Wu Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes to rest. He had been worried about how the Big Ghost would react to the introduction of the Fire seed yesterday. After all, he originally had a pure Yin constitution, and the Big Ghost was accustomed to living there. The sudden arrival of a ball of Zhengyang fire could potentially lead to unexpected consequences.
But to his relief, nothing untoward happened throughout the night. After the Zhengyang seed was introduced into his body, his left arm remained undisturbed, showing no signs of any abnormalities. Moreover, the pure Yang nature of the Zhengyang Seed didn’t have its natural instinct to extinguish Yin creatures and didn’t cause any disturbances with the Big Ghost.
Not only did it not disturb the Big Ghost, but it also seemed to have a degree of reverence for it.
The cold seeped through his skin, and he let out a contented sigh, finally relaxing his brows, which had been furrowed all this time. He could feel the Yin Qi emanating from the Big Ghost merge with his own original Yin Qi, but there was no intention to extinguish the Zhengyang Seed. Instead, it was as if it formed a protective barrier around it, reducing the spread of Yang Qi.
Wu Rong was intrigued by this. The Zhengyang Fire Seed was known to be the most vigorous and Yang-flaring flame in the world, and it had an innate instinct to burn and eradicate creatures with excess Yin Qi. Creatures with Yin Qi often tried to extinguish the fire before it rooted itself deeply. Yet, the Big Ghost didn’t exhibit any of these behaviors, and they can be considered to be in peace with each other.
Wu Rong didn’t know whether it was because he had formed a contract with Fu Qing, or whether the Big Ghost was really related to Fu Qing, so he ignored his flames. Wu Rong remembered that Fu Qing once said that he had forgotten many things before, and his memory was always intermittent. It was not until he arrived Yangjiaping that he gradually became normal. Wu Rong suspected that this might be related to the loss of souls.
I hope Fu Qing’s trip goes smoothly.
The room gradually became colder, and Wu Rong savored the sensation, letting out a long exhale. He remained closed off for most of the night until the midnight hour neared. As the Yin Qi in the surroundings increased, the once vibrant golden-red Fire Seed started to dim down into a darker red. It was no longer as active and scorching as before. Finally, he removed his hand from his body and stood up.
“Knock, knock.”
The door and window were both knocked on simultaneously, three identical knocks each. The one entering from the door was Su Xiaomi. He cautiously peered around and locked the door behind him, without turning on the lights. In the darkness, his eyes were still very bright, faintly reflecting a pale figure.
“Boss, this is my dage, Su Zheng. He’s the best at breaking seals!”
Wu Rong looked out the window, where the translucent and pale ghostly figure was floating, enough to give anyone a scare in the middle of the night. He bore no resemblance to Su Xiaomi, with sharp features, a sinister expression, and eyes that occasionally flickered with a blood-red glint. Apart from his semi-transparent body, he looked just like an ordinary person, unlike many other supernatural beings who exhibited distinct characteristics.
However, the semi-transparent body was indeed strange. Typically, once a ghost reached the Ghost King level, they would have a solid corporeal form. A semi-transparent ghostly figure was a sign of a weakened spirit and was usually seen in the lowest-tier ghosts phantoms. But Wu Rong could distinctly feel the hidden and formidable aura emanating from the ghostly figure outside the window, even stronger than Bai Mei.
“Thank you for saving Xiaomi.”
The man and the ghost looked at each other for a long time before Su Zheng nodded slowly, his voice filled with chill,
“I’m coming in.”
There were many taboos between humans and spirits, such as the folklore of not responding if you heard someone calling your name when passing a graveyard. Generally, with the presence of a person’s aura, ghosts would need their permission to approach. Wu Rong nodded, intrigued by the situation. In the past, his overwhelming Yin Qi had caused ghosts to approach without any warning. However, since he planted the Zhengyang Fire Seed, his constitution had gradually been balancing between Yin and Yang.
