Ch107 - Snow Pear Flavored Dead Gong (6)

Translated by Hua Li ^_~

The places licked by the fierce ghost’s soul felt a burning sensation.

However, Gou Liang just laughed, knowing that after recognizing someone, they might become affectionate and deserve a reward.

“Perhaps, it’s not just appearances. Would you like to try?” Gou Liang suggested.

The fierce ghost’s soul regretfully said, “Unfortunately, now is not the right time. I’ll come find you next time.”

However, Gou Liang couldn’t let him leave. He raised his hand and pointed in the air, creating a sudden change in the surroundings, turning it into a closed space. Gou Liang took out a bronze wine bottle and intoned, “Now, I offer this wine bottle, let the soul return and attach! Command!”

The fierce ghost, completely disregarding Gou Liang, curiously inspected the now cleared elevator space. “Formation? Quite interesting.”

The wine bottle was thrown out, rotating slowly. Gou Liang, while walking and chanting, said, “One turn shakes the heavens and the earth, two turns darken the sun and the moon, three turns chaos the divine soul, four turns separate the soul and the body! Five turns overturn mountains and hills, six turns gather wandering spirits, seven turns collect the spirits, eight turns gather shadows from all directions, nine turns capture souls attached to the bottle! Swiftly, as if by law!”

The fierce ghost’s energy suddenly dispersed. Several strands of the souls he had devoured were forcibly extracted and turned into black energy, absorbed by the bronze wine bottle.

The fierce ghost initially wanted to play around a bit more, but seeing the souls he had painstakingly collected being taken away, he couldn’t help but be furious.

“If you don’t stop, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” he warned.

Unmoved, Gou Liang proceeded. The fierce ghost suddenly rushed towards him, but Gou Liang quickly used a prepared bronze sword sheath against him. “I call upon the five generals and eight divine beings for help. I will form a formation to collect your soul!” Gou Liang commanded.

The fierce ghost, realizing the danger, tried to avoid it, but it was too late. However, Gou Liang’s limited power couldn’t contain him. Using several sacrificed souls, the fierce ghost broke through the sword sheath. The sheath cracked open, leaving Gou Liang bleeding from the corner of his mouth and unable to support himself, half kneeling on the ground with his hand on the floor. The bronze wine bottle, acting as the formation’s core, fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, the fierce ghost escaped.

Bi Xia was about to chase after him, but Gou Liang stopped him, saying, “Bi Xia, come back.”

Bi Xia’s figure flickered, and in the next second, he appeared beside Gou Liang.

He frowned, squatting in front of Gou Liang and asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”

Gou Liang smiled, “This area has a strong spiritual presence. If you act, many people will die.”

Bi Xia hesitated for a moment, then crouched down and asked, “How are you?”

Gou Liang said, “Can’t die.”

He put away the bronze wine bottle and the sword sheath, and the formation was withdrawn. Zhang Dou and others, who had been blocked outside, finally saw Gou Liang. They rushed up anxiously, “Consultant Meng, how are you?”

Gou Liang said, “He escaped.”

Zhang Dou reached out to hug him, but Gou Liang blocked him, getting up with support and saying, “Go get someone to give me a nutrient injection and draw some blood.”

Seeing him pale, Zhang Dou quickly arranged for medical attention.

During the infusion, Master Zhang hurriedly arrived, and upon seeing Gou Liang still alive, he let out a big sigh of relief. “I didn’t expect an ancient ghost to escape! Fortunately, you’re fine, otherwise, I wouldn’t have the face to see Old Meng again.”

Gou Liang said, “Uncle Zhang, you got the news quickly.”

Master Zhang said, “You’ll understand when you get to headquarters later. Let’s not talk about that now. You take care of your health. I’ve reported the situation. Dealing with such a thousand-year-old ghost is an S-level mission, and we can’t intervene. People from higher up will handle it.”

“I’m afraid that won’t work.”

“What do you mean? Little Meng, this isn’t an ordinary ghost. Don’t joke with your life.”

Gou Liang hung his sunglasses on his nose, pointing to his face. Master Zhang took a deep breath, “Is… is this from the mark left by that fierce ghost?!”

Indeed, on the left side of Gou Liang’s face was a black symbol, an ancient character. Master Zhang couldn’t understand its meaning and attempted to touch it but got burned as soon as his fingers approached Gou Liang’s face.

—Gou Liang was marked by the fierce ghost.

Master Zhang hurried to report this new situation, and Zhang Dou was responsible for sending Gou Liang back to Qizang Pavilion.

