Night fell, and a chill wind swept through the wild woods on the outskirts of Y City.

"Dingling, dingling!" The bell tinkled.

Along a path in the fields, more than thirty people marched in a single file, their steps so light they seemed to float. Under the pale moonlight, they cast no shadows.

Their faces were ashen, their eyes hollow, expressions cold and tinged with terror. They wore identical black trousers and tattered white short-sleeved shirts. Even the iciest wind could not make them shiver, for they were Soul Corpses.

Soul Corpses, also known as Soul Zombies, referred to the dead whose Yin Souls had been bound to them by Corpse Driver Masters using Yin Yang Arts. In many areas of the East Country, if a person died unexpectedly far from home, a Corpse Driver Master would be hired to reanimate the deceased person's soul so they could walk home on their own.

"Dingling, dingling!" Each time the bell rang, the thirty-odd Soul Corpses would take seven steps forward—this type of Soul Corpses was known as Seven-Step-Soul-Corpses.

Seven-Step-Soul Corpses are Soul Corpses that Corpse Driver Masters have restricted to walking no more than seven steps at a time using a kind of incantation. Should they take an extra step, something terrible would happen: they'd undergo a corpse transformation, growing sharp fangs in their mouths and biting anyone they saw.

"Dingling, dingling!"

The Corpse Driver Master was a man in his forties with a narrow face and a fierce appearance. His skin, from years of staying close to Yin Souls, was so pale it lacked any hint of color, and his lips were tinged with a bruise-like purple.

The Corpse Driver Master wore a black overcoat, a bell in his left hand, and a whip in his right. Whenever a Soul Corpse went out of control, he would lash it with the specially treated whip, as if herding cattle.

The night grew deep.

The Corpse Driver Master led the more than thirty Soul Corpses into the city area of Y City from the south. His mission was to send these Soul Corpses into the streets of Y City to create havoc, forcing Chen Hao to hand over Tang Jing.

"Dingling!" The Corpse Driver Master shook the bell again and then closed his eyes to chant an incantation.

"One step, two steps, three steps, four steps..." The Corpse Driver Master listened closely to the Soul Corpses' footsteps.

Upon hearing the Soul Corpses take an eighth consecutive step, the Corpse Driver Master suddenly opened his eyes and stopped chanting.

Instantly, he became aware of a strong smell of Yin Qi—the thirty-odd Soul Corpses were transforming! Soon after, their eyes began to flicker with a green light, they bared their fangs with mouths agape.

"Dingling!" The Corpse Driver Master rang the bell again, and this time the Soul Corpses scattered in all directions within Y City like headless flies.

Twenty minutes passed.

At Ye Yuqiao's home.

Currently, Chen Hao stood outside Ye Yuqiao's room, knocking on the door incessantly, begging her to let him inside to see her just once.

Ye Yuqiao knew that Chen Hao wanted something else and therefore ignored him. As Chen Hao alternated between pleading, singing, and cajoling outside, she occasionally laughed lightly at his antics, which brightened her initially complex mood considerably.

"Ye Yuqiao, I haven't seen you for two hours and five minutes, I'm dying to see you, please open the door and let me have a look at you," Chen Hao's voice was full of urgency and a touch of helplessness.

Ye Yuqiao puffed her cheeks and looked towards the door, feeling somewhat swayed. However, she kept reminding herself that things would never work out with Chen Hao, and that the best way to minimize heartache was to distance herself early on. She wanted to distance herself from Chen Hao but was afraid of making him sad, knowing it would make her sad as well.

Before Ye Yuqiao made a decision, Chen Hao's phone rang—it was a call from Ren Deshan.

After answering the call, Ren Deshan informed Chen Hao that unusual Soul Corpses had appeared on several streets in Y City, and he had already sent people from the Association to help.

Hanging up, Chen Hao urgently started banging on Ye Yuqiao's door, saying, "Oh no, something big has happened!"

After a long time, Ye Yuqiao's voice floated out of the room, filled with skepticism, "Is it really some kind of emergency?"

"Yes, there are... vampires in the streets; I need to go help!" Chen Hao's voice was anxious, "I have to leave now, okay? I'll be back afterward."

Right after speaking, Chen Hao made noises like he was leaving with his feet.

Not long after, Ye Yuqiao's door opened.

"Haha!" Chen Hao, who had hidden himself against the wall near the door, suddenly leaped in front of Ye Yuqiao and wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her into an embrace, "You fell for it, huh?"

"You tricked me!" Ye Yuqiao looked up at Chen Hao with a resentful gaze. "I didn't trick you; it's just that what appeared wasn't a ghost but a Soul Corpse."

"Soul Corpse?" Ye Yuqiao narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

Suddenly, Chen Hao picked up Ye Yuqiao and carried her over to the sofa, then sat down. He cushioned Ye Yuqiao's head with his right arm and leaned in close to admire the face he adored.

"Let me have a good look at you!"

Under Chen Hao's long gaze, Ye Yuqiao, pretending to be expressionless, blushed.

"Nether King Your Majesty, you're actually getting shy now!" Chen Hao said with a laugh before turning his head to size up Ye Yuqiao from another angle, pinching her cheek in amazement, "Truly flawless from every angle, my queen, are you unrealistically beautiful, or what? I'm beginning to suspect this face is fake."

