I'm Not a Trouble-Maker

Chapter 2: Bullied to Fear

Uh... Can ghosts cry too?

Watching the female ghost wail bitterly, Liu Jin, somewhat curious, threw another stone at her.

"Ding: Provocation successful, Water Control +1."

The female ghost: "..."

The points keep increasing, delightful indeed.

He continued throwing.

Stones, one after another, kept hitting the female ghost.

Hearing the constant "+1," Liu Jin couldn't be happier.

Not sure how much is needed to achieve a minor level of mastery, but progress is always good, and progress brings hope.

"Are you even human? Is this how you treat a ghost? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning for doing this?" The female ghost spoke again, her tone filled with indignation and grievance, as if it would be unjust to her if it didn't snow in June.

Liu Jin paused for a moment.

It seems, perhaps, I've gone a bit too far.

Though she's not human, bombarding her like this seems somewhat dishonorable.

After some thought, Liu Jin said, "Miss, I didn't mean to hit you intentionally; I was forced to do it to complete a task. How about this: you let me hit you, and once the task is done, I'll burn paper offerings for you, as much yellow paper and hell money as you want. Plus, you're a water ghost, always floating in the water must be boring, right? I'll also burn you a yacht, a submarine, a few paper male models, so you can have whatever fun you want, how about that?"

The female ghost: "..."

"Are you sick? Do you think I'm an i***t?" The female ghost was furious, her anger reaching the skies.

Snap!

Liu Jin threw another stone, hitting the female ghost on the forehead.

"Ding: Provocation successful, Water Control +1."

The female ghost: "..."

"Believe it or not, I have to do this today, otherwise, I'm no different from you, just another poor ghost." Liu Jin answered calmly.

Faced with the choice between being a kind-hearted poor person and a heartless rich one, Liu Jin decisively chose to be rich.

It's too hard to live without money in this society.

"You're seeking death. I will retaliate against you, surely I will." The female ghost clenched her fists, her eyes fierce, cursing through gritted teeth.

"Sure, as you wish." Liu Jin said, throwing another stone at the female ghost's head.

The female ghost went silent.

Liu Jin kept throwing.

One stone, another, and another.

And the silent female ghost suddenly emanated black qi, swirling and increasing around her.

Liu Jin, engrossed in his joy of progressing in water control, didn't notice this change in the night.

Not aiming for great mastery or water escape techniques, just being able to dive a thousand meters like a fish was enough for him to explore treasures submerged in waters for centuries.

This was definitely a brighter future than delivering food, even finding just one underwater treasure a year would make his life worry-free, living in luxury.

And the water ghost, was his hope... Uh!

Just as he was enjoying the moment, Liu Jin's expression froze, seeing the female ghost face-to-face, almost touching his face, bewildered.

What's going on? Wasn't she unable to come ashore just now?

The female ghost's hair was dripping wet, her eyes fiercely cold, her body emanating a chilling qi.

Liu Jin swallowed, raised his hand, and hit the water ghost on the forehead with a stone.

Snap!

"Ding: Provocation successful, Water Control +10."

Wow, that added 10 points, ten times the previous provocations!

What's the principle here?

Could it be that close-range provocation is more effective?

Liu Jin pondered, while the female ghost's eyes widened in shock.

Still daring to hit me! I'll kill you, definitely kill you.

Snap.

The female ghost grabbed Liu Jin, flung him into the air, and he landed in the artificial lake.

"Damn, I'm screwed."

Falling into the water, Liu Jin realized.

Too caught up, provoked too much, now falling into the water is like jumping into a pit of snakes.

Gonna die, gonna die!

He struggled to swim towards the shore.

But as he swam, Liu Jin noticed something was off.

Damn, I'm fast.

The water no longer felt like resistance but an aid, allowing him to move effortlessly, not feeling tired at all.

And although the artificial lake was deep, standing in the water, he felt his body naturally buoyant, half-submerged and unable to sink. This feeling was magical!

Could it be... water control?

Liu Jin was overjoyed.

All those +1s without notification of minor mastery, he thought were useless, but it seems he was mistaken.

every point of progress allowed his water control to manifest physically, letting him move unimpeded in water.

Silently, the female ghost emerged in front of Liu Jin from the water, her movements, her gaze, her presence could terrify anyone.

But Liu Jin kept his cool.

Both adept in water, who should fear whom?

As soon as the female ghost's head appeared, Liu Jin grinned and lunged forward, grabbing her head and plunging into the water, diving towards the bottom.

The female ghost: "???"

Bubbles burst forth as Liu Jin looked excitedly at the bottom, his body unaffected by the water's resistance, his vision clear, and seemingly no need for oxygen.

He hadn't taken a breath before diving, even expelled his last breath, yet felt no discomfort, as if his body didn't require oxygen.

This water control ability was incredibly powerful.

Delighted, Liu Jin looked at the female ghost in his arms, grinned, then shot towards the bottom like a cannonball, embedding the female ghost into the mud.

"Ding: Provocation successful, Water Control +20."

The female ghost: "..."

The points increased again, close-range provocation indeed had better effects, one count equaling twenty, utterly exhilarating.

The thrill of the "dings" made Liu Jin's eyes turn red, watching the female ghost being smashed into the bottom, he dove after her, stepping firmly on her.

But the female ghost vanished, leaving Liu Jin stomping on empty water.

In an instant, the female ghost appeared behind him, her face ferocious as she reached for the waterweeds, about to...

Uh!

Watching Liu Jin, who was tying his legs with waterweeds.

The female ghost was baffled.

Who's the real water ghost here?

Liu Jin didn't care what the female ghost thought; all he wanted was progress in water control, each step bringing him closer to wealth.

Wrapping the female ghost with waterweeds, Liu Jin grinned and reached out... to pinch her face.

Looking at the waterweeds on his legs, then at the excited Liu Jin, the female ghost felt she was going insane.

On land, he hit her.

In the water, he followed her path?

And he wasn't afraid of deep water or needing to breathe?

Is this even human?

How is this playable?

Watching the motionless female ghost, Liu Jin was dumbfounded.

Wait.

Where's the "ding"?

Why no response to such close provocation?

Could it be that provocation requires the other party's cooperation?

Thoughtfully, Liu Jin wiggled the face of the water ghost and said, "Hey, resist a bit, don't be like a dead person, okay?"

The female ghost: "... You can actually talk underwater? You're really not human."

Scared now.

With no thought of retaliation, the female ghost dissipated, turning into a gust of qi, sinking into the mud at the bottom.