Chapter 912: Praise Me, Praise Me~

It had a strange texture. Ghost Mother gave the object in her hand a cautious squeeze and felt something hard inside the pouch. Puzzled, she opened her eyes—

—only to discover it was a coin purse.

“What’s this?”

“You haven’t forgotten what a coin purse is, too, have you?” said Ye Wenxin.

Honestly, it was starting to feel like she’d bullied this poor ghost far too much.

“I know what a coin purse is,” Ghost Mother scoffed. “I mean—why are you giving it to me?”

“Weren’t you just going on about wanting pretty clothes? Fei Chai and Senior Brother Mei are both broke, and you—well, you’re a ghost. Where would you even get money?”

Ye Wenxin sighed as she explained while secretly enjoying Ghost Mother’s expressions.

“Clothes? What are you planning to do?!” Ghost Mother’s voice suddenly shot up in pitch. Was Ye Wenxin about to make her wear some scandalous, kinky contraption in public!?

Ye Wenxin watched as Ghost Mother spiraled into more paranoid delusions. “I’m letting you buy clothes and dress yourself up nicely,” she said without elaborating and headed toward the bed.

Sensing Ghost Mother’s gaze glued to her back, Ye Wenxin added, “Oh, and I won’t be going shopping tonight.” Ghost Mother might feel too self-conscious to shop with her around, after all.

Ghost Mother fell silent, then softly said, “Thank you,” before quickly leaving the room.

Ye Wenxin turned over on the bed and summoned the furballs. They all looked excited to see their master again. She smiled at them. “Come on, let’s sleep together.”

All eight furballs immediately bounced onto the bed, shrinking to plush-toy size and surrounding Ye Wenxin. Feeling the warmth around her, Ye Wenxin closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

In this dream, she saw Immortal Lord Taohua again. But for some reason, she had a ghost by her side this time.

“Gui Gui, why are you here too?” Ye Wenxin stared at Ghost Mother, unable to make sense of it.

Ghost Mother smirked at her before sensually pressing her lips against Immortal Lord Taohua. Immortal Lord Taohua subtly smiled as her fingers reached into Ghost Mother’s hidden valley. Ghost Mother gave no resistance. On the contrary, she let out sounds Ye Wenxin had never heard from her before.

“Lady Taohua, I love you so much. I want to be with you forever,” Ghost Mother cried out, eyes fixed on Immortal Lord Taohua. She had completely forgotten that her master was right there.

Ye Wenxin watched with gritted teeth, feeling violated. She swept her hand, destroying the entire scene. Crimson blossoms scattered across the floor, and Ye Wenxin jolted awake—

—only to find beside her the shriveled corpse of a man, drained dry by the red flowers. The furballs around her kept meowing, clearly frightened.

Was the inn haunted, or did this dead man come to trouble her? Ye Wenxin moved closer to search his corpse, hoping to find some clues.

There was a token engraved with the character “幽”. Ye Wenxin rifled through her memories. The token resembled the insignia of the Shadow Dynasty (幽影王朝).

But she had never had any dealings with the Shadow Dynasty. Unless…

Her thoughts immediately turned to Han Shanxue and Fei Chai. Perhaps the assassin mistook her for an easy target due to her seemingly weaker presence and, considering her close ties with them, had intended to take her hostage.

That possibility was highly likely.

Ye Wenxin snapped her fingers. The crimson flowers suddenly grew in size, revealing a grotesque and menacing interior that starkly contrasted with their beautiful appearance. They opened wide, swallowing the assassin.

Having dealt with the body, Ye Wenxin stood up to open the window, letting the wind scatter those red petals into the night. The breeze was refreshing. Sitting by the window, she finally recalled swapping rooms with Han Shanxue earlier due to Ghost Mother’s dissatisfaction.

Maybe the assassin hadn’t been after her, but Han Shanxue?

Ye Wenxin once again tried to recall the assassin’s appearance. He looked like a bodyguard, with cultivation around the Nascent Soul stage. Whoever sent him was evidently willing to spend a lot to achieve their goal.

Considering Han Shanxue was also heading to the Golden Age Dynasty, supposedly to find a job, Ye Wenxin grew increasingly curious about the woman’s true identity.

But her thoughts quickly returned to the dream and Ghost Mother’s fawning expression.

Was Immortal Lord Taohua destined to be her lifelong nemesis?

Ye Wenxin sighed. “Maybe I should treat Gui Gui a bit better.” She silently vowed not to do anything insane to Ghost Mother in the coming days, lest that dream become a reality.

Besides, she had already kissed Xuan Luofei so many times not long ago. She ought to be satisfied with that. Just the thought of the young woman lifted her mood. Leaning against the window, she saw another window opening diagonally across from her.

Han Shanxue stood there, and Ye Wenxin was surprised to see her still in the inn. But after some thought, it made sense. The assassin had only gone after Ye Wenxin because he’d confirmed Han Shanxue was in the building.

With that in mind, Ye Wenxin nodded slightly in Han Shanxue’s direction. Unexpectedly, Han Shanxue returned the gesture before quietly closing her window again.

Ye Wenxin stared blankly for a moment. Even Qian Bingxue, Shura Hall’s Head Senior Sister, hadn’t been this difficult to get along with. Was her act not convincing enough, and Han Shanxue still thought she was a degenerate?

Ye Wenxin contemplated deeply on the matter.

……

Time passed slowly, but Ghost Mother and the others eventually returned, arms full of their spoils. Ye Wenxin had never seen such a radiant smile on Ghost Mother. Ghost Mother held up her new clothes, posing proudly, eager to show off her impeccable taste.

Ghost Mother knew little about the world despite being over a thousand years old. She seemed more like a young girl, delighting in the simplest things.

Ye Wenxin could only give a half-hearted response. She wasn’t good at complimenting others and didn’t know how to describe Ghost Mother’s charm.

“Hey, at least say something nice!” Ghost Mother complained angrily.

Ye Wenxin inwardly sighed. After a moment, she gave a perfunctory compliment. “Mm, the outfit is very pretty.”

“And me? What about me?” Ghost Mother protested. Even though the furballs hadn’t been around much for the past few days, Ye Wenxin kept staring at Han Shanxue.

“You’ve always been beautiful. What’s there left to compliment?” Perplexed, Ye Wenxin turned to look at Ghost Mother, only to see her expression freeze.

Without another word, Ghost Mother summoned the umbrella sword and flew inside.

Ye Wenxin seriously didn’t understand. She had complimented Ghost Mother just as she wanted, so why was she still angry?

But Ye Wenxin remembered her vow. She must treat Ghost Mother gently, or else Ghost Mother might leave. Ye Wenxin didn’t say anything more. She lay back on the bed, planning to muddle through the day by playing dead.

Suddenly, Ghost Mother reappeared, sitting on top of Ye Wenxin in a different outfit.

Ye Wenxin frowned at her. “What are you doing?”

“I want to show you something,” said Ghost Mother, her voice as weak as a mosquito.

Ye Wenxin confusedly watched as she untied her robe and couldn’t hold back a gasp at what was underneath.