Before Zhao Xi could react, a strikingly handsome man dressed in black had already taken a seat beside her.
As a feng shui master, Zhao Xi knew exactly what this was.
A ghost!
For a moment, every hair on her body stood on end.
Instinctively, she hugged her legs and shrank against the edge of the bed, her teeth chattering.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Her voice trembled with fear.
"Wife." Xu Yichen leaned closer, his eyes filled with longing.
Admittedly, despite the eerie way he had appeared, Zhao Xi couldn’t help but be momentarily entranced by his handsome face.
"Why do you call me that?" A faint blush crept onto her cheeks for some reason.
In all her life, she had never seen such a good-looking man.
Even if… he was a ghost.
But who said ghosts had to be harmful?
Zhao Xi touched the jade pendant around her neck. If she wasn’t mistaken, this man had emerged from it.
"Because you are my wife," Xu Yichen said, taking her hand.
His skin was cool to the touch, but undeniably real.
This meant the man before her was incredibly powerful.
"Did you know me in a past life?" Gathering her courage, Zhao Xi sat up and studied the man beside her—the more she looked, the more pleasing he became.
"Wife." Xu Yichen didn’t explain his identity, simply resting his head against her chest.
Zhao Xi melted instantly.
She loved men who clung to her like this.
She even reached out and patted his back.
"So… are you the one inside my pendant?"
Xu Yichen pursed his lips for a moment before whispering, "Wife, I’m hungry."
Zhao Xi froze.
"What… do you eat?" she asked hesitantly.
But she already knew what ghosts fed on.
Their own kind.
"Wife, don’t play dumb, silly." His voice was so tender and doting that Zhao Xi’s face flushed again.
Then she remembered—the ghosts on that mountain, the ones she hadn’t fully dealt with yet.
Wasn’t this perfect?
"I know where to find what you need. Let me change, and I’ll take you there." Her face lit up with excitement.
"Thank you, wife." Xu Yichen smiled brightly.
Hearing that, Zhao Xi covered her face, feeling warm all over.
"Don’t call me that. I’m not used to it. Just call me Zhao Xi," she said awkwardly.
"Alright." He nodded slightly.
"Xi’er," he murmured instead.
Just the sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine.
"Let’s go now," Zhao Xi said.
Her face was still burning. Truthfully, as a feng shui master, she had always struggled to fit in. Her roommates avoided her, leaving her feeling deeply lonely.
Now, with such a handsome man by her side, her heart raced uncontrollably.
And a powerful man at that—wasn’t that every girl’s dream?
At least, that’s what Zhao Xi believed.
"Alright." Xu Yichen followed behind her.
Zhao Xi couldn’t contain her excitement. Having such a gorgeous man cling to her was beyond thrilling.
Meanwhile, Little Nailuo sat by the control panel, watching Zhao Xi’s flustered expression with amusement.
"Si, is she drunk? Does she actually think the male lead likes her?" Little Nailuo smirked.
Delusional. How cringe.
Si cleared her throat.
"Mutual benefit is still a kind of beginning, I suppose."
But when it came to romance novels, Si had never been one to judge.
If it fulfilled young girls’ fantasies, that was normal—even if most romance writers were single anyway.
"Whatever, I don’t get it. Should we tell Little Wei?" Little Nailuo glanced at Si.
Without hesitation, Si relayed the news about Zhao Xi and Xu Yichen heading to the mountain.
"If you leave now, you might make it in time. Any later, and those ghosts will be gone."
For a ghost, complete annihilation was too steep a price.
Si didn’t want to see that happen.
"Huh? Should I go now?" Little Wei set down her bowl, stunned.
"If she’s taking a male ghost up the mountain, it’ll take at most two hours. You can still catch them," Si said.
Little Wei didn’t waste another second.
"Where are you going?" Youyin stood up as Little Wei rushed out.
"Emergency. I’ll explain later." That was all Little Wei left her with.
But Youyin followed anyway. If Jiang Xixi was in a hurry, it had to be about the ghosts on the mountain.
She cared about what happened to them.
And if something was wrong, the culprits were definitely the male and female leads.
Youyin pressed her lips together. The female lead hadn’t destroyed Jiang Xixi, and soon after, she had awakened Xu Yichen.
According to the novel, Xu Yichen was a heroic spirit who died in battle a thousand years ago.
But Youyin knew the truth—Xu Yichen had devoured countless innocent souls for his own gain. His crimes were unspeakable.
Luckily, Youyin was fast. By the time she reached the street, Little Wei was still there.
"Take a car. It’ll be quicker," Youyin suggested.
"Fine." Little Wei agreed—it was faster than using qinggong over such a distance.
Thankfully, it wasn’t rush hour. Otherwise, getting there would’ve taken forever.
When they arrived, only one car was parked at the base of the mountain.
They were too late.
"I’ll go ahead. You follow." Little Wei summoned her staff and gave it a light tap.
"Be good and hurry up," she muttered before mounting it sideways.
In moments, she reached the graveyard halfway up the mountain.
A thick black mist shrouded the peak, giving her the same eerie feeling as the nightmare array—though this time, it was far more sinister.
This was a death sentence.
Little Wei clenched her jaw.
At the summit, she saw several ghostly figures dissolving into gray orbs, sucked into Xu Yichen’s body.
"Stop!" She leaped down, her staff blocking their path, her gaze icy.
Xu Yichen’s eyes gleamed when he saw her.
"Not bad," he mused, admiration flickering in his gaze.
Though this ghost’s soul was incomplete, Xu Yichen sensed an overwhelming spiritual energy within her.
Something was off, but one thing was certain—she was a walking feast.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
