Ghost Servant - "Thank you, master."

Yu Zhen followed Yin Yan out of the coffee shop and said hesitantly, "Is it really okay to just leave like this?"

They could disregard Han Ya's feelings, but it wasn't good to directly slight the original owner's other classmates and friends.

If there was a misunderstanding, they just needed to explain it clearly. Leaving just like that felt somewhat inappropriate.

"It's fine." Yin Yan walked to the car, opened the passenger door for him to get in, and bent down to say, "I'll explain." After speaking, he gestured behind him, then closed the car door.

Yu Zhen looked through the car window in the direction Yin Yan had gestured and saw the organizer of this class reunion, Fu Wenhua, chasing after them. He felt a little more at ease and quietly waited for Yin Yan to finish talking with him.

"Yin Yan, wait a minute!"

Fu Wenhua quickly chased after them. Seeing they hadn't left yet, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, hurried over, and said, "Sorry, I was inconsiderate this time. I'll talk to Ai Rui. Don't take it to heart. And about Han Ya..."

Yin Yan raised a hand to signal him to stop talking, glanced at the car behind him, and reached out to lead him to the side.

Fu Wenhua also glanced at Yu Zhen inside the car, tactfully stopped talking, and followed him a little to the side. Only when he was sure they couldn't be heard or their expressions seen from the car did he ask, "What exactly is going on? We haven't seen each other in years, what happened between you and Han Ya?"

"It's nothing, just some embarrassing relationship matters." Yin Yan lowered his eyes slightly, imitating the original owner's previous tone, and explained, "Back then, she and I returned to the country one after the other. We were indeed on good terms for a while, but she always used the excuse that she wasn't good enough for me and wouldn't accept my advances. Later, she met another man, Wu Xuan, through me. The two of them were very ambiguous, but what she told me was that Wu Xuan was pursuing her and she found it very troubling."

Fu Wenhua was dumbfounded and utterly shocked. "Are you saying she met another man through you and got together with him?"

"Not entirely. In fact, both that man and I were being strung along and fooled by her. Forget it, it's all just frustrating stuff, and talking about it is just annoying." Yin Yan acted as if he didn't want to elaborate and asked, "What did Han Ya tell you guys about what happened between us? I really didn't expect your attitude today."

Being fooled by someone you like, who was also two-timing—no man could stand that.

Fu Wenhua frowned as he listened, feeling more and more that Yin Yan had been wronged earlier. He replied, "She said you blamed her for the car accident, and then you were bewitched by someone and had a flash marriage with a man you'd only met twice. We didn't know you two weren't together, so we thought you were unilaterally blaming her for the accident, abandoned her, cheated, and found someone else."

"She actually said that... No wonder Ai Rui had that kind of attitude towards me." Yin Yan gave a self-deprecating smile, looking helpless. He said, "Before the car accident, I found out she was with Wu Xuan and wanted to break things off with her. She got drunk and lied to me, saying she had broken up with Wu Xuan, and asked me to pick her up. I went, and then she used being drunk to cause a scene with me. In a moment of carelessness, the car accident happened."

"This..." Fu Wenhua was speechless. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out, "How did she become this kind of person..."

"Blinded by money and power, I guess. Wu Xuan's family is better connected than mine." As Yin Yan spoke, he looked towards the car again, his gaze softening. "You're all my friends, so I don't want you to have any misunderstandings about my partner. It's true Yu Zhen and I had only met twice before we got our marriage certificate, but did you know, on the day of the car accident, he was the one who saved me? I thought I was going to die. The accident happened in a remote rural area, and his was the only house nearby. And it happened to be the day of his grandfather's funeral. In the middle of the night, he's so timid, he was so scared he was about to cry, but he still bandaged my wounds with trembling hands, called an ambulance, and even used a mourning band to bandage me."

He couldn't help but smile as he said this. He withdrew his gaze, looked back at Fu Wenhua, and continued, "Later, when I went to thank him, he thought I was a ghost. Wenhua, he's really a good person. The best thing I've ever done in my life was to immediately trick him into getting our marriage certificate after realizing I had feelings for him. In fact, he still hasn't caught on yet. I'm still slowly pursuing him."

"During the accident, I saved Han Ya, and he saved me. I guess this is fate. What's even more disheartening is that after the accident, aside from a fake 'I'm sorry,' Han Ya never gave me a proper thank you, nor did she thank Yu Zhen who saved both of us."

