Chapter 124.2. Ghost Hunting? The Ghosts-Pin-You-Down Kind (Final)
“I’m not really that bad, am I? I can’t live forever, and I can’t manage this place alone indefinitely. After I’m gone, wouldn’t the human realm fall into chaos? Entrusting it to them, letting them work with the government to establish a special department, they can naturally pass on their skills to future generations. This way, the system can continue endlessly,” Shen Wan explained.
Yu Shuang found her reasoning sound. Although Shen Wan occasionally took advantage of them, using them like oxen, everyone benefited in the end. So they were truly willing, and even those ghost hunters, having tasted the sweetness of the arrangement, had no complaints.
“You’re not a ghost hunter, and your abilities are great. Even if you can’t become immortal, when your mortal lifespan ends, can’t you become a ghost? Surely you’re not planning to reincarnate?” Yu Shuang said this while glancing towards the bedroom. If Shen Wan planned to reincarnate, what would happen to Sister Qin? Sister Qin was a Ghost Emperor, a powerful being of that level. Surely she didn’t need to reincarnate?
Moreover, they were so in love. Since handing over all affairs to them, Shen Wan seemed to want to spend every moment by Qin Ying’s side. How could she bear to reincarnate?
“It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, I will be leaving this world,” Shen Wan replied.
The warning system had long since deteriorated, so Shen Wan wasn’t worried about anyone detecting anything. Besides, in this world with its special powers, she could block certain things, making it not so easy to capture key information.
Of course, there were some things she still didn’t dare say. After all, they were close to success, and she didn’t want to ruin everything at the last moment. If those people found out, starting over would be extremely difficult.
“By the way, how’s Ruan Xue doing recently?” Shen Wan asked. She had been living in the large villa in the underworld lately. Indeed, since Qin Ying had become a Ghost Emperor, the King of Hell had directly allocated her a prime location, allowing her to build whatever style of house she wanted, with ghost craftsmen available to help with the construction.
In short, the wives’ treatment in the underworld was of the highest caliber.
As a gesture of reciprocity, Shen Wan often brought interesting items from the human world for the King of Hell to play with. Their relationship was quite good, and they lived nearby. When free, they would sit together to play cards or team up for games. The King of Hell’s wife particularly liked dresses from the human realm, so Shen Wan would bring new styles for her every time she went up.
She felt most comfortable in this world.
From the start, she could embrace her wife, get married smoothly, and have countless ghosts respectfully address her as Lady Shen Wan. She gave herself full marks for showing off.
She was also good friends with the King of Hell and knew numerous human realm police officers who were also her good friends.
Shen Wan grinned broadly as she thought about all this, looking incredibly smug.
Yu Shuang gave her a long look, not knowing what this woman was thinking to make her smile so strangely.
Having heard Shen Wan’s question about Qin Ying, he answered honestly, “Nothing much, same as always. Judging by Mu Yuan’s exhausted appearance, they’ve probably been arguing. Every night at midnight, she comes out to wander, but can’t find a single ghost. Now all the ghosts in our human realm have unified housing. Even newly formed evil spirits slink off to the underworld for punishment after being taught a lesson. As for Ruan Xue, she returns empty-handed every day.”
“How pitiful she must be,” Shen Wan clicked her tongue, making Qin Ying laugh as she approached. Qin Ying tapped Shen Wan’s head, saying, “You’re gloating after getting your way. If Ruan Xue were human, you’d probably have driven her mad by now.”
“Ying Ying, whose side are you on?” Shen Wan put on a stern face, pretending to be angry.
Qin Ying quickly cupped Shen Wan’s face and kissed her, “I was wrong, my wife Wan Wan. Don’t be angry.”
Yu Shuang: Am I invisible? Why do they always have to hurt me like this? Aren’t we good friends? Is this how Shen Wan treats her good friends? If this continues, they’ll lose him.
“Ahem… But something interesting did happen,” Yu Shuang felt the scene before him was too dazzling, so he decided to interrupt their display of affection.
