Chapter 123. Ghost Hunting? The Ghosts-Pin-You-Down Kind (16)
After repeatedly being thwarted and discouraged, Ruan Xue decided to lay low for a while.
She couldn’t fathom what had happened to this world. Evil spirits were nowhere to be seen, wandering ghosts were being sheltered, and ordinary ghosts no longer roamed freely. Even the recently deceased who hadn’t reported to the underworld were instantly whisked away.
Indeed, she discovered that the ghosts in the human realm had formed a comprehensive system. They weren’t just idling under trees playing cards and games as she had initially observed. These ghosts now organized themselves into groups, patrolling the city daily. She rarely saw a solitary ghost anymore.
The smallest groups she encountered consisted of at least two ghosts. After her previous setback, she suspected these ghosts were likely protected by Shen Wan’s talismans.
Her hatred for Shen Wan had intensified, but she was utterly powerless. All she could do was sulk by Mu Yuan’s side.
Mu Yuan, whom she once found tolerable, now irritated her. She even regretted signing the life-and-death contract with him.
Couldn’t he see that Shen Wan and her cohorts were far from benevolent? If not for them, would she be struggling so miserably? Even finding a ghost to devour had become an arduous task.
A year had passed, and she hadn’t even tasted a single ghost.
Little did Ruan Xue know that ever since Chen Darong and his two companions learned of her situation from Shen Wan, they had organized the ghosts in the human realm. With their official status as underworld civil servants, they had long since assigned minor ghosts to monitor her. The special tools these minor ghosts possessed were beyond Ruan Xue’s current ability to detect.
If she ever attempted to devour a ghost, these minor ghosts would intervene.
Thus, her hopes of consuming ghosts to increase her power were futile – impossible in this life and the next.
Shen Wan remained blissfully unaware of these developments, living a comfortable life.
When not in class, she would wander around with her beloved Qin Ying. Her school was now devoid of minor ghosts. Ordinary ghosts had fallen in line with the new system: those with grievances sought resolution from Chen Darong and his fellow officials, while those without were sent to report to the underworld using Shen Wan’s Ghost Official Decree. As for troublemaking evil spirits, they had no choice but to either voluntarily report to the underworld for punishment or become Qin Ying’s supplements.
Qin Ying didn’t spend all her time in the human realm. When Shen Wan was busy with classes or exams, she would retreat to their small villa in the underworld to cultivate. This regimen had significantly boosted her power. She sensed that the day she would ascend to ghost emperor was drawing near, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly when.
Over the past two years, evil spirits had become a rare sight in the human realm.
The number of minor ghosts hadn’t decreased, but familiar faces were scarce.
Every day, ghosts who had lingered in the human world to fulfill their wishes would depart for the underworld once their desires were met. However, some, like Chen Darong and his companions, chose to stay longer. Hearing rumors of overcrowding in the underworld, they opted not to reincarnate.
Chen Darong and his team appealed to the King of Hell, asking if these well-behaved ghosts who had never caused trouble could remain in the human realm to assist them. The King of Hell, after investigating their backgrounds, agreed with a wave of his hand. Most underworld civil servants were reluctant to work in the human realm, which had always been a headache for him.
Ghosts disliked the human world’s intense sunlight and scorching weather.
These newly formed ghosts, not yet accustomed to the underworld’s comfortable environment, were more than willing to stay in the human realm.
Of course, he provided them with heat allowances every year.
Since the minor ghosts in the human realm had been brought under control, his workload had significantly decreased.
Most importantly, evil spirits now reported without quibbling, quickly confessing their misdeeds. For ordinary ghosts, he no longer needed to conduct repeated interrogations; he could simply cross-reference Chen Darong’s team’s records with his own knowledge.
The arriving minor ghosts were all polite. Even while queuing, they would find an empty spot to set up their small houses, staying peacefully without causing trouble.
He understood why they didn’t cause trouble. These minor ghosts enjoyed gathering to play landlords, mahjong, games, and chat – essentially engaging in all sorts of human world entertainment. They had even started businesses in this field.
Their supplier was none other than Shen Wan.
Thinking about this made the corner of the King of Hell’s mouth twitch. That Shen Wan was truly remarkable, making money even in the underworld. She wouldn’t let go of even a dead person’s money – truly unprecedented.
However, it was worth the price.
