Although I had been expelled, I couldn't lose face. "Fine, I’m leaving! If you won't let me stay, I didn't want to anyway!"
After getting out, I found myself with nothing to do. I pondered, feeling a bit lightheaded—it had been a few days, so it must be close to the seventh day after my death; perhaps I should go back and take a look.
Determined to visit home, I locked onto my direction and drifted along. In the past, I had to be careful crossing the street, but now, as a ghost, I could walk sideways across the road and no one could stop me. It was absolute freedom. When I reached a house, taking a detour was out of the question—that’s what living people do. I’m a ghost now, so I simply walked right through the wall.
Inside, it was broad daylight, and to my surprise, there was a young woman bathing with the door unlocked. Good heavens! What if some villain had seen this? Being a person of such high moral character—well, a ghost of high moral character—I immediately blocked the doorway. Just as I was standing guard, I felt something amiss. Someone was grabbing my ear and pulling me backward. I turned around, ready to explode with rage, only to find an old man staring at me with piercing eyes. I immediately went on the offensive: "Sir, have you no shame? You're an old man, how many decades have you lived? You’re not setting a good example, peeping at a young girl bathing at your age!"
Upon hearing this, the fellow didn't say a word; he just raised his hand and slapped me across the face. "I'll teach you to peep! I'll teach you to have no morals! Peeping? This is my house, you idiot! That girl is my great-granddaughter!"
"Where did this wild ghost come from? Trespassing in my home! If you can't give me a good reason, I’m going to drag you to the authorities!" I panicked at those words. I said, "I’m a good ghost, I was just passing by! If you don't believe me, go ask around. My moral standing is top-tier—I scored 98 out of 100 on my integrity test. Do you know why I only got 98? One point is for the humility of our ancestors—that’s a traditional virtue, so I deducted a point. And the other point? Well, I saw the leader only had 99 points, so I stayed low-profile and took off another point. That’s why I got 98, see?"
I was clearly a good person, but the old man looked at me with suspicion. "Trespassing is what you call a good person?"
"Look, look," I urged, "look at my head! This Merit is the best proof. I walked through the wall because I wanted to take a straight path home. Do you think I saw your granddaughter bathing when I arrived? I was kindly blocking the door for her! Don't be ungrateful."
Hearing my shameless drivel, the old man was so furious his vision blurred, and he balled up his fists, ready to beat me into a pulp.
I played dumb. "Can't all ghosts walk through walls? Your security measures aren't very good, are they? You can't blame me for that!"
The old man retorted, "Ghosts can't walk through walls! You’re an exception." I knew I was an exception, but I wasn't about to say that—if I did, I’d get a beating. With a dark face, the old man muttered that since it was daytime, he didn't expect any ghosts, as they usually only appeared at night, so he hadn't taken precautions.
I humbly asked, "Old man, why are you out during the day?"
He replied irritably, "This is my home. I have a family deity here and I absorb the power of incense, so I can manifest during the day. Other wild ghosts can't."
I understood. So, where there’s no family deity, there’s no supervision! My eyes lit up. Not every home in the city has a family deity, right? *Hehehe*, doesn't that mean I can do whatever I want? Since I can't do it in the countryside, I’m heading to the city.
I bid the old man farewell and drifted toward the city with gusto. Looking at my retreating figure, the old man thought, *Something’s wrong. That guy doesn't look like a good egg. He asked such specific questions and headed to the city; he must be up to no good.* The old man quickly reported the matter and filed a complaint against me, stating there was a wild ghost trespassing and walking through walls.
Hard work pays off. After tireless effort, I finally drifted into the city. Looking at those fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged goddesses, the thought alone was wonderful—I was finally going to feast my eyes! But the sky hadn't turned dark yet. I wandered aimlessly until it finally grew dark. I was ready to watch the goddesses change clothes for free! But I waited and waited, and they still wouldn't go to sleep even as dawn approached. These goddesses were better at staying up than I was! Why won't you go to sleep? If you don't sleep and take off your clothes, how am I supposed to feast my eyes?
This place is no good; I’ll try another. I saw a building in the city that looked quite luxurious—high-end, atmospheric, and classy. I didn't even think; I just drifted straight toward it. But because I was in a rush, I didn't clearly read the sign on the door: "Yin-Yang Ghost Management Office."
I walked in and looked around aimlessly, finally spotting a blurry figure. *Is she changing clothes? Oh, oh, oh! Is my chance finally here?* The moment I entered, I was met with a flurry of blows that left me dim and exhausted. I heard the woman shout, "You bold pervert! How dare you spy on this officer while she's bathing!"
I subconsciously asked, "You can see me?" I was completely stunned. I just wanted to peek at a goddess, but I didn't expect someone to see me, let alone get beaten up for no reason. Wasn't it said there were no ghosts in this city? People breaking their word is one thing, but even ghosts lie? This is too hard!
Though my thoughts were racing, it was only for a split second. I immediately cried, "Oh, honorable Officer! I’ve been wronged! I just didn't know the way. I just wanted to go home and walk in a straight line! I didn't expect to run into you; it’s a total misunderstanding!"
"Can you not read?" she asked.
"I can read," I replied.
"Then didn't you see what was written on the sign?"
"I didn't look! I was in such a hurry to get home."
"How did you get in here?"
I knew my chance had come. I immediately said, "I walked through the wall."
The officer thought for a moment. *This won't do. With your abilities, if I let you run around like this, what privacy would my female comrades have?* She grabbed me and hauled me back to the Netherworld.