Chapter 118: The First Arbiter of the Dead

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Alsace sneered. “Your pathetic harem can only come up with girls like Ba, Bing, and Ying. But... couldn’t you ask me? The moment you see a female ghost who is barely easy on the eyes, you want to take her into your harem. I, a woman of unmatched beauty, have been by your side for several months, helping you put on your little act, and you’ve been blind to me the entire time!”

Qin Ye was practically speechless. He raised his hands in surrender. “Fine... Then, esteemed Lady Alsace, whose beauty could topple kingdoms, would you be willing to join the harem of the newly crowned King of Hell? A car and a nanny included, plus a five-square-kilometer plot of land as jointly owned marital property...”

“Get lost.”

Alsace cut him off with an imperious tone. One wing of the paper crane was still pointing straight at the door.

That was it.

That was exactly the feeling she wanted. So satisfying~~

Now this was the proper script.

Qin Ye’s features twisted. “Wait... if you didn’t want to, why the hell did you insist that I ask you?”

The paper crane lazily picked at one wing with its beak. “You don’t understand. This is a woman’s war.”

Ha... Women...

“Excuse me.”

At that very moment, a voice as clear as silver bells rang out. “Are... are you an underworld constable?”

The two of them turned their heads in unison. The spirit had awakened.

She gave a slight curtsy, gently swaying atop her golden lotus as she slowly walked toward Qin Ye. A comfortable smile touched her face. “This humble woman died during the Republic era. What... what era is it now?”

“It is currently...” Qin Ye began, but his expression suddenly froze.

Like a machine, his head creaked downward. At the indescribable region above his thighs and below his waist, a hand had appeared.

A pale hand.

The hand of a spirit.

Holy hell... This... this opening... Who could possibly have expected it...

The spirit fondled him for a moment, stared blankly, then looked at Qin Ye, then at her own hand. Finally, she smiled sweetly. “You really can’t tell from the outside... Little brother, you’re quite well endowed.”

“So I smelled the vixen on her from the very beginning...” Alsace said with an air of foresight, sneering coldly.

Qin Ye jerked himself free from the female ghost’s hand. It was not embarrassment. The concept of embarrassment was far too unfamiliar to him.

It was cold.

Really cold.

At a time when Comrade Qin should have been brimming with righteous fury, the chill of that ghostly hand instantly made him curl into a ball.

Why... Why were all the men around him so handsome? Whether it was the sweet-faced young student or the big, foolish hulk Lin Han... Why was there not a single normal woman around him? There was either Alsace, with her tongue dragging on the floor, or a woman from the Republic era who froze him solid whenever things started to get intimate...

At this rate, he was going to lose control and open another door entirely...

A moment of silence fell over the room.

The female ghost studied her translucent hand with amusement, as though savoring the warmth lingering upon it. Her seductive eyes seemed to weave silk around the soul, and her peach-blossom gaze drifted lightly over Qin Ye, sending secret invitations with every glance.

Qin Ye had not encountered such an uninhibited woman in a very long time. In the human world, he had lived a life of hardship and austerity, while doing his best to conceal his presence. In any case, this was the first time he had experienced such a passionate yet bone-chilling encounter.

It was a little awkward...

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For a while, the man and the ghost simply stared at one another in silence.

“So... what am I supposed to do now?” Qin Ye asked with a dry cough.

“Ask about her background,” Alsace replied lazily.

While they were speaking, the female ghost suddenly raised her head. She stared at the paper crane in disbelief, then trembled from head to toe and dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Honored Celestial Official, please forgive this ignorant woman. I truly did not know that another great lord was here. I beg your pardon for my earlier impropriety.”

Qin Ye stared at her as if she had just ruined his entire day. What was that supposed to mean? So because he was merely a large, harmless lump, she could tease him however she pleased?

He would have her know that soul-seizing was no trifling matter!

“Hmm.” Alsace answered casually. She waved a wing at Qin Ye, making her meaning perfectly clear: Go ask her. Are you waiting for me to do it myself? Can’t the village chief show a little awareness of his position?

I can endure this...

Qin Ye drew a deep breath, stepped forward twice, cleared his throat, and clasped his fists. “Madam...”

“I’ll madam your mother!”

Alsace shot into the air and smacked him with a wing. Exasperated by his hopelessness, she said, “Hmph... Men. Get out of my way!”

Qin Ye obediently rolled aside.

This could hardly be blamed on him. People born under the red banner and raised in the New China were expected to have manners, weren’t they? This was merely the natural reaction of a great mage encountering a peerless beauty...

Alsace’s tiny form hovered in midair. Across from her, the female ghost trembled so badly that she did not dare raise her head. Several seconds later, Alsace finally looked down at her and said, “You appear to have encountered other underworld constables before. Good. Then I need not waste my breath explaining things. Give your account.”

“Yes... This humble woman is named Su Dongxue. I was born in the month of...” She gently bit her lip, looking so delicate and pitiful that anyone might have felt protective toward her. “In life, I was a songstress in a pleasure house...”

“Be more specific,” Alsace said impatiently. “What sort of pleasure house? A refined singing establishment, a teahouse, or a lower-class brothel? A minor one? Or perhaps...”

She smiled pleasantly and glanced at Qin Ye. “An underground establishment?”

Su Dongxue lowered her head even further. After hesitating for several seconds, she answered softly, “...A lower-class brothel.”

Alsace turned toward Qin Ye in a pose that clearly asked, Do you understand now? Her entire being radiated the unmistakable air of someone who considered herself far more noble than everyone else.