But these two shameless ones didn’t stop their intimate actions. They just sat together, embracing each other, looking at him attentively, gesturing for him to continue and tell them what interesting thing had happened. They looked like they were watching a storyteller.
Yu Shuang inwardly cursed but still spoke up: “You know how Old Chen likes to act alone, often going to remote mountainous areas, right?”
“And then?” Shen Wan prompted.
Yu Shuang cleared his throat and took a sip of water before continuing, “Ruan Xue found out and followed him, creating a chance encounter.”
“Then, she fared even worse than when she met Lu Feng. At the time, Ruan Xue appeared to be in poor condition. If Old Chen were to save her, there would inevitably be some intimate actions.”
It was because Ruan Xue was completely in the dark, unaware that Chen Darong was no longer as weak as before, and didn’t know that Chen Darong had a quite powerful wife who held an official position in the underworld.
Chen Darong knew Ruan Xue’s little scheme and certainly couldn’t fall for it.
But he also didn’t want to expose her directly and ruin Shen Wan’s plan.
They all wanted to sit back and watch how this evil ghost would end up. Another point was that if they exposed Ruan Xue and angered her, who knew if she might harm Mu Yuan? After all, he was an innocent person, and Chen Darong couldn’t bring himself to harm an innocent life to eliminate an evil ghost.
After much consideration, Chen Darong came up with a clever move. He directly called his underworld wife and asked her to come up and help.
Chen Darong’s wife didn’t really like the human realm and rarely came up. Usually, when Chen Darong finished his work, apart from visiting his elderly mother, he would return to the underworld to live with his wife, as he was a ghost official who could come and go at will.
Ruan Xue never imagined that Chen Darong would call his ghost official wife. His wife had seen all sorts of ghosts and immediately saw through this female ghost’s intentions. She was very pleased with Chen Darong’s handling of the situation and said she would take care of Ruan Xue.
In the end, Ruan Xue was thoroughly tormented that time, though she was indeed well cared for. She hurriedly returned to Mu Yuan at Shen Wan’s place and never ventured out alone again.
“What did she do to make Ruan Xue so afraid?”
“She didn’t do much, just took Ruan Xue to the underworld. Because of her special position, she often went to see various ghosts being boiled in oil, climbing blade mountains, descending into fire seas, and undergoing all sorts of punishments. Ruan Xue was frightened, but her excuse was good. She said the underworld environment was nice, suitable for Ruan Xue’s recuperation, so she kept her by her side to prevent her from getting lost or being bullied by other ghosts.”
At this point, Yu Shuang chuckled, “I heard that Ruan Xue tried to sneak out and wander around midway through. She was instantly discovered, and Chen Darong’s wife arranged for some minor ghosts to tease Ruan Xue, pretending to be fierce and wanting to eat her. It scared Ruan Xue so badly she nearly dissipated and ran straight back.”
At this point, Shen Wan lost interest.
As for whatever entanglements Mu Yuan had with the female ghost and whether they were living well or not, that wasn’t something she could control. It was his own fault, wasn’t it?
She occasionally returned to live in the human realm, moving back and forth between the two realms.
The human realm now had a special department directly connected with the underworld, so many things no longer required her involvement. Anyway, she didn’t have to worry about food or drink, and human life passed quickly in a few decades. For the first time, she hoped it would pass even faster, but seeing Qin Ying’s reluctant expression, she silently said a prayer of repentance. This old woman’s unwillingness to part with her was actually quite adorable.
“Don’t worry, Ying Ying. Wherever I go, I’ll take you with me. When the time comes, don’t refuse, okay?”
Qin Ying felt somewhat reassured and hugged her tightly, not letting go.
Shen Wan finally understood why she had become involved with this old woman and transformed from a pure, unaffected, and innocent young girl into a shameless old fox. It was all because this old woman had corrupted her.
Raising a wife was very expensive, especially this old woman. She was sweet-tongued, clingy, and quite mischievous! She had Shen Wan wrapped around her finger, doing everything for her.
Qin Ying sensed Shen Wan’s reproachful gaze and wondered if she had done anything recently to upset Wan Wan. She had just been a bit clingy, but surely she hadn’t done anything to make her angry?
