Chapter 18: Let’s Slap His Face Together

Ling Yiran saw a shadowy figure, a rotting evil ghost attacking Xing Han. His pupils shrank as he quickly pulled out his soul-reaping scythe and dashed forward to slash at the ghost.

The evil ghost, seeing it was a ghost officer, showed fear in its eyes and hurriedly turned to flee.

Ling Yiran had a mission to complete, so it wasn’t convenient for him to give chase.

Xing Han and the others were clueless about what had just happened. All they noticed was a sudden gust of wind in the office when Ling Yiran rushed to kill the ghost. The wind blew all the documents off the desk and onto the floor.

The four of them quickly raised their hands to shield their eyes.

“Why did the wind suddenly pick up like that? Is it going to rain?” Cen Chuan got up and walked to the window to check the sky outside. The moon hung high, stars filled the sky, and a gentle breeze blew. There was no sign of rain at all. “There’s no rain coming. That wind was just too weird.”

Ling Yiran put away his soul-reaping scythe and looked at Xing Han. How could such a righteous and upright person be haunted by an evil ghost?

Could it be that someone was trying to use the ghost to deal with Xing Han?

At that moment, Peng Da called Pan Min.

After listening to the call, Pan Min urgently said to Xing Han and the others, “Peng Da said that Zhan Jiang is not going to make it. We should go see him one last time.”

Without a word, Xing Han and the others got up and rushed out of the office.

Ling Yiran followed behind them. Along the way, he noticed the worried and sad expressions on the faces of the four men, indicating how important Zhan Jiang was to them.

They arrived at the kennel, where Shi Yi was already standing outside the cage.

Seeing Ling Yiran, Shi Yi immediately asked, “Where did you go just now?”

Ling Yiran lied, “I saw an evil ghost earlier and went after it.”

“Why didn’t you call me? Where’s the ghost now?”

“I saw that the mission time was almost up, so I didn’t get tangled up with it, and it got away.”

Shi Yi snorted, “Lucky for it. If it had met me, I would have made sure it vanished without a trace.”

Ling Yiran checked the time on his phone, “Five minutes until our mission time.”

“Yeah.” Shi Yi leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

The last five minutes are usually the saddest moments. Both of them lost the mood to joke or talk, standing quietly and waiting for the farewell.

By this time, Peng Da was already crying uncontrollably.

To him and Xing Han, Zhan Jiang was not just a good partner but also family.

From the moment it was born, it stayed by Xing Han’s side, bonding with them, undergoing rigorous training, completing countless tasks, and experiencing numerous ups and downs together. The bond they shared with it was beyond deep.

Zhan Jiang heard footsteps and struggled to lift its eyelids. Seeing it was Xing Han and the others, it whimpered twice, wanting to get up to greet them but unable to move.

Xing Han quickly squatted down and patted its head, “Zhan Jiang, we’re here to see you.”

Pan Min, seeing Zhan Jiang so weak, immediately teared up, “Zhan Jiang, you need to get better soon so you can join us on missions again, help us earn more merits. Without you, it’s hard for us to complete tasks. You’re the best among our comrades.”

In fact, Zhan Jiang had retired at the age of eight. Xing Han couldn’t bear to send it to the retired military dog base, so he kept it in the army to live out its days. Later, due to the heavy load during its service and the difficulty adjusting to life after retirement, its body grew weaker. Surviving two more years was already a miracle.

Zhan Jiang understood his words, and as if experiencing a final burst of energy, its eyes shone brightly, barking twice before slowly losing strength and gently closing its eyes.

Cen Chuan and the others couldn’t hold back anymore and cried out loud, “Zhan Jiang, in our next life, let’s be brothers again. We’ll shoulder guns and go to the battlefield to kill enemies and earn great merits.”

Xing Han covered Zhan Jiang’s eyes and hoarsely said, “Zhan Jiang, have a safe journey.”

He stood up and shouted, “Attention!”

Fan Genghua and the others quickly stood up, crying as they stood at attention.

“Salute.” Xing Han raised his hand and saluted Zhan Jiang.

