galloped through my mind!

Wiping away my cold sweat, I pleaded with him, "Lord Wuchang, please spare me! I'm only twenty years old, with an eighty-year-old mother above and a young child below who still needs to be fed. I can't die yet! Please, have mercy and spare my worthless life... Lord Wuchang, please, grandpa..."

Even though I felt a bit shameless begging like this, I've read plenty of novels and watched lots of TV dramas, and in those stories, whenever someone begs like this, the other party usually says: I'll spare your life this time, but if we meet again, I won't be so lenient.

I thought, since William White is from ancient times, by the logic of the plot, he should let me go, right? Then I could thank him profusely and make my escape.

But to my surprise, this guy didn't play by the rules of the ancients at all! He rolled his eyes and said, "Cut the crap, even calling me ancestor won't help. Your luck and fortune have run out, begging me is useless. Just get in the car already!"

Get in your grandma's car!

I'm not an idiot. If I really got in that car, I'd be dead for sure. Since you're not playing by the usual rules, don't blame me for being disrespectful. Right then, I shoved William White aside and jumped up to run out.

William White clearly didn't expect me to try to escape, and immediately got angry. I heard him shout behind me, "The King of Hell wants you dead at the third watch—how could you possibly make it to the fifth! Foolish boy, you can't escape!"

Screw that, even if I can't escape, I have to try. Only an idiot would just stand there!

I bolted out, scrambling and stumbling down the street. Looking back, I saw that William White didn't seem to be chasing after me. Could it be that he's just going to let me get away?

I'm a smart guy, and in an emergency like this, handling the situation is the top priority. My intelligence, far above the average person's, kicked in. Seeing that William White wasn't chasing me, I immediately hid in the bushes by the roadside. This way, by staying still, I could adapt to any changes.

You ask why I didn't just run down the street? Isn't it obvious? We're all smart people here—how could a human outrun a ghost? Besides, as a poor guy who spends most of his time at home watching horror movies, I know that if I ran straight down the street, there's a ninety-nine percent chance William White would show up ahead of me, waiting, and then... well, then I'd be dead.

Honestly, I was impressed by my own cleverness. A sense of intellectual superiority welled up inside me. I just hid there, thinking, let's see where you go to find me, William White.

The bushes were a bit dark, most of the moonlight blocked by the trees. I hid there by the roadside for about five or six minutes, and since William White still hadn't shown up, my anxious heart finally settled a little.

Feeling quite relieved, I decided to slip deeper into the bushes. But to my surprise, just as I turned around to go further in, I suddenly found a figure in white standing silently right behind me.

I was so scared my balls trembled, and I nearly peed myself. I'd been watching for William White outside the bushes, never expecting someone in white to be standing right behind me.

I've seen a lot of horror movies, and when someone's being chased by a ghost, it's always when they think they've gotten away that, when they turn around, there's a ninety-nine percent chance the ghost that's been chasing them is right there.

I've watched so many ghost movies that I know this plot by heart. Now, suddenly seeing someone in white standing behind me, how could I not know—damn it, this is definitely William White.