After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 34

Spiritual Gold is the universal currency for all software under the Occultists’ Association. It can be used in the occultist mall to exchange for various books, cultivation techniques, weapons, and more. It can also be converted into real-world currency at a ratio of 1:10,000.

Xie Chouzhuang left the rat in a corner of the stairwell and went to the car to wait for the Association staff to arrive.

“All handled?” Ji Sixian handed a water bottle to Xie Chouzhuang.

“Handled. Aside from a child spirit, I caught a massive rat. Scared the life out of me. I thought it was strange when Liu Yi was talking food eaten by ghosts usually just loses its flavor. That half-eaten cake was almost certainly the work of that big rat.”

Xie Chouzhuang still got goosebumps thinking about it. A dusty gray rat is scary enough, but one that size was something else. If not for the sake of maintaining his precarious image as a professional occultist, Xie Chouzhuang would have jumped three meters into the air on the spot.

Ji Sixian smiled at the thought of that scene. “It really has been hard on you.”

Before long, personnel from the research institute arrived in a flurry of activity. When they saw the giant, living rat, their eyes widened until they were round and glowing with excitement.

They quickly produced a specially made cage and skillfully crated the rat with practiced movements.

Standing to the side, Xie Chouzhuang accidentally overheard two researchers excitedly discussing what to do with the specimen.

“I think we should slice it into thin sections to study its internal structure properly!”

The other countered, “No, dicing it is more appropriate. We can comprehensively analyze the tissue conditions of every part!”

The two stood their ground, arguing endlessly.

Xie Chouzhuang couldn’t help but look at the rat in the cage. Having struggled for so long, the creature was now listless, seemingly aware of the tragic fate awaiting it. It was truly a pathetic sight. Xie Chouzhuang couldn’t help but offer a silent prayer for the poor thing.

“Mr. Xie.” Liu Yi rushed out, looking somewhat hesitant.

“What is it?”

“You said there was also a child spirit in my house, right?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me the truth, I can handle it.” Liu Yi swallowed hard.

“What truth?” Xie Chouzhuang was confused.

“I just looked it up. The internet says that if there’s a ghost in a house, it’s usually because the person died there and their remains are still inside, so the soul is stuck wandering. Is that how it is?”

“Theoretically…”

Liu Yi burst into tears. “Why is my life so bitter! I finally buy a house, only to get haunted and scammed out of 100,000 yuan by a fake master. Then the ghost is caught, only for me to find out there’s a dead body? How am I supposed to live?”

Xie Chouzhuang: “…Don’t get so worked up.”

“Mr. Xie, you don’t understand, it’s just too hard for me…”

Seeing Liu Yi weeping with snot and tears, Xie Chouzhuang spoke up, unable to bear it any longer: “Mr. Liu, search the internet less in the future. I said it was ‘theoretical.’ I’ve already checked the child spirit didn’t die in your apartment. You don’t need to worry. Your home is very clean now; no one has died there. That little ghost likely wandered in by accident, so live there with peace of mind.”

Liu Yi’s hand, which was wiping his nose, froze mid-air. “Re—Really?”

Xie Chouzhuang explained patiently, “Really. We are certified occultists. If someone had died in the house, regulations would require us to report it to the police. No one died in your apartment, so rest easy. However, anything that happened hundreds of years ago is beyond our jurisdiction.”

“That’s good, then. That’s good.” Liu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, thank you so much. I’ll give you a five-star review later.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Unlike what most people imagined, these missions didn’t have a so-called “review” system. After every mission, specialized logistics personnel would conduct selective spot checks on a regular cycle. If a job was found to be substandard, it would directly affect the occultist’s future rank-advancement exams.

Consequently, occultists who chose to join the Association were all diligent in their duties. While some might have unfriendly attitudes when dealing with people, the execution of the missions themselves was absolutely flawless and beyond reproach.

There was still a portion of occultists with poor attitudes, who were often those who had become famous at a young age. Their youthful arrogance usually stemmed from having spiritual power far exceeding the norm; their extraordinary talent made most of them somewhat prideful.

However, since the President of the Association noticed this issue, he decisively overhauled the relevant systems: by including “attitude” in the evaluation criteria, the situation had improved significantly.

“This mission is finally half-finished…” Xie Chouzhuang stretched, planning to deal with the little ghost after returning home.

“Let’s go.” Ji Sixian started the car.

After the two returned to the apartment, Xie Chouzhuang finally released Panpan.

“You’re too much! Why did you lock me up—!” Panpan’s words cut off abruptly as she saw the man in black sitting on the sofa, his aura overwhelming.

Panpan let out a tiny whimper, so frightened that the color of her soul-body turned a shade lighter.

“Wh—What do you want?” Her voice began to shake. She sat obediently on the floor, not daring to move an inch.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you for the time being.” Xie Chouzhuang also noticed that Panpan was exceptionally afraid of Ji Sixian. He figured it might be a child’s strange intuition, though it did make it easier for him to ask questions.

“Why were you in Liu Yi’s house? And where did that rat come from?”

Sitting on the floor, Panpan spoke in a small voice.

It turned out she was the child of the previous homeowner. She’d had a weak heart since she was a baby. Her family was just an ordinary household, and after her birth, their financial situation became even more strained. However, her family loved her very much and gave her the nickname “Panpan.”

Unfortunately, despite all the treatments, Panpan passed away when she was four years old. Her family was devastated; they sold the house and moved back to the countryside. For reasons she didn’t understand, her soul did not vanish after death, and she had been floating in the house ever since.

After Liu Yi bought the house, Panpan knew she was a ghost and worried about scaring them. Usually, she only came out to play for a while after they left the house.

However, everything changed after a friend of Liu Yi’s gave him a vase. A giant rat was hidden inside, and it began chasing Panpan. She had been scratched at the very beginning, and her soul-body had nearly dissipated entirely.

If she hadn’t been able to walk through walls, she would have been swallowed by the rat long ago. As the rat caused chaos all over Liu Yi’s home, Panpan worried something bad would happen, so she began to act like a ghost to scare them away. For several days in a row, the couple slept like logs and had no reaction at all.

Panpan had no choice but to try moving things around the house to warn them. To her frustration, as soon as the wife became suspicious, the husband told her she was overthinking it. Panpan was nearly dying of anger.

Fortunately, a turning point came a few days later. The giant rat ate the cake the wife had bought, and Panpan took the opportunity to make some noise at night. She hadn’t expected the wife to be so timid that she would fall and break her leg.