The Ghost Emperor’s behavior intimidated everyone present, though the people who had originally been on site remained relatively normal.

However, judging by their stunned and dazed expressions, their “normal” still had some exaggeration.

Vice President Ding reacted slightly better and quickly caught on.

After all, she had experienced a lot. Having one more ghost husband wasn’t that big a deal, at most, the Ghost Emperor acting jealous and possessive would shock people.

Just as she wanted to say a few words to calm the atmosphere, the Ghost Emperor, with a face full of grievance and anger, said: “Ye Wangxing! Who do you choose now, me or him?!”

This made Lu Shi even more emotionally agitated. Although he didn’t say anything about the First or Second Branches to provoke the Ghost Emperor, simply reaching toward Ye Wangxing with a pleading look was enough to provoke him.

Seeing that they were about to fight again, Yu Yi also stirred, wanting to step forward.

Vice President Ding looked on helplessly.

Why did kids nowadays enjoy stirring up trouble? If the Ghost Emperor really acted, the situation would be completely uncontrollable.

Vice President Ding saw Yu Yi lift a foot to step forward. She wanted to speak to dissuade him, but before she could, she heard a loud shout: “Enough!”

Vice President Ding watched Yu Yi’s advancing foot retract and even take three steps back.

His frightened expression struck her as odd. Could it be that Ye Wangxing’s expression had become terrifying?

She looked up and saw Ye Wangxing bowing his head, his expression hidden.

When she looked closely, Ye Wangxing slowly raised his head, revealing the anger and fury in his eyes.

The knife was still at his neck, but his eyes no longer had the previous numbness. He seemed utterly enraged as he said to the Ghost Emperor:

“I said enough, Xie Jiu. How long do you plan to toy with me?”

Flames of anger burned in Ye Wangxing’s eyes. “I don’t believe you didn’t see that my friends were just trying to save me.”

As Ye Wangxing spoke, the grievance on the Ghost Emperor’s face disappeared, replaced by an intrigued expression.

Vice President Ding suddenly realized something. A Ghost Emperor, especially one controlling a quarter of all spirits, wouldn’t normally act like a resentful woman.

Even if he were interested in humans, he wouldn’t lose all reason.

The only explanation was—he was playing a novel game.

…A game so novel that Vice President Ding, over fifty, couldn’t quite understand it.

Were young people playing such intense games now?

No, the Ghost Emperor’s age spanned from Change’s first moon journey to witnessing it again.

So even the ancients played such extreme games?

Vice President Ding kept pondering, while the Ghost Emperor, after hearing Ye Wangxing’s words, quietly released Lu Shi. Lu Shi, once freed, no longer provoked anyone and ran quickly back to Ye Wangxing’s side.

The Ghost Emperor said nothing, merely observing Ye Wangxing, his face still wearing that amused smile.

Ye Wangxing protected Lu Shi as he returned, the knife still at his neck.

Vice President Ding watched a young man tug at the knife a few times without removing it. Ye Wangxing even pressed it slightly harder, drawing a thin line of blood. The young man dared not move.

“Wangxing, put the knife down first. Don’t really hurt yourself.”

The young man’s voice trembled.

Ye Wangxing responded coldly: “I’m fine. This is just right.”

Terrified, Lu Shi stayed silent, a tall figure frozen in place like a pillar.

Vice President Ding couldn’t bear to watch. She turned and saw the little boy beside her also behaving strangely. His body trembled, he covered his mouth, and his eyes were full of fear as if something terrible loomed.

She could tell he wanted to help but couldn’t move his feet. This aroused her suspicion.

Then Ye Wangxing spoke again: “Although I don’t know why you immediately signed a Conjoined Heart Oath with me, nor why you said you wanted to register a marriage with me in the human world, bit I do know this—a Ghost Emperor would never casually sign such a celestial oath with someone he met for the first time.”

Ye Wangxing spoke calmly, his lively expression gone. He appeared composed, mature, and steady, causing the Ghost Emperor’s gaze to flicker for a moment.

Vice President Ding noticed this fleeting look and immediately lowered her eyes to ponder it.

‘Could it be that in his previous life, Ye Wangxing was an important figure and had met the Ghost Emperor, which is why the Ghost Emperor signed the Conjoined Heart Oath on their first meeting in this life—to prevent Ye Wangxing from harming him?’

She thought this firmly.

