Chapter 59

Lu Li really suspected that in his past life he must have done something unforgivable by heaven, which is why in this life he ended up meeting someone as despicable as Ke Xingzhou.

He cursed as he rapidly operated the keyboard, warning Ke Xingzhou: “Don’t blame me for not warning you in advance. You gave the merit light to her; once she reincarnates, that merit light will never come back. Don’t come regret it later and ask me for it again.”

He wanted Ke Xingzhou to know the difficulty and give up, but who knew this guy normally valued merit light as much as his life, yet at a time like this, he actually didn’t care.

“Enough, if you keep nagging, my ears will grow calluses.” Ke Xingzhou lazily lifted his eyelids and interrupted him, “Focus on your work.”

Lu Li: “...”

He cursed inwardly again but didn’t stop his hands, occasionally switching to other keyboard tasks and then switching back.

Since the old lady ghost was summoned by Ke Xingzhou, she hadn’t moved, remaining completely silent. Hearing them talk about reincarnation and merit for a long time, she still didn’t understand what was going on.

Until Lu Li stopped typing and looked at her with a complicated expression.

Lu Li said to Ke Xingzhou: “You two are unrelated. The merit light can’t be transferred easily. I can only treat her as a disciple of your Xiaoyao Sect and transfer part of the merit light you earned from Xiaoyao Sect to her.”

“Oh.” Ke Xingzhou showed no reaction, then paused and asked, “Is it enough?”

“...More than enough.” Lu Li looked at him complicatedly, “If you count all the merit you earned from Xiaoyao Sect for her, not only can she reincarnate early, she might even get to choose her own background.”

The old lady ghost suddenly shivered and straightened up—choose her own background!

She had wandered in the mortal world for so long and knew well that even in modern society, one’s background largely limits life development. Among the girls who watched handsome guys with her, some were from families that preferred sons and sold their daughters like livestock for bride prices.

She wanted to reincarnate as a human again but didn’t want to suffer the same hardships as before. If she could choose her own origin, that would be perfect!

But just as the old lady ghost began to feel a bit hopeful, she heard Ke Xingzhou say slowly: “Then no need.”

Accumulating this merit was indeed not easy, plus with the family now wealthy and powerful, no longer in the poor state before, he still needed to save some merit to bless himself, so he wouldn’t suddenly die from a curse one day.

Facing the old lady ghost’s resentful gaze, Ke Xingzhou paused for a moment and said righteously, “Our Xiaoyao Sect doesn’t do this kind of special treatment.”

Lu Li: “...”

You should have said that before transferring the merit light!

—

With things having come this far, and Ke Xingzhou even gave merit light to himself, what more could the old lady ghost ask for?

She, as a ghost wandering the mortal world for hundreds of years, had only ever been driven away and scolded—when was the last time anyone cared about her?Since joining Xiaoyao Sect, not only is food and lodging provided, there are handsome guys to look at, a salary to receive, but even the queue for reincarnation can be expedited— the benefits are simply too good!

The old lady ghost was full of gratitude: “Sob sob sob, Sect Leader, you are truly a great person! Rest assured, after I go down, I will definitely promote our Xiaoyao Sect well to my old sisters! I’ll make sure that when they come up later, they’ll all come to join you, to make our Xiaoyao Sect bigger and stronger, becoming one of the top 500 in both the yin and yang worlds! After I die in my next life, I will still come back to work for Xiaoyao Sect!”

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

That wish really reeks of the underworld.

Ke Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then looked away. Zhu Chu had already printed out a performance evaluation form and delivered it.

Zhu Chu was very happy to learn that the old lady ghost was going to reincarnate. After handing over the evaluation form, he pulled the old lady ghost into an emotional moment.

“Back when you first came to the sect, you were like that—how many people were deeply impressed by that stinky foot wrap? Who would’ve thought in a blink you’d be going to reincarnate…” Zhu Chu shook his head and couldn’t help wiping tears, “Don’t worry, I’ve already filled out the evaluation form for you. Every bit of your hard work in Xiaoyao Sect won’t be wasted!”

One human and one ghost held hands, but they didn’t actually touch.

The old lady ghost’s soul passed right through Zhu Chu’s body without any obstruction. Neither of them felt strange about it, looking at each other with tearful eyes.

After a pause, he suddenly changed topic: “You said before you want to make our Xiaoyao Sect one of the top 500 in both the yin and yang worlds—is that true? If so, why don’t you write down the names and death dates of a few of your old sisters, and we can set a date for them to register? When they come, I can also entertain them.”

