Twenty minutes later, Ye Yuqiao withdrew her right palm and looked at Chen Hao with an expressionless face, "The mana running wild within your body has all been absorbed by me. However, the Yang Energy Power I transferred to you before is still inside you. Now close your left eye and try to feel if you can sense the Nether Eye Power on your left eye."
He squinted and chuckled foolishly, then closed both eyes, focusing intently on sensing the presence of that power over his left eye.
After a minute, Chen Hao's excitement finally subsided, and he, with his eyes tightly closed, seemed to enter a realm where only he existed. Two more minutes passed, and Chen Hao could no longer hear the sound of air friction by his ear, nor could he smell the unique fragrance emanating from Ye Yuqiao; he began to feel a chill that seemed to originate from his left eye.
Gradually, as the chill invaded his entire body, he felt as if his breathing, his heartbeat, and even the movement of his cells had been frozen. This feeling was bizarre; though it was extremely cold, he did not shiver—it was as if his soul had left his body.
Suddenly, he saw a purple light. From his left eye, a purple glow was shimmering and blossoming. He had seen this vivid purple glow before—the moment before he knocked Xie Xiaofeng unconscious in the restroom; and when Ma Mian aimed the soul-capturing spear at him, he had also seen this purple light.
"Is this the Nether Eye Power?" Chen Hao wondered in his heart.
"Chen Hao, wake up quickly!" Yuqiao's cold voice resonated within this strange realm.
Chen Hao suddenly opened his eyes; he was awoken by Ye Yuqiao.
Ye Yuqiao looked at him and asked, "You should have felt the Nether Eye Power, right?"
Chen Hao, lying on the sofa, sat up, pressing close to Ye Yuqiao. He nodded and said, "I saw the purple light!"
"That is the Nether Eye Power!" Ye Yuqiao said. After a pause, she began to explain to Chen Hao, "The Nether Eye Power is a type of Yin Spiritual Power; only when the Yin Qi in your body reaches a certain level can you use the moves of the Nether Eye Power."
Chen Hao furrowed his brow in confusion, "What kinds of moves does the Nether Eye Power have?"
"The simplest is Nether Vision. Simply put, it's the power to distinguish truth from falsehood like 'fiery eyes and a golden gaze,' and it can even see through everything," Ye Yuqiao explained.
"See through everything!" Hearing these four words, a gleam flashed in Chen Hao's eyes. Looking at Ye Yuqiao's alluring physique, he asked with a lecherous gaze, "So does that mean if I were to use this move, I would be able to see through your clothes and directly into what's underneath?"
First, Ye Yuqiao glanced at Chen Hao with disdain, then she nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, that's the case. However, it's not meant for you to peep at women's bodies but to check for Yin Souls clinging to people or to see through demons and ghosts disguised as humans."
"That's a great move!" Chen Hao clapped his hands in excitement. He was already somewhat eager to learn this move. He took hold of Yuqiao's hand and, with a mischievous look, sized her up and down, chuckling, "As long as I master this move, I can use it to see through you every day."
"What's there to see about me? It's not like you haven't seen it already," Ye Yuqiao said with nonchalance.
"Then teach me quickly, how can I enhance the Yin Qi within my body?"
This question stumped Ye Yuqiao. After pondering for a long while, she finally said, "If I asked you to lie in a morgue or a hospital mortuary for a month, would you agree?"
Chen Hao shook his head firmly and admitted honestly, "I'm unwilling; I'm scared!"
"Then give me some time to think of something else. However, you should go to the hospital more often when you have the time, not only to visit your grandfather but also to absorb some Yin Qi," said Ye Yuqiao, her delicate and fair hand propping up her chin.
Looking at Ye Yuqiao's beautiful, intelligent profile as she pondered seriously, Chen Hao couldn't help but admire her beauty again. Then he asked, "Would it be enough if I just stayed at home more? There are still a dozen or so little ghosts at home, right?"
"Oh, right!" Ye Yuqiao exclaimed, "How could I forget about the dozen little ghosts in your house? However, this passive way of absorbing Yin Qi makes the enhancement quite slow; I need to think of a good method to help you quickly increase your Yin Qi."
Chen Hao stretched out his hand to pinch Yuqiao's delicate chin and asked, "Then is it okay if I stay at your place frequently? You have a beautiful female ghost living at your home!"
"No way!" Yuqiao immediately denied, "I'm an Onmyoji; my body carries too much Yang Energy!"
"But you're still my girlfriend!" Chen Hao retorted.
Yuqiao rolled her eyes at Chen Hao and murmured under her breath, "You're so indecent."
After a while, Chen Hao left Ye Yuqiao's home and went upstairs to his own. Now that he had regained the Nether Eye Power, the first thing he wanted to do was find that male vengeful spirit who had pushed him onto the road the night before, and bring his Yin Soul back to the Yin Yang Master Association. It wasn't so much that he wanted to join the Association; he just wanted to prove to everyone there that there was still someone from the Chen Family, an Onmyoji clan, and their status was unshakable!
He entered his grandfather's room, searching for the wooden box his grandfather often took with him when heading out for Onmyoji work. Ye Yuqiao had told him about a kind of rope called the Soul-binding Rope, which could be used to bind Yin Souls, so he needed to find one to capture that male vengeful spirit.
