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"You dead ghost, why have you only just got back?"

Located at the very heart of Jiangnan, a burly man carrying the day’s weariness and a child slowly approached the entrance, being extremely cautious as he entered, but still, the woman in the courtyard caught him red-handed!

"Hehe... my wife..." the burly man carefully offered a laugh, his imposing figure having no deterrent effect in front of the somewhat weathered woman, obedient as a little kitten.

"My wife— I don’t deserve that title!" the woman sneered, "What virtues or abilities do I have to be called the wife of the esteemed Day Traveling God?"

"My wife, please don’t be angry, my wife..." the man hurried forward, but the woman dodged and fixed a stern gaze on the cautious child.

"Haven’t I told you not to bring these things home?" The woman’s expression turned very ugly!

"This... I just happened to encounter him on my way back," the man quickly explained, "This child is so young and already gone, truly pitiable. Plus, he looks so frightened, he still hasn’t come to his senses; he knows nothing when asked, and we don’t even know which family he belongs to. It’s going to be a problem for the registry in the afterlife. "

"That’s your problem!" the woman was uncompromising as she brushed his hand away, "you disappeared for a year, out of the blue in your brother’s territory, and next thing we know, you’ve become this Ghost Envoy. Now look at you, bringing home all sorts of mess every day..."

"Hey hey hey, my wife, don’t talk nonsense, how can you say we are separated by life and death? Aren’t I right here in front of you?" the big man quickly grabbed her small hand, "Look... It’s warm, see? Where is there any separation by life and death?"

"Stop it!" the woman’s eyes reddened as she spoke, "You and your sister deceived me before, saying you were fine. I only found out the truth later, that you were killed by a rock!"

"My wife..." the man was at a loss for words, silently supporting her back, "Isn’t everything alright now? I’m alive and kicking, and I’ve secured a position in the underworld early on. It’s no different from ordinary people on most days, what’s so bad about that?"

"Everything is bad about it!" the woman shouted, "With all the abilities that Chen Qing has, why didn’t he fully revive you?"

At this remark, the child’s eyes lit up behind him. Chen Qing?

"That’s because... being alive..." the man quickly said.

"Alive, huh..." the wife said icily, "if you’re alive, why don’t you sleep with me at night? Are you afraid of spawning a Ghost Doll?"

"Tsk... my wife, my wife..." the big man blushed, "This... we have company, what are you... talking about?"

"Who asked you to bring strangers home?" the woman turned her gaze back to the child, "Besides, is that even a person?"

"My wife..." the man sighed helplessly, "He’s just a child..."

"Hmph!" The woman, clearly a bit soft-hearted considering the child’s age, finally said, "This is the last time. If you dare bring any more messy spirits home, I will break your legs!"

"Alright, alright... the last time, the last time..."

"Hmph..." With another cold snort, the woman didn’t give him another look, "Go sleep in the guest room. Don’t bring that thing into the main courtyard. And you stay with him, don’t let this entity scare the kids.

When Chen Qing gets back, I’m going to have to talk to him, no matter what. You can’t keep doing this job."

"But... my wife, this job is really good, you see, I am highly respected?"

"Respected? Is that really respect they’re showing you?" The wife grew even more annoyed, "Look at what’s become of the child normally?"

The man, being a Day Traveling God, was indeed respected. People from outside would bow and pay respects from a distance to her husband. Besides helping the souls of the departed loved ones, if necessary, having good relations might also ensure some connections in the underworld for the future.

As such, when neighbors learned that her husband was a Day Traveling God, many would try to ingratiate themselves with him.

But while they were eager to please, it was clear that there was still a sense of rejection in their daily interactions, which was normal. Day Traveling Gods are deities of the underworld after all, but in the end, they are spirits.

The wife of a spirit, doesn’t that sound chilling to you?

Those who knew the stakes and the benefits managed fine, clearly understanding that everyone dies, and in Jiangnan, it was a significant advantage to have good relations with underworld officials in advance.

But for some women of little insight, there would be whispering and pointing fingers.

If it hadn’t been for her husband’s brother as the current master of Jiangnan, who knows what people would say in public.

One could see this from their child’s experiences; he had come home more than once crying, complaining that other children would not play with him, saying his father was a spirit!

What do small children understand? Isn’t it the adults who spread these rumors? If the adults truly respected her husband behind the scenes, why would they let their children ostracize their own?