The old lady ghost was so happy she was dizzy. She thought to herself she truly was the core backbone of Xiaoyao Sect, about to reincarnate, and even the leader specially cared about her group of old sisters’ employment.

But on the other hand, Xiaoyao Sect’s benefits were indeed very good. If those old sisters knew how comfortable she was living in the mortal world, and that she became a successful career ghost, they would definitely envy her to death!

So she told him, down to every detail, the names and death dates of the few old sisters she knew.

She swore that after going down she would immediately call them up, absolutely making sure no work in Xiaoyao Sect would be missing.

Zhu Chu received the list and finally smiled broadly, wiping his tears: “I’m going to stamp it for you!”

“...” Lu Li wanted to say something but stopped.

A few seconds later.

The freshly made Xiaoyao Sect stamp had not yet been placed on any official document but first left a bright red mark on the old lady ghost’s performance evaluation form.

Following Lu Li’s instructions, Zhu Chu burned the form to the corresponding judge.

After waiting a moment, Ke Xingzhou glanced at Lu Li, who was still wildly working overtime nearby: “Aren’t you going to hurry them up?”

Isn’t the underworld very busy lately?

Lu Li hadn’t appeared for a long time, only posting a “Happy New Year” sign on the “merit withdrawal machine” during the New Year as his blessing.

Ke Xingzhou wanted to respond with a polite phrase but found no place to reply.

If even a trainee judge like Lu Li is this busy, then the judge handling reincarnation core business should be even busier, right?

But who knew, as soon as this topic came up, Lu Li’s expression suddenly became resentful.

“That guy is only responsible for merit transfers and hasn’t opened shop for hundreds of years. If he has to be hurried, he might as well reincarnate himself!” When he said this, the resentment on his face boiled up, as if he really hated the judge he was talking about.

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

The old lady ghost about to reincarnate: “...”As expected, just as Lu Li finished speaking, the merit light on Ke Xingzhou’s body, as if guided by something, split off a portion and gathered onto the old lady’s soul.

Ke Xingzhou immediately understood why Lu Li was so jealous of his colleague.

Such swift action—it was obvious he must have been bored out of his mind!

He looked at Lu Li with pity; the resentment on Lu Li’s body was already comparable to a century-old vengeful spirit.

The overworked ghost, overwhelmed by heavy tasks, didn’t even say a word of farewell to Ke Xingzhou, grabbed three keyboards, and disappeared along with the old lady ghost.

The room instantly felt like a storm had passed through—all movable things were overturned on the floor.

Zhu Chu: “...”

He glanced at the indifferent Ke Xingzhou and resignedly began tidying up the scattered items, unable to help but sigh, “Master, it seems that even being a ghost after death isn’t easy. Is it really this busy after passing the civil service exam?”

He had often heard the benevolent ghosts mention “Ghost Official,” and thought it was some prestigious title, but now seeing Lu Li, he realized there were levels among the ghost officials as well.

But then again, work in the mortal world was the same, wasn’t it?

The bigger the company, the more stable the upper structure. Someone like him, an orphan who entered society early, wouldn’t even meet the threshold to get in.

If it weren’t for meeting Ke Xingzhou, he wouldn’t have made it to a management position!

The more Zhu Chu thought about it, the luckier he felt in life, his eyes watering. Just as he wanted to express his heartfelt gratitude to his master, he turned and saw Ke Xingzhou quietly looking out the window, seeming somewhat melancholy.

Though Ke Xingzhou usually didn’t talk much, especially compared to Xie An and An Heguang, Zhu Chu often sensed he was just too lazy to speak.

After studying metaphysics with his master for some time, Zhu Chu increasingly felt his master was unfathomably profound.

It was as if there was an invisible barrier between him and the world. Sometimes, even when Ke Xingzhou was right beside them, talking and laughing, Zhu Chu had the illusion he might suddenly vanish.

It was like the world was too transparent in his eyes, making it a bit boring.

At this moment, Ke Xingzhou stood quietly in place, looking at the swaying shadows of trees outside the window, not blinking an eye. His whole being emitted a near-vacuous emptiness, as if merged with the surroundings.

Zhu Chu was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit uneasy.

He swallowed and was about to call out to Ke Xingzhou when another low voice came from beside him: “Master.”

Nie Chen had arrived.