When he got off the bus, Zhang Dou was still trying to please Gou Liang and wanted to borrow his sunglasses to play with, but Gou Liang ruthlessly refused. Gou Liang said: “I remind you, go around the electric pole today and don’t have sex in the future. Do more charity.”

“Huh?”

Zhang Dou didn’t know why, but he didn’t ask for the result.

On the way back, Zhang Dou saw an electric pole and unconsciously switched to another lane, trying to avoid it. Unexpectedly, just after leaving, he heard a loud noise. Stepping on the brakes, he turned around to see that the electric pole he had just passed had suddenly snapped in half. One end fell down, flattening a car parked on the side. The tremendous impact set off car alarms nearby.

“This is not scientific…”

Zhang Dou shivered and, while dialing the emergency number, left the eerie place.

On the other hand, Gou Liang stored the souls, collected in the bronze wine bottle and the sword sheath, into the soul-suppressing artifacts left by Old Man Meng. After staying inside for ten or a hundred years, the resentment they picked up would be purified, sparing them from unjust punishment in the Eighteen Layers of Hell.

It was just a pity about his bronze sword sheath, the artifact that sealed Bi Xia for three thousand years. Its power was self-evident, but it unexpectedly broke.

To avoid exposing Bi Xia’s existence, Gou Liang couldn’t report it to the organization. It was truly heartbreaking.

Gou Liang complained to Bi Xia, “He eats and drinks recklessly, ignoring the principles of a balanced diet. I’m afraid if he continues like this, you might not be his match in the future.”

No response from Bi Xia. Gou Liang looked at him.

Bi Xia was frowning, staring at the mark on Gou Liang’s face. He had just tried, but he couldn’t erase the mark left by “himself.”

Gou Liang raised his hand to touch his face, feeling a warm sensation but not suffering burns like Master Zhang. “Is it ugly?”

Bi Xia shook his head, asking, “Do you know the meaning of this character?”

Of course, Gou Liang knew, but he just looked at Bi Xia with a puzzled expression.

Bi Xia touched the mark on his face and said in a low voice, “This is my surname. That fellow burned this character onto you as a gift. You and he… Now we are bound by a Yin marriage. Do you understand?”

Gou Liang really didn’t know about this layer of meaning. He widened his eyes for a moment, then grabbed Bi Xia’s hand and said, “Are you saying that I am now your wife—husband?”

Bi Xia withdrew his hand, silently looking at him.

Gou Liang grinned and moved closer to him. “Are you angry? Did he take the lead, so you’re upset?”

Bi Xia instinctively retorted, “He is me, and I am him. What’s the difference…” Pausing, he continued, “Aning, do you really not know how serious this is? A Yin marriage is not a joke. If this mark is not removed one day, you won’t become human, but you won’t be able to become a ghost either. There won’t be a place for you in the three realms. Even if you die one day, the underworld won’t dare to take you, cutting off your path to reincarnation.”

“So, does that mean I can be with you forever?”

Gou Liang felt that this was great, but Bi Xia looked at him puzzled. Gou Liang said, “I will live and die with you. Is that not good?”

Bi Xia was stunned. Gou Liang, with a playful and light tone but an unprecedented seriousness in his eyes, seemed to be making a promise of life and death to him.

His heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Uncomfortably, Bi Xia looked away, cleared his throat, and said, “It’s getting late; we should go back.”

[Ding, target favorability updated. Current favorability: +70!]

Gou Liang smiled. “Sure!”

Unexpectedly, when the store was closing, Sun Zhuozhuo called, saying he wanted to come to the store to have dinner with Gou Liang. Hearing that Gou Liang was going home early to cook, Sun Zhuozhuo said he had changed his route and was on his way to Gou Liang’s house.

By the time Sun Zhuozhuo arrived, Gou Liang had already prepared the meal.

As soon as he entered, Sun Zhuozhuo saw Bi Xia coming out of the main bedroom, and his mouth widened. He exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Wow, you two are actually living together! Well done, Qining, I didn’t expect you to be so~~… hehe.” He winked at Gou Liang, as if conveying something without words.

Gou Liang rolled his eyes and just focused on inviting Bi Xia to join for the meal.

Sun Zhuozhuo, who was never one for politeness, sat down, pulled up his pants, and said to Gou Liang, “I can rest easy now that you have company.”

“By the way, we plan to get together this weekend. Mingming specially mentioned you in the group, insisting that you must come. Haha, but you completely ignored him. It seems like you hurt his feelings. Some idiots in the group even said you don’t know how to appreciate kindness. I had to tell them that you don’t even play with your phone. Then he called me several times, insisting that I bring you with me.”

