Chapter 87: 87 This 'must-repay-a-grudge' maiden is not needed either

87 This 'must-repay-a-grudge' maiden is not needed either.

Upon mentioning this, a hint of solemnity flashed in Tushan Sheng's eyes.

"Little Jiu, this is also why I came up today; this time, more than just a few monkeys have escaped from the netherworld—you need to get ready."

Hearing that, Tushan Jiu sat up a little straighter, "What happened?"

"Well, it's not too big a deal—it's just a hell rift."

"..." Tushan Jiu was speechless. "This still isn't a big deal? Speak up—what's been happening down there?"

She realized that not coming down the mountain was fine, but once she did, one thing after another kept happening.

Even a hell rift that occurs once every thousand years ended up happening to her.

Tushan Sheng saw his niece speechless toward him and gave an embarrassed smile, "Don't feel pressured—luckily this rift isn't severe, and the higher-ups detected it in time and stepped in to patch it up."

"So how many actually came up?"

Tushan Sheng extended a hand.

Tushan Jiu's pupils contracted slightly, her voice unintentionally rising, "Fifty?!"

Tushan Sheng retracted his hand and hurriedly explained, "We did manage to catch a few back."

Tushan Jiu, who knew her father well, saw his gaze drift elsewhere and realized that 'this bit' was not 'that bit'.

She said nothing, just stared at Tushan Sheng.

Tushan Sheng felt the intense stare and answered truthfully, "We only caught one; the remaining forty-nine all came up."

Tushan Jiu covered her face.

See, she just said it.

"Your Nether Soldiers Department is probably just a 'figurehead post,' right?" Tushan Jiu couldn't help but retort.

Tushan Sheng flicked Tushan Jiu's forehead again, "What are you talking about? The escapees aren't ghost-king level; there's no need to mobilize the nether soldiers. You know nether soldiers crossing over always brings major trouble—using a cattle knife to kill a chicken."

He continued, "Actually, even if you hadn't come looking for me today, I'd have to come up tomorrow anyway—I've been asked by the Five Direction Ghost Emperors to come see you; they want to owe you a blade."

"This move by the netherworld is to have these ghosts be caught by your batch of civil‑service exam applicants—the 'new generation'—and it also counts as one of your assessment criteria. The person who catches the most can be specially allowed to take the exam two years early."

As soon as he said that, Tushan Jiu perked up, "So you're saying if I get first place, I can take next year's civil‑service exam?"

Tushan Sheng nodded, "Yeah, the netherworld will issue you temporary law‑enforcement certificates, opening your authority to make arrests."

"That's great; the only pity is they probably have no ghostly power left, right?" After all, once a ghost reaches the netherworld, its ghostly power is drained.

Tushan Sheng laughed in exasperation, "Miss, you want it all? You're dreaming so hard you're blowing bubbles out your nose!"

Tushan Jiu was obviously joking; she waved her hand and said nonchalantly, "No problem—the Five Direction Ghost Emperors are all coming to owe me a blade anyway; their ghostly power can cover it, they're basically the 'capital' down there—don't let it go to waste."

"..." Tushan Sheng felt his niece had changed a bit, sensing a hint of darkness in her.

He didn't know who she'd learned it from.

Having finished the business, Tushan Sheng rose to leave.

But he didn't expect Tushan Jiu to grab him.

He asked puzzledly, "What's up, miss? Anything else?"

Tushan Jiu smiled faintly, "Don't go—don't you want to hear how my relationship with Xie Shiyu is progressing?"

Tushan Sheng saw the sly smile on her face and his eyelid twitched.

He hurriedly pried her hand off, "Well, miss, I still have things to do down there—another day, another day, Dad will definitely come up to listen!"

Saying that, Tushan Sheng raised his hand and opened the Ghost Gate.

With a creak, the Ghost Gate opened, and he was about to step inside.

But the next second came a 'bang'.

The Ghost Gate was shut again by a wave of Tushan Jiu's hand.

"No, Dad—I remember before coming down the mountain, you and Grandpa were the ones urging me the most; you have to listen!"

"I'll make a long story short—listen slowly. After you hear it all, I'll report to Grandpa. On the first day I came down the mountain, I met Xie Shiyu, and at that time......"

Half an hour later, the Ghost Gate opened again.

Weary Tushan Sheng, as if wolves were chasing him from behind, hurriedly ran inside.

He wanted to go home and complain to his wife—this 'must-repay-a-grudge' maiden is not needed either!

He's stuffed to the brim with dog food!

The Ghost Gate closed, and Tushan Jiu's lips curled up high.

"So satisfying~"

Her next target is her grandfather, though she's probably been busy lately; whenever she has time, we'll talk about it then.

She mentally tallied these 'good things'.

She thought, If she could take the exam soon, being busy would be fine.

Only her dowry would have to be delayed a bit—career first!

Tushan Jiu lay on the big bed, her eyelids starting to battle.

"Tomorrow...... I'll tell Xie Shiyu............ huff~huff~"

Youth is good—just fall asleep as soon as you hit the pillow.

But at this moment, Guo Liheng, who was about to turn over fifty, had no sleepiness.

He sat in his study in pajamas, frowning at the SMS reminder on his phone.

It showed his secondary card had spent another 1.5 million in Li City.

This was already the fifth transaction over a million today; he hadn't counted the several hundred‑thousand and tens‑of‑thousand ones.

His wife is his childhood sweetheart, eight years younger than him.

Although he only married her after he had a little money, she was also introduced by the elders in the family—trustworthy and of good character.

Over the years, she'd just say she liked shopping, but in fact, aside from enjoying traveling to various places, her desire to shop really wasn't that high.

Liking to go shopping was just liking that feeling; she rarely spent so much.

But today, she bought a lot of things from different luxury stores.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; he just felt his wife was acting a bit odd and worried something had happened to her.

Guo Liheng placed a video call to Wang Mumu.

It rang for a long time before being answered.

Wang Mumu's face appeared on the video, "Honey~"

Guo Liheng watched Wang Mumu applying a face mask in the video, and her sweet, cloying voice made him shudder.

After all these years as an old married couple, Wang Mumu hadn't spoken to him in such a soft, tender tone for how long?

"When are you coming back, wife?" Guo Liheng asked.

"Missed me?" Wang Mumu grinned; the loosely fitted face mask almost slipped off, and she quickly pressed it back on with her hand.

"Yeah, I've missed you. Come back sooner. This Mid‑Autumn I still need to go back to my hometown—I haven't been there in years. Let's both stay an extra couple days at our families' places and visit the elders."

Wang Mumu paused, a flicker of impatience flashing in her eyes before vanishing. "All right, I'll book my ticket to return the day after tomorrow."

"Sure, send me the flight info—I'll pick you up at the airport." Guo Liheng hesitated a moment, then asked, "Wife, nothing's happened to you in Beautiful City, has it?"

Wang Mumu smiled faintly. "What could happen to me? Why are you asking like that?"

Guo Liheng fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing. I'll hang up now—get some sleep, it's almost eleven. I'm heading to bed too; I have a meeting tomorrow."

Wang Mumu nodded, then hung up first.