After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 31

The rating for this mission wasn’t high it was an F-rank. The young couple had lived in the house for a month without anything happening, and the broken leg was simply caused by a fright. It was essentially confirmed that the ghost in the house was not aggressive.

Although Xie Chouzhuang had passed his assessment, that was a collaborative effort. This would be his first time catching a ghost alone using the Spirit-Binding Brush, so he chose a simple one to test his skills.

“That’s fine. This one is relatively simple and suitable for you to practice with,” Ji Sixian agreed.

“Then I’ll take this one.” Xie Chouzhuang happily accepted the order.

The couple on the other end probably didn’t expect someone to pick up the order so quickly, especially a Level 3 Occultist. Although they didn’t know much about the field, they knew how the rankings worked; getting a Level 3 Occultist to take an F-rank mission felt like they had struck gold. After some discussion with Xie Chouzhuang, the time was finalized.

The next day, Xie Chouzhuang went to school as scheduled, only to find Shi Zhi looking completely listless.

“Chouzhuang, you’re here.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I… Sigh!” Shi Zhi, sporting massive dark circles under his eyes, started to speak but hesitated. Finally, he let out a long sigh. “Let’s talk after class.”

Xie Chouzhuang observed his expression but didn’t ask further. Based on Shi Zhi’s face, the situation likely wasn’t an emergency.

Sure enough, as soon as class ended, Shi Zhi couldn’t contain himself and leaned over. “Chouzhuang, aren’t you curious where I went last night?”

“Didn’t you go on an urban exploration?”

“No, no, not that we actually met a ghost!” Shi Zhi grew excited as he spoke.

A few students nearby who were about to leave heard this and silently sat back down, ears perked to eavesdrop.

“Holy crap, Chouzhuang, I’m telling you I met a ghost and you’re not excited? Not scared?”

Xie Chouzhuang thought about it. “I’m so scared?”

“That was half-hearted,” Shi Zhi said with a look of disdain.

“So what happened with the ghost? You saw it?”

“Well, no.”

“Sigh…” A boy nearby let out a disappointed sigh.

Xie Chouzhuang and Shi Zhi both looked up at him.

“Uh, you guys keep going, keep going,” the boy laughed awkwardly.

Shi Zhi turned back to Xie Chouzhuang with a serious face. “Chouzhuang, I’m serious. Do you happen to have any research on chemistry experiments? Like, how white phosphorus ignites at high temperatures or something?”

Xie Chouzhuang was momentarily stunned by the sudden pivot, then realized something. “The talisman paper burned?”

“How did you know? So there was white phosphorus on the paper, right?” Shi Zhi looked at him expectantly, waiting for the answer he wanted.

“What do you think?” Xie Chouzhuang asked back.

“I think…” Shi Zhi’s voice turned stiff. “So there really was a ghost?”

“What did you encounter?”

Shi Zhi looked ready to cry. “I should have listened to you. I… I really met a ghost! I went exploring yesterday, right? A guy in the group said his house had an ancient attic that had been abandoned for years, and it had been haunted since he was a kid. He said the ghost was fierce green-faced with fangs, eats children without spitting out the bones, no one makes it out alive… basically, it sounded terrifying, so it successfully lured me in.

Five of us went together. Everything was normal at first, just a bit run-down and covered in cobwebs. But once we reached the second floor, things got weird. Do you know how scary it was? The entire second floor was spotless. Everything was neatly organized, not a speck of dust, and there were all sorts of tableware, as if someone actually lived there.”

“What’s so strange about that? Maybe a homeless person was living there?” a boy nearby couldn’t help but interject.

“Buddy, who even are you?” Shi Zhi looked at the person who spoke with a dazed expression.

“Heh, we’re all buddies. I’m just interested in your ghost story.” The boy moved two seats closer to Shi Zhi.

“It’s impossible. Because everyone in the group knew we were exploring, we were worried someone was playing a prank. When we entered the first floor, we used high-power flashlights; the ground was covered in dust, and there were no footprints.”

“Maybe someone used a ladder to go straight to the second floor?”

“Also impossible. When we got to the second floor, we were shocked. The only windows on the entire floor were in the living room, and they were boarded shut.”

Hiss— The surrounding students all sucked in a breath of cold air.

“Then what happened?”

“Then we asked the owner, and he said the house hadn’t been sold and was just sitting there; he didn’t know anyone was living in it. We planned to look around, but the moment we opened a bedroom door, it locked behind us. Then one guy said someone tapped his shoulder, but he was at the very back there was no one behind him. Yet, a black handprint appeared on his shoulder.

The situation was truly eerie. We were locked in and couldn’t get out. Then I felt someone blowing cold air on the back of my neck. I instinctively threw out the talisman you gave me, and it burst into flames instantly. I was scared to death, but the weirdest part was that as soon as the paper burned, the door opened.”

Xie Chouzhuang propped himself up and studied Shi Zhi, noticing a faint, lingering trace of yin energy on him.

“Holy crap, buddy, where’s the house? I want to see it,” one of the boys said excitedly.

“You really shouldn’t go. If something happens…” Shi Zhi was still feeling the aftereffects of the fright.

Mainly, aside from that incident, there were other complications. Lately, he kept dreaming of a man whose face he couldn’t see, who kept asking why he broke into his bedroom. The man even said that since Shi Zhi had entered his room, he had to marry him.

At the time, Shi Zhi had let his mouth run wild, saying that five people had entered the room by that logic, was the man going to marry five times? That had enraged the man, who immediately started spanking him!

Aaaaah! Shi Zhi felt like his head was steaming just thinking about it. He, a dignified male college student, was getting his butt smacked every night—who could he even talk to about this? It was too embarrassing!

But with people around, he couldn’t say it; if he did, it would be social suicide!

Xie Chouzhuang watched as Shi Zhi’s face grew redder and redder, clearly thinking about something specific.

The break soon ended, and the professor returned to the lectern to continue the lecture.

Shi Zhi: [Chouzhuang, can you introduce me to the Master who gave you those talismans? I’m dreaming about that ghost every single day now.]

Shi Zhi took out his phone to message Xie Chouzhuang.

Just as Xie Chouzhuang was about to reply, he felt a sudden gust of yin energy. A handsome man dressed in ancient clothing appeared in the empty seat next to Shi Zhi.

Shi Zhi seemed to feel the chill, glanced at the air conditioner in confusion, and went back to messaging Xie Chouzhuang.

Xie Chouzhuang observed for a moment and found that the man was merely looking at Shi Zhi with an expression of doting affection, making no other moves.

Seemingly sensing Xie Chouzhuang’s gaze, the man looked up at him and gave a slight, polite nod.

Xie Chouzhuang replied to Shi Zhi with a string of ellipses.

Shi Zhi: [Wait, what does that mean? Are you saying there are no ghosts in this world?]

Xie Chouzhuang: [I’ve seen it. We’ll talk after class.]

Shi Zhi: [Love you, babe.]

The temperature in the immediate vicinity plummeted.