Yu Sheng returned, and the door closed again, isolating the ghost king standing not far away.
In an instant, a howling wind erupted outside, as if a typhoon was approaching, causing the doors and windows to rattle as if they might shatter at any moment.
He put down the water basin and sighed. What great doors and windows; they cost him a four-digit amount of points back then. They could withstand wind and rain, and block out the rain of alcohol and paper money. Having endured for a hundred years, they remained unbreakable...
But they couldn’t stop the ghost king’s resentful gaze, and being watched felt like a prickling sensation on his back.
The thrill of fear lingered. Yu Sheng steeled himself and returned to the bedside, suddenly finding feverish Zhan Xiaotian, who was babbling nonsense, to be endearingly cute. The injury to his leg seemed just a bit mischievous.
Zhan Xiaotian called out to his master with a wronged expression. Yu Sheng smiled and gently ruffled his hair, saying, “Good boy.” Zhan Xiaotian, gripping his clothes tightly, complained about his pain and refused to sleep. Yu Sheng blew on his wounds, assuring him the pain would disappear. Zhan Xiaotian, thoroughly dazed and afraid of having nightmares, insisted on lying down with his master for reassurance, so he...
...woke Zhan Xiaotian up.
After all, the ghost king with the golden finger was still outside. Forget about fearing nightmares; even his master was scared! Sleep? No way! Get up and have some fun!
Zhan Xiaotian looked at him, both confused and fragile, as if he didn’t understand why, after being coaxed just moments ago, his master suddenly changed his mind.
But Yu Sheng suddenly realized an important truth.
In supernatural horror stories, the scariest part is often not the ghosts themselves, but the tension and oppressive feeling that come before a fierce ghost arrives—the anxiety mixed with the unknown and the will to survive is what truly terrifies.
Once he understood all of this, no longer wanting to escape, choosing to confront everything, and maintaining a righteous mindset, there was naturally nothing to fear.
Yu Sheng gently patted Zhan Xiaotian’s head with a kind smile and walked towards the door with the determined stride of someone heading to the front lines.
Though he wasn't entirely free of guilt.
But if he appeared too cowardly at this moment, it would only raise the ghost king’s suspicions and make him more likely to expose himself. Moreover… even if Yin Wang was fierce and terrifying, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to do anything truly dangerous in front of his senior, “Yu Yangzi.”
The bigger the heart, the bolder the courage.
Having thought this through, Yu Sheng reached the door, his expression calm and unperturbed. He grasped the doorknob and slowly, gently pulled it open—
With a rush, the wind stopped, and the malevolent energy dissipated. Yu Sheng paused, peering through the three-inch gap to look outside. He saw bright sunlight and beautiful flowers. In the courtyard ahead, Yin Wangzhi, dressed in black, had his hair tied high, his face like a jade crown. Holding a white jade wine cup, he wore a faint, elusive smile, as if he were about to recite poetry within three steps, yet it seemed that when his cup ran dry, he would draw his sword and scatter the falling leaves.
He only revealed a three-dimensional profile, and just then, a drop of water fell from the door frame, as if waking him from his contemplation. His eyes shifted, turning towards Yu Sheng at just the right angle, with a hint of deep affection in his gaze.
It’s You, the Perfect Photo Angle, Three-Quarters Face
Yu Sheng felt a bit dazed, instinctively thinking he might be dreaming. He shook his head and closed the door again.
He must have seen it wrong; it was definitely a mistake.
Then the doors and windows began to rattle violently again in the howling wind, and all the sunlight was blocked out.
Yu Sheng opened the door once more. Outside, the wind was gentle and the clouds were light. Yin Wangzhi stood there, surrounded by an aura tinged with gloom. The knuckles of his fingers gripping the wine cup turned slightly pale from the force, and a faint blue vein bulged at his temple. Aside from that, he seemed unchanged from when Yu Sheng had first opened the door.
Yu Sheng felt confused, not looking at the person but instead curiously examining his wooden door, even reaching out to touch it.
There were no traces of spells or barriers.