On his grandfather's desk, Chen Hao found the wooden box. Opening it, he quickly located the Soul-binding Rope. After closing the box, Chen Hao rose to his feet and accidentally discovered something hidden behind a framed painting on the wall above the desk. Driven by curiosity, he climbed onto the desk and slowly reached into the gap between the painting's wooden frame and the wall, gently retrieving a wooden box.
It was a long, narrow wooden box made of rosewood, with a somewhat tattered Spirit Talisman stuck on it and an aged red cord tightly wound around it.
After gazing at the wooden box hesitantly for a while, Chen Hao decided to consult Ye Yuqiao about the box before choosing whether to open it. Maybe it contained some terrifying ghost or demon, he thought.
Two minutes later, Chen Hao handed the long wooden box to Ye Yuqiao and said, "Dear, can you open this box and see what's inside?"
Ye Yuqiao took the box, glanced at the damaged Spirit Talisman on top, and said, "This is a Sealing Talisman, mainly used to seal the malevolent energy of treasures."
After saying this, she tore off the talisman and then untied the red string wrapped around it. Before even opening the box, both she and Chen Hao felt a chill emanating from inside. They exchanged a glance, and Ye Yuqiao lifted a lock of her long black hair behind her ear with her hand before finally opening the wooden box.
Within the long wooden box was an unremarkable withered tree branch. Looking at the branch, Chen Hao sighed in disappointment. Ye Yuqiao, however, opened her mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "This is a branch from the ancient locust tree of the Nether Palace!"
"The Nether Palace's ancient locust tree?" Chen Hao asked, puzzled, "How is this different from a normal locust tree branch?"
Ye Yuqiao excitedly looked at Chen Hao and explained, "The difference is huge. The so-called Nether Palace refers to the palace where the Nether King resides. Outside the Nether King's palace, there is a millennium-old locust tree, and this branch is broken off from that very tree. With it, your Yin Qi could increase several times within just a few days."
"That's amazing!" Chen Hao could hardly believe it.
"Of course, it's the oldest tree in the Netherworld. However, it was burned down by the Nether King several decades ago. I didn't expect your family still had one of its branches; that's really wonderful."
Seeing Ye Yuqiao so happy, her face blooming like a peach flower, Chen Hao was completely enchanted by her smile. Not until Ye Yuqiao tapped him on the head with the branch did Chen Hao come back to his senses, laughing foolishly, "This is the first time I see you so happy."
In an instant, Ye Yuqiao's smile faded. She looked at the branch with narrowed eyes and said coldly, "Tonight, I'll grind this branch into powder and boil it for you to drink over several meals."
"Uh... Are you sure that's drinkable?"
"Of course!"
"Alright, but I want to feed it to myself!"
"Mhm!"
"Why aren't you smiling anymore?" Chen Hao asked Ye Yuqiao in his arms, "Even when you don't smile, you're very beautiful, but you're even more beautiful when you do smile, truly unmatched in the world."
Ye Yuqiao glanced up at Chen Hao and muttered, "Who uses the term 'unmatched in the world' to describe beauty?"
"Then, unparalleled in the world."
In the evening, after preparing food for over a dozen ghost children at home, Chen Hao took the money he had borrowed from Ye Yuqiao and rushed to the hospital to pay for his grandfather's hospital bills. Standing outside the ward and looking at his grandfather for a long time without a word, Chen Hao left the hospital. On his way back, he was silently swearing to himself that he must bring his grandfather home and ensure a better life for him in the future.
Just as he was about to reach home, Chen Hao's cellphone suddenly rang. Looking at the name on the screen, both unfamiliar and familiar, Chen Hao's heart trembled—it was a call from Lin Xiaofan, his childhood sweetheart and ex-girlfriend.
As soon as he answered the call, Chen Hao inquired in a tone that was both cold and impatient, "Is there something important? If not, I'm hanging up!"
"Chen Hao..." From the other end of the phone, Lin Xiaofan's voice was very low. "Do you really not want to receive my calls?"
"What do you think?" Chen Hao retorted angrily.
Lin Xiaofan let out an unhappy snort and then said, "I'm calling to tell you something, your new girlfriend, beautiful as a heavenly immortal, is about to cheat on you."
"What!" Chen Hao laughed, "Lin Xiaofan, aren't you just jealous that I've found a girlfriend who is hundreds, thousands of times prettier than you? Do you think every girl is like you?"
"Right now, she's at Tianhong Hotel, room 302 near your school with Lin Xiaofeng. Anyway, I've told you now, whether you believe it or not."
Having said that, Lin Xiaofan hung up the call.
"Crazy woman!" Chen Hao cursed at the phone. Ye Yuqiao was so good to him, how could she possibly cheat on him?
Three minutes later, Chen Hao ran up to the fifth floor and knocked on the door of Ye Yuqiao's home. After a long time, there was no response.
So, Chen Hao knocked again, this time with more force. Not long after, with the door still closed, and thinking about Lin Xiaofan's call, Chen Hao grew anxious. Unable to contain the impulse in his heart, he banged hard on the door.
Sometime later, the neighbor's door opened, and it was Grandma Li who poked her head out. She looked at Chen Hao and said, "Haozi, I saw the girl who lives here go out just now, she probably hasn't come back yet."
Upon hearing Grandma Li's words, Chen Hao became thoroughly anxious. After hurriedly bidding her farewell, he rushed down the stairs...