As Vice President Ding pondered, the Ghost Emperor floated beside Ye Wangxing, his expression teasing, as if his previous antics had really been just to play with Ye Wangxing.

But Vice President Ding still felt something was off. Was the Ghost Emperor really that childish, playing with Ye Wangxing for amusement alone?

Expressionless, Ye Wangxing pressed the knife against his neck again when he saw the Ghost Emperor approaching and said: “…So is there something about me that makes you go to such lengths, even acting so childish as if you’d lost your mind?”

The handsome Ghost Emperor did not give a direct response to Ye Wangxing’s words. He merely curled his lips, pinched Ye Wangxing’s chin again, and shortened the distance between them to a few centimeters.

“…Seeing you act so clever just now, it made me feel a bit more sincere.”

What followed happened surprisingly smoothly. The Ghost Emperor indeed followed them out of Qingfeng Temple and agreed to go to the Religious Association’s main base to register with Ye Wangxing.

—They had actually suggested sending staff on an errand to register the Ghost Emperor.

After all, that was the main base of the Religious Association. If this one went mad inside, the Association really wouldn’t be able to handle it.

However, the Ghost Emperor not only refused their suggestion but also floated beside Ye Wangxing with an interested expression.

Once the Ghost Emperor finally settled down, Ye Wangxing still looked somewhat angry, especially toward Lu Shi, maintaining a cold expression.

His close friend didn’t dare to approach, only tugging at Ye Wangxing’s sleeve or his clothing occasionally.

“Wangxing, I’ll never do something so dangerous again.”

“I just wanted to help you. I really didn’t disregard my own danger.”

“Besides, I really couldn’t stand by and watch you be forced to marry that fierce ghost—it felt like watching you get kidnapped by bandits…”

Lu Shi apologized the whole way, causing even Zhou Tianning, who had finally understood the situation, to feel a bit annoyed.

Zhou Tianning now sat in the front passenger seat, the driver being Vice President Ding—she personally supervised to ensure the Ghost Emperor and Ye Wangxing wouldn’t fight.

The car was a six-seater, so Vice President Ding had also brought along Zhou Tianning and the others who didn’t want to leave Ye Wangxing.

The little boy named Yu Yi stayed quiet. In his previous life, he had been the same, going three days without speaking.

Now, he seemed a little afraid of the Ghost Emperor, sitting obediently in his seat and not even daring to lift his head.

Lu Shi, on the other hand, was really loud.

Zhou Tianning felt some annoyance.

He truly couldn’t understand why this ordinary person had so much to say, and Ye Wangxing ignored him—wasn’t that normal?

They were not even from the same social tier. It was natural for Ye Wangxing to cut off contact.

Ordinary people wanting to meddle in a Taoist ’s affairs—wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

Zhou Tianning’s impatience showed on his face, but fortunately, his ghost husband quietly emerged from his jade gourd, helping block the sound from that side.

Zhou Tianning also noticed the Ghost Emperor glance at him in the rearview mirror but say nothing. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief—apparently, the Ghost Emperor did not eat every ghost he saw.

This finally allowed Zhou Tianning to focus on analyzing the situation calmly.

From the current situation, it seemed the Ghost Emperor had noticed Ye Wangxing’s talent and had signed the Conjoined Heart Oath.

But how exactly did the Ghost Emperor know Ye Wangxing? His talent was only known within the Association, it hadn’t spread outside as it had in the previous life, where Ye Wangxing had become widely known.

Zhou Tianning knew clearly that, with his current abilities, he could never have caused such a butterfly effect.

Could it be…

Zhou Tianning glanced again at the Ghost Emperor behind them, but the Ghost Emperor’s gaze on him was like looking at an ordinary person. From his words and actions, he treated him no differently.

This meant the Ghost Emperor had no knowledge of Zhou Tianning’s past ghost-taming exploits.

If he had known, the Ghost Emperor would have likely killed him immediately.

Thinking this, Zhou Tianning finally relaxed.

As long as the Ghost Emperor wasn’t someone who had also been reborn, it was fine.

Otherwise, with one reborn Ghost Emperor, all his previous arrangements would be ruined.

Whether self-deception or genuine thought, Zhou Tianning reflected on this.

He moved his fingers and communicated with his ghost husband in his mind, telling him to turn off the mute.

Then the sounds in the car reached his ears.

