Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

On the other side, as Zhao Rong and his party approached the collective cemetery of Wang Family Village, they witnessed a series of eerie phenomena. Not far away, a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people formed a long line. They were being led by a person dressed in white, with another person dressed in black herding them from behind.

Zhao Rong knew those people were ghosts. A chill ran down his spine as he asked the female ghost Xiaomin beside him, ”What are those two people in black and white doing? Why are they escorting a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled ghosts?”

Xiaomin explained, ”Don’t you know? The one dressed in white is White Impermanence, and the one dressed in black is Black Impermanence. As for that group of ghosts, they were too slow, so they were caught by Black and White Impermanence and are now being escorted to the underworld.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rong was horrified. He looked at Xiaomin in surprise and asked, ”Xiaomin, why aren’t you running? Aren’t you afraid Black and White Impermanence will catch you?”

Hearing Zhao Rong’s question, Xiaomin said with a relaxed smile, ”As one of the most powerful female ghosts in Wang Family Village, what could Black and White Impermanence possibly do to me?”

Zhao Rong looked at the ghosts who had been caught and lamented, ”I always thought the saying ’a docile horse is ridden by men, a kind man is bullied by others’ only applied to the human world. I never imagined the same rules apply in your world of ghosts... The poor, old, weak, and disabled who can’t run fast enough are just captured by the strong-arming Black and White Impermanence.”

Meanwhile, Lili looked at some other ghosts emerging from cracks in the ground, laughing wildly. She asked Xiaomin in confusion, ”Being a ghost must be incredibly sorrowful. So why are those ghosts jumping out of the cracks and laughing like that?”

Xiaomin explained, ”That crack is actually an exit from the underworld. The ghosts coming out are ones that Black and White Impermanence captured by mistake or whose lifespans were recorded incorrectly. They’re laughing so hard because they know they can return to their physical bodies, be resurrected, and start a new life.”

Hearing about resurrection, Zhao Rong asked in amazement, ”So these ghosts coming back from the underworld haven’t drunk the Meng Po Soup? When they become human again, won’t they remember their time in the underworld?”

Xiaomin nodded. ”A ghost who hasn’t drunk Meng Po Soup will certainly remember their experiences. In fact, some of them go on to become very powerful ghost catchers.”

Hearing Xiaomin’s words, Zhao Rong was startled. Looking around, the five most skilled ghost catchers in Wang Family Village—the Mount Lao Ghost-Hunting Instructor, the Orthodox Ghost-Hunting Instructor, the Quanzhen Ghost-Hunting Instructor, the San Yi Ghost-Hunting Instructor, and the Dean of the Ghost Hunting Academy, Zhao Bo... could it be they were all once dead? Or maybe it’s a case of the thief crying ’stop thief,’ the ghost crying ’catch ghost’? The four Ghost-Hunting Instructors of the Wang Family Village Ghost Hunting Academy and Dean Zhao Bo might not be human at all, but ghosts themselves.

Just then, Xuelian noticed a dozen or so ghosts who looked like students, complete with backpacks, queuing to cross the road. She asked Xiaomin, ”Those young people... they look a bit like students from the Ghost Hunting Academy, don’t they?”

Xiaomin laughed. ”They don’t just ’look a bit like’ students from the Ghost Hunting Academy—they *are* students from the Academy. They just happened to die in Wang Family Village while on a mission, so they became student ghosts here.”

Hearing Xiaomin’s words, Xuelian was astonished. She counted the student ghosts and was shocked by the number. There were as many as a hundred of them from the Ghost Hunting Academy, all queuing to cross the road.

Xuelian lamented, ”Life as a human is hard, no matter what you do. Even ghost hunting can send you to an early grave if you’re not careful...”

Suddenly, Xiaomin interrupted her. ”We’re here. This is the home of Fierce Ghost East City, the one you’re looking for.”

With that, Xiaomin pointed to a tomb hidden in a thicket of grass nearby. ”Looks like Fierce Ghost East City is home. Do you want to catch him now, or wait until morning?”

Hearing that Fierce Ghost East City was right in front of them, Zhao Rong immediately drew the Peach Wood Sword from his belt and took a ghost-trapping bottle from his pocket. Lili pulled out her Monster-Reflecting Mirror and some ghost-hunting darts, while Xuelian produced an invisibility cloak and smoke bombs.

When Xiaomin saw how rudimentary their equipment was, she sighed. ”You think you can catch Fierce Ghost East City with just a Peach Wood Sword and a few darts? Aren’t you underestimating the fierce ghosts of Wang Family Village?”

