Two days after Chen Hao and his companions caused a commotion in the ghost market of Dao County,

night had fallen, and Chen Hao, Ye Yuqiao, Tang Jing, and Xie Xiaofeng were walking on the way home. These past two days had been very calm. Neither the Li Family, the nether merchants of Dao County, nor the Zhao Family, one of the Eight Great Clans from the Netherworld, had sent people to seek revenge, which made the four of them feel even more uneasy.

During the silent walk, Chen Hao held Ye Yuqiao's hand, occasionally stealing glances at her and letting out a few sniggers. Ye Yuqiao perceived this and thought Chen Hao's giggling looked quite cute, so she let him be silly.

After walking for a while, Xie Xiaofeng suddenly took Tang Jing's hand and said, "Tang Jing, I can't stand Chen Hao, that silly boy! I really don't understand why he keeps looking at Ye Yuqiao and giggling? Let's allow those two to go ahead first, so we don't have to be their third wheel."

"It's what I wished for." Chen Hao muttered quietly.

A look of resignation passed between Tang Jing's eyes as they darted between the two, and she said with a laugh, "Since coming back from Dao County, you two once-in-a-thousand-year geniuses seem to have quite a bit of an opinion about each other, why don't you two just have a fight?"

"Fine by me!" Chen Hao chuckled mischievously, "I'll beat him till he's crippled."

Xie Xiaofeng's eyes shone as he retorted, "Only I am the once-in-a-thousand-year Onmyoji genius, not this silly boy!"

Pausing for a moment, Xie Xiaofeng continued, "Don't be biased, Tang Jing! You know this silly boy has a bewitching power in his left eye, fighting him is like fighting with a cheat, how can I compete with that?"

"So how do you suggest we compare then?"

"Let me think."

As it so happened, at that moment, Chen Hao's phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Ren Deshan, the vice president of the Yin Yang Master Association.

As soon as the call connected, Ren Deshan's urgent tone came through, "President Chen, something strange has happened! These past two days we've received numerous calls for help. Many citizens have suddenly gone mad as if possessed, losing their reason and attacking anyone they see, but the moment the police arrive they immediately come to their senses."

"It must be some mischievous ghost possessing them, right?" Chen Hao guessed.

"I sent a few Yin Yang Masters to look last night, and they all said they didn't see any Yin Souls clinging to those crazy people," Ren Deshan explained.

"That's strange," Chen Hao said, a puzzled look crossing his forehead, "I'll personally check the streets tonight. You continue to deploy people to patrol the streets, and immediately inform me if you find anything."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hao realized that Ye Yuqiao, Xie Xiaofeng, and Tang Jing were staring at him intently, their eyes filled with curiosity. Chen Hao shivered, took a deep breath, and relayed to the three what Ren Deshan had told him over the phone.

After hearing the details, Xie Xiaofeng's face suddenly broke into a sly smile, saying, "If that's the case, let's see who can find out the truth and catch the real culprit first."

"You're on!" Chen Hao agreed immediately.

Xie Xiaofeng turned to Tang Jing, suddenly placing a hand on her shoulder, and said, "Since this fool has Ye Yuqiao's help, then Tang Jing, you'll be my assistant."

"Whatever," Chen Hao laughed nonchalantly, "then Tang Chao can also help you. Since there's such a huge disparity between our strengths, I have to let you have some advantage to make it fair."

Xie Xiaofeng, with gritted teeth and a furious glare, brought his angry face close to Chen Hao's, his eyes conveying intense animosity, as if he wanted to devour Chen Hao.

Neither yielding, Chen Hao glared back fiercely, his eyes sharp as if trying to kill Xie Xiaofeng with his gaze!

It wasn't long before Ye Yuqiao and Tang Jing each pulled the two men apart, heading off in opposite directions.

Ye Yuqiao, with her arm in Chen Hao's, said with a smile, "Every time I see you and Xie Xiaofeng arguing, I find it so amusing."

"You haven't started to have feelings for him, have you?" Chen Hao suddenly stopped and asked in alarm.

Ye Yuqiao glanced at Chen Hao coldly, her face wearing a half-smile. She didn't answer Chen Hao's question but instead let go of his arm and briskly walked ahead.

Chen Hao took two quick steps to catch up, first grabbing Ye Yuqiao's arm and pulling her back in front of him, then wrapping an arm around her waist as he said, "Honestly, I argue with Xie Xiaofeng on purpose just to make you happy. As long as it can bring a smile to your face, anything I do feels worthwhile."

Ye Yuqiao, while prying Chen Hao's hooked hand off her waist with her left hand, pinched Chen Hao's face with her right, and said, "Stop lying, you're clearly just competitive. And lately, you've learned to say things to make a girl happy."