The King of Hell clicked the mouse to open the video player on the notebook computer screen before him. This was a gift from Shen Wan, who claimed it was the latest model from the human world, loaded with various types of movies, TV series, and variety shows.
Of course, for someone of the King of Hell’s stature, Shen Wan had actually spent money to buy it, several tens of thousands in fact.
After all, her paper creations or drawings couldn’t store so many videos and only had simple functions.
The King of Hell, with his immense power, could easily use human world items.
As for the money Shen Wan earned from the minor ghosts in the underworld, she gave it all to Qin Ying to buy whatever she liked in the ghost market.
Although the underworld differed greatly from the human realm, it had some things the human world lacked. For instance, spirit medicines to enhance one’s soul body and food for minor ghosts – all of which required money to purchase.
Qin Ying didn’t hesitate to accept. She felt Shen Wan’s strong support for her ascension to ghost emperor. She remembered Shen Wan’s promise that regardless of how powerful she became, Shen Wan would take her along, whether in life or death. This reassurance allowed her to cultivate with peace of mind.
After her initial visit to the underworld and meeting the King of Hell, she realized this world wasn’t limited to the human realm and the underworld. There were also celestial and demon realms… each with its own rules and countless beings far more powerful than her. While Shen Wan still lived in this world, she naturally wanted to increase her strength to better protect the person she cherished most.
In the blink of an eye, Shen Wan graduated from high school and entered university.
Her grades were mediocre, just enough to get into an ordinary university. After all, she didn’t focus much on academics, believing that neither outstanding nor poor grades were ideal.
She had already decided that after graduating from university, she would become a homebody.
“So, your ultimate goal in attending university is to become a shut-in?” Yu Shuang found Shen Wan’s statement utterly incredible.
The university Shen Wan attended was within Yu Shuang’s jurisdiction in the human realm, so he often came to chat with her when he had free time. Now that he had a large group of subordinates, he could delegate tasks and didn’t need to be so busy himself.
Actually, minor ghosts weren’t difficult to manage, especially newly formed ones. Assigning two ghost officials to bring new ghosts over to explain the rules of the human realm and the underworld, asking if they had any grievances – if so, they would handle it; if not, they would send the minor ghost directly to Shen Wan, who would then send them to report to the underworld.
So, new ghosts barely had time to adjust to being ghosts before potentially being sent to report to the underworld. Before this, Chen Darong and his two companions would kindly suggest buying a small house and some entertainment items, since they wouldn’t be able to come back up once they went to the underworld. Although these things were available down there, they were exorbitantly expensive.
New ghosts, upon hearing they might have to queue for an unknown number of years, would hurriedly buy houses.
Perhaps it was because real estate prices in the human world were so high that ordinary people in big cities couldn’t afford even a bathroom-sized space after working for years. Many people had to take on decades of mortgages to buy a house, facing enormous pressure.
Later, when they went to the underworld and saw how far back they were in the queue, they would look at those black-hearted ghost merchants selling houses at prices more than twenty times higher.
The new ghosts would sigh: “Indeed, there are unscrupulous merchants everywhere. Price gouging is simply non-negotiable.”
Then they would find an empty spot, gratefully set up their small houses, and quickly settle into a happy life in the underworld. Often, they would forget they had died and still thought they were in the human realm.
“Don’t tell me I have to get a job?”
Shen Wan glared, “I’m quite well-off now, aren’t I? There’s no need for me to work and be scolded by a boss. Besides, with all the businesses I have, how could I possibly starve?”
Yu Shuang thought about it and agreed, so he didn’t pursue the matter further.
He took a bite of the fruit Qin Ying had brought from the underworld. It was quite expensive, grown in the underworld. Ghosts who ate it not only enhanced their soul bodies but also found it delicious. The reason he came here was that Qin Ying always treated him to this whenever he visited.
However, today he didn’t see Qin Ying. After chatting with Shen Wan for a while, he asked, “Where’s Sister Qin?”
Having eaten their food, he naturally had to be polite.
“Recently, Ying Ying said she wanted to seclude herself to improve her strength. She probably won’t appear for a while.”
Yu Shuang was surprised. He knew Qin Ying had long since become a ghost king. Normally, ghost kings didn’t need to seclude themselves. Thinking about the past few years, all those harmful evil spirits caught by Shen Wan had become Qin Ying’s supplements. With Qin Ying secluding herself and not appearing for a while, could it be that she was about to become a ghost emperor?
