There Are No Ghosts in This World

Downstairs hall.

With a tremendous crash as the table shattered, the entire restaurant fell into deathly silence.

The waiter, who had been so aggressive just moments ago, was now so terrified that he wet himself, and the stench of urine spread through the room.

"Ah! What happened? What happened?!"

A plump middle-aged man came scrambling out of the back kitchen. He was the restaurant's boss. He had been doing the accounts in the back, and the commotion out front had scared the soul out of him.

The moment he came out, he saw the splinters scattered across the floor and the child radiating a faint golden glow, like a young tyrannosaur.

The boss was a discerning man. Though he was a businessman, he had seen plenty of the world.

Such terrifying Martial Soul Possession effects, such suffocating pressure, and such presence at such a young age.

How was this some poor kid? He was clearly a little ancestor from some top Hidden Sect or major Soul Master family, out gaining experience!

Only one of those colossal powers could raise such a terrifying Monster before he had even added a Soul Ring!

If he offended a youngster with such a profound background, he might not even know how he died in the future.

"A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" The boss kicked the collapsed waiter aside and repeatedly bowed to Xuan Hao, his face piled with a fawning smile. "Young master, I failed to discipline my staff. This thing looked down on you and offended you! This meal is on me. Please accept my apologies!"

At those words, the red glow in Xuan Hao's eyes dimmed slightly. He turned toward the diners at the neighboring table, who had long since been scared witless. "Are prices in this town usually like this?"

Swept by those Silver Eyes, the diners trembled. "Y-yes, yes! It's a little expensive, but that really is... the normal price."

Hearing that, the coldness in Xuan Hao's eyes faded somewhat.

Since this was not some shady restaurant specifically targeting him, there was nothing he could do.

The golden glow around him gradually receded. Starting at the roots, his hair slowly returned to silver-white, his Vertical Pupils became their original sky-blue again, and the dragon scales beneath his skin vanished.

As he released his Martial Soul Possession, the suffocating pressure finally disappeared. Everyone in the hall let out long breaths of relief.

Xuan Hao reached into his clothes and pulled out the three heavy Gold Soul Coins. His heart bled with pain, but he still gritted his teeth and casually tossed them to the boss.

"The meal's paid for. By me!"

"Oh, young master, th-this won't do..." The boss held the Gold Soul Coins as though they were a Hot Potato, unsure whether to accept them or return them.

"When I eat, I pay. That's only right!"

Xuan Hao snorted, then pointed at the pile of broken table pieces. "But this table—your man insulted me first, so I smashed it. I'm not paying for the table!"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

The boss hurriedly shook his head like a rattle drum. "No problem! Absolutely no problem! That table needed replacing anyway! You smashed it well! Smashed it well!"

"Hmph."

Xuan Hao snorted again, gave the waiter one final glance, then turned around. With both hands shoved into his pockets, he marched out of the restaurant in a furious, swaggering stride.

He left behind a roomful of dumbfounded diners and a boss clutching the Gold Soul Coins with the expression of someone who had survived a disaster.

At the second-floor railing, Bibi Dong watched the Silver-haired Boy's departing figure, a trace of appreciation flashing through her eyes.

"Nana, it seems this trip out to relax will bring us an unexpected gain."

"A gain?" Hu Liena was slightly taken aback.

"Ghostly Shadow." Bibi Dong parted her red lips. Her voice was wrapped in Soul Power and condensed into a thin line, accurately reaching a corner hidden in darkness.

"Follow that child. Don't let him notice you. I want to see what he's made of."

In the darkness, a ghostlike shadow swayed faintly, then vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Elsewhere, after leaving the restaurant, Xuan Hao was walking along a dirt road at the edge of town. One hand covered his chest while the other clutched his pocket tightly, his heart bleeding.

He only had thirteen Gold Soul Coins to his name, and before he had even entered the forest, four were already gone!

He looked up at the sky, then touched his flat money pouch.

Entering the Star Dou Great Forest was no joke. He needed weapons, armor, rations, water, and that ridiculously expensive detailed map... Every one of the remaining nine Gold Soul Coins had to be split in half and spent carefully.

As for staying at an inn?

Who knew whether that lousy inn would charge him another two Gold Soul Coins?

"Sleeping there is still sleeping, isn't it?" Xuan Hao glanced at the dense grove not far away, snorted, and resolutely turned toward the pitch-black woods.