Ye Yuqiao spoke with the tone of an older sister or a mentor to a junior.

Chen Hao laughed twice, then held Ye Yuqiao's hand tightly.

The two walked hand in hand under the neon lights of the night, the cool autumn breeze made Ye Yuqiao unconsciously snuggle closer to Chen Hao. She looked at Chen Hao, her brows furrowed, yet she felt a warmth in her heart. In the struggle and resistance of over a month, her heart had slowly drawn closer to him. This was clearly not the outcome she wanted rationally, but emotionally, it made her happy.

Chen Hao suddenly turned his head and, after seeing the sparkling tears in Ye Yuqiao's eyes, asked earnestly, "What's the matter?"

Ye Yuqiao looked at Chen Hao with a stern face, seemingly angry, paused for a moment, then said, "I hate you!"

She said this, yet her head leaned on Chen Hao's shoulder, like a wounded little bird.

A trace of sadness initially appeared on Chen Hao's face, then he smiled contentedly after smelling the fragrance in Ye Yuqiao's hair. His right arm wrapped around her back, hugging Ye Yuqiao's waist once again. He looked ahead, not knowing where the path under the lights led, but he wanted to keep walking with Ye Yuqiao just like this, tirelessly.

"It feels so good with just the two of us!" Chen Hao exclaimed, "Without Xie Xiaofeng and Tang Jing, these two super light bulbs around, I wish I could walk with you like this forever."

Ye Yuqiao didn't speak but snuggled even closer to Chen Hao.

In the time that followed, Chen Hao seemed to forget about the competition with Xie Xiaofeng, wandering aimlessly with Ye Yuqiao through the streets and alleys of Y City, enjoying the time spent closely with her until Ren Deshan's call came again.

Chen Hao took out his phone, hesitating about whether to answer the call or not.

Ye Yuqiao lifted her head from Chen Hao's shoulder and, with a slight smile towards him, said, "Go on, answer it. If you want to take a walk like today, we can always do it again."

Encouraged by Ye Yuqiao's words, Chen Hao smiled and answered the phone. On the call, Ren Deshan told Chen Hao, at that moment on Xingguang Street in the city center, several pedestrians had suddenly started a brawl, and the scene was incredibly intense, with many shop windows around being smashed by them.

After hearing about the incident, Ye Yuqiao's brows furrowed deeply, falling into thought.

Just as Chen Hao was about to pull her hand to rush to Xingguang Street, Ye Yuqiao suddenly shot a sharp gleam of light in her eyes and, clutching Chen Hao's hand in surprise, said, "Could those people be entangled by a Shadow Demon?"

"Shadow Demon?" Chen Hao was clueless.

Ye Yuqiao blinked and her expression shifted from doubt to certainty, saying, "It must be a Shadow Demon. It has a past with the Clan Leader of the Qian Family from the Netherworld, Qian Feng. It's said that Qian Feng once saved its life."

Realizing that this affair might be related to the Qian Family, Chen Hao's face suddenly turned frantic, urgently asking, "Is the Shadow Demon only a shadow?"

"Yes," Ye Yuqiao nodded, "The Shadow Demon is just a shadow; it can control a person's actions by attaching itself to one's shadow."

"So that's what's happening?" Chen Hao pondered, "No wonder the Onmyoji from the Association failed to notice anything unusual."

Meanwhile, in Y City's city center.

Xie Xiaofeng and Tang Jing were sprinting towards Xingguang Street. Two minutes ago, Xie Xiaofeng got the news from his younger brother Xie Xiaoluan that there was a major conflict happening on Xingguang Street, with several passersby suddenly losing their mind and fighting each other as if they were possessed.

Just then, Xie Xiaofeng's phone rang. While running, he took out his phone, and seeing that it was a call from Chen Hao, he gasped for breath and with a smile to Tang Jing beside him said, "It's a call from that kid Chen Hao; he must have found out about the situation on Xingguang Street. We have to get there before they do!"

With that, Xie Xiaofeng hung up Chen Hao's call.

"Why did you hang up his call?" Tang Jing asked.

"What's the point of answering!" Xie Xiaofeng's lips curved slightly upwards, "He's clearly trying to delay us, we need to hurry up!"

The ringing of the phone resounded again, with Chen Hao's call coming through once more, and without a second word, Xie Xiaofeng hung up again.

Tang Jing's eyebrows knitted together, saying, "You should at least answer it!"

"No need!" Xie Xiaofeng declared confidently, looking up into the sky, just in time to see the road sign for Xingguang Street.

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