“...What does that mean?” Qin Ye asked, exactly as expected.

Alsace explained elegantly, “A pleasure house was not the same as a brothel. The highest-class establishments were refined singing houses, where the women sold their talents but not their bodies. They were usually sprawling courtyard residences or small Western-style mansions, lavishly decorated and comparable to the homes of wealthy families, powerful officials, and cultured gentlemen.

“The second tier was somewhat less splendid, but still highly respectable. They were called teahouses, and most did not sell sex. The third tier was known as lower-class establishments. They were more crude than teahouses. Once a woman ended up there...” Her tone grew suggestive. “Her body was no longer her own. What’s wrong with you?”

Qin Ye clutched his heart, his face contorted in pain. “Nothing... Go on...”

With Su Dongxue’s looks, she would have been a goddess in the entertainment industry, and entirely natural at that. It was impossible not to let one’s imagination run wild. Yet now he was being told that this goddess had already rested her jade arms on the pillows of a thousand men, while ten thousand had tasted her vermilion lips...

His heart practically split in two!

Heh... You want to play this game with me?

Alsace glanced at Qin Ye. For a great mage like him, one look was enough for her to know exactly how to deal with him. As time passed, there would be far more beautiful women in the underworld than in the human world. If he, as the future King of Hell, could not keep his belt fastened...

Many years later, Qin Ye would sit upon the throne of the King of Hell while a group of consorts curtsied before him.

“Greetings to His Majesty.”

Then a magnificently dressed woman would raise a gold-inlaid, openwork fingernail guard. “Sisters, although we are as close as family now, we must still bear royal heirs so that our blessings may continue through the generations and Fengdu may enjoy everlasting peace. Since Sister Ba has only just arrived, let her reside in the Palace of Prolonged Happiness.”

Fengdu: Harem Intrigue...

No...

This trend had to be strangled in its cradle. That great mage was already showing signs of losing control of his belt.

Alsace cleared her throat and continued. “The fourth tier was even worse, catering to laborers. Such places were called common brothels or minor establishments. As for underground establishments...”

She smiled faintly. “They were simply houses of prostitution.”

Now that the veil had been lifted from the goddess, she saw no reason not to tear it off completely. “How did you die? And why do you possess this intergenerational inheritance?”

Qin Ye looked at Su Dongxue expectantly. He was convinced he was about to hear a tragic love story.

A gifted scholar and a beautiful courtesan, unable to buy her freedom and driven to death... Then returning as a ghost after death...

It was not because his lust had overwhelmed his reason. This was simply the first normal spirit he had encountered apart from himself and Alsace—and she was a female spirit who could actually be fantasized about, perhaps even approached. It was important to understand the makeup of half of Fengdu’s future population. That surely fell within the scope of his duties... didn’t it?

Whether it was a man looking at an exquisite beauty or a woman looking at a handsome man, anyone who claimed not to harbor at least a few thoughts was lying through their teeth.

“Your Excellency, the madam would not allow me to receive clients. I broke the rules and accidentally became pregnant, so they put me in cat trousers and beat me to death.”

The answer struck Qin Ye like a bolt from a clear sky.

He felt his entire worldview collapsing. With a twitching mouth, he asked, “Was there some complication? For example... you actually had a lover, and the two of you wanted to elope, but the madam found out and forbade you from receiving clients... something like that?”

Su Dongxue stared at Qin Ye in astonishment. Though the expression was subtle, he clearly sensed the unspoken question in her eyes:

Why are you making up so much drama?

“No... I mean exactly what I said.” Perhaps now that everything had been laid bare, Su Dongxue no longer bothered pretending to be coy. She bowed lightly and said, “I was in excellent health. Four or five times a night was no problem. Unfortunately, that took away the other sisters’ livelihood, and the madam was displeased.”

Qin Ye gazed up at the heavens.

The script of life...

Nine times out of ten, it never turned out as one hoped...

Alsace asked in surprise, “Why would she be displeased? Didn’t you earn just as much money?”

Su Dongxue gave a graceful curtsy and pursed her lips. “...My lady... when I was enjoying myself, I often forgot to collect the money...”

How much enjoyment did you have to experience before forgetting the entire purpose of your profession?

Could you at least show a little professionalism?!

Qin Ye felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He waved helplessly. “Enough, enough... I understand. Little A, you don’t need to ask anymore. Just tell me where you intend to send her. You can’t seriously mean to take her with us, can you?”

Having one silicone doll by his side was already troublesome enough. He absolutely did not need another strange thing tagging along.

“Why shouldn’t we take her?” Alsace asked, surprised. “Do you think she is the only ancestral spirit carrying intergenerational inheritance? It possesses an extremely terrifying talent. It is called mimicry.”

“Mimicry?” Qin Ye frowned.

Alsace’s smile faded as she spoke gravely. “That’s right. Spirits have no physical form. When intergenerational inheritance truly awakens, the host’s body becomes like primordial chaos, with yang energy and yin energy endlessly mingling together. Since there is no fixed form, it can become any form it wishes. Water has no shape of its own. You’ve heard that saying before.”

Qin Ye nodded in understanding.

“They can imitate any living creature they have seen, even an underworld constable. And the frightening thing about this mimicry is that it does not merely copy outward appearance. It can also imitate your underworld aura and your level of cultivation. Of course, it can never be as powerful as the original. It can only reach half the original strength. But even half is more than enough.”

Qin Ye pondered for several seconds before speaking. “Was that why Li Cheng managed to block my blade?”

“Exactly. So where do you think her best destination would be? Where would a powerful underworld constable be needed to keep things under control?”

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