The monster’s laughter grew louder, tinged with triumph and greed. “What a delicious smell, let me have a bite…”

Suddenly, a golden light flashed in the room. “Heavenly Constellations, evil spirits, begone!”

Gu Wang used his finger as a brush, quickly drawing a talisman on his entrenching tool, then slammed it down. His eyes were clear and alert, nothing like someone who had just woken up.

The monster, smacked by the shovel, had its fangs scatter into black mist. Its form changed, writhing and spreading on the wall like a blob of ink, muttering incoherently, “You weren’t asleep! You tricked me!”

Gu Wang raised an eyebrow. “What, can’t I just close my eyes and rest?”

Without further courtesy, he pressed the tip of the shovel against the wall, drawing a large circle that completely enclosed the writhing ink blob. “Heaven’s net leaks nothing, Earth’s net misses nothing. Fix! Fix! Fix!”

Golden silk threads appeared out of thin air on the wall. The ink blob shrieked, shrinking smaller and smaller, until it was completely ensnared.

Gu Wang ripped it from the wall. Just as he was about to speak, the candlelight on the table suddenly floated up and flew to the room’s southwest corner.

A woman had appeared there at some point, her back to him, her long hair dragging on the ground, no feet.

The candlelight drifted over, and the woman caught it, beginning to sob.

As her cries continued, the candlelight slowly turned red, bathing the entire room in a blood-like glow.

The monster Gu Wang held in his hand also opened its mouth and shrieked.

That weeping had some unknown magic, making people’s minds hazy and causing an unbearable headache. Combined with the shrieks, Gu Wang felt really annoyed. Worse, the Yin energy he had just barely kept down started to stir again.

Gu Wang’s expression changed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you two, stop screaming, or else…”

Seeing that their cries were effective, the two monsters ignored him and wailed even louder.

Gu Wang’s mouth twitched. He heard a roar, and the entire amusement park was enveloped in black Yin energy. Fortunately, his Yin energy had been slightly suppressed before; otherwise, fifty mu wouldn’t have been enough for his outburst.

Half an hour later, after finally suppressing the Yin energy again, Gu Wang was freezing. He sat on the bed, wrapped in his quilt, rubbing his forehead in resignation.

On the ground, the black shadow monster was in a sorry state. The Yin energy had shattered it into pieces and scattered it everywhere. It was currently trying to pull itself back together.

The Yin energy shredded the woman’s clothes into rags, black smoke still curling from the tears, and her long hair was a messy bird’s nest.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think she’d gotten into a fight with a chicken.

She sat crookedly on the ground, still crying, but now with even more gusto. “Awooooooo—it hurts so much, boohoohoo… How can this Yin energy be so terrifying, awoo awoo awoo…”

Gu Wang slapped the bed. “Quiet!”

The woman choked, covering her mouth, not daring to make another sound. She’d figured it out: this was a powerful master. If she kept making a fuss, she might lose her life.

The shadowy monster finally managed to piece itself back together. Its original form was actually an old woman, about a meter tall, with sagging, chicken-skin-like flesh and no teeth, revealing a mouthful of black gums when she grinned.

Gu Wang raised an eyebrow. “In this day and age, there are still Lamp Shadow Hags?”

The Lamp Shadow Hag, thoroughly subdued, cowered on the ground, not daring to speak.

Gu Wang then turned to the other one. “So you must be a Candle Maiden.”

The Candle Maiden floated over, bowing subserviently.

Lamp Shadow Hags and Candle Maidens are both types of ghosts, formed from the souls of deceased elderly people and women. Lamp Shadow Hags can control shadows, while Candle Maidens can control candlelight. Hence, these two types of ghosts often act together.

Gu Wang looked at them silently, calculating. Ever since he learned that this place could suppress his Yin energy, he had already decided to reopen the amusement park. He just lacked funds and manpower. Now it seems manpower might not be an issue?

While he was lost in thought, his phone rang. He answered and saw a message from Xu Xiaoming. The chubby guy had transferred him a sum of money, calling it “life-saving money” and urging him to accept it, or else he and Lin Jing wouldn’t feel at ease.

He also mentioned that Lin Jing’s father works in construction, and if Gu Wang needs development work on this wasteland, he can talk to her dad, ensuring good quality and fair prices.

Gu Wang didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately saved Mr. Lin’s contact information.

Just then, he heard the Candle Maiden cautiously say, “Master, please let us go. We won’t disturb you anymore in the future, we promise to avoid you!”

Gu Wang looked up, smiling. “No disturbance, I actually need your help with something.”

He was already handsome, with a natural hint of a smile even when not laughing. When he truly smiled, he seemed even more approachable.

However, the Candle Maiden and Lamp Shadow Hag shuddered in fright. “H-help with what?”

Gu Wang explained his need for staff to open the amusement park. “If you agree to stay, each of you will receive a wisp of Yin energy as monthly ‘wages’.”

The Candle Maiden paused. “Is that… the Yin energy from your body?”

Gu Wang nodded. He had plenty of it, anyway.

The Candle Maiden and Lamp Shadow Hag were overjoyed. “Yes, we agree! We agree!”

Gu Wang’s Yin energy held an unmatched allure for all Yin creatures, but his energy was too vast and powerful; they simply couldn’t consume it.

Now that the master himself offered to share his Yin energy with them, it was a rare stroke of luck that wouldn’t occur in eight lifetimes. How could they refuse?

After both sides agreed to and signed the contract, night had already fallen deeply. Gu Wang pulled his quilt tighter and lay down, still feeling cold. He couldn’t help but look at the Candle Maiden.

The Candle Maiden looked back expectantly. “Does Master have any instructions?”

Gu Wang: “It’s quite cold. You can control candlelight, right?”

Candle Maiden: “Indeed, controlling candlelight is my specialty.”

