014 Dead end

The Yin Yang Master Association of Y City is located at the intersection of Coffin Street in the old district of Y City. It is said that the establishment of the Yin Yang Master Association predates the rise of Coffin Street. As night fell, Chen Hao arrived in front of an old three-story Western-style building where the Yin Yang Master Association was housed. Chen Hao's grandfather, Chen Che, had once served as the president of the Yin Yang Master Association for ten years. After Chen Hao's parents died in an accident, Chen Che had to resign from his position as president to care for Chen Hao.

Chen Hao rang the doorbell and soon the door was opened by a tall and thin old man in his sixties, Xie Da, the grandfather of Xie Xiaofeng. Xie Da used to greet Chen Hao with a hearty laugh, showing off the two gold teeth in his mouth. However, due to Chen Che's hospitalization, Xie Da's expression was tinged with sadness as he patted Chen Hao on the shoulder with a compassionate tone, "Haozi, your grandfather will be alright."

Xie Da genuinely felt sorry for Chen Hao, whom he had watched grow up; an unfortunate child who lost his parents at a young age and was raised solely by his grandfather. Due to the grandfather taking in over a dozen "little ghosts" at home, their lives were never prosperous. Xie Da understood from his grandson Xie Xiaofeng that Chen Hao was often bullied at school. Just last week he had been in a car accident, and not long after recovering, his grandfather had been hospitalized—what a pitiful child!

"Hmm!" Chen Hao nodded.

Entering the house, Xie Da led Chen Hao into his office. He handed a form to Chen Hao and said, "Fill in your personal information and contact details. According to our association's rules, positions can be inherited. Starting from today, your grandfather's role in the Yin Yang Master Association will be passed on to you!"

When Chen Hao took the form, he suddenly felt an immense weight. He did not know whether he was qualified to take over Chen Che's position and become a member of the Yin Yang Master Association with his current abilities.

After filling out the form, Xie Da carefully checked it. He then placed the completed form back into the drawer and said, "Haozi, as long as I stamp it, you will be a member of the association from now on. However, I cannot stamp it right now. As far as I know, your grandfather has never allowed you to learn the Yin Yang Arts. I called you here today to give you an opportunity to undertake a trial to see if you are capable. If you fail, we will act as if you never came here. I will keep this form, and when you have the ability, I will personally stamp it for you!"

Chen Hao's eyes became resolute, and he eagerly said, "I accept this trial!"

After that, Xie Da told Chen Hao that four days ago, in the late night on Lotus Road in the middle of Y City, a man was hit by a speeding truck after running a red light at a crossroads. The truck driver fled the scene, and because it was late at night, the man lying under a tree on the sidewalk was not discovered by passing drivers, and he died from excessive blood loss.

Because the man's allotted time in the yang world was not up, no soul guide came to lead him to the Netherworld, and he became a Wandering Soul. Filled with resentment for not being helped in time, he turned into a vengeful ghost. For the past two nights, his Yin Soul had been wandering at quiet and dark intersections in Y City, especially tripping passersby or pushing the elderly, women, and children directly onto the road.

Last night, a yin-yang master from the association went to help the man's spirit pass on, but due to the ghost's deep resentment, not only did the master fail to help him transition to the Netherworld, he was even injured by the ghost and fled.

After listening to Xie Da, Chen Hao was stunned and complained inwardly that a ghost even a qualified onmyoji couldn't handle is now something a greenhorn like me has to deal with—clearly they don't want me to join the association. It's just like Xie Da and his grandson, Xie Xiaofeng—smiling to your face but with malice in their hearts.

However, there was no choice, the decision lay in Xie Da's hands, so Chen Hao had to agree to the trial conditions proposed by Xie Da.

Half an hour later, Chen Hao was standing alone at the crossroads where the man had had his accident a few days before. With the meager skills he had learned so far, he had no good method to actively locate the malevolent ghost, so he had to wait passively for the ghost to appear.

After waiting for over an hour under the tree, Chen Hao started to panic. There were only a few minutes left until the deadline Xie Da had given him. If the ghost didn't show up, he wouldn't be able to join the Yin Yang Master Association.

He paced anxiously on the sidewalk. Suddenly, he stumbled over something and fell flat on his face. Enduring the pain of the fall, he turned back and excitedly asked, "Who tripped me?"

Seeing no one around and only a slightly raised paving stone beneath his feet, he sighed in disappointment.

"Young man, how did you fall to the ground?" At that moment, an anxious male voice suddenly came from behind, followed by a pair of strong hands gripping Chen Hao's arms and pulling him to his feet.

"Thank you!" Chen Hao dusted himself off with one hand while thanking the man, his back still turned to him.

"Heh heh, no problem!" the man sneered coldly behind Chen Hao's ear, his previously enthusiastic voice suddenly turning low and icy, sending a chill over Chen Hao like a cold wind.

