UCS Chapter 14

Everyone looked at the Taoist-robed young man who had suddenly appeared, all assuming defensive postures.

 

This person was clearly from the Taoist community. Yin Ling voluntarily stepped forward and bowed. “Thank you for your help. May I ask your name?”

 

Being able to appear silently within Xuan Yu’s formation showed this person’s profound skills. He might be one of those senior masters from various organizations who had reversed aging.

 

However, the Taoist-robed young man raised his head, gave Yin Ling just a faint glance, then lowered his head again.

 

Yin Ling felt somewhat awkward and looked toward Gao Shi for help.

 

There was no help for it—the Taoist community was full of socially awkward people.

 

Gao Shi stepped forward. The young adult on the ground finally realized belatedly that he had been just a hair’s breadth away from danger and began crawling away.

 

The Taoist looked at the young adult. “Don’t go.”

 

Facing this lifesaver, the young adult was quite sensible. He quickly squeezed out a fawning smile. “What, what can I do for you?”

 

The Taoist slightly raised his hand holding the ghost shadow. “You are his karmic connection.”

 

Gao Shi looked at the captured black shadow, his intuition telling him that this small ghost shadow and the large one came from the same source.

 

He pointed at the small ghost shadow and asked, “Can you understand what it’s saying?”

 

The Taoist looked at Gao Shi, and this time he answered, “Yes. Do you want to hear?”

 

Gao Shi nodded. “I do.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Watching Gao Shi communicate with the Taoist without any barriers, Yin Ling couldn’t help but rub his nose and nudge Xuan Yu, whispering, “As expected of Brother Gao. When will we be able to do this too?”

 

“Don’t even think about it, Captain. There’s a reason why auxiliary police have existed for so long.”

 

They watched as the Taoist extended a finger and gently tapped the center of the ghost shadow. A soft white light flashed, and the ghost shadow stretched and elongated, forming a human shape out of thin air.

 

The youth looked at the suddenly appearing human form in horror and rushed over. “Grandpa?! Grandpa, what’s wrong with you!”

 

Yin Ling’s eyes widened too, and he couldn’t help but curse. “Holy shit! How can you recognize this as your grandfather??”

 

What appeared before them was a human… skeleton.

 

The skeleton quickly apologized. “Sorry, sorry, the yin energy isn’t quite enough, only enough to form half.”

 

Yin Ling was exasperated. “Couldn’t you have formed a hollow human shape? At least we could see the face!”

 

The skeleton patted the youth’s head but disagreed. “That wouldn’t work. The skeleton is the body’s support. What good is just a skin? That’s not scientific at all.”

 

“Your existence isn’t scientific either!”

 

Yin Ling suddenly froze and looked sharply at the Taoist.

 

He belatedly realized that he had been arguing with a ghost!

 

The entire yin realm knew that ghosts had no emotions, no memories, only the instinct to feed.

 

Even though recently they had discovered that ghosts seemed to be getting much smarter, and the Spirit Management Bureau suspected something in the world was quietly changing, allowing ghosts to recall their memories from when they were alive—Yin Ling had never imagined that one day he would be arguing with a ghost about what was scientific or not!

 

The youth tightly hugged the skeleton’s lumbar vertebrae, pressing his face firmly against the thoracic vertebrae, crying so hard he could barely breathe. “Grandpa! Wuwuwu… I miss you so much… I told you before not to lie on your side while reading, look, you’ve got a herniated disc now…”

 

The skeleton looked very embarrassed. “Well…” The skeleton writhed and transformed into a kindly-looking old man.

 

Yin Ling: “Hey! Didn’t you say that wasn’t scientific?!”

 

The old man pretended not to hear Yin Ling’s words and lovingly stroked the youth’s head. “My little darling has grown up.”

 

Yin Ling: “Don’t ignore me, damn soul!”

 

While the old man and youth displayed their touching familial affection, the young adult was terrified to the point of wetting himself. Especially when the skeleton transformed into an old man, the young adult’s eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted.

 

His appearance caught Gao Shi’s attention. Feeling Gao Shi’s gaze, the young adult’s eyes lit up, and he crawled toward Gao Shi. “Aren’t you police? Quickly arrest this thing!”

 

His voice attracted everyone’s attention. When the old man looked at the young adult, his eyes instantly widened until his eye sockets cracked, losing his human form.

 

Everyone immediately assumed defensive postures. The youth’s face was pressed against the old man’s chest, but he sensitively detected something was wrong. “Grandpa…?”

 

His head, which was about to rise, was pressed down by the old man’s rough, large hand. The old man’s voice was gentle. “Little darling, Grandpa is fine. Listen, Grandpa has something to tell you.”

 

The old man’s body instantly withered, as if the flesh-forming parts had been emptied, and a black mist enveloped everyone.

 

“Don’t resist.”

 

The Taoist’s voice sounded in everyone’s ears.

 

Gao Shi glanced at the Taoist and extinguished the cigarette between his fingers.

 

Everyone was drawn into an illusion.

 

…

 

This was a room with an antique charm.

 

In the center, an old man wearing reading glasses held a thick book, reading it word by word.

 

“Grandpa!”

 

The youth’s clear voice broke the room’s silence. The old man smiled and adjusted his reading glasses. “Little darling, you’re here?”

 

The youth’s parents had died early, and he depended on his grandfather. His grandfather gave his little darling all his love. Although the youth had no parents, he still grew up sunny and cheerful, like a tall, straight poplar tree.

 

The youth and his grandfather chatted and played for a while. Finally, with happiness on his face, the youth said, “Grandpa, I have a boyfriend. I’ll bring him to meet you someday.”

 

The old man knew about the youth’s orientation. After an all-night talk with the youth, analyzing the pros and cons, he chose to accept it.

