Chapter 39

Xie An didn’t know why Ke Xingzhou returned to the filming base, thinking he had left something in the dormitory. Feeling that Nie Chen seemed somewhat unwelcoming, he pulled Ke Xingzhou and prepared to leave.

Who would have thought, as soon as he said they were leaving, both Nie Chen and Ke Xingzhou suddenly spoke at the same time: “Wait a moment.”

The synchronicity of their voices left everyone stunned.

As a senior employee, reading the room was the top priority. Especially since one of his subordinates had just seemingly upset their superior, Assistant Liu had been carefully observing Nie Chen’s expression.

When Xie An mentioned leaving, Mr. Nie had merely furrowed his brows slightly, which could be interpreted as dissatisfaction with Xie An’s decision to end the conversation prematurely.

But when Ke Xingzhou spoke, the noticeable shift in Nie Chen’s expression, the softening of his gaze, left no room for further explanation.

Assistant Liu’s eyes, hidden behind his glasses, subtly narrowed as he shifted his gaze between Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen.

Something was off. There was a lot of something off.

He suddenly recalled the banquet at the Wang family’s house. Mr. Nie had seemed upset at first, but after stepping out for a moment and bringing back Ke Yuanbai and his assistant, he had become remarkably more approachable.

At that time, Ke Xingzhou had also been present, but only through Ke Yuanbai’s phone.

And Mr. Nie, who was usually meticulous about cleanliness, had naturally accepted—no, snatched—Ke Yuanbai’s phone and had nearly forgotten to return it after the event, only remembering when reminded.

Those details, which hadn’t seemed important at the time, were now filled with suspicion.

But Nie Chen and Ke Xingzhou?

Let’s not even talk about how Ke Xingzhou had been wearing a tattered robe and a broken sunglass earlier. Even now, dressed in a custom brand sportswear made for the show, his relaxed aura and handsome features made him seem more like a carefree rich second-generation young master.

Unlike Mr. Nie, despite his family being more than wealthy, with enough gold and silver to last multiple lifetimes, he had become the heir to Wanli Group early on, shouldering the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands and facing the board’s interference and his father’s expectations. He lived a life full of exhaustion, not daring to relax a single bit even privately.

Compared to the former, Mr. Nie seemed to be a mature authority figure.

These two seemed to come from completely different worlds. Could they have known each other before?

Assistant Liu recalled the materials Mr. Nie had previously asked him to investigate. Although Ke Xingzhou wasn’t as useless as the rumors suggested and had even been described as exceptionally talented in metaphysics, he had been sent to live in the countryside by the Ke family when he was young and had spent over a decade growing up there. Later, he had entered the Daoist University in the capital.

Logically, he shouldn’t have had any interactions with Nie Chen, who had grown up in one of the top aristocratic families in the capital and had never been exposed to metaphysics.

In an instant, Assistant Liu’s mind raced through hundreds of thoughts, but his face remained as calm and unreadable as ever, skillfully performing the art of “eyes on the nose, nose on the heart” behind the cover of his high-powered glasses.

Xie An didn’t overthink it. He paused for a moment and directly asked, “Brother, what’s going on?”

At the same time, Ke Xingzhou froze when he spoke. Instinctively, he turned to glance at Nie Chen, meeting the latter’s gaze.The moment their gazes met, the deep, familiar look in the other person's eyes made Ke Xingzhou's breath catch, and his pupils instinctively tightened a little.

The beating of his heart was especially pronounced in this moment. Ke Xingzhou even had the illusion that someone had set up a drum beside his ear, mimicking the rhythm of his heartbeats, proclaiming all of his hidden feelings for everyone to hear.

This illusion made his heart tremble, and his face gradually heated up.

But it only lasted a moment. He casually shifted his gaze and said to Xie An, "I have something to discuss with Mr. Nie. Why don’t you go off and play by yourself for a bit?"

Xie An glanced at the small square filled with offering tables and ritual instruments. His large, round cat-like eyes were filled with confusion.

"Brother, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything here I can play with."

"..." Ke Xingzhou cleared his throat, "Behave. It’s not easy to have this time with Mr. Nie."

Xie An’s expression grew more confused.

Since leaving the base, he had been following Ke Xingzhou. His brother had made plans to discuss things with Mr. Nie, but he didn’t know about it?

And had their friendship developed to the point where they needed to meet in secret?

Xie An’s face shifted slightly, and he looked at Nie Chen warily.

Nie Chen’s gaze, which had been fixed on Ke Xingzhou since the beginning, only briefly shifted to Xie An after feeling his eyes on him. He nodded slowly, "Yes, we had made an appointment."

Assistant Liu: "..."

He silently turned off the tablet displaying the schedule and, maintaining the composure of a seasoned professional, nodded calmly in response to the questioning look from Xie An.

"..."

Xie An looked at Nie Chen, then at Assistant Liu.