The other soldiers followed suit and saluted.

“Woof woof woof—” The military dogs in the other cages, perhaps sensing the sad atmosphere, all howled together.

Ling Yiran also silently saluted Zhan Jiang, then said, “Time’s up.”

Shi Yi opened his eyes and walked to Zhan Jiang’s body, “Zhan Jiang, we are soul-reaping messengers. Your lifespan has ended, and it’s time to leave with us.”

Then, a white dog spirit emerged from Zhan Jiang’s body.

Ling Yiran raised his hand and placed it on its head, “Zhan Jiang, in your previous life, you were a wicked person, punished to be reborn as a wolfdog in the animal realm. In this life, you were born for battle, died for battle, and earned countless merits for the country, cleansing all your past sins. Yama King has granted you permission to regain human form and be reborn in the human realm.”

The dog-shaped spirit transformed into a young man following Ling Yiran’s words. He respectfully said, “Thank you, lords.”

Shi Yi said, “Come with us.”

But Zhan Jiang didn’t move.

Shi Yi asked, “Why aren’t you leaving?”

Zhan Jiang looked longingly at Xing Han and the others, “Ghost officer lords, I want to stay in the human world a little longer.”

His former comrades were crying for him, and he couldn’t bear to leave just like that. He wanted to see them a little longer.

“No…” Shi Yi was about to refuse, but Ling Yiran said, “Your reincarnation time hasn’t been set yet. You can apply to stay in the human world for a while at the Underworld, but once it’s time for reincarnation, you must leave. During this period, you must not commit any evil, or everything you’ve done in this life will be in vain.”

Zhan Jiang was excited, “Thank you, ghost officer lords.”

“Let’s go.”

Before leaving, Ling Yiran worriedly glanced at Xing Han, concerned that the evil ghost might return to trouble Xing Han after he left.

Shi Yi asked, “What are you looking at?”

Ling Yiran said, “I’m worried the evil ghost might come back.”

“That’s not our concern. Let’s go.” Shi Yi turned to leave.

With only five minutes between tasks, they couldn’t delay. Ling Yiran had no choice but to leave the military district with his concerns. They were busy until five in the morning before returning to the Underworld to submit their tasks.

The task submission location was the Soul Return Hall, where ghost officers under Ox-Head and Horse-Face registered tasks.

As Ling Yiran and Shi Yi entered the hall, they ran into Liu Mengqi, who had just come out after receiving a task.

“Yo, the two most outstanding ghost officers in the second-class ghost officer group, how many souls did you reap last night?” Liu Mengqi’s tone turned sarcastic as soon as he saw Ling Yiran and Shi Yi, eager to show his disdain for them.

Seeing him reminded Ling Yiran of being caught by the police, and his teeth started to ache again, even feeling the urge to hit someone, or rather, hit a ghost.

Shi Yi mimicked his tone, “Hello, first-class ghost officer who took five hundred years to pass. I hope today, like a hundred years ago, you take on a hundred tasks and complete none.”

Ghost officers must take on tasks according to their abilities. Failing to complete the assigned number on time results in severe punishment. Liu Mengqi, a hundred years ago, took on a hundred tasks but completed none, resulting in a hundred-year ban on promotion and a requirement to complete a large number of tasks to make up for it. This was one reason it took him five hundred years to become a first-class ghost officer.

This incident was a sore spot for Liu Mengqi, and every time someone mentioned it, he wished he could tear their mouth off.

He glared at Shi Yi, “Don’t get cocky. If you don’t pass the first-class ghost officer exam this year, you’ll regret it.”

Liu Mengqi’s partner, Ma Zhong, said, “Brother Liu, I heard Ling Yiran needs to score five points above the passing line to become a first-class ghost officer this year, so it’s not going to be easy for him.”

“Better if he doesn’t pass.” Liu Mengqi snorted and turned to leave, “Let’s go.”

Shi Yi spat, “Damn, it’s just a first-class ghost officer. What’s so great about it? If he’s got the guts, he should try for an Impermanence. And you, Yiran, don’t let them look down on you. You must become a first-class ghost officer and show them. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.”