“It’s nothing, I just remembered something.”
The human and the ghost continued to live lovingly and intimately for many years. Time passed quickly, and although Shen Wan’s appearance didn’t change much, both she and Qin Ying knew that her body was actually aging inside. To be precise, her life force was slowly disappearing. Even with her powerful abilities, she couldn’t make this body immortal.
Qin Ying believed that Shen Wan would definitely take her along when she left, but she was still worried. So she clung to Shen Wan’s side every day, holding her wrist tightly and not letting go. Even at night when sleeping, she held her close.
Shen Wan couldn’t argue and didn’t bother to reason with her.
While Shen Wan’s life hadn’t yet reached its end, Mu Yuan’s life was nearing its conclusion.
Yu Shuang informed her of this, so naturally, she had to go and see.
She found Mu Yuan in the hospital, his face extremely aged. By now, they were all in their sixties or seventies. Mu Yuan, living with a ghost, shouldn’t have lived this long. It was likely that Ruan Xue, sensing something, had been helping to extend his life.
When Shen Wan arrived, Mu Yuan was lying expressionless on the hospital bed, seemingly indifferent to life and death, his expression somewhat cold.
Ruan Xue stood by the bedside, glaring at him angrily, as if looking at her mortal enemy.
Seeing Shen Wan arrive, Ruan Xue instinctively took two steps back, shrinking towards Mu Yuan’s side.
Mu Yuan glanced at her and said, “Xiao Xue, don’t be afraid. Shen Wan won’t harm you.”
A lifetime. He had lived a lifetime.
From his first encounter with Xiao Xue until now, all his initial feelings had been worn away by her.
Shen Wan had once asked him about this, and he had confidently said that even if Xiao Xue’s yin lifespan ended and he became a ghost, he would willingly accompany her.
But after everything that had happened over these decades, his thoughts might have changed.
For Xiao Xue, he had never married, falling out with his parents and causing them to die with unresolved grievances.
For Xiao Xue, he had hurt his loved ones, pushing them all away.
But Xiao Xue didn’t seem moved by this at all. He had to admit that Xiao Xue didn’t love him at all; she just wanted someone to protect her, using him to grow stronger.
He learned all this from Yu Shuang.
He didn’t want to believe it at first, but everything Xiao Xue did forced him to accept it.
Especially when Yu Shuang told him that if they hadn’t assigned people to watch, Xiao Xue might have even devoured his parents’ souls.
He didn’t want to believe Yu Shuang’s words alone.
But when Yu Shuang made his parents’ souls appear, allowing the living and dead to meet again, and his parents personally told him that shortly after their deaths, Xiao Xue had planned to devour them to increase her power, he had no choice but to believe.
He had been wrong, wrong for a lifetime.
He no longer had the same feelings for Ruan Xue as he did at the beginning, especially after her attempt on his parents’ lives, which had erased the last bit of affection he had for her.
Yu Shuang had told him that living with a ghost for so long had damaged him with yin energy, and he was lucky to have lived past forty.
But Ruan Xue feared death and had been using her own power to extend his life, not sparing any effort.
Sometimes he pretended to be asleep, watching Ruan Xue grit her teeth as she channeled power into him. He found it laughable but didn’t refuse. If she wanted him to live, so be it. He would die eventually anyway.
“You’re here,” Mu Yuan said, coming out of his reverie when he saw Shen Wan and greeting her.
Shen Wan’s appearance was similar to what it had been years ago, looking to be in her early twenties.
Mu Yuan suddenly wondered, if he hadn’t met Xiao Xue back then, would his fate have been different? If he hadn’t stopped Shen Wan from exorcising the ghost, would none of this have happened?
At that moment, he felt a cool breeze and saw a stunningly beautiful woman materialize beside Shen Wan.
“Yes, I’m here. I’ve brought my wife to see you. Do you remember what I told you back then?” Shen Wan said.
Mu Yuan weakly glanced at Qin Ying’s domineering demeanor. He really had no designs on Shen Wan; he was just contemplating different fates. Was it necessary to appear and give him such a stern look? He was a patient after all, even if he was about to die and become one of them.
