Chapter 188 - 187: You’re a Ghost

Chapter 188: Chapter 187: You’re a Ghost

"Ah! I remember now!" the Demon exclaimed. "I never leave the cemetery, so I must have seen her here!"

"Here?" Gu Qingyin frowned. "What was she doing here?" She pointed to the father and son pair beside them, who were still digesting. "Did they follow Chen Ling here, too?"

The Demon nodded. "That’s right! The woman, Chen Ling, wandered all over the cemetery. Those two ghosts followed her, eating as they went, and they quickly lost consciousness."

The Demon clapped her hands. "I remember it clearly. As the woman was leaving, she even let out a disdainful sneer!"

Elder Miao stepped forward. "Which direction did she go? How long ago did she leave?"

A flicker of confusion crossed the Demon’s eyes. "I think... it was that way?" She pointed east but quickly pulled her hand back and shook her head. "No, that’s not right. She left in the morning, but it wasn’t in the direction of the sunrise."

’Let me think...’ The Demon frowned in concentration. She stared in one direction, then another, finally settling on the northwest. "That’s it! Two days ago, in the morning, the woman left from here!"

Gu Qingyin looked up. ’Isn’t this the direction we came from?’ It was right in front of the cemetery gate. Not far beyond that was the highway!

’All that waiting for nothing!’

She looked back at the father and son, a spark of hope reigniting in her eyes.

"Huo Yunjing!" Gu Qingyin called out. "Is there a way to make them spit out the souls they ate? If they throw them up, they’ll come to their senses faster!"

Huo Yunjing was skeptical. "Who told you that?"

Gu Qingyin said with conviction, "When someone drinks too much, they sober up faster if they throw it all up! The same logic applies to eating too much!"

Dubious, Huo Yunjing looked toward the father and son. Just as he was about to act, the dazed-looking male ghost floating in the air suddenly took a deep breath, letting out a sharp "HCKK."

Everyone fell silent and looked over.

The male ghost looked around in a daze. "Who am I? Where is this?" Suddenly, he looked down and continued to ask blankly, "And who are you people?"

Gu Qingyin was a little speechless. Ignoring him, she turned to Huo Yunjing. "What do you think?"

Huo Yunjing hit the nail on the head. "His acting is a bit over the top."

Gu Qingyin completely agreed. ’This ghost must not have lied much when he was alive. A good man, what a shame he ran into a horrible woman.’

Liu Ergou shivered beside them. "Terrifying. Good thing I don’t have a girlfriend."

Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes in disgust. ’What’s there to be proud of?’

Miao Yan’s throat felt a little better, but his voice was still strained. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have been fooled!"

"Impossible!" the male ghost cried out, his voice full of sorrow. "You’d never find out unless you didn’t love her! Because when you truly love someone, you don’t doubt them at all!"

"I really, really loved her!"

Gu Qingyin was stunned. ’What kind of earth-shattering, heaven-weeping, love-addled brain is this guy working with!’

Right or wrong aside, Gu Qingyin had to admit, Chen Ling had a truly vicious eye for picking her marks.

Out of a sea of people, she had pinpointed a hopelessly devoted romantic—the kind of guy who would praise her unique perspective even if she called a deer a horse.

Liu Ergou let out a wistful sigh nearby. ’Back in the day, I had my own fair share of suffering from love.’

Miao Yan, who’d been single his whole life, didn’t get it and decided to twist the knife. "But she didn’t love you. She only loved being young."

The male ghost’s whimpering stopped. His eyes gradually turned scarlet. "I don’t need you to remind me! I was willing!"

’Damn it! This fucking idiot!’

Gu Qingyin couldn’t take it anymore. She whipped out her Fire Burning Stick, rushed forward, and with a WHACK-WHACK, knocked the male ghost from the air to the ground. "Are you that pathetic?!" she yelled. "Is love more important than your life?!"

The male ghost lay on the ground, wailing.

Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes. When she looked up, her gaze met Huo Yunjing’s, and... she felt a little guilty for some reason.

She turned her head away and muttered, ’What are you staring at me for? You died in a car crash, not for me.’

Huo Yunjing let out a deep sigh.

Gu Qingyin gave him a suspicious glance. ’It couldn’t be, right? The Huo Yunjing I remember is calm and logical, a very rational person... But now that I think about it, we’ve never actually discussed how he died.’

’We should find some time to talk about it properly.’

Once the male ghost had wailed his fill, Gu Qingyin yanked him to his feet. "Take us to Chen Ling."

The male ghost shook his head, his face contorted in misery. "I can’t find her."

Gu Qingyin didn’t believe him, thinking she’d gone too easy on him. The moment she raised her Fire Burning Stick, the male ghost cried out, "The baby can find her! A mother and child’s hearts are connected, plus Chen Ling ate his flesh!"

Gu Qingyin froze. ’Drinking the soup wasn’t enough, she had to eat the meat, too?!’

"What kind of animal is Chen Ling?!" Liu Ergou’s face turned red with anger.

Miao Yan’s voice was muffled with rage. "Calling her an animal is giving her too much credit. It’s an insult to animals!"

Elder Miao was old, but he still held out some hope for humanity.

"Could she be possessed by an Evil Ghost?"

Gu Qingyin put away her stick and looked impassively at the baby ghost, who had woken up at some point. "We’ll find out when we find her and ask."

After they left the cemetery, Huo Yunjing relinquished control of the Ghost Realm.

The demon-like ghost stood at the cemetery entrance, watching them leave with longing. Then, she turned, wrapped herself once more in black mist, and vanished into the night sky.

The male ghost led the way, holding his baby. The baby ghost was quiet, its small, swollen hand constantly reaching forward as if trying to grasp something.

Unsure of the distance, the group got into the car. The male ghost, still holding the baby, zipped right into Miao Yan’s phone, temporarily taking over as the GPS.

The car drove out of Yun City, heading west, and soon entered a small town.

The town was small and had no real nightlife, so everyone went to bed early.

As they drove in, the entire town was pitch-black. It looked like a ghost town, which was incredibly creepy.

"Hey, why aren’t any of the streetlights on?" Miao Yan muttered. "Do people actually live in this place?"

Gu Qingyin was looking at the map. "Yonghe Town. The permanent population is just over ten thousand, mostly middle-aged to elderly people and children. The streetlights normally shut off after 10 p.m."

Miao Yan glanced at the time; it was already past eleven. When he looked up again, his pupils contracted, and he slammed on the brakes.

The car erupted in cries of alarm. Elder Miao immediately started yelling, "You brat, do you even know how to drive?!"

Miao Yan, panting heavily, sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown. "I didn’t mean to! Anyone would react like this if they looked up and saw a giant ghost face!"

Gu Qingyin leaned forward from the back seat to look. The male ghost’s huge, ghastly white face was pressed against the windshield, his dead, fish-like eyes staring unblinkingly at Miao Yan.

To be fair, it was pretty terrifying.

She cleared her throat. "Don’t be so dramatic."

Elder Miao looked a little embarrassed. "My apologies," he said stiffly.

Gu Qingyin sighed. "He’s just a kid. He’ll get better with more experience."

Deeply ashamed and wanting to prove himself, Miao Yan opened the door, got out, and asked the male ghost, "Why aren’t you giving directions? What are you doing?"

The male ghost looked completely innocent. "It’s not that. The baby’s tired and needs to sleep."

Miao Yan glanced down. The baby had its eyes closed, fast asleep, sucking on its thumb.

His vision swam as anger surged through him.

"You really think you’re an actual baby, sleeping on a schedule?! You’re a damn ghost!"