“Mingming? I’m not familiar with him, am I?”

Gou Liang was puzzled.

Sun Zhuozhuo burst into laughter, “If he hears you say that, he’ll be so mad! You may not remember him, but you remember He Huo, right? They got together.”

“Oh, congratulations,” Gou Liang said nonchalantly.

“Hahaha!”

Sun Zhuozhuo: “Hahaha!”

Bi Xia looked at Gou Liang, “Who is He Huo?”

Sun Zhuozhuo, laughing wildly, covered his mouth and gave Gou Liang a sympathetic and gloating look.

Gou Liang picked up a chopstick and said earnestly, “Don’t be fooled by my appearance; I’m quite popular. Countless people have confessed to me from childhood to now. You have to cherish me.”

Sun Zhuozhuo said to the side, “Nonsense, why don’t you say that those who confessed to you were all guys? Even if you claim to be straight, people still pursue you. But really, gay people have a sensitive sense of smell. I didn’t see that you were a closeted person before.”

He enthusiastically explained to Bi Xia who He Huo was.

He Huo, the campus heartthrob of B University back then, a prominent figure, fell in love with the original host at first sight. He publicly confessed and privately conveyed his affections many times, but one time, he was caught red-handed by Father Meng.

Father Meng was quite open-minded, and he didn’t make it difficult for He Huo. He just looked him up and down and said, “Your fate with my son is not good. Stay away from him, or you’ll be in danger.”

Sun Zhuozhuo laughed continuously when retelling this, saying, “Uncle Meng is amazing. Do you remember Qining? At that time, someone even took pictures and posted them on the campus network, and it stayed at the top for several months.”

Laughing, he suddenly became smarter and asked Gou Liang seriously, “What Uncle Meng said, is it true?”

Gou Liang said without blinking, “Of course. I am destined to be a lone star. If my fate is not tough enough, those who want to be with me will be harmed by me.”

Sun Zhuozhuo gasped, “… Is it true? How come I’ve heard that just being close to the lone star will be harmful? We’ve been friends for many years; how come nothing happened to me?”

Gou Liang smiled, “Afraid now, huh? In the future, if you have nothing to do, don’t come to me for a chat. Be careful not to lose your life for nothing.”

Sun Zhuozhuo rolled his eyes, “You’re just making things up. That’s a one-in-a-million probability. How did you happen to encounter it? Why don’t you go buy a lottery ticket, buddy?”

He didn’t take it seriously at all and treated Gou Liang’s words as a joke. After eating and drinking enough, when Sun Zhuozhuo was leaving, he and Gou Liang reiterated their weekend gathering plans, happily carrying two bags of Gou Liang’s homemade dried fruits.

Gou Liang turned around and smiled at Bi Xia, saying, “Ignorance is bliss, that’s him.”

Bi Xia looked at Gou Liang, and Gou Liang said, “What, knowing that I’m the lone star, are you scared?”

Bi Xia said, “I am a thousand-year-old ghost.”

Who suppresses whom is still uncertain.

Gou Liang laughed, saying, “Thanks to my good dad. Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I burned paper money for him. I wonder if he has enough to spend down there.”

Gou Liang did one thing after another, offering incense to Old Man Meng and burning paper money for him before continuing, “He went to great lengths to suppress my fate, but if someone marries me, they will definitely be suppressed by me. Fortunately, there’s still you in this world, the Purple Star that can dissolve ominousness. How lucky I am to encounter you in the vast three realms!”

Gou Liang casually burned incense for Bi Xia as well.

Gou Liang thought, ‘I may not be exaggerating. Your fate is beyond description, truly the legendary Heavenly Noble Star. Unfortunately, what should have been a smooth life for the Purple Star was destined to end up on the battlefield. Although you fought for the country, the blood on your hands was too much, diminishing your fortune. You ended up with an unfortunate death.’

But no matter what, this fate still existed, and Bi Xia and him were a match made in heaven.

Seeing that Gou Liang was emotional, Bi Xia knew what he was thinking. He spoke, “The past is over; there’s no need to dwell on it. However, is it because of my fate that you are… especially good to me?”

Gou Liang smiled and nodded. “I used to want someone to eat with, gossip with, sleep with, and wake up with, someone who would never leave. Until I met you, I thought, no matter if you are human or ghost, I want to keep you by my side.”

Bi Xia pursed his lips and remained silent.

Gou Liang pinched his face and said, “But this is just the reason why I locked you with me, not the reason I like you.”

