Chapter 8: Discussing Our Reunion Together

Flaming Fire watched Shi Jun drift off into a daydream as he spoke, merely smiling. He leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

At that very moment, a resounding wave of deafening cheers suddenly erupted from the street outside, echoing with the chants of "Hu Hai! Hu Hai!" The commotion startled both Shi Jun, who was lost in thought, and Flaming Fire, who was taking a light nap. Impelled by the same impulse, they both walked out onto the balcony.

Down below, a small black sedan was struggling to make its way forward, inching slowly through an alley packed shoulder-to-shoulder with a sea of people. The crowds surrounding the car were holding up tiny flags, and the young maidens among them looked utterly beside themselves; their faces flushed crimson as they screamed Hu Hai's name at the top of their lungs, desperately pressing their bodies toward the vehicle.

Seeing this spectacle, Shi Jun honestly had no idea how the car had managed to drive in here in the first place. After a long while, the vehicle finally drew close to the entrance of the building. The car door slowly swung open, and four burly men wearing dark sunglasses stepped out in unison, guarding the perimeter of the door and blocking out the fanatical "fans." Only then did Shi Jun catch sight of Hu Hai stepping gracefully out of the car. With the true poise of a superstar, Hu Hai raised both hands and waved to the crowd, which immediately provoked an even more passionate wave of shrieks from the fans: "We love you!" "Hu Hai, you're our hero!"

Flaming Fire chuckled and said, "Your friend is quite interesting and deeply loyal. The day I was searching everywhere for you, I also tracked him down to this place. When he first heard I was the Great Fiend, though he was curious, he seemed quite afraid of me. But the moment he heard you had gone to the Demon Realm alone, the boy instantly flew into a rage. Without a second thought, he started yelling at me, demanding to know what kind of elder uncle I was to let you go off into danger all by yourself..."

Shi Jun had never known about this before. Hearing it sent a warm surge through his heart, though he quipped aloud, "Is that so? Then he must have volunteered himself to tag along as well?"

"More than that! That little fellow Moto and five ghosts were all clamoring to follow you into the Demon Realm. I couldn't be bothered with them; with their meager cultivation, going to the Demon Realm is practically going to their deaths."

"These guys..." Shi Jun murmured, looking afar at Hu Hai's still utterly childish face, deeply moved.

Hu Hai smiled broadly and shouted a few words to the surrounding crowd, but his voice was long since swallowed up by the ocean of shrieks, failing to make even the slightest splash. The four burly men, who appeared to be bodyguards, could barely withstand the enthusiastic impact of the fans. Realizing the situation was turning south, Hu Hai hurriedly fished out his keys, unlocked the tightly shut security door downstairs, and forced his way inside along with the four bodyguards, slamming the door shut with a loud *bang*.

"Wah!" Dozens of girls outside burst into tears simultaneously. Their weeping was quite infectious, prompting even the older male and female fans in the surrounding crowd to start wiping away their tears. Though their idol had already gone inside, they still lingered outside the small building, reluctant to disperse for a long while.

* * * * * * * *

A short while later, the sound of keys turning in the lock echoed, and Hu Hai's voice drifted in from the doorway: "All right, none of you need to follow me anymore. Go back and get some rest; whatever matters there are, we'll talk about them tomorrow."

"Young Master, but the Chairman gave instructions..."

Hu Hai said impatiently, "Cut the crap. Doesn't the Chairman still have to listen to my mother, the General Manager? And the General Manager has to listen to me, so the only person you need to listen to is me. Goodbye!"

With that, he walked through the door, rubbing his eyes. Letting out a loud sigh, he gave the door a hard kick to shut it.

Lifting his gaze, Hu Hai suddenly spotted Shi Jun standing right in front of him with a smile, and for a moment he thought he was dreaming, freezing in place.

"No way?" Shi Jun laughed with exaggerated amusement, putting on an act as he raised his arm, mimicking the fans downstairs and calling out softly, "Hu Hai! Hu Hai! Do I need to do this to you as well?"

