Chapter 7: Really Dumb

Ling Yiran really wanted to slap himself. How could he forget that the Underworld’s phone looks like a paper phone to the living? And yet, he was pressing the paper phone’s buttons right in front of Xing Han. How dumb could he be?

“Hehe…” He let out an awkward laugh. If he could, he would have thrown the phone out the window immediately. But this was the exclusive phone for ghost officers, so he couldn’t just toss it. Awkwardly, he stuffed the phone back into his pocket. “I was in such a rush today that I accidentally grabbed my nephew’s favorite toy phone.”

The weight difference between a real phone and a paper phone was obvious. Just how rushed was he to make such a mistake? Xing Han pulled out his phone and handed it over. “Why don’t you enter your number into my phone? I’ll contact you when I have time.”

Ling Yiran only had a phone number from the Underworld, which wouldn’t work in the Human World unless someone had magical powers. “I just changed my number a couple of days ago and haven’t memorized the new one yet. I’ll give you a call once I get back.”

“Alright.” Xing Han placed his phone on the dashboard and sped up onto the highway.

Immortal Guest Mountain had a serene environment, beautiful scenery, and fresh air, making it perfect for health and retirement. It was located in the northwest suburb of the National City, about a hundred kilometers from the military district, requiring a two-hour drive.

Xing Han drove Ling Yiran directly to the top of Immortal Guest Mountain.

As Xing Han unbuckled his seatbelt, he said, “This is the only Ling family living on Immortal Guest Mountain. Go see if they’re the people you’re looking for.”

On Immortal Guest Mountain, the higher you lived, the wealthier and more prestigious you were. The Ling family’s situation was unique. Although they were wealthy, no one in the family held official positions. They lived at the top because the mountain was privately owned by the Ling family. They developed it into a villa area and sold the houses, but not the land. Despite the sky-high prices, people still scrambled to buy homes here.

Some say it’s because the Ling family is famous for their feng shui and fortune-telling skills, and that’s why people buy houses on Immortal Guest Mountain.

Xing Han didn’t believe in such things, thinking fortune-telling and feng shui were scams. The police had caught many fraudsters, and those who seemed accurate were just well-researched on their clients, making up stories to gain trust. Only those who believed in such nonsense would think everything they said was true and end up getting scammed. He didn’t stop his grandmother from buying a house here because the environment was genuinely suitable for the elderly, and the fresh air was beneficial for their health.

Ling Yiran got out of the car and looked at the ancient gate of the Ling family, feeling as if he had traveled back in time. The place was steeped in history, and the Ling family’s house was the only one on Immortal Guest Mountain built like an old mansion.

He pressed the doorbell, and someone busy in the courtyard hurried over to open the door upon hearing the bell. “Who is it?”

A young man opened the door, and upon seeing Ling Yiran, his eyes widened in shock, quickly shutting the door.

Even though they met for less than three seconds, Ling Yiran could tell at a glance that the other person wasn’t ordinary. The other person must have recognized him as a ghost officer, which is why they were scared and shut the door.

Xing Han, who had just gotten out of the car and saw this, asked, “Why did he close the door?”

Ling Yiran turned around with a smile. “He probably went to call someone.”

He didn’t believe they would dare not open the door for a ghost officer.

Soon, the Ling family gate opened again, and several young people helped a ninety-year-old elder walk out quickly.

The elder was visibly excited upon seeing Ling Yiran but restrained his emotions slightly due to Xing Han’s presence. He said to Xing Han, “Major Xing, the Ling family has some matters today, so we won’t be able to entertain you. We’ll invite you and the old lady over another day.”

Ling Yiran added, “Xing Han, I’ll call you when I get back.”

“Okay.” Xing Han drove off, heading back to the Xing family home halfway up the mountain.

He entered the courtyard and saw Old Lady Xing trimming her beloved potted plants. “Grandma, I’m back.”

“Xiao Han, you’re back.” Old Lady Xing was delighted to see her grandson return. She put down the scissors and got up to hold Xing Han’s hand, looking him over. “Let Grandma take a good look at you to see if you got hurt on this mission.”

In the past, Xing Han always came back from missions with various injuries. Even though he tried hard to hide it from the family, there were times when he was severely injured and unconscious, and the military district would notify the family to visit him, which made them very worried.

