Chapter 329: with translation of chapter title

A minute ago I couldn't tell whether this girl hated me or missed me; the next minute I fully understood. She clearly hates me—look, she's hiding behind me and desperately pushing me outward, which is a hundred percent using me as a shield.

"Where did this yellow-haired brat come from, daring to meddle in my affairs?" the blue-haired female ghost, flung backward, radiated killing intent, wishing she could tear me apart and devour me alive.

Although I have no magical power now, the Yin Mountain Command Flag is no pushover—striking the female ghost, it completely dispelled a large portion of her killing intent. Though she would love to swallow me whole, she also fears the flag in my hand and dares not approach.

"You must be the resentful spirit from that painting, right? Since you're already dead, why do you still come up here to harm people, taking so many innocent lives—aren't you afraid of heavenly retribution someday?" I held the flag, on guard against the blue-haired female ghost.

The blue-haired female ghost gave a grim smile, pointing at the male students sprawled on the ground and said, "You can tell clearly—these people weren't harmed by me; they willingly enjoyed themselves with me."

"What nonsense are you talking? If you didn't force yourself on them, that blind idiot wouldn't be stupid enough to sleep with a female ghost!" I retorted while gripping the flag.

"Haha, you say I captured them—do you know I never force anyone when I absorb yang energy?" the ghost paused, then said, "I merely opened my clothes in front of them; I did nothing else, and they climbed onto me themselves, willingly letting me drain their yang."

"Don't believe me? You can ask that little girl beside you..." the ghost pointed at Yao Yirong next to me.

I turned my head toward Yao Yirong, not expecting her to actually nod at me: "It's true—Huang Sheng and the others climbed up voluntarily…."

After hearing Yao Yirong's explanation, I was momentarily speechless—people say lust is a blade above the character for sex, but I never thought it would actually be true.

Although this female ghost harms people, she only harms those who give rise to evil thoughts.

For a man, what he values most is nothing more than power, wealth, and lust—especially that last character for lust; countless nobles have lost their kingdoms for it, countless men have lost their reason. Once a man slips up, desire clouds his judgment—let alone his life, he might even forget his parents' surnames.

I've heard similar stories more than once: a traveling scholar takes refuge in a ruined temple at midnight and finds the bed full of gold; a ruffian moves into a house and discovers women constantly knocking on the door, throwing themselves at him. These scenes are merely illusions created by ghosts, and of course those illusions are also the pretext they use to take your life.

If you cannot resist temptation, give rise to evil thoughts, take the gold, and have relations with her, then she can naturally and openly harm you. Conversely, if you maintain righteous energy, even amidst luxurious illusion, gold and beauty cannot sway your heart—then no ghost dares approach your body, nor can they take your life.

So, though the female ghost is hateful, if what she says is true, then those men brought it upon themselves.

"If that's the case, you haven't done wrong—keep going. Let's go get tea first, then come back to watch you." I chuckled, grabbed Yao Yirong, and prepared to run out.

"You want to leave? Not that easy." With a whoosh, the blue-haired female ghost blocked our path, frightening me into stepping back repeatedly while gripping the flag.

"What are you doing? I'm not susceptible to your temptation—even if you stripped naked and danced before my eyes, you'd just be a pile of bones. I harbor no lustful thoughts; why won't you let me go?"

Facing my question, the female ghost gave a grim smile: "Since you've come, there's no reason you can just walk away so easily."

"Then what do you want?"

By now I know this matter can no longer be resolved peacefully.

The female ghost gave an eerie smile: "I don't want anything in particular—I just want you to see something."

"What thing..."

As soon as I asked, the ghost unexpectedly opened her upper garment.

"Do you find me beautiful?" the blue-haired female ghost had eyes like silk, skin like white, black hair flying. At this moment she had not a trace of her grim ghostly appearance; she was utterly a charming beauty, worthy of being called a celestial maiden descended to earth.

"Beautiful, you certainly are," I said, drooling, moving toward her step by step like a puppet.

"Chen Hai Sheng, you bastard, wake up already!" Yao Yirong's anxious shout came from behind, but I paid no heed, stepping forward until I stood before the blue-haired female ghost.

"Since I'm beautiful, do you want me?" the blue-haired female ghost lightly blew a breath at me.

"I… want your sister." As I neared her, amid her incredulous gaze, I let out an angry roar and thrust the flag into her forehead.

"Ah…" The flag sank into the ghost's forehead, and gradually a grayish mist poured from it, enveloping her whole body.

