Chapter 113: Embracing Zhang Hao

At this moment, He Yuelian's every move brought huge pressure to Luo Xing.

He clearly came to rescue people, yet the one he was supposed to save now possessed the ability to easily kill him? While Luo Xing was pondering, a cold, forest‑like chill emanated from his body.

A layer of ice shards appeared on his body's surface, the chill spreading to cover the entire lounge, coating the sofa with ice shards as well, making it extremely eerie.

However, seeing the room exude bone‑piercing cold, He Yuelian felt even more that the Luo Xing before her was no good person.

How can a normal person be like this? So cold and gloomy.

Luo Xing did not hear He Yuelian's thoughts; had he heard, he would have shouted "unfair" and scolded her for double standards.

Compared with Bai Sha's eerie Crying, the Coffin at his feet, the White Bone Club in his hand, the Funeral Clothes on his body, and the Ghost Domain of the Black and White World.

His Ghost Domain, emanating cold, is already quite normal, okay.

What? Even with Bai Sha's bizarre situation, you feel reassured?

I merely released a Ghost Domain; its inherent chill makes the surroundings colder, and that makes you think I'm not a good person? "Just die!"

However, after He Yuelian realized she possessed the Ghost's Killing ability, she stepped forward to attack.

Eerie Footsteps kept drawing near, as if resonating deep within Luo Xing's heart.

An invisible pair of feet were continuously stepping on his heart.

Although it was her first time using a Supernatural Aura attack on a Ghost Tamer, He Yuelian felt no hesitation as a newcomer; instead, she found it novel.

But thinking about it, it makes sense—what kind of person is He Yuelian? She has a father who runs a casino, and she's been like a big sister of society since childhood.

She is not lacking awareness of humanity's darkness; in her view, killing is not a big deal.

Soon, under He Yuelian's assault, life slowly drained from Luo Xing's face.

A death‑gray, pallid visage appeared before the eyes; his body was covered in ice shards, like a person frozen to death on a roadside in a snowstorm.

"Successfully dealt with him, and judging by his look, his strength shouldn't be weak. So, does that mean my current power is pretty decent within the Supernatural Circle?"

Looking at the fallen Luo Xing, He Yuelian was both amazed by his transformation and secretly delighted by her own strength.

At that moment, outside, Zhang Hao also managed to break into the restaurant where Zhang Xianguang was.

Inside the restaurant, it was already empty, with only a single Oil Lamp.

The Oil Lamp was peculiar; when burning it emitted a dim, yellowish light, hazy and blurry, looking rather eerie.

Under the Oil Lamp's illumination, a completely pallid, colorless figure appeared in the room.

This is Zhang Hao's Derivative Body in the Black and White World, a being that exists only in the Vision World.

However, under this Oil Lamp's light, Zhang Hao from the Black and White World was revealed.

"You ran away pretty fast."

Zhang Hao walked to the Oil Lamp; it must be because each time Zhang Xianguang Restarts, he needs to consume the lamp's oil.

There isn't much oil left inside; perhaps it can burn for another two or three minutes at most.

"It's of no use now."

Zhang Hao gave it a few glances, confirmed the Oil Lamp was just an ordinary item, and then ignored it.

Not only is there little oil, even if there were, it wouldn't help Zhang Hao much.

The entity created via this Oil Lamp has poor defense and can be eliminated easily.

With a Ghost Bride by his side, Zhang Hao wasn't worried about his side being outnumbered.

After tidying the dead Ghost Tamer's body in the mall, Zhang Hao walked to the Bride's side.

At this moment, the Bride extracted a ghost from Chen Qiaoyang's body; it was a type of Ghost Blood, red turning black, dark like a bruise.

As soon as this blood appeared, the Ghost Bride absorbed it into her body.

With this blood, the Ghost Bride's control over Fierce Ghosts would be greatly enhanced, even allowing her to leave a Medium on a Fierce Ghost she had controlled, facilitating future control.

"Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao, I defeated a Ghost Tamer; quickly look at how he is!"

