Warm light scattered down onto the broken rooftops, and the monster, which looked like black mud and clearly should not have appeared in the light, appeared in it. In this light, a handsome master, whose face was the only thing visible, looked expressionlessly at the crying monster in front of him.

It looked like a scene from a game CGI or a trailer for a fantasy epic.

This was the scene that Xiao Wu and the others saw when they hurriedly arrived on site.

The immediate danger had been cleared, which was why Xiao Wu, a clerical staff member, could come there.

However, when she saw the scene on the second floor, she felt as if the danger had not completely disappeared.

Not to mention that Master Zhou, whose terrifying face was frozen in place, was still gripping Tang Fang’s soul—Xiao Wu already knew that Master Zhou had chosen to become a ghost rather than remain human.

Just looking at the monster, who seemed to be collapsing, but whose tentacles binding Master Ye had not loosened at all, it was clear that his emotions were extremely unstable.

Yet what puzzled Xiao Wu was that, given this situation, the two men beside Master Ye would surely argue or fight with Yu Yi. But now they all stood rigidly, frozen in place.

Even Vice President Ding was like this.

“What happened? It looks really serious,” Xiao Wu whispered to the colleague beside her.

The colleague nodded, the situation was indeed frightening.

Their whispered conversation seemed to alert the people across from them, who had been frozen like statues. Finally, they moved.

The first to react was Master Zhou Tianning. His face grew even more terrifying, and he shouted at the people across from him in disbelief: “Don’t you feel like you’ve been deceived?! Ye Wangxing deceived you! Ever since the day he was reborn, he never told you about it. He didn’t trust you at all! That appearance of being pure and virtuous was a facade—he was manipulating you—”

Perhaps because the news that Ye Wangxing had been reborn was so shocking, the three men reacted a beat slower than usual, almost allowing Master Zhou to finish his tirade.

However, they reacted just in time. Before Master Zhou could utter more insults, they brutally struck him aside and simultaneously rescued Tang Fang.

Their actions were rough, and Tang Fang’s ghost almost shattered entirely when he was freed.

But after recovering, Tang Fang did not pursue the matter. Firstly, he could not, and secondly…

His own situation was insignificant compared to what would happen if the others actually started fighting.

Thinking this, Tang Fang floated next to Xiao Wu, whose face was equally shocked, and stared at the scene without blinking.

—On his way, he even kicked Master Zhou and the also-bound Pei Si.

Xiao Wu did not know why Tang Fang floated over to them. At that moment, she had no energy to question him.

She only wanted to understand why Master Ye had also been reborn, and why he had not told the men of the other households.

What Xiao Wu cared about was the same thing the other households cared about.

Firstly Ghost Emperor could not sit still and demanded to know why Master Ye had not told them he was reborn!

“—And what did that kiss from your previous life mean? Surely it wasn’t just to disgust me!”

Seeing the Ghost Emperor so completely unsettled, Xiao Wu silently prayed that the Zhou family would not cut corners when building their house.

They were now on the second floor, and Yu Yi had already punctured the roof, the Ghost Emperor must not break the floor as well.

Lu Shi also could not hide the smile on his face. He looked at Ye Wangxing, covering his chest as if his heart had been shattered.

“Wangxing, you even hid this from me…”

Yu Yi did not speak at this time, he was busy crying.

However, Xiao Wu doubted whether the monster was truly crying.

—Who cries beautifully enough to look like a magazine cover when genuinely sad?

He even knew how to angle himself so that the most beautiful side of his tears faced Master Ye, who was trapped in his tentacles.

Xiao Wu watched helplessly as the emotion in Master Ye’s eyes mirrored resignation.

At this point, the other two men, who had already broken their composure, shouted: “Ye Wangxing! Speak! Answer me!”

The Ghost Emperor yelled.

“Wangxing! Don’t play deaf and dumb!”

Lu Shi also shouted loudly.

Even Yu Yi added: “Brother, please, answer me…”

Yet, despite the threats and pleas of these three men, Ye Wangxing remained unmoved. This further unsettled the three men. At that moment, a timid voice spoke up.

“…Um, sirs, if you want Junior Ye to answer, could you first remove the black mud from his face?”

Vice President Ding shakily pointed at the black mud still on Ye Wangxing’s face.

