Chapter 176: A United Couple, Returning to the Path of the Dead Soul

I don't know if it's because of the concept of a wedding.

It causes Zhang Hao, when getting close to the Ghost Bride, to inexplicably feel very comfortable.

It's like when Zhang Hao first lay in the Ghost Coffin, the Ghost Coffin made the whole ghost feel lazy.

It even surpasses the comfort brought by the Ghost Coffin; when communicating with the Ghost Bride, both sides' supernatural powers circulate mutually, as if nourishing each other, causing the entire ghost to relax involuntarily.

Perhaps there is another reason.

Ghost Seeking Kin, this is the first time Zhang Hao transforms from a human body into a Fierce Ghost body.

Although it only provides Ghost Flesh, it still serves as the outermost protective layer of a Fierce Ghost identity for Zhang Hao.

It could also be that both are present, after a period of exchange.

Zhang Hao can clearly perceive his own changes.

The Ghost Bride's supernatural methods are being absorbed by him, and his Terror Level is being shared with the Ghost Bride.

The current situation is the opposite of when he first rode the Ghost Seeking Kin.

At that time, Zhang Hao relied on the Ghost Bride's supernatural power, borrowing her Terror Level to protect himself while riding the Fierce Ghost.

Now, Zhang Hao controls the Ghost Bride's supernatural methods, and the Ghost Bride, in turn, borrows Zhang Hao's Terror Level to boost her own Terror Level.

But regardless of the reason.

After this wedding, Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride can be considered a single entity.

Previously they were the concept of groom and bride; now they have become the concept of husband and wife.

The bride and groom never truly merged, but the husband and wife are now one household; assets are no longer divided, and the supernatural power likewise.

"Dong dong dong!"

However, just as Zhang Hao and the Ghost Bride finished their first exchange, a knock came from outside the door.

When Zhang Hao lifted his head to look toward the door, a woman's hurried voice sounded.

"Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao! Open the door quickly."

It was He Yuelian's voice, somewhat urgent, as if there was an emergency.

Zhang Hao, hearing this, walked over to open the main door for her.

But as soon as the door opened, He Yuelian rushed in, snatched the Ghost Bride lying on the bed, and held her beside her.

"Hehe, I'm also part of the Ghost Bride; I have a share in today's wedding."

He Yuelian, holding the Ghost Bride, looked up at Zhang Hao; she had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

Even for this moment, she could no longer suppress her inner fear of the Ghost Bride, and proactively interrupted them, ran to the bed and embraced the Ghost Bride.

"Is this necessary?"

Zhang Hao looked at He Yuelian, somewhat unable to understand.

"This kind of thing probably doesn't have much meaning, right?"

Although Zhang Hao also felt very comfortable, even more relaxing than lying in the Ghost Coffin.

"The meaning is huge."

Hearing Zhang Hao's clueless remark, He Yuelian widened her eyes, looking incredulous.

If she weren't worried about angering Zhang Hao, He Yuelian would now want to scold him.

"I've even voluntarily lain on the bed for you to cut up, and you say this has no meaning? Is my face ugly? Or is my figure bad?"

But He Yuelian clearly wouldn't say that; after a moment's thought, she finally spoke.

"Since you and the Ghost Bride have completed that step, does it mean you are now a united husband-and-wife?"

Hearing that, Zhang Hao thought for a moment: "That is indeed the case."

"Whether from a human conceptual perspective or from the essence of the supernatural change, the Ghost Bride and I are now each a ghost, just two separate entities."

"So that's what I want." He Yuelian's eyes lit up as she said quickly.

"You also want to become a ghost?" Zhang Hao looked at He Yuelian with some doubt.

"But aren't you fine as a human? You haven't lost human emotions, and you won't face the revival crisis of Fierce Ghosts like a Ghost Tamer does."

"Although I think emotions aren't good; they only affect my thinking."

"But from a certain angle, emotions can help you suppress more instincts, preventing worries from instinctual influences."

Even though Zhang Hao has reached this point, his actions are still, to some extent, influenced by instincts.

However, the current Zhang Hao possesses all the Killing Rules.

When a ghost has only one Killing Rule, it finds it hard to suppress instincts.

