Chapter 49

Chapter 49

From inside the jade pendant, Lu Changxue spotted a fatal flaw in the plan. She muttered, “If you two find the mastermind and dissolve your ghost marriage, won’t he be able to crush you to death with a flick of his finger?”

Mo Chen had only one thought: This female ghost really deserved to die.

“So that’s it! You came here to catch the mastermind, dissolve your ghost marriage with me, and then kill me!” Yun Jianyue exclaimed, looking as though she’d just had a revelation.

Then she instantly dropped the act and asked Lu Changxue, “How was that? Did I play along well?”

Lu Changxue protested, “You figured it out ages ago? Why didn’t you say anything? I thought I’d finally been clever for once!”

“That’s not true. See, even my husband didn’t realize I’d already figured it out,” Yun Jianyue replied as though it were perfectly obvious.

Mo Chen’s thoughts weren’t hard to guess. After she’d cut his hair, her dear husband would probably never forgive her for the rest of her life. Even if she died and reincarnated, the moment she opened her eyes in her next life, the Evil God would likely be waiting to strangle her to death.

For now, she couldn’t dissolve her ghost marriage with Mo Chen. Not unless she became powerful enough to stand against him one day.

As if he had guessed what Yun Jianyue was thinking, Si Wuming said softly, “I’ll protect you.”

“Thanks.” Yun Jianyue smiled at him. “But I still don’t like putting my life in someone else’s hands.”

Only by becoming strong herself could she face any danger without fear.

No man or friend could stay by someone’s side and protect them forever.

Mo Chen’s expression darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean we should stay happily married for a while longer. Don’t worry, I won’t make you perform your husbandly duties every day. I’m not that insatiable.” Yun Jianyue grinned from ear to ear.

Si Wuming’s ears turned red again.

Mo Chen, meanwhile, started cursing her once more. “Shameless!”

Yun Jianyue was discovering that the Evil God’s vocabulary for insults was sorely lacking. No matter how many times he cursed her, “shameless” was the only word he knew.

It was like watching an innocent college girl get into an argument, only to turn scarlet and finally squeeze out, “Fucking dumbass!”

In the end, after being subjected to enough of Yun Jianyue’s brazen antics, Mo Chen vanished from the room with his teeth clenched in fury.

Pointing at the two a.m. time displayed on her phone, Yun Jianyue asked, “Aren’t you going back to bed?”

“Oh.” Si Wuming obediently turned to leave.

Just as he reached the door, something suddenly occurred to Yun Jianyue. “Wait. How did you get into my room?”

She didn’t recall hearing the door open. He had simply appeared inside.

Yun Jianyue glanced at the door, which was still locked from the inside, and grew even more suspicious.

Lu Changxue started yapping excitedly. “I know, I know! He just appeared out of thin air with a whoosh!”

“A Spatial Transfer Array.” Si Wuming’s ears turned so red they looked ready to bleed, and he couldn’t even bring himself to look at Yun Jianyue as he spoke.

The moment he’d sensed Mo Chen in Yun Jianyue’s room, he’d teleported himself over.

“The Innocent Puppy is blushing again! You’re a man and woman alone in a room, so hurry up and make a move! Yun Jianyue, can you do it or not?” After yapping away, Lu Changxue hurriedly covered her mouth. “Oh no. I forgot he can hear me again.”

Si Wuming’s cheeks had only been pink before. Now his entire face was crimson.

He fumbled the door open and bolted out as though fleeing for his life.

Yun Jianyue was speechless. “I didn’t even say anything…”
At seven the next morning, Yun Jianyue was still dreaming when someone knocked on her door.

“Are you awake, Comrade Yun?”

Chen You’s knocking pierced her skull like a demonic refrain. Yun Jianyue crawled out of bed with her hair sticking out in every direction and opened the door for him.

Ever since Mo Chen had cut her hair into an ear-length crop, she woke up looking like she’d slept in a bird’s nest every morning.

Chen You was startled by the dark circles under her eyes. “Were you out on a secret mission last night, Comrade Yun?”

“No. I was just tangled up with two men until the middle of the night,” Yun Jianyue replied weakly before shutting herself in the bathroom.

Chen You stood in the doorway, feeling his firmly established worldview of more than forty years begin to crumble.

What the hell?

Two men?

Tangled up until the middle of the night?

As expected of Comrade Yun. She was fucking badass!

When Yun Jianyue finished washing up and came out, she found Si Wuming and Chen You standing outside the door, both fully dressed and ready to go.

It was as though an invisible barrier had been placed across the doorway. Neither man had dared take a single step inside.

Never mind that someone had teleported straight into her room with a whoosh just last night.

“Let’s go. We’ll have breakfast, then visit Granny Chang’s house.” Yun Jianyue yawned as she headed downstairs.

There were several breakfast shops near the hotel. Yun Jianyue chose a noodle shop, but it was currently packed, and many customers were sharing tables with strangers.

Only one table had a single person sitting at it, leaving just enough room for the three of them.

As luck would have it, that person was Mo Chen.