"Her heart is too selfish and cold; I can't warm it. Wenhua, all I want now is to live a good life with Yu Zhen, wait for him to slowly catch on, and for him to truly fall in love with me. In the past, I was unwilling to talk about my relationships and was happy to let you all misunderstand that Han Ya and I were a couple, giving myself a false illusion of happiness. But not anymore. I have Yu Zhen now, and I don't want him to be slandered by my friends because of my past immaturity."

Fu Wenhua had rarely heard him talk at length about his relationships. Hearing it now, he felt a sense of how things had changed. He couldn't help but sigh, reached out to pat his shoulder, and said, "You've changed a lot... Take care of yourself. I'll ask you out again later, and we can have a proper get-together. Bring Yu Zhen along, and I'll formally introduce myself to him then. Apologize to him on my behalf; I was inconsiderate today."

"It's fine, he's kind-natured and won't mind." Yin Yan replied, also patting him on the arm. He then said a simple goodbye, agreed to meet again next time, and turned to leave.

Watching Yin Yan's car disappear from view, Fu Wenhua sighed again. He glanced back at the coffee shop, frowned, and walked back inside.

Yu Zhen didn't know what Yin Yan had said to Fu Wenhua, and it wasn't appropriate to ask for details, so he simply trusted Yin Yan to handle the matter.

The two first returned to the apartment, tidied up a bit, watered the flowers, and then went back to the villa.

Only the housekeepers were home. Yin Le's school was about to start, so his classmates had called him out to buy supplementary materials. Yin Hexiang and Chou Feiqian were at work.

Hearing that the two had returned home, Chou Feiqian rushed back from the company early. She pulled Yu Zhen over and looked him up and down, insisting that he had lost weight and that she needed to nourish him back to health.

Before long, Yin Le and Yin Hexiang also came home. After several days apart, the family finally gathered for a proper meal together.

"This New Year has really been..." Chou Feiqian couldn't help but sigh at the dinner table. Halfway through her sentence, she worried it would upset Yu Zhen and quickly shut her mouth. She looked at Yin Yan and said, "Xiao Yan, you can follow up on that project a few days later. Stay home and keep Xiao Zhen company for now."

But Yin Yan shook his head and said, "The construction schedule can't wait. I contacted the designer before the New Year, and the new design drafts are due in the next two days. It can't be delayed."

"You can find someone to cover for you for a few days. Or how about I call Xiping back? He's been busy with overseas matters for a while now." Chou Feiqian still wanted Yin Yan to rest with Yu Zhen for a few more days.

As the Yin Family's butler, Weng Xiping was in charge of more than just the domestic staff. All of the Yin Family's private assets, both movable and immovable, as well as their family doctor, lawyer, private financial advisor, and all other personnel and matters outside of official business, were under his management.

The end of every year was his busiest time. He would travel all over, domestically and internationally, within and outside the province, to take inventory and arrange employees in various places, settle the year's earnings with lawyers and consultants, communicate plans for the coming year, and also inventory all of the Yin Family's private assets.

Before the New Year, after the Yin Family returned to B City, he immediately flew abroad to inventory their foreign assets and contact lawyers and consultants.

Hearing Chou Feiqian plan to have Yin Yan take time off for his sake, Yu Zhen felt embarrassed and quickly said, "It's okay, Mom. I've already recovered. I don't need company, and Yin Yan has rested for a long time."

After living off them and doing nothing for so long, how could he have the nerve to delay Yin Yan's important work any further?

Chou Feiqian was still hesitant upon hearing this and wanted to persuade him further, but Yin Yan spoke first, "Yu Zhen will also come with me to the construction site. He's quite knowledgeable about flowers and plants, and he also took landscape planning courses in college. I plan to put him in charge of the landscaping for the leisure center."

Huh? Put... put who in charge?

Yu Zhen's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look at Yin Yan.

Yin Yan glanced sideways at him and used Voice Transmission.

'Baleful Qi neutralization.'

Oh, right. He still had to go to the construction site to neutralize the Baleful Qi.

Yu Zhen reigned in his wide eyes and looked at Chou Feiqian, saying, "Um... I... I also want to go to the construction site to help." 'Why does it feel like I'm freeloading, riding the Yin Family's coattails, and taking advantage of them.'