“When humans are silenced, they cannot speak.”

The three men present: “…”

At that moment, Vice President Ding shone like a savior, radiating a brilliant light.

After the black mud was removed from his face, Ye Wangxing finally answered the three men’s questions helplessly, which allowed Xiao Wu and the others to indulge in the gossip to their heart’s content.

“…So in his previous life, Master Ye did not immediately die after perishing together with Yu Yi, but was instead taken somewhere and confined by Yu Yi.”

Being proper people, Xiao Wu and her colleagues felt awkward, so she chose to discuss the news Master Ye revealed by messaging her coworkers on her phone.

“But in his previous life, Master Ye didn’t know that Yu Yi was the black mud monster. No wonder he protected Yu Yi so fiercely at the beginning of this life. And when he realized Yu Yi was the monster, no wonder the shock on Master Ye’s face was genuine, not acted.”

While saying this, she glanced at Master Ye, who was still wondering how he had died in his previous life.

“I still don’t quite understand how Master Ye died in his previous life, and what this sacrifice time is about,” he said.

Xiao Wu understood and immediately tapped out a response on her phone rapidly.

“In his previous life, after supposedly perishing together with Yu Yi, Master Ye did not die. The mutual demise did not succeed. Yu Yi took him somewhere to hide him.”

“Hide him? Some fledgling bird syndrome?”

Her colleague guessed.

“Maybe. At that time, the monster did not know the rules of human society and had already made a grave mistake. So even though he tried to act friendly toward Master Ye, Master Ye ignored him. Even eating and drinking were forced on him by Yu Yi.”

“Yu Yi forcibly confined Master Ye for a month, but Master Ye did not submit. Realizing he was Yu Yi’s emotional support, he waited until Yu Yi was distracted and then ended his own life.”

Her colleague finally understood and remarked appreciatively,

“Master Ye really had backbone. If he said he wouldn’t respond, he didn’t. If he said he would leave, he left.”

Xiao Wu finished typing and guessed,

“Perhaps this life, Yu Yi finally understood human laws, so after Master Ye discovered his identity, he was still willing to act as his regulator.”

Her colleague nodded in agreement but then raised another question.

“But Master Ye acting this way—doesn’t he fear Yu Yi might go mad and kill more people?”

At that moment, a calm voice floated from nearby: “If that monster dared to harm anyone, Ye Wangxing could maintain complete emotional detachment before killing him. He would not feel any emotion other than the act itself, nor would he speak to him.”

Xiao Wu and her colleague turned and were startled to see Tang Fang, who had spoken this decisive observation.

“No wonder, watching the footage that day, that monster was so scared and cowardly,” Tang Fang said.

After returning from the Zhou family’s mission, in less than half a day, the events at the Zhou household had spread throughout the relevant departments, including the religious association that had been merged into the authorities.

—After all, Tang Fang had died.

And he was killed by Zhou Tianning.

Although he could still nod and greet people, everyone knew he would report to the underworld tomorrow and officially become part of the Southern Ghost Emperor’s domain—well, a ghost.

Tang Fang thus became a negative case. People could try to leverage connections, but at least follow proper channels. He had flirted using someone else’s family influence while giving no status or recognition in return.

If it were an ordinary person, it might be tolerable—but was Zhou Tianning ordinary?

Now, well, he got stabbed.

Though technically Tang Fang did not deserve death, Zhou Tianning did not think so.

“—He used my family’s influence to flirt with me, and in the end wanted to report my family. I could tolerate it with others, but not him!”

During Zhou Tianning’s interrogation, the authorities asked about this matter.

Zhou Tianning answered forcefully.

This confused the officials, who could not comprehend his logic.

If he cared about the Zhou family, he had killed them all in this life. If he didn’t care, he used that as a reason to kill Tang Fang.

If he disliked Tang Fang, he had previously poured his heart out to him. If he liked Tang Fang, he stabbed him this life.

The authorities had never seen such erratic behavior in interrogations.

Ultimately, they could only submit this seemingly delirious report to Minister Li.

Minister Li was frustrated.

The Zhou family incident was the first major negative event since the religious association and the authorities had begun cooperating. The higher-ups took it very seriously, after the recent merger, some families had been wiped out, and anyone uninformed might think it was the authorities doing.

