After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 24

“I… pant… I have never seen such a perverted person in my life, ugh” Shen Hanwu was completely exhausted, nearly collapsing.

Xie Chouzhuang lay paralyzed on the ground, his face devoid of any will to live. For the first time in his life, he loathed his own vivid imagination. “For a long while, I won’t be eating any food that has the word ‘meat’ in the name.”

“Stop talking about it, ugh”

Knock, knock, knock

A knocking sound came from outside the door. Xie Chouzhuang and Shen Hanwu exchanged a look and slowly stood up to approach the door.

“Baby, it’s time to eat,” a gentle voice drifted in from outside.

“Ugh, mmm!” At the mention of eating, the two almost gagged again and hurriedly covered their mouths.

“Baby, baby, are you in there? It’s time to eat. Haven’t you missed your father? He’s back today. I specifically stewed some soup so our whole family can have a reunion dinner together.”

Shen Hanwu signaled with his eyes: Are we going out?

Xie Chouzhuang shook his head: Wait a bit longer.

“Damn it, you little bastard! Get out here and eat right now! Do you need your old man to drag you out?” A coarse, rough voice boomed from outside.

Shen Hanwu held up two fingers. (“There are two ghosts—should we do it?”)

Xie Chouzhuang signaled back with two fingers. (“Two ghosts haven’t appeared yet; watch out for a sneak attack.”)

Seemingly certain someone was inside, the ghosts outside began to violently smash against the door when they saw no one coming out.

“Come out, come out~”

“It’s time to eat. We’re having meat today…”

The copper coins remained firmly hung on the door; the ghosts outside were unable to enter.

Realizing they couldn’t breach the room, the knocking eventually grew quieter, followed by the sound of receding footsteps. After waiting for ten minutes to ensure there was no more movement, Shen Hanwu removed the copper coins, and Xie Chouzhuang slowly cracked the door open—

“Hehe, found you!!!” A face suddenly lunged right in front of him.

Xie Chouzhuang’s heart nearly stopped from the fright. He reflexively slapped a talisman onto the intruder.

The vengeful ghost let out a piercing, shrill scream. Simultaneously, ghostly energy surged like a tide, dead-locking the door so it couldn’t budge an inch. Despite being wounded by the talisman, the ghost showed no sign of retreating; instead, it became even more ferocious. Its razor-sharp nails, glinting with a cold light, stabbed straight toward Xie Chouzhuang!

With Shen Hanwu behind him and the aggressive ghost in front, Xie Chouzhuang was pinned with nowhere to dodge.

In that split second, Xie Chouzhuang flicked his wrist. A translucent, emerald-green brush appeared in his hand as if by magic. Without hesitation, he swung it, the tip of the brush carving a faint blue arc through the air.

The seemingly soft brush tip collided with the ghost’s nails. Upon contact, a crisp crack echoed the ghost’s fingertips were sliced clean off.

Xie Chouzhuang didn’t miss the opportunity. He thrust the brush forward, driving it precisely into the ghost’s palm. At the same time, he delivered a powerful kick to the half-open door.

With a loud bang, the wooden door was completely totaled by the force of his kick. Shen Hanwu seized the chance to activate his Ghost-Suppressing Jar, successfully capturing the vengeful spirit.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“What kind of treasure is that? It’s so powerful!” Shen Hanwu leaned in to inspect the brush in Xie Chouzhuang’s hand.

“I don’t know. I usually use it to draw talismans.” Xie Chouzhuang hadn’t expected the brush to be this potent either.

He had simply remembered Ji Sixian’s reminder before he left: if he encountered danger, he could use his talisman brush. He hadn’t realized that by injecting just a bit of spiritual energy, it could easily wound a high-level vengeful ghost.

“It seems your Master is a real big shot; he has all the best treasures.”

Thinking of Ji Sixian’s youthful face, Xie Chouzhuang gave an awkward smile. “Let’s find the remaining three ghosts first.”

Shen Hanwu rubbed his chin. “It seems the remaining three should be the two young men who were cruelly murdered and Mother Yuan.”

“Wait, that’s not right. There were five people in the Yuan family. But the diary didn’t mention a fifth person at all. From start to finish, it was only the parents and the two siblings. It’s like the family completely forgot about one person.”

Shen Hanwu broke out in a cold sweat. After reading the diary, he had completely forgotten about a fifth person, subconsciously assuming the missing ghosts were the two murdered men. He hadn’t expected the task to include such a misleading element.

While they were speaking, a chilly wind whipped through the house. A woman appeared, dragging a young man behind her.

“Did you kill him?” The woman glared at them with a sinister intensity.

“Not me! I didn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!!!” Shen Hanwu denied it repeatedly.

“You should leave quickly.”

“Oh… wait, what?” Shen Hanwu was stunned.

“I was forcibly trapped here by Yuan Mu. He killed us,” the woman said, tears of blood leaking from her eyes. “The Yuan family are disgusting murderers! I thought death would be a release, but then, that day… he came.”

“Who?”

“Yuan Mu, my eldest son. I don’t know where he learned his arts, but he became a Ghost Cultivator. He used others to kill us first, then refined us into ghost servants. Leave now, or you will surely die!”

“What’s the situation?” Shen Hanwu whispered. “Does a Ghost Cultivator count as a ghost?”

“I suppose so.”

“Dammit, this exam is even playing word games with us,” Shen Hanwu cursed under his breath.

Xie Chouzhuang remained cautious. This woman was already a ghost, and the phrase “ghosts tell tall tales” wasn’t just a saying. Only a fool would believe her so easily.

“Where is your son?”

“In the basement.” Seeing that they seemed to believe her, a flash of joy crossed the female ghost’s face, which she quickly replaced with a look of panic. “Go! Every night at this time is when he cultivates; he has no sense of the outside world. Once he wakes up, we’re all dead meat.”

“Whether he notices us leaving is one thing, but if he loses three ghost servants in a row, he’d have to be an idiot not to realize someone was here,” Xie Chouzhuang questioned, twirling the brush in his hand.

“He won’t. Even if we’re gone, he makes us kill each other; he’ll just think I devoured the others,” the woman explained hurriedly.

“Oh, so that’s how it is,” Shen Hanwu nodded. “But Auntie, you’re being so selfless. We’d feel terrible just walking away. Actually, we are Occultists. Have you heard of Occultists?”

The woman shook her head hesitantly.

“Never heard of it? Well, that’s great—cough—I mean, that’s too bad. Auntie, it’s like this: we’ve discovered a type of medicine specifically for ghosts with grievances. If a ghost eats it, their ghostly energy will skyrocket. Then, you might be able to escape your son’s control.”

“Really?” The woman was overjoyed.

“Of course. Chinese people don’t lie to Chinese people,” Shen Hanwu promised solemnly.