Can this world get any better?

It was a stormy night half a year ago...

Wang Longqi went to a brothel in Hangzhou for a gathering with his Fox Friends and Dog Friends, and rode home on his horse late at night. Suddenly, the wind and rain picked up on the way. Coincidentally, there was a pavilion ahead, so he went inside to take shelter from the rain.

Who knew that there was a young maiden living alone in the pavilion, who was as beautiful as a flower and charming as a willow.

The maiden was beautiful and passionate. Not only did she invite him into her home to bathe and change, but she also offered him sugar water.

Wang Longqi had just indulged himself at the brothel, and was acting like a saint, with no wicked thoughts in his heart.

But the moment he entered the maiden's bedroom, he was like a lost soul, and somehow he ended up sleeping with the girl.

When he woke up again, he found himself sleeping beside a desolate grave.

His face turned pale with fright, and he clearly remembered that the maiden had told him to come and marry her at this time tomorrow.

Around that time, rumors of a Ghost Bride were circulating in Yuhang Town. It was said that the Ghost Bride specifically lured young men to her grave, and after sleeping with her, they had to marry her, otherwise she would come to their homes and harm their entire families.

But how could a living person marry a dead person?

The dead could not be resurrected, so only the living could die.

Two or three young men had already died under mysterious circumstances, and the Yamen was investigating this Weird Case. Wang Longqi thought that he must have encountered the Ghost Bride, so he quickly went to find Zhou Dafu.

Zhou Dafu then brought him to see Li Chu.

The next evening, Li Chu accompanied him to the Ghost Bride's grave.

The Ghost Bride indeed appeared, dressed in a phoenix coronet and robes, riding in a Rat Servant Yin Cart, dressed as a bride, and floated over.

The moment she landed, she looked at Wang Longqi, then at Li Chu, and then...

Without hesitation, she said to Li Chu, "You're finally here to marry me!"

Wang Longqi was momentarily unsure whether to be happy or worried.

The story finally ended with Li Chu's merciless sword.

Wang Longqi became friends with Li Chu from then on.

Although they didn't meet often, in his heart, Li Chu had saved his life and was definitely his friend for life.

In Li Chu's heart, Wang Longqi had donated a large sum of incense money to Virtuous Cloud Temple, and was definitely his good friend...

This good friend, on such a rainy day, hurried to the temple.

Wang Longqi knew Li Chu's personality, so he didn't waste any words.

He got straight to the point: "I'm looking for you this time because I've recently fallen for a girl..."

Li Chu subconsciously asked, "Is she human or a ghost?"

"Of course she's human!" Wang Longqi shot up as if on reflex, exasperated. "I've always liked humans! That time with a ghost... that was an accident!"

As he spoke, he realized his reaction was a bit much. He chuckled sheepishly, sat back down, and said with a pout, "You have no idea what kind of life I've had these past six months."

It really wasn't his fault for being so sensitive. After sleeping with the Ghost Bride last time, it took him a full month of cultivating his Yang Energy at home to fully recover.

He had been overjoyed to re-enter the world.

But when he went out to have fun again, he discovered that somehow his encounter had gotten out.

Everywhere he went, people would point and whisper behind his back.

He could tolerate his sworn brothers and Fox Friends and Dog Friends teasing him with nicknames like "Death-Defying Friend" and "Undead Knight."

The most despairing thing was that he found the courtesans at the brothels had started to look down on him!

He had even gone to eavesdrop on a private conversation between a Popular Courtesan at the Spring Full Pavilion and the madam...

"That guy was slept with by a ghost, isn't that bad luck?"

"Definitely. If a person eats something a ghost has already eaten, isn't that like stealing offerings from a grave? How could it be good?"

"Ugh—don't say it, it's creepy. Whoever wants to go can go, I'm not doing business with him."

"What a shame, such a wealthy young master, to be ruined by a ghost. Sigh, who would want an unclean man like that in the future?"

"Hmph, a fly doesn't land on an egg that isn't cracked. He must have been all dressed up and dolled up late at night to attract a female ghost!"

Hearing these words, Young Master Wang Qi trembled with rage. In the sweltering heat, he broke out in a cold sweat, his hands and feet turning ice-cold, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"Can you believe the state of the world?" Even after so many days, he couldn't help but tear up when he recalled it.