Yun Jianyue walked straight over and sat beside him. Si Wuming took the seat across from Yun Jianyue, leaving Chen You with no choice but to sit across from Mo Chen.
The seat across from Mo Chen was empty. After Yun Jianyue and the others ordered their noodles, Mo Chen told the owner he would have the same thing as Yun Jianyue.

“You two know each other?” Chen You asked in surprise.

Only then did it belatedly occur to him that everyone else at the table was gorgeous. He seemed rather out of place among them.

Yun Jianyue began spouting nonsense without missing a beat. “Of course. He’s my husband. We’ve been married for less than six months.”

“Comrade Yun, you got married before even graduating from college? Now that’s answering the nation’s call! So when are you planning to have children?” Chen You bought it. He actually bought it.

“We’re trying. It probably won’t be long before I give birth to eighteen at once,” Yun Jianyue continued shamelessly.

Chen You gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive! That’s a true comrade for you. The nation is lucky to have you!”

Mo Chen’s ominous voice cut in. “Do you think I’m dead?”

“Huh? You’re actually alive?” Yun Jianyue tilted her head and stared at Mo Chen with open curiosity.

Ever since meeting Yun Jianyue, silence had become Mo Chen’s defining trait.

Chen You had no idea what was going on. Still grinning, he praised them, “You newlyweds really do seem to have a wonderful relationship.”

“If your eyes are useless, donate them to someone who needs them.” Mo Chen shot Chen You a vicious glare.

Chen You shrank back. His instincts told him that the handsome man before him was dangerous and best left alone.

The owner brought over their four bowls of noodles. Yun Jianyue thanked him, then began inhaling hers at breakneck speed.

Si Wuming ate with unhurried elegance, while Chen You ate at an ordinary pace.

Only Mo Chen never touched his chopsticks, merely giving the bowl of noodles a disdainful look.

After polishing off her bowl in record time, Yun Jianyue noticed that Mo Chen wasn’t eating. She reached over and pulled his bowl toward herself. “Why order anything if you’re not going to eat it? Don’t waste food.”

Then she inhaled a second bowl of noodles.

In the end, Chen You paid for breakfast and even asked the owner for a receipt.

Such was the soul of a working stiff: if an expense could be reimbursed, it had to be reimbursed.

After breakfast, Chen You drove them back toward Granny Chang’s house for another look. Si Wuming, well versed in social etiquette, obediently took the front passenger seat. Yun Jianyue opened the left rear door and climbed in, while Mo Chen entered through the right.

Chen You hesitated. “Comrade Yun, we’re carrying out an assignment. Your husband shouldn’t be coming with us, should he?”

He was still a family member, after all, and regulations prohibited family members from participating in Paranormal Bureau assignments.

Mo Chen raised his eyes to Chen You. A faint crimson light flashed within them. “Drive.”

Chen You’s expression went blank. He murmured an acknowledgment, turned around, and obediently became their chauffeur.

The drive from the county town to the village took roughly forty minutes. Only after Chen You parked outside the village did clarity return to his eyes, as though he had just awakened from a dream.

“Y-you… What did you just do to me?” Chen You stammered in terror. Only now did he realize what Mo Chen was.

An Evil God! A living, breathing Evil God!

Mo Chen didn’t spare him so much as a glance before getting out of the car.

Yun Jianyue gave Chen You a resolute look. “It’s no big deal. He’s just a puny Evil God. What a joke.”

A puny… Evil God? Did Comrade Yun even hear what she was saying? That was a fallen Evil God powerful enough to wield the might of a god!

Chen You screamed internally, but he didn’t dare let out a sound.

Mo Chen’s displeased voice came from outside the car. “Are you getting out or not? Humans are so troublesome.”

If it were up to him, he would have simply used a spatial spell to teleport straight to Granny Chang’s house. There would have been no need to waste so much time driving.

Weak humans truly were irritating at all times.

“We’re coming, we’re coming. What are you barking for?” Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently as she got out, the same enormous bag as always strapped to her back.

Si Wuming still had his familiar fire poker slung across his back, and even Chen You had ritual artifacts hidden all over his body.

Only Mo Chen, dressed in a black robe, looked completely out of place.

“Speaking of which, shouldn’t you change your clothes? If you walk into the village dressed like that, everyone’s going to stare.” Yun Jianyue eyed Mo Chen’s outfit. No matter how she looked at it, it felt jarringly out of place.

Mo Chen still wore the same gloomy expression, but with a wave of his hand, his black robe instantly transformed into a black shirt and black trousers.

“You really are devoted to black. Do all Evil Gods like black, or do you just think it makes you look cool? Are you going through your edgy teenage phase?” Yun Jianyue asked with complete sincerity.

“How many other Evil Gods have you met?” Mo Chen frowned.

As far as he knew, he was currently the only true Evil God in all of Huaxia.

Yun Jianyue began counting on her fingers. “The Twin God from Xianyin Village, and at the end of October, Si Wuming and I…”

“Those things dare call themselves Evil Gods?” Disdain crossed Mo Chen’s face. They were nothing more than minor spirits that fed on human faith. They had absorbed a little power from that faith and already dared to proclaim themselves gods?

