Don't even think about it

"If I hadn't come to burn incense for you, I wouldn't have traveled this far," Li Yichen muttered.

"You little brat, you dare threaten me now?" The Ghost Emperor Haoran sneered, then grabbed him by the collar and chuckled.

Li Yichen shuddered for no apparent reason, then hurriedly said, "Great-Grandpa, I'll walk back myself. Sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble at all. Your great-grandpa is plenty fast." With a whoosh, the two became a blur and flew toward the university.

Dangling a hundred meters above the ground by his collar, Li Yichen nearly wet himself. "H-help..." The moment he opened his mouth, a fierce wind rushed in, frightening him so badly that he didn't dare open it again.

Fortunately, although cycling those several dozen kilometers would have taken him two hours, it was only the blink of an eye for the Ghost Emperor Haoran.

Two figures suddenly appeared in a secluded corner not far from Jinling University.

"All right, we're here." The Ghost Emperor Haoran released Li Yichen's collar.

"Urgh..." Li Yichen turned away and threw up.

Watching Li Yichen retch violently, the Ghost Emperor Haoran unconsciously rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat guilty. I might have gone a little too far just now.

After he finished vomiting, Li Yichen said nothing, merely staring at him with an intensely aggrieved look, like a wronged young wife. Unless you give me something to make up for it, we're not settling this.

"Don't look at me like some bitter housewife." The Ghost Emperor Haoran rolled his eyes at him. "You just want to fleece me, don't you? Go on, then. Don't push your luck."

"Hehe... Great-Grandpa, look. I'm so weak right now. If I accidentally get myself killed, wouldn't that embarrass you?" Li Yichen hurriedly gave him an ingratiating smile. "Why not pass me some magical power? Then I'd at least be able to protect myself."

"Hmm!" The Ghost Emperor Haoran nodded. "You do have a point. However..."

He glanced at Li Yichen and continued, "To keep you from relying too much on outside help, I can only give you ten years' worth of magical power."

"Huh? Only ten years?" Li Yichen's face immediately fell, and he looked decidedly reluctant.

"If you don't want it, I don't want to give it to you anyway," the Ghost Emperor Haoran said disdainfully. He flicked his sleeve and started walking away.

"I want it! Of course I want it!" Li Yichen grabbed the Ghost Emperor Haoran and gritted his teeth. "Ten years it is. Better than nothing."

"You get a bargain and still complain," the Ghost Emperor Haoran said irritably. "One sob story gets you ten years' worth of magical power. Be grateful."

With that, he extended his right hand. A speck of light began gathering in his palm, and he flicked it toward Li Yichen.

Li Yichen immediately felt an icy chill enter his body, then erupt with a bang. The violent energy rampaged through his meridians like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and waves of tearing pain spread throughout his body.

“Don't resist. Circulate the Great Netherworld Scripture,” the Ghost Emperor Haoran said sternly.

“Yes!” Li Yichen immediately sat cross-legged and clumsily began practicing according to the Great Netherworld Scripture.

At once, the energy that had been darting about aimlessly began to settle down, and the intense pain in his body slowly faded. Under his guidance, it gathered toward his dantian.

“As expected of a body transformed by the Netherworld Soul Jade. He cultivates considerably faster than I did back then.” The Ghost Emperor Haoran nodded with a touch of envy.

As Li Yichen gradually drew the magical power into his dantian, subtle changes began taking place in his body.

His body, once scrawny from prolonged malnutrition, began filling out with muscle. Every muscle was taut, seemingly brimming with tremendous strength.

He had originally stood just under 1.8 meters tall, but now he grew a little taller. Even his facial features became more sharply defined, taking him somewhat in the direction of a pretty boy.

Only half an hour later, Li Yichen exhaled a breath of stale air and excitedly stood up.

Now he looked like a different person. Over 1.8 meters tall, with a perfect eight-pack and sharply defined features, he was the very picture of a pretty boy.

“Absorbed it all?” the Ghost Emperor Haoran asked casually.

“Mm-hmm.” Li Yichen nodded excitedly, then looked at the Ghost Emperor Haoran with even greater eagerness, unable to resist licking his lips.

“Don't even think about it, you brat!” The Ghost Emperor Haoran immediately exploded. “Sometimes free things are the deadliest of all. Everything has consequences. Just take your time cultivating.”

“Oh.” Although disappointed, Li Yichen tentatively asked, “There's absolutely no room for negotiation?”

“None,” the Ghost Emperor Haoran said firmly. “However...” Then he changed tack and continued, “I can promise you this: for every additional girlfriend you find, I'll give you another ten years' worth of magical power.”

“One hundred years.” Li Yichen held up one finger without hesitation.

"Twenty years."

"Eighty years."

“Fifty years,” the Ghost Emperor Haoran countered. “Try bargaining again and I'll smack you.”

“Deal.” Although Li Yichen put on a helpless look, inwardly he was overjoyed. I get to chase girls and receive rewards for it. This is paradise! He could hardly wait.

“Wipe that drool off your chin.” The Ghost Emperor Haoran gave him a disdainful glance, then said, “It's almost dawn. I should get going.”

Just as he was about to turn away, he seemed to remember something else. “With your current magical power, you can only maintain the Netherworld Ghost Body for thirty minutes. Remember that...” Without waiting for Li Yichen to reply, he tore open space and left.

“Lucky you ran off so quickly,” Li Yichen grumbled. “Only thirty minutes? If I'd known, I would've squeezed a little more out of you.”

“It isn't light yet, and I can't get back into the dorm. What should I do now?” Li Yichen looked at the moon overhead and muttered to himself, “Maybe I should try out the Netherworld Ghost Body?”

Li Yichen's eyes immediately lit up. With a thought, his entire body vanished into the night a moment later, as though he had never been there.

Half an hour later, a figure shot through a wall with a whoosh and emerged onto the road leading to the university.

“Thirty-one minutes and twenty-eight seconds.” Li Yichen checked the time. That was the exact duration of his Netherworld Ghost Body.

“Too bad the bathhouse isn't open at this hour. Otherwise... hehe... there'd be quite a view.” Li Yichen put away his phone while indulging in his fantasies.

He was in an especially good mood. Whenever he thought of everything he had gained today, he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from curling upward. Humming a little tune, he headed toward the university with a spring in his step.

As he passed a street corner, he saw an old woman with bound feet, dressed in coarse cloth, squatting against a wall. She held a large bowl and seemed to be shoveling food into her mouth.

"Grandma, you're up eating this early?" Without giving it much thought, Li Yichen smiled and greeted her.

"Mm-hmm..." The old woman raised her head. Seeing someone greet her, she immediately smiled and nodded at Li Yichen.

But the next instant, the old woman's head suddenly fell off her neck and landed right in the large bowl she was holding.

The old woman's head in the bowl kept looking at him. Her mouth moved, and she said, "Young man, you can see me?"