Unexpectedly, that mortal continued persistently talking and apologizing to Ye Wangxing.

Apparently, persistence paid off. As they neared the Religious Association, this ordinary person finally coaxed Ye Wangxing into speaking to him.

“…Lu Shi, you not only disregarded your own life but also Auntie’s life.”

Ye Wangxing softened his expression and spoke seriously to Lu Shi, who sat diagonally behind.

“Xie Jiu is now somewhat interested in me, but did you consider that if you had done what you did just now to another ghost, they could have traced your home through the internet, endangering Auntie and Uncle?”

Ye Wangxing spoke, and Lu Shi listened attentively, nodding to show he would never do it again.

“…And Wangxing, I also had my parents put up the talismans you installed at my house.”

Lu Shi said this.

But his expression never seemed very anxious about it.

This made Ye Wangxing open his mouth slightly, but then he closed it again after thinking about something, which made Zhou Tianning smirk inwardly.

‘Another ordinary person who doesn’t understand the strength of a fierce ghost.’

For a Taoist Master like them, those ghosts were naturally very easy to deal with, even seeming light and effortless. But for ordinary people, the ghosts’ destructive power wasn’t any less than that of some large wild beasts.

Especially now that ghosts could evolve. If they encountered some new-era fierce ghost, it wouldn’t be hard at all for the ghost to track them through their home network.

The Ye kid was just too naive, actually thinking that ordinary people could understand the seriousness of this situation.

However, Zhou Tianning did not show this in front of Ye Wangxing. Even when getting out of the car, he acted respectfully toward Ye Wangxing—but that respect was not for Ye Wangxing himself, it was for the Ghost Emperor.

What attitude the Ghost Emperor had toward Ye Wangxing was none of his business. Zhou Tianning only needed to show respect in front of the Ghost Emperor.

As expected, after seeing Zhou Tianning’s attitude, the Ghost Emperor’s temper improved significantly and even nodded at Zhou Tianning. Although it was just a casual nod, Zhou Tianning inwardly affirmed he had done the right thing.

Meanwhile, the Lu surname person following Ye Wangxing and the young boy Ye Wangxing had rescued were completely ignored by Zhou Tianning.

Ordinary people dreaming of earning a Taoist Master’s respect? Forget it.

Zhou Tianning thought, then turned and entered the Religious Association.

What happened next was no longer his concern. After all, the Ghost Emperor signing the soul contract with their association’s Taoist Masters required a proper meeting for discussion.

Zhou Tianning returned to his office, adjusted his plan to seize opportunities, marked a location with emphasis, and upon exiting, happened to see the Lu surname person standing at the end of the corridor, talking on the phone.

Coincidentally, his office was right at the corridor’s end. Zhou Tianning had no interest in eavesdropping, nor did he intend to give way to the ordinary person, so he planned to walk past and close the office door.

As he approached the ordinary person and was about to open the door, he heard them speaking on the phone:

“…Yes, the magnetic field shield at home must be turned on. That thing effectively blocks harmful magnetic fields from entering our house.”

Zhou Tianning immediately paused. He knew about the magnetic field capture device, it was a technology developed by the authorities specifically to deal with ghosts. Compared to previous devices, it had the advantage of mass production.

Its flaw was obvious: it could only block ghosts, not destroy them. Once someone left the house, ghosts could still track them.

Currently, only the authorities sold these devices. Could this Lu surname ordinary person actually be from the authorities?

This thought shocked Zhou Tianning. He slowed his pace. If government personnel had infiltrated near Ye Wangxing, this was serious.

Moreover, this Lu surname person had already been near Ye Wangxing in the previous life. Could it be that information the authorities knew in the past had come from Ye Wangxing’s side?

As Zhou Tianning spiraled into conspiracy thinking, the Lu surname person continued talking on the phone: “Yes, that’s right. It’s similar to the infrared magnetic therapy pillow you bought, Mom. Both prevent harmful magnetic fields from affecting your body during treatment. But this magnetic field shield protects the entire house.”

Zhou Tianning: “…”

Had he overthought, or not?

—But which government employee would actually tell family that a magnetic shield costing hundreds of thousands was the same as a gimmicky infrared pillow?

This thought rooted in Zhou Tianning’s mind. He even bumped into several staff members without reacting.

“Master Zhou! Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you just now!”

A staff member originally wanted to speak further, but seeing Zhou Tianning, she immediately shut up and switched to frantic apologies.