Even though both their expressions showed no sign of flaw, his intuition told him that things were not as simple as they seemed.

But since Ke Xingzhou had spoken, as his number one fan, Xie An, despite his doubts, had no choice but to leave reluctantly, glancing back every few steps.

Assistant Liu also stepped back to a distance at Nie Chen’s gesture.

Now only Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen remained in this area. They exchanged a quick glance, then immediately looked away as if shocked, before silently stepping into an empty space a meter apart, standing distantly from each other.

Neither of them spoke, and the silence stretched for a while.

Ke Xingzhou looked anywhere but Nie Chen, but Nie Chen’s gaze was persistent, sticking to Ke Xingzhou’s face. The intensity of it was so strong that Ke Xingzhou couldn’t ignore it even if he tried.

His heart pounded wildly, and his breathing started to falter.

He furrowed his brows.

Nie Chen, realizing he was being too much, restrained himself slightly, his voice softening as he said, "You’re looking for me?"

When he spoke, there was a slight glimmer in his eyes, and his gaze slowly, deliberately traced the side of Ke Xingzhou’s face.

If Assistant Liu and his subordinates had seen this, their jaws would probably have dropped in shock—when had Mr. Nie ever shown such a side? Even in front of the ruthless board members of the company, he had always been aloof and commanding.

Now, in this moment, it seemed as though he was waiting for something.If Ke Xingzhou’s gaze had shifted slightly, tilting a bit towards Nie Chen, he would have noticed that at this moment, Nie Chen’s face had finally revealed some familiar expressions he had once known so well.

But he didn’t.

Being alone with an ex after many years of separation—such an awkward situation had never appeared in Ke Xingzhou's dreams, yet it happened so unexpectedly now.

Especially considering that this ex had, just a few days ago, acted as if he didn’t recognize him, and in the subsequent meetings, his gaze grew more and more explicit, until today, when he stopped pretending altogether, his eyes almost glued to him.

Before Assistant Liu left, his expression had clearly shown he noticed something.

Ke Xingzhou thought about this and grew more and more uneasy, even starting to feel paranoid. It seemed like someone was watching them, speculating about their past relationship.

This feeling intensified, eventually reaching a point that couldn’t be easily ignored.

Ke Xingzhou suddenly felt something was wrong and looked toward where the gaze was coming from.

—The benevolent ghosts were clustered on the fountain sculpture in the small square, each of their eyes gleaming with gossiping light, intently staring at the two of them.

The old lady ghost at the front seemed to have gotten a handful of sunflower seeds from somewhere. When Ke Xingzhou looked over, she passed them to the side. The old man ghost who had been beaten earlier for owing money for a card game naturally took a handful from her, cracking them open with his few remaining teeth, clumsily scooping out the sunflower kernels.

When she saw him looking, the old lady ghost waved her hand generously, "Go on, don’t mind us. We can handle it ourselves."

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Who cares about this!

With so many pairs of eyes watching, no matter how complex his emotions were, he couldn’t keep up the act. Ke Xingzhou closed his eyes, finally pulling himself out of his tangled thoughts, and got down to business. "I’ve already caught a fierce ghost here. It's a ghost leader. The rest are just useless benevolent ghosts. Tell them not to waste their energy."

Nie Chen’s eyes darkened, following Ke Xingzhou’s gaze towards the benevolent ghosts on the fountain sculpture.

His eyes were deep and cold, his gray-green irises seemed to have been forged in winter’s chill. Even the ghosts, who shouldn’t feel cold or warmth, couldn’t help but shudder, awkwardly dropping their snacking postures and drifting down from the top of the sculpture.

The old lady ghost awkwardly adjusted her hairpin. "You can see us? Oh, why didn’t you say earlier! If we’d known you could see us, we definitely wouldn’t have done this! It’s all your fault…"

Her words usually went unchallenged, and as she spoke, she became more and more confident, unconsciously treating Nie Chen as one of the younger men she used to bully, until she caught sight of his increasingly cold gaze. She finally softened her tone, and her voice trailed off into silence.

She didn’t get anything out of it, so naturally, the other ghosts didn’t dare act up in front of Nie Chen. They all fell silent and, trembling under his gaze, backed off to a distance.

Only then did Nie Chen retract his gaze and soften his expression. He lowered his voice to explain to Ke Xingzhou: "The Taoist priest from Qingyun Temple has close ties with the underworld. Through him, we can send these trouble-making benevolent ghosts back to the underworld."

When they were together years ago, Nie Chen had also learned about some things related to metaphysics. He knew secrets that even ordinary Taoists were unaware of.

One of those secrets was the restrictions on the stay of benevolent ghosts in the mortal world.

For example, although most benevolent ghosts were spirits of those who died naturally or accidentally without much resentment, they weren’t completely harmless. Compared to ordinary wandering souls or vengeful and evil ghosts, benevolent ghosts could generally regain some of their previous mental faculties.

