The male supporting character was actually myself.

However, there was not a trace of yin energy in the entire villa. Wang Baoyi, who had been a Taoist priest for most of his life and had seen a lot of things, had never seen such a "haunting" before.

"I...I didn't touch the switch. It seems...when I rushed out of the bathroom, the bedroom light wasn't on yet. No, I can't remember when the light came on..." Murong Liangchen said in a muffled voice, clutching his head, "My mind is a mess right now. There are definitely ghosts here, and more than one!"

"You! I spent so much money hiring you to catch ghosts! Stop asking so many questions, hurry up and perform the ritual, catch them, and send them to the eighteenth level of hell for eternity!"

One of the young Taoist priests couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You need to have ghosts to catch to catch them. There's not a trace of yin energy here. Instead, our Taoist priests' righteous energy fills the entire villa. Even weak ghosts have to go around us when they pass by."

Moreover, whether or not to send someone to the eighteenth level of hell isn't up to us. After capturing a ghost, we need to find out the whole story and resolve the karmic debt before we can negotiate a settlement with the underworld. To condemn someone to eternal damnation is even worse; who would dare to act rashly without permission from the underworld?

"I think Mr. Murong might be hallucinating," Wang Baoyi whispered to the butler. "There are really no ghosts in the villa. We can't catch them even if we wanted to. Why don't we take him to see a psychologist?"

How come Chapter Twenty-One is gone?

Damn you, Wang Baoyi, are you just a nobody?

I gave you so much money, and now that the female ghost has come knocking on my door, why aren't you hurrying to save me? Do you want to wait until I'm about to die again, then appear as a savior so I'll be grateful to you?

Ha, this little trick might work once, but you can't fool me a second time!

The more panicked one is, the more likely one is to have wild thoughts. Murong Liangchen's method of diverting his attention quickly worked, and his anger and fear levels were almost equal.

So, in the dimly lit, flickering light, with blood gushing from the faucet, trapped in the bathroom and unable to get out, he kept his eyes tightly shut, avoiding looking behind him, in the mirror, at the toilet, or even in the corners—places where ghostly faces and hands might appear in horror movies. Instead, he grabbed a sturdy vase from the sink and started banging on the bathroom glass door.

“kua!cha!”

The glass door was smashed, and Murong Liangchen rushed out of the door frame, which was still covered with sharp glass shards. He had many small cuts on his arms, back, and legs.

It was only then that the loud crash of the glass door shattering drew their attention.

Master Wang reacted quickly, leading four disciples (two men and two women) to the employer's bedroom door, only to find it locked from the inside. The furnishings in wealthy homes were naturally of superior quality, offering excellent sound insulation and robust security.

In the end, it was only after the butler led several burly bodyguards to take turns ramming the door that the locked door was broken and a group of people rushed into the bedroom.

Murong Liangchen, naked from the waist up and soaking wet from the waist down, collapsed on the floor, his face pale, pointing at the bathroom as if he had seen a ghost.

"He...he's back again..."

After rushing out of the bathroom, Murong Liangchen tripped over something and fell on the carpet. He saw Murong Jiangchen standing in the dim corner under the flickering bathroom light, staring at him with cold eyes!

For a moment, his mind went blank, and he didn't even hear the knocking or the banging.

The moment everyone rushed in, the lights in the bathroom finally went out completely, and the figure was plunged into darkness.

"It's him! The Celestial Master really is him! He's back to haunt me again..." Murong Liangchen suddenly jumped up, touching the back of his neck where he had goosebumps and felt cold, and said in a low, trembling voice, "And that woman, she's here too... Please save me and send them all to hell so they can never be reincarnated!"

Wang Baoyi frowned slightly as he looked at his agitated and distorted-faced employer, then glanced at the dark bathroom where only the sound of running water could be heard. He couldn't help but wonder, where would the ghost come from if there was no yin energy at all?

Seeing his young master so frightened and on high alert, the butler hurriedly went forward and turned on the bathroom light switch.

Bright lights shone down, illuminating everything.

