"No, no, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that I was born in the new society, grew up under the red flag, walked in the spring breeze, and have already crossed the century. I was educated by the party since I was a child, and materialism and dialectics are deeply rooted in my head. I can't get over it for a while if you suddenly want me to accept the theory of ghosts." 

"Hey, brother, this is where you're wrong. Yes, from a materialistic point of view, ghosts and spirits are all made up nonsense and can't be believed. But from another angle, you can call ghosts dark energy and spirits unidentified dimensionless life forms, isn't that enough? Even modern physics admits that dark energy and unidentified dimensionless life forms exist in theory. Although they still need to be verified, they are definitely not invented by idealism. Besides, the country hasn't set up a religious bureau yet, so what's wrong with us making a cameo appearance?" 

This really woke me up from my dream. He was worthy of having studied in a vocational high school for two years. He was much better than a rough guy like me. "Okay, I'll find a nail to nail it down right away." 

"Wait a minute, I've come up with another idea. Why not put all these things in the office? If any of them works, we can prevent future troubles." 

"I have no objection." 

So we went to the office with these things. Halfway through, he suddenly stopped and said, "Oh no, I forgot something." 

"What is it?" 

"I forgot to buy a bunch of garlic." 

"What are you going to buy that for?" 

"Buy a bunch to hang around your neck to ward off vampires, Terling." 

"Don't be ridiculous! We don't have any Western vampires or native Chinese zombies to contend with here. These are more than enough." 

We arrived at the office door, and I opened it. I hesitated before pulling the handle, looking back at Xiaoguo. He nodded, implying that he had my back, so I didn't have to be afraid. I looked at the odds and ends hanging around my neck, sighed, and opened the door. The portrait was still hanging there. When we walked in, the quartz clock on the wall read 5:55. 

"Let's get started. The sooner we're done, the sooner we'll be done," I said. 

"No, wait a little longer, until six." 

"What! What if she shows up?" 

"No, don't do that." 

"Don't be a bitch, okay? I'll stand in front of you. If you hear anything, just run away." 

What else can you say to someone like that? Even reciting Confucius's empty admonition, "Respect ghosts and gods, but keep them at a distance," didn't work. I simply shut up, holding those precious books in my hands, leaning against my desk, staring at the quartz clock. The room was as quiet as a few people. These were the longest five minutes of my life. Finally, the minute hand was about to hit six. I hurriedly raised "Transformation XX," "The Book of Changes," and "Selected Works of Marx, Volume 1," pointed my right finger at the portrait of Bill Gates, and tried to show the objects on my neck and wrists. 

With a click, it was exactly six o'clock. My whole body tensed, but nothing strange happened. In the mirror, my face was completely bloodless, as white as a shoe calendar. My hands, holding those thick books, were sloppy, and sweat was dripping from the tip of my nose. The portrait remained unchanged, and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Look how scared you are," Xiaoguo said. 

This guy was as calm as a cold-blooded animal, his nerves must be made of wire. He wasn't afraid at all. He held up the bottle of holy water, muttering incantations unknown to both Chinese and foreigners, while pouring it over the painting. Most of the holy water spilled onto the floor, and I quickly mopped it up. He then pulled a talisman from his trouser pocket, spat on the back, and with a snap, stuck it to the woman's face. Then he found a nail and nailed Mr. Gai's portrait to the painting. He then used a pin to stick Li Xzhi's "holy photo" onto it with rice grains. He clapped his hands and tossed the holy water bottle into the trash can. 

"That's all," he said. "Zhang Yuan, after this is done, I guarantee you'll have a good night's sleep tonight." " 

I grinned, walked into the kitchen, unscrewed the mop, washed my hands under the faucet, and when I came out, I saw him admiring the woman with his hands behind his back. His eyes were lustful, and based on this alone, the woman should have gone to him. But as the saying goes, ghosts are also afraid of evil people, and people like him have a bit of pervert genes, so ghosts can't afford to offend them. 

I pulled him out and said, "Stop looking, let's go eat, Xiaoguo, do you know, sometimes, I think you are scarier than that ghost. "