"To the construction site?" Chou Feiqian's focus, however, was on this. Looking at Yu Zhen's fair and clean appearance and thinking about the environment of a construction site, she felt a bit reluctant. "If Xiao Zhen wants to do landscaping, he can start as a designer's assistant at the company, gain some experience under the senior landscape designers. Working in an office is always better than going to a construction site—"

"Ahem!"

Yin Hexiang suddenly gave a low cough and patted Chou Feiqian under the table. He looked at Yu Zhen and said, "Then go. Work hard, be careful, and tell the family if you have any problems."

Yu Zhen nodded quickly and promised earnestly, "I will. Thank you, Dad."

Yin Hexiang nodded in satisfaction.

Chou Feiqian turned her head and glared at Yin Hexiang. 'What's the meaning of this? Contradicting me, are you.'

"The two kids working together is a good chance to cultivate their relationship. Besides, they're both adults. It's good for them to get more experience while they're young, so they can take on important roles in the future," Yin Hexiang explained in a low voice, giving her a meaningful look.

Cultivate their relationship?

Chou Feiqian looked at Yin Yan and Yu Zhen, who were huddled together discussing matters about the construction site. Her thoughts shifted, her reluctance dissipated, and she slanted a glance at Yin Hexiang, putting a piece of meat on his plate.

Yin Hexiang ate it with a straight face, feeling delighted inside.

Sitting in the corner, Yin Le looked at his parents, then at his brother and brother-in-law. He stuffed a piece of steamed meat into his mouth with a growl and chewed forcefully, grinding his teeth.

Hmph!

Once school started, he would go find Bu Lian to play! Play every day!

That night, after washing up, Yin Yan had Yu Zhen get dressed again. After bundling him up warmly, he wrapped an arm around his waist and gave a light wave of his hand.

A dizzying sensation washed over them. By the time their feet were back on solid ground, the two had already appeared in the courtyard of the Chou Family's villa. It was pitch black all around, with only the moonlight and the faint glow from a streetlight on the main road providing some illumination.

"!!!"

Yu Zhen's body was stiff. He remained in Yin Yan's embrace with a shocked expression, his hands unconsciously tightening around Yin Yan's waist. He only relaxed a good while after landing and asked, "This is..."

"A power I recovered after your cultivation advanced another stage. The Ground-shrinking Technique."

Yin Yan explained, not letting go of him. He simply extended an arm and tapped his fingers lightly towards the villa wall. Afterwards, two wisps of soul passively floated over.

"Immortal, spare my life! Spare me! I haven't harmed anyone, really! Spare my life, Immortal!"

The Infant Spirit with an old man's face immediately fell to its knees the moment it saw Yin Yan. It cowered on the ground, trembling. After a moment, it suddenly reacted, shot up into mid-air with a whoosh, looked around, and a savage, shocked smile appeared on its face.

"I'm out? I... I passed through this wall? I've left the Chou Family? Hahaha, the heavens have eyes, I—"

Xu Wu suddenly leaped out and pounced on the Infant Spirit, which had begun to emit Baleful Qi in mid-air. It went straight for the neck, plucking it down like a small bird and flinging it to the ground.

The Infant Spirit shut its mouth. It lay on the ground, glanced fearfully at Xu Wu, then at Yin Yan and Yu Zhen. The joy of leaving its place of confinement vanished in an instant. It obediently cowered on the ground, awaiting its fate.

In contrast to the Infant Spirit's excitement, Xin Xiaoxiao's soul was very calm. After assessing the situation, she immediately floated in front of Yin Yan and Yu Zhen, knelt down before Yu Zhen, and said, "Thank you, Esteemed Immortal, for bestowing your blessing on Ruijie. Xiaoxiao is eternally grateful."

Yu Zhen had never been kneeled to by a person—oh no, by a ghost before. He quickly tried to pull away from Yin Yan's arm to help her up, but Yin Yan grabbed his hand.

"You possess Merit. You cannot casually touch a Soul Body."

Reminded, Yu Zhen quickly took a step back and said to Xin Xiaoxiao, "I'm not any esteemed immortal, just an ordinary person. You don't have to kneel to me. Please get up."

Upon hearing this, Xin Xiaoxiao glanced at Yin Yan, then at their joined hands. She kowtowed to Yu Zhen, then rose to her feet on her own.

