When Lou Hongchen said “Remember,” his tone carried a chilling threat and warning. Gu Daosheng’s heart trembled. It felt as if, should he fail to remember this time, Lou Hongchen would find plenty of ways to teach him a lesson he’d never forget.
And he’d have to teach him in person.
The moment this strange thought surfaced, Gu Daosheng immediately knew something was wrong. How could an ordinary person like Lou Hongchen possess such a powerful aura?
When a person does enough good deeds, a soft white light, invisible to the naked eye, will appear around their body. This is called merit.
Similarly, when a person commits enough evil deeds, an aura will also form around them. Its color is a murky, chaotic gray, turning blacker the more wicked the person is.
Whether it’s a soft white light or a chaotic, murky color, it’s extremely rare for such a concentrated aura to appear on a person.
This is because there are very few absolutely good or absolutely evil people.
Most people do both good and bad deeds, and their merits and transgressions cancel each other out, leaving the aura so faint it can be completely ignored.
Gu Daosheng closed his eyes slightly and quietly activated his “Heavenly Master’s” vision to observe the aura around Lou Hongchen.
He expected it to be black.
Suddenly, a blindingly brilliant white light erupted, nearly searing Gu Daosheng’s eyes.
Whoa, saintly man.
Just how many good deeds must he have done?
Seeing that Gu Daosheng remained silent, Lou Hongchen’s expression shifted. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
“N-no, nothing,” Gu Daosheng stammered, rubbing his eyes. He felt a genuine urge to give Lou Hongchen a big thumbs-up. “Hongchen, you’re truly a good person.”
Lou Hongchen’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t accept ‘Good Person’ cards.”
With that, he grabbed Lou Mingzhang, who was too terrified to struggle, with his mouth covered, and turned to leave. His voice strained with immense patience. “I can’t take this anymore. If we don’t leave now, I’ll… I’m leaving. I’m leaving, Sheng Sheng…”
Gu Daosheng: “…”
This guy is getting weirder by the minute.
After Lou Hongchen had been gone for a while, Gu Daosheng’s guard, which he had just lowered, shot back up. How did he know Nan Ying was sleeping in the bed last night?!
…He must have guessed, right?
A sudden chill ran down Gu Daosheng’s spine.
That white light just now… it really was something only a human could emit.
“Hmph! Show-off!” Nan Ying leaped to the floor, planting his hands on his hips and arrogantly declaring war on the empty doorway. “So what if he’s just a human? I’ll eat him in one bite! Awooo!”
Gu Daosheng smacked the back of his head.
A little ghost shouldn’t be so reckless, he thought. Being a brat without a backup plan is a recipe for disaster. This incident taught him a valuable lesson: “I used to think you ran away whenever you saw me just to provoke me. Turns out, you’re just a coward.”
“I am not a coward!” Nan Ying clutched the back of his head and sat down with an air of feigned dignity. He swung his little feet, his expression turning gloomy. “I don’t have anyone to protect me. My body is so small I haven’t grown in years. And I like eating people- I mean, ghosts. If I can’t win a fight, I have to run.”
“A ghost stays the age they were when they died,” Gu Daosheng said, opening his lunchbox. “They don’t grow anymore.”
Nan Ying rested his short arms on his knees, cupping his cheeks with his hands as he sighed. “I know.”
In truth, while Lou Hongchen had been messing around with Gu Daosheng, Gu Daosheng had been too preoccupied to pay Nan Ying any mind.
With ample time, Nan Ying had already broken the Ghost-Imprisoning Talisman, yet he hadn’t taken the opportunity to escape. This surprised Gu Daosheng.
He hadn’t expected the Ghost Infant’s initial claim that he wouldn’t run to actually be true.
A man of his word.
Compared to the little ghost, Gu Daosheng felt like the one with a petty and suspicious mind.
“How did you die?” Gu Daosheng rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed to get straight to the point and ask about the Lou family’s specific situation. He was showing a rare moment of concern for a ghost.
“I don’t know,” Nan Ying said, his tone heavy, even grief-stricken. “I can’t remember.”
“You”
“About the Lou family,” Nan Ying suddenly interrupted him.
Gu Daosheng immediately put down his chopsticks, his ears perking up. But he knew in his heart that he couldn’t believe everything he heard. The most reliable information would still have to be uncovered by getting directly involved himself.
The Ghost Infant’s voice grew doubly heavy with grief. “I don’t know anything.”
Gu Daosheng: “…”
Nan Ying quickly added, pinching a bit of flesh on his pinky with his thumb. “To be precise, I know very little… very, very, very little.”
Gu Daosheng: “Hmm?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You said you stayed here for several years.”
Nan Ying shifted his seat, moving a bit further away from Gu Daosheng. A ghost, no less, yet he showed no fear of the sun, staring intently at it. “I said I stayed for several years… but I was just passing through. I came by a few times over those years… just three or four times. Back then, I noticed the resentful energy here was heavy, so I came in to take a look, and incidentally ate a few foul-mouthed people to satisfy my cravings.”
