The shop door was already closed, and I couldn’t escape to the street; he also blocked the door leading to the backyard.

“Dad, dad! Calm down!” I frantically looked around the shop for something to ward off evil.

I grabbed a handful of Five Emperors coins from a tray and scattered them, the coins clinking on the ground. At that moment, I saw a change in my dad’s eyes.

“Xiao Qiao, run!” I heard my dad utter in pain.

I wanted to flee, but the person in front of me was my dad. If possible, I wanted to save him—but I don’t understand Dao! No one has ever taught me how to exorcise demons.

The counter was in complete disarray, mostly selling fake antiques—how could there be so many genuine items in the world?

Unable to distinguish real from fake, I threw everything at him. Suddenly, my dad burst into a strange laugh, “Heh, heh, heh.”

“Xiao Qiao… good girl… come, let me take good care of you…” That raspy male voice appeared again, a large hand reaching over the counter towards me.

Frightened, I raised my hand to block, and suddenly the blood jade ring on my right hand burst into a blinding light, turning everything in front of me blood-red.

It was only for a moment! When I looked at my dad again, he was already lying face up on the floor!

“Dad!” I rushed over to lift him up; the back of his shirt had been torn apart by the immense force.

A pair of malevolent white eyes glared at me from the tear in the shirt.

“Heh, heh, heh… The spirit fetus has already taken root… Heh, heh, heh, he’s quick, huh… Xiao Qiao… you are my wife… how could you bear his child—”

The blood-red ghost face mask on my dad’s back grinned viciously as if trying to burst forth, but it seemed to be held back by some force.

My hands trembled, and laughter from passersby outside the shop drifted in.

Just a door away, outside was a beautiful spring day.

But beside me, it was dark with fear.

“Mu Xiao Qiao… Mu Xiao Qiao…” That ghost face hoarsely kept calling my name.

“Shut up!” I couldn’t help but shout, my finger’s ring glowing with a faint red light.

“Heh, heh, heh…” His laughter gradually faded, diminishing under the pressure of the red light until it disappeared.

The ghost face on my dad’s back vanished once again.

》》》

That ugly ghost husband claimed I was his ghost bride, and I had believed that, but why did the red ghost face also say I was his wife?

I looked at the flat-bar shaped jade ring on my finger, a very retro style.

Originally a dark red like congealed blood, it now appeared bright and warm, the blood threads inside forming an ancient totem.

A dragon head with cloud patterns, its body shaped like a curved teardrop, its four claws spread upward in a lively and flexible posture, as if poised to ascend.

My brother, using a magnifying glass specifically for viewing antiques, carefully examined the ring on my finger.

“This is a Chi Chi,” he said.

“What?”

“It’s a female dragon. Among dragons, the second child is a Chi dragon, and a Chi Chi is a female dragon.” My brother briefly explained, “That ghost husband of yours gave you this for a reason… Was it this thing that dispelled the ghost face today?”

I nodded and asked, “What exactly happened to you and dad?”

My brother silently shook his head, “Dad doesn’t want me to tell you; he doesn’t want you to know about these things.”

Then he forced a smile, “Xiao Qiao, you actually agreed to bear a spirit fetus for your ghost husband? Seems like you two get along well…”

Get along well?

That word is a joke.

I was tormented daily by him until I passed out before I knew his purpose, and after knowing, it was as silent as a transaction, he seemed even reluctant to touch me more than necessary.

Of course, the less he touched me, the better.

The parts of my body he ravaged were in so much pain I could barely close my legs, every step was a struggle against indescribable agony.

Now, my dad had become like this…

I couldn’t help but start crying.

Mu family, grave family.

“Xiao Qiao… did that ghost husband of yours bully you?” my brother asked.

I nodded hesitantly and told him about the night’s events.

My brother frowned, “We can’t even get close to your room door; when he comes, your entire room is sealed with a magic circle.”

“And I’m only half-learned, I can’t face him, plus you two have a blood alliance—it’s a consensual matter, even if you sued in the underworld, no one would help you…” My brother thought for a moment, then slapped his head, “But I have something that might help you, crap! Why didn’t I think of this before!”

He rushed upstairs and then came down, stuffing two small squares into my hand.

“What’s this?” I looked and saw a few characters on it—XXX lubricant.

My face immediately flushed red.

“Don’t be embarrassed, you’re the one suffering, look how you tremble when you walk, if your XX feels burning pain, it’s because it’s not wet enough… I mean, who could be aroused facing a ghostly ghoul!”

“Don’t just grit your teeth and bear it, tell me right away if you’re uncomfortable, if it stings when you pee, then you have a urinary tract infection, you need to take Sanjin tablets right away—”

“You know how to use lubricant, right? Either apply it on your XX or on his XX—”

“Bro, enough!”

My brother, being a medical student, talked about human anatomy as naturally as discussing the weather.

Seeing my face as red as a tomato, my brother laughed heartily, “I’m going upstairs to take care of dad, he probably knows there’s something wrong with his body by now, we’ll discuss what to do.”

》》》

My brother having these small packets of lubricant meant he was definitely experienced—he’s already twenty-two, handsome, and not lacking in money. Although he’s an avowed bachelor, he definitely had partners.

As midnight approached, the time to “complete the task” neared, and I hesitated before tearing open a packet, squeezing out a bit of lubricant.

I dabbed it with my fingertip, applying a bit to the swollen area, the icy sticky sensation accompanied by a stinging pain on my skin.

As I hesitated whether to apply more, that ugly ghost husband appeared.

I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but I felt his form becoming clearer and clearer, initially feeling his body cold and rigid, but now… becoming more and more like a living person.

He looked at the ring on my hand, muttering to himself, “Soon.”

What’s soon?

He leaned down over me, silently preparing to start completing the task, I hurriedly said in a low voice, “Wait, wait a moment, please…”

I clumsily smeared some on that part, my heart pounding—could this icy stinging really reduce the pain during coupling?

I unintentionally saw his part already primed—truly a malevolent spirit, worse than a beast.

Thinking of the torment that part had caused me, my scalp tingled, I gritted my teeth and said, “You… don’t move, okay…”

With the remaining gel on my hand, I closed my eyes and clumsily smeared it on him.

That thing twitched violently under my fingers, startling me, and his body also shuddered violently—