“I remember,” Mu Yuan said after a moment of silence. “You were right.”
“Do you regret it?” Qin Ying pulled a chair for Shen Wan and made her sit down.
Mu Yuan thought for a moment. “If it’s just about her, I can’t say I regret it. But regarding my parents, I truly do regret it.”
“So you do regret it after all. Your parents are still queuing for reincarnation. When your mortal lifespan ends, your family can be reunited. They’ve been waiting for this day,” Shen Wan said with a smile. “Don’t feel remorseful about anything. There are so many ghosts queuing now; you’ll have plenty of time to make it up to your parents.”
Mu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. Was this how you comforted a dying patient?
“Is this all you came to tell me?”
“Not entirely. There’s also the fact that you’re about to die. Your parents gave me a large sum of money to help them with something. I accepted this business, so I should see it through, right?”
As it turned out, Mu Yuan’s parents were quite business-savvy and had quickly adapted to the underworld, becoming one of the wealthiest there. The King of Hell liked capable ghosts like this who helped develop the underworld’s economy and was willing to offer preferential policies.
They had sent some nice treasures to Qin Ying, which made both Shen Wan and Qin Ying happy and willing to help them with this task.
“What did my parents ask you to do?” He only knew that his mother regretted it terribly, beating her chest and stamping her feet, saying she had been shortsighted. She shouldn’t have objected to Shen Wan and disapproved of their match, nor should she have allowed him to break off the engagement. If she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have gotten involved with a malevolent ghost.
“Nothing much, just a small matter. When you die, we’ll tie you up and bring you before them.”
Mu Yuan’s eyes widened at that moment, and he nearly burst out cursing. He felt that this time, he truly wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.
When Mu Yuan died, Ruan Xue’s spiritual body had already begun to dissipate slowly. Despite her grotesque facial expression, as if wanting to do something, she still couldn’t do anything. She could only let out a miserable cry, watching helplessly as her spiritual body scattered.
Mu Yuan just sighed in the end. At this point, he had already become a ghost, and his body was bound tightly.
Dying without closing one’s eyes probably referred to someone like him.
Yu Shuang shook his head and shifted his gaze from where Ruan Xue had disappeared. He could say with certainty that Ruan Xue was probably the most frustrated malevolent ghost ever.
She hadn’t done much evil, yet she died like this because Mu Yuan’s mortal lifespan had ended. It was also the most ridiculous way to die.
Shen Wan threw Mu Yuan to his parents, and Mu Yuan was immediately taken back and given a beating.
Later, there was a rumor in the underworld that the young master of the Mu family often got beaten up but didn’t dare to resist. It was said that when he was alive, he had done some bad things, and his parents were disciplining him.
Mu Yuan: His parents were never like this when they were alive. They never even scolded him, let alone hit him.
After his parents died, they completely changed. He felt they were no longer the parents he used to know.
When Shen Wan’s mortal lifespan in this world came to an end, she held Qin Ying’s hand and said, “Ying Ying, I’m about to leave now. Will you come with me?”
Old woman, if you’re not willing, then stay here forever and never see me again!
“Of course I’m willing.”
Qin Ying smiled happily. Even though her power had grown so strong that she could be invincible in this world, what was the point of an invincible world without Wan Wan? She even sensed that not agreeing would have severe consequences.
“Then close your eyes, and I’ll take you away.”
The King of Hell, who had been looking at documents, suddenly sensed something. He closed his eyes, calculated with his fingers, and his expression changed. He instantly disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, it was in the bedroom where Shen Wan and Qin Ying lived. The room only contained Shen Wan’s physical body, which turned to ashes the moment he arrived. The ashes gradually formed a line of words: King of Hell, Ying Ying and I have left. Take care of yourself.
The King of Hell waved his sleeve, scattering the words, and snorted, “Leaving just like that, did you ever really consider me as the King of Hell? Leaving just a message, what a sentimental woman. How could someone like her have a partner? Qin Ying must be blind.”
The King of Hell disappeared from the spot, leaving only a sigh behind.