Geng Zimo was completely clueless about the state of the ghost Su Kun was talking about, so he could only try to drag Su Kun aside.

Fortunately, they were in a hospital, and Su Kun’s strange behavior might just be seen as a symptom by others, who merely glanced at them without causing a commotion. Geng Zimo instinctively felt that if everyone remained calm, the ghost might also stay quiet. If everyone panicked, the ghost might get agitated and do something unpredictable.

This assumption was correct at the moment.

Since everyone around them didn’t show any significant reaction, the ghost’s attention was entirely focused on Su Kun’s behavior.

Strictly speaking, the female ghost was likely a beauty when she was alive, but in this situation, beauty made it worse. She had big eyes, but now that she was a ghost, her eyes were almost entirely black, with very little white, making them even more terrifying.

Su Kun had always found people with small irises unsettling, but he never expected large black irises to be even scarier.

To make matters worse, her skin was deathly pale, almost blue, which, combined with an obviously old-fashioned red dress, made her appearance truly horrifying.

Su Kun, feeling himself sliding down in fear, screamed internally, "It turns out I'm the one who's Conan Edogawa, not Geng Zimo! Ahhh!"

Last time when he encountered Granny Camphor Tree, sliding down helped him escape, but this time, he wasn’t so lucky. The female ghost seemed very interested in his reaction, tilting her head and staring at him with expressionless eyes.

It seemed she hadn’t been in such a lively place for a long time, making her excited, but she had forgotten how to express emotions. Her attempt at a smile turned into a twisted, eerie grin.

Help! QAQ

Su Kun was so terrified by her ghostly smile that he broke out in goosebumps, tears welling up in his eyes. It wasn’t a look of joy but rather a predator spotting prey.

As if his thoughts had some power, the female ghost stopped smiling and lunged at him before he could react.

The scream got stuck in Su Kun’s throat as he was too shocked to even blink. Suddenly, he found himself face-to-face with the ghost, her pale, bluish face and terrifying eyes just centimeters away. He couldn’t breathe, his throat went dry, his limbs felt cold, and his heart dropped like a stone.

As his mind was filled with thoughts of imminent death, the female ghost’s expression suddenly changed to one of shock and disbelief.

Still paralyzed with fear, Su Kun couldn’t comprehend the change in her expression but instinctively followed her gaze to her chest.

There, a long, muscular hand was clawing through her body, emerging from her left chest. The hand twisted, and the ghost let out a blood-curdling scream before being sucked into the hand in a swirl of fragments.

With the ghost gone, Gu Yan’s tall but slightly transparent figure appeared before Su Kun. His usually expressionless face showed a hint of concern, but it quickly reverted to a calm, reassuring look. He reached out with his right hand, touched Su Kun’s cheek lightly, and said, “I’m back.”

Su Kun, feeling the cool touch on his cheek, snapped out of his daze. He stared blankly for a moment before whispering, “Gu Yan?”

His voice was weak, but Geng Zimo, who was trying to pull him towards Xiang Ge, heard it.

Geng Zimo paused, looked around in confusion, and continued to drag Su Kun, whispering, “I don’t see him. Did you get so scared you’re hallucinating? Come on, let’s move over to Boss Xiang. Maybe that ghost won’t follow you there.”

“Huh? Ghost?” Su Kun repeated blankly, still in a daze, realizing he was clutching onto Geng Zimo.

He quickly stood up, ignoring Geng Zimo, and grabbed Gu Yan’s left wrist, inspecting it. “Is she really gone? She won’t come back, right?”

Gu Yan nodded and reassured him, “She’s gone. She won’t come back.”

Finally realizing his ghost-fighting boyfriend had returned, Su Kun felt his heart, which had dropped into his stomach, leap back into his chest.

He stared at Gu Yan with admiration, then grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously, saying, “This world is too scary. Please, let’s stick together! Get the master to make a charm that will automatically follow me or a teleport scroll that brings me to you instantly. Or one that shrinks me down so you can carry me around!”

Geng Zimo: "..." Is he so scared he’s talking to thin air?

Just then, Xiang Ge, who had finished the formalities and contacted the company, walked over. He saw Geng Zimo looking at him with twitching lips, saying, “Finally, take him straight to the psych ward.”

Xiang Ge: "..." Can someone explain what’s going on?

Gu Yan glanced at their reactions, sighed, and pinched Su Kun’s cheek. “If you stay with me, won’t you encounter more ghosts?”

Su Kun: "..." Oh right, I forgot his job is chasing ghosts. =_=

Xiang Ge, looking between Su Kun and Geng Zimo, finally couldn’t help asking, “What’s going on with you two?”

Realizing there were still people around, Su Kun explained, “Uh, in short, a female ghost suddenly appeared and attacked me, but Gu Yan dealt with her before she could do anything.”

“A ghost in this busy hall?” Xiang Ge was surprised.

He had thought the busy hall would be safe. He figured the collective yang energy of so many people would keep any ghost at bay.

But a ghost had actually appeared. How powerful must this ghost be to show up in broad daylight in a crowded place and still be able to threaten Su Kun’s life?