“That’s right. I would have forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it,” Gu Daosheng said, furious at the thought of being played again. The humiliation multiplied, and he gritted his teeth as he brought up the old matter. “You ate someone right in front of me.”
“I didn’t do it in front of you. That person was already dead!” Nan Ying waved his hand in a gesture of surrender. “I bit his head off years ago.”
“You’re a Heavenly Master, so you must know this place has become a ‘Ghost-Tracing Land.’ When we were at the Lou family’s gate, you and I were already inside the Ghost-Tracing. It’s just that you’ve never been down the mountain, so you’re unfamiliar with the environment and didn’t realize it. It wasn’t until your physical body was pulled in at night to serve as Young Master Twelve that you finally understood the situation.” Nan Ying continued, refusing to admit any fault. “But I quickly realized I had traced back a few years. I just didn’t see ‘me’ come to eat him.”
“I figured it must be because I’m a ghost and have no physical body, so my true form entered instead. I was hungry from being chased by you, and I have a craving for a good meal. I was just repeating the scene from years ago.”
So that’s how it was… Gu Daosheng’s expression turned grave.
The bridal sedan passed by the Lou family’s gate. “Gu Daosheng” refused to marry. The path was strewn with his resentment- the anguish of being forced to part from his beloved. He was willing to forfeit his Reincarnation Token and let his soul vanish just to fulfill his heart’s desire.
Gu Daosheng had been chasing Nan Ying in a frantic rage, his emotions dangerously unstable. In his haste, he stumbled into this vortex of concentrated resentment, allowing it to seize him.
Nan Ying had originally led him out. The bustling night streets they’d seen were real.
But after Gu Daosheng’s relentless pursuit, the ghost child had led him back into the Lou family’s territory in retaliation.
According to the time that night, Lou Guangrui was in the middle of his forced assault. “Gu Daosheng” refused, his resentment and hatred erupting into a torrential flood. This created a desperate wish to escape reality, and Gu Daosheng was instantly dragged in to take his place.
Gu Daosheng’s gray eyes turned slowly toward Nan Ying, his gaze promising to refine him into a pill.
Nan Ying stared at the ground, his toes pointedly avoiding Gu Daosheng’s gaze. He awkwardly twiddled his pinky finger, his lips pursed as he tried to whistle a guilty tune. No sound came out, but he kept busily whistling, shhh-shhh-shhh.
“You did that on purpose.” Gu Daosheng’s back arched like a cat with its fur standing on end. He lunged at Nan Ying, claws out, “I’m just a Little Celestial Master who just came down from the mountain, and you dare let me enter the Ghost-Tracing Land? If you get me killed, Master will definitely not spare you! You truly have the heart of the most vicious ghost…”
Thump!
Lou Ling, who had just entered the room with a new mission after settling Miss Eleven, saw Gu Daosheng gripping “someone’s” neck, shaking him madly back and forth while muttering curses.
But in front of him… there was no one.
Lou Ling fell flat on his ass.
He had originally thought that Young Master Twelve, who had been abnormal ever since he married into the family, was just playing dumb. He never expected him to be truly insane.
Gu Daosheng was startled by the sound of a butt hitting the floor. Ghost Infant stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes, playing dead to let the other person calm down first. Gu Daosheng’s hand remained clamped around Ghost Infant’s neck as he turned to see who it was.
The moment his gaze shot out, Lou Ling let out a cry. His butt, still touching the smooth floor, skidded several meters away with a loud scritch-scritch-scritch.
“…What are you doing?” Gu Daosheng asked, bewildered.
“What am I doing?!” Lou Ling’s finger trembled as he pointed at Gu Daosheng’s conscience. “Who are you talking to?!”
Gu Daosheng glanced at Nan Ying, and Nan Ying glanced back at Gu Daosheng. The former quickly withdrew his hand, while the latter sucked his tongue back in with a wet slurp.
“I can’t exactly tell you I’m talking to a ghost, can I? You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
At those words, Lou Ling’s face turned green. Gu Daosheng laughed heartlessly, but knowing his limits, he decided to call it a day. “What are you doing here?”
Lou Ling scrambled to his feet, his toes twisted inward as he faced the front door. His calves trembled, making him look like a turtle ready to bolt at any moment. Yet, his upper body leaned forward, straining as he reached out. “Mingzhang, where is Young Master Mingzhang?”
“Lou Hongchen took him.”
“What?” Lou Ling gasped. “You gave him to the Eldest Young Master?! How could you give him to the Eldest Young Master!”
“What’s wrong with giving him to him?” Gu Daosheng said nonchalantly. “It’s much less trouble than giving him to me, right? They’re biological brothers.”
“The Eldest Young Master is a dead man!” This time, Lou Ling truly collapsed to the ground, unable to even stand. His face was as pale as gold leaf. “…He died a week ago.”