But when a ghost has Killing Rules in all aspects, it can use other Fierce Ghost instincts to suppress the triggered ones.

Put plainly, when the Killing Rules on Zhang Hao are scarce, he is controlled by the instinct of the Killing Rules.

When Zhang Hao's Killing Rules are flawless, any of his actions can be said to follow his Killing Rules.

"Ah, I don't want to become a ghost."

Hearing Zhang Hao's words, He Yuelian, still holding the Ghost Bride, couldn't help but sit on the bed.

"What I want is, like the Ghost Bride, to achieve a unified identity with you," He Yuelian said shyly.

"If that's all, you should have already achieved it," Zhang Hao mused.

"Your current identity is a fragment of the Ghost Bride, merely possessing a human identity."

"In other words, you and the Ghost Bride are one, and the Ghost Bride and I are one, which means you and I are also one."

"." He Yuelian, helpless, looked at Zhang Hao with despair.

"I'm speaking of unity in human terms, not unity in the supernatural essence."

"Oh, I see, you want to enter the bridal chamber, right? Got it," Zhang Hao finally realized.

It may also be due to differing thought patterns; when Zhang Hao contemplates various matters, he first weighs pros and cons before considering other aspects.

He truly cannot comprehend He Yuelian's feelings, because even if Zhang Hao now appears to have emotions, they are merely a mimicry of human feelings.

Joy, anger, sorrow and happiness may appear on Zhang Hao's face, but they do not arise in his heart.

"Now that you know, aren't you coming up quickly?"

He Yuelian, for the first time ever, gave Zhang Hao a cold glance; it was also her first display of displeasure toward him.

Although this displeasure exists only in the manner of expression, it is not genuine resentment in her heart.

But the former He Yuelian would never have expressed her inner thoughts to Zhang Hao in this way.

"Fine then."

Seeing He Yuelian think that way, Zhang Hao no longer continued to refuse.

He Yuelian does many things for Zhang Hao; even without emotion, Zhang Hao can fully judge that she is completely harmless to him.

This harmlessness is a conclusion drawn from every aspect—heart, faction, strength, etc. Having confirmed that He Yuelian is harmless, even beneficial, Zhang Hao does not refuse to grant some of her small wishes, since there seems to be nothing else to attend to in this world now.

Even leaving this world is not something that must happen immediately.

Seeing Zhang Hao step onto the bed again, He Yuelian's face showed excitement.

But soon her excitement turned back into despair.

Because Dry Corpse Bride, upon seeing He Yuelian communicating with Zhang Hao, naturally seized the right to communicate.

After all, He Yuelian is only a fragment of Dry Corpse Bride; the main body watches while the fragment communicates? Then why not have the main body communicate directly? As for Zhang Hao, He Yuelian still dares to act coquettishly and complain a bit, …

Previously, mustering all her courage to suppress fear and storm into the room to embrace Dry Corpse Bride was something He Yuelian could only achieve by gathering every ounce of bravery.

Competing with Dry Corpse Bride for the right to communicate, He Yuelian only wants to say, "I wish to live a bit longer, to spend more time living with Zhang Hao."

Fortunately, even though Dry Corpse Bride now possesses intelligence, she has no sense of possessiveness in her understanding.

He Yuelian, though often having the communication right forcibly taken by Dry Corpse Bride, still gets a few chances to converse.

After all, when He Yuelian communicates, the knowledge can still be poured into Dry Corpse Bride's mind, which makes little meaningful difference for her.

It's just that knowledge experienced firsthand is easier to remember than theoretical observation.

Time drifts slowly.

It is said to be a night, though the actual duration is unknown.

Because in the old mansion there is no concept of day or night; here, there isn't even an instrument to record time.

Only when He Yuelian feels fatigue in the ghostly body she partially commands from Dry Corpse Bride does this night truly end.

The next day.

Zhang Hao leads Dry Corpse Bride and He Yuelian out of the Red Room.

The current Red Room, following the original deal Zhang Hao made with the Ghost Cabinet, after being restored now centers on Dry Corpse Bride.

When Zhang Hao and the others leave the Red Room, its red glow vanishes completely, leaving only a dilapidated, red‑painted old house.