At this moment, He Yuelian also came over, holding a corpse covered in ice shards in her hands, and shouted excitedly.

Hearing this, Zhang Hao looked at the corpse beside He Yuelian.

From the Supernatural Aura emanating from the body, this person was at least a Ghost Tamer who commanded three ghosts, though it was unclear whether they had become Abnormal.

But that no longer mattered; the opponent was already dead.

"Not bad, this person commanded three ghosts; at Headquarters that counts as Captain Level strength, right?"

"Although his strength is mid‑low tier, it's still decent." Zhang Hao roughly assessed and said calmly.

"Captain Level?" He Yuelian's eyes lit up.

Although she hadn't heard much about the Supernatural Circle, she knew that the strongest people there were referred to as Captains.

Leaping to become a Captain‑level figure, even if only mid‑low among Captains, made He Yuelian excited.

"Hmm, let's stop talking about this, quickly prepare and set out to find that king called the Painter."

"If you can find the Painter, or even kill him and bring his corpse to me, I'll give you stronger Supernatural power."

Zhang Hao clearly could not share He Yuelian's excitement; after dealing with Zhang Xianguang and others, he had no intention of idle chatter.

"This, fine."

Seeing Zhang Hao's demeanor, He Yuelian nodded.

"I'll prepare today and set out tomorrow."

Hearing that, Zhang Hao, with the Ghost Bride, intended to turn and leave.

"Wait, you're leaving? Want to come to my house and rest a while?"

"Also, you still haven't told me how to contact you."

Seeing Zhang Hao about to leave, He Yuelian hurriedly asked.

"Rest aside, the way to contact me is simple: just recall my silhouette in your memory and silently utter my name in your heart."

Zhang Hao shook his head, left the mall with the Ghost Bride, leaving only a pallid silhouette behind.

He Yuelian stared dead at the departing Zhang Hao, as if she wanted to lock this scene firmly in her heart.

At the same time, she also curiously sized up the Ghost Bride beside Zhang Hao.

She could sense that she and that bride shared some indescribable connection, as if the power within her stemmed from that Ghost Bride.

"Luo Xing said before, that should be called a Ghost Bride, right."

"The Fierce Ghost on me seems to be what Luo Xing called a Ghost Painting—does it belong to that Ghost Bride's portrait?" He Yuelian wondered, thinking continuously.

"And Zhang Hao—has he become the Ghost Tamer who has mastered the Ghost Bride? He gave me the Ghost Bride's portrait."

He Yuelian stared at the empty mall exit, unable to help but become a little absent‑minded.

"By the way, I think I heard those people refer to Zhang Hao as the Red and White Double Evil."

"White Evil." He Yuelian thought of the funeral clothes on Zhang Hao and the way everything lost its color when he used the Ghost Domain.

"Then the Red Evil should represent that Ghost Bride."

"Perhaps I can inquire about the Red and White Double Evil; judging by his strength, he isn't a minor figure in the Ley Line Circle."

He Yuelian mulled it over and hurried home.

Yet on the way back she felt inexplicably irritable, because she could not control the power inside her body.

When some people saw her, an impulse to kill them would arise in her heart.

If she failed to curb the bodily impulse in time, those people would be killed instantly.

At the same time, after Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride left the Reality World, they did not act immediately.

He had just fought the Headquarters captain Han Mo in Dajiang City, then let the Ghost Post Office go out of control, and now eliminated the second‑generation Republic Era Ghost Tamer led by Zhang Xianguang.

He's been making too much noise these days and needs to calm down, lowering his own presence.

Although he is now in the country and can basically walk around freely, as long as he hasn't reached a state of being completely fearless of everyone, he must not become too arrogant.

"The painter has He Yuelian trying to find a way; now might be the time to complete the Ghost Coffin."

Recently Zhang Hao has clearly felt his Ghost's Growth hitting a limit.

The Ghost Bride still has many puzzles; today he obtained Chen Qiaoyang's Ghost Blood, and later there are various puzzles in the red room to complete.

Things like Ghost Blood, paintbrush, ghost makeup, red bed.