"Good lord, you damn rascal!" After a long moment, Hu Hai finally let out an excited roar, lunging forward to slam a fist against Shi Jun's chest. "Do you even know how to come back? Have you any idea how worried sick we've all been? Your heartless, dark-faced elder uncle..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when Flaming Fire let out a soft "Hmph." Only then did Hu Hai notice that Shi Jun's dark-faced elder uncle was standing right beside them. Realizing his slip of the tongue, Hu Hai awkwardly chuckled twice, then grew emotional all over again. Throwing an arm around Shi Jun's shoulders, he babbled happily and somewhat incoherently, "You stinker, let me look at you! Well, I never—running off to the Demon Realm to play all by yourself without even inviting me. You really caused us no end of trouble!"

"What?" Shi Jun teased with a playful smile. "You're already at superstar status now; why didn't anyone cause me trouble like that!"

Hu Hai looked a little embarrassed for a moment, but an inability to hide his pride showed on his face. "You heard about that? Heh, well, to tell the truth, I owe my title as a ghost-catching master entirely to you. If I hadn't followed you to the Underworld that day and met Old Ancestor Yellow Spring, how else could I have learned such a set of ghost-catching skills?"

"That old fellow Yellow Spring actually has quite a bit of foresight, anticipating today's events and teaching you ghost-catching in advance?" Flaming Fire suddenly chimed in with a smile. Seeing that Flaming Fire didn't seem angry, Hu Hai quickly and respectfully called out, "Uncle Flaming."

Shi Jun asked curiously, "That's right, where are Moto and the others?"

"Hahahahaha!" Hu Hai instantly burst out laughing. "Where else would they be, if not busy catching ghosts? That fellow follows Meijue around every day. Big Sister Liu Qing and Chishang went to the southern suburbs of the city to catch ghosts, and naturally, that guy tagged along too."

"Right, fill me in on what's actually going on here. Why on earth are there stray ghosts roaming everywhere? It's causing the television stations to report on it constantly!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Hai became radiant with excitement. "When you really think about it, it's quite incredible! Do you know that just a few days after you left, the school suddenly suspended classes..."

"What?" Shi Jun didn't quite catch that.

"Classes were suspended, obviously! And why? Because of ghosts!" Hu Hai described it vividly. "At first, some people saw ghosts at night, and others were scared to death by fierce ghosts, but hardly anyone believed it. Just think about it—after decades of cracking down on superstition, who would genuinely believe ghosts exist unless it happened right to them? To be honest, even I didn't believe it at first, thinking to myself: surely the people of the Underworld aren't pushovers, right? Could Kshitigarbha, the Underworld King of Rebirth, really just let all the ghosts out like that? Who would have guessed the Underworld really would turn out to be so soft? Not long after, I spotted an acquaintance on my balcony—you couldn't guess who it was if you were beaten to death!"

* * * * * * * *

"An acquaintance of the ghostly kind?" Shi Jun mused for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up: "Could it be Susu?"

He thought to himself: Aside from Liu Qing and the Chishang brothers, Su Su was the only ghost Hu Hai even knew.

Sure enough, Hu Hai slapped his thigh. "You guessed it! Ten bonus points for you. Not bad, kid!"

Shi Jun frowned and said, "Su Su has come to the mortal realm too? Now that truly spells trouble."

"Who's saying it doesn't? Su Su was quite happy to see me, and told me that a massive upheaval seemed to have broken out in the Underworld. No one knows which Underworld King staged a rebellion, turning the Underworld into a complete mess. Without a word of explanation, they drove all these newly formed ghosts and newly registered spirits out of the Underworld and chased them back into the mortal realm, while the Underworld army didn't make a single move for reasons unknown. With no other choice and nowhere to go, they had no option but to return to the mortal realm. Mischievous ghosts like Su Su are one thing—merely playing pranks on people occasionally—but returning along with them were some vicious ghosts and resentful spirits carrying immense malice. Some of them had already cultivated some degree of power in the Underworld, enabling them to transform at will and use ordinary offensive spells. Allowing these ghosts to return to the mortal realm is no different from facing an apocalypse. Later on, reports of fierce ghosts killing people and spirits roaming day and night began to spread everywhere. In the end, just as the television station was trying to debunk the rumors, a few ghosts actually crashed a live broadcast room, scaring several hosts and guests unconscious on the spot! Even more ridiculously, a certain Western country spent the last few days shouting about invading another nation, but before their troops could even mobilize, a massive swarm of ghosts launched a collective attack on their presidential palace and military bases. Some tech-savvy ghosts even went ahead and altered their national government's official website into a tourist guide map for the Underworld..."