Thinking of this, the woman felt a pang of sorrow.

"I understand..." the big man sighed, "When Chen Qing comes back, I’ll ask him to think of a solution..."

"You’ve said that so many times, but when your precious brother comes home, have you once spoken to him about it?"

"Isn’t he busy?" the man sighed, "Chen Qing is an important person now, dealing with countless matters. If it’s not necessary, I really don’t want to trouble him..."

"Nonsense!" the woman flared up, "For his education, we gave up nearly half our lives. Now that his nephew is in this state, shouldn’t he be concerned?"

"Alright, alright... he should be involved, he should be. By the way, where’s mother?"

"Mother has gone to Nanming Prefecture!" The woman cast him a sidelong glance, "She realized that her grandson can’t go on like this and bluntly suggested we should just move the entire family to Nanming Prefecture.

See, mother cares more about the child than you do, she knows to find solutions, whereas you, heartless. .."

"Ah, I... oh dear, my wife, please don’t cry..."

The man was at a loss, but the child trailing behind him appeared utterly dazed...

Chen Qing?

Is this... Chen Qing’s home?

It can’t be, right?

The teenager was indeed Murong Bingyun. He had intended to hide far away, but he hadn’t expected to be caught by the on-duty Day Traveling God who had dragged him around asking questions and insisted on taking him to file records in the underworld.

He didn’t dare to take action lightly, so he feigned ignorance, claiming he remembered nothing.

Seeing that they couldn’t identify him, they decided to take him back first and would bring him to recognize his family home the next day.

After confirming his identity, they would return to the underworld.

He had initially thought to pretend to agree and find a way to escape when the other party rested at night, but who could have imagined that this was Chen Qing’s home?

At this revelation, Murong Bingyun no longer wanted to leave.

If everything before him wasn’t a ruse, this should be the safest place!

Moreover, he was also curious about the mysterious individual who had established a new order in Jiangnan—what kind of background did he have?

Was he from a reclusive family of nobility or... raised by some special organization?

Perhaps the world’s major powers were all curious about this as well?

But why...

The couple before him, claimed to be Chen Qing’s relatives, seemed... not quite like any noteworthy figures...

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"Father, I still think something’s off."

At the West Sea, Ghost Doll was still sprawled on the deck, chin in hand.

"According to what you said, they lured you away and launched a surprise attack. While probing, they also wanted to join in on the opening of the Dragon Palace. So why... didn’t they wait until the time for the Dragon Palace was nearer to make their move? "

Chen Qing: "..."

You know, Ghost Doll might seem foolish on any given day, but now she posed a question that stumped Chen Qing.

Indeed, if their goal was also to join the Dragon Palace, hoping to sneak in with his group amidst the chaos, why act now?

After all, there was more than a month left before the Dragon Palace would open. Weren’t they afraid he would use this month’s time to deal with them?

Obviously, just as Ghost Doll had said, making a move closer to the time would have made it more difficult for him to handle everything at once.

"Father..."

As Chen Qing was mired in doubt, Ghost Doll suddenly looked up, leaped energetically onto the mast!

"What’s the matter?" Chen Qing was startled.

"There’s something ahead!"

"Hmm?" Chen Qing’s heart skipped a beat, and he floated to a higher position. With his current spiritual power, he should be able to sense any creature approaching within a ten-mile radius, unless... it was a high-level creature!

Ascending higher, Chen Qing looked out over the sea. The waters were calm and the blue-green color of the sea was stunningly beautiful, its dreamlike quality enhanced by the mist. However, despite his senses, there were no living creatures present.

Yet when he looked carefully, he saw from the deep water... a pair of eyes larger than lanterns, like two massive green gemstones, eerily staring in this direction.

"How can this be?"

Chen Qing was stunned. Green eyes, hundreds of meters in length, lurking there—at a glance, one might think it was a terrifying Giant Serpent. But upon closer inspection, he could see that the creature... had horns!

And there was more than one; it was only because of his approach that one of them had opened its eyes warily.

Indeed, the next second, countless green lantern-like eyes opened beneath the water, as if a field of green lights had been lit on the ocean floor.

Looking over, the plethora of cold, eerie gazes made even Ghost Doll take a step back.

Flood Dragons... they’d already emerged?

Chen Qing immediately realized the dire situation.

The Dragon Palace... had opened ahead of schedule!!