UCS Chapter 21

The ghost hand’s disappearance would also cause backlash to the Celestial Master, so he probably won’t cause trouble for a while.

 

Lastly, there’s the [Contractor].

 

Gao Shi tackled both fiction and reality, reading novels while asking his father to gather gossip from their circles.

 

Previously known for his stern and serious demeanor, Father Gao suddenly inquiring about kept lovers shocked many. People thought they’d found a way to curry favor, bombarding him with various rumors, overwhelming the usually gossip-averse man.

 

Being extremely meticulous, Father Gao sorted through the true and false rumors, uncovering shocking truths:

 

Like “The Sun family’s beloved youngest son is actually fake. He’s not only a cuckoo in the nest but also involved with his ‘elder brother’. Now the parents want to bring back their real son, but the elder brother, fearing for his fake brother and true lover, gave him half his shares. This angered Old Sun so much he was hospitalized thrice in one day.”

 

Father Gao’s comment: DNA testing is a good thing.

 

Gao Shi’s comment: Better to have given birth to char siu[mfn]Char siu (叉烧) is a popular Cantonese-style barbecued pork dish. The term literally means “fork roasted,” referring to the traditional cooking method of skewering seasoned pork with long forks and roasting it over a fire or in an oven.[/mfn] than such a son.

 

Lele’s comment: Dad, don’t worry, I’m definitely not char siu!

 

Or “The Zhou company seems haunted, causing panic. They’re offering 1.5 times overtime pay for employees to keep working while ‘experts’ investigate. Actually, these experts are two fake Taoists who fled the next day, losing a shoe. If it weren’t for the stinky shoe, people might have thought it was Cinderella.”

 

Father Gao’s comment: Zhou’s oppression of employees is severe. If not this time, trouble will come next time.

 

Gao Shi’s comment: Real Taoist services aren’t cheap. Getting two for just 30,000 yuan? Obviously fake.

 

Lele’s comment: 1.5 times overtime pay?? Does Zhou even know about labor protection laws[mfn]Labor protection laws are legislation designed to safeguard workers’ rights, ensure fair treatment, and balance the interests of employers and employees. These laws encompass various aspects of the employment relationship. In many countries, including China, labor laws typically require a higher rate for overtime work. The standard is often 1.5 times the regular pay rate for overtime on regular workdays, 2 times for weekend work, and 3 times for holiday work.[/mfn]?!

 

And “The 76-year-old Wu patriarch shocked his family by having his 20-year-old lover give birth to twins. No one dares to act as he controls most of the shares.”

 

Father Gao’s comment: …The world is going downhill.

 

Gao Shi’s comment: …No respect for elders.

 

Lele’s comment: …Old but still vigorous.

 

These juicy rumors started as serious discussions among the three men, but soon mother Gao eagerly joined. After gossiping with her mother-in-law, Grandmother Gao couldn’t resist and drove her sports car to bring Great-grandmother Gao to the Gao residence.

 

Grandfather Gao and Great-grandfather Gao had no choice but to follow their wives, drawn by the allure of gossip.

 

Even the family group chat was renamed “Gao Family Gossip Squad”.

 

Though not first-hand, these rumors were absolutely true, and who wouldn’t love such juicy gossip?

 

With Father Gao constantly inquiring about “kept lovers”, outsiders began to think the model couple’s relationship had soured.

 

Little did they know, behind every exhausted Father Gao were five generations of family members eagerly awaiting the next piece of gossip.

 

Father Gao: This life is unbearable!

 

Thanks to Father Gao’s diligent efforts, Gao Shi can now analyze what might have happened in his dreams.

 

To prevent future issues, Gao Shi has prepared a substantial amount of funds.

 

However, he didn’t expect to need it so soon.

 

…

 

Gao Shi pressed “Save” and looked up from his analysis.

 

The sealing in front of him was also nearing its end.

 

The formation emitted a pale blue halo enveloping the two, and Gao Shi could clearly feel something changing.

 

This sealing was for Gao Gusheng’s deadly spirit-attracting constitution. In the dream, after Gao Gusheng came of age, he was haunted by countless ghosts due to this constitution.

 

Ghosts wandering in the mortal realm have two ways to avoid dissipating:

 

One is to absorb human yang energy, the other is to stay close to a spirit-attracting body.

 

A spirit-attracting body has an extremely nourishing effect on ghosts, even more potent than absorbing yang energy.

 

People with spirit-attracting bodies are like gravitational fields, attracting spiritual energy and yin energy, as well as ghosts.

 

The closer to the spirit-attracting body, the stronger the nourishment.

