Chapter 90

The Taoist priests ignored the cries and complaints of the TV ghost.

This guy, though a benign ghost, did not abide by the rules of non-interference between the realms of the living and the dead. Doing side gigs in the human world was already bad enough—but he actually took his business to the doorstep of evil cultivators.

A ghost that breaks the rules like this is bound to become a threat sooner or later if left in the living world. Better to send him back to the underworld early.

Not only that, but the ghost broker he mentioned also had to be handed over to the Inspection Department, to prevent further disruption of human society.

Seeing that his crying was useless—and that he had dragged the broker into this mess—the TV ghost was so frightened he didn’t dare say another word. Under Xiang Ting’s deadly glare, he tearfully led them to the ghost broker.

One hour later.

In the most luxurious villa district of Shancheng, the Taoist priests stepped off a disguised tour bus, dusty and worn. As they looked around at the wealth-filled upscale decor and the thick ghostly and demonic aura surrounding the villa in front of them, they fell silent.

What kind of ghost had they been chasing all this way, hiding and running?

Just as they were starting to doubt life itself, two people walked out from the neighboring villa—wearing swimsuits and floaties. They looked surprised to see the group. “Newcomers? Why are you all dressed like that? Isn’t today the pool party?”

“Pool party?”

“Yeah! It said so on the flyer last week. Everyone was supposed to wear swimsuits and come have fun.” The couple glanced at the tour bus behind them and immediately understood. “You guys came just for the party, right? No worries, my husband bought a ton of extra swim trunks that didn’t fit—he can lend them to you for free!”

Judging by their expressions, they weren’t the least bit surprised that a whole busload of people had arrived for the party. The Taoist priests instantly became more alert.

This couple was obviously alive—no doubt about that. Yet this ghost broker not only broke the rule of non-interference between realms but also lived in such a flashy place and even openly invited living people to his home.

He clearly had ulterior motives!

The priests shot the TV ghost a fierce glare, then grabbed their ritual tools and charged into the house. They scattered a handful of yellow talismans and were about to chant to subdue the spirits and demons—when a wave of cheering suddenly disrupted their rhythm.

A few living people pushed to the front and started touching the Taoist priests’ topknots, beards, and robes. One person even picked up a talisman and examined it closely.

“Xiao Shui, where did you find these cosplayers? This is so accurate! Even the special effects makeup is on point.” A young man excitedly waved to the back. “Look at this beard, those age spots, and that beer belly! I almost thought they were real Taoist priests!”

The priests: “……”

“Wow, there’s even a scarred hottie over here! Is that scar part of the special effects makeup too?”

Xiang Ting dodged the person’s hand and silently stared at him. “...It’s real.”

The young man’s hand froze, and the smile instantly disappeared from his face. “...I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know! I’m really sorry!!”

Aaaaahhh he seriously deserved to die!At this moment, the person the young man referred to as “Xiao Shui” appeared. Her skin was so pale it seemed to glow, and with pure white hair, eyelashes, and pink eyes, she looked like a fairy straight out of a fairytale.

However, the Daoists only saw the overwhelming demon aura radiating from her.

The TV ghost whispered from the side, “This is the agent I mentioned—Miss Xiao Shui. She’s really powerful!”

The Daoists looked at him silently. “...You call this a wandering ghost?”

TV ghost: “Huh? Isn’t she? Her real form is also semi-transparent.”

Xiang Ting couldn’t hold it in anymore. “She’s a jellyfish spirit.”

After a pause, he added, “A Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish.”

TV ghost: “?”

Zhu Chu looked a little confused about why that needed to be emphasized. His eyes remained fixed on the jellyfish spirit as he turned and asked Ke Xingzhou, “Master, is a Turritopsis jellyfish spirit supposed to be special?”

Ke Xingzhou was silent for a moment.

“...Turritopsis jellyfish are genderless creatures.”

Zhu Chu: “...Ah.”

His gaze went blank instantly.

--

Mu Shuishui had been greeting others along the way. When he finally reached the group, he saw a human and a ghost crouched in the corner looking devastated, as if they’d suffered a massive blow.

He recognized one of them as his client and looked surprised. “What’s wrong with those two?”

Ke Xingzhou answered, his mouth full of dried tangerine peel candy: “Probably motion sickness.”

Mu Shuishui didn’t doubt him and quickly turned his attention back. “So, what kind of business are you all here to discuss?”

The Daoists were silent for a moment.

Originally, they thought Mu Shuishui was just a wandering ghost and planned to turn him over to the Netherworld’s Inspection Division for disrupting the balance between the living and the dead. Who could have known the TV ghost’s intel would be this bad—not only getting the gender wrong but the species too.

Dealing with spirits was one thing. But spirits like this jellyfish were governed by different rules. There was a special organization that handled spirits in the country, and because of that fiercely protective ancestor in the demon realm, the rules for spirits differed greatly from those of humans and ghosts.

Actions that would be illegal for a ghost might not be wrong for a spirit.

So the Daoists hesitated and backed off. Only Xiang Ting frowned as he looked around the villa and coldly asked, “You’ve gathered beings from the human, ghost, and demon realms here. What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Make friends!” Mu Shuishui replied earnestly. “I’m a businessman. I need to make connections and expand my business network, right?”

