Hole-in-the-Wall Eatery 15

She knocked on the side of the toilet stall. "Guest, please come out immediately."

"I'm counting to three. Three..."

"One!" With that, she unceremoniously plunged her knife inside.

A high-pitched, shrill scream erupted from within, followed by an overwhelming surge of hair pouring out of the stall.

Su Man showed no mercy, slicing through all the hair. She then called over the Artisan Terror, instructing him to widen the hole, as she could already see the head wedged in the corner.

She reached into the hole, intending to drag the guest out.

"Boss, let me do it!" Youyou said. "Usually, bosses shouldn't be doing such dirty work."

Su Man waved her hand. "It's fine. I'm not afraid of getting dirty. Everyone is the same; there’s no high or low status."

She had done countless dirty, back-breaking jobs in the past. When she was at the orphanage, the older children would bully her, refusing to let her wear gloves while scrubbing toilets. By comparison, this was nothing. Besides, only by doing it herself could she ensure she successfully hauled this toilet-dwelling guest out.

Without a shred of hesitation, she grabbed the guest by the roots of their hair and yanked them up.

The head bobbed around in her hand, squawking, "You have no martial honor! You clearly said you'd count to three, but you only counted to two!"

Su Man let the words go in one ear and out the other. "Guest, that is not important. What’s important is that you need to pay."

She told Youyou to fetch the bill. Moments later, Youyou returned with a bill for 20 Terror Coins. Su Man glanced at it and began tallying the rest. "There's my labor fee: 300 Terror Coins. The floor outside is waterlogged, and this squat toilet needs repairs. I'll give you a discount: 50 Terror Coins."

"That comes to 370 Terror Coins in total." She pushed the card reader forward.

The head’s bloodshot eyes widened. "How could it be so expensive?"

"If you think it's too expensive, I'll just hand you over to someone else to deal with. My time is very precious, guest." With that, Su Man told Youyou to contact the intermediary agency.

"Wait, wait! I didn't say I wouldn't pay!"

This toilet spirit had a little money after all. After paying reluctantly, it kept muttering, "You really have no martial honor. We agreed on three, and you really only counted to two! If you hadn't, I would have come out on my own!"

Su Man nodded. "You're right."

She turned to Youyou. "See the guest out."

The head was still indignant. "Why only grab me? There's another spirit who crawled into that mirror! They ate even more than I did!"

Su Man looked at Youyou, who nodded. "I haven't had a chance to deal with them yet."

Su Man waved her hand, telling her to throw the head out first, then walked over to the mirror and tapped on it. "Come out, guest. It's your turn."

Before long, the reflection of Su Man in the mirror transformed into a blood-drenched figure. Su Man glanced at the Artisan Terror. He immediately reached his hand into the mirror and, after a moment, pulled out a disheveled female spirit. She was still chewing on a piece of blood curd, looking completely bewildered as she was dragged out.

Su Man patted her cheek. "Guest, pay up."

The female spirit blinked, then said, "I have no money."

"If you have no money, then I'm afraid..." Su Man prepared to contact the intermediary agency.

"Wait, wait! You're the boss of this shop, right? Let me make a deal with you. Hire me. If I'm inside the mirror, no other guests will be able to get in."

Su Man felt a flicker of interest, though not necessarily in keeping her here. If she had a spirit like this in her own villa, wouldn't that mean this spirit could control any mirror she possessed? However, she couldn't fully trust this spirit yet; she would have to see if the light screen offered a way to form some kind of contract later.

For now, she allowed the spirit to stay, specifically leaving the Artisan Terror behind to keep an eye on her.

Only after dealing with both guests did Su Man have a moment to rest. Taking advantage of the lull, Youyou explained that there had been many such guests in the past. Since their little shop catered to spirits, there were quite a few with strange obsessions, though none had ever tried to nest there before. If the shop had an official manager, it would receive a degree of protection, preventing spirits from attempting to squat there.

Su Man nodded without much comment; she hadn't taken it to heart. After all, she could always charge extra for such troublesome guests.

Catching sight of a guest still burying their face in food in the corner, she gestured to Youyou.

Youyou checked the bill. "This guest has been here since you left. They’ve been eating the whole time—about 500 coins' worth of food."

Fearing Su Man might mistake the person for a starving ghost, she added in a whisper, "They aren't a starving ghost."

As they spoke, the guest wiped their mouth, looking satisfied, and stood up to walk over. Su Man finally saw their appearance clearly: large eyes, fair skin, and a massive hooded robe that swathed their entire body.

"Check out."

The voice was crisp and clear, completely unlike the spirits she had encountered before. Although Youyou and the others showed no reaction, a suspicion formed in Su Man's mind: this was a player, just like her.

She observed the woman calmly. Youyou handed over the bill, and the woman’s eyes widened immediately as she let out a small gasp. "Is it really this expensive?"

At that, every gaze in the room fixed upon her. In the current atmosphere of the shop, talking about money—especially not having enough—was a taboo. The girl seemed to realize her faux pas; her small face flushed red as she waved her hands repeatedly. "I didn't mean I wouldn't pay!"

She had witnessed Su Man dealing with those two unique guests earlier. Her small hands rummaged through her pockets, and her expression turned even more awkward. Finally, she managed to pull out only five Terror Coins and placed them on the table.

For a moment, everyone stared at each other.

"I didn't say I wouldn't pay. How about I use items to settle the rest?"

She didn't wait for Su Man to agree, starting to pull things out. "This is a very high-quality injection. You might not know it, but this thing can eliminate a negative effect once. It's very expensive. I'll give you a discount and give you a few more of these..."

Under the indifferent stares of Youyou and the others, her voice grew weaker. "It's really useful. I sell them for a lot; sometimes people beg me for them and I still don't sell."

Youyou and the others remained unmoved, but Su Man found the speech very familiar. She had heard the exact same words from Huang Mei. Even the potion looked almost identical.

She looked at the woman, deep in thought. She had encountered a prop player today.