Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

Old Wang remained silent for a long time, seemingly picking through the words in his memory. "Now I think I understand, just like you said... a malice that can drown out a person's beliefs."

"If it were a real person, perhaps some people would also want to scramble for it..."

“But people are constrained by face, or morality, or law... but ultimately they want to do it, whether they do it or not is another matter.” Hongzhu walked into the depths of the alley, and Old Wang had no choice but to follow her.

"But for ghosts, there aren't so many constraints; they can do whatever they want."

"Everyone has malice, but the Ghost Clan expresses it very directly, nothing more."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Wolf and the Dog

"Among the demon race, the only things that can limit their malice are strength and status."

"Our position is not yet secure, but our strength is undoubtedly the best deterrent."

On the way home, Hongzhu was casually explaining to Old Wang, "I've already told you about how cultivation works for our ghost clan. As for what comes next..."

Old Wang, who was following behind Hongzhu, paused for a moment. "Will the young master help me?"

"I don't know." Hongzhu glanced back at the man, whose heart seemed to be filled with unease. "You can go and ask him directly, or even ask for help. After all, he has nothing to gain from you."

Old Wang pondered for a moment, and finally had to admit that what Hongzhu said made a lot of sense.

"Don't overthink it." Hongzhu looked at the small courtyard gate that was now barely visible in the distance. "With your cunning, you don't need to think too much. Just ask directly, and Young Master Chu won't blame you for your straightforwardness."

Old Wang gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Is this a good thing?"

Hongzhu glanced at Lao Wang meaningfully, "It is indeed a good thing."

Old Wang didn't respond, but judging from his expression, he didn't think it was a good thing.

Even though he never entered the world of cultivation and didn't have many dramatic life experiences, he still died in his thirties. Even though he lacked cunning and scheming, his life experiences, along with his gradual adaptation to the ghost race, began to emerge from his memories.

Although he didn't think as deeply as Hongzhu, Old Wang understood one principle very well.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

There must be a reason why Young Master Chu treats me this way, because there is no kindness without a cause in this world, only malice... which can be done without asking where it comes from.

Just like the ghosts scrambling for Yin Sha Pearls at the crossroads of the Ghost Market.

Red candles opened the courtyard gate, followed by Old Wang. The two ghosts entered the courtyard and sat down together at the stone table.

Old Wang's mind was wandering elsewhere, while Hongzhu's gaze swept around the courtyard, as if she were somewhat restless.

The unusual behavior of the red candle quickly caught Old Wang's attention. "Red Candle Girl?"

Hongzhu looked at Lao Wang, and with a try-it-and-see attitude, she asked, "Don't you feel that there's something wrong with this courtyard?"

Old Wang frowned. "Something's not right?"

After looking around the courtyard, Old Wang frowned. "I don't know. On the surface, nothing seems to have changed, but... there does seem to be something different?"

The two ghosts didn't hesitate for long before turning their gaze to the east wing of the courtyard.

"You wait here, I'll go call Young Master Chu." Hongzhu got up and floated towards the east wing. Before she could knock, the door of the east wing was pushed open by a pair of hands.

Hongzhu instinctively assumed a defensive stance, while Chu Xunfeng, who pushed open the door, didn't seem surprised that Hongji was outside. He simply raised an eyebrow at the female ghost's strange movements and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Old Wang and I felt something was off in the courtyard, so I wanted to check if Young Master Chu was safe and if he was in the courtyard..." Hongzhu explained, but her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the east wing.

The fluctuations emanating from the pure Yin energy were like a beacon in the darkness, drawing her attention with a frenzy.

"Wait for me at the stone table," Chu Xunfeng said, then turned and went back into the east wing.

With great willpower, Hongzhu restrained her desire to go forward and spy, and retreated back to the stone table. The mental shock made her soul appear to tremble slightly.

"What's wrong?" Old Wang naturally saw Chu Xunfeng standing at the door, so he was relieved.

"I think I understand what happened." Hongzhu tried to calm herself down and sat down obediently on the stone bench.

A moment later, Chu Xunfeng pushed open the door and sat down in the courtyard. "Tell me, how were the results today?"

"Let Old Wang speak," Hongzhu said casually, then carefully sensed the changes in the courtyard environment.

Old Wang readily agreed and recounted the events of the entire day.

To be honest, Chu Xunfeng found Hongzhu's idea to be impeccable. With that in mind, Chu Xunfeng tossed two cloth bags onto the stone table. "These two bags contain Yin Sha Pearls that I've been working on all day. They're not as pure as Yin Qi Pearls; they contain a small amount of Jie Sha, but no turbid Qi. They should be very useful to you, but for now, you can only use them for cultivation. I suggest you don't use them as currency."

Hongzhu seemed to have anticipated this. Unlike the somewhat hesitant Lao Wang, she picked up the cloth bag in front of her without any reservations, selected a Yin Sha Pearl, and examined it carefully. "This purity is medium grade, or even above, but not top grade."

"The advantage is that there is no cost. The material of these Yin Sha Pearls is the turbid Yin Sha that can be found everywhere in this courtyard. It is just that the turbid air has been filtered out and some of the calamity Sha has been purified and compressed." Chu Xunfeng narrowed his eyes. "This is probably why you feel that something is abnormal in the courtyard."

"Yes, I guessed it." Hongzhu let out a deep breath and looked at Chu Xunfeng. "Young Master Chu, I'd like to ask you for a Yin Qi Pearl. You surely have one, right?"

Chu Xunfeng tossed a Yin Qi bead to Hongzhu, saying, "Tell me about the effects after using it tomorrow."