Yin Wangzhi took a deep breath, the expression he was trying hard to maintain cracking slightly as he finally approached. His voice was low, “Senior Yu Yangzi.”
Yu Sheng’s face was wooden as he politely replied, “Ghost King Yin, I’ve heard much about you.”
Yin Wangzhi stepped closer, standing right in front of Yu Sheng. The light from behind illuminated him, casting a shadow over Yu Sheng and enveloping him entirely. “Don’t you want to see me?”
The distance between them suddenly closed, and the ghost king looked down at him unblinkingly, his gaze holding something Yu Sheng couldn’t quite comprehend.
“Not at all,” Yu Sheng forced himself to clear his mind, trying to forget his nervousness. “I’m just busy taking care of the injured.”
“Is that so?” Yin Wangzhi smiled slightly, stepping closer until they were almost touching, pressing his hand against the edge of the doorframe, exuding a strong sense of pressure.
Yu Sheng wanted to retreat, wanted to back away, thought of Zhan Xiaotian in the room, but he held his ground and didn’t step back.
Not only did he not retreat, but he also moved a step to the side, positioning himself in front of Yin Wangzhi. The chilling aura caused frost to form on the edges of his clothes.
Yu Sheng’s expression turned serious: “He’s already seriously injured; let’s call a truce for today.”
Yin Wangzhi was momentarily speechless.
Inside the room, Zhan Xiaotian lay on the jade bed, having propped himself up just in time to witness this scene: Yu Yangzi was being blocked by the ghost king at the door, yet he not only didn’t dodge but actually leaned into the ghost king’s space??!
Getting so close! Was he trying to press noses together?!
With a loud crash, something on the bedside fell to the floor. The sound startled Yu Sheng, and he turned to rush over, only to be grabbed by Yin Wangzhi by the arm, preventing him from moving.
Yin Wangzhi’s temper flared, “Do you think I’m here for him? Why are you guarding against me?”
Yu Sheng let out an “Ah?” thinking that while he was also a bit scared of having his identity exposed, before this, the ghost king and Yu Yangzi hadn’t actually met. They weren’t from the same era…
Then a light bulb went off in his head, and he displayed a look of sudden realization. “Oh! Are you…?”
Yin Wangzhi’s expression softened slightly, a hint of mirth returning to his eyes.
“...Also injured and in need of treatment?” Yu Sheng assumed he had guessed correctly and said generously, “Let’s go to the room in the west. You come from the ghost realm, so it’s best to conduct the treatment there. I’ll join you shortly!”
After saying this, Yu Sheng turned and dashed back to check on Zhan Xiaotian, leaving the ghost king with a frozen smile.
He rushed over to pick up the fallen items, helped Zhan Xiaotian lie down again, and then suddenly remembered something. He ran back to the door, looking apologetically at the ghost king.
Then he took out a dust brush, giving it a light flick to leave an invisible simple barrier at the door, blocking the cold wind and malevolent energy that could harm the injured before returning to care for Zhan Xiaotian.
“Hmph!”
He was once again dismissed.
With a cold huff, he flicked his sleeve, his expression dark enough to drip ink. He angrily turned to leave, initially heading towards the forest. Halfway there, he turned back with an even worse expression and headed toward the room on the west side.
After Yu Sheng finished tending to one thing and then another, he noticed that although Yin Wangzhi’s expression was still bad, he was patiently waiting in the room. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. While treating Yin Wangzhi’s injuries, he set up some formations as he had in the past to address the damage to the ghost’s body, while also tentatively trying to persuade him, speaking up for Zhan Xiaotian in an attempt to reduce conflict between the two.
Yin Wangzhi listened silently. It wasn’t until Yu Sheng had finished his tasks and was packing up to leave that he suddenly spoke up.
“Does the senior also think I’m a cruel, vicious villain? If I were to have a conflict with someone respected by all and hailed as a leader, would it certainly be my fault?”
Yu Sheng was taken aback. The human world often viewed fierce ghosts and wandering spirits as evil, and the name of the ghost king inspired terror… but hearing such words from Yin Wangzhi felt different.
