Gao Yueyuan had never heard such a strange request before.
She hesitated for a moment, then agreed in her childish, milky voice, “I really don’t know what to do with you. Alright then.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the delicate, jade-like little doll that had been in front of Wen Ling turned toward Gu Chenran and transformed into a terrifying figure with a torn-open chest and a hideous, twisted face.
She floated around Gu Chenran twice while making scary faces at him.
Yet, apart from a complicated expression, Gu Chenran showed no trace of fear or panic.
Gao Yueyuan drifted dejectedly back to Wen Ling. “Sister, I couldn’t scare him.”
“That’s normal,” Wen Ling comforted her kindly. “Because in the past twelve years, he’s seen ghosts far more terrifying than you.”
Just then, the door suddenly swung open from the outside, and Lü Jian stumbled in, sword in hand.
As he ran, he shouted, “Your Highness, are you alright?! I don’t know what happened, but all the guards in the mansion have been knocked unconscious!”
Lü Jian had rushed in to protect the prince as soon as he woke up.
But upon entering, he found both the prince and the princess consort in the room, seemingly unharmed.
Only, the prince was looking at him with a rather strange expression.
What he didn’t know was that when he had charged in, he had passed right through Gao Yueyuan.
Gu Chenran looked at him with a complicated expression. “When you came in just now, didn’t you see anything?”
“See… see what?” Lü Jian asked, puzzled.
Gu Chenran turned to look at Wen Ling, who shrugged with an expression that said, “See, I told you so.”
Wen Ling added, “If you still don’t believe me, you can come to my courtyard. I have a hanged ghost there too. Her corpse is in my side room, but the wooden tablet containing her is too dirty, so I didn’t bother bringing it.”
By this point, Gu Chenran already believed her, but he still wanted to go and see for himself.
Seeing him prepare to get out of bed, Lü Jian immediately pushed the wheelchair from the bedside over.
Unexpectedly, Gu Chenran stood up directly and walked like a normal person.
Lü Jian was startled. “Your Highness, you… you can stand up even without an episode?”
Ever since Gu Chenran contracted his strange illness at the age of eight, he could only stand up during his mad episodes.
At all other times, his legs were completely numb, and countless renowned physicians had examined him without finding any cause.
And now, the prince was standing up without having an episode?!
“Yes,” Gu Chenran replied, looking at Wen Ling. “It was Miss Wen… no, it was my wife who enabled me to walk again.”
He had instinctively started to say “Miss Wen,” then realized the address was inappropriate and awkwardly changed it to “my wife.”
Lü Jian had long sensed something was off. He felt that something had happened that he was unaware of.
Gu Chenran followed Wen Ling to her courtyard.
After personally witnessing the ghost of the hanged woman, Gao Zhi, emerge from the wooden tablet and seeing Gao Zhi’s body hanging in the side room—while Lü Jian showed no reaction, indeed seeing nothing—Gu Chenran completely believed Wen Ling’s words.
His voice trembled slightly. “So, it really isn’t that I’m sick. It’s that I’m truly haunted by Malevolent Spirits, and they’re just invisible to ordinary people.”
“Exactly,” Wen Ling nodded, her expression carrying a hint of pride.
It was as if she were saying, “See? My judgment is never wrong.”
At that moment, sunlight shone into every corner of the mansion, dispersing the Yin Energy nurtured by the Soul-Extraction Array.
Apart from Wen Ling and Gu Chenran, even Ting Yin, who had just seen the ghost with her own eyes moments ago, could no longer see anything.
Gu Chenran felt like someone who had been walking alone in boundless darkness for a very long time.
Finally, he had encountered a fellow traveler in the darkness—someone holding a bright lantern, who seemed to know the way forward.
He grew somewhat agitated, his breathing even becoming slightly unsteady. Unable to restrain himself, he grabbed Wen Ling’s wrist and asked, “Then do you know why I’m being haunted by a Malevolent Spirit? Is it entirely because of the Malevolent Spirit that I’ve become this half-human, half-ghost appearance?!”
