Chapter 244

Chapter 244

◎What Age Is This? Kings Don’t Exist Anymore!◎

After various attempts, it was clear that Yin energy couldn’t trigger the website selling evil energy. Fortunately, while the Supernatural Management Bureau lacked many resources, it had no shortage of Grudge.

Not long ago, the Bureau had captured a female ghost consumed by hatred. She had been murdered by her husband and his mistress while seven months into her pregnancy.

The man was ruthless—he deliberately crashed their car, sacrificing himself to ensure the woman bled out before finally calling for help. Instead of dialing an ambulance immediately, he feigned panic and called the police, wasting precious time by stammering incoherently about their location. By the time the police contacted an ambulance and arrived, the car was already drenched in the woman’s blood.

She didn’t survive. By the time she reached the hospital, she clung to life by a thread. At first, she didn’t realize her husband had orchestrated her death. Her only thought was for her unborn child—her long-awaited baby—and she wanted to know if the child had survived. So, on her seventh-day haunting, her spirit returned to check.

What she saw was the mistress lying in her bed beside her husband, the two discussing how they’d sell the house and move away once her insurance money cleared.

In that instant, the woman’s spirit snapped. On the seventh night, in her own marital home, she killed both her husband and the mistress.

The bloodshed and the evil energy from her killings overwhelmed her rationality. Even after their deaths, she couldn’t stop. She wanted to murder their families too. She had died, her miracle baby was gone, and her elderly parents were left to mourn their child. In her rage, all she wanted was to kill—everyone she hated.

A passing Taoist sensed her overwhelming hatred. Though the female ghost had killed, she was still new and was subdued effortlessly. Now, she was sealed in a soul-purifying porcelain jar, her hatred being purified.

Ye Junxing successfully used the ghost’s hatred to access the paranormal website. The Bureau staff immediately began tracking its location while pretending to be someone seeking revenge, engaging in a sting operation with the site’s operators. Meanwhile, Eden was asked if he could trace the connection.

Eden was timid. Even ordinary humans could intimidate him, let alone other ghosts. He was terrified that venturing into the site would get him devoured.

But Ye Junxing argued that the website had already claimed many lives. Capturing the mastermind behind it would be a good deed, accumulating merit for his next life.

Though timid, Eden had a kind heart. He hoped that if reincarnation was real, his next life would grant him a happy family. Ye Junxing also reassured him that Ji Nanxing had left a protective mark on him—even if attacked by a vengeful spirit, the mark would hold until help arrived.

As the fake negotiation was about to fall apart and the technicians had only pinpointed a general location—already dispatching nearby Taoists—Eden took a deep breath. “You’re sure you’ll come rescue me? I’ve heard being eaten by a ghost is excruciating.”

Zhang Xi thumped his chest. “We’ve got you! Ghosts in our Bureau only get liberated, never eaten. Don’t worry! We’re tracking your signal—the moment you appear there, we’ll know exactly where you are.”

A technician interjected, “We’re running out of time. They’re not asking for money—just an address to send a free sample of evil energy.”

Zhang Xi: “Send them a fake one first.”

The technician frowned. “The site will likely self-destruct the second we send it.”

The operators clearly weren’t worried about recipients skipping payment. Anyone bold enough to cheat a supernatural entity might as well be begging for trouble.

Under the expectant gazes of the team, Eden gritted his teeth and dove into his laptop screen—the device the Bureau had specifically assigned to him for accessing the paranormal site.

Eden wasn’t sure how to proceed. The moment he entered the website, before he could figure out how to follow the digital trail, an unseen force yanked him forward.

He tumbled onto the ground in a daze.

Before he could regain his bearings, a chilling voice sneered, “What’s this little thing?”

Eden looked up. A figure shrouded in dark mist loomed over him, its face obscured.

With a whimper, Eden curled into a ball.

In all his time as a ghost, he had never encountered another spirit besides himself. He thought he was plenty eerie—he’d even avoided mirrors at Qu Niannian’s place. But this thing was far more terrifying. He didn’t dare make a sound.

The malevolence radiating from it was horrifying. Could he really trust the Bureau to save him?

