Chapter 18: The Haunted House!

The Third Story: The Life-Buying Ghost!

“Ahhh—”
“Help—”
“Ghost—”

One agonized scream after another echoed from the haunted house, sending a group of college students fleeing in terror, stumbling and scrambling out in a complete panic.

At the back of the crowd, the young couple who had once urinated in the haunted house earlier emerged leisurely. Spotting Chu Tian sitting at the counter, they silently gave him a thumbs-up. “Awesome, bro!”

“Your classmates were so scared, they won’t have any lasting psychological trauma, right?” Chu Tian asked the couple.

“Don’t worry, boss. They’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep,” the couple replied. “We’ll come back next time if we have the chance.”

“All right, take care!” Chu Tian waved them off, still baffled by how their minds worked.

He picked up a wind chime he had been crafting on the counter and stepped outside, hanging it by the door.

This wind chime was something of a minor magical tool—an invention Chu Tian had just created using the inheritance of the spirit messengers. It had no other function except to alert him when restless spirits passed nearby, sensing their spiritual energy.

No sooner had he hung the wind chime than it began to sway vigorously.

Before Chu Tian could speak, the spectral entities from inside the haunted house swiftly poured out and positioned themselves behind him, bracing for battle.

“Be careful, Chu, a powerful ghost is coming!” Old Li stood beside Chu Tian, his face serious as he stared outside the haunted house. The other spirits were equally grave.

Outside, Chen Meng was approaching with Chu Meng’er, who wore a little dress and carried a small windmill.

As they drew nearer to the haunted house, the wind chime’s ringing grew more urgent.

“A ghost? A ghost king-level spirit?” Inside the haunted house, Old Li and the five spirits instinctively began to feel uneasy.

After all, Chu Meng’er was a level-six Ghost King, while Old Li and his companions were only around level two. In terms of sheer power, Chu Meng’er was like a commander, and Old Li’s group nothing more than cannon fodder.

“That little girl, right?” Chu Tian said as Chen Meng and Chu Meng’er entered. “Don’t be nervous, she’s one of us!”

“What? That Ghost King is one of us?”

“Dad!” Chu Meng’er shouted, running toward Chu Tian as soon as she entered.

“Dad?”

“Dad??”

“Dad!”

“Dad?”

“Dad???”

One after another, the five spirits stared at Chu Tian in disbelief, repeating the word “Dad.” Old Li’s jaw practically dropped off; the consumptive ghost looked too stunned to breathe; the little female ghost holding a doll dropped her doll; the little male ghost’s head fell off and rolled several times; even the ghost in the red bathrobe was so shocked his robe strap slipped off his shoulder... well, what a mess!

Chu Tian twitched at the corner of his mouth, picked up Chu Meng’er, and said to Old Li, “I’m telling you, Old Li, stop repeating it.”

Repeating?

A Ghost King just called you Dad. What does it matter if you repeat it or not?

“Come, let me introduce her. This is my daughter, Chu Meng’er,” Chu Tian said, holding her in his arms. “As you see, she’s a Ghost King, but right now she’s experiencing what it’s like to live an ordinary child’s life. Don’t worry about it. These guys here are Dad’s employees, Meng’er, don’t scare them, okay?”

The hierarchy among spirits was strict, so Chu Tian didn’t suggest Chu Meng’er call Old Li “Grandpa” or anything like that.

Manners were one thing, but since Old Li and Chu Meng’er weren’t related, it would be awkward for a Ghost King to call Old Li “Grandpa.” Old Li wouldn’t dare acknowledge it either — or his life force wouldn’t hold up!

“Having fun?” Chu Tian looked at Chen Meng.

“Not bad. This little one’s almost gone crazy playing,” Chen Meng complained, sitting in Chu Tian’s chair behind the counter. “She’s just like those wild kids. Maybe... we should send her to kindergarten earlier, like you said.”

“Good idea!” Chu Tian nodded. “By the way, have your people contacted them? Can they handle it?”

“Of course! Absolutely!” Chen Meng said. “Over the years, some well-trained demon clans, aside from registering with the Righteous Qi Alliance, have formed their own organizations within human society to help demons who cultivate in the deep mountains get legitimate identities. I just sent Chu Meng’er’s information over. She’s registered under your household.”

“Registered under my household? How does that work with her identity?” Chu Tian asked. He had originally planned to register Chu Meng’er as an orphan from his old orphanage and claim her as his adopted daughter.

But unmarried men weren’t allowed to adopt little girls.

“Of course, she’s counted as your biological daughter. Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of it. You only graduated a year ago; Meng’er is three years old, so she was born when you were a sophomore.”

“What? Born when I was a sophomore? Who did I have a kid with then?” Chu Tian asked.

“With me,” Chen Meng replied. “A pure-hearted sophomore boy meets a beautiful woman at a bar one night. They hit it off, and under the influence of lights and alcohol, they had a wild night. The next morning, the woman disappeared without a trace, leaving only 200 yuan. Unexpectedly, three years later, the woman returns triumphantly with their child, swearing to reclaim everything she lost. Sounds like a thrilling story, right? I even thought of a title: ‘One Birth, One Treasure: The Journey of a Beautiful Mother and Her Ghost King Daughter Looking for Her Husband.’ Do you think it’d be popular on 17k novels?”

“I think... except for the one-night stand part, if you described that in more detail, no ghost would read the rest,” Chu Tian said. Then he noticed Old Li and the other five spirits were all watching Chen Meng intently, as if urging her to continue—they loved a good story.

“Damn, if your story turns out like this, how am I supposed to explain it to my college classmates?” Chu Tian said, looking at Chen Meng.

“Well, you can think of a better background story. I’ve already reported it. The documents will arrive in two days. Your identity and enrollment problems will all be solved. What more do you want?” Chen Meng said.

Just then, the wind chime softly chimed. The haunted house door opened again, and a long-haired woman in a white spaghetti-strap dress stepped inside, her voice carrying a hint of weariness. “Excuse me, is this the haunted house? I’m looking for the owner... Chu Tian?”

No sooner had she stepped in than Old Li and the five spirits vanished.

“Li Weiwei?”

As the woman looked at Chu Tian in surprise, he felt life was full of drama.

Because this woman was none other than his college classmate, his vice class monitor—Li Weiwei!