The higher-ups ordered a thorough investigation, and after issuing a notice, the materials needed to be documented for repeated study.

This gave Minister Li a headache—not because of Zhou Tianning himself. Zhou Tianning, while a bit erratic in the court report, was clearly self-serving, advancing himself while causing others to fail. Managing staff mentality and correcting misconceptions would not be a problem.

But…

The main issue was that Ye Wangxing was involved in this incident!

At the thought of Ye Wangxing’s complex emotional relationships appearing in materials that the entire country would study, Minister Li felt like pinching her own face.

Fortunately, Xiao Wang, the scribe, was reliable and consistent. Under her careful wording, Ye Wangxing immediately became the symbol of the religious association that saved people.

Zhou Tianning’s personality issues were framed as the result of feudal family overcontrol and misguided upbringing, which led to his distorted character.

This time, the matter of rebirth and Ye Wangxing was brushed aside so easily.

Minister Li finally had some free time and could have a cup of tea with Vice President Ding.

Oh—no, now it should be President Ding.

Because of Ye Wangxing and the Zhou family situation, the old conservative president, who had insisted on preserving the Zhou family’s antiques, finally could not maintain his position and stepped down, directly handing over the presidency to Vice President Ding.

President Ding, of course, did not refuse and directly took on the responsibilities of the presidency.

So he had been extremely busy during this period—managing matters related to Ye Wangxing, coordinating with the former president, and submitting reports and applications to the organization.

They were now official personnel, so they needed proper positions.

To secure this official position, President Ding had argued with the authorities for a long time before it was reluctantly approved, which coincided with Minister Li’s free time.

The two of them discussed the cooperation with the authorities and their respective affairs for quite a while before Minister Li remembered something.

“Today seems to be the day Zhou Tianning is executed.”

Minister Li said with some sighing. Back when the relevant departments were destitute and looking to recruit Taoists, Zhou Tianning had been within the recruitment scope—but all the Taoists refused.

Zhou Tianning refused most decisively. But now, the once-arrogant Taoist had become a prisoner, about to be punished and sent to the Southern Ghost Emperor.

President Ding also sighed. Although Zhou Tianning had been arrogant and sometimes had issues communicating with the public during missions, he had been one of the most diligent members of the Association. Even though he acted for Tang Fang’s sake, his achievements were undeniable.

Now, things had escalated to this degree, which made President Ding feel rather wistful.

“Shall we go see the execution scene? It’ll also give the Taoists a lesson.”

President Ding suggested.

Minister Li naturally nodded, after all, they had nothing pressing at the moment.

However, just as they were about to leave the meeting room, the phone rang.

Minister Li checked and found it was Guo Sheng calling.

She was puzzled, since Guo Sheng hardly ever called her for non-urgent matters. But when she answered, Guo Sheng’s voice came from the other side.

“Minister! Something terrible happened!”

Guo Sheng screamed in anguish.

“Boss Lu and Comrade Yu Yi were provoked by the Ghost Emperor! Now they are dragging Taoist Ye, insisting on signing the Unity Oath! But the Unity Oath can only be signed between two people! They’ve started fighting!”

Minister Li, who had just been resting: “…”

President Ding, who overheard everything: “…”

President Ding silently took out her phone and called Chief Li Guan.

“Chief Li, can you research whether four people can sign a Unity Oath?”

Li Guan, who was practicing sword exercises in the morning: “…Huh?”

After Ye Wangxing had once again captured Zhou Tianning’s attention, he bound the Unity Oath to four people, effectively putting a safeguard in the small world, before returning to the system space with 19.

After they returned, 17 immediately congratulated them for completing the mission again.

“…Mission completion 100%. But this time, the system evaluation wasn’t S, it was A-level. The mission’s spread and attention weren’t very broad. You can adjust this in the next small world.”

17 said with a smile.

The patch on him was still active, showing his previous injury had been serious.

“Alright, thank you, 17. By the way, what’s the next world’s mission, and how many days of vacation do we get this time?”

17 handed the task to Ye Wangxing: “Here it is. This time, because the next world is an interstellar world, those who have never encountered such a world must undergo a month of basic knowledge training within the system space.”

