They weren't deaf. They had heard Zhu Chun'an's words loud and clear: if they stayed in the country, they would end up in prison.
Had they not encountered a ghost, they would have certainly laughed at the sheer naivety of anyone telling them they'd serve time. It wasn't like they had committed murder or arson. At most, they spent a little money to play a consensual game with a woman. Could they really be arrested for that? The woman had accepted the money, so she should have just played along instead of pretending to be some chaste martyr.
They had been messing around for years, and it wasn't the first or second time the group of friends had engaged in group sex. When had they ever slipped up?
Go to prison? Ridiculous!
But now, they no longer dared to think that way. Lan Ying was dead. She had transformed into a fierce ghost and committed a massive crime, and there was no way they could extricate themselves from it.
While the rich heirs trembled in fear, Zhu Chun'an was equally on edge. Why? Because he was currently riding a little scooter, and sitting on the backseat was that pitch-black mass of Evil Qi!
"So you're a student at Wudaokou Nursing College. I've been disrespectful."
Zhu Chun'an suddenly felt like there was too much to criticize, leaving him speechless. With such heavy Evil Qi radiating from her, Pei Ye must have been a ruthless character who took countless lives in her past life. He never expected her to harbor the heart of a white-clad angel.
Pei Ye replied coolly, "And it turns out you're a top student from University X next door. I've been disrespectful as well."
Zhu Chun'an couldn't help but ask, "Senior, why are you... studying nursing?"
"I bombed the college entrance exam, and people said it's easy for nurses to find jobs, so I decided to study here."
Zhu Chun'an was utterly bewildered. A big shot who could beat a fierce ghost into howling with just a cigarette was actually worried about employment?
Suddenly, Zhu Chun'an felt incredibly grateful that his master was an esteemed senior in the Heavenly Master Alliance's Special Security Investigation and Management Department. That connection was the only reason he had secured his current livelihood. Otherwise, graduation would equal unemployment, and he'd be forced to compete for business with a terrifying powerhouse like Pei Ye.
That kind of life would be far too difficult.
"It shouldn't be past curfew yet." Riding his scooter, Zhu Chun'an dropped Pei Ye off at the campus gate. He glanced at his phone's lock screen—it was just past ten in the evening.
Pei Ye got off the scooter and suddenly remembered something. "Is it possible for web novels to be real?"
Zhu Chun'an was confused by the abrupt question. "What web novels?"
"Red envelope novels. I mean—the ones where someone is reborn, accidentally joins the Heavenly Court Immortals Group, and snatches red envelopes sent by Immortals. Could that possibly be real? Since ghosts, Fengdu, and Daoists exist, there should be Immortals too, right? Would the Immortals in the Heavenly Court keep up with the times and use human communication devices?"
Zhu Chun'an was speechless. Not only did this big shot possess the heart of a nurse, but she also had a surprisingly dreamy, girly heart.
"Novels..." Zhu Chun'an hesitated as he sat on his scooter. "Some elements are real, but others are purely mortal fantasies. For instance, the red envelopes you mentioned."
Although he hadn't read romance-oriented red envelope stories, Zhu Chun'an had browsed through similar novels in the male-demographic sections. He had read his fair share of tales about ordinary people accidentally joining an Immortal Group, snatching red envelopes distributed by Immortals, and coincidentally reaching the pinnacle of life.
"If Immortals were to descend to the mortal realm, I don't know if they'd use human communication devices, but there's no way the Immortals residing in the Heavenly Court would use them. Let alone creating a group chat to send red envelopes."
"Why is it impossible?" Pei Ye asked.
Zhu Chun'an's expression turned strange. "The Heavenly Court isn't physically in the sky. It exists in another mysterious, independent, higher-level Abnormal Space. How could Immortals in the Heavenly Court possibly use mortal items? If the Heavenly Court wasn't in an Abnormal Space but simply up in the sky, how could humanity's current level of space exploration technology have failed to discover it? If that were the case, what would be the point of Cultivation? Ascension wouldn't require Cultivation at all—you could just ride a rocket to the heavens."
He sighed regretfully. "Actually, influenced by web novels, my master once took advantage of a moment when the founding patriarch worshipped in our Daoist Temple descended with a wisp of an avatar. My master offered him a smartphone loaded with various gaming apps. Guess what happened?"