 

Crucially, the ability of a spirit-attracting body is passive, meaning it nourishes nearby ghosts regardless of the person’s will.

 

This was why Gao Gusheng was haunted by countless ghosts in the dream.

 

This constitution is very rare. Dream Gao Gusheng had tried to save himself, but the Taoists he met either wanted to possess him or didn’t know how to solve the problem.

 

The only person who genuinely wanted to help Gao Gusheng searched through ancient texts with him but couldn’t find the cause of his predicament.

 

It wasn’t until Gao Gusheng met Celestial Master Zhang and was drained of his last bit of flesh and blood that he learned the source of his disaster.

 

Fortunately, Ying Bujie could help seal Gao Gusheng’s constitution.

 

The pale blue halo gradually turned into a soft white, shrinking until it only enveloped Gao Gusheng.

 

Like a shattered glass bottle, the halo transformed into tiny points of light upon touching the skin, pouring into Gao Gusheng’s body.

 

At that moment, Gao Shi seemed to see a phantom image rise behind Gao Gusheng. The image disappeared in the blink of an eye, turning into silver patterns on Gao Gusheng’s body, giving him an indescribable purity and holiness.

 

Accompanied by a growl from Ying Bujie’s stomach, Gao Gusheng opened his eyes.

 

Gao Shi thanked Ying Bujie, “Taoist, the meal is ready on the table.”

 

Ying Bujie stood up and walked straight towards the door.

 

This sealing took a full three hours; Ying Bujie must be starving.

 

Gao Shi pulled his son over, “How do you feel? Any discomfort?”

 

Gao Gusheng showed off his biceps to his father, striking a bodybuilder pose, “Feeling great!”

 

The cold feeling that always surrounded him was gone, and he felt light as if shackles had been removed.

 

Gao Shi lifted his son’s shirt hem, only to see a soft, pudgy belly with no tattoo.

 

“What’s up, Dad?”

 

Gao Gusheng patted his belly.

 

Gao Shi patted his son’s belly, lowered the shirt hem, and frowned, “I thought I saw a silver tattoo on you just now.”

 

Gao Gusheng lifted his shirt to look, but only saw his soft, pale belly flesh.

 

He poked his belly, suddenly overcome with sadness.

 

“No! I don’t want a tattoo, I want six-pack abs!”

 

Gao Shi was speechless, “That’s neither here nor there. Let’s go eat.”

 

Gao Gusheng walked towards the dining room, whimpering.

 

Actually, at the beginning, Gao Shi had thought that one reason dream Gao Gusheng was so weak and helpless was his frail physique that looked like it could be blown over by the wind.

 

In the dream, Gao Gusheng had fair skin, a soft figure, beautiful yet fragile. There was an indescribable brokenness about him that made people want to make him cry, to see his eye corners tinted a beautiful crimson.

 

Clearly, this appearance suited the tastes of those scumbag suitors.

 

Gao Shi had considered having Gao Gusheng practice martial arts or work out to build a muscular physique. This would not only help with self-defense but also solve the problem fundamentally.

 

Initially, Gao Gusheng was very excited about this plan. As a male currently showing no signs of being gay, he greatly desired muscles, especially with his fit father as a comparison, making him resent his own soft flesh even more.

 

However, after training with Gao Shi for a long time, Gao Gusheng showed no signs of changing his physique. Although his flesh contained great explosive power, it still looked soft, and his frame remained thin, defying the general rules of muscle and strength.

 

It’s worth noting that while Gao Shi looked slender and not exaggeratedly built, belonging to the lean muscle type, you could see beautiful arm muscle lines without him flexing, and abs were visible even when he was naturally relaxed.

 

But for Gao Gusheng, his abs could only be described as hardened by leanness, and were only visible when he sucked in his breath.

 

It was too ridiculous.

 

Especially when Gao Gusheng discovered that days of outdoor training didn’t darken his skin at all, but instead made it even more fair with a rosy glow due to exercise, he lost it.

 

From then on, his aesthetic preferences developed towards muscular hunks, never to return.

 

His father’s body, explosively good in others’ eyes, was no longer his goal. His goal became those bodybuilders with huge muscle masses, arms thicker than thighs. If such a bodybuilder had bronze skin, with glycerin smeared on his muscle blocks shining under the lights, Gao Gusheng’s soul would be captivated.

 

It seems there’s some truth to “moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, excessive fitness attracts the same sex.”

 

However, while Gao Gusheng was wallowing in his frustration, Gao Shi increasingly felt the abnormality of this world.

 

It was as if some invisible force was suppressing Gao Gusheng, preventing him from changing his appearance and physique.

 

Was it to serve the “plot”?

 

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