"What's going on?" I looked at Rosa Sha, who was stretching lazily, her demeanor relaxed and indifferent.
"See? It's all your fault. Now I can't sleep at all."
"What did you mean by 'unnatural death' just now?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like," Rosa Sha replied, turning on the TV and flipping to a variety show.
There are many kinds of unnatural deaths: being murdered, getting caught in an accident, or being killed by a ghost.
"Was it a ghost that killed them?" I asked.
Rosa Sha stared at me blankly.
"Why are you asking me? I'm just a soul collector. If you want to know about ghosts killing people, go ask a Maoshan Taoist, the Ghost Burial Squad, or someone from Nirvana or Brahma."
Rosa Sha laughed as she spoke.
I left Rosa Sha's place, but now I was alone, with nowhere to start. I dialed Howard Lee's number, and after a long wait, he finally picked up.
"Qingyuan, I've heard everything from Miss Lan. We're now investigating every other Richard Li in detail."
"Hey, do you know what ghost mud is used for?"
"Oh, that stuff? Qingyuan, usually, ghost mud exists in the world of ghosts. There are actually quite a few ghost realms in the living world—you've seen plenty, right? Like ghosts, ghost markets, places where ghosts live. Usually, you'll find it wherever lots of ghosts gather and the yin energy is heavy. Over time, these places become ghost realms."
"So how do I get there?"
"Qingyuan, why don't you wait for me? I'm free tomorrow, I can come over."
Then I told Howard Lee about this Richard Li case here. There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Ghost mud usually shows up where the ghosts' living conditions are bad. So you might find it on them, or stuck to their bodies."
"How exactly do I get there?"
"Alright, Qingyuan, let me teach you something."
At 3 p.m., after lunch, I returned to the hostel, took a shower, and went to sleep. Howard Lee had already told me how to enter the world where ghosts dwell, but he warned me it was extremely dangerous—no one knows what kind of terrible things might be inside.