The Red Room was transferred by Zhang Hao into the Ghost Domain of the ghost painting.

Dry Corpse Bride early on established a Wedding Room in the Republic Era courtyard within the Painting World.

Now that the Red Room is restored, it naturally must be transferred; leaving it here would only await another chance for others to split Dry Corpse Bride and the Red Room again.

"Zhang Hao, where are we going now? The ghosts should all be devoured by you, right?" He Yuelian looked up, somewhat puzzled at Zhang Hao.

"To Dachang City; there are ghosts in another place I haven't eaten."

"Now I have to go there to see the situation."

As soon as the words fell, the next moment Zhang Hao and the others' position had already changed.

The current Zhang Hao commands numerous ghost sounds, ghost speech, ghost characters and other supernatural phenomena.

Even without deliberate use, the moment such thoughts appear and words are spoken, the supernatural is already…

At this moment, Zhang Hao and the others do not…

"Here, didn't we come before when we delivered the invitation?" He Yuelian asked, somewhat puzzled.

Having harnessed part of Dry Corpse Bride's supernatural, her memory has greatly improved.

"Indeed we have been here, but this is the surface, not the deep part."

Zhang Hao looked at the street; because the ghosts here have been summoned away, the street, which should have been terrifying, has returned to normal at this moment.

The only problem is that the buildings look somewhat dilapidated, appearing dark and oppressive.

"Come with me."

Zhang Hao stepped forward, walking toward a certain direction.

Dry Corpse Bride followed behind Zhang Hao; she seemed to still remember this place, and couldn't help stopping to look when passing some rundown shops.

Zhang Hao also recalled those places.

One was where Zhang Hao and Dry Corpse Bride ate noodles, another where they bought clothes, and another was an inn.

But now those few shops have become terribly dilapidated.

The Spiritual Realm, which had existed for centuries, quickly eroded and rotted after losing the sustenance of supernatural power.

"Let's go, madam."

Zhang Hao seized Dry Corpse Bride's hand, leading her forward.

He Yuelian, seeing this scene, pursed her lips, but soon a smile returned to her face as she followed.

"Hehe, anyway we're a family now; Zhang Hao is already mine, no need to fuss over so much."

Obviously, He Yuelian's thoughts still lingered in last night's excitement and joy.

Soon, under Zhang Hao's lead, they arrived at the Spirit Road of the Dead.

This Spirit Road of the Dead poses little threat to a Fierce Ghost, and against Zhang Hao of this caliber, even less.

A wooden tower filled with coffins appeared before Zhang Hao's eyes.

It is a wooden tower isolated within this wandering Spirit Road world, wherein seems to exist a past world, or perhaps a dead world.

The dull Footsteps passed through the wooden tower, yet caused no change.

The Ghost here had long been cleared out by Zhang Hao; even if there were still participants, they were no great threat to Zhang Hao.

"Is that you? I didn't expect you to be so punctual."

When Zhang Hao, accompanied by He Yuelian and the Ghost Bride, stopped at the stairwell, an ancient voice echoed from the stairs.

"What? Do you think I shouldn't be punctual?" Zhang Hao retorted.

"Impossible." The ancient voice sneered.

"No, that's not right; many changes have occurred to you."

"Back then you shouldn't have spoken so much."

"Moreover, the bride behind you turned into two, two in one? What a fickle creature."

The old man lurking deep in the stairs, even without displaying power, already showed his terrifying nature merely by meeting.

In just a fleeting moment, he discerned Zhang Hao's changes and even sensed the relationship between the Ghost Bride and He Yuelian.

Not only that; even in the original story, when the Immortal Yang Jian faced this old man, the old man instantly recognized that it was not Yang Jian but a Ghost Child.

This kind of insight, I must say, is terrifying.

One should know that, whether considering Zhang Hao's current rank or Yang Jian's rank,

a Fierce Ghost confronting them cannot wield the supernatural out of instinctive fear, just as Yang Jian's Ghost Eye dares not look at the terrifying Fierce Ghost.

Being able to clearly perceive the things around Zhang Hao when facing him already demonstrates the old man's terror from another angle.

(End of chapter)