Zhong Cheng watched them warily, then glanced around. Especially at the passage in front of the main hall. That was the entrance, and also the exit.

After taking in the hall, his heart went ice-cold.

Because if he wanted out, he had to pass through the hall. And the moment he stepped onto that floor, they would definitely notice him.

They looked motionless, like dead things. But Zhong Cheng was sure of it. The second he got close, they would find him.

Maybe there were other ways out. But he wasn’t familiar with this place. He’d only been here twice, and both times he took the same route.

This place was bigger than he’d imagined. There were lots of forks too. Wandering around carelessly would make it easy to get lost, or run into other ghosts.

Moving around at random was a bad idea.

Zhong Cheng kept staring at those ghosts, trying to see whether they were really asleep, or just not moving.

They were either sitting or standing, not exactly how sleeping looked. But they were ghosts. Their habits weren’t quite like humans’. Maybe they just didn’t like sleeping lying down?

That wasn’t impossible. If anything, it seemed pretty likely.

And what happened next made Zhong Cheng realize they weren’t asleep at all.

Maybe his stare was too intense. Two of the ghosts sensed something and turned to look over.

Their green-glowing eyes were creepy as hell.

Luckily, Zhong Cheng reacted fast. He crouched down and hid in time. They probably hadn’t spotted him, right?

He had already held his breath.

He used to hear the village elders say that these ghosts could sense a human’s presence through the breath they gave off. So if you ran into them, it was best not to breathe carelessly.

Zhong Cheng, who used to sneer at that feudal superstition, never thought the day would come when it might actually help.

He just hoped it worked.

If it didn’t, then as long as he got out alive, he was absolutely exposing this nonsense. Feudal superstition really did ruin lives!

Come to think of it, the door gods pasted on the ancestral house, and all that praying, didn’t seem to work either.

His heart went cold all over again.

Zhong Cheng held his breath with everything he had. Nearly two minutes later, he was at his limit. Stars burst before his eyes, and he couldn’t hold it anymore.

His brain was already feeling the effects of oxygen deprivation.

His endurance sucked. Sorry about that. But he seriously wasn’t some two-pump chump!

It wasn’t like he’d never held his breath before. But his record had only been around a minute. If this weren’t a life-or-death moment, forcing out every last bit of strength, he couldn’t have lasted this long.

He didn’t dare take a big breath. He was afraid the noise would be too much and alert them.

So he breathed in tiny little sips, replenishing oxygen. The discomfort in his oxygen-starved brain gradually faded.

After quite a while longer, no ghost came over. Zhong Cheng relaxed a little.

Then he flattened himself against the wall like a gecko, body tilted, and peeked out.

He tried to show only his eyes, careful to the extreme.

Nice.

They had already turned back around. They were still in their original spots, not moving at all.

“Is there any way to lure them away?” Zhong Cheng muttered.

Suddenly, the air felt colder. It made him want to shiver.

If he’d known this would turn into a drawn-out battle, he should’ve grabbed some clothes before leaving the bridal room. Big mistake.

A slow, chilly wind blew from behind him. The cold at the back of his neck grew stronger and stronger, shooting straight to his scalp.

Sensing something, Zhong Cheng turned around without thinking.

A deathly pale face appeared right in front of him, close enough to touch.

He stopped breathing on the spot. He was scared stupid.

“What are you doing here, bridegroom?” Wang Nima asked in a sinister voice.

He was done for. He’d been found.

How had this guy suddenly appeared behind him? No sound, no warning. Scary as hell.

Punch him!

Scare scare scare—were you doing this on purpose?!

“I-I…”

The truth was, Zhong Cheng was panicking like crazy. He stammered, not knowing what to say.

Then inspiration struck, and he calmed down.

“Actually, my wife told me to patrol the mountain.”

“Once I’m done, I can leave. The yin energy here is too heavy. I’m a living person, so staying here isn’t good for my recovery. She told me to go home and rest well, restore my yang energy, and let her absorb it later,” Zhong Cheng said.

His “wife” naturally meant the Ghost Emperor.

By now, who didn’t know he was the Ghost Emperor’s man? Sure, it was read as husband but written as emergency rations, yet the title still carried some weight.

Zhong Cheng knew these ghosts were terrified of the Ghost Emperor. It was the kind of fear that came from the bone marrow. Who knew what the Ghost Emperor had done to them.

