Chapter 49: Ghostly Marriage (Part 1)

The ghost spirit suspected to be four-star that had escaped from the mountain, as well as the resentful spirit from the previous car accident that attacked them, had yet to be dealt with. Now, after so much time had passed, Wu Zui felt a persistent discomfort, like a bone stuck in his throat; after all, the longer a ghost spirit lingered, the more troublesome it became.

“It’s very close, Master. Look, if we take the highway, we’ll arrive just after the exit—it’s not far at all,” Xiao Keyan said, pulling out her phone and showing him the route map, indicating the journey wasn’t too long.

“Let’s go with this one, then,” Wu Zui said, glancing at the map. Not far from the two villages lay a four-star scenic area; he guessed his little apprentice wanted to go out and have some fun again.

Let her be, he thought.

With the mission accepted, the two drove their spirit investigation vehicle straight toward Laoshan Village.

On the way, Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan sat up front while Commander Cat sprawled lazily in the back seat. Wu Zui had already asked Xiao Keyan: Commander Cat required no litter box and no feeding—it was easy to look after. Moreover, it possessed a degree of intelligence, capable of handling simple tasks.

More importantly, as long as Xiao Keyan survived, Commander Cat could at most be severely injured; with a recharge of magnetic energy, it could return to action—an almost immortal scout.

For this reason, Wu Zui gave Xiao Keyan all his remaining small magnetic energy devices, keeping only the newly replaced one in his trench coat armband. When they left the Bureau, they’d wanted to replenish their gear.

However, when they exited the magnetic energy enhancement room, Wang Zhengang’s desk displayed two giant characters: Out of Stock! As for Old Wang himself, he was nowhere to be found.

The reason was that civilian spirit investigators had somehow acquired enough points to buy up all Old Wang’s stock, and now he had left with those points to restock at headquarters… The new armband was the only one Wang Zhengang had specially reserved for Wu Zui.

Laoshan Village

At that moment, the remaining villagers of Laoshan Village felt deeply uneasy. Since the ghost marriage, strange occurrences had increased—not only the mysterious deaths among the elders, but even the tap water carried a bizarre smell: fishy and foul, its color murky.

Ordinarily, after disinfection and treatment by the water department, drinking water shouldn’t have such problems. It wasn’t just the tap water—plants in the village lacked vitality. Even though it was not yet autumn, many leaves had already dried, yellowed, and fallen.

The neighboring Nanshan Village was afflicted as well. As for the two families who hosted the ghost marriage, they wanted to ask each other if any taboo had been breached, hoping to find a master to remedy the situation.

But whenever villagers approached those two households, they felt a creeping discomfort, as if a mouse encountering a cat. The two grey iron gates loomed like the jaws of a beast, intimidating them so much they dared not venture inside.

The young villagers who had just returned, unlike the elders, didn’t seek out masters. Instead, they’d already reported the incident yesterday to the 888 Ghost Processing Center. Just now, they received a reply: spirit investigators were on their way and would arrive soon.

While the villagers anxiously awaited, Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan reached the outskirts of Laoshan Village.

Under their magnetic energy senses, the village was shrouded in black mist, a faint smell of decay wafting in the air, and the vegetation had nearly withered. Yet, a confinement space had not formed—the ghosts here seemed rather weak.

“Master, should we investigate first or find the person who reported the case?” Xiao Keyan, hugging Commander Cat in the car, was eager to try out her new abilities—she hadn’t had a chance to use them yet, and her hands itched with anticipation.

“You investigate first. I’ll contact the informant,” Wu Zui said, seeing her excitement and indulging her wish.

“Yay~”

With a cheer, Xiao Keyan sent Commander Cat leaping away, vanishing before their eyes. Her eyes turned a deep azure, her pupils flooded with images from the village transmitted by Commander Cat.

Wu Zui stood beside her, guarding against ghost attacks while dialing the informant’s number. Soon, a young man about 1.75 meters tall, in his twenties, appeared at the village entrance, followed by a group of villagers.

As Wu Zui questioned them, the villagers spoke over each other about the recent eerie events. The household hosting the ghost marriage and the tainted tap water quickly became the focus of suspicion.

Meanwhile, Commander Cat returned to Xiao Keyan’s side, its investigation complete.