"Understood." Hongzhu was overjoyed. She glanced at Lao Wang, who was still hesitating, and took the initiative to speak. "Let me use the west wing tonight. I will report to you on the results tomorrow."

"Go ahead." Chu Xunfeng nodded, watching the sensible female ghost carry her small cloth bag into the west wing. He then turned his gaze to Old Wang, "And you? Any thoughts?"

Old Wang could naturally see that Hongzhu was taking the initiative to back down, so as to leave some space for him and Chu Xunfeng to talk. So he did not hesitate any longer and followed Hongzhu's advice and spoke directly, "Young Master Chu, I would like to ask you a question."

"Speak." Chu Xunfeng nodded gently.

"Why me?" After asking this question that had been troubling him the most, Old Wang added, fearing that Chu Xunfeng might not understand, "Why does Young Master Chu value me so much?"

"Didn't you notice it yourself?" Chu Xunfeng looked at Old Wang.

"Discover...?" Old Wang was naturally confused and looked at the young man blankly.

"Do you realize that you like the environment of the Black Forest and the society of the Oni race?"

"To be honest..." Old Wang hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head, "I don't like it."

"Have you thought about why?" Chu Xunfeng asked.

"Exactly, I feel a tightness in my chest, I don't like it."

"Because you are kind, or rather, at least your evil is not as obvious as that of other ghosts. Compared to those traditional ghosts, they are wolves, and you are at most a dog."

Old Wang was stunned. After a long while, he was both amused and exasperated, yet he also felt utterly exhausted.

Because after Hongzhu showed him the world today, he now understands very well.

Young Master Chu is absolutely right.

The difference between myself and those demons was truly as great as that between a wild wolf and a domestic dog.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Ghost Comes to the Door

Thunder roared, and when heaven and earth were first created, thunder was born.

The lightning-carved marks on the heavens reveal the swiftness of the thunder, thus proving the law through the might of heaven.

Originating from the root, invoked by Heaven, witnessing the thunderous magic...

The young man, sitting cross-legged on the bed, muttered incantations. His hands, which he habitually held in his dantian, crackled with electricity at his fingertips, occasionally colliding with, neutralizing, and clashing with the omnipresent yin energy, producing short, explosive sounds.

Chu Xunfeng remained completely unaffected, exchanging blows with Ao Jie's phantom within his sea of ​​consciousness and above the sea of ​​clouds, accompanied by the overwhelming power of heaven.

Legs wrapped in clouds and dragons, feet moving with the wind, spear trembling and straightening, lightning bursting forth.

Chu Xunfeng gradually integrated the Wind and Thunder Technique into his already established leg and spear techniques within his sea of ​​consciousness. Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Old Wang and Hongzhu stood by the stone table, occasionally exchanging glances, but more often than not, their gazes were fixed on the two figures sitting on the stone benches.

A man with a broad forehead and a pointed mouth, and a woman with slanted eyes, thin eyebrows, and thin lips.

"How long will it take your young master to cultivate?" The grim-faced female ghost frowned, her gaze shifting to Hongzhu and Old Wang standing by the stone table.

"I don't know. If you have any orders, just go and knock on the door. We won't bother you." Although Hongzhu's reply wasn't exactly sarcastic, it was still somewhat pointed.

The woman narrowed her eyes and turned to stare at the red candle a few times.

Red Candle, not to be outdone, calmly stared back at the female ghost.

Old Wang stood beside the red candle, his head slightly bowed, without saying a word.

"This is the Black Forest. What you did at the market entrance yesterday... won't be so easily resolved." The woman narrowed her eyes, her words dripping with threat, her expression laced with a sinister glint. "Nearly a hundred Yin Sha Pearls of unknown origin..."

“Heh…” Red Candle was not afraid of such threats.

Although the two people in front of her were wearing the emblem of the Foreigners' Council, no one could say for sure whether the person standing behind them was actually a member of the Foreigners' Council. After trying to swallow and digest that pure Yin Qi bead last night, Hongzhu understood very well.

Now, Young Master Chu is even qualified to stand on equal footing with one or two foreigners, if the Yin Qi Pearl can really be mass-produced.

"Shuyuan, you talk too much." The male ghost glanced at his colleague, his sharp gaze stopping the sarcastic female ghost from speaking any further.

"We'll just wait here, no rush." ​​The male ghost withdrew his gaze and looked at the tightly closed door of the east wing.

The aura emanating from the side room already indicated that the other party was not weak, not to mention that well-informed people knew that the second prince of the dragon clan had flown across three continents and headed straight for the imperial city of Xu Kingdom in order to get the person in the room.

Anyone with eyes can see that the demon race is going to stand up for Chu Xunfeng. Now, before anything has even started, they've already offended them. This is not good for either of them, or for the people behind them.

The commotion in the east wing gradually subsided, and both Ergui, who was sitting by the stone table, and Hongzhu and Lao Wang, who were standing to the side, perked up.

Before long, Chu Xunfeng pushed open the door of the east wing. His gaze swept over the two unfamiliar faces in the courtyard. He paused for a moment, not feeling particularly surprised, and then walked to the stone table and sat down.

"Red candle, serve tea."

"Yes." Hongzhu nodded slightly, turned and went to the west wing, while Old Wang took two steps and stood behind Chu Xunfeng.

A short while later, Hongzhu returned from the west wing. She did bring tea, but only one cup, which she placed in front of Chu Xunfeng. The two ghosts sitting opposite Chu Xunfeng were not considered guests by Hongzhu.

Chu Xunfeng understood Hongzhu's attitude. The young man looked up at the two ghosts, a man and a woman, sitting diagonally to his left and right. "Who are you two?"