The bathroom's thick glass door was shattered and scattered all over the floor; the sink faucet was tightly shut and there wasn't a single water stain on the pristine white ceramic surface; on the other hand, the bathtub was overflowing with water.

The suspicious butler stepped aside, avoided the water on the floor, turned off the tap, and looked around again according to the young master's directions, shaking his head and saying, "There's nothing in the bathroom. The young master didn't even turn on the tap at the sink. Where did the blood come from?"

"No! Impossible! At that time, these lights..." Murong Liangchen pointed to the bright lights in the bedroom and said incoherently, "I had just entered the bathroom when these lights went out! The bathroom door was closed and I couldn't open it!"

Blood kept gushing out of the tap. Oh, right, there was also a strand of hair!

The woman's long, wet hair hung down from above and clung to my neck; I pulled it off and threw it there…

The spot he pointed to was a spotless, pristine white floor where not a single hair could be seen.

"How could it be gone?" Murong Liangchen grinned, completely baffled. Seeing the other celestial masters staring at him as if he were crazy, he became even more anxious and exasperated, saying, "I'm telling the truth! That light kept flashing, and then the evil spirit... he was standing in that corner where the butler was standing, staring at me and even laughing!"

Wang Baoyi's brows furrowed so deeply they almost met. "But Mr. Murong, there's not a trace of yin energy here. Judging from your description, anything that can affect the water, the lights, and even lock the door must be the work of a vengeful ghost."

The malevolent spirit possesses a strong yin energy; even if it were to appear for only a second, it would leave a very strong trace. It's impossible for it to simply vanish without a trace like this.

Busy with controlling the lights, fixing the door locks, adding fuel to the water pipes, and cleaning up, the little ball of fluff, with its wet hair and the stolen wedding poster used as a makeshift prop, lay panting on the bed. "Damn, pretending to be a ghost is hard work, I'm exhausted... But the effect is alright, at least he won't be able to sleep well tonight!"

No one believed his story; two young Taoist priests were even secretly laughing.

"Mr. Murong, did you see what the vengeful ghost looked like? Is it someone you know?" Bai Ling suddenly spoke, her voice clear and gentle, making people feel comfortable.

However, for Murong Liangchen, this was not a good problem.

Of course he saw it clearly!

In the dim light, Murong Jiangchen seemed to be wearing the haute couture suit he was preparing to wear to the banquet before his death, standing in the corner with a sinister look in his eyes and a cold smile on his lips...

How could you say such a thing?

"I...I didn't see clearly..." he mumbled, "I don't know how I got haunted by a vengeful ghost!"

Another junior Taoist priest seized the opportunity to ask, "Just now, Mr. Murong said that when you were in the bathroom, the bedroom light suddenly turned off by itself; and the bathroom light started flickering."

But when we came in, the bedroom light was clearly on, while the bathroom light was off.

Did Mr. Murong not touch the light switch at all from beginning to end? When did the bedroom light turn on?

Wang Baoyi cast an approving glance at the two of them. Although Bai Ling's question was sensitive, it was usually necessary to find out the specific situation of the other party before solving the case of the evil spirit. The question about the light could help to clarify the order in which the evil spirit controlled the environment, so as to start from the last thing it controlled to trace the trail.

However, there was not a trace of yin energy in the entire villa. Wang Baoyi, who had been a Taoist priest for most of his life and had seen a lot of things, had never seen such a "haunting" before.

"I...I didn't touch the switch. It seems...when I rushed out of the bathroom, the bedroom light wasn't on yet. No, I can't remember when the light came on..." Murong Liangchen said in a muffled voice, clutching his head, "My mind is a mess right now. There are definitely ghosts here, and more than one!"

"You! I spent so much money hiring you to catch ghosts! Stop asking so many questions, hurry up and perform the ritual, catch them, and send them to the eighteenth level of hell for eternity!"

One of the young Taoist priests couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You need to have ghosts to catch to catch them. There's not a trace of yin energy here. Instead, our Taoist priests' righteous energy fills the entire villa. Even weak ghosts have to go around us when they pass by."