After the greetings were over, Yu Zhen glanced sideways at Yin Yan. After receiving an encouraging nod, he braced himself slightly, looked at the two Soul Bodies before him, and asked, "Do you... want to become my Ghost Servants?"

Ghost Servants?

The Infant Spirit and Xin Xiaoxiao exchanged a look. The Infant Spirit's eyes darted around, but it said nothing. Xin Xiaoxiao, however, looked hesitant and said, "Esteemed Immortal helped Ruijie, so it's only right that Xiaoxiao repays you in any way. But I still have an unfulfilled wish..."

Yu Zhen saw what she was thinking and quickly explained, "No, no, I don't want to subdue you as slaves. I just want to give you a legitimate status to exist. I have already entered the Dao, so the Heavenly Dao is more lenient with me. If you become my Ghost Servants, your fates will essentially be in my hands, and the Netherworld Officials won't be able to do anything to you. I won't require you to follow me; you can continue to stay at the Chou Family's residence, but on the condition that you don't harm innocent people, and your revenge must be within reason."

Xin Xiaoxiao only hesitated for a few seconds after hearing this before kneeling down before Yu Zhen again. The Baleful Qi around her body retracted, and she kowtowed deeply to him, saying, "Thank you, master, for your grace."

'She agreed just like that? I haven't even finished speaking.'

Yu Zhen snapped back to his senses and quickly urged her to get up. "You don't have to call me master. Just call me Yu Zhen. Please, get up."

After speaking, he took out a seed, wrapped it in Merit, and recited a servant-binding spell somewhat clumsily. Then, with a flick of his finger, he shot the seed towards the space between Xin Xiaoxiao's eyebrows.

A golden light flashed. The Baleful Qi on Xin Xiaoxiao's body suddenly retracted completely, and a golden seed imprint appeared between her eyebrows. Her pale complexion also became rosy again. If not for her transparent figure, she looked almost no different from when she was alive.

Xin Xiaoxiao raised a hand to touch the warm imprint between her eyebrows and her face, which had regained its warmth. After a moment of shock, an expression that was half-crying and half-smiling appeared on her face, and she kowtowed to Yu Zhen once more.

"Thank you, master."

Seeing the ritual was a success, Yu Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said again, "You really don't have to call me master." 'It's so awkward.'

"Thank you, master," Xin Xiaoxiao insisted.

"..." 'Alright then.'

Helpless, Yu Zhen gestured for her to rise. The weight in his heart lifted by half. He then turned to look at the Infant Spirit.

The Infant Spirit had seen everything that just happened, especially the changes in Xin Xiaoxiao. With no hesitation left in its heart, it also hurried to kneel before Yu Zhen, expressing its willingness to submit.

But Yu Zhen didn't accept it immediately. Instead, he crouched down in front of it and explained, "You are bound by Karma, you have devoured three Half-spirits, and your temperament is unstable. I can accept you, but there are some things I must make clear first. If you become my Ghost Servant, I can use Merit to slowly enlighten you, dissolving the Baleful Qi and resentful knots on you. When your Karma is completely gone and you have returned to your true self, I will then send you back into the cycle of reincarnation."

The Infant Spirit's eyes lit up in an instant.

Merit, reincarnation—what ghost or monster didn't covet these things! It was an artificially created Infant Spirit. Without help, it would never have a next life. What Yu Zhen described was everything it had ever dreamed of!

"However, everything I'm offering you comes with conditions." Yu Zhen's tone became serious as he looked into its eyes. "You want revenge, fine. It will help eliminate your Karma, and I have no right to interfere. But your target for revenge can only be the person who harmed you, no other innocent people. After becoming my Ghost Servant, your everything will be under my control. If I want your soul to scatter, you will disappear instantly without even a chance to struggle. Once you're with me, you can no longer do evil at will. The moment you violate the rules I set for you, I will destroy you directly. So, whether you want to be my Ghost Servant or not, think it over carefully."

The Infant Spirit's expression darkened, and it frowned without a word.

Looking at its expression, Yu Zhen sighed inwardly. He stood up and said, "Even if you don't become my Ghost Servant, I won't do anything to you right now. But after you've eliminated your Karma and are free from the restrictions of the Chou residence, if you intend to do evil, I will personally come and send you on your way."