“Counting your vacation after this mission, you have about two months.”

He looked a bit envious—two months of rest was like summer vacation.

Ye Wangxing cheered and looked at 19, his expression free of the previous world’s shadows, bright and sunny.

He said: “That’s great! I’ll sleep for three days and play games for three days! I’ll go to my room now. 19, you and 17 probably have things to discuss. Don’t forget to sign for the database I bought you.”

Ye Wangxing spoke as thoughts came, his words slightly disordered, but in front of someone he trusted, it was his most relaxed state.

“Yes, Host. In half an hour, I will adjust your physiological state. Also, this is the follow-up from the previous world.”

19 said calmly, handing over the previous world’s follow-up to Ye Wangxing.

Ye Wangxing cheered again and turned to his room, leaving 17 staring at 19 in shock.

17 didn’t ask immediately, he first discussed company matters with 19 before gossiping: “…19, what happened between you and your Host in the small world? How did your relationship progress so quickly?”

19 uploaded the data while asking, puzzled: “Relationship progress? You speak as if humans always ask couples this question.”

“Yes, I’m asking about your romantic progress with your Host. You seem to like your Host a lot.”

17 spoke bluntly.

“Yes, I like my Host. My Host is kind, good-looking, respects others, and is capable. My emotion simulation module has no reason to dislike him.”

19 spoke calmly, using phrasing like a child’s essay.

“But this is not romantic love. I’m not a romance system, and my emotion simulation module does not include a database for love.”

He finished transferring the data and looked at 17 with concern.

“17, the feelings between my Host and me are as partners. I definitely like him, I definitely will not betray him, and my Host will not betray me.”

19 sent the mission report to 17, ignoring the ‘Do you know what you’re saying?’ look, and continued calmly: “But 17, your computation chip interpreted these feelings as romantic love. You should check with the main system whether your previous Host influenced you and whether they installed some messy database.”

17 looked at the mission report, then at 19 saying ‘I’m a partner with my Host,’ and raised a question.

—Who has a normal partner that leaves red marks all over the other partner without the mission or script requiring it?

You should check your database about human boundaries instead.

Ye Wangxing didn’t know how much 17 was mentally shaken outside. He was inside reading the follow-up from the previous small world.

First, Zhou Tianning could not withstand the Southern Ghost Emperor’s punishment. After a year, his soul power was weakened to a very low level, and he was reincarnated as a fly.

Tang Fang continued working under the Southern Ghost Emperor, and after becoming a ghost, the number of his subordinates rose to 30,000—a legendary promotion story in the underworld.

However, because of Zhou Tianning, although Tang Fang remained charming and cunning, he dared not develop relationships beyond friendship, fearing encountering another Zhou Tianning.

The Zhou family faced condemnation from vengeful ghosts in the underworld. Although it was a dog-eat-dog situation, the Southern Ghost Emperor and underworld rules stipulated that rewards were rewarded and punishments punished.

So both sides had to endure the punishments, despite receiving rewards for tormenting vicious spirits.

The vengeful spirits and Zhou family initially thought reporting each other might balance the merits and demerits…

After the evildoers were eliminated, the living world improved.

Because of the Unity Oath and Ye Wangxing keeping an eye on the remaining three, they did not cause further trouble, only occasionally quarreling over marriage registration.

But Ye Wangxing blocked them, saying same-sex registration was not allowed.

When the three tried to harass relevant authorities, the revival of spiritual energy began.

The four were immediately busy, and the authorities gave them nonstop missions to prevent idle time. All prior preparations were used.

High-tech weapons and special equipment for new creatures ensured the country’s stability during spiritual revival.

The recruited Taoists gained substantial benefits, becoming idols to the public once they learned the truth.

Among them, four always stood out—every time they appeared, the public cheered and gossiped equally loudly.

Ye Wangxing thought this was a good thing.

After reading the follow-up from the small world, 19 sent off 17.

Half an hour later, 19 returned to Ye Wangxing’s room.

On the king-size bed, Ye Wangxing lay down, and 19 placed a hand on the back of his head. With gentle, precise electrical stimulation, Ye Wangxing instantly fell asleep.

However, 19 frowned after checking his body.

He did not put his mimicry body into sleep mode at night.