“I heard from Xiaomi that the ghost you’re taking care of has had its five senses sealed with golden needles and threads.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Su Zheng floated in gently from outside the window. As he entered, the room’s temperature dropped drastically, and the already dim light became even murkier and hazy, like it was enveloped in black mist. The Ghost Qi surrounded Su Zheng, causing his eyes to turn even more blood-red, and the air filled with a faint scent of blood, proof of his powerful and ferocious ghost nature, despite his human-like appearance.
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“Zs ygbatfg ralii tjrc’a obecv rbwfatlcu tf’r ibbxlcu obg, rb tf tjrc’a gfjmtfv tlr qfjx ragfcuat sfa,” Ve Wljbwl fzqijlcfv. “Dea lo tf mbwylcfr klat wf, tlr ragfcuat mjc gfjmt atf ifnfi bo j akb-rajg Xtbra Blcu.”
Hearing Su Xiaomi’s words, Wu Rong furrowed his brow. Combining with a ghost was an extremely dangerous method used by ghost keepers, just like Wu Rong’s ability to transform his left arm into a ghostly hand. Combining meant relinquishing complete control of one’s body to the ghost. While it could unleash the greatest combat power, it was also the most perilous and had been considered a forbidden technique among ghost keepers, to be used only as a last resort.
This was because according to records, those who combined with a ghost invariably became one with the ghost and lost their humanity. This is more terrifying than being backlashed by a ghost. The synchronization was silent and gradual, even changing the person’s way of thinking. In the end, the person and the ghost were still together, but their souls had fused completely, making it an unethical and inhumane technique.
There was another point to consider. Wu Rong stared deeply at Su Zheng. If a ghost keeper’s ghost had blood ties within five generations between them and the ghost, it was impossible to combine with it. Forcibly combining would render the person mentally impaired and cause severe damage to the ghost, often leading to its disappearance. This had to do with the most enigmatic aspects of the soul, and while the reason behind it wasn’t clear, it was a strict rule in the Ghost Keeper’s Code.
“He’s not my real brother,”
Su Xiaomi said, scratching his nose. He gave a silly grin at Su Zheng. “He’s the senior brother who picked me up on Longhu Mountain.”
“I don’t want to hear that name,” The blood in Su Zheng’s eyes became more and more intense, his face was filled with anger and he had a deep, cold, and sinister voice. “I’m your real brother.”
The Su brothers clearly had a story, but Wu Rong’s focus was on Su Zheng’s arm. Faint golden markings were still visible there, the residual traces left behind after prolonged golden thread sealing. Su Zheng seemed to be fine, and when Su Xiaomi pulled his arm affectionately in order to please him, Su Zheng snorted in response but didn’t pull his arm away. Instead, he followed the force of Su Xiaomi’s pull and came before Wu Rong.
“Is your ghost truly sealed in terms of its five senses?”
Looking down at Wu Rong from a superior position, Su Zheng’s eyes, a blend of black and red, held a strong sense of doubt. Without saying much, he briefly added, “Once we’ve resolved the issue, release the blood pact on Xiaomi and set him free.”
“Ge!” Su Xiaomi protested.
Su Xiaomi was getting anxious and shrank back a bit under Su Zheng’s stern gaze. However, he remained resolute. “I think things are pretty good as they are.”
Although things were quite chaotic when he first met Wu Rong in Jieyang, and Wu Rong initially said, “If the method for removing the golden thread seal works, I’ll release Su Xiaomi’s blood pact,” things had changed since then. Su Xiaomi felt content with how things were. Wu Rong was reliable, Bai Gu was intelligent, and Huang Mao was a great friend. He was responsible for doing the least work in the team, and the team had a promising future. Su Xiaomi had no intention of leaving.
Su Xiaomi had been wandering around a lot at a young age, but he finally found a comfortable organization to stay with, and he was in no hurry to leave. He was even eager to establish strong bonds with the team.
