Forbidden to Capture Rare Cute Ghosts - Chapter 13

Nan Deng buried his face in the crook of Lian Yi’s neck, not wanting to move for a while.

Suddenly, he thought of something and hastily lifted his head. “They didn’t find the talisman at your door…”

“I put up a new one and have already torn off the old one.”

Lian Yi unfurled his palm, revealing a crumpled and torn yellow paper.

Nan Deng was relieved, burying his face again into Lian Yi’s neck.

There was an enticing scent coming from Lian Yi – it was unclear whether it came from his clothes or his body.

Nan Deng sniffed carefully, his lips brushing against the skin on the side of Lian Yi’s neck, urging him to bite down.

Lian Yi seemed not to notice. He embraced Nan Deng loosely as if holding a cool, misty vapor, feeling even more comfortable than being immersed in hot water.

Lian Yi’s gaze was downcast, his expression faint, with emotions concealed.

Nan Deng restrained himself in time, not biting down after all, and slowly got up from Lian Yi’s embrace.

He hadn’t completely recovered yet, his ashen face still showing a hint of unease.

“Are you very scared of the Heaven Master?” Lian Yi asked softly.

An ordinary ghost would not know what fear was unless they encountered someone they could not defeat. It was only then that they would feel fear and choose to flee.

Unlike Nan Deng, who instinctively tried to keep his distance just because of a similar piece of clothing.

Nan Deng muffled a response, “Mmm… I’ll be caught by them… I don’t want to be locked up again.”

“Again?” Lian Yi picked up on that word, “You were locked up before?”

Nan Deng nodded, trusting Lian Yi and not hiding anything, “In a tower, with many, many other ghosts.”

Lian Yi questioned ambiguously, “The Ye Zhang Tower?”

Nan Deng hesitated, “It seems to be called that. Do you know about it too?”

“I heard about it some time ago,” Lian Yi spoke slowly, “A Ye Zhang Tower of the Heaven Master collapsed, and a Ghost King escaped.”

Seeing Nan Deng’s bewildered expression, he asked, “You haven’t seen it?”

Nan Deng shook his head, “It seems there isn’t…”

He had never seen any Ghost King in the tower. The day the Ye Zhang Tower collapsed, it was in broad daylight. He was sleeping when suddenly he heard an enormous sound.

The ghosts locked in the tower were extremely agitated, fleeing out in a swarm.

It was extremely chaotic then, and he didn’t know where the rabbit’s head had gone. Anxiously, Nan Deng found it in a corner along the wall.

He picked up the rabbit’s head and hurriedly followed the ghosts in their escape. Fortuitously, the weather that day was poor with the sun hidden tightly behind dark clouds, not posing too great a harm to the spectral form.

Nan Deng recounted the incident briefly, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly.

The fact that he was a ghost who had escaped from the Ye Zhang Tower surprised Lian Yi a bit.

He was so weak that the first time he stumbled in here, Lian Yi was too lazy to even make a move against him.

He could barely sustain his soul form wandering outside. But if he were locked up in the Ye Zhang Tower, he would be thoroughly purified within seven days.

Lian Yi asked again, “How long were you locked up for?”

Nan Deng shook his head again, “I’ve forgotten…”

He told Lian Yi that the only memory he had started from when he was in the tower, and he couldn’t remember anything from before that.

The name Nan Deng was also one he had given himself because it was very dark in the tower. The only light came from a small hole on the southern side of the tower roof, like a lamp.

He always liked to stay in that direction, so he had given himself this name.

“Only Xiao Tu stayed with me all the time,” Nan Deng didn’t want to remember anymore, looking helpless and aggrieved, “I don’t want to go back to the tower again…”

“No, you won’t,” Lian Yi said softly, “I will protect you.”

He had no past memories and had only just escaped from the tower recently.

No wonder his understanding of certain things was almost completely blank.

Nan Deng took Lian Yi’s words to heart. Tonight when that group of Heaven Masters came knocking, Lian Yi didn’t give him up.

He said touched, “You’re so kind…”

One human and one ghost still sitting on the ground, while the rabbit’s head had long slipped out.

Lian Yi got up and took Nan Deng to the living room. He turned on the television for him to watch, distracting him from his fear.