The elder ghost dispersed the Yin energy around it and reached out, lifting Eden effortlessly. Upon seeing his face, it wrinkled its nose in disgust. “A Western ghost?”

Another ghost peeked out from behind it, fawning. “This Western ghost’s aura is weak, but even a mosquito has meat. Ghost King, since it delivered itself to us, why not take a bite?”

Upon hearing this, Eden trembled even more violently. A Ghost King—it was really a Ghost King! Even if the Bureau sent people, could they even win?

Whether they could win or not, someone should at least show up first. Didn’t they say he had a tracker on him and the Bureau could locate him instantly? Why hadn’t they arrived yet?

Eden was freaking out inside, too afraid to even lift his head, fearing that the Ghost King might open its mouth and devour him in one bite.

The old ghost examined Eden. His energy was so weak it wouldn’t even make a snack, so it casually tossed him aside. "Keep him for now. We’ll fatten him up before eating him."

The suck-up little ghost immediately dragged Eden away. Only then did Eden realize that, apart from the Ghost King and the little ghost, there were several other ghosts in this graveyard-like place—all of them creepy as hell. If he weren’t already dead, he’d have passed out right then and there.

Just as he was about to burst into tears from fear again, a familiar voice rang out: "Ghost King? Just some century-old ghost, and you dare call yourself a king?"

What era was this? After the nation’s founding and the purges, how could any "king" still exist?

Eden looked up and almost lost it. He saw Ji Nanxing, but now, the Yin energy radiating from Ji Nanxing was even more terrifying than his own!

What was going on? Had Young Celestial Master Ji died in the two or three days since they last met?!

The second Ji Nanxing showed up, the old ghost’s instincts screamed danger. The guy was oozing Yin energy, yet there was no aura of death—but no living person could possibly possess such powerful Yin energy. For a moment, the old ghost couldn’t tell whether this intruder was alive or dead.

But whether alive or dead, one thing was clear: this guy was bad news.

The old ghost watched warily. "You’re kinda pushing it, barging into my turf like this."

Ji Nanxing replied, "Pushing it? You laid hands on my people, and now you’re calling *me* pushy?"

The old ghost immediately turned to look at the foreign ghost. With a wave of his hand, Ji Nanxing yanked Eden over, then struck him with a surge of Yin energy, sending him flying far away.

Eden, the internet-scraping ghost, went flying like a ragdoll: "..."

Sure, it wasn’t a cool way to go out, but it didn’t matter—he’d survived another day.

Once Eden was safely sent away, Ji Nanxing immediately engaged the old ghost in battle.

The old bastard had been around forever and had gathered quite a few underlings. At a glance, there were over a dozen little ghosts, all reeking of evil energy from snacking on living souls. Ji Nanxing didn’t hold back, slapping two charging ghosts so hard they almost poofed out of existence.

The other little ghosts hesitated, no longer daring to approach. They had aligned themselves with the old ghost for protection and to grow stronger—before that, many of them hadn’t had a decent meal in years.

They were down to split the loot, but when trouble came, the old ghost was on his own.

Though the underlings held back, the old ghost had grown significantly stronger by releasing evil energy and consuming living souls. Judging by the young man’s attire, he couldn’t have been dead for long. With only Yin energy and no evil energy, he didn’t seem like someone who had feasted on living souls—so his strength surely couldn’t match the old ghost’s.

Such potent Yin energy—if he could devour it, he’d take a massive step toward becoming a true Ghost King.

Fortune favors the bold. Greed beat out common sense as the old ghost lunged at Ji Nanxing, attempting to envelop him in his evil energy and consume him.

Ji Nanxing didn’t move, letting him do his thing. The old ghost thought he had him cornered, though a part of him suspected a trap. But greed prevailed, and the moment he engulfed Ji Nanxing, he unleashed all his ghostly energy, trying to crush him in one go.

Ji Nanxing simply raised his hand, forming a seal, and muttered a spell under his breath.

The clear sky above instantly darkened with thick clouds. Other Taoists hauling ass to the scene hissed—this much chaos meant the killer’s evil energy was no joke.

By the time thunder rumbled overhead, the old ghost knew something was wrong. He snagged a few hiding ghosts and chucked them at Ji Nanxing, then turned to flee.