His gaze scanned the room, and upon seeing Ke Xingzhou unharmed, his expression visibly relaxed. Even Zhu Chu could feel the tension he had before.

Ke Xingzhou’s ears twitched slightly, a bit of sparkle appearing in his eyes, but unlike usual, he didn’t resist Nie Chen’s approach and just absentmindedly responded with a “Hmm.”

Nie Chen glanced at Zhu Chu, signaling him to leave. He then slowly walked to Ke Xingzhou’s side and looked out the window with him.

The two often sat or stood shoulder to shoulder, staring blankly at some place. Since Ke Xingzhou was young, time always felt very long to him. After opening his heavenly eye, this feeling became even more pronounced. When he couldn’t sleep, he liked to stare off into space at some spot.

Nie Chen always accompanied him.

Neither spoke, just quietly stayed like that until Nie Chen grew a bit tired, brought over a chair to sit, and also moved one for Ke Xingzhou.Ke Xingzhou didn’t feel tired but sat down as well.

Nie Chen tidied the messy hair on his forehead, his gaze no longer as aggressive as before, calmly looking at him: “What just happened?”

Ke Xingzhou was silent for quite a while, seemingly not intending to speak.

Nie Chen wasn’t impatient; he patiently finished fixing his hair and quietly stayed by his side.

After an unknown amount of time, Ke Xingzhou finally lowered his eyes and spoke, telling about the old lady ghost. After a pause, he continued talking about Peng Jingshan from earlier.

“I peeked at Lu Li’s Book of Life and Death; her next life’s surname will be Peng.” His tone was calm, revealing little emotion. “Peng Jingshan’s child palace moved; his wife’s belly will go into labor tonight. It’s a daughter.”

Nie Chen quietly held his hand: “Do you want to see?”

Ke Xingzhou moved slightly, didn’t manage to pull away, his attention drawn by Nie Chen’s words. After thinking carefully, he shook his head: “The past is past. The one born won’t be her, and she won’t recognize me.”

Nie Chen said nothing but replied, “But you want to go.”

“I don’t.”

“...” Nie Chen remained silent.

He lowered his eyes, looking at their intertwined hands, his fingertips slowly tracing the shape of Ke Xingzhou’s nails. When the sharp edges grazed his finger pads, it finally gave him a bit of a real feeling.

After a while, he felt Ke Xingzhou’s index finger twitch and chuckled softly: “Should I take you?”

“...” Ke Xingzhou turned his face away. “Oh.”

“Master.” Nie Chen called him, and seeing no response, called again, “Zhouzhou.”

Ke Xingzhou turned around instantly.

Before he could speak, a broad palm suddenly covered the back of his head. Nie Chen pressed him against the chair back, almost enveloping him. Those gray-green eyes enlarged before his own until the corner of his lips grew warm.

“...” Ke Xingzhou finally snapped back to reality.

Nie Chen released him, stood up, and opened the door, revealing Zhu Chu trying to eavesdrop through the crack.

Zhu Chu, surprised the door opened, paused, rubbed his hands nervously, and awkwardly smiled at them: “I-I’ll call Mr. Peng right now?”

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

A few hours later.

Outside the delivery room of a private hospital.

Peng Jingshan, called back hurriedly by his wife’s phone call, appeared in a rush. Before greeting Ke Xingzhou and the others, he was startled by the strong cry of a baby inside and hastily tried to rush in.

Fortunately, a nurse appeared just in time to stop him: “The mother is still weak; no unsterilized persons or items are allowed inside.”

More than ten minutes later, Peng Jingshan’s wife was pushed out, now holding a pink swaddled bundle.

“Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

Peng Jingshan was stunned. Even though it was his second time becoming a father, he still felt unreal, repeatedly mumbling, “Good, a girl. Is my wife okay?”He leaned over to kiss his wife, then turned to look at his daughter.

He picked up the daughter, looking at the big eyes clearly inherited from his wife, and couldn’t help but smile. Just as the corner of his mouth lifted, the baby suddenly kicked out a foot, directly shoved into his mouth.

Peng Jingshan: “...”

His wife, who had been a bit upset that he hadn’t returned in time, couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight.

Peng Jingshan laughed along, scratched his head, and kissed the daughter’s little foot hard a few times.

“Smells like milk, very fragrant!”

The ward was filled with laughter and joy.

Outside the ward, Ke Xingzhou looked through the small window on the door, as if he saw the baby girl glance his way and proudly wave her little fist.

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

This guy, did he forget to drink Meng Po’s soup?