Bi Xia looked at him, “What did you say just now?”

Gou Liang smiled, “Didn’t hear it? Well, forget it. Good words are not said twice.”

“Aning, you just said you’re pleased—”

“You should go to sleep; you talk too much!”

Gou Liang quickly put him back into the soul jade.

Holding the soul jade to his chest, Gou Liang lay on the sofa and sighed, ‘What’s the use of liking you? I can feel the rich and sweet pear-flavored soul power. You tease me, but you can’t feed it to me. So tiring, I don’t love it. QAQ.’

Is Aning… shy?

Inside the soul jade, Bi Xia smiled.

[Ding, target favorability updated. Current favorability: +75!]

The next day, Master Zhang took Gou Liang to meet the organization.

It was in a courtyard, and after introducing Gou Liang to the three celestial masters, Master Zhang tactfully left. He didn’t participate in this mission for two reasons: he had no ability to participate, and these three were elusive figures, so just exchanging names with them was already a great honor, and he didn’t dare to expect more.

“Xiao Meng is young, but his spiritual power is comparable to us old folks. Truly a young hero.”

The only woman among the three celestial masters, Yuan Qing, smiled kindly at Gou Liang.

Gou Liang hurriedly thanked her.

Fang Yunshu said with a smile, “Xiao Meng, at such a young age, has a profound knowledge of spiritual power, much like the scholars of the Meng family. Unlike me, a wild method practitioner. Nephew Meng, don’t be too modest.”

Seeing Gou Liang having trouble responding, Liu Yiyi chuckled, “Okay, stop making jokes about the younger generation. I still have a pot of soup simmering on the stove. Let’s get to the business quickly. Xiao Meng, how was your confrontation with the thousand-year-old ghost yesterday?”

Naturally, they all saw the mark on Gou Liang’s face, but these three celestial masters, who had gone through ups and downs to become celestial masters, didn’t show much surprise.

“I’m afraid that the ghost’s cultivation is not as simple as a thousand years.”

Gou Liang began, and the expressions of the three celestial masters became serious. He continued, “A month ago, there was an ancient tomb revealed during an earthquake in Shuangye City. I suspect that the origin of this ghost is related to that event.”

As he spoke, he took out the bronze wine bottle. Fang Yunshu exclaimed, “What a powerful  magical tool!”

Gou Liang nodded, “If my guess is correct, he was previously sealed in this bronze bottle. It was only by chance that a doctoral student from A University released him. The student was harmed by the malevolent aura and has already passed away. I helped him transcend, so I learned some information from him. Before, we discovered Master Wu because he wanted to use the wife of the victim to gather fetal breath and the malevolent aura to form a Ghost Infant King.”

“After breaking that scheme, he has appeared in the hospital, taking organs and bones from people, likely to reshape his physical body.”

“What?!”

The three were shocked.

They had all heard of the Ghost Infant matter.

When the basement was raided, there were already ninety-nine Ghost Infants on the sacrificial platform. If the Ghost Infant King’s ghost fetus was formed, the consequences would be unimaginable, and they all broke out in a cold sweat when they heard about it.

Now they heard that the evil ghost is going to reshape his body and they realized that things were more difficult than they thought.

But Gou Liang’s words were not finished yet.

“The ghost’s soul should not be complete. This time when I confronted him, I intended to reseal him in the bronze wine bottle. Unexpectedly, he resisted, but I obtained thirteen unjustly dead souls from him. It seems he not only wants to reshape his physical body, but also wants to reconstruct his three souls and seven spirits.”

Liu Yiyi sat upright and said, “If your speculation is true, then we still have a chance to catch him.”

Yuan Qing said, “Yes. Reshaping the soul requires the right timing and favorable conditions. So, ten days later will be an opportunity. It will be our only chance to take action. Otherwise, once the soul and flesh combine, it will be difficult to find him again. However, when that time comes, I wonder how many innocent souls will fall victim…”

Fang Yunshu looked at Gou Liang, “Since he left a mark on you, could it possibly be used to lure him?”

Before Gou Liang could speak, Yuan Qing said, “This matter is not as easy as you think. The ghost won’t show up again before reshaping the soul, and even if the three of us join forces, we may not be able to deal with that ghost. If we really lure him, how can we guarantee Xiao Meng’s safety?”

Liu Yiyi also said, “Yuan Qing is right. Moreover, when reshaping the soul is complete, the ghost’s strength will greatly decrease, and we will have a chance to win if we take action then.”

In this way, all they could do was wait for the opportune moment ten days later.