008 Heavenly Master Summoning Soul

Midnight.

Chen Hao returned home, and as soon as he pushed open the door, a dozen little ghosts immediately surged towards him, excitedly hugging his legs and clamoring to talk to him. Chen Hao's face was brimming with joy, but in his heart, he silently sighed with relief that he had mentally prepared himself before ascending the stairs, or else he would have been scared by this band of ghostly children again.

"Where's Grandpa?" Chen Hao asked, looking at the little lolita ghost baby holding a bear.

The baby squinted and smiled, responding in an innocently sweet voice, "Brother Chen Hao, Grandpa is sitting on the sofa."

Chen Hao gently patted the heads of a few ghost children beside him, then slowly made his way to the sofa. At this moment, Chen Che was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, appearing to be in deep meditation.

"Grandpa!" Chen Hao called out softly and waved his hands in front of Chen Che.

Suddenly, Chen Che opened his eyes, raised them and glared at Chen Hao in anger, asking seriously, "Unfilial grandson, what are you doing?"

"Ha, I thought Grandpa had fallen asleep!" Chen Hao said with a light laugh, scratching his head. After speaking, he took out a thick stack of banknotes from his backpack and handed it to Chen Che, very pleased with himself, "Grandpa, there's a total of seven thousand five hundred bucks here for you."

Chen Che frowned in surprise, "Where did you get this money?"

Chen Hao scratched his head, wondering whether or not to tell Chen Che about his job as Ye Yuqiao's assistant. After hesitating for quite some time, he still disclosed the matter to Chen Che. However, Chen Hao did not tell him about the mysterious power in his left eye.

After hearing what Chen Hao said, Chen Che's brows furrowed deeply, and he mumbled with his eyes squinted, "So this girl is also an Onmyoji, no wonder I felt something off about her when I saw her today!"

When Chen Che first saw Ye Yuqiao this morning, he felt something was very wrong with her. Despite her pure and lovely appearance, the look she gave Chen Che the first time was very strange, with a calm and composed demeanor that seemed to see through everything. Such a look didn't belong to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, and even Chen Che, who was over seventy years old, couldn't achieve such a state of emptiness.

Being from an Onmyoji family, it was very hard for Chen Che to accept that his own grandson was working as an assistant for another Onmyoji. Moreover, a Feng Shui master had told him that Chen Hao, due to his naturally strong Yin Qi, couldn't practice the arts of Yin and Yang exorcism. Therefore, he looked sternly at Chen Hao and said, "Haozi, Grandpa doesn't object to you hanging out with this young lady, but I won't allow you to be her assistant!"

"Grandpa, why can't I be her assistant? As her boyfriend, how can I let her go on adventures alone? And anyway, I can make quite a bit of money, like the seven thousand five hundred bucks I just earned working with her!"

"I've told you before, you have too much Yin Qi to be an Onmyoji!" Worried that Chen Hao would not take his advice, Chen Che had no choice but to play the stubborn and unreasonable family elder, "What Grandpa is doing is for your own good! I will keep the first sum of money you've earned for safekeeping, and you are not allowed to do this kind of work again!"

Chen Che's suddenly harsh voice startled the dozen or so little ghosts surrounding Chen Hao. They all hid behind him, staring at Chen Che with wide eyes.

"I've never understood this, why our family lives so poorly when we are also an Onmyoji family, unlike Xiao Feng's which is quite well-off!" Chen Hao's voice grew very sad, "Only after seeing these children last night did I understand. Grandpa, I've grown up and I want to contribute to our family!"

In an instant, tears blurred Chen Che's aged and weary eyes. Ever since the car accident, he had noticed that his usually troublesome grandson had become sensible, which was a great comfort to him. But for Chen Hao's safety, he still had to say sternly, "If you want to contribute to the family, then study hard, go to a good university, and strive to make something of yourself in the future! If you dare follow that girl and do that kind of work again, I'll break your legs!"

"Grandpa, you're being unreasonable! I'm an adult now, and I'll make my own decisions about my affairs!" Chen Hao said darkly. After speaking, he turned and strode towards his room, slamming the door shut with force.

"Wuu wuu!" Seeing the grandpa and grandson arguing fiercely, the youngest ghost baby started crying out of fear. At her prompt, the other twelve little ghosts also began to wail loudly. Hearing the sobbing of these ghost children, Chen Che became even more frustrated, feeling a dull ache in his chest