Chapter 18

The disheveled, bedraggled Miss Vengeful Ghost awkwardly waved her only remaining right hand. She had never expected that, as a Vengeful Ghost, she would be besieged by a pack of resentful ghosts for so long without ending the fight. She had even nearly been eaten by them.

Miss Vengeful Ghost explained pitifully, "They outnumbered me..."

Without another word, Feng Yang drew out a thread of soul power from the Vengeful Ghost Talisman and transferred it into Miss Vengeful Ghost. Having become a Ghost King in her previous life, and having fortuitously absorbed quite a bit of golden merit light in this life, the Vengeful Ghost's soul power was extraordinary. Miss Vengeful Ghost, who had been in tatters moments ago, immediately returned to normal. She took a deep breath and, with the help of the Vengeful Ghost Talisman, fiercely sucked all the wandering souls and wild ghosts floating over the graveyard into her mouth, then let out a satisfied burp.

Sheep Village was remote, isolated, and backward. The wandering souls and lone ghosts in its graveyard dated back as far as two or three hundred years. Now, Huo Yanran sucked them all clean. The newly born low-ranking Vengeful Ghost instantly grew into a mid-ranking one. She could even take on human form in front of people now.

Feng Yang could not be bothered with the Vengeful Ghost Huo Yanran's excitement and unceremoniously ordered her to work. "Erase those people's memories. Don't cause trouble for us."

Huo Yanran nodded. She knew that the living and the dead belonged to separate worlds. It was no good for either side if people in the mortal realm knew too much about the underworld. One careless move might even draw the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

Huo Yanran, having resumed her Vengeful Ghost form, charged straight at Yin Li.

The big man standing beside Feng Yang staggered several steps back in terror, nearly tripping over himself.

Feng Yang shifted his feet and stood in front of Yin Li. "Not this one."

Miss Vengeful Ghost barely managed to veer around Feng Yang and rushed toward the two police officers and two bodyguards instead. The four men only felt a chill run through their bodies before collapsing unconscious the next second.

Miss Vengeful Ghost immediately set off after the group running down the mountain. In an instant, Feng Yang and Yin Li were the only conscious people left in the graveyard.

Wen Wan, who had been hiding beside Feng Yang without daring to make a sound, suddenly bolted.

Yin Li's face was deathly pale and drenched in sweat, yet his tall body stood as straight as a towering pine or cypress. He looked at Feng Yang without showing weakness. "Y-you, what do you want?"

"I-I want to eat you!" Feng Yang imitated Yin Li's stammering and teased him with a smile.

Yin Li stared at him with wide eyes, looking as horrified as a husky spotting its natural predator. That expression—

"Pfft!" Feng Yang could not hold it in and let out a muffled laugh. How had he never noticed before that their Vengeful Ghost had such rich expressions?

"Are you really that scared?" Feng Yang raised a brow and looked at Yin Li with a gentleness he did not even notice himself. His tone carried both wistfulness and nostalgia. "If you're truly afraid, I can seal your memories. I'll also be careful from now on and make sure you never see ghosts again."

The living Yin Li was ultimately not the Vengeful Ghost who had once dominated the ghost realm. Feng Yang thought wistfully that perhaps, of the twenty years before his rebirth, only he was destined to remember them in this life.

Even amid his panic, Yin Li keenly caught the fleeting disappointment in Feng Yang's eyes. He swallowed and forced himself to remain calm. "Who says I'm scared of ghosts? I'm not scared of ghosts. I'm a one-meter-ninety-two grown man. Why would I be scared of ghosts? What a joke. I'm not scared at all. My yang energy is overflowing! If you've got the guts, let them come suck me dry!"

"Let me tell you, I'm a bad guy. My classmates all call me a bully behind my back. They're all scared of me. Doesn't Hua Country have an old saying that ghosts fear wicked people? I'm that wicked person. I'm usually super fierce! They're all scared of me!"

Feng Yang coldly watched Yin Li, clearly scared out of his wits yet craning his neck to act tough, and suddenly thought of a popular meme online—beware of dog.

On a whim, Feng Yang tested him. "Dragon roar?"

Yin Li, who had been trying hard to roar, abruptly fell silent. After holding it in for a while, his handsome face flushed red as he suddenly roared, "Feng Yang, don't push it too far!"

"I have a temper too!"

"I'm angry!"

Although Yin Li believed he had a terrible temper and that once angered, he could not be coaxed no matter what, Feng Yang thought Yin Li was actually very easy to placate.

"Hold out your hand." Smiling, Feng Yang extended his right hand, palm up.

"Why?" Though puzzled, Yin Li obediently placed his paw in Feng Yang's hand.

Feng Yang squeezed hard. Half the soul power in the Vengeful Ghost Talisman flowed from his palm, traveling through Yin Li's entire body via his hand.

Feng Yang explained with a smile, "This will ensure that all evil things stay away from you and every ghost retreats before you."

"You're full of crap." Yin Li snorted dismissively, but his paw obediently remained in Feng Yang's grasp.

Feng Yang merely smiled without speaking. Wasn't his fate with Yin Li born from ghostly nonsense in the first place?

The instant their palms touched, Yin Li suddenly felt invigorated, as though a stream of warmth had surged through his whole body like an electric current from Feng Yang's palm. The tips of Yin Li's ears reddened as he secretly studied Feng Yang's excessively handsome face. His long fingers curled slightly. "Y-your palm... why is it so warm?"

Feng Yang smiled, his gaze as gentle as spring water as he looked into Yin Li's eyes. "My palm is warm because someone cares for me."

Yin Li awkwardly looked away, feeling as though his throat was itchy, his head spinning, his limbs weak, and sweat pouring down his body.

W-why did he suddenly grab my hand? And why is he saying something like that? Did he take to heart what I said before, about repaying my debt of gratitude by offering myself in place of my sister? Does he like me too?

The more Yin Li thought about it, the more certain he became. On impulse, he tested the waters. "I think I have tuberculosis!"

Feng Yang: "..."

Feng Yang could not quite understand Yin Li's train of thought. Had twenty years of separation somehow created a generation gap between them?

Feng Yang raised a brow and patiently asked, "How did you reach that conclusion?"

"My heart is beating really fast, I'm having trouble breathing, and my throat is itchy." The one-meter-ninety-two grown man's ears were bright red as he seriously analyzed his condition. "It's also accompanied by cold sweats, weakness, and mental fogginess."

Yin Li paused, his gaze drifting toward the graveyard as he quickly added, "It started when you held my hand."