Chapter 57
Extra 4
Yan Yuhe

When Yan Yuhe was twelve years old, he once asked his master to place a silencing curse on Liu Mengyuan for a year or so so that he could learn the rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping and not bothering others with words. However, his master refused and sternly warned him not to use spells on his fellow disciples.

Since then, Yan Yuhe understood that many people who speak annoyingly are not to be punished.

Yan Yuhe disliked noisy people, like Liu Mengyuan, who always had a silly face and repeatedly asked him stupid questions like, “Senior brother, why is a sword called a sword and not a knife? Why are people called people and not pigs?”

He felt that many people’s words were unnecessary and that listening to them was a waste of time.

Xue Ming’s words were not annoying, and her voice was pleasant, but sometimes she would say things that were displeasing.

Last night on the bed, she cried and shouted non-stop, clearly enjoying the pleasure of lust. Still, afterward, her evaluation of the experience was extremely reluctant, filled with unspeakable dissatisfaction.

Yan Yuhe knew he was inexperienced in such matters, but he had always learned things quickly and never failed at something he learned. He didn’t expect Xue Ming to complain to a female ghost. If it weren’t for Jiang Xing still being by her side, he wouldn’t have known.

Yan Yuhe didn’t think he was wrong; it was Xue Ming’s high expectations for his first attempt that led to this.

Despite this, Yan Yuhe still had the awareness of being a husband. The book said that if the couple’s sexual life was not harmonious, the marriage would not be harmonious. His wife didn’t seem like someone who would actively learn about such matters, so he found some other books to study seriously.

But before he could practice again, Xue Ming escaped right under his nose.

Yan Yuhe couldn’t understand why she made such a foolish choice, and the person who took her was truly despicable, intending to drive a wedge between him and Xue Ming with malicious intent.

Her aura merged into the ghost market, and countless yin souls covered her tracks. No matter how Yan Yuhe calculated and searched, he couldn’t confirm her location, leaving only the golden yang-gathering talisman in his hand.

Gu Jinglan stood by, making sarcastic remarks. He was completely watching the fun regarding Xue Ming’s escape, searching Yan Yuhe’s face with his eyes and laughing, “How did she leave? We didn’t even notice. Did you do something to make her angry, and that’s why she left?”

The cold and gloomy atmosphere, combined with his narrowed eyes filled with hostility, made him extremely aggressive. Compared to Gu Jinglan, he looked more like a thousand-year-old evil spirit.

Next, the temple underwent a thorough cleansing. Yan Yuhe’s hostility was all channeled into his sword, killing all the evil spirits that had been lurking inside and outside the temple for years.

Ever since Gu Jinglan moved into the temple, he heard noises every night. After dealing with the Yin Gathering Formation, he turned around to see Yan Yuhe standing under the eaves, holding a long sword and wearing a black robe, his face looking sinister. The temple was silent, except for the remaining Black and White Impermanence; no other ghosts were in sight.

“Why so angry?” Gu Jinglan muttered. Seeing that Yan Yuhe was still in a bad mood, he decided not to provoke him and left with Black and White Impermanence.

After venting his anger on the evil spirits in the temple, Yan Yuhe still couldn’t calm down. He put away his sword and returned to his room. The books he had been diligently studying were spread out on the table, but now they looked unappealing to him. He swept them all to the ground in frustration. Seeing this, Jiang Xing quietly picked up the scattered books and placed them back on the table, then lay down beside Yan Yuhe.

Jiang Xing had been with Yan Yuhe for over ten years. This spirit crane was originally a spiritual creature raised on Mount Taixu. When Yan Yuhe first met Jiang Xing, it was injured and ostracized by other spirit cranes.

Yan Yuhe was practicing swordsmanship on the mountain, and Jiang Xing watched him with wide eyes, remaining silent the entire time.

Yan Yuhe took it back, healed its wounds, and named it Jiang Xing. Since then, the spirit crane had never left by his side. Over time, Jiang Xing was nourished by Yan Yuhe’s spiritual energy and gradually became attuned to his emotions, adopting many of his habits while retaining some of its own traits.

Sensing its master’s agitation, Jiang Xing lay quietly beside him, as if trying to comfort him in its own way.

The room was unlit, and Yan Yuhe’s figure was shrouded in darkness, his face looking as if he were cursing someone. After a long time, he raised his hand, gently stroking Jiang Xing’s feathers, and said softly, “If she wants to leave, let her go. Do you expect me to beg her to stay?”

Jiang Xing lifted its head, rubbed against Yan Yuhe’s arm, and let out a low, pitiful cry.

“You’ve only known her for a few days, and you already like her so much?” Yan Yuhe squinted his eyes and looked at Jiang Xing beside him.

Jiang Xing responded with another crane call, unable to speak human language. After a while, Yan Yuhe slowly spoke, seemingly compromising with a hint of helplessness, “If that’s the case, then I’ll go find her for you.”

That night, Yan Yuhe entered Xue Ming’s dream, hoping to bring her back, but almost ended up spitting blood in anger.

He had never seen someone who could change their attitude so quickly, like flipping a book. She pointed at his nose and cursed, saying hateful things like, “I can find any man to replace you; it’s not like I need you specifically.”