For most ordinary people, living a stable life is a very happy thing, and the same principle applies to ghosts.

If they patiently wait for reincarnation, even if it takes hundreds of years to get their turn, they can stay in either the mortal realm or the underworld, living a life without illness or pain, much like that of a living person.

The fortunate ones, who accumulated enough merit in life, could perhaps gain a good reincarnation in their next life and might even meet their descendants or loved ones from this life again to continue their bond.

However, once they kill a living person and become a fierce ghost, they are locked by the Heavenly Dao and will never have the opportunity to reincarnate.Ghosts are also inclined to seek benefit and avoid harm. Compared to that, it is naturally more in line with most ghosts’ life goals to be a good ghost and live an honest life.

It is for this reason that the underworld allows benevolent ghosts to linger in the mortal world. All they need is a simple “Mortal Residence Permit,” and as long as they do not break any rules, they will not face many restrictions.

—The benevolent ghosts at the filming base clearly do not fall within this range.

"They have disturbed the normal lives of the contestants, so according to the rules, they should be sent back to reapply for the 'Mortal Residence Permit.'" Nie Chen lowered his gaze and looked at Ke Xingzhou, his eyes inadvertently drawn to the shadow cast by Ke Xingzhou's lashes. His fingers moved slightly. "You should be clearer about the specific situation than I am."

Ke Xingzhou felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but since they were talking about serious matters, he couldn’t just look away. He suppressed the trembling in his heart and explained.

"That was the case originally. But now the situation is special." He pointed at the benevolent ghosts who had retreated to the distance and were quietly observing them. "These are the ones I just took from the ghost officers."

"Why did the ghost officers push them onto you?" Nie Chen recalled the earlier scene, his brow furrowing slightly. "To make their souls scatter?"

"…" Ke Xingzhou was almost choked by his words, and instinctively blurted out, "Why are you still so petty?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, both of them froze.

Nie Chen’s eyes shifted slightly, and the coldness in his gaze gradually melted into a faint smile. "Mm, always petty."

"…" Ke Xingzhou stood frozen, his head buzzing.

In fact, as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized they were wrong, but it was too late. Now, he could only force himself to ignore the insinuation in Nie Chen’s words, clearing his throat and continuing the explanation. "The situation in the underworld probably isn't looking good."

Under normal circumstances, as Nie Chen and other Taoists knew, benevolent ghosts were only temporarily staying in the mortal world. If they made a mistake, they would be caught and sent back to reapply for their "Mortal Residence Permit" before they could return.

But that’s already outdated.

When Ke Xingzhou met Lu Li, the underworld was already operating at full capacity. The number of ghosts descending each day far outnumbered those reincarnating. The mortality rate on the mortal side was rising, and the birth rate was declining, which was a problem the underworld couldn’t intervene in.

As the birth rate continued to decline year by year, even the number of reincarnation slots for animals was becoming scarcer. The number of ghosts in the underworld kept accumulating until it reached a breaking point.

When Lu Li suddenly became extremely busy recently and disappeared, Ke Xingzhou had a sense that something was off. He just didn’t expect it to happen this soon. Although Lu Li was bald and foolish, when it came to work, he was as objective and meticulous as any programmer.

This time, when the benevolent ghosts caused trouble on the construction site, he didn’t punish them according to the rules. That already spoke volumes. Later, when he asked Ke Xingzhou to help act as a ghost officer, it was even more incredible.

If it were that simple to delegate his work to a living person, why would Lu Li have been so busy that he nearly lost his soul?!

There were batches of freshly graduated college students; who couldn’t help out?

Therefore, even though Lu Li didn’t explicitly say it, Ke Xingzhou had guessed something on his own. "Since Lu Li has spoken to me, the underworld probably can’t take in another benevolent ghost. Forget about sending these ghosts down, the ghost officers in charge of the 'Mortal Residence Permit' might be figuring out how to raise the scores of those ghosts who don’t quite make the cut, so they can bring them into the mortal world and make room for new souls."

The overcrowding of the underworld is an objective fact. Nie Chen, even if he brought the Taoist from Qingyun Temple, wouldn’t be able to fix it. Not even if they invited the King of Hell.

Ke Xingzhou glanced at the Taoist from Qingyun Temple, who had already started gathering near them, causing the benevolent ghosts to crowd around the Taoist’s side, frightening the temple boy. He couldn’t help but fall silent.

There was no denying that this group of benevolent ghosts didn’t look like they would pass the "Mortal Residence Permit" test.

He added softly, "Recently, there have been frequent supernatural events across various places. The backbone of every Taoist temple has been sent out to perform rituals. This is probably the reason."

Nie Chen finally realized the seriousness of the situation, his expression growing more solemn.

It seemed the problem was indeed more severe than he had imagined. He cautiously asked, "Who is Lu Li?"

Ke Xingzhou: "?"