Nan Deng watched the television aimlessly for a while as Lian Yi fetched some medicinal powder and gauze from his study, rolling up his sleeve as he prepared to medicate himself anew.

As Lian Yi was treating his injury, Nan Deng looked closely and noticed that Lian Yi’s hand wounds seemed significantly better than last time.

“Did you see a doctor?” Nan Deng asked, delighted on Lian Yi’s behalf. His ghost form instinctively leaned closer, resting his chin on Lian Yi’s shoulder.

Lian Yi, silent, opened the medicinal bottle, pouring the powder on largely healed wounds.

Having been alone for so long, he wasn’t accustomed to such close contact.

Since the beginning, Nan Deng liked to stick to him, pretending not to see him on several occasions too.

Following the habits of the dead, he must be hungry.

After bandaging, Lian Yi lowered his sleeve, and looked at Nan Deng who was at arm’s length: “Is this how you behave in other people’s houses?”

Not understanding the meaning behind his words, Nan Deng slightly pulled back, and innocently replied, “I have never been to anyone else’s house.”

At present, every house was plastered with protective talismans, only here was the anomaly.

Without responding, Lian Yi watched Nan Deng for a moment before unbuttoning the topmost button of his collar.

Unfolding the collar, he said, “Come here.”

Nan Deng faintly guessed Lian Yi’s intentions, obediently moved closer, with small resistance, “I… I’m not very hungry…”

Lian Yi did not expose him, only said, “You can’t hurt me.”

His voice was calm and conclusive, unconcerned about being bitten.

True to form, Nan Deng could not resist, nuzzling against the side of Lian Yi’s neck, and opening his mouth to take a bite.

He was unskilled at it, nuzzling back and forth like a puppy, it took three attempts to successfully sink his teeth into the weakest part of Lian Yi’s soul form.

The taste of the soul form was very special. Nan Deng could feel a stream of warm energy rushing into his body, sweet and warm, almost instantly satiating him.

Having only taken one bite was enough for him. Nan Deng lifted his head in a daze, “Did it hurt?”

Lian Yi’s lips curled subtly, “No pain.”

His living soul was greatly nourishing, the mouthful that Nan Deng had eaten could at least keep his soul form from vanishing for a year.

“Really, no pain?” Nan Deng licked his lips, clinging onto Lian Yi protectively, “You smell so good…”

His consumption of the soul form had made his skin much livelier, no longer as pale as before. Despite being a ghost, his body exuded an attractive, porcelain-like luster, appearing very vibrant.

“Still hungry?” Lian Yi looked him steadily in the eye, half-teasing, “One more bite then.”

Nan Deng looked up and yawned, “I can’t eat anymore…”

Perhaps it was because he was sated, he felt sleepy, his eyes barely staying open.

“Go sleep in the bedroom,” Lian Yi whispered in his ear, “It’s not safe to go outside these days.”

Nan Deng obediently nodded his head and let Lian Yi lead him to the bedroom, comfortably burrowing under the covers.

Lian Yi stood by the bedside for a long time until Nan Deng fell asleep.

He then retreated to a little couch in the corner, turned off all the lights using his spiritual powers, and drew the curtains closed.

———————–

As dawn approached, a black kitten returned to the corner that Nan Deng had often occupied.

The place was empty, Nan Deng had been taken away, and he hadn’t returned till now.

The kitten was rather miffed, pacing back and forth on the spot, waiting for a long time before hastily departing.

The night’s clean-up was over, there was no trace of the Ghost King, but quite a few resentful spirits had been captured.

This was not what Lin Jiu wanted. He looked through all the action reports, his brows furrowing.

Unable to find any leads, the Ghost King might have already escaped to another area.

Fleeing and hiding were not things high-level resentful spirits liked, even less so for a Ghost King.

Or perhaps…it had suffered severe injuries. After escaping from the Ye Zhang Tower, it was unable to replenish its strength immediately, hence it remained unable to recover its peak powers.

However, after a round of investigations, Lin Jiu felt more confident.

He pulled out his communicator, intending to contact the people from the surrounding regions to have them pay more attention to any anomalies, when he received a message from Weng Ping Ran.

Upon answering the call, Weng Ping Ran commenced by berating him.