He sensed that his Host would not sleep as long as he said.

Sure enough, with a click, the door to Ye Wangxing’s room opened, and 19 suddenly opened his eyes.

He quietly approached the door and opened it silently.

Ye Wangxing sat curled on the chaise in the living room, hugging a blanket tightly as if seeking safety, even though the room was comfortably warm.

His body trembled slightly.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw the Zhou family’s corpses everywhere.

Even knowing it wasn’t his fault, he understood it was a natural human fear of seeing dead bodies of the same species.

The impact had been far too intense.

It had been so intense that he could not ignore it even if he wanted to.

The guilt and panic his instincts produced made him wake from the nightmare after only three or four hours of sleep, even under 19’s hypnosis.

In his dream, all kinds of human corpses kept swaying in front of him.

Ye Wangxing held his trembling hands. Cold sweat covered his back, and he could not lie on the bed. He had to move to the sofa and wrap himself tightly.

He tried to make a sound to turn on the TV to pass the long night, but he could not produce a voice.

At that moment, he saw the living room light gently turn on, and 19 appeared with the light.

“Host, did you have a nightmare because of the Zhou family’s situation?”

Ye Wangxing looked at 19, and the panic in his heart finally began to dissipate. He slowly spoke all his fears aloud.

“I actually know this is just a human instinct, but… I still feel scared and have nightmares.”

Ye Wangxing said with a bitter smile.

“It’s ridiculous, right? The script described such a powerful person, yet I am so timid and cowardly.”

At that moment, 19 hugged him, letting his adjusted body warmth transfer to his Host.

“Host, this is a normal human physiological reaction. You don’t need to feel ashamed…”

19 spoke as the emotion module suggested, but for some reason, he added another sentence at the end.

“If you want, I can add artificial shielding so that in future small worlds, images of events like today will not be generated in your brain.”

Ye Wangxing leaned on 19’s shoulder and felt slightly better. After hearing 19’s explanation, he understood that the artificial shielding had levels.

Generally, when corpses moved or were modified, that level triggered the shielding.

“…So I haven’t reached the level to apply for it?” Ye Wangxing asked with some doubt.

19 remained silent. His Host had indeed not reached that level, but for some reason, he wanted to apply for it anyway.

Ye Wangxing looked at 19’s silence and assumed he had used a backdoor. He said nothing more, resting his head on 19’s shoulder and muttered: “Thank you, 19.”

19 did not speak, his emotion module did not tell him what to say.

He gently held the back of his Host’s head again and let him fall asleep.

Then…

“19, did you watch me all night like this?”

Ye Wangxing opened his eyes and saw 19’s golden eyes staring at him straight on. He almost got scared and only asked after a long moment.

“Yes, Host. Is there a problem?”

19 asked calmly, as if he had only just handed Ye Wangxing a glass of water.

Ye Wangxing: “…”There is a huge problem, okay!

Still, Ye Wangxing forgave 19. After all, he was just an intelligent refrigerator. What fault could he have?

But…

‘Since 19’s acting improved so much in the previous world, maybe I can let him try a harder role this time?’ Ye Wangxing thought.

*

 

“…Ye Bai, why did you get back together with him? We’ve warned you so many times! You’re not even short of money, and your status doesn’t require you to be so humble, running to him every day like a servant!”

In the private room, a beautiful young lady in a refined dress shouted at the boy beside her in anger.

“You are a young master in the Ye family! Even if your older brother returns, he can’t compete with you. Why are you acting like a submissive wife? Yes! Woden is a prince! But now it’s the interstellar era, we don’t kneel to him. Why are you being so humble?”

Alina spoke angrily, her chest heaving. She wanted to smash the teacup on Ye Bai’s head to wake him up.

But facing Alina’s rage, Ye Bai, weakly said with his delicate, doll-like face: “But Woden really treats me well when he doesn’t get angry…”

When Ye Bai said this, Alina got so angry she almost fell back. The housekeeper robot quickly gave her safe antihypertensive medicine, bringing her blood pressure down.

The other young masters and ladies in the room watched Alina and Ye Bai with numb expressions.

Not that they didn’t want to advise Ye Bai—they had already seen this happen many times.