Playing along, Pei Ye asked, "What happened?"
Zhu Chun'an wanted to laugh just thinking about his master getting thoroughly chewed out by the patriarch. "The patriarch told my master to focus more on Cultivation and stop daydreaming. The happiness of an Immortal is far beyond what mortals can imagine."
How long could mortals live? If mortals could invent all sorts of gadgets, why did they assume that the bunch of seemingly idle immortals in the Heavenly Court knew nothing and led boring lives? Was it really that happy to be an Immortal? No, the happiness of being an Immortal was something mortals simply couldn't comprehend.
Zhu Chun'an assumed she was a Ghost who had isolated herself from the world for years and only descended the mountain recently, making her curious about every aspect of the rapidly changing human society.
"After all, novels are magnificent worlds constructed by mortal imagination," he explained. "Having some fantasy elements is completely normal. You don't have to take everything seriously."
During his middle and high school years, Zhu Chun'an had also been hopelessly addicted to web novels, spending all day fantasizing that he was a protagonist blessed with immense Qi Fortune. Born with the Yin Yang Eye and possessing a Pure Yang Body—these were the standard traits of a genius protagonist! However, the genius protagonist trope had only been popular for a short while before being overshadowed by stories of "useless" male leads making epic comebacks, relegating characters like him to mere cannon fodder supporting roles. From then on, Zhu Chun'an gave up any aspirations of being a protagonist, terrified that he would end up as a stepping stone for some underdog's rise to power.
No wonder they said web novels were a new kind of drug; even a formidable big shot couldn't resist their allure.
"So that's how it is. Thanks for clearing that up," Pei Ye said.
Watching the shadowy mass of Evil Qi vanish from his sight, Zhu Chun'an rode his scooter back to his own university. After walking out of the parking lot, he gave his master a call. He gave a brief overview of the day's events, glossing over the more dangerous moments to keep his old master from worrying.
As they talked, he brought up Pei Ye. "Although her Evil Qi is incredibly heavy, she isn't the type to act recklessly. She actually speaks quite amicably."
His old Daoist master scoffed. "In your eyes, who isn't a good person? With such intense Evil Qi, if she ever loses control, it will definitely cause a massive disaster. Aren't you afraid she'll harvest your yang energy to nourish her yin?"
"I plan on building a good relationship with her and making a new friend," Zhu Chun'an replied.
The old Daoist was baffled. What was his disciple thinking?
"Spiritual Energy is getting thinner by the day, and the Xuan Sect lineage is declining," Zhu Chun'an continued. "Yet, the cases involving fierce ghosts causing trouble are only getting more complicated. We can't keep going on like this. If I can establish a good rapport with her, I might be able to ask her for outside help on future cases. Master, you didn't see it—she beat that fierce ghost into howling with just a cigarette. I know she's dangerous, but she hasn't committed any crimes, so we can't exactly do anything to her anyway. It's better to form a positive connection. She's studying at Wudaokou Nursing College, and my school is right next door. If anything happens, I can rush over to stop it immediately."
The old Daoist curled his lips in disdain. If that great harbinger of doom truly lost control, what could Zhu Chun'an's scrawny little body possibly do? Offer himself up as a sacrifice?
However, Zhu Chun'an's words weren't entirely without merit. An extra friend meant an extra path; perhaps she would prove useful one day. His disciple had always been quite lucky. Despite possessing a Pure Yang Body—the absolute favorite treat for yin entities—he had somehow lived a perfectly peaceful life even before he began Cultivation. It was truly a bizarre miracle.
"Master, I need to hand the fierce ghost over to the department for interrogation, so I'll hang up now."
Zhu Chun'an found a secluded spot and pinched a black-based, white-lettered talisman paper between two fingers, silently chanting a spell. This type of talisman paper was the Summon Yin Talisman, jointly developed by Fengdu and the Heavenly Master Alliance. It was used to summon special yin messengers for a meeting.
"Go!"
With a soft shout, the talisman paper shot into midair. It flattened out as if sticking to an invisible, transparent wall, sending out a series of circular, wave-like ripples. The already dim corner grew even darker. The surrounding yin energy surged violently as a massive beast-faced door, bound tightly with iron chains, materialized from the shadows.