We'll All Come Back After We Die

Before long, everyone interested had written down their bids. One by one, they stepped forward and opened their hands for Liu Yunzhu to see.

Jiang Chen saw that eight people had bid. Naturally, the heirs of the Chen, Yang, Zhao, and Qin families were among them. There were also two masked middle-aged men who gave him a dangerous feeling. They were probably C-Class experts!

The last two bidders belonged to small secluded sects. Their groups wore distinctive clothes: one group wore bright yellow Daoist robes, while the other wore training uniforms with the name of a martial arts school printed on their backs.

After checking each bid, Liu Yunzhu considered them for a moment, then pushed the green-skinned little drum toward the Qin family. "The Qin family bid twenty-one thousand five hundred Underworld Points. This magical artifact goes to them."

She announced the price at the end so the other bidders would accept the result.

Everyone looked toward the Qin family in surprise.

Over twenty thousand points was enough to buy a quasi-high-grade magical artifact. Although this little drum was certainly special, they were far too willing to spend!

"Heh, our young master has accepted a D+ group mission and urgently needs a powerful magical artifact. Thank you all for letting us have it." The middle-aged man in the Qin family's group smiled and cupped his hands.

"No wonder. Young Master Qin will probably be able to join the Martial Sect after this mission, won't he? Spending a few extra points for an opportunity like that is well worth it!" a C-Class expert said flatteringly.

"Heh, the Qin family really does have money to burn..." someone else said with a disgruntled expression.

Regardless, the magical artifact had been sold.

Next, Liu Yunzhu brought out several mid-tier, medium-grade magical artifacts, and everyone scrambled to buy those too.

Jiang Chen also spotted something he liked, but its price was outrageously high.

Apparently, because these items had come from Liu Yunzhu, even their Black Market prices were higher than those in the Underworld App's store.

"I really need to save up more Underworld Points! No wonder they say studying is for the poor and martial arts are for the rich. This fighting gear is so damn expensive!" Jiang Chen shook his head.

Still, after browsing for half the day, he hadn't come away empty-handed. He spent a hundred points on a jar of yin energy.

This substance was collected from ghosts or places with extremely concentrated yin energy. Netherworld Messengers usually bought it to increase their strength, but it had another use that almost no one ever tried: healing ghosts.

"Hehe, if I run into a top-tier vicious ghost, I'll stab it, pour in some yin energy to heal it, then stab it again... Rinse and repeat. I wonder how much ghost qi I could farm."

That was Jiang Chen's lovely little plan. As for how well it would actually work, he would have to try it to find out.

By noon, the two of them had browsed just about everything and left the Black Market.

Jiang Chen had intended to treat Chen Xue to lunch, but after buying a pile of talisman-making materials, she hurried home to prepare for tomorrow's mission.

Clearly, she was still very nervous about taking part in a D+ group mission.

In the end, Jiang Chen took a taxi back to school.

He only had one class that afternoon. After class, he strolled around campus for a while, then went home.

During dinner that evening, Sister Hong sat lost in thought, her delicate brows tightly furrowed.

Jiang Chen had noticed over the past two days that something seemed to be weighing on her mind. He asked, "Have you run into some trouble?"

"Mm..." Sister Hong hesitated for a long time. "Chen, you said you were a Ghost Exorcist. Could I... ask you to perform a ritual?"

"Heh, just tell me what's wrong. Sister Hong, you don't need to be so formal with me," Jiang Chen said.

She was a pampered wealthy woman, yet she not only cooked for him every day but even did his laundry and cleaned his room. Naturally, he ought to return the favor.

"Ah..." Sister Hong sighed softly. "Chen, you probably don't know this, but my relationship with my family is rather complicated."

Her troubled expression these past few days hadn't been an intentional attempt to get Jiang Chen's attention. She really had been struggling with herself.

"Ten years ago, my father wanted me to marry the son of an old friend of his. A business marriage between our families was very important to our family business at the time."

"But ever since I was little, I'd wanted to pursue my own happiness. I refused, no matter what."

"That deal fell through, and our family suffered heavy losses. In a fit of anger, my father kicked me out. Later, my mother secretly bought me most of this building so I could support myself away from home."

At that, the sympathy in Jiang Chen's eyes turned to astonishment, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Fuck!

Even after falling on hard times, she could casually buy half a building in Jiangbei City.

If I hadn't awakened my system, I might not have been able to afford even one decent apartment here in my entire life. What right did I have to pity her?

"Wait, Sister Hong, what's your surname?" Jiang Chen asked thoughtfully.

Sister Hong pressed her lips together and said, looking oddly bashful, "My real name is Gu Hongya. I didn't want people bringing up my family, so after moving here, I only let people call me Sister Hong."

"The Gu family?"

"Yes." Sister Hong nodded.

Jiang Chen's expression turned strange. When he'd seen that box full of property deeds last time, he'd only thought Sister Hong was a wealthy woman.

He hadn't expected her to be this wealthy!

The Gu family was one of the biggest financial dynasties in Jiangbei City, even more powerful than the Zheng and Li families. Aside from the families of Unusual Persons, calling them Jiangbei's uncrowned rulers wouldn't have been an exaggeration.

Sister Hong was the daughter of the head of the Gu financial empire. With that background, never mind most of a building-buying the entire Jiangyuan Residential Community would have been effortless.

"But I cut ties with my family a long time ago." Sister Hong pursed her lips slightly and said resentfully, "Ten years, and he hasn't visited me once. He hasn't even called. What kind of father does that?"

Jiang Chen smiled, unsure how to respond.

"The last time my mother called, she said a lot of strange things had been happening at home lately. My brothers and sisters-in-law had all suffered various accidents. My... father also fell seriously ill a few days ago and hasn't been able to get out of bed. Even the best doctors in the Nine Provinces were helpless."

"An expert told him it wasn't an illness, but that something unclean had latched onto him. My father invited that man to inspect our hillside villa, but the expert disappeared that very night. Someone found him behind the villa the next day. He was already dead, his body hanging eerily upside down from a tree."

"My father then sought out some other supposed experts with unusual abilities, but none of them did much good. In the end, he decided to move. But after we moved to another of our residences, strange things kept happening."

"Eventually, he became so ill that he could only have the family look for someone who could resolve this. He also announced that he would be retiring soon after recovering, and whoever solved the problem would become the company's next head."

"Because of that, my brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces have all spent huge sums hiring people. My mother asked me to give it a try too."

"I've never wanted to inherit the family business, but..." Gu Hongya bit her lower lip. "I don't want my mother to be in danger too! Apparently, several people at home have already died. I'm afraid they really have run into something unclean."

After hearing her out, Jiang Chen had a general idea of the situation. "All right. When do we go?"

"My second and third brothers have also found quite a few experts, so I won't compete with them. It would be best if they could solve it. If they really can't, I'll ask my mother tomorrow, and then we'll go over."

She knew that Jiang Chen was an expert with genuine ability. He had knocked that terrifying female ghost down from the twelfth floor, smashing her into a pile of mangled flesh.

That was why she considered him her final trump card.

"All right." Jiang Chen nodded.

As it happened, he also had a mission tomorrow.

After finishing dinner, he returned to his room, opened his phone, and looked through the mission information Chen Xue had sent him earlier.

"Incident name: Sunward Middle School"

"Description: Ever since that student died, the desks have been covered with her name, and the books have been filled with drawings of her. Everyone hears her voice at midnight-don't be afraid. We'll all come back after we die, won't we?"

"Threat level: D+."

"Mission type: Group."

"Base reward: 180 points (per person)."