After He Yan "appropriately" recounted what he, as an ordinary male college student with just a bit of knowledge about the occult, should know, he stopped, waiting for Xuan Qi's reaction with some trepidation.

He wasn't sure how Xuan Qi would react to the existence of the dark shadow. If possible, he wanted to probe Xuan Qi for information about it.

Although he still wasn't certain what kind of creature the dark shadow was, judging from the resentment shrouding it, it was definitely some kind of being from the underworld. As the highest-ranking director among the Twelve Courts of the underworld, Xuan Qi surely knew much more than him.

However, the stern-faced man only let out a faint "hmm" to indicate he understood, his expression unchanging, not offering any opinions regarding the dark shadow He Yan had mentioned.

Since Xuan Qi didn't take the initiative to bring it up, and He Yan hadn't yet figured out this big shot's temperament, naturally his trust in him wasn't that high. He could only suppress his desire to inquire further with the man before him.

But he still couldn't help feeling a sense of disappointment in his heart.

Strictly speaking, the dark shadow had only disappeared for one short night plus half a day, but in this extremely brief time, He Yan's mood had already started worsening more and more, especially after seeing Xuan Qi. His emotions fluctuated greatly, unconsciously making him think of the dark shadow whose whereabouts were currently unknown, his mood repeatedly pulled between worry and anxiety.

Perhaps it was because this person had such heavy resentment on him that it unconsciously stirred up negative emotions within He Yan.

Both ghosts and gods could move people's hearts.

Especially for someone like him who already had heavy matters weighing on his mind, it was even easier to be influenced by these external factors.

He Yan once again used his spiritual power to prick at his spiritual sea, telling himself to stay calm and collected, and to not reveal anything suspicious in front of Xuan Qi.

However, Xuan Qi didn't miss the fleeting gloom that flashed across his face. The fingers hanging by his side moved slightly, then he inclined his head towards a direction, asking in a declarative tone, "Want to go look over there with me?"

He Yan followed his gaze and turned to look. He saw that the dense flower petals originally drifting in the air, so numerous that the path ahead was completely obscured, were blown sparse by a sudden gust of wind, no longer able to conceal the scenery in the distance. With one glance, He Yan saw Yan Xixi and Xu Xi by the bench.

Xuan Qi lifted his leg and walked towards the two, while He Yan paused for a moment before following behind him.

This time, the man walked quite slowly, seemingly intentionally slowing his pace so that the slightly shorter youth behind him could keep up.

However, most of He Yan's attention was on the person and ghost by the bench, so he didn't notice this detail.

In the time prior, Yan Xixi had suffered unknown torment and was now slumped unconscious by the bench, a hideous, horrifying wound on her face, blood flowing down her neck and staining the front of her clothes crimson.

Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, the skin and flesh at the wound had already started turning white.

Her chest was still rising and falling faintly, indicating she was still alive, but her complexion was frighteningly pale, the vitality in her features nearly gone, completely overtaken by an aura of death. Compared to a real ghost, she likely wasn't much better off.

Xu Xi was kneeling in front of her, her bloodless hands on Yan Xixi's shoulders, the originally clean sleeves of her school uniform stained with Yan Xixi's blood. From He Yan's angle, she had practically buried her face in Yan Xixi's neck, her long black hair falling with her movements, covering her cheeks, like countless black tentacles sprawling across Yan Xixi's chest and abdomen.

Countless tiny white petals fell upon them, some landing on the dark red blood, that pure white quickly tainted by the ominous crimson.

Blood, long hair, and white flower petals, coupled with the posture of these two, at this moment there was a strange, indescribable intimacy to the macabre sight.

Except everyone present knew that the relationship between these two was not only far from intimate, but one of deep hatred.

The reason Xu Xi had written Yan Xixi's name on the underworld warrant instead of seeking revenge on the man who killed her back then was because that man had already passed away from a car accident not long after Xu Xi's incident. After his death, his soul entered the Court of the Underworld and naturally faced due judgment.

So in this world, the one Xu Xi hated most was undoubtedly Yan Xixi. And emotionally speaking, compared to the sudden malice of a stranger, the betrayal of her best friend Yan Xixi in pushing her to her death dealt a bigger blow to Xu Xi, so her hatred for Yan Xixi was undoubtedly deeper.

He Yan and Xuan Qi were now less than ten meters away from the person and ghost, but Xu Xi maintained her original posture the entire time, seemingly unaware of their approach.

He Yan perceptively raised his head to glance at Xuan Qi. The man keenly sensed his gaze and also turned his head slightly, lowering it to meet He Yan's eyes.

After a brief exchange of glances, Xuan Qi shifted his gaze back, raising a hand to lightly tap at the seemingly empty air. A wisp of black energy flashed across his pale fingertips, and immediately after, He Yan felt an invisible airflow rush towards him from the front, brushing past the edges of his body before spreading behind him.

...A barrier?

Unlike the crude barrier full of holes that he had seen outside the courtyard of that self-proclaimed "expert" surnamed Fu before, this barrier was evidently of a much higher level. At least with his current abilities, he was completely unable to detect its existence.

However...