“I told you to prioritize the Mountain God, what are you doing?” He had already found out about Lin Jiu’s self-made arrangements from last night. “The escaped Ghost King will reveal itself eventually, no need to worry too much.”

Lin Jiu moved his lips, wanting to say something but hesitated.

Weng Ping Ran shook his head, “I know you’re anxious, but one has to prioritize things.”

Lin Jiu responded with an affirmative, “I understand my mistake, I won’t fixate on the Ghost King anymore.”

Weng Ping Ran’s anger arose quickly and faded just as soon. He sighed deeply, “As long as you know your mistake, don’t do such futile work in the future.”

Lin Jiu kept answering, proactively reporting the specifics of last night’s happenstance to Weng Ping Ran.

Weng Ping Ran, uninterested, interrupted him with a wave of his hand and turned to ask about Lian Yi: “Is he still behaving?”

“Yes,” replied Lin Jiu, “Lian Shou Xi has been acting normal recently.”

At least, that’s how it seemed on the surface. Behind closed doors, he was not in a position to meddle.

Weng Ping Ran thought for a bit: “You don’t need to watch him anymore, treat him as if he doesn’t exist, unless he stirs up trouble on his own.”

“But Valley Elder Gu Xu said…”

On the second day Lian Yi arrived here, Valley Elder Gu Xu had specifically tasked Lin Jiu with keeping a close watch on Lian Yi and noting his every move.

“Never mind,” Weng Ping Ran said after a moment’s thought. “I only just found out that Zhuo Qing meddled with Lian Yi.”

The conference room remained empty, the line between the two private. Lin Jiu being one of his most valuable students, Weng Ping Ran didn’t avoid the topic.

Lian Yi had a peculiar body constitution. His spirit, post-death, would be of the Ghost King level, possibly the strongest Ghost King in history.

Although he’d cultivated spiritual arts and became a heavenly teacher, his spirit had been marked. Upon death, it would be directly transported back to his specific Ye Zhang Tower for refinement. But because his talent was too high, almost unbelievably strong, it was difficult to guarantee nothing would go wrong.

Assuring he could control Lian Yi, Zhuo Qing added a second restriction to him, preventing his spirit from escaping after death.

Furthermore, if Lian Yi exhibited any abnormal behavior while alive, Zhuo Qing could employ this restriction to cause Lian Yi’s heart to burst and die immediately.

This restriction was like a shackle for Lian Yi. His life and spirit were in Zhuo Qing’s grasp.

Lin Jiu grew more alarmed as he listened, “So, Elder Zhuo Qing’s disappearance…”

The likelihood that Lian Yi was behind it was nearly certain, even though evidence was yet to be found.

He likely killed Zhuo Qing in advance and held his spirit hostage, forcing him to divulge the method to lift the restriction under duress.

Weng Ping Ran sighed without making a sound, “Exactly.”

Still, Zhuo Qing, being Lian Yi’s teacher for many years, how could he not foresee this?

If he were really dead and his spirit held captive, as long as they could delay it for two months…

After two months, the restriction would trigger automatically, and Lian Yi would still meet his end.

Translator Footnotes:

符咒 (fú zhòu): A ‘talisman’ in Chinese culture, usually made of yellow paper with specific inscriptions and designs, used to wield supernatural powers, such as warding off evil spirits, ghosts, or negative energy.

業障塔 (yè zhàng tǎ): The term ‘Ye Zhang Tower’ refers to a tower where ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural beings are bound and stored. In Chinese mythology and folklore, such towers are used to imprison malevolent spirits or undead creatures.

仔細聽 (zǐ xì tīng): This term translates as ‘listen carefully’. In this context, it illustrates Nan Deng’s consideration of Lian Yi’s questions and his subsequent responses, indicating a level of trust between them.

極點 (jí diǎn): This phrase can be translated as ‘tipping point’ or ‘peak’, stressing the intensity of the situation described. In this context, it refers to Nan Deng’s extreme fear of returning to the tower.

学生知错 (xué shēng zhī cuò): This term is usually used in the context of a student admitting their mistake to a teacher. In this story, it’s a formal expression of acknowledgment of an error from Lin Jiu to Weng Ping Ran.

Wow, so Zhuo Qing tried to kill Lian Yi? What a jerk.

What are your thoughts about it? Let me know in the comments.

I love ya (‘ε｀ )♡