Then he gave the road-weary group a suspicious look. “You’re not here to enforce the law, are you? I haven’t done anything illegal. All my paperwork is perfectly legit.”

“You call introducing a benevolent ghost to an evil sect ‘legit’?” Xiang Ting grabbed the TV ghost and dragged him out of the corner. “Do you even realize that their refining techniques could turn him into a servant ghost, stripping him of any chance to reincarnate?”

“So what if I knew? And what if I didn’t?” Mu Shuishui glanced at the TV ghost. “Weren’t the risks clearly written in the contract you signed?”

Xiang Ting: “?”The TV ghost was still in shock at how yet another person could grab him barehanded. Though scared, he still weakly raised his hand: “I-I saw it…”

Mu Shuishui smiled and somehow pulled out a contract: “Sir, look. He’s an adult ghost—shouldn’t he be capable of taking responsibility for his own actions? Besides, the Jiutou Dragon originally wanted a fierce ghost, and I went to the trouble of disguising him. If you report me for this, even our old ancestor wouldn’t agree.”

Xiang Ting: “……”

That ancestor of the demon realm was indeed annoyingly protective, and since the TV ghost had signed the contract, it only proved he’d chosen this path himself—no one else could be blamed.

Mu Shuishui beamed: “Sir, I’m just a businessman. Surely you don’t expect me to investigate every single client’s background? That would be violating their privacy rights.”

The Taoists thought to themselves: You’ve broken so many rules, and yet you actually know about protecting customer privacy?

But alas, Mu Shuishui wasn’t a ghost, and he had done his preparations so thoroughly there was no loophole to catch. The rules for humans and ghosts simply didn’t apply to him.

Just as they were thinking they might have to return empty-handed, the lead disciple from Xiaoyao Sect suddenly looked up and dumbly asked Mu Shuishui: “You can’t violate customer privacy? Then wasn’t this trip pointless? Where else can we buy info on Jiutou Dragon?”

He looked very dejected, feeling nothing had gone right since arriving in the southwest. But no sooner had he spoken than Mu Shuishui clicked his tongue.

Having just talked his way out of trouble in front of Xiang Ting, the very next moment Mu Shuishui casually pulled out a card reader—right in front of Xiang Ting: “Intelligence services are billed separately. Please swipe your card here~”

Everyone: “……”

Zhu Chu even played along and turned to gesture at Xiang Ting to swipe—whoever set up the mission pays. Xiaoyao Sect wasn’t about to foot the bill.

Watching Xiang Ting max out his credit card and then pass the payment task to Zhu Qian, Zhu Chu couldn’t help sighing at how easy this business was. His gaze toward Mu Shuishui lit up again.

“Bro—no wait, comrade! Isn’t it a waste of your talent to only run your business in the southwest? Look at our Xiaoyao Sect—we’ve got tons of good ghosts, all long-term stable employees! Top quality, great prices!”

Mu Shuishui blinked in confusion: “Stable… employees? You mean like Jiutou Dragon’s refined ghost soldiers?”

The car-sick, slumped blond-haired youth suddenly perked up: “Right?! You also think they seem more like the real evil path than we do!!”

“……” The surrounding Taoists all turned their faces away and closed their eyes in despair.

Looks like the Xiaoyao Sect’s bad reputation as an evil sect was unshakeable!

--

After receiving the payment, Mu Shuishui led Ke Xingzhou and his group into the villa.

Standing in the study, they could see the entire courtyard from the balcony. The Taoists looked at the large swimming pool below, and the humans, spirits, and demons playing happily in it—and felt like their entire worldview had shattered.

Even more shocking, the lead disciple of Xiaoyao Sect was seriously discussing a long-term partnership with Mu Shuishui. In just the few minutes it took to come up from the entrance, the human and demon were already discussing whether to adjust ghost employees’ salaries based on local cost of living!

Xiang Ting finally couldn’t take it anymore and cut them off: “Where’s the data?”

Mu Shuishui relaxed as soon as he entered the study, his body becoming soft and translucent. Upon hearing the question, a crystal-clear tentacle extended from his waist, reached toward a bookshelf, and retrieved a tablet, which he handed to Xiang Ting.

“Since I knew you’d be coming, I already organized everything. This includes intel on their recent ghost employee recruitment.”

“What!” Zhu Chu exclaimed. “They’re recruiting too?”

What kind of evil sect competes with them for territory like this?"Don't worry, we didn't reach an agreement." Mu Shuishui maintained a good attitude toward his business partners and patted his shoulder with a tentacle. "They're surrounded by refined soul spirits. Even good ghosts over there end up getting refined too. Only a fool would go work for them."

The blond-haired youth exclaimed, "Then why did you still introduce good ghosts over there?"

"To make money, what's wrong with that?"

After a pause, he sighed: "But I still need to learn from your Xiaoyao Sect. Those good ghosts' wages are lower than university students'. Rather than wasting effort refining them, it’s better to pay them a wage to keep them. …Hey, wait, this business model is good. Let me make a PowerPoint and sell it to Jiutou Dragon. Otherwise, if they get killed by you guys, I won’t be able to find anyone to buy from me for a while."

Everyone: "............"

This was truly the most business-minded spirit they had ever seen.