Chapter 279: with translation of chapter title

After the two came downstairs, Mumu's brows stayed furrowed, her eyes constantly sizing up Xiang Yichu.

Frankly, Xiang Yichu felt creeped out being stared at by her.

Maomao and Wang Dongqing didn't stay long either; after they left the villa, Mumu was still looking at Xiang Yichu.

"Um, you..." Xiang Yichu didn't know what to say, finally remained silent for a moment, then said, "Sorry."

Mumu tilted her head, "No need to be sorry, I never suffer a loss; when I get the chance, I'll look back at you."

Xiang Yichu: "!!!"

Seeing his frightened look, Mumu burst out laughing.

Realizing this, Xiang Yichu understood she was teasing him again, and instinctively reached to pick her up.

But his hand reached out, hovered over her head, and ended up just patting her.

He thought, from now on he probably couldn't pick her up anymore, and she couldn't sit on his shoulder either.

Xiang Yichu smiled helplessly, lowered his eyes, tried to hide his emotions—getting used to this was really scary.

If she ever chose not to live here, he guessed he'd have to go back to being alone again.

Mumu sensed something off with Xiang Yichu and immediately withdrew her smile.

She ran over bobbing, stood before him, cupped his face in both hands, making him look up at her, "Xiang Bing Shan, why aren't you happy?"

Sitting on the sofa, Xiang Yichu was shorter than the standing Mumu, so he was forced to look up at her; seeing concern in her eyes, he suddenly felt he was being overly sentimental.

He shook his head, masking his loss with a joke, "It's fine, just feels like watching a child grow up."

Mumu: "......"

She pinched his face hard, pulling it sideways, "Xiang Bing Shan, you've learned bad habits from Wang Dongqing, you know that!"

"Hiss!" Xiang Yichu pulled her rough hand away, stood up, and pressed her onto the sofa, making her sit properly.

He turned to get the medicinal oil and applied it to her slightly swollen arm.

Xiang Yichu instructed her, "From now on you need to get used to human life; you can't just go pulling at arms and legs willy-nilly—did you know it hurts today?"

Mumu mumbled an assent.

Xiang Yichu glanced at her, realizing she wasn't taking it to heart, and slightly increased the pressure of his hand.

Mumu hissed, "Ow ow ow, Xiang Bing Shan, you're trying to murder me!"

"Let this be a lesson so you won't hurt yourself later." If you ever live on your own, no one will be there to apply medicine for you.

But he didn't know why he held back that sentence, and didn't say it out loud.

After applying the medicine, the two went their separate ways.

The villa's first floor had a study where Xiang Yichu specifically drew talismans and read books for work.

He is now the head of the Xiang family, but his thinking is relatively open, not bound by tradition.

Since he took over the Xiang family, the family has begun developing other investments outward, no longer limited to just the corpse‑hauling business.

He knows well that whatever industry, one must reform with the prevailing trends of the times.

The Xiang family must develop while preserving its traditional heritage.

As for training corpse‑haulers, from now on family resources are not pooled, nor is it individual cultivation; anyone who can obtain more ghostly power may use it as their own cultivation capital.

This way everyone is motivated, so naturally there won't be internal dissatisfaction from uneven resource distribution.

Wasn't his being betrayed by a peer of the family the best lesson?

In fact, even his father knows that such a rule only scatters everyone's hearts; the method itself is wrong.

This only leads to skewed resources, increasingly causing the Xiang family's younger generation to have no one who can advance further.

So after taking over, he thoroughly shook things up and reorganized the Xiang family from inside out.

Now initial results show; everyone contributes what they can, and he has retightened the Xiang family's rope once again.

Inside the villa, the study door was open; Xiang Yichu worked quietly within, while outside in the living room the cartoon's low sound intertwined with Mumu's giggling.

The liveliness within the tranquility made the night not at all lonely.

Since emerging from her seclusion, Tushan Jiu has completely forgotten her salted‑fish persona.

After that malicious ghost case, about a month and a half later, the netherworld also had a major incident.

The poor wretch is causing trouble again.

Since the last time he kicked the heads of two little poisonous beings at the orphanage, he's become obsessed with kicking a ball.

He often goes to the eighteenth level of hell, secretly twisting off a head to use as a ball to kick.

Just now, after snatching a Ghost King's head and dribbling away, he accidentally collided with a returning underworld envoy, and the Ghost King's head was kicked straight out of the ghost gate by his foot.

Now everyone in Nan Cheng is looking for that Ghost King's head.

Even though the Ghost King's ghostly power has been completely drained, after all it's still a Ghost King; the head is the vessel of the soul's consciousness, and if left outside too long it will surely cause trouble.

When Tushan Jiu heard about this, she was in the backyard teaching that golden koi to absorb heavenly and earthly essence.

She couldn't help but complain.

This poor wretch really is hated by everyone.

Originally, when the heavenly path wasn't severed, he was already disliked by the heavenly deities; because he caused trouble, he was punished with a stint in the netherworld.

As it turned out, that stint lasted several hundred years; later the spiritual energy could no longer support the heavenly ladder, the heavenly path closed, he couldn't return home, so he remained in the netherworld.

Even now in the netherworld he occasionally stirs up trouble, to the point that the Great Emperor Fengdu is nearly fed up with him.

But he is, after all, a deity, so nobody can do anything to him.

Well, now he's stirred up another mess.

The Great Emperor Fengdu flew into a rage, struck him outright; now the poor wretch sits bruised all over in his ramshackle wooden hut, reflecting behind closed doors.

But the deed is done; the office is still the main force searching for the head.

Moreover, this matter has once again fallen on their team.

Tushan Jiu tidied up, then had the driver take her to the office.

Today Xie Shiyu went to the company for a meeting, so these days they've been staying at the old house.

Before leaving, she sent Xie Shiyu a message, telling him she was going to the office.

Xie Shiyu replied instantly, telling her to stay safe and that he'd pick her up in the evening.

Arriving at the office, Tushan Jiu saw Little Wood after it had taken human form.

Little Wood excitedly reached out to touch Tushan Jiu's belly.

She had touched it before, but when it hadn't taken human form, it was just a piece of wood, and the feeling wasn't strong.

Now she's a person with hands, she can even pull out a handful of Xiang Yichu's hair.

And Tushan Jiu is now more than four months pregnant, and she also feels fetal movement.

As soon as today, the two little ones started moving, and they seem even more excited than Tushan Jiu.

When Little Wood touched them, it actually gave a response.

This made Little Wood's eyes widen, expression surprised, and they exclaimed, 'Amazing!'