Xing Han led Old Lady Xing to sit down. “This mission went very smoothly. Not only did I not get hurt, but I didn’t even get a scratch.”

It was the smoothest mission he had ever had.

Old Lady Xing was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful.”

It seemed that the yin marriage she arranged was right. The other party really could suppress her grandson’s eight characters.

Unfortunately, her grandson was never superstitious. If he found out she arranged a yin marriage for him, he would be very angry and might even demand to cancel the ridiculous marriage. So, it was best to keep the yin marriage a secret for now.

Just as she was thinking this, Xing Han asked, “Grandma, what’s the name of the person you arranged for me to be engaged to?”

Old Lady Xing’s expression stiffened. She thought Xing Han would forget about the engagement after returning from the mission, but she didn’t expect him to ask about the yin marriage partner. “His name is Ling Yiran.”

“A guy?”

“Yes, a guy.” Old Lady Xing observed Xing Han’s expression and tentatively asked, “Do you not like guys? If you don’t, we can call off this engagement and find someone else.”

She had been worried about finding an excuse to prevent them from meeting, and now that her grandson mentioned it, she had a reason to keep them apart. After all, the yin marriage partner had long passed away, and she couldn’t find someone to meet her grandson. If she randomly found someone to fool him, it would be disrespectful to both her grandson and the deceased Ling Yiran.

But if her grandson insisted on meeting the other party, she could only stall for a while and then say the engagement was off. After all, the yin marriage was already set, and whether Xing Han knew about it or not didn’t matter.

“Gender doesn’t matter.” Xing Han just wanted someone to fend off his family’s pressure to get married. The gender didn’t matter to him. “Grandma, do you have a photo of him?”

“I only have a picture of his father when he was young, but he looks about seventy to eighty percent like his father.” Old Lady Xing didn’t have a photo of Ling Yiran because he died young. The person who arranged the marriage said Ling Yiran looked very similar to his father when he was young, so they showed her a photo of his father.

“Let me see.”

Old Lady Xing called a servant to bring out the photo. “This is his father.”

The man in the photo had a handsome face, and his smile was as bright as the sun. He did look about seventy to eighty percent like Ling Yiran.

Xing Han finally let go of his suspicions about Ling Yiran. After all, someone suddenly appearing in the military district could be impersonating his marriage partner to get close to him. He put down the photo and said, “Grandma, I’ve actually met him.”

Old Lady Xing was so shocked she almost lost her breath. “You… you’ve met him?”

Did her grandson see a ghost?

“Yes, he’s related to the Ling family at the top of the mountain. I just gave him a ride up there.”

“Oh, I see.” Old Lady Xing breathed a sigh of relief. The yin marriage was introduced by the Ling family, and the partner was a family member. Since everyone in the Ling family looked somewhat similar, it wasn’t surprising her grandson met someone who looked like Ling Yiran and had the same name. Besides, it was broad daylight, so it was impossible to see ghosts. Even if he did, the Ling family wouldn’t just stand by.

“Yes. I plan to spend some time with him. If his character is good, we’ll get married.”

Old Lady Xing opened and closed her mouth, finding it hard to tell her grandson he had the wrong person. “Xiao…”

Just then, Xing Han’s phone rang. Seeing it was his childhood friend calling, he smiled slightly, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “Yangyue…”

Luo Yangyue said, “Ah Han, I heard from my brother that you have some time off these days. Do you want to hang out with us?”

His older brother also worked in the First Military District and knew a bit about Xing Han’s schedule.

“Sure, where?”

“Nine o’clock tonight at Jun Gui Bar, in the Gentlemen’s Room.”

“Okay.” Xing Han hung up and asked Old Lady Xing, “Grandma, what were you about to say?”

“I…” Old Lady Xing remembered that when she arranged the yin marriage with the Ling family, they mentioned that even if Xing Han had a yin marriage, he could still marry someone else. So if Xing Han got along well with another Ling Yiran, that would be good too. It was better than Xing Han not wanting to marry and being alone forever.

So she decided not to reveal the truth for now and wait a while before saying anything.

“I’m getting old. Once interrupted, I forget what I wanted to say. Oh, Xiao Han, are you going out with Yangyue and the others tonight? If you do, drink less alcohol. It’s bad for your health.”

“Okay.”