***

However, before he could ponder this further, Geng Zimo asked, “You said Gu Yan dealt with the ghost?”

“Yeah!” Su Kun nodded, as if it were obvious. “Who else would deal with her if not him?” =_=

“Then where is he?”

“He’s right here, can’t you see—” Su Kun pointed to his right, only to remember Gu Yan was still in spirit form.

"..." Xiang Ge stared at the empty space, thinking, he really isn’t human!

Geng Zimo, realizing this, said, “He turned back into a ghost?”

Xiang Ge’s brain buzzed with confusion: wait, what does it mean by turned back?

Reminded by Geng Zimo’s words, Su Kun turned to Gu Yan. “That’s it, why are you still in adult form?”

Gu Yan’s form had always been unstable. Initially, he couldn’t control when he shrank or grew. Later, he found a method, taught by Granny Camphor Tree and the others, to temporarily control his form by sealing a portion of his power. This allowed him to shrink and enter spirit form, making it easier to deal with spirits and remain unseen by ordinary people.

But this method was not reliable and caused dual depletion since he had to seal and unseal his own power repeatedly. The only real solution was to continue absorbing residual spirits and fragments to truly master his transformation, which could take years or even decades according to the master.

But now, Gu Yan seemed to have achieved something beyond that.

“You managed to turn back without unsealing your power?” Su Kun asked, wide-eyed.

“I’ve mastered controlling my form,” Gu Yan replied solemnly. “Have you contacted the master?”

“Yes, he said he’s watching Zhang Yi’s soul near the emergency room to make sure it doesn’t wander too far and become unrecoverable,” Su Kun pointed down the hallway.

“Good, it’s quieter there. Let’s go,” Gu Yan suggested, gesturing for Su Kun to inform Xiang Ge and Geng Zimo.

Su Kun pulled them along, guiding the now-visible Gu Yan down the hall to a quieter area near the emergency room. This section was less crowded, providing some privacy.

They turned a corner and saw the master standing with his hands behind his back, watching the emergency room. Apart from him, the area was empty.

Gu Yan’s form shimmered and solidified as he addressed the master, “Master, this situation is complicated.”

Xiang Ge and Geng Zimo watched the transformation, feeling exasperated: "..." Can you be more considerate of us normal folks?

Seeing Gu Yan reappear, Xiang Ge turned to Su Kun, “Sorry, I was supposed to take care of you, but I still let you encounter this. It’s my oversight.”

Gu Yan waved it off. “It’s not your fault. Even if you were beside him, you couldn’t have stopped that ghost.”

“A female ghost?” The master, still puzzled, asked, “Did you run into a ghost again, Su Kun? Did you go somewhere isolated?”

“No, it was in the hall. With my luck, would I go somewhere isolated?” Su Kun shook his head.

Geng Zimo: "..." You used to run to isolated places plenty!

Hearing it happened in the hall, the master’s brows furrowed. He turned to Gu Yan, recalling his transformation, and asked, “You didn’t use the unsealing method to change back, right?”

“No, I can now control my form freely,” Gu Yan confirmed.

“What’s going on? The difference in power is significant. How did this happen so suddenly?”

Gu Yan interrupted, “It’s related to the spirit I was chasing.”

The master pointed to the still-lit emergency room, “The one that possessed that employee? What happened?”

“It moved faster and more agilely than any spirit I’ve encountered. Its clothing wasn’t from this era, nor mine. It looked similar to Qin or Han dynasty styles.”

The master thought he misheard. “What?”

“Qin or Han dynasty,” Gu Yan repeated.

"Ah—" The master gasped, "Spirits from that time are tough to handle. They’ve been around for a long time."

Gu Yan nodded. "I thought it would cause trouble if left, so I didn’t capture it alive. I directly absorbed it."

To Gu Yan, "absorbing" meant directly destroying the spirit and integrating its power into himself. He used a method taught by Granny Camphor Tree, absorbing through his wrist meridians to make it less intimidating for Su Kun.

The master understood this and widened his eyes. "And you gained that much power from it?"

Gu Yan nodded. "Yes, I realized I could control my form afterwards."

“This doesn’t make sense!” The master stroked his beard anxiously, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“The only explanation is that the spirit had significant power. Do you know what that means? You needed decades to reach this point even with your innate potential, knowledge, and Su Kun’s jade. That spirit had to be extraordinarily powerful, either from wandering for centuries and absorbing many spirits or being confined in an extreme yin location for a long time.”

“Possibly even more complicated,” Gu Yan added.

“What do you mean?” The master was puzzled.

“There isn’t just one.”

The master was stunned. “Are you sure?”

“While chasing the spirit, I sensed it wasn’t wandering aimlessly but heading toward a specific location. The closer I got, the stronger the same energy I sensed on it became. Along the way, I intercepted another spirit with the same aura, though less aged. And…”

“And?”

“The female ghost in the hall also had that aura, though much fainter.”

“So, I suspect they all originated from the same place.”

The master was dumbfounded. “You mean it’s not just one, but a nest of them?!”