After all, the other party was a first-class ghost officer, a higher rank than them. It wouldn’t be hard for him to cause trouble for them in secret. He had already given them plenty of trouble this year. If they didn’t pass the first-class ghost officer exam, who knew what tricks Liu Mengqi would pull next?

Ling Yiran nodded, “I’ll do my best to slap his face.”

Shi Yi smiled happily, “Yes, let’s slap his face together. By the way, I’ve noticed you’ve been running to the human world a lot lately. That’s not good. You need to focus on studying.”

“I’m handling some serious business.”

“What business is more important than the exam?”

“I’m dealing with my yin marriage.”

“Is that more important than the exam? Can’t you wait until after the exam to go to the human world?” Shi Yi patted Ling Yiran’s shoulder, “Listen to me, deal with the yin marriage after the exam. I’ll help you with it then.”

Ling Yiran: “…”

If he hadn’t encountered the evil ghost last night, he might have listened to Shi Yi. But this time, he was destined to disappoint Shi Yi.

When he returned to the dormitory with Shi Yi, Ling Yiran sneaked back to the human world.

He originally planned to go straight to Xing Han, but since Xing Han was in the military district and it was work hours, going there would only disturb him. Besides, even if he mentioned the evil ghost, Xing Han wouldn’t believe him and might even think he was crazy.

Ling Yiran decided to go to the Ling Family Home first and plan his next move.

When he arrived at the Ling Family Home, Ling Sisong was practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard.

Ling Yiran told him about last night’s events, “Sisong, can you give Xing Han a heads-up?”

Ling Sisong shook his head, “Major Xing doesn’t believe in ghosts or gods. If you tell him this, he’ll just dislike you and won’t believe a word we say. In his mind, we’re just charlatans, frauds.”

“Can’t you show him some skills? He won’t believe you then?”

Ling Sisong chuckled, “Showing him our skills in fortune-telling and feng shui won’t work. He doesn’t believe in any of it. We can’t just catch a ghost or demon to force him to believe us, right? That would violate our ancestral teachings, and our ancestors wouldn’t allow it. It would be no different from those practicing evil ways. Our Ling Family also has a rule: for those who don’t believe, we can’t force them to believe, nor will we promote superstition. Uncle, don’t worry. Major Xing has a strong fate and won’t be harmed.”

Ling Yiran didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t stop worrying about Xing Han.

Seeing that Ling Sisong didn’t want to get involved, he didn’t press further and turned to the backyard.

Ling Zhen, who had just woken up, ran over excitedly when she saw Ling Yiran, “Little Ancestor, Little Ancestor, I have a solution!”

Ling Yiran was puzzled, “What solution?”

“Hey, it’s about you and Major Xing. You’re in the getting-to-know-each-other stage, and it’s crucial to build a connection. But Major Xing spends most of his time in the military district and only comes home once a week. There’s hardly any time for romance. Even the best relationships can cool down if you don’t see each other often. So, I thought about it all night and finally came up with a good solution.”

Ling Yiran rolled his eyes, “I thought you came up with a solution for something big.”

“Little Ancestor, this concerns your lifelong happiness. Of course, it’s a big deal.”

Ling Yiran was curious, “Why are you so eager to meddle in my and Xing Han’s affairs?”

Ling Zhen scratched his head sheepishly, “I was the one who arranged your yin marriage, so I have to see it through.”

“Alright, so what’s your great idea for us to get along?” Ling Yiran asked, seeing his enthusiasm.

Ling Zhen excitedly said, “Little Ancestor, aren’t you a ghost officer? It’s easy for you to enter someone’s dream, right? You can enter Major Xing’s dreams and date him there.”

Ling Yiran was stunned.

Seeing his silence, Ling Zhen cautiously asked, “Is there a problem?”

Ling Yiran suddenly grabbed his shoulders excitedly, “Great idea.”

If he entered Xing Han’s dreams, he wouldn’t disturb him. Plus, if he reminded him about the evil ghost a few times, maybe Xing Han would accept it and take precautions or investigate the ghost.