Upon hearing the old ghost speak like this, Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao immediately exchanged a puzzled glance, both wondering in their hearts if this man in front of them knew about Ye Yuqiao's Nether King identity.

When the old ghost turned his back and took a few steps towards the temple, Chen Hao called out from behind him, "Actually, you are that so-called matchmaker, aren't you? The matchmaker statue inside is just a front."

The old ghost with white hair turned around, a hint of faint surprise on his face. After staring at Chen Hao for a long time, the ghost suddenly realized the presence of the driver nearby and came to an epiphany, "So you were sent by him!"

Chen Hao hummed in response, his face full of confusion, "We'll talk about that later! What I really want to know is, why did you say that the matchmaker couldn't arrange the marital fate between me and my girlfriend?"

The ghost smiled and then explained, "The matchmaker only arranges fates for the living, and among the two of you, one's lifespan has ended, and the other lacks a Yin Soul, so I cannot arrange your marital fate."

"I see!" Chen Hao nodded, his mind somewhat relieved; fortunately, it wasn't because the ghost knew about Ye Yuqiao's Nether King identity. After a pause, Chen Hao asked, "It's not surprising for a ghost like you to see that my girlfriend lacks a Yin Soul, but how did you figure out that my lifespan has ended?"

The old ghost furrowed his brows, questioning, "Weren't you hired by someone to deal with me? If you came with ill intentions, why would I tell you anything?"

"Not necessarily!" Chen Hao said with a smile, shaking his head, "Although you are a fierce ghost, the resentment within you isn't heavy, which is different from the other fierce ghosts I've encountered. On the way up the mountain, I saw many couples coming to burn incense and thank you. Maybe you haven't done any bad deeds?"

"If I haven't done any bad deeds, would you not deal with me?" the old ghost asked, having been so composed ever since the beginning.

Chen Hao nodded.

The old ghost's eyes widened in surprise, then shrank to a fraction of their size as a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

After pondering for a long time, the old ghost gestured invitingly and said, "I invite you both to my humble abode for a chat."

The humble abode the old ghost referred to was the matchmaker temple, and by saying this, he indirectly admitted that he was the matchmaker.

After exchanging a glance, Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao held hands and entered the matchmaker temple.

As soon as she stepped into the temple, Ye Yuqiao sensed something was off, and in her heart, she sent a secret message to Chen Hao, "Boyfriend, quickly use your Nether Vision to take a look at this matchmaker statue."

"Oh, right!" Chen Hao immediately responded in his mind to Ye Yuqiao, while activating the Nether Vision Technique with his left eye. After inspecting Ye Yuqiao at his side for a while, Chen Hao then turned his gaze to the matchmaker statue.

"You tease!" Ye Yuqiao's soft reprimand echoed in Chen Hao's mind, her cheeks now involuntarily blushing.

Two seconds later, Chen Hao's left eye pierced through the clay of the matchmaker statue, discovering within it a stone emitting a pale red glow.

The stone was roughly the size of a soccer ball, with a smooth and round surface.

"So the matchmaker statue isn't just a front!" Chen Hao muttered, his face filled with surprise, his curiosity piqued by the seemingly translucent stone.

"This is... the Fate Stone!" Ye Yuqiao realized after some thought what the strangely glowing pale red stone was.

"The Fate Stone?"

"Mhm!" Ye Yuqiao suddenly squinted her eyes.

Then, she told Chen Hao the Fate Stone was originally a stone placed at the Samsara Path, and eighteen years ago, the Ghost King who escaped from the Gate of the Nether King released all the malicious ghosts and fierce ghosts from the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Those ghosts fled to the mortal world through the Samsara Path, and the Fate Stone fell into the mortal world after being pushed by those mischievous ghosts. After her Yang Spirit arrived in the mortal world, Ye Yuqiao had looked for the Fate Stone but could not find it.

"I didn't expect to find the Fate Stone here today!" Ye Yuqiao exclaimed.

"So that's how it is!" Chen Hao sighed lightly, "Girlfriend, could this old man be the reincarnation of the Fate Stone?"

"The Fate Stone doesn't have a Yang Spirit, how could it reincarnate as a human! Besides, even if it could be reborn as a person, that person should be as young as you, whereas this old man here is at least a thousand years old!"

"A thousand years old!" Chen Hao couldn't help but exclaim, then he looked at the old ghost and asked, "Are you really over a thousand years old?"

"This..." The old ghost's face immediately darkened, "How did you see that I am over a thousand years old?"

Chen Hao was rendered speechless, his eyes wide with astonishment, secretly sighing that it was indeed over a thousand years old! Logically speaking, ordinary Yin Souls can only remain in the mortal world for eighteen years before they dissipate. However, malicious spirits like fierce ghosts and evil ghosts that absorb human Yang Energy can survive a bit longer. A Yin Soul living in the mortal world for over a thousand years means it must have consumed an unimaginable amount of Yang Energy!