“Of course not.” Yu Sheng didn’t rush to leave. He instinctively felt that the answer to this question was very important, so he chose his words carefully. “I… know that many people are afraid of you, that you have a bad temper and can be quite ruthless, but Wen Jiu has already told me that those poor souls who were harmed were saved by you. The scoundrels who harmed them were eliminated by you. Without you, those people might have been shattered into pieces and become new vengeful spirits.”
And then they’d become the new protagonists, bringing me a million points…
Yin Wangzhi looked at him. “Do you think I’m doing good deeds?”
Doing good? Yu Sheng recalled certain images and almost laughed. At first glance, it didn’t seem like good deeds; it looked more like torture.
But many things couldn’t be simply judged by who wore a smiling face and who had a crying one, or who appeared more intimidating.
“Being saved by you is far better than becoming a vengeful spirit burdened by a sea of blood. No matter how bad you are, you’re still their benefactor. From now on, they won’t have to live in constant fear and can lead a simple yet stable life.”
Yu Sheng spoke with conviction. “Although I don’t understand why you and Zhan Xiaotian have been fighting all these years without a break, I believe there must be another reason behind it. There’s no strict right or wrong in this.”
Sigh, it’s already like this. Yu Sheng felt that he had come to terms with it. Losing the protagonist was unfortunate, and seven hundred thousand points were a pity, but one couldn’t just hope for others to fall off a cliff and get severely injured. He couldn’t think that being a protagonist necessarily meant a happier life than that of a bystander.
At least, he himself was someone who liked being a bystander. Compared to the storms and daily risks of death, he preferred his current life, squatting at the bottom of the cliff in retirement. Rather than endure great disasters or the growth that came at the cost of losing important people, he would rather not grow at all, remaining a timid, lazy fish.
After listening to him, Yin Wangzhi fell silent for a moment. Taking advantage of this pause, Yu Sheng quickly left and ran back to Zhan Xiaotian’s room to keep watch. It wasn’t until late at night, when Zhan Xiaotian’s fever broke, that he finally left the room for some fresh air.
In the darkness, a suspicious shadow silently left the room, heading in a certain direction.
Yu Sheng thought for a moment and followed behind. With his high level of cultivation, he was not easily detected as long as he was careful.
After walking for a while, the shadow stopped in front of a tombstone. By the light of the moon, Yu Sheng recognized the figure—it was the ghost king Yin Wangzhi, who had just arrived at the cliff’s bottom today.
In the dead of night, standing alone in front of a tombstone reminiscing about his master… This scene made Yu Sheng feel a pang of bitterness in his heart, reminding him of Wen Jiu and Zhan Xiaotian reminiscing about their master, and the sadness they’d felt over the years. Guilt washed over him even more.
Despite how tough and fierce the ghost king appeared on the outside, perhaps he, too, showed a vulnerable side when alone in the quiet of night…
Yu Sheng listened carefully and indeed heard Yin Wangzhi’s low, hoarse voice: “Master… I’m back…”
Ah, Yin Wangzhi… he really is someone who values emotions and loyalty. It seemed like another round of heartfelt words directed at himself was about to unfold. This child must have suffered a lot over the years.
“Heh, how ridiculous. They actually set up fruits and wine here, scattering paper money…”
Hearing the sarcasm in his words made Yu Sheng feel even worse. The experiences of the past two days, reuniting with the three disciples, had shaken him further. He wished he could apologize right away, tell them he hadn’t died, and ask them not to be sad anymore.
If even Yin Wangzhi was willing to forgive him, then…
“Is there any point in doing this?”
The sinister aura around Yin Wangzhi began to stir chaotically, a hint of red light flashing in his eyes. His expression suddenly turned terrifying, and with a swift wave of his hand, a powerful force erupted. With a loud bang, he shattered the tombstone, leveling the grave mound behind it.
Yu Sheng: …
“Unburied bones? What qualifies as a master’s tomb!”
‘Boom!’
The grave exploded, turning into a pit.
Yu Sheng stood frozen in place, completely breathless, cold sweat running down his back.
So, so scary! It was as if his own grave had been blown up…
No, there was no ‘as if.’
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