“Is Sister Qin trying to break through to the ghost emperor realm?”
“Probably.”
Yu Shuang’s eyes lit up. “I heard His Majesty say earlier that when Qin Ying becomes a ghost emperor, you two will hold your wedding in the underworld?”
Since becoming an underworld civil servant, Yu Shuang had learned quite a bit, as he had a manual detailing what ghost officials needed to know.
Humans couldn’t withstand the yin energy of ghosts, especially powerful ones. But when extremes meet, once a ghost becomes a ghost emperor, they can control their yin energy at will. As far as he knew, His Majesty, the King of Hell, was at the level of a ghost emperor. Solidifying was no longer an issue, and their bodies even had warmth, making them almost indistinguishable from ordinary people.
Hearing this, Shen Wan nodded repeatedly, “That’s right, you already know?”
“Every ghost in the underworld and human realm knows. Who doesn’t know about the ghost hunter in the human realm who’s with a ghost?” Yu Shuang rolled his eyes. “Your legendary story has even been turned into a book in the underworld. It’s sold out.”
“Who did that? Don’t they know they’re infringing on my rights?”
Yu Shuang chuckled and said quietly, “I just sent the materials over yesterday. I heard it was spread by word of mouth. Later, when that person found out I had gone down, they approached me.” He then took out a cloth bag, a special item from the underworld that could hold various objects. “They said they were in the wrong, so they’re offering you one-third of the profits.”
Shen Wan took the bag and opened it to find it full of underworld currency. She smiled sweetly, “At least they know better. Alright, I won’t pursue this matter. Next time, tell them to send the money directly to my Ying Ying.”
“Sure, I’ll let them know later.”
“Has Ruan Xue come looking for you guys in the past year or so?” Shen Wan suddenly remembered.
Yu Shuang’s expression turned odd as he shook his head, “No, she hasn’t appeared for a long time. Don’t worry, we have ghost officials watching her. We’ll know if she makes any moves.”
“I’m not worried, I was just asking. What about Mu Yuan? He’s probably not doing well, right?”
“Eh? How did you know?”
“Ruan Xue can’t eat ghosts to cultivate, so she must be causing all sorts of minor conflicts with Mu Yuan, finding him completely intolerable. If not for the life-and-death contract, Mu Yuan would probably be dead by now.”
“Mu Yuan likes her so much, doesn’t she feel moved at all?”
“What would a single ghost like you understand? Malevolent ghosts are heartless. She initially relied on Mu Yuan because she was too weak, and it was Mu Yuan who activated that jade pendant. She signed the life-and-death contract out of fear for her life, seeking protection. Her goal has always been to increase her own power.”
Yu Shuang felt a bit angry, “Can’t you just talk without mentioning ‘single ghost’? That’s a personal attack.”
“Am I not allowed to say ‘single ghost’ anymore? After all these years, you’ve seen countless female ghosts. How come you still haven’t found someone? Even Chen Darong has found love in his twilight years, yet you’re still single.”
“That’s because I have standards.”
“Alright, I’m leaving. I won’t say more.” Yu Shuang, feeling he couldn’t win the argument and not wanting to be attacked further, turned to leave, muttering, “Is having a wife really something to be so proud of?”
“Yes, it is.” Shen Wan’s voice came from behind, making him float away faster.
“What’s there to be smug about? You’re not even married yet,” Yu Shuang retorted, somewhat unconvinced, glaring back. He was truly exasperated at being constantly attacked for being single.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a chill in the air, followed by a figure materializing beside Shen Wan. The initial chill transformed into a warm breeze.
Yu Shuang sensed something and looked incredulously at Qin Ying, who was now embracing Shen Wan. He stammered, “Sister Qin, you’ve come out of seclusion?”
“Yes, I came out early.” Qin Ying was very happy and casually produced an invitation card. “Wan Wan and I are getting married. Remember to attend.”
Yu Shuang stood dumbfounded, holding the invitation and staring blankly at Shen Wan, meeting her triumphant gaze.
“Oh, Yu Shuang, I’m about to get married, and you’re still single.”
Yu Shuang: Is this woman a dog?? How can someone like her have a partner? Bah, a ghost partner.