As he spoke, Gu Chenran’s eyes grew red with emotion.
Wen Ling once again marveled at how even anger looked beautiful on someone so handsome.
She glanced toward the courtyard entrance. By now, the guards in the estate had gradually awakened, all looking bewildered and instinctively heading toward the courtyard where the commotion had occurred.
Wen Ling said, “I know why, but this isn’t the place to discuss it.”
Gu Chenran also realized this. The fact that a Soul-Extraction Array had been set up in his estate meant it was unsafe, and there was likely a traitor among them.
He pulled Wen Ling into the room and ordered Lü Jian to stand guard outside.
Only then did he anxiously ask Wen Ling, “Why am I being haunted by a Malevolent Spirit? Is there any way to completely resolve this?”
Wen Ling did not answer directly. Instead, she reached out and tapped the spot over Gu Chenran’s chest.
Gu Chenran looked down and saw a golden Binding Seal on his chest. Beneath the golden seal was a violently pulsating black sphere, resembling a throbbing black heart.
“Do you see this black, pulsating thing?” Wen Ling asked.
The sight of this black heart filled Gu Chenran with horror.
A fear that seemed to emanate from the depths of his soul spread through his entire body, making him instinctively reluctant to look directly at it.
Wen Ling’s clear voice, as if coming from another realm, pulled his thoughts back.
“It is this thing that constantly attracts all kinds of vengeful spirits, allowing them to more easily invade your consciousness and body.”
“If I’m not mistaken, this black mass should be the heart of some ancient sorcerer who practiced dark arts. That sorcerer’s Cultivation Base was likely quite formidable.”
“To be honest, if not for your innate Destiny Pattern as the True Dragon Son of Heaven and your unwavering willpower, you would have been completely controlled by it long ago over these twelve years.”
In this regard, Wen Ling truly admired Gu Chenran—this was not something an ordinary person could endure or withstand.
This was also why Wen Ling had chosen to help Gu Chenran.
Gu Chenran was the epitome of beauty, strength, and tragedy—perfectly aligned with Wen Ling’s aesthetic preferences.
Otherwise, even if they were bound as husband and wife, if the other person were truly despicable, she had plenty of ways to escape.
The more Wen Ling spoke, the paler Gu Chenran’s face became. “Why is it inside my body?”
“There could be many reasons for that,” Wen Ling mused, resting her chin on her hand. “The process of implanting such a heart is undoubtedly excruciating. If it happened while you were conscious, you wouldn’t have no memory of it at all.”
“Most people cannot withstand this heart. After implantation, they typically die within seven days.”
“So, when you were eight years old, was there a time when you lost consciousness for an extended period?”
“If so, that was likely when it was done. As for who did it, I can’t tell at the moment.”
Gu Chenran’s face grew paler with each word Wen Ling spoke.
Lü Jian also began to recall events along with Wen Ling’s words.
He strained his memory and suddenly exclaimed, “I remember! Your Highness, when you were eight years old in the winter, you went missing for seven whole days in a snowstorm while hunting red foxes to make a fur coat for Consort Xian, and were only found after…”
Lü Jian wanted to continue, but upon seeing Gu Chenran’s face darken like ink, he immediately stopped himself.
He said awkwardly, “I was only mentioning that incident, and I didn’t mean to imply it had anything to do with Consort Xian…”
Gu Chenran closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath. “All of this can be investigated later. The current priority is, do you have a way to remove this black heart?”
Wen Ling shrugged. “I don’t have one at the moment either, because it’s more powerful than I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have exhausted my Spiritual Power and fainted that day while helping you temporarily seal it.”
The hope that had just flickered in Gu Chenran’s eyes dimmed once again. “Even if it can’t be removed, being able to temporarily seal it continuously would be good enough…”
“It seems that won’t work either, because it will grow stronger over time. Eventually, there will come a day when the seal can no longer hold it.”
Wen Ling delivered another heavy blow.
Gu Chenran’s shoulders visibly slumped in defeat.
He smiled self-deprecatingly and asked, “Then how much time do I have before it breaks free completely?”