But before he could escape the range of the dark clouds, a bolt of lightning struck him squarely. Half his ghostly energy got blasted away on the spot.

The old ghost gaped at Ji Nanxing, terrified. "Who *are* you? What do you want? You want this mountain? It’s yours!"

Ji Nanxing ignored him. In his soul form, he carried no talismans, but he had prepared in advance. He flicked out a few paper ropes, tying up the little ghosts the old ghost had tossed at him like cannon fodder.

The ropes, though made of twisted paper, were crafted from sheets inscribed with seal inscriptions. The ghosts didn’t realize this, mistaking them for ordinary ropes. They desperately gathered their ghostly energy to resist, only to be counterattacked by the seal inscriptions, howling in agony as they curled into a writhing, wailing mass.

The old ghost, already struck by lightning once, immediately understood the scene before him. This young man was no lingering ghost, nor was he here to seize the territory—he was clearly a Taoist who had left his body to capture him!

Having lived so long and lingered in death even longer, he had only ever seen spirit walkers capable of catching ghosts after leaving their bodies. Never had he encountered a Taoist who could do so with such devastating power.

The earlier lightning strike had severely weakened him, dispersing most of his ghostly energy. Seeing another bolt about to descend, the old ghost didn’t hesitate—he bolted straight for his grave.

Ji Nanxing watched his movement and chanted another incantation. The lightning-summoning array, a hallmark technique of the He Mountain sect, could split open not just graves but entire hills if they contained any malevolent presence.

With a deafening boom, just as several Taoists finally arrived, another bolt of celestial thunder struck. A nameless grave exploded violently, revealing a coffin rather than an urn. The skeletal remains inside were blasted apart, littering the ground.

Some of the Taoists couldn’t help but frown and turn away, unable to bear the sight. This was worse than grave-robbing.

Ji Nanxing glanced at them. "I left my body and can’t stay long. I didn’t bring any talismans either—you take it from here."

The group hurried forward, immediately forming a combined formation to prevent any ghosts from escaping. The most vicious one might have already been obliterated by the two celestial thunder strikes, but even if it survived, it likely lacked the strength to flee now.

The remaining minor ghosts had already been bound by Ji Nanxing and posed no further threat. All that was left was routine cleanup.

Seeing the Taoists take over, Ji Nanxing disengaged from the scene. Just as he prepared to return to his body, he sensed someone nearby carrying traces of the old ghost’s evil energy.

Assuming the old ghost had claimed another victim before his arrival, he floated over to investigate—only to find a young man carrying a packaged courier parcel, heading toward a delivery station.

Ji Nanxing struck the man unconscious with a single blow, dispersing the evil energy within the parcel. Nearby onlookers, seeing someone collapse, warily closed in. With enough witnesses present, they weren’t afraid of being accused of wrongdoing, and a few kind-hearted individuals phoned for an ambulance.

Ji Nanxing wasted no time. A single thought later, he returned to his body and called Ye Junxing. "The old ghost definitely had human help. I knocked the guy out—he won’t wake up anytime soon. Just pick him up from the hospital."

Ye Junxing acknowledged with a hum. "Good work out there."

Ji Nanxing: "No problem. Let me know if anything comes up."

The call had just ended when his sister knocked and entered. "Came to check if you were awake. Since you are, get up. Mom made dumplings by hand—even if they’re bad, you’ve got to eat a few for her sake."

Ji Yanting sighed as she walked out. "Good thing our family’s big. Two per person should be enough—no need to suffer too much."

Ji Nanxing chuckled as he got out of bed. "Coming. Is Elder Brother back yet?"

Ji Yanting: "He’ll be back tonight—probably on the plane now."

During the New Year period, there happened to be several fashion shows, and his elder brother simply couldn’t spare the time to return. But for the sake of reunion during the holidays, he had to come back eventually. Because they’d waited for him, the New Year was nearly over, and their family still hadn’t shared a proper reunion meal.

Now that Elder Brother was returning, their mother had personally cooked dumplings. Though they might not taste great, it wasn’t about the food—it was about being together.

Yet because of that old ghost, who knew how many families had been denied their family reunions this year?