"Why are there so many beggar kids in here?"
"Ugh, you little brat, you're filthy—get away from me!"
"Ah! This is my brand new silk dress—get your grubby hands off!"
"No, don't shove me! These kids are so dirty!"
Suddenly, there was a deafening crash outside—total chaos. With so many ghost kids piling up, lots of them ended up sprawled on the ground, shrieking everywhere. The guests inside rushed out to see what was going on.
"Oh my god, what is that—it's poop!" A noblewoman ghost shrieked, and instantly everyone tried to fly away. But just as they were about to escape, Ivy Shen grabbed a stone and hurled it at the eaves. Next second, hundreds of balloons tumbled down from above, and even louder screams erupted.
"Ahhh—it's pee! Pee! It stinks, it stinks!" Now the whole place was pure chaos.
Ivy Shen grinned, totally pleased with her masterpiece. Mortals weren’t wrong: if you’ve got cash, you can even make ghosts work for you. She’d swiped a few hundred silver notes from a rich lady ghost, then hired a bunch of wandering spirits—ghosts stuck on the Road to the Underworld with no family to burn offerings—to help fill balloons with latrine pee. In return, they got a fat stack of money.
Those forgotten ghosts were thrilled to help—sure, it was gross, but compared to starving, it was nothing. Plus, Ivy paid enough to keep them fed for three whole years! If they used it smart, they could even open a little ghost shop and finally turn things around. With her slick moves, Ivy whipped up a hundred-plus balloons in no time, then used her lightfoot skills to quietly stash them on the eaves, hidden under a cloth so they wouldn’t fall early.
"Sis, all set!" Little Pretty popped up beside Ivy, clutching a chicken leg and whispering with a grin.