Hate oneself

Ye Shu and Liu Youyou were truly frightened. The thunderstorm and power outage had already made them uneasy, and now Xiao Leng appeared, wearing a creepy and horrifying expression. Even immortals would be scared to the point of wetting their pants.

After Xiao Leng disappeared, the thunder and lightning stopped, replaced by a torrential downpour. The outside was filled with the rhythmic sound of raindrops.

Ye Shu, composed, went to turn on the circuit breaker, restoring light to the room. Liu Youyou also breathed a sigh of relief, but her face still showed lingering fear, clearly shaken.

In a low voice, Ye Shu comforted her for a while, then tiptoed to the balcony. The balcony was empty, with only the urn quietly placed there.

Night had deepened, and the cold rain cooled the temperature. Outside, it was pitch black, devoid of any light.

"Xiao Leng is too mysterious. Originally, I thought she was just cold, but now it seems she's truly an evil spirit," Liu Youyou whispered as she approached, her voice even lower when mentioning "evil spirit."

Ye Shu remained silent and gently pulled her back to the bedroom before speaking, "Don't make baseless assumptions. When Xiao Leng dealt with her own guilt last night, you saw it too. She could have directly killed her guilt, but she didn't at first. Even when she was trampled, she didn't act until her guilt sought death on its own. The green-haired ghost also said Xiao Leng would make way for them, indicating that Xiao Leng is a kind spirit."

Liu Youyou nodded after hearing this, pondering for a moment before saying, "Could it be that we triggered her? It seems like she appeared after you hugged me."

Ye Shu thought about it and indeed, when they were lying on the bed, Xiao Leng appeared after he hugged Liu Youyou.

"Does this action have any special meaning? Could it be that Xiao Leng is sentimental, and her death is related to embracing?" Liu Youyou speculated, finding it mystical. How could it be related to embracing? It was truly difficult to comprehend.

The two of them discussed for a long time but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. To avoid upsetting Xiao Leng, they decided not to sleep together and returned to their respective rooms.

The night was restless, and after midnight, the heavy rain stopped. Aiqier also returned.

In a daze, Ye Shu felt Aiqier kiss him before finally falling asleep at ease.

The next day was sunny. After a night of rain, the air was exceptionally fresh. Although there were many puddles on the uneven roads, overall, it was suitable for going out.

Liu Youyou also woke up early. She was going to attend the offline gathering of monsters.

Ye Shu accompanied her, preparing Aiqier's blood cake before leaving. He also added blood rice to the urn. Holding another bowl of blood rice, he left.

This bowl was for the two green-haired brothers. In broad daylight, they probably wouldn't come out. Ye Shu left the blood rice in an alley, and they would come when they smelled the aroma.

After completing these tasks, Ye Shu and Liu Youyou took a bus to the city center.

The offline gathering was at a five-star hotel in the city center, a landmark building towering over thirty floors. It provided dining, accommodation, and wedding services, with staggering expenses.

Half an hour later, the two of them arrived at the central hotel. From a distance, the grandeur of the building was impressive, attracting affluent customers.

Liu Youyou, who was initially somewhat low-spirited due to the events of the previous night, immediately perked up upon seeing the central hotel. She raised her head and smiled, "I heard that having a meal here costs over ten thousand yuan. Except for the business-oriented monsters in the group, most monsters are quite poor. I might be the only poor monster with the chance to dine here."

Ye Shu smirked, "You're really flaunting your poverty. What's there to boast about?"

Liu Youyou earnestly lectured him, "You don't understand our situation as monsters. Most monsters lack business acumen, and the Monster Alliance prohibits monsters from engaging in illegal activities. So, apart from the malicious monsters, the rest of us are either working or receiving social assistance. It's quite pitiful. Moreover, we need to save money for buying soul-nourishing pills in the monster market, a crucial step in evolution. Social assistance is too slow."

It did sound somewhat pitiful. Monsters needed a large number of soul-nourishing pills for their cultivation. With the thin spiritual energy in the world, soul-nourishing pills had become the most essential resource for monster cultivation, and they were not cheap.

While chatting, they had reached the entrance of the grand hotel. The two human security guards took a glance at them, seemingly indifferent, as Ye Shu and Liu Youyou looked like common people.

However, Liu Youyou was exceptionally enchanting, captivating the guards who couldn't help but stare, their noses bleeding uncontrollably.

Ye Shu was surprised by their lack of composure. Liu Youyou, on the other hand, chuckled, feeling proud as she glanced teasingly at Ye Shu, thinking, "My beauty is no joke."

Since the two guards were already dumbfounded, Ye Shu didn't bother to engage with them. He directly led Liu Youyou into the hotel.