Moreover, whether or not to send someone to the eighteenth level of hell isn't up to us. After capturing a ghost, we need to find out the whole story and resolve the karmic debt before we can negotiate a settlement with the underworld. To condemn someone to eternal damnation is even worse; who would dare to act rashly without permission from the underworld?

"I think Mr. Murong might be hallucinating," Wang Baoyi whispered to the butler. "There are really no ghosts in the villa. We can't catch them even if we wanted to. Why don't we take him to see a psychologist?"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Self-Destruction

The exorcist who was exorcising the ghost suggested that the man see a psychologist at the hospital, a scene the housekeeper found quite surreal.

He had never heard of the house being haunted. Judging from what the young master had just said and his conversation with the Taoist priest, something like this had already happened before...

The butler couldn't help but feel uneasy.

After the unexpected passing of the master and mistress, the young master was depressed for a while. However, he quickly recovered after being busy with work and falling in love. I had advised him that it was not advisable to get married or hold a wedding before the three-year mourning period for his parents had ended.

But the young master insisted on holding a grand wedding less than a year after his parents were buried.

I'm just a butler who gets paid to do things, and the young master is used to being independent and busy with company affairs, so he's not often at home. We don't know each other that well. Judging from his behavior just now, he really doesn't seem to be faking it.

Did the marriage before the mourning period was over anger the master and mistress, so they came to make trouble at home?

Or perhaps, the young master's sudden cessation of his involvement in company affairs is due to a mental problem?

"Go away, everyone disperse!" The butler shooed away the servants who had come to watch the commotion, and said in a low voice, "Get paid and do your job properly. Mind your own business!"

"I've been hearing something about ghosts, is the house really haunted?"

"Uncle, we're just earning a salary, not selling our lives to them. If it's really haunted, just let us know and we should quit and leave right away!"

"See what I said before? His parents died a violent death less than a year ago, and this unfilial son is already throwing a big celebration. How can he do this? He's getting his comeuppance now."

"Shh, keep your voice down! Even if he gets married before the three-year mourning period is over, his parents won't be willing to come and make trouble for him, right? He's their only son, and the only one they have left to burn paper money for ancestral worship depends entirely on him."

"Tsk tsk tsk, have you ever seen him burn paper money for his parents? He didn't even go to their graves for Qingming Festival!"

"His parents died a violent death. You don't know that the ghosts of those who died a violent death are much more powerful than those who died young. They didn't even receive any paper money for him during Qingming Festival, so wouldn't they come up and cause trouble? They raised a son, and now that he's dead, there's no one left to pay respects to him. It's no wonder they're causing trouble..."

…………

The servants gathered together, gossiping amongst themselves, and the atmosphere in Murong Liangchen's room became somewhat awkward.

One side insists it's haunted but can't provide any solid evidence; the other side tries to explain that there's no yin energy in the house, and ghosts rely on yin energy to control and influence humans, so where would the ghosts come from if there's no yin energy?

The two sides were deadlocked and neither could convince the other. As it was getting close to 11 p.m., Murong Liangchen suddenly felt sleepy and couldn't resist it. He had no choice but to let them go back to rest first, and he fell asleep on the bed without even taking a shower.

"Sniff! Sniff!" The soul-collecting underworld official appeared silently in the room, sniffed, and said with disgust, "What's that smell? It's stinky and foul. Ha, an imposter is an imposter. Even with the exact same face, the quality is so different!"

With a hook in his hand, he scooped up Murong Liangchen's soul, and it left his body, floating to the side where it was bound by the iron chains of the soul-binding underworld officials.

"I...I'm..." Half-asleep, Murong Liangchen opened his eyes to find a grotesque, blue-faced, fanged ghost with a long, drooping tongue staring menacingly at him. Terrified, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. Before he could even cry for help, he saw himself lying on the bed beside him. His face turned deathly pale, and the chains on his clothes rattled loudly. "I'm dead?! No! Impossible! My life has just begun, I can't die like this! Let me go! I want to live!"