Yan Yuhe was so angry that he almost ground his teeth to pieces. He couldn’t understand how someone who had been cuddling with him in bed, sleeping in his arms, and even holding his hand could suddenly become like this.

Yan Yuhe had never been close to women. Apart from his master, he rarely interacted with his senior and junior sisters. After descending the mountain, the female ghosts he encountered were mostly unpredictable and had ulterior motives. He couldn’t tell if all women in the world were like this or if it was just his wife who was so fickle, changing her face completely after getting what she wanted.

He was extraordinarily angry, feeling that his rage had burned away his reason. For a moment, he thought this ghostly place had no reason to exist, as it was full of demons harming the human world. It would be best to kill them all and then capture Xue Ming, making her reflect on her behavior and correct her improper conduct.

Yan Yuhe had never felt this way before. Even in his extreme anger, he recalled Xue Ming’s words about finding another man, and he couldn’t help but think of killing all the men in the world.

This is bad; he was about to lose control. Yan Yuhe sat down to meditate and recited a calming mantra.

He was not usually so murderous, suspecting that he had been influenced by ghostly energy for too long and had been in the ghostly realm for too long, inevitably being tainted by evil energy, leading to some dark and violent thoughts. The calming mantra flowed through his mind like a cold spring, gradually calming his raging anger and stabilizing his emotions.

Even though he was full of resentment when his anger flared up, after a few days of Xue Ming’s departure, his emotions calmed down, and he began to wonder if the reason for Xue Ming’s departure was really as Hundred Crow said, that his bedroom skills were too poor, causing her to leave in disgust.

Once this self-reflection started, it became endless. This was an area Yan Yuhe had never explored before.

Although he believed he had learned well and hadn’t encountered any major issues in practice, Xue Ming’s reaction suggested otherwise. Yan Yuhe had always excelled since childhood, never encountering anything he couldn’t master. Besides, this was only his first time; who said he wouldn’t improve in the future?

Yan Yuhe thought Xue Ming was too harsh on him in this regard, but he still buried himself in studying diligently. Hundred Crow came to call on him several times, but he was turned away each time.

While focusing on studying bedroom techniques, Yan Yuhe occasionally had to deal with the annoying Hundred Crow. This ghost not only talked a lot but also had a pair of useless eyes. No matter how much Yan Yuhe showed his dislike, Hundred Crow always thought it was because the Jade Face Ghost King was naturally reserved and didn’t like to be close to others, never considering that he himself was the one being annoying.

Yan Yuhe wanted to send a message to Emperor Qingchao, asking if he had been forced to choose between a pig and Hundred Crow when he took on disciples.

For several days, he was irritable, frequently reciting the calming mantra to suppress his murderous intent. This patience was part of his cultivation for the ultimate plan to eradicate evil with heavenly thunder- until he saw Xue Ming again at the ghost banquet.

His wife could sometimes be so naive and amusing, thinking she could fool his eyes with a concealment spell. She transformed into a young girl of about ten, her face looking much more youthful and innocent, with round cheeks and eyes like black gems. When their eyes met, she showed a hint of panic. Her attempt to remain calm only made her more conspicuous. Yan Yuhe watched her clumsily hide and followed her, capturing her with the Immortal Binding Rope, watching her struggle and get angry.

Seeing her eager to escape ignited his anger. He took her to the spiritual spring and washed her in the water. After being away for a few days, she had picked up various unpleasant smells from the evil spirits in the ghost realm. Her extremely yin body was a treasure to ghosts, and she was unaware of the danger she was in. Clearly, she was safest by his side, yet she wanted to leave. Even more ridiculous was her suspicion that he had an affair with Jiang Ruoming in the past.

Yan Yuhe sneered. He had been hunting Jiang Ruoming for half a year. If it weren’t for her soul merging with this extremely yin body, he would have killed her eight hundred times already. How could there be any affair? Yan Yuhe was not a philanderer; once he had chosen a wife, she would be his only one for life.

Xue Ming struggled fiercely, splashing water on both of them. Her face was as pale as paper, devoid of blood, yet she stubbornly refused to give in, glaring at him with her beautiful eyes.

After the yang energy transfer that day, she regained her vitality. But after a few days away, her yang energy weakened again, and she was tormented by ghostly energy, making her very weak. At this moment, she was trying hard to keep her tired and pitiful eyes open, pretending to be fierce and insisting that she wanted to live and not die.

Looking at her face covered in sparkling water, Yan Yuhe felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in his heart, and the irritation that had plagued him for days dissipated.

Upon reflection, she was just ignorant, solely focused on survival, deceived, and manipulated by villains. The fault couldn’t be placed on her; it was the ghosts in this realm that were too cunning and insidious. She had risked coming here to save the captured ginseng spirit, showing her deep sense of loyalty and righteousness. How could she be a fickle person?

More importantly, she didn’t despise his poor bedroom skills but mistakenly thought he wanted to kill her, so she ran away. She must have had a hard time these past few days without him.

Since it was a misunderstanding, there was no need to hold a grudge. Yan Yuhe picked her up, determined to show her the results of his recent studies and prove his learning ability.

Yan Yuhe calmly held her in his arms, tightening his embrace, and thought to himself, “She is my wife, my only one in this life. I should treat her with more tolerance.”