Every time they advised Ye Bai to stay away from Prince Woden, he superficially agreed but secretly reported them to Woden.

Then Woden would hold grudges against them, so none of them dared to advise Ye Bai now.

Alina was an exception, her mother was the Emperor’s younger sister, a princess raised by the Emperor himself, giving Alina a hot temper. Previously, it had been directed at Woden, but after being betrayed several times, now her anger focused on Ye Bai.

Like now…

After calming her blood pressure, Alina grabbed the teapot, ready to hit Ye Bai.

The people in the room panicked, holding her back to prevent her from harming Ye Bai, who was the young master of the finance minister.

In the chaos, Ye Bai ran out of the room with a forlorn expression.

He walked through the garden in a low mood, unable to understand why his friends could not accept his relationship with Woden. Even if Woden sometimes acted violently, he treated Ye Bai well when calm. So why couldn’t they accept Woden?

Ye Bai reached the garden and saw Woden.

Woden ran his reddish-brown hair back, revealing his handsome features. His blue eyes looked at his female companion.

Ye Bai ignoring her, waved to greet Woden, but then heard a voice: “Sweetheart, you look beautiful tonight, especially your black-sapphire eyes, even better than my fiancé’s.”

Ye Bai shivered, his mouth drooping.

The pitiful expression made even Woden’s other friends uncomfortable.

“Woden, look back.”

They tapped Woden’s shoulder, signaling him to look back.

Woden looked annoyed, and upon seeing Ye Bai, his annoyance increased.

He did not say a word, waved dismissively, and gestured for Ye Bai to leave.

Woden’s friends were outraged, at least as a fiancé, he should show some respect publicly.

Yet…

Ye Bai left looking very wronged, not even asking about the female companion.

His friends looked disapprovingly at Woden, but he did not care, only pouting impatiently.

For Woden, Ye Bai was just someone who came and went at his whim.

Ye Bai knew this, and he also knew everyone sympathized with him—he saw their expressions every time.

Then he continued persistently approaching Woden. After all, the more tortuous his love, the greater it was.

Still, his sadness was real. With a mournful expression, he went to the balcony, intending to lament his pitiful love under the starry sky.

But he looked up and saw someone had moved the sky garden there.

He could even vaguely see two people inside the glass room of the sky garden.

At first, Ye Bai thought his bad luck was endless, even his sadness was interrupted. Then he realized the two inside looked familiar.

One was tall and slim, blocked by the other taller person, so he couldn’t see their face, but the posture and movements looked familiar.

As for the other…

‘Isn’t that ?!’

Ye Bai screamed in his mind.

The most popular general in the empire—so much that “General” meant him among civilians.

Why was he here?

And he seemed to be in conflict with the other person!

Ye Bai watched as the general in the glass room confronted the other person angrily.

The other’s reply seemed to enrage him. As Ye Bai worried, the general stepped forward, grabbed the person into his arms, and their heads immediately collided.

Ye Bai: !!!

He gasped, covering his mouth to avoid screaming.

When released the person, Ye Bai saw their face and nearly strangled himself to avoid making a sound.

‘—That’s my older brother that just come back from my grandmother’s! Why is he in this kind of relationship with ?’

Excitedly, Ye Bai returned to the room, but it was empty. Before he could go out searching, his friends returned, equally excited, their eyes full of gossip.

“You will never guess who I saw together.”

Alina spoke first, most excited.

The others said the same, giving Ye Bai a sense of premonition.

—Maybe they saw the same people?

Their eyes carried excitement.

“Did you see my older brother with some important person?”

Ye Bai whispered softly. Upon hearing his words, the young masters and ladies in the private room immediately nodded vigorously, their expressions filled with excitement.

“So you saw it too, Ye Bai! Yes, yes! I saw your older brother—I can’t believe he just arrived in the Capital Star and already got involved with a big shot!”

Alina exclaimed excitedly, then ceremoniously gestured for everyone to gather around.

“Then let’s all say the name of that big shot together!”

Alina blinked, and the young masters and ladies also wore excited smiles.

“Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

With matching excited expressions, they all spoke at the same time:

“! / Count Unobert! / Lord Semos! / Prince Janus!”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Then, once again, they spoke simultaneously—but this time, they all said the exact same thing: “Ah???????”

 

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