* * * * * * * *

Hu Hai chattered away with grand gestures, recounting the tale with relish for over half an hour. Shi Jun finally managed to piece together the whole story from beginning to end.

It turned out that because a certain Underworld King had rebelled while the Underworld Emperor remained dormant and hidden away, the ghosts who were supposed to go to reincarnation and be purified had all flooded back into the mortal realm, turning it upside down. Governments across various nations deployed all their high-tech methods, yet proved entirely helpless against these sudden arrivals. In desperation, they turned to religion, but those so-called religions failed to display any miraculous abilities at the critical moment. Meanwhile, individuals with special abilities, lacking systematic training and possessing relatively weak powers, could only manage to protect themselves rather than save others.

In the end, Student Hu Hai stepped forward. Of course, standing quietly behind him were the four Ghost King brothers, Liu Qing, and Moto. Initially, Hu Hai had simply grown annoyed by the ghosts howling day and night around his neighborhood, so he employed a few minor Underworld techniques to sweep away the wandering spirits in the vicinity. To his surprise, he gained instant fame overnight, and the title of "Little Ghost-Catching Hero" spread far and wide. Soon enough, people began inviting him to purge ghosts in neighboring districts. Showered with towering praises, Hu Hai puffed out his chest and went, and naturally, the tasks were accomplished with effortless ease. This blew things completely out of proportion; within a couple of days, several municipal government officials came to visit—accompanied unexpectedly by his own mom and dad!

Hu Hai's parents felt rather mystified by their son's sudden mastery of ghost-catching, but they were still secretly pleased. Being businesspeople with excellent government connections, they naturally found it hard to refuse when people came begging for help at their door. Moreover, Hu Hai was growing intoxicated by the thrill of catching ghosts and the adulation everyone lavished upon him, so he turned no one away. Whenever someone sought him out, he would pat his chest and accept the requests without hesitation, promising, "No problem, leave it to me!"

Of course, when it came down to the true core force of ghost-catching, the credit still belonged to the four Ghost Spirits, Moto, and Liu Qing. Grateful for the help Shi Jun had extended to them, they had always looked for a chance to repay the favor. Chishang had already signed a soul pact with Shi Jun, knowing him well enough to realize he would never tolerate such chaos unfolding. Thus, even before Hu Hai opened his mouth, they volunteered to lend a hand.

With everything falling into place, the six of them joined forces, catching ghosts and subduing evil spirits wherever they went, swelling their reputation to greater and greater heights.

As for Moto, he was inherently someone who couldn't bear sitting still. However, his heart was already completely devoted to Meijue, and he showed very little interest in flashy matters like appearing on television or delivering speeches. Consequently, Hu Hai took charge of most external affairs...

In this manner, spending roughly half a month's time, Hu Hai and the others finally cleared out the ghosts lingering within the city proper. At present, only a few scattered spirits remaining in the suburban outskirts were left unattended.

Hearing this, Shi Jun suddenly remembered his mother and couldn't help a start. Goodness gracious, during the time he had been away, he hoped nothing had happened to her! A second thought followed: Didn't his elder uncle arrange for some demonic beast called Ni-Huan to stay by his mother's side? He quickly turned his head and asked, "Uncle, can that Ni-Huan adequately protect my mother?"

Flaming Fire nodded. "Though Ni-Huan's offensive capabilities aren't strong, it is more than enough to protect your mother from being harassed by those spirits. You don't need to worry about that."

Shi Jun let out a long breath, thinking to himself: I'll only feel truly at ease once I go back and see for myself! Yet if he went back now, his mother might end up suspecting that he, too, was involved in this ghost-catching business, and that would be...

Lost in thought, he stood up and said to Hu Hai, "Da Hai, I'm going to head back and check on things. There are people resting in the bedroom and guest room; one of them is... Chiyang, and another is a young woman named Fuyao."

Flaming Fire chimed in, "I won't go; I'll wait right here for you to return. Give my regards to your mother when you see her, and hand this to Ni-Huan." With that, he passed a thin, mica-like stone chip to Shi Jun. Shi Jun nodded, accepted it, and signaled to Hu Hai—hinting that if he wanted to learn Demon Realm arts, he should seize the opportunity—before instantly teleporting back home.

* * * * * * * *

Upon returning home, a familiar aura rushed to meet him, and Shi Jun took a deep, appreciative breath. The house remained just as neat and bright as ever; even when his mother was absent, her faint presence lingered everywhere.