Candle Maiden, realizing something was off: “…”

A moment later, a small stub of candle, topped with a watermelon-sized fireball, floated in front of the bed. Gu Wang, tucked into his warm and cozy quilt, fell into a deep sleep.

Late at night, the amusement park wasteland was silent, not even the sound of insects.

In front of the old tea tree in the northwest corner, two figures suddenly appeared, a wisp of Netherworld energy drifting through the air.

The first figure was tall and straight, clad in a blood-red robe whose hem billowed in the wind, even flickering with a faint, ghostly fire. This fire was also a Netherworld flame, not hot at all, but instead emanating waves of chilling cold.

Ink-black hair cascaded down his back. He subtly raised his head, his sharp eyebrows and distinct jawline outlining a breathtaking handsomeness. Yet, his eyes, like deep, cold pools, overshadowed his striking looks, leaving only a bone-chilling solemnity.

Against the stark contrast of black and red, the azure earring on his right ear was incredibly conspicuous, like a star in the night, shimmering with a subtle yet undeniable light.

He raised a hand and pressed it against the tree trunk. Dense runes quickly appeared on it, along with golden chains that tightly bound the entire tree—it was some kind of seal.

At this moment, a few wisps of black Yin energy entwined around the chains. He looked up toward the small concrete house where the light glowed.

Behind him, a middle-aged man resembling a servant stepped forward, respectfully asking, “Lord of the Underworld, would you like me to stay and investigate?”

Lu Wu nodded slightly.

The servant was about to acknowledge the order when he heard him say, “I will investigate myself.”

Servant: ??? Did you even know what nodding means?

Over the next few days, Gu Wang installed doors and windows for the amusement park and connected it to water, electricity, and internet. Since the place had been operational before, the pipes were already there, so it wasn’t too much trouble.

After ensuring basic living necessities, he consulted Xu Xiaoming, the outdoor blogger, and finally decided to open a haunted house first.

The primary reason was his limited funds; developing all fifty mu at once wasn’t realistic.

Another reason was that, as Xu Xiaoming put it, successful amusement parks nowadays needed a theme or a selling point, like the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, the most thrilling roller coaster, the most luxurious water park, or various IPs.

Gu Wang looked at those examples and then at himself: “This park currently has three employees, including a former Taoist and two non-humans.”

He slapped his head. “Alright, let’s open a haunted amusement park then! Later, I’ll hire more non-human staff, and I’ll even save on salaries.”

Once the theme was decided, Gu Wang contacted Lin Jing’s father.

Boss Lin was very attentive. After understanding the requirements, he built a haunted house in just over a week.

The only problem was that after it was built, the haunted house looked even more luxurious than the park manager’s own living quarters.

Gu Wang then casually bought some props like bones, spiders, and snakes. After all, his haunted house wouldn’t rely on these to scare people.

As for the truly scary “props,” the Candle Maiden and Lamp Shadow Hag, they had spontaneously gone to other haunted houses for a few days of “advanced training.”

Now, they were eagerly rolling up their sleeves, itching to make customers wet their pants.

Thus, in less than half a month, the haunted house was ready.

Gu Wang’s custom-made sign wasn’t ready yet, so he simply hand-wrote “Grand Opening” on a piece of paper and taped it to the door, preparing for a soft opening.

One human and two ghosts waited eagerly for three days, but the amusement park had zero customers.

This wasn’t entirely unexpected, as it was originally a wasteland located in the suburbs.

On a normal day, having three people pass by in a month was already good, let alone visitors specifically coming to an amusement park.

Just as Gu Wang was considering whether to find someone to advertise, the first customer arrived.

He was squatting by the entrance at the time when he saw a young man grumbling as he walked by.

Gu Wang called out, “Hello, would you like to—”

The young man turned his head. Gu Wang, seeing his face, had a subtle change in expression and continued, “—would you like to play in the haunted house? Faint of heart, do not enter.”

The young man’s eyes widened in anger, his acne-covered face puffing up like a frog. “You calling me timid? What are you, some kind of nobody?! What rotten haunted house, I’ll play, just you watch!”

Gu Wang escorted him to the haunted house entrance, saying meaningfully, “Have fun.”

Zhang Lei was a sophomore at Yaoguang University. Classes had just started, and he developed a crush on a freshman girl.

Honestly, he thought she was ordinary-looking, but for some reason, he felt an itch after seeing her once. He finally couldn’t resist buying a rose and, feeling quite confident, went to confess.

Who knew the girl would actually reject him, saying something about wanting to focus on her studies?

Pfft! She just looked down on him for not having money.

Don’t think he didn’t know; this girl was trying to hook up with several wealthy kids! And she was constantly flirting with him, she definitely wasn’t a good person!

He was furious, but he didn’t dare do anything at school. So he decided to go to this deserted spot in the northern suburbs to clear his head, and at the same time, figure out a way to trick that girl into coming here and having some “fun.”

Who knew a haunted house had opened here? The owner was a handsome guy, exactly the kind of person Zhang Lei disliked most. And he even dared to mock him for being timid.

Zhang Lei decided to go inside. If it wasn’t any good, he’d report him for fraud!

If that didn’t work, he’d report him for fire safety violations. Either way, he’d manage to shut this haunted house down.

Watching the haunted house owner, oblivious, lead him to the entrance, Zhang Lei sneered. He was practically helping the owner, making him realize early on that running a business wasn’t so easy.

The two stood at the haunted house entrance. Slowly, two bleeding characters appeared on the door: COME IN.

Zhang Lei scoffed. This childish trickery isn’t going to scare me, he thought, and reached out to push the door open.

The moment he stepped inside, the room darkened as if night had fallen, and a red candle on the table automatically lit up.

The haunted amusement park’s first day of operation had begun.