And that fear was exactly what Zhong Cheng could use.

Right now, he was the person sleeping beside the Ghost Emperor. If he whispered a few bad words about someone, then even if they didn’t die, they’d end up miserable.

So he could totally wave a chicken feather like it was an imperial arrow.

He didn’t know if this would work, but right now he could only treat a dead horse like a live one. Either it worked, or he was dead.

He was all in.

And if it really worked, then not only could he deal with Wang Nima, he wouldn’t need to fear the ghosts in the hall either. He could just leave. No ghost would dare stop him.

Zhong Cheng mentally gave himself a thumbs-up. To come up with such a brilliant plan—two birds with one stone.

Maybe he really had the makings of a master strategist.

Zhong Cheng’s brilliant scheme could settle the world, and make the Ghost Emperor lose both wife and army.

Still, it was too early to celebrate. He had no idea whether this would actually work.

Wang Nima narrowed his unfocused eyes and stared at Zhong Cheng with a sinister expression. He said nothing, as if he were suspicious.

“What’s with that look? You doubting me? If you don’t believe me, go ask the Ghost Emperor yourself. But let me remind you—last night, my wife and I went at it in bed for eight hundred rounds. We almost ground an iron pestle into a needle. Only then did I finally satisfy her, and she fell asleep in my arms.”

“She’s sleeping soundly right now. If you go disturb her at a time like this, hehe. Face the consequences yourself.” Zhong Cheng let out a cold laugh.

This was no time to back down. He had to be tough. Had to be arrogant. Otherwise, he’d be seen through in a second.

As for taking advantage of the Ghost Emperor with his words, that counted as collecting a little interest. That woman had sucked away so much of his yang energy that he still hadn’t recovered. His kidneys were still weak.

“I wouldn’t dare. How could I dare doubt Lord Bridegroom?” Wang Nima’s tone had already changed.

He became respectful to the extreme, even bowing a little. He was practically licking boots.

He’d been bluffed.

Looks like it worked.

Zhong Cheng was overjoyed inside and secretly let out a breath of relief. But on the surface, he stayed calm and detached, keeping up that cocky attitude. He looked exactly like a newly favored eunuch at the emperor’s side.

At a time like this, he absolutely couldn’t slip up. He couldn’t let all his work go to waste.

These ghosts were the type that only respected force, never softness. Using the Ghost Emperor to pressure them had been the right call.

“Right. I forgot the way out. You can lead me,” Zhong Cheng said, full of righteous confidence.

“It is my honor to be of service to Lord Bridegroom,” Wang Nima said fawningly.

“Cut the crap. I’m exhausted. I just want to go home and rest already. Damn, I’m beat. Figures—there’s no field plowed to ruin, only oxen worked to death.”

Zhong Cheng deliberately stretched and yawned.

“You’ve worked hard, Lord Bridegroom,” Wang Nima said in an extremely sleazy tone, secretly giving him a thumbs-up.

Who knew what kind of nonsense had popped into its head. Zhong Cheng couldn’t be bothered.

As for the Ghost Emperor’s image? He cared even less. Right now, all he wanted was to get the hell out.

The reason he lied and said he’d forgotten the way, making Wang Nima lead him, was actually to avoid trouble.

Because on the way out, they might run into other ghosts one after another. No guarantee some of them wouldn’t be especially smart and impossible to fool.

But as long as Wang Nima was leading the way, those ghosts probably wouldn’t suspect anything.

Zhong Cheng gave his own IQ another thumbs-up.

A brilliant scheme to settle the world, and make the Ghost Emperor lose both wife and army.

Following behind Wang Nima, he entered the main hall. The few ghosts staying there immediately noticed and turned to look over in silence.

But because Wang Nima was there, they only looked. They said nothing, and showed no intention of stopping him.

They had probably assumed Wang Nima had received the Ghost Emperor’s order to escort Zhong Cheng out.

Zhong Cheng was secretly delighted. The expression on his face said, plan successful.

He had already made it smoothly to the entrance on the opposite side of the hall and stepped into the passage.

After that, they ran into ghosts along the corridor one after another, but none of them stopped him. It was green lights all the way, smooth as could be, enough to instantly cure even a veteran driver’s road rage.