To Su Xiaomi, the blood pact was like an internal phone line, and Wu Rong had never given them any harsh commands. Su Xiaomi believed he had a good sense of people, and he voluntarily maintained the relationship with Wu Rong. He took the initiative to defend Wu Rong and rambled on for a while. Su Zheng looks at Wu Rong kept getting weirder, almost asking what kind of magic soup he fed Su Xiaomi. He was on the verge of saying something, but he was held back by Su Xiaomi. It was only when Wu Rong extended his hand nonchalantly and said, “Let’s have a look first.”
Seeing Su Xiaomi who obediently shut up and stood beside the bed as soon as Wu Rong opened his mouth, Su Zheng’s face turned completely dark.
He gave Su Xiaomi a sharp look that said, “I’ll settle the score later.” and pursed the corners of his mouth into a straight line, frowning and sitting in the air in front of Wu Rong. Seeing that Wu Rong didn’t summon the Big Ghost, but just stretched out his left hand, Su Zheng didn’t say anything, and his scrutinizing eyes slid over the ghost pattern on his left arm.
Suddenly he raised his eyebrows strangely: “These ghost marks on your arm don’t look like those of a Ghost King.”
Indeed, Wu Rong noticed that the ghost marks on his left arm had decreased again. What used to cover almost his entire arm had now become sparse, and the color had lightened from a dark red to a slightly lighter shade of pink. The change had occurred after he woke up, and Wu Rong had a feeling that as the Big Ghost’s seal was broken, the ghost marks on his arm would continue to fade and eventually disappear.
Seeing that Wu Rong remained expressionless, Su Zheng snorted coldly and didn’t say much. He then observed the situation closely and added, “You’re in trouble.” His translucent fingers, like those of a doctor, rested on Wu Rong’s wrist. Wu Rong could feel a strange, pure, and destructive Ghost Qi flowing in, but as soon as it entered his left arm, it vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, leaving him with no sensation. In contrast, Su Zheng’s expression became increasingly strange and serious, the redness in his eyes receded, and his darkness deepened.
Su Xiaomi waited anxiously by the side, holding his breath, and noticed the change in Su Zheng’s expression. After about five minutes, Su Zheng released his hand, but his tightly furrowed brow showed no signs of relaxation. He looked at Wu Rong with suspicion and anger, saying, “Is it fun to play tricks on people? There’s no ghost inside you at all!”
“What?!”
Su Xiaomi shouted in disbelief, “It’s impossible, Boss definitely has a powerful ghost, at least on the level of a Ghost King. I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”
“Nonsense,” Su Zheng sneered and said impatiently, “I haven’t sensed a trace of Ghost Qi. There’s no damn ghost.”
Su Xiaomi and Su Zheng began to argue, leaving Wu Rong with a calm expression that concealed his inner turmoil. When the hospital had initially assessed the Big Ghost, the old doctor had mentioned that its Ghost Qi was too weak, equivalent to a disability. Now, Su Zheng claimed that there was not a trace of Ghost Qi inside him.
Wu Rong had initially thought the Big Ghost’s weak Ghost Qi was due to the double sealing with golden needles and threads. However, it made no sense that after removing both seals, the Ghost Qi in his body became even weaker. Even with the significant difference in levels between Su Zheng and the Big Ghost, he should have at least sensed some Ghost Qi.
What king of existence was the Big Ghost?
“Hey, since Xiaomi insists that you’ve raised a Ghost King, I’ll reluctantly believe him,” Su Zheng said, but there was no hint of belief in his eyes. “Since regular methods won’t work… do you dare let me probe your soul?”
“Ge!”
“Don’t interrupt.”
Su Zheng said in a cold tone, his gaze piercing Wu Rong, clearly impatient. “You have a blood contract with Xiaomi, so it’s an indirect contract with me. If you don’t dare to do even this, I’m out of options.”
Soul probing was an act banned by the Federation, and it was as dangerous as soul-searching. However, while soul-searching was conducted by humans, soul probing involved exposing one’s soul entirely to a ghost. It was like revealing the most vulnerable and deadly part of oneself for the ghost to explore. At any moment, a ghost could take over the host’s body, turning the tables and expelling the host’s soul. It was extremely perilous.