After a moment of shock, Chen Hao silently asked Ye Yuqiao, "Girlfriend, how did you figure out he's over a thousand years old?"

"It's written on this Fate Stone," Ye Yuqiao explained, "It's just that you can't see it."

Ye Yuqiao then told Chen Hao that the Fate Stone not only records the past, present, and future lives of a Yin Soul, as well as the time when its Yang lifespan runs out, but it also reveals the love stories of its three lifetimes. Before a Yin Soul proceeds to the Samsara Path, the Fate Stone will display the appearance of its destined life partner during a certain age—this could be when their destined person is seven, seventeen, thirty-seven, or even older.

What people often refer to as love at first sight in the mortal world is, during the right period, encountering that right appearance that gives a sense of deja vu.

Some people don't feel this way when they first meet their destined partner because they haven't met in the right period. But one day, it could happen while strolling down a street, on a sunny beach with white clouds, or during a lazy afternoon at home when light angles through the window—suddenly, that familiar sense of intimacy will arrive. However, that feeling is no longer the excitement of love at first sight, but the emotion of wanting to grow old together with certainty.

After listening to Ye Yuqiao's story about the Fate Stone, Chen Hao gave a goofy smile and then asked her, "Your Majesty, is your feeling towards me love at first sight, or is it a sudden touch of emotion?"

"You go first!" Ye Yuqiao immediately replied, her tone full of concern.

"You are so beautiful, of course it was love at first sight for me," Chen Hao said. "The first time I saw you, you were walking into the classroom behind the homeroom teacher, and to me, it felt as if I had seen a Heavenly Immortal descending to earth. I never dreamt that this girl, who resembled a Heavenly Immortal, would later become my girlfriend and that she had already taken a liking to me for over a thousand years."

"No way, I would never fall for you like that!" Ye Yuqiao immediately retorted, her tone tinged with shyness. After a pause, she continued, "My feeling for you is one of being touched, and it happened multiple times, each moment of being touched made me fall deeper into struggle. As for when I was sure about you, it should have been the time at the ghost market in Dao County. When I saw the lollipop in your hand, which belongs to someone's heart, turn into my likeness, I knew then that I had a place in your heart, just like you do in mine."

"Young man, young man!"

Seeing Chen Hao in a daze, the old ghost couldn't help but call out to him several times, waving his hand in front of him repeatedly.

"Oh!" Chen Hao's eyes rippled with emotions before he turned his gaze back to the old ghost and explained, "Because it's written on the Fate Stone!"

"Ah!" The eyes of the old ghost suddenly sparkled with excitement, "I didn't expect you to discover the Fate Stone so quickly. Since that's the case, you should understand why I knew that your Yang lifespan had ended."

Chen Hao nodded and asked, "Where did you get this Fate Stone originally?"

"Eighteen years ago, several fierce and evil ghosts fell from the sky onto this mountain along with this stone. Later, those ghosts left, abandoning the Fate Stone here. I found it glowing mysteriously, so I took it home. A year later, I discovered it was a Fate Stone and started studying it."

After hearing the old ghost's story, Chen Hao asked, "So after you figured it out, you portrayed yourself as the Matchmaker God and started making money by helping others find their matches."

"I have never taken a penny from anyone!" the old ghost suddenly said loudly, appearing somewhat angry. "Since I started repairing this Matchmaker Temple, I have matched over seven hundred lovers without ever accepting any money. Those you saw coming to burn incense and paper money on the way up the mountain all did so voluntarily in fulfillment of their vows. As for the fruits, alcohol, and meats they brought when asking for my help, I gave them all to the nearby villagers."

"If not for money, then it must be for fame!"

After giving Chen Hao an angry glare, the old ghost shook his head and let out a mournful sigh, his voice immediately low, "I did all this just to help lovers in the world find their happily ever after."

"Why?"

"Because I never got to be with the one in my heart, I can deeply sympathize with this pain and don't want others to go through the same ordeal."

"Your intended one?" Chen Hao's eyes widened, thinking that since the old ghost was over a thousand years old, his beloved must be around the same age, "You haven't been able to let go of your intended one, so you have lingered in the mortal world for over a thousand years?"

"Mhm!" the old ghost nodded, the wrinkles on his face trembling slightly, "I met her here and got to know her well. Every morning at this time, she would be in the nearby bamboo forest playing the zither, until one day, a string broke. She felt it was time for her to leave, so she came to bid me farewell, saying she was going to find the one in her heart. I asked her if she would ever return; she told me she might, or she might not. Since then, I've been waiting here, all the way until today."

"How faithful!" Chen Hao sighed softly, feeling pity for the old ghost's long wait, "Did she end up with the man in her heart?"

"She probably didn't!" the ghost shook his head, "The man in her heart was a famous assassin of the day. Three years after she left here, that man died."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.