Thinking of the black light that had flashed between Xuan Qi's fingertips earlier, for some reason, He Yan inexplicably felt somewhat concerned.

After the barrier's range expanded, Xu Xi immediately detected their presence.

She lifted her head from Yan Xixi's neck, her eyes warily looking in their direction. The moment she saw the familiar face of He Yan, the wariness in her eyes slowly faded, but upon seeing the tall man beside him, that wariness transformed into fear.

This man... no, this lord, was likely an underworld official of extremely high rank.

Although he had intentionally concealed his strength, not letting a shred of resentment leak from his body, as a ghost, almost the instant Xu Xi saw the man, she felt an absolute oppressive force belonging to her own kind.

That suppressive force was hundreds and thousands of times stronger than what she had felt from those underworld officials in the Court of Ghost Prison before, and this was the result of him deliberately restraining it... If this person had not restrained himself, perhaps before she could even clearly see his true appearance, she would have already been crushed by that imposing aura and had her soul scattered!

After Xu Xi moved away, He Yan immediately saw an eerie "hole" that had appeared on Yan Xixi's neck. Although nothing could be seen with the naked eye, if one observed with spiritual power, they would discover a tiny, dark green hole there, with white vitality continuously pouring out from it.

This must be the reason why the vitality in Yan Xixi's appearance suddenly disappeared.

To put it in detail, the biggest difference between the living and ghosts is the presence or absence of vitality. In a person's life, the vitality in the body is always strongest during youth, while for those elderly on the verge of death, the vitality in their bodies becomes fainter and fainter. The moment it completely disappears is also the time for that person to leave the living world.

Although Yan Xixi now looks like she hasn't died yet, with only this little bit of nearly negligible vitality left in her body, at most she won't last more than three days.

In the remaining three days, Yan Xixi's organs will rapidly deteriorate until they stop functioning, but no matter how doctors examine her body, they will not be able to find the true cause.

If some Taoist priests with profound attainments from the metaphysical community could be invited, there might still be some means to extend her life by ten days to half a month. But now that the illustrious Court of Ghost Prison Chief has personally come to the living world to handle this matter, there are presumably no fools in the metaphysical community who don't cherish their lives and would come to oppose this person.

So from now on, Yan Xixi can only watch herself die, completely helpless.

This feeling of watching every part of your own body rush towards death with each passing second, yet being powerless to turn the situation around, is undoubtedly a most cruel lingering death, far more painful than directly letting her die cleanly and decisively.

Just like a year ago, Yan Xixi also did not directly take Xu Xi's life, but knowingly pushed her under the murderer's blade despite the danger. Now, Xu Xi also did not take her life, but merely took away the vitality she relied on to survive, letting her perish on her own.

When Yan Xixi deceived Xu Xi to go on that date with the male netizen in her place, she probably never thought that karmic retribution and the settling of grudges would come so quickly.

On Xu Xi's pale face was a complex expression mixing fear and respect. She prostrated on the ground, kneeling and bowing in Xuan Qi's direction, tremblingly saying: "My lord..."

The man did not acknowledge her actions, only extending his hand with an indifferent expression. The Underworld Warrant on Xu Xi's body unknowingly arrived in his hand.

As he examined the Underworld Warrant that had already lost its original duty for a few glances, a hint of complexity flashed through his eyes. In the end, he lightly stroked it with his hand. A wisp of fine black energy surged from his fingertip into the Underworld Warrant.

This originally ordinary command tablet instantly emitted a heavy aura of resentment and killing intent, revealing its true appearance and imposing manner that it should have had.

Then, that Underworld Warrant flew out from Xuan Qi's hand, returning to Xu Xi's body once more.

The moment the black glowing Underworld Warrant made contact with Xu Xi, it burned a charred mark on her soul, causing her entire body to tremble from the pain.

Even if she was deceived by someone, in the end, taking action against an innocent is an unforgivable sin. After the Underworld Warrant was restored, the punishment that should come will still come.

Xuan Qi lowered his eyes to look at the female ghost on the ground, his gaze completely indifferent: "Go and receive your punishment."

The female ghost did not dare to resist. She bowed to him again, enduring the pain in her soul, slowly crawling back into the lake.

Very quickly, besides Yan Xixi who lay on the ground with a face full of deathly air, only the two of them were left in this boundary.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

He Yan stood in place. Although his gaze was directed towards the scene of Xuan Qi injecting black energy into the Underworld Warrant that kept flashing through his mind, a strange feeling surfaced in his heart.

Perhaps it was because resentment in the world was generally black. For some reason, that resentment always made him think of the black shadow that had disappeared from their home.

Unable to resist, he turned his head to the side and glanced a few times at the stern-faced man beside him. He himself didn't know what demon had possessed him, suddenly becoming so bold as to extend his own fine white threads of spiritual power to assault the Court of Ghost Prison Chief who had once single-handedly devoured an entire hell!

Author's Note:

Big shot: What to do if your partner suddenly hits you?

I originally wanted to wait a few more chapters before letting Yanyan discover the big shot's identity, but he's already so anxious, I can't bear to let him suffer any longer QWQ

I'm truly a textbook example of a doting parent (self-indulgent.jpg)