Wu Rong contemplated for a moment and then made his decision. “Alright.”
Su Zheng was right. Wu Rong didn’t want to miss this opportunity. He had the Big Ghost within him, the Zhengyang fire seed, and the Zhong Gu as well. With Su Xiaomi in his grasp, he had no fear of any ill intentions from Su Zheng.
“You do have quite the courage,” Su Zheng muttered, and the chill in his eyes seemed to dissipate slightly. “Close your eyes, don’t resist, and I’ll find the place in your soul where Ghost Qi is most concentrated.”
Once he finished speaking, Su Zheng’s expression became more solemn. He took a drop of Su Xiaomi’s blood and blended it into his own forehead. The blood contract had created a subtle connection between him and Wu Rong. At the moment this connection was formed, Su Zheng took a step forward, and his semi-transparent body merged completely with Wu Rong’s.
Wu Rong closed his eyes and could feel a part of the blood contract representing Su Xiaomi splitting off and entering his soul. It was a delicate sensation. He couldn’t see it, but he could clearly sense the cold force bypassing the Zhengyang Fire and gradually delving deeper into his soul. Instead of moving toward his left arm or the Zhong Gu, it seemed to be heading toward a hollow space deep within his soul.
Su Zheng found it peculiar. He had never seen someone’s soul with so many vulnerabilities. After confirming that there was no Ghost Qi in Wu Rong’s left arm, he had initially intended to leave. But for some unknown reason, something deep within Wu Rong’s soul seemed to be drawing him closer.
It was the instinctual allure from the depths of the soul, dangerous and mesmerizing at the same time. Su Zheng cautiously delved deeper but couldn’t resist becoming entranced by what he encountered and his soul trembled. Just like a carnivorous plant lures insects with sweet nectar, moths are drawn to a flame, something deep within Wu Rong’s soul had him completely captivated.
When Su Zheng finally reached that void, he ‘saw’ an endless, profound darkness. It was as if an abyss filled with dangerous temptations, making one submit involuntarily. It felt like the ultimate destination for all ghosts, a hellish place they longed to pilgrimage to.
Wu Rong abruptly opened his eyes, and a blast of icy coldness erupted from the deepest part of his soul. It was quickly subdued, like an abyssal behemoth being briefly awakened, rolling over and going back to sleep, leaving behind only a deep and chilling oppression. Wu Rong’s fingertips turned slightly cold, and he had the urge to use that powerfully and strange cold fire but managed to suppress it.
Wu Rong immediately wanted to know what Su Zheng had seen, but when he looked, he discovered that the once defiant and unruly Su Zheng was now kneeling deeply in front of him! Su Zheng’s knees seemed to be glued to the ground, and he was unable to lift them. His soul quivered slightly, and Su Zheng dared not even look at Wu Rong; his eyes were filled with profound terror that seemed to penetrate his very bones. He tried to speak but realized he was trembling with fear to the point of not being able to utter a single word. This was why Su Zheng couldn’t sense any Ghost Qi from Wu Rong’s left arm, yet Su Xiaomi was steadfast in his belief that Wu Rong possessed a Ghost King.
Wu Rong didn’t have a Ghost King.
He himself was the Ghost King.
M1zushi: as always, here’s some memes!
I’ve had Su Zheng for a chapter and a half but he already grew on me, that little brocon ghost
it’s like midnight here but I had to get this chapter out on Sunday _(:3 )
We he tried to get his brother away, backfired.
OMG I NEED MOREEEEE
Is someone finally going to be able to say something to Wu Rong? 😂
Thanks for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️❤️
sooo it’s confirmed Big Ghost is either Fu Qing’s missing soul or a heavenly ghost right?
What? How come combining/letting ghost control part of your body is a forbidden technique now? Isn’t that’s how a lot of ghost raiser are? Even the bits where their personality and preference might shift according to the ghost they took is pretty much the same, so what’s the difference?