“Master, there’s an Awakened here. But he seems reluctant to meet us—Commander Cat spotted him, and he ran off!” Xiao Keyan’s eyes returned to normal as she whispered to Wu Zui, her gaze scanning the crowd.

“An Awakened?” Wu Zui stroked his chin, his expression unsettled. Since they’d accepted the mission, no one else should be assigned here. The sudden appearance of an Awakened struck him as odd.

“Have you invited any magnetic energy Awakened to help?” Wu Zui asked the villagers, his tone tinged with suspicion.

“Nanshan Village and we both brought in masters, but it didn’t help. There was an elder master in Nanshan Village—but he died there as well,” the young informant replied.

Wu Zui noted the faint black aura around the villagers—a sign of resentment energy’s influence. “You should undergo examination and then leave for a few days. Just have one person stay to tell us the details—you don’t all need to be here,” he advised.

Unexpectedly, his words caused an uproar.

“No way! It’s almost autumn, my crops are about to be harvested!”

“That’s right, my child’s wedding is in a few days—how can I not be home?”

“My elder’s funeral hasn’t been held yet!”

…

The crowd descended into chaos, each with their own reason for refusing to leave. For them, the village was everything. Compared to the elders, who’d rather die here than abandon their home, they were still more reasonable.

Xiao Keyan couldn’t help but purse her lips, then tried to persuade them, “The ghost confinement space hasn’t formed yet—otherwise you wouldn’t be able to leave. Those two ghost spirits are powerful; staying here is just courting death.”

“Then what are you here for?”

“Yeah! Are you useless?”

“If you can’t handle it, why come?”

…

The crowd became agitated, criticizing Xiao Keyan.

“You… you all…” Xiao Keyan had never encountered such unreasonable people before. Were they not afraid of death? Ordinary people facing a three-star ghost spirit had no hope except possession and death—she and Wu Zui couldn’t possibly protect so many.

Why not leave now, before the confinement space formed? She and Wu Zui hadn’t considered that if the villagers were willing to leave, they’d have gone already after so many deaths. It was their refusal to leave that kept them here, stubbornly resisting.

Wu Zui shielded Xiao Keyan behind him, saying nothing, but his murderous aura—honed from taking down countless criminals—burst forth. The noisy villagers were instantly silenced, as if doused with cold water. Once calm, no one spoke.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

“Um… let me take you to the household where the ghost marriage was held,” the young informant said, stepping forward with embarrassment.

Wu Zui shot a cold glance at the villagers; those under his gaze shrank back.

“Lead the way,” Wu Zui said, pulling along the tearful Xiao Keyan.

After they left, the villagers resumed their chatter.

On the way to the ghost marriage household, Xiao Keyan’s mood hadn’t recovered. She hadn’t been scolded so fiercely since childhood—the last time was by Wu Zui.

The key difference was, this time she felt she’d done nothing wrong. Last time, Wu Zui didn’t want her causing trouble, which she could understand. But now, why?

She’d kindly advised the villagers to leave. A three-star ghost spirit—even a newly awakened one-star investigator might not protect themselves. After all, she and Wu Zui had suffered terribly at the hands of the Mirror Ghost. For ordinary people, encountering a three-star ghost spirit was more than a massacre.

“Don’t take it to heart. Kind words rarely save the doomed. From a metaphysical perspective, if they won’t leave, fate has decreed this calamity—live or die, it’s up to luck. Let’s just deal with the two ghost spirits quickly,” Wu Zui said, patting Xiao Keyan’s shoulder to comfort her as he noticed her distracted expression.

He’d seen situations like this before—not every case could catch the culprit, just as not every patient brought to the hospital could be saved.

People always believed that a patient in the hospital would surely survive, or that reporting a case to the Bureau would guarantee justice. But they often forgot—human effort has its limits.

“But Master, I don’t understand why they’re angry at us. We came all the way from the neighboring city, just asked them to leave for a few days, and they treat us like this!” Xiao Keyan was no longer sad, but now furious.

Wu Zui didn’t reply, studying her. Usually, Xiao Keyan was willful yet understanding, but today her emotions seemed unusually intense. And among the villagers, he’d noticed a few with no smoky aura above their heads…

“Blood to calm the Divine Court!”

Without another word, Wu Zui bit his finger and pressed it to Xiao Keyan’s Divine Court acupoint. She blinked, confused. “Master, why did you poke me?”

“How do you feel now?” Wu Zui observed her expression—she looked much better than before.