Ye Yuqiao cast a cold glance at Chen Hao and muttered softly, "I wish I had been born uglier!"

"Even if you were uglier, I would still love you!" Chen Hao laughed, thinking that hypotheticals never came true. After saying this, he supported Ye Yuqiao's head with his arm, sliding it onto his right chest before closing his eyes.

After a long silence, Ye Yuqiao asked blankly, "What are you doing?"

"Recovering," Chen Hao said with a smile, his eyes slightly closed, "When you're leaning on my chest, I feel so comfortable, so relaxed. I hadn't properly rested for days, feeling so tired."

Then Chen Hao sighed with emphasis, "I wonder when days like this will end."

Hearing Chen Hao say this, Ye Yuqiao furrowed her brow, her mouth saying nothing, but inside she felt a pang of heartache for him.

After a moment of silence, the still-closed-eyed Chen Hao gradually entered his dreams; and Ye Yuqiao in his arms also fell asleep to the steady beat of his heart. That is until an hour later, Ren Deshan's call came through, waking them both.

Groggy, Chen Hao found his phone on the left side.

After answering, Ren Deshan's anxious voice came through, "President Chen, there's trouble! Those Soul Corpses have undergone corpse transformation, biting over a dozen of our Yin Yang Masters. The Soul Corpses have even started speaking, demanding that Tang Jing be sent back to the Li Family, or else by tomorrow morning, our bitten Yin Yang Masters will die from the corpse poison!"

Chen Hao's consciousness was suddenly awakened. He hadn't expected these Soul Corpses to also have been sent by the Li Family of Dao County. Puzzled, even though the transformed Soul Corpses became extremely fierce, they should not pose a problem for the members of the Yin Yang Master Association. So, he couldn't help but rebuke over the phone, "I can't believe our Association's Yin Yang Masters can't handle a few transformed Soul Corpses!"

At that moment, Ye Yuqiao lying in Chen Hao's arms suddenly squirmed a bit, turning down her mouth in a pout, and then opened her eyes wide in anger at Chen Hao. Whenever she was woken up, her face would carry a heavy dose of waking grumpiness.

Seeing Ye Yuqiao like this, Chen Hao couldn't help but purse his lips with a smile.

"No, it's not that!" Ren Deshan's tone turned mournful and was tinged with self-pity, "These transformed Soul Corpses are different, they have immortal bodies. Our Yin Yang Masters didn't expect the Yin Souls residing within the corpses to revive, which is why after defeating them they let down their guard and were bitten."

Chen Hao's brow deeply furrowed, he fell into contemplation. After a long time, he finally said to Ren Deshan, "First, reassure those bitten Yin Yang Masters, and see if there's any way to cleanse the corpse poison from their bodies. As for me, over here..."

"There's no time," Ren Deshan interrupted Chen Hao helplessly, "Our bitten brothers are already at your building! Beep...beep...beep."

Suddenly, the call from Ren Deshan ended.

"Has something happened?" Ye Yuqiao asked coldly.

Chen Hao frowned, and all of a sudden leaned in to kiss Ye Yuqiao's lips, then proceeded to relay what Ren Deshan had told him over the phone to Ye Yuqiao.

A few sentences later, Ren Deshan called again. He first explained to Chen Hao that the call was abruptly hung up due to a few bitten Association members trying to snatch his phone. Then he continued, explaining that the bitten Yin Yang Masters, fearing they would die from the corpse poison come morning, were seeking Chen Hao to have Tang Jing sent back to the Li Family.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hao quickly said to Ye Yuqiao, "Yuqiao, stay upstairs with the three of them while I deal with the corpse poison later."

"Why?"

"It's safer that way," Chen Hao explained, "I'll be at ease dealing with other things only if you're safe."

Ye Yuqiao nodded in agreement.

Afterward, the two left Ye Yuqiao's room and separated at the staircase.

After climbing two steps, Ye Yuqiao then turned back to Chen Hao and called out, "Chen Hao!"

"What is it?" Chen Hao, about to head downstairs, stopped and looked up at her.

Ye Yuqiao furrowed her brow, hesitated for two seconds, then walked down the steps to Chen Hao. After blinking a few times, she tiptoed to kiss Chen Hao's face, then embraced him and whispered in his ear, "Be careful."

"You!" Chen Hao was pleasantly surprised, momentarily stunned. This was the first time Ye Yuqiao had initiated a kiss with him. His heart quickened, his blood rushing with excitement, leaving him light-headed. It took him a long time to recover, and then he held Ye Yuqiao even tighter and said excitedly in her ear, "I will be careful!"

Chen Hao kissed Ye Yuqiao's fragrant hair before reluctantly heading downstairs, his excitement still uncontainable.

After Chen Hao left, Ye Yuqiao stood rooted to the spot, deep in thought. She felt a strong sense of self-reproach and annoyance, questioning why she couldn't help but give Chen Hao a farewell kiss.

Suddenly, her tears fell like rain, struggling in pain, succumbing in the struggle.

"I messed up again just now."

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