This is the power of the Yin Mountain Command Flag: forged through sacrifices in graveyards, impure lands, and other extremely yin places, its energy is overwhelming; moreover, the flag is allied with the Five Direction Ghost Emperors, whose authority is such that not only killing intent but even a regional ghost king would not dare offend it lightly. Once a ghost is bound by the Yin Mountain Flag and resists, it will be utterly consumed by the flag.

"Impossible—how could you withstand my charm? How could any man exist…?" The ghost's breath grew weaker, filled with reluctance and doubt, as the Yin Mountain Command Flag devoured her bit by bit.

"You actually thought my years of practicing the Golden Light Mantra and Calming Talismans were for nothing!" I spat out a mouthful of phlegm, venting the frustration of having been suppressed and beaten by the ghost.

The female ghost's charm technique is indeed impressive; had it been anyone else, they might well have been entranced. But I am a Daoist of the Yin Mountain Sect, which emphasizes yin, and because of that trait, its disciples are held to stricter standards of mind than other sects. Charm arts are merely common tricks ghosts use; if I couldn't even resist this, how could I claim mastery over ghosts?

"Chen Hai Sheng, were you just pretending?" Yao Yirong opened her mouth wide, staring at me in astonishment, then she laughed: "Looks like you're not one of those lustful men after all."

I replied irritably: "Whether I'm lustful or not is none of your business; don't think that sharing hardship makes us friends—your punch to my brother I've remembered completely."

"You… you petty person? You kissed me just now without asking my opinion, and I haven't settled the score with you yet." Yao Yirong stood with hands on hips, her face flushing red with anger.

"I kissed you, yet you bit me and punched my nose—don't you remember? Together with last time, this is the second time you've punched my nose." In this world, pettiness isn't exclusive to women; men hold grudges too, especially against unreasonable women.

"Last time, you even had the nerve to say, if it weren't for you crawling into my bed at three in the morning, would I possibly have beaten you?"

"Damn, you think your bed is fragrant? I crawled onto your bed…"

After the battle, the two of us stood in the room the ghost had just ravaged, arguing fiercely, as if determined to fight until a winner emerged, refusing to rest.

"Halt… Prince is here—what demon dares not surrender?"

A booming sound like a heavy object being struck by a hammer, followed by a thunderous shout.

Yao Yirong and I rushed out of the hall to see Pangzi holding a talisman in one hand, the other hand making a sword-finger gesture, standing in the living room, his tiger eyes glaring big as a bull's, bearing the bearing of an angry general like Zhang Fei.

"Dead fatty, you finally showed up—what were you doing just now?" Upon seeing Pangzi, I flared up, grabbed him and gave him a sound beating. We had agreed to hunt ghosts together, yet he dumped me, a weak and sickly remnant, and vanished; worse, he gave me a talisman for dispelling illness drawn as the Infant Protective Symbol of Puan Buddha—was that meant to harm me or save me?

"Whoa, that wasn't even my fault—I just blinked and you were gone." Pangzi clutched his head and fled in all directions.

"And what about this—how do you explain it?" I spread the talisman before him.

Pangzi looked at the talisman and exclaimed, "Isn't this the one I was just practicing with? How did it end up with you?" Then he rubbed the back of his head, after a moment slapped his forehead, and spluttered, "I get it—I must have mistakenly tossed the Threefold True Fire Talisman and the Five Thunder Talisman, thinking they were illness‑dispelling charms, after finishing my practice."

Me: "…" You nearly got someone killed yet strutted about like Columbus discovering a new continent; not beating you would truly be an insult to the mountains and rivers that gave me my name.

Seeing me crack my knuckles with a fierce expression, Pangzi hastily waved his hands: "Hold on, don't get worked up—look what I found outside the house?"

Saying that, he pulled out from his pocket something wrapped in yellow cloth.

Yao Yirong and I gathered around and found it to be a large gray rat, bigger than an ordinary field mouse, its whole body bound with rope, eyes closed as if asleep.

"Wow, how cute! Pangzi, where did you catch this?"

As the rat appeared, Yao Yirong's eyes lit up with amazement; her hand was already reaching to touch it.

……This girl, indeed cannot be judged by common sense.

Yao Yirong couldn't let go of the gray rat, as if she'd found an adorable pet. Like most people, I felt only disgust toward it. Still, why did Pangzi produce the rat? Could he just be bored and catching rats for fun?

"You'll find out soon?" Pangzi made a mysterious hushing gesture, then squeezed the rat's ears hard.

The rat squeaked awake in pain, its limbs and paws twitching uncontrollably as it struggled to break free from the rope.

Even more astonishing, it spoke in a human voice, shouting at Pangzi: "Release me—you dare show disrespect to the ancestral master? Aren't you afraid he'll send his fire‑crow troops to burn you alive?"