In response to Xiaomin’s comment, Xuelian shook her invisibility cloak and smoke bombs. ”I also have these. If we can’t catch him, we can just cover ourselves with the cloak. If the cloak fails, we’ll throw these special ghost-hunting smoke bombs. That way, even if we fail, we can still retreat safely.”

Lili held up the Monster-Reflecting Mirror. ”And even if Fierce Ghost East City chases us, I have this. I can shine it at him until he can’t see, make him lose his sense of smell, and force him to back off!”

Xiaomin shook her head. ”Your gear is child’s play compared to what other students brought here to the collective cemetery. Not long ago, a student came with a ghost-hunting shotgun and a sky-net, and he still died at the hands of Fierce Ghost East City. Your primitive tools don’t stand a chance.”

Hearing about a ghost-hunting shotgun and a sky-net, Zhao Rong couldn’t help but ask in amazement, ”You can shoot ghosts with a gun? And catch them with a net?”

Lili chimed in, equally disbelieving, ”Ghosts aren’t people. How can you shoot them with a gun?”

Xuelian laughed. ”And they’re not fish. How can you catch them in a fishing net?”

Listening to their ignorance, Xiaomin advised them, ”I think you should just forget it. Don’t go provoking Fierce Ghost East City. You don’t want to end up dead and add a few more spirits to Wang Family Village, do you?”

Just then, a voice cut through the air and reached Zhao Rong’s ears. He pricked up his ears. ”What the hell? That sounds... like my assistant’s voice.”

Lili was also in disbelief. ”Didn’t the assistant and Yu Lan go back to the academy? Why would we suddenly hear his voice coming from the Wang Family Village cemetery?”

While they were all puzzling over this, the assistant’s cries for help grew louder.

”Help! I don’t want to die!”

”Help! Murder!”

”Help! There’s a ghost!”

At that moment, inside Fierce Ghost East City’s tomb, the assistant was tied to a stone monument. Nearby, the beautiful Yu Lan was tied to a bed.

Fierce Ghost East City was leering at Yu Lan. ”They say humans and ghosts must walk different paths, and it’s true that we spirits can’t... enjoy... the bodies of human women. However, I can kill the assistant first and possess his corpse. That way, I can use his body to... have... your body.”

Hearing this, the assistant gasped and protested, ”Fierce Ghost East City, you can possess my body and use it to... be with... the beautiful Yu Lan! But please, don’t kill me! We can make this a win-win, a mutually beneficial arrangement, okay?”

Fierce Ghost East City scoffed. ”Kid, you’re a little too clever for your own good. Do you take me for a fool? I’ll tell you both, I have two options here. Either I kill the assistant, possess his body, and enjoy the beautiful Yu Lan... or I kill Yu Lan, turn her into a ghost, and then the two of us ghosts can be together and enjoy ourselves...”

Hearing this, the assistant immediately suggested, ”Then you should choose the second option!”

Tied to the bed, Yu Lan heard the assistant and immediately spat at him. ”You animal!” she seethed, struggling against her bonds. ”We’re both about to die, and you’re not thinking about how to escape or rescue me? Instead, you’re thinking about how he can use you to defile me? You’re nothing but a selfish, despicable coward who only cares about saving his own skin!”

Then, Yu Lan spat at Fierce Ghost East City. ”And you, you perverted ghost! I bet you were no good when you were alive, either!”

Hearing her words, Fierce Ghost East City replied without a shred of shame, ”Beauty, you’re not wrong. You guessed it. Back in the day, I was having an affair with a married woman and her husband killed me in bed. So, even as a ghost, I’m going to continue being a lecher!”

Yu Lan immediately mocked him, ”You’re social scum! Destroying someone else’s family... you got what you deserved!”

Enraged by her scolding, Fierce Ghost East City roared, ”Damn it! I was originally just going to kill the man and let you live. But I didn’t expect you to have such a foul mouth! Fine! Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll kill you first, and then I’ll force myself on you!”

Hearing that Fierce Ghost East City was apparently no longer planning to kill him, the assistant was inwardly ecstatic. This is great! My life is saved! With that thought, he began to laugh inwardly.

But before his silent celebration could finish, Fierce Ghost East City suddenly spun his head around to face him, his expression turning savage. ”Since I’m going to force myself on this woman, it wouldn’t be right for another man to stand here and watch, would it?”

The assistant froze, then quickly forced a fawning smile. ”Then you could just let me go, right? That way you can have your fun in private, and no one will be here to watch.”

Fierce Ghost East City sneered. ”In your dreams. I think I’ll just kill you first to avoid any future complications.”

With that, Fierce Ghost East City lunged at the assistant, his fangs and claws extended.

Seeing the ghost pouncing, the assistant screamed, ”Help! Murder!”