Liu Youyou, like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, looked around in amazement, praising the layout of the lobby and comparing it to a spiritual hall, giving a grand feeling.

Rolling his eyes, Ye Shu asked Liu Youyou about the location of the gathering.

Liu Youyou pointed upstairs, "Seventh floor, luxury private room, the most expensive one."

Without any delay, Ye Shu took her to the elevator. They directly ascended to the seventh floor.

Below the seventh floor seemed to be primarily for dining, while the seventh floor had a corridor, and the windows were one-way transparent, allowing a view of the outside road.

Liu Youyou was intrigued, walking and exclaiming, "Indeed, the gathering of seniors is on another level. Not bad, I am quite satisfied."

She was on cloud nine, pretending to be reserved. Ye Shu found it amusing, realizing that the fox spirit had such a cute side.

After some walking, they encountered a waiter. After inquiring, the waiter immediately led them into another corridor, directly to a private room door.

"Please come in. Today, this is the only room on the seventh floor with guests. They mentioned they are waiting for two more people."

The waiter smiled and went to serve dishes. Liu Youyou took a deep breath at the door, feeling nervous, "I'm so anxious; we're going to meet seniors and big shots."

The sound insulation of this private room was excellent, and no sounds from the corridor could be heard inside. Apparently, there were no people inside.

Ye Shu, trying to suppress a smile, adjusted his attire and gently pushed open the door. As the door opened, all calmness disappeared, replaced by a deafening noise that hit them like a wave. Even the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees.

Inside the private room, the space

 was unimaginably large. It seemed like over a dozen private rooms were connected, and the first thing that caught the eye was a large "Double Happiness" character on the front wall.

In such a vast private room, nearly twenty tables were set up, each filled with people engaging in lively conversations, creating a deafening atmosphere.

Ye Shu hesitated for a moment, and Liu Youyou widened her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.

People near the entrance noticed them, warmly welcoming, "Looking at your charm, you must be the two-tailed fox. Truly gorgeous! Got a man yet?"

"Miss Two-Tailed Fox, please sit. I've been researching dual cultivation methods lately. Shall we discuss?"

"I am the toad spirit from Dongting Lake. Where is Miss from?"

Many men stood up, their eyes gleaming as they stared at Liu Youyou. Liu Youyou was bewildered for a while before finally turning her head to look at Ye Shu, her face awkward to the point of tears.

This wasn't some gathering of over a dozen big shots; it was the offline gathering for more than a hundred people in the group.

Liu Youyou felt extremely dejected, awkwardly greeting, "Hello, everyone. You came so early; there wasn't any discussion in the group. I thought you guys wouldn't come."

"Oh, our monthly small gathering and quarterly big gathering. We've had enough of just eating; what's there to discuss?"

"Come, sit down. Don't be polite. Order whatever you like. We're all uncultured people. We arranged for a grand wedding banquet to eat together because it's spacious enough for all of us."

Liu Youyou nodded repeatedly, secretly shedding tears. Ye Shu, suppressing his laughter, scanned the private room and saw an old man waving from the window.

This old man looked somewhat familiar, with a long white beard. Liu Youyou also looked over, then grabbed Ye Shu, saying, "It's Mr. Shu. He turned into a human."

Liu Youyou explained and led Ye Shu over. The table with the old man and the other monsters had a strong presence. They were not moved by Liu Youyou's beauty but were surprised as they stared at Ye Shu.

Humbly greeting, Ye Shu got a nod from around ten monsters. They were all a bit older, mostly old monsters with an easygoing temperament, especially the old tree person, who had a smiling expression.

Without much small talk, the old tree person, being straightforward, asked Ye Shu, "How is the art of raising ghosts?"

Ye Shu naturally had nothing to hide and explained everything.

After listening, the old tree person pondered, "It's not easy to easily kill one's own ghost, especially when she still looks like a high school student. Judging by her attire, she probably isn't someone who died many years ago. According to human standards, she might be a wealthy young lady."

Xiao Leng's appearance was extremely beautiful, and her attire was unique, resembling a high school student from a noble school. She was likely a young lady.

Liu Youyou interjected, "Her identity doesn't matter much. The main issue is her strangeness, especially last night."

Liu Youyou recounted the events of the previous night, and the old tree person rubbed his white beard, deep in thought. After a while, he hesitated, "It seems she likely died unjustly in her previous life, which made her extremely powerful. However, she didn't turn into an extremely evil ghost, indicating that her resentment mostly comes from herself. She resents herself and might even hate herself. This kind of ghost is called 'Evil Self,' which means hating oneself, detesting oneself. The stronger she gets, the more she hates herself from her past life, and her twisted psychology is difficult to resolve. She can't even go through reincarnation."