Yun Jianyue raised an eyebrow without comment. In any case, Mo Chen had more than enough power to look down on any evil entity he pleased.
Si Wuming rarely showed his displeasure, but he shot Mo Chen a sidelong glance. “You’re noisy.”

“That woman talks her head off, and you don’t think she’s noisy, but I am?” Mo Chen was already in a bad mood. Now it was even worse.

He felt a sudden urge to pick a fight with Si Wuming, but as soon as Si Wuming finished speaking, he strode over to Yun Jianyue and headed into the village with her.

The three humans and one Evil God soon arrived at Granny Chang’s house.

Granny Chang had lived alone for years, so ever since she disappeared, the house had stood empty.

This wasn’t Chen You’s first visit to the village. The villagers all assumed he was a police officer, so no one said anything when they saw him bringing people into Granny Chang’s home.

Her house was spotless. Even after sitting empty for several days, it had only accumulated a thin layer of dust.

A statue of a Bodhisattva stood in the main room. It seemed Granny Chang’s faith in this Bodhisattva had earned her some divine guidance, which was how she had become a renowned spirit medium throughout the surrounding area.

Yun Jianyue made a circuit of the house. Mo Chen suddenly appeared behind her. “My aura is here.”

“I noticed. It’s very faint, so it was probably left by your hair.” Yun Jianyue ignored him and continued searching for useful clues.

After rummaging through cabinets and chests, she found a wooden box beneath Granny Chang’s bed.

Chen You looked startled when he saw it. “Where did you find that?”

They had searched Granny Chang’s house at least five times, but none of them had ever seen this wooden box.

“There’s no dust on it. Someone put it here recently.” Yun Jianyue’s fingers had come away clean when she touched it.

“Someone left this here before we arrived?” Chen You was shocked. Who could have known their movements?

“It wasn’t a person,” Si Wuming said.

Whatever had put the wooden box here wasn’t human. He couldn’t sense any trace of a human having visited recently. Instead, there was a sinister ghostly aura that had yet to dissipate.

However, beneath the lingering Evil God’s Power left by Mo Chen, it was difficult for someone as inexperienced as Chen You to detect it.

Once again, Chen You felt utterly useless.

Yun Jianyue opened the wooden box and found a set of dentures inside.

The whole scene was, frankly, absurd.

Three members of Xuanmen and one Great Evil God had opened a wooden box and were now staring at a set of dentures with eight unblinking eyes.

“A prank?” Chen You frowned.

“They probably belong to Granny Chang. I think someone’s telling us she’s still alive.”

Yun Jianyue closed the box, then cleared her throat with great emphasis. Smiling sweetly at Mo Chen, she prepared to unleash the full power of the sugary baby voice she had spent a lifetime perfecting.

Mo Chen raised a hand and clamped it over her mouth. “If you make a sound, I’ll take you down with me.”

With that, he vanished from the room.

Chen You stared in horror. “He disappeared! What did he go to do? Did he leave?”

“He went to catch the little ghost that delivered the box,” Yun Jianyue said. “This unofficial recruit is surprisingly useful.”

The moment she finished speaking, Mo Chen reappeared out of thin air, clutching a mass of humanoid black mist in one hand.

Unfortunately, he materialized where a shaft of reflected sunlight shone into the room. The moment the black mist was exposed to the sun, it let out a piercing scream. Mo Chen casually tossed it into a shadowy corner.

Chen You gaped at him. “That fast?”

Yun Jianyue applauded enthusiastically. “Hubby, you’re amazing! Hubby is the strongest Evil God in the whole wide world!”

Her sugary voice made Mo Chen’s teeth ache. “I am already the strongest Evil God in this world.”

Si Wuming: …Whatever. He was off duty.

Yun Jianyue walked over to the huddled mass of black mist and crouched down, smiling with the utmost warmth and kindness. “There, there. Be good and tell me why you brought Granny Chang’s dentures here.”

The humanoid mist slowly raised its head, revealing the young, innocent face of a boy around thirteen or fourteen.

It cast a frightened glance at Mo Chen, then lowered its head and said timidly, “Granny was taken away. I thought you might be able to save her.”

“Who took Granny Chang?” Yun Jianyue asked.

“I don’t know. It was something very powerful. That thing was also the one that gave Granny that lord’s hair.”

The young ghost looked nervously at Yun Jianyue. “Are you a good person? Can you save Granny?”

Yun Jianyue shook her head. “I’m just an ordinary, unremarkable pervert.”

The young ghost lowered its head in disappointment, its entire body seething with gloomy black mist.

Then Yun Jianyue changed tack. “But if you tell me the truth, I’ll have my Evil God hubby and my little wolfdog, the Show-Off King, rescue your granny.”

Mo Chen: Had he agreed to that?

Si Wuming: …Accept your fate.

The young ghost’s head snapped up, its eyes shining. “I’ll talk!”