After speaking, he looked at Xin Xiaoxiao and said, "Of course, that goes for you too."

Xin Xiaoxiao's expression didn't change at all upon hearing this. Her attitude even became somewhat more reverent as she earnestly promised, "Xiaoxiao will remember master's instructions and will not commit evil wantonly."

Yu Zhen nodded.

The Infant Spirit raised its head, its gaze burning, and asked, "Can you really help me re-enter the cycle of reincarnation?"

"Yes." Yu Zhen replied. He paused, then added, "Even if I can't, there's still Yin Yan."

The Infant Spirit looked at Yin Yan upon hearing this. Remembering his power, it finally made up its mind. It knelt before Yu Zhen and said, "I agree to be your Ghost Servant, but I have one condition."

Yu Zhen: "Go ahead."

"I want to see my mother," the Infant Spirit replied, its voice suddenly dropping low. "Back then, she didn't know about Chou Xiehua's plot. She thought Chou Xiehua abandoned her because she had accidentally lost the child. She's been living with guilt and self-blame, half-mad for most of her life. I can sense that her life is coming to an end. I beg you to take me to see her. I beg you."

After speaking, it prostrated itself and kowtowed to Yu Zhen repeatedly.

Xin Xiaoxiao looked away, unable to bear the sight. She placed a hand on her abdomen, her eyes turning a little red, likely remembering her own unborn daughter.

Yu Zhen hadn't expected it to make such a request. His heart filled with compassion, and he looked at Yin Yan.

"Its mother is indeed still alive. I can take you to see her," Yin Yan replied.

Yu Zhen felt relieved at his words. He turned back to the Infant Spirit, which had stopped kowtowing after hearing Yin Yan, took out a seed, and shot it into the space between its eyebrows in the same manner.

A golden light flashed. The Baleful Qi on the Infant Spirit disappeared, and at the same time, its face changed.

The old, wrinkled skin slowly returned to being full and lustrous. In the blink of an eye, the ferocious-looking Infant Spirit transformed into a fair, tender, and adorable little baby. A small golden imprint between its eyebrows made it look exceptionally cute.

"San'er thanks master for his grace."

The Infant Spirit knelt down with a straight, chubby-cheeked face, looking impossibly cute.

Yu Zhen stared blankly at its face for a moment, amused by its serious, chubby-cheeked expression and wanting to laugh. He managed to hold it in, nodded, and even forgot to mind the "master" address as he quickly gestured for it to rise.

San'er's mother indeed didn't have much time left. Yu Zhen wanted to help San'er fulfill his wish as soon as possible. After some consideration, he simply stored San'er in the Jade Pendant Magical Artifact Yin Yan had given him, told Xin Xiaoxiao to return to the villa, and then used the Ground-shrinking Technique again to arrive at the village where San'er's mother lived.

San'er's mother was very old, but she could still walk on her own. Every day, she insisted on going out to look for her child, never missing a single day.

After arriving, Yu Zhen gave San'er a bit of Merit, allowing it to temporarily manifest a physical body. Then, he pulled Yin Yan away to a distance.

San'er bowed to the two from afar, then walked to the old woman's door, lay down, and began to wail loudly.

Before long, the sound of the old woman getting out of bed came from inside. Then the wooden door opened, and San'er's mother appeared behind it. Upon seeing San'er, she was first shocked, then tightly hugged the crying child. Tears streamed down her face as she kissed and soothed him, carrying the child into the house.

"Let's go." Yu Zhen withdrew his gaze and signaled for Yin Yan to go home.

Yin Yan wrapped an arm around his waist accordingly and asked, "Not waiting for him?"

"Let him accompany his mother on her final journey. We'll come back to get him in a few days," Yu Zhen replied. He looked up at Yin Yan, then suddenly took the initiative to hug his waist, resting his forehead on Yin Yan's shoulder. "Thank you," he said.

The gesture was too intimate. Yin Yan's heart skipped a beat. Without another word, he waved his hand, used the Ground-shrinking Technique to return home, then let go of Yu Zhen, strode into the bathroom, and shut the door with a bang.

Yu Zhen remained standing in the hugging posture, numbly staring at the bathroom door with his lips pressed together. After a long silence, he suddenly let out a low huff. "Sooner or later, I'm going to cure you of this mysophobia."