Her apology was timely. Zhou Tianning only furrowed his brows and said: “Be more careful next time.”

The staff member finally relaxed, watched him leave, and hurriedly delivered documents to the meeting room.

Back at her desk, the staff member looked pale, as if she had just run 800 meters.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Wu? Did a ghost chase you?”

A colleague teased. Xiao Wu waved her hand and said, exhausted: “Far scarier than a ghost. I went out to deliver documents and ran right into Master Zhou. If I hadn’t apologized in time, I’d be dead right there.”

Xiao Wu’s expression showed relief.

Another colleague added: “Come on, Master Zhou may seem cold, but he wouldn’t kill someone just for bumping into him. We’re in a law-abiding society now.”

Xiao Wu and her friend looked at this colleague with sympathy.

“Law-abiding society, sure. If Master Zhou killed someone in public, the authorities would arrest him—but what if someone could block the driver’s view so that you get hit by a mud truck while walking?”

The colleague was startled. Xiao Wu continued seriously: “Master Zhou’s family has ancestral ghost-control techniques. He doesn’t need to act, let his ghosts handle it.”

Her friend added: “They excel at ‘unfinished human-ghost business.’ The ghosts would do anything for their family. Killing someone is minor compared to protecting the family. Their ghosts do this all the time.”

The colleague was terrified and promised to stay far away from Master Zhou, worried about being misunderstood as isolating him.

“Don’t worry. Master Zhou has high standards, he won’t lower himself to look at us mortals.”

Xiao Wu said sarcastically.

The colleague relaxed and returned to work.

As time passed, they gradually understood why Vice President Ding had rushed out with a team that morning: The Ghost Emperor had appeared.

For the association, this was huge news. The Ghost Emperor’s appearance signaled big trouble.

Vice President Ding quickly posted a 60-second voice message on WeChat, explaining that the Ghost Emperor was temporarily under the care of Junior Taoist Ye, who would continue normal missions.

“…Future task assignments will not change. Please rest assured.”

Vice President Ding knew what workers cared about most. Any added workload would be resented.

But while she reassured the Taoists, ordinary people were forgotten.

Even if they verbally promised Junior Taoist Ye wouldn’t let the Ghost Emperor harm humans, how could they really trust it?

The fierce ghost near Zhou Tianning proved this.

The Ghost Emperor’s destructive power and the torment from Zhou Tianning’s ghosts made them even more afraid.

Even an ordinary fierce ghost could kill silently, tormenting the association would be trivial.

Xiao Wu gripped her phone, muttering expletives, her expression fierce: “Doesn’t the association care about our safety? They even brought this one back! One month, 4,000 salary—what am I supposed to do, risk my life?”

Her colleague also felt the same, seeing the association using Junior Taoist Ye as a shield.

“I have no objections.”

Xiao Wu and her colleagues were dumbfounded, staring at the red-clothed Ghost Emperor floating above the podium.

Those words had come from him.

“Could it be that he actually wants this? What does he want? Nothing can restrain him… Did the association finally develop a transparent powerful talisman?”

Xiao Wu whispered to a colleague.

They had just been called to the hall by Vice President Ding to witness the full cooperation between the association and the Ghost King.

It appeared friendly but actually favored humans. The Ghost Emperor, once in the human world, would have his powers constrained unless attacked.

This explained Xiao Wu’s confusion over what the Ghost Emperor wanted.

While whispering, the next segment began.

It was Junior Taoist Ye’s turn to speak. Everyone gave him attention, putting away their phones.

Xiao Wu noticed that today, Junior Taoist Ye’s aura was sharper, like a drawn sword.

But what he said shocked her: “Xie Jiu, I will be your primary responsible person. I will oversee your actions and protect you. The plan is not a restriction—it’s protection for both of us.”

Junior Taoist Ye spoke seriously. His next words were even more forceful, voice sharp: “—But if you deliberately do anything harmful to humans, I will use the soul contract to perish with you!”

Xiao Wu, stunned by his commanding presence, glanced at Zhou Tianning. The contrast was striking.

Then she noticed the Ghost Emperor blushing at Junior Taoist Ye’s words.

It didn’t seem like a flustered reaction from Red Warmth…

Before she could define it, Junior Taoist Ye shouted weakly: “—Why are you blushing? I’m threatening you!”

 

 

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