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free of the iron chains, and Murong Liangchen began to wail and beg for mercy again.

Having learned the whole story from Murong Jiangchen, the soul-capturing underworld official naturally sided with him. Without offering any explanation, he grinned sinisterly and grabbed the iron chain, saying, "Let's go, they're all still waiting for you in the underworld!"

"Who? Who's waiting for me?" Murong Liangchen trembled all over.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Wang Baoyi's voice rang out from outside, "Which underworld official is passing by? Please open the door so that I and my disciples can pay our respects to you."

The soul-capturing underworld official raised an eyebrow. Recognizing the other party's voice, he had no choice but to give them face and move his fingers, silently opening the door.

"Master Wang, save me!" Murong Liangchen cried out, grasping at this straw, his hands outstretched on the ground as he pleaded, "Please save me! I don't want to die! I'm so young, I can't die! I'll give you any amount of money if you're willing to save me. Please, just let him release me..."

Ignoring his wailing, Wang Baoyi had the four newly initiated celestial masters bow to the soul-collecting underworld officials.

"Listening Wind Valley truly lives up to its reputation as one of the top sects; they only find the best talents." The Soul-Capturing Underworld Messengers are under the jurisdiction of the Underworld and do not interfere with the Celestial Masters of the Human Realm. However, since they are fieldworkers, they inevitably run into each other from time to time, so it is better for both sides to be polite to each other to get things done.

Wang Baoyi smiled and waved his hand, saying, "You flatter me, Your Excellency. These children have just entered the valley and haven't been to the underworld yet. I was just planning to take them down to have a look around and broaden their horizons. You mean... Mr. Murong's lifespan hasn't ended yet, has it?"

“There’s something else that requires his cooperation, so he needs to go down there.” The Soul-Capturing Underworld Officer chuckled and changed the subject, saying, “If Master Wang were alone, I wouldn’t say anything more, but if you’re going down with the children, I suggest you at least stay until tonight.”

Wang Baoyi immediately became alert and hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Is something the matter?"

"A few days ago, something happened in the underworld. A few people who walked the underworld, called the Listening Pavilion, took a commission but got scammed! It involved the evil demons who cultivated by devouring ghosts in the human world and dragged the Ghost King into it. Fortunately, the Ghost King realized what was going on and didn't kill those people who walked the underworld. He has now filed a complaint."

The City God of Dujiang has taken on the case of the spirit medium; the Underworld official has received the Ghost King's complaint. Now, the Yin and Yang realms are joining forces to wipe out the evil spirits who devour ghosts!

The soul-capturing underworld official shook the iron chain in his hand and sneered, "Just watch, someone's about to be in big trouble!"

"Such a thing actually happened?" Wang Baoyi asked in shock, "How did it involve the Ghost King?"

"The ghost-devouring fellow in the human realm plotted against the Ghost King's most beloved concubine. How could he not be angry that his beloved concubine almost lost her life? I heard that the underworld is cracking down hard tonight. You and your unruly children might hurt your wounds. You should wait until dawn before going down here."

As he spoke, he glanced at Master Wang and said with a pointed remark, "Although merits and demerits can offset each other, it's best to stay away from certain people and things if you can avoid them, lest you get into trouble for a few pennies."

You Celestial Masters are so knowledgeable and experienced; you should understand this better than ordinary people. Life is short, only a few decades; it's better to accumulate good deeds in secret, because you'll be gone for a long time—that's your eternal home!

Wang Baoyi smiled helplessly, "People in this world are often powerless to control their own destiny."

"Alright, I'll be going now. They're waiting over there. Let's go, Murong Jiangchen!" The soul-capturing underworld official deliberately mispronounced the name and tugged at the chain, pretending to leave.

At this critical moment, Murong Liangchen disregarded everything else and cried out, "You've got the wrong person! Underworld official, you've arrested the wrong person! I am Murong Liangchen! Not Murong Jiangchen. I... I am his twin brother. My birth date and time are almost the same, only five minutes earlier than his!"

I am not Murong Jiangchen!