Chen Hao shuddered, shaking off the man's hands. When he turned around, he saw a middle-aged man with a malevolent face, his forehead dripping with blood from a dried, red wound, the blood sliding down his cyanotic face and staining his clothes red.

"Ah! A ghost!" Chen Hao shouted in fright, forgetting the purpose of his visit in that moment

After yelling, the burning spirit talisman flew from Chen Hao's left hand and landed on the malevolent male ghost.

With a "boom," the blood-stained clothes of the male ghost caught fire. His sallow face twisted viciously as he let out a sharp, piercing scream.

At that moment, the headlights of a car shot from nearby, and the roar of the vehicle's engine reached Chen Hao's ears. The malevolent ghost glared at Chen Hao with cold, shining eyes before pushing him onto the road.

Thrown into the middle of the road, Chen Hao immediately got up, but it was all too late. Accompanied by the long and urgent screech of tires, the speeding car's headlights bore down on him. At the moment he was struck by the car, Chen Hao felt the scorching heat from the lights. It was an eerily familiar sensation, reminiscent of that split second he was hit on the sidewalk a week ago.

With a "bang," Chen Hao was hit by the car and sent flying once more. His fate mirrored that of the man from a few days before: launched under a dark tree, with the hit-and-run driver escaping, and no one to pay him any attention. As he listened to the swooshing sound beside his ear and watched the headlights of the passing cars blur around him, he felt his body temperature gradually carried away by the wind, the cold inching its way in.

Over an hour later, Chen Hao opened his eyes again. What he saw was a large, dim, and fuzzy tree, while the whirring sound of speeding cars passing by filled his ears. He slowly got up, only to find himself still in the same spot. However, this time, he didn't feel any pain, and there wasn't a drop of blood on the ground. This all seemed unbelievable. Clutching his mouth in surprise, he exclaimed, "I'm fine, I'm completely unharmed!"

Looking at the night sky, he realized he had missed the deadline set by Xie Da. He had failed, unable to complete the trial, and therefore couldn't join the Yin Yang Master Association. Disheartened, he went home. When he passed by Ye Yuqiao's door, after a long hesitation, he still knocked.

Half a minute later, Ye Yuqiao opened the door. Upon seeing Chen Hao, she asked angrily, "Did you practice a spell to enhance your mana again today?"

Chen Hao nodded.

"Hopeless case! You don't need to be my assistant anymore!" Having said that, Ye Yu closed the door with a slam.

Looking at that cold, merciless door, Chen Hao walked upstairs dejectedly. Once home, he immediately called Xie Da.

As soon as the call connected, Xie Da's anxious voice came through, "Haozi, are you alright?"

"Grandpa Xie, I'm fine, but I didn't manage to deal with that malevolent ghost!"

"As long as you're safe, don't worry, take it slow."

"Grandpa Xie, may I discuss something with you? As you know, my grandfather's hospital treatment requires money. Could you let me work at the association?"

Before Chen Hao could finish, Xie Da interrupted, "Haozi, the tasks arranged by the association are too dangerous. Grandpa Xie can't let you take that risk! If it's money you're short on, I'll call a meeting tomorrow to see if the association can contribute to your grandfather's medical expenses! Grandpa Xie has an urgent matter to deal with right now, so let's not talk about this further. I'll contact you once everything is settled!"

With that, Xie Da immediately hung up the phone.

"Sly old fox, kicking a man when he's down, all pretense of compassion!" Chen Hao couldn't help but curse into the phone receiver.

After hanging up, about a dozen little ghosts suddenly appeared around the house, crying to Chen Hao, "Big Brother Chen Hao, we haven't eaten anything all day. We're starving! When is Grandpa coming back? When he's not home, there's no one to cook for us."

"Ah!" Chen Hao was astonished; the dozen or so ghost children were the last thing he needed amidst his tumult. After a pause, he comforted two of the ghost children in his arms, "I'm sorry, I'll go and cook for you right now!"

"Big Brother Chen Hao, can you no longer see us now?"

Chen Hao's face darkened as he thought that was indeed the case. If these ghost children hadn't shown themselves, he wouldn't have been able to see them. It seemed that what Ye Yuqiao said was true, practicing Yin Yang Arts suppressed the mysterious power in his left eye.

Arriving at the kitchen, Chen Hao began to cook while fretting. All he had left was the eight thousand yuan earned the day he worked with Ye Yu, and he had to make a payment at the hospital tomorrow. Without work from the Yin Yang Master Association and Ye Yu no longer requiring his assistance, plus the dozen children at home to care for, what was he to do?

Staring into the dim night outside the kitchen window, the desperate Chen Hao suddenly thought of a solution that could resolve everything: his own death. If he died, Niu Tou and Ma Mian would release his grandfather, and someone would look after the ghost children. Besides, he was supposed to be dead already. So, after midnight, when the ghost children had returned to their spirit tablets to rest, Chen Hao...