As a wild child raised in the countryside, sleeping in trees was basic training.

By the moonlight, Xuan Hao picked a large tree with lush branches and wide enough forks.

Using both hands and feet, he scrambled up in a few swift movements. Finding a comfortable branch fork, he leaned against the trunk, folded his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes.

The night wind was slightly cool, and the leaves rustled softly.

However, just as Xuan Hao was about to drift off, an inexplicable chill suddenly shot up his spine to the top of his skull.

It was not a drop in temperature, but a shudder that came from the depths of his soul.

He abruptly opened his eyes. By the mottled moonlight filtering through gaps in the leaves, he suddenly saw a blurry Shadow Figure standing at the end of an extremely thin branch on this very tree!

The figure stood there without breathing, without a heartbeat, as if even gravity had lost its effect on him. He simply "hung" lightly from the treetop, a pair of indistinct eyes staring fixedly at Xuan Hao!

"..."

"Ghost!!!"

A shrill scream tore through the grove's silence.

Xuan Hao was scared out of his wits. He did not even dare look again. He leaped straight from the branch, then scrambled to his feet after landing. Locking onto the only street in the distant town still lit by lamps, he ran with every ounce of strength he had.

At the treetop.

Ghostly Shadow froze completely, his face beneath the black mist filled with bewilderment.

He... had been discovered?

He was a Level Ninety-Five Titled Douluo! An Agility Attack System Titled Douluo whose Ghostly Shadow Movement was unparalleled in the world!

He had merely wanted to quietly take the boy back to His Holiness the Pope while he slept. To avoid alarming the child, he had even completely concealed his aura and merged with the night.

The boy did not even have a Soul Ring. How had he discovered him?!

Xuan Hao had no idea he had utterly baffled a Titled Douluo. Right now, there was only one thought in his mind: run! Run toward where there were more people!

That shadow was definitely not human!

What person could stand on the tip of a leaf without casting a shadow?!

He ran wildly, gasping for breath. Seeing the bright lights of the town ahead, he finally felt a little safer.

Just as he passed a street corner, a figure in a Purple Robe stepped out of the shadows.

Xuan Hao was like a little cannonball that could not stop, and still terrified out of his mind, he had no time to react.

Bang!

He slammed headfirst into a soft, warm embrace.

The touch was incredibly soft, and a faint fragrance like noble violets instantly filled his nose.

Bibi Dong had not expected the child to charge so fiercely.

Though her strength was heaven-defying, the sudden impact still forced her back half a step.

What surprised her even more was the strength of the child's body. How was this a six-year-old? It was like being hit by a savage Little Soul Beast.

"Ow..."

The rebound sent Xuan Hao tumbling onto his Buttocks, his head spinning.

But he quickly regained his senses. Remembering the "filthy thing" behind him, his face went pale with fright. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet and repeatedly bowed to the person before him.

"S-sorry! Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!"

"I didn't mean to!"

He looked up, only then clearly seeing that the person before him was a breathtakingly beautiful woman.

But he had no mood to admire beautiful women. Gasping for breath, he pointed at the dark street behind him and shouted incoherently, "Elder Sister! Run! There's a ghost! There's a ghost behind me!"

That terrified little appearance, coupled with his messy silver hair and clothes covered in grass clippings, made him look exactly like a frightened Little Rabbit. There was not a trace left of the domineering boy who had smashed a table in the restaurant.

"A ghost?"

Bibi Dong looked at the little fellow clutching her skirt hem and trembling, and an imperceptible smile flashed in her eyes.

Of course, she knew who that "ghost" was.

She simply had not expected Ghostly Shadow to scare the child so badly, nor had she expected Ghostly Shadow to actually slip up and be discovered by him.

Hu Liena, standing behind Bibi Dong, also wore a strange expression. She wanted to laugh but did not dare.

If Elder Ghostly Shadow learned he had been mistaken for a wandering ghost, who knew what expression he would make?

Bibi Dong slowly crouched down and extended a slender, jade-like hand, gently patting Xuan Hao's shoulder. Her voice was tender, entirely lacking the Pope's majesty.

"Don't be nervous, little brother."

She pointed toward the empty street behind Xuan Hao and comforted him softly. "Look, there's nothing there."

"There are no ghosts in this world. It was probably too dark, and you saw wrong."