And the supernatural things Zhang Hao can still complete are few; even though he encounters many Fierce Ghosts, almost none can serve as Zhang Hao's puzzle pieces.

The only thing that can still foster growth now is Zhang Hao's Gaze.

But that thing can boost Zhang Hao's offensive and defensive abilities on the consciousness level, yet contributes little to his growth on the Reality World level. "Wei Jing, you should stay at Headquarters now, mainly handling the situation over at Dajing City," Zhang Hao thought.

With Zhang Hao's current strength, attacking Headquarters isn't impossible.

Yet daring to attack Headquarters, the old monster of the Republic Era would certainly not sit still, after all it is the hope of the new generation.

And once Wei Jing hears that he is appearing, he cannot come to contact him.

After all, Wei Jing doesn't dare to touch a Ghostly Servant, fearing a Restart that would return him to a state controlled by Fierce Ghost instinct.

"Looks like I need to find a way to draw Wei Jing out."

"Ideally, when the other captains at Headquarters each go out to handle other Supernatural Incidents, Headquarters would have to rely solely on Wei Jing."

Zhang Hao sat on a long bench in the Republic Era courtyard pavilion, continuously pondering various possibilities.

Suddenly, at that moment, the Ghost Bride who should have been painting for him in the room walked out of the house.

After leaving the room, she walked straight to Zhang Hao's back, immediately lying on his back, her head pressed against his head.

"Eh?"

Deep in thought, Zhang Hao felt something pressing his head and was momentarily stunned.

He lifted his head to look up, expecting some sightless ghost to dare attack him, but only saw a delicate chin resting on his forehead.

"Madam? What are you doing?"

Zhang Hao, seeing the Ghost Bride hugging him and pressing her head against his, was also stunned.

It seemed she heard Zhang Hao's question; the Ghost Bride slowly stood, returning to the dignified pose with both hands flat before her abdomen.

"An unconscious action?"

Zhang Hao looked at the Ghost Bride's demeanor, his mind full of doubt.

He walked around the Ghost Bride; after the Ghost Bride had mastered Chen Qiaoyang's Ghost Blood, her appearance changed little.

That Ghost Blood can only boost the Ghost Bride's Ghost Summoning ability, so it shouldn't suddenly cause this behavior.

"Is it because of He Yuelian's influence?"

"Looks like we need to spend more time observing."

Zhang Hao stared at the Ghost Bride, temporarily putting aside his scheming about Wei Jing.

In any case, the bride is the most important to him; he absolutely cannot tolerate any problem on her side.

Zhang Hao stood beside the Ghost Bride, said nothing, and simply laid his hand flat.

As soon as Zhang Hao's hand was laid flat, the Ghost Bride began to move on her own.

This was a habit and instinct cultivated earlier, causing her to proactively grasp the hand not far from her palm.

Only this time it differed from before, because when holding hands, the ten fingers interlocked.

"Holding hands is a long‑term cultivated habit; although the motion changed slightly, it is still within comprehension."

After holding hands, the Ghost Bride did not pull Zhang Hao anywhere, just stood there holding his hand motionlessly.

Like a person spacing out, habitually doing nothing when there's nothing else to do.

Zhang Hao watched the Ghost Bride for a long time, seeing her continuously holding him, knowing nothing could be discerned.

He let go of the Ghost Bride's hand, returned to his previous chair, lowered his head, stared at the floor ahead motionlessly, appearing once again as before.

Although Zhang Hao kept the thoughtful pose, his mind was filled entirely with thoughts of the Ghost Bride.

"One, two, three, four, ten minutes twenty‑six. two minutes zero seven. twenty‑nine seconds fifty‑nine."

Zhang Hao silently counted the time in his mind, second after second passing.

Finally, when Zhang Hao reached one hour, Footsteps came from behind.

The ghost bride moved again.

She gracefully stepped forward, her gait steady, each step neither too long nor too short, and walked toward Zhang Hao.

The familiar sensation returned; Zhang Hao could feel a head pressing against his own.