He looked down at his grimy clothes. His trip to the Demon Realm had certainly been a messy ordeal, though fortunately, he had stuffed a spare set of clothes into his pouch at the very start, or his appearance would have been even worse. Knowing his mother was naturally meticulous, she would surely nag endlessly if she saw him like this. He quickly hurried into the bedroom to grab some clothes, dashed into the bathroom, and cleaned himself up from head to toe. Only then did he walk into the kitchen feeling entirely refreshed. Opening the refrigerator door, he was stunned to find it stocked completely with dishes he loved.

With him gone for so long, how worried must his mother have been? She must have prepared his favorite dishes every single day, waiting for him to come home, right? Yet as day after day passed without seeing him return, how disappointed must she have been... Shi Jun lowered his head, slowly pulled out a can of iced beer, popped open the tab, and tilted his head back for a long, deep gulp. His mother always knew he loved iced beer, so even in the dead of winter, she liked to keep a few cans chilled for him in the fridge. Perhaps she wasn't one for tender, affectionate words in her daily life, but her care and love for her child were hidden away inside this very can of beer and simple dishes...

Perhaps one day his father would return home too. By then, the smiles on his mother's face would surely grow more frequent. Her smile really was lovely, after all.

Thinking of this, a faint smile gradually surfaced on Shi Jun's face.

* * * * * * * *

He had no idea how much time had passed when the sound of keys turning in the lock jerked Shi Jun to his senses, making him realize he had fallen asleep on the living room sofa—his mind had been under intense strain for quite a while, and he was genuinely exhausted. He leaped to his feet, crossed the room in two strides, pulled the door open, and called out, "Mom!"

Qin Xiaoya looked up in surprise, the veil of exhaustion she couldn't hide instantly transforming into a mixture of shock and joy. "Son! You're back!"

* * * * * * * *

Ni-Huan was circling gracefully just above Qin Xiaoya's head. Spotting Shi Jun, it emitted a soft "meow." Shi Jun smiled at it and flashed the piece of "mica" in his hand. Ni-Huan's eyes instantly lit up; it pounced forward in a blur, opened its mouth, and took a single breath, causing the mica to fly automatically into its belly.

Half an hour later, mother and son were seated at the dining table. Qin Xiaoya gazed contentedly at Shi Jun as he devoured the dishes she had prepared for him, her face overflowing with satisfied smiles while her eye rims remained flushed red—the telltale mark of her earlier tears of joy.

"Mom, haven't you slept in a long time? Look at those dark circles under your eyes—you're practically turning into a panda."

Qin Xiaoya rolled her eyes at Shi Jun. "You child, actually making fun of your mom." She rubbed her eyes, unable to fight off a yawn. "You know I work in the emergency room, don't you? With ghosts running amok everywhere lately, anyone attacked by fierce ghosts or scared unconscious gets sent straight to my ward first thing. It's got us working overtime day in and day out, and we're still short-handed."

Shi Jun asked with concern, "Then... have you ever seen a ghost yourself?"

Qin Xiaoya shook her head with lingering apprehension. "I suppose you could say I've seen them... on television. Speaking of which, I've been quite lucky so far; I haven't been scared by any ghosts yet. But I simply don't understand how all this happened. Didn't you say there was some Yama King in charge of those spirits? Why on earth are they coming over to our side for no good reason? It's terrifying! And how is that girl you like doing?"

A blush crept onto Shi Jun's face. "Mom, you're asking me so many questions all at once, how am I supposed to answer? Besides, Chiyang and I aren't really..."

"What, feeling shy?" Qin Xiaoya smiled gently. "I only know my son likes her. As for how far the two of you have gone, that's something for you to figure out yourself. Let me ask you this: did you save her?"

Seeing Shi Jun nod, Qin Xiaoya let out a sigh of relief. "That's good then. Now that I see you back safe and sound, and the girl you like rescued as well, I can finally get a good night's sleep."

Deeply moved, Shi Jun reached out and placed his hand over Qin Xiaoya's. "Mom, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"Hm?"

"I... I plan to join Hu Hai in catching ghosts." He blurted it out straight, watching his mother's expression nervously. To his surprise, Qin Xiaoya merely gave another calm "Hm," leaving him somewhat baffled. "Aren't you upset?"