 

Now, knowing his beloved grandson had found love, he felt both joy and concern.

 

The scene changed to the old man and youth arguing—or rather, not so much arguing as one-sided advice.

 

The old man tiredly pressed the bridge of his nose. “Little darling, Grandpa feels that this boyfriend of yours has a shifty gaze.”

 

The youth frowned and retorted, “Grandpa, what era are we in? You’re still judging people by their appearance.”

 

 

The old man wanted to say something but just sighed.

 

Time flew by. In the environment, the youth grew taller and taller. The young adult beside him never changed, always attentive and considerate. The old man also put aside his reservations and sincerely regarded the young adult as someone he could entrust his grandson to.

 

He was old, and his health had always been poor. He wasn’t afraid of death; he only feared that after he died, the youth would be left alone in the world, lonely and without support.

 

Fortunately, now there was someone who could accompany him going forward.

 

However, things took a sharp turn for the worse after the old man suddenly fell ill. The old man often lapsed into unconsciousness and lost the ability to speak. The youth stayed by the old man’s side, taking care of him without leaving a step. But human strength has its limits. When the youth fell asleep, the young adult would stand at the old man’s bedside, insulting him with the most degrading words.

 

[You old thing that won’t die, what’s the use of keeping a breath at such an old age!]

 

[With so much money, you won’t even give me a million. If I invested it, I would have made it back long ago!]

 

[And that idiot Shiyu, your dog of a grandson, whining all day for me to accompany him. Do I have that much time??]

 

[Damn it, I don’t even like men in the first place. It’s just that he looks decent, so I reluctantly use him as a plaything to vent. And he gives me grief all day. Are you two getting too full of yourselves?!]

 

[You even sent people to investigate me?]

 

The young adult tore off his disguise, ranting incessantly in front of him, as if wanting to return all the grievances he had “endured” over these years.

 

The old man was almost driven mad with anger, but his fury was imprisoned in his broken body.

 

Sometimes, the young adult would deliberately choose to insult him when he was conscious, even kicking the bedpost, looking smug at the old man’s angry yet helpless state.

 

The old man watched as the young adult feigned affection for the youth, watched as the dependent youth fell deeper and deeper, yet he could do nothing.

 

The turning point occurred one night.

 

The young adult’s “business” needed money.

 

His capital chain had a large gap that needed funds to remedy.

 

The young adult came from a poor family and had developed step by step only through the old man’s connections. Where would he get money?

 

Where to get money?

 

If he killed the old man, he would have money.

 

The youth loved him so much and trusted him so completely, to the point of foolishness—as long as he coaxed him a little, all that money would be his.

 

So that night, the young adult pulled out the old man’s oxygen tube.

 

The old man died.

 

Anger and obsession condensed the old man’s soul into a ghost. He crouched behind the youth, watching his most beloved little darling from when he was alive.

 

He watched as the young adult used sweet words to coax money from the youth time and again.

 

He watched as the young adult made excuses about the hardships of entrepreneurship, making the youth scrimp and save while he himself lived a life of debauchery outside.

 

He watched as the young adult rolled in bed with Miss Qian—a bed the youth had made—speaking of the youth with disdain.

 

He watched as the young adult spent most of the money on Miss Qian, and then began to coax the youth to sell the old house. When the youth refused, he schemed to have the youth killed.

 

 

That day, a speeding car rushed toward the unsuspecting youth. The ghost formed from the old man used up half his yin energy to save the youth’s life, though he still broke a leg.

 

But this broken leg actually became an opportunity for the young adult.

 

The young adult began trying to play on emotions. Seeing the youth’s determination, he attempted to poison him while the youth was immobile.

 

The old man protected the youth time and again, and time and again was provoked to murderous intent.

 

However, perhaps after killing the old man, the young adult had a guilty conscience and obtained a blessed jade pendant. The old man tried everything but couldn’t get close to the young adult’s body, and instead was continuously worn down.

 

Until today, the old man looked at his increasingly faint body and decided to make one last desperate attempt.

 

…

 

The black mist gradually dissipated.

 

The young adult’s face was ashen, his whole body trembling. “It, it wasn’t me…”

 

He looked at Gao Shi, grabbing his pant leg like a drowning man clutching at straws. “You’re a police officer, right? You should protect me. This ghost thing is, is slandering me!”

 

In the next moment, a resounding slap echoed throughout the hall.

 

The young adult’s cheek swelled up instantly, a red handprint appearing on his face, like a tattoo branded on a prisoner, pronouncing his death sentence.

 

The youth’s eyes were filled with tears, but surging with anger. “Bastard!”

 

His fists rained down on the young adult’s face and body like raindrops. The youth roared with rage, like an enraged beast.

 

His eyes were bloodshot.

 

Even at this point, the young adult was still making excuses. “It, it wasn’t me. I love, love you so much. You believe that ghost thing but not me…”

 

After that, he couldn’t speak anymore.

 

Seeing it was about enough, Gao Shi reached out to stop the youth. “Alright, stop hitting him. Any more and you’ll kill him.”

 

The youth panted, his whole body shaking from the stress response.

 

The old man, now withered to just skin, embraced the youth.

 

Soon, the sound of the youth’s sobbing came from the old man’s embrace.

 

Perhaps Gao Shi’s intervention gave the young adult some misconception. He clung to Gao Shi’s calves. “Arrest him! I’m almost beaten to death! Arrest them all!”

 

Gao Shi chuckled softly, bending down to pat his face, which was so swollen it was unrecognizable.

 

“Yes, someone should be arrested.”

 

Wi

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th a crisp “click,” the smile that had just begun to form on the young adult’s face froze.

 

Gao Shi held the other end of the handcuffs and completed his sentence.

 

“…However, the one who should be arrested is you.”

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