He felt so wronged.

After listening to his lengthy complaints, Li Chu nodded and then looked at him calmly.

Wang Longqi widened his tear-filled eyes and said indignantly, "Don't you pity me? I haven't touched a woman in a full six months!"

Li Chu nodded and continued to look at him calmly.

Wang Longqi wanted to say more, but looking at Li Chu's handsome face, which seemed to be etched with the words "Eighteen Years"...

His indignation gradually faded.

"You're the one wasting Heaven and Earth. If I looked like you, those courtesans wouldn't have rejected me." Wang Longqi muttered, then paused and whispered, "I bet I could even share a big bed with a female ghost..."

Li Chu's expression remained unchanged. "You should get to the point of your visit."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Wang Longqi rarely had a chance to pour his heart out, so he got carried away.

He collected his thoughts and resumed his story. "I was forced to retire from the martial world, and after thinking about it carefully, this young master has played enough over the years. It's time to find an honest girl and get married."

"But playing around is easy, getting married isn't that simple. My Wang Family is, after all, one of the top households in Yuhang Town. The wife I marry must come from a scholarly family, be virtuous and gentle, intelligent and beautiful, and possess filial piety, loyalty, integrity, and righteousness. All are indispensable."

"I searched and searched, and ah, I really met someone a few days ago."

Mentioning this, Wang Longqi's eyes regained their sparkle.

"The moment I saw her, I was stunned by her celestial beauty. Her background, appearance, conversation, and demeanor were all perfect in a way I had never seen before. At that moment, I decided that I would marry no one but her in this life!"

"But!"

"Damn Zhao Liangcai, he had to interfere. He actually took a fancy to this girl too!"

"He should look in the mirror and see his own character before daring to compete with this young master!"

"He always did this back at the Spring Full Pavilion. I let him have his way in Hangzhou City too, that time..."

Wang Longqi grew more and more indignant as he spoke.

Zhao Liangcai was none other than the young master of the Zhao Family, another prominent household in Yuhang Town.

The reason Wang Longqi had said the Wang Family was one of the top households, not the sole leader, was precisely because of the Zhao Family's existence.

If the Wang Family was number one, the Zhao Family was number two. If the Zhao Family was number one, the Wang Family was number two.

He went off on a tangent, recounting their past grievances.

Li Chu, bored, put his hands into his sleeves.

Seeing this, Wang Longqi quickly sat up straight and continued, "This morning, we ran into each other by chance. He actually brought up the matter of me being... bewitched by ghosts again. Don't hit a man's face, don't expose a man's shortcomings! That scoundrel is truly detestable! I almost came to blows with him. If someone hadn't stopped us, hehe, his family would probably be playing the suona for him by now. Don't think I'm bragging, back in the day..."

Li Chu frowned impatiently.

"In a fit of anger, we made a bet!" Wang Longqi quickly returned to the main topic.

"Isn't there a haunted house by the Liu Family Memorial Arch? His family bought the land there, but they haven't dared to touch the haunted house. He bet me that we would both stay in that haunted house for one night and see who could come out unscathed."

"Whoever dares not or is too scared to run away loses. From now on, neither of us can compete for any girl, and if we see each other on the road, we have to retreat three paces!"

"Later, he chickened out, not me. So he added a condition: we could both bring one person inside. Naturally, you were the first person I thought of."

"Li Chu, we're friends, right?" Wang Longqi grabbed Li Chu's sleeve. "You're the only one who can help me now!"

Li Chu calmly pulled his sleeve free.

Liu Family Ghost Building...

As a resident of Yuhang Town, he had naturally heard of this infamous place. He hadn't expected these two rich second-generation heirs to go there and court death.

This felt a bit troublesome.

Seeing the hesitation on his face, Wang Longqi immediately said, "Help me this once, and I'll renovate the entire Virtuous Cloud Temple for you. I'll even double its size."

Li Chu looked up and slowly said, "This isn't about money... We're friends."

Someone mentioned this today, so I'll address it here. I did use a gamble from "The Tome of Extinguishing Fate" here, but it's just a similar gamble to kickstart the plot. The subsequent characters and plot are entirely different. Besides, this kind of gamble has also appeared in old Hong Kong movies, and I used it at the time because I couldn't think of anything else. In hindsight, it wasn't necessary, and I couldn't change it later.