Qin Xiaoya asked in amusement, "What is there to be upset about? You're planning to round up all those ghosts and send them back to the Underworld, aren't you? That kind of task really ought to be handled by a Underworld Enforcer like you. Mom knows you're doing all this to find your dad as quickly as possible, and Mom understands."

Shi Jun hesitated before saying earnestly, "Mom, my original intention is indeed that, but perhaps things might not unfold quite so simply..."

"What?" Qin Xiaoya's expression instantly tightened. "Can't you find him?"

Shi Jun was momentarily stunned, then realized her misunderstanding and quickly clarified, "I don't mean I can't find Dad. I just wanted to tell you that this ghost-catching business might not be as straightforward as it seems. I roughly have a plan in mind now, and when the time comes, it might cause quite a massive commotion. However, my goal is to strike a balance between the mortal realm and the other four realms, so carrying out a somewhat grand-scale plan is an absolute necessity."

Qin Xiaoya gazed softly at Shi Jun. "Son, I don't really understand all these things you're talking about, but there are two things I want you to know. First, no matter what you do, you must always protect yourself and not give Mom cause to worry. Second, Mom will unconditionally support any decision you make and be your backing. So go ahead and do what you want to do; Mom will take care of herself. Even if... even if finding your dad proves too difficult, you don't need to force yourself. Mom only hopes you can stay safe and well, and that alone will satisfy me completely."

After Qin Xiaoya finished speaking, neither mother nor son said anything for a moment. Stirred with emotion, Shi Jun tightly clasped his mother's slender hand, vowing silently in his heart: *Mom, don't worry, I will definitely bring Dad back so our family can be reunited!*

* * * * * * * *

When he returned to Hu Hai's residence, Moto, Liu Qing, the four Ghost Spirit brothers, and Shi Buyi had all already returned. The moment Shi Jun materialized in the living room, Shi Buyi complained indignantly, "Big guy, you're going too far! Why didn't you call me when you went to see Mom? Am I not a part of this family too?"

Shi Jun was taken aback, but before he could speak, Moto lunged forward in excitement, waving his arms wildly as he yelled, "Come, come look at our spoils!" He pulled a crystal bottle from his pocket, shook it vigorously for a long while, and shoved it right into Shi Jun's face. "Today's ghost-catching haul is all in here! Damn it, it's bizarre—today after heading out, every single ghost we ran into turned out to be female ghosts. I caught twenty-odd of them in one breath, and since I had nowhere else to store them, I just had to cram them in together."

Shi Jun laughed. "Old Mo, you really don't learn the good habits from Da Hai, but you picked up his foul cursing routine to perfection! Girls aren't going to like that sort of thing!" Teasing him thus, Shi Jun took the crystal bottle and inspected it closely. Sure enough, he spotted twenty-odd wisps of souls in various colors, among which several were dyed a pitch-black hue—a clear sign of intensely resentful spirits harboring deep grievances.

Moto shot a quick, furtive glance at Meijue. Seeing that she didn't seem to have noticed his vulgar language, he let out a sigh of relief, then glared fiercely at Hu Hai, muttering resentfully and under his breath, "That bastard Da Hai is lacking in loyalty. He's been acting wildly smug these past few days, going on television and giving speeches all the time. Thousands of pretty girls are writing letters to him, and even that money-grubbing Chen Ya came knocking on his door with tears streaming down her face, begging to get back together with him! He's showing off everywhere and stealing all the spotlight. As for me, I've been tagging along behind everyone else, working like a dog only to be met with cold glares all the time. I'm exhausted and pitied by no one—even the snacks at home ran out ages ago, and nobody cares. I've been starving for ages!" His voice trailed off into a whisper, terrified that Meijue might overhear.

Just as the words left his mouth, Meijue let out a soft call: "Moto."

The fellow instantly abandoned Shi Jun, whirling around like a whirlwind to appear by Meijue's side with a beaming smile. "Ah-Jue, what is it?"

Without even looking at him, Meijue reached into the pocket of her purple skirt, drew out a small paper parcel, handed it to him, and murmured, "Take it." Then she turned her face away, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Moto opened the paper parcel to take a look, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief—inside was none other than his favorite snack: a small packet of preserved plums! He had no idea when Meijue had quietly prepared them for him. Staring blankly at the strands of hair framing Meijue's face for a long while, he suddenly broke into a silly, dazed grin.