At the same time, a pair of delicate, fair Jade hands also wrapped around Zhang Hao's neck.

"If I stare blankly for over an hour, will the ghost bride come on her own to hug me?"

"This should be because after He Yuelian mastered the derived Ghost Painting Aftermath, her consciousness was affected by a Fierce Ghost, granting the bride a portion of He Yuelian's perception."

Zhang Hao remained motionless, allowing the ghost bride to press her head against his.

He was waiting, waiting to see whether after the ghost bride held him for a while, she would exhibit any new behavior.

In fact, in a luxurious villa in Da'ao City.

He Yuelian had just finished bathing and was lying on the bed; on the table in front of her lay a tablet computer playing a period romance drama.

However, at this moment He Yuelian's thoughts were completely elsewhere from the tablet's screen.

In her mind, she kept recalling events concerning Zhang Hao and the ghost bride.

Today's encounter felt to her just like being the heroine of a romance drama.

Her own unparalleled beauty, by chance, suddenly met a powerful big shot, and this big shot coincidentally established contact with her.

Along with hearing Red and White Double Evil during the day, the talk of ghost painting and ghost bride.

At that moment He Yuelian couldn't help but think that the ghost painting was the ghost bride's portrait, and she had mastered the ghost painting.

If after finding the painter, what power would Zhang Hao give me? If I keep getting stronger, continuously acquiring things from the ghost bride's body.

Then, on some future day, would I replace the ghost bride's existence and become the red demon by Zhang Hao's side? That ghost bride's skin is truly beautiful; even without seeing her exact appearance, just her aura and skin give the feeling that the ghost bride is the most perfect woman in the world.

Also, why does a ghost bride follow Zhang Hao? Why does he master a ghost that is not inside his body? Although Zhang Hao's portrait of himself looks much like him, it feels more like the ghost bride's portrait, and the ghost painting is also a ghost mastered by the ghost bride.

"Can a Fierce Ghost master a Fierce Ghost?"

He Yuelian couldn't help but think that she had never heard of such a notion.

"So the ghost painting is actually a ghost that the ghost bride mastered while she was alive?"

Suddenly, He Yuelian's eyes lit up, and they became excited.

"The ghost bride currently by Zhang Hao's side is actually a revived ghost bride of a dead human."

"The reason Zhang Hao had me help him is actually because I look too much like the ghost bride?"

"So when he sees me, Zhang Hao recalls the ghost bride's appearance in life?"

"Right, right, this also explains why the ghost bride, despite not being mastered by Zhang Hao, still obeys his words."

For a moment, He Yuelian even imagined the romance drama plot where the male and female leads, after their lover's death, encounter a similar person.

She couldn't help but roll around in the sheets on the bed.

As she kept pondering and fantasizing, images of interacting with Zhang Hao inevitably surfaced in her mind.

"Should I contact Zhang Hao?"

Subconsciously, He Yuelian's mind entertained this thought, but she quickly suppressed it.

Moreover, alongside her various musings, many Photos of He Yuelian displayed in the room were silently changing at that moment.

Each altered picture represented a scene from He Yuelian's imagination.

Not only in the room, but also in the villa, the Photos He Yuelian had placed elsewhere also began to change.

The room's lighting, affected by the supernatural aura on He Yuelian, flickered.

Outside the villa, several guard bodyguards stared at the flickering light upstairs, exchanging glances in astonishment.

What exactly is happening upstairs? Should we go up to see?

"Better not. That young lady isn't someone to provoke; when she returned today, she looked cold and seemed quite unhappy."

A security guard, seeing a colleague about to go up, hurriedly grabbed her.

"Listen carefully, there seems to be laughter coming from the room."

"That sound resembles a shy young girl's giggle; perhaps the young lady is on the phone with her boyfriend."

"Going up at this time, aren't you asking for trouble?"

Hearing that, the guard nodded.

Unfortunately, no one is entering the villa now.

Otherwise we could see several strange, eerie portraits, half colored and half colorless.

In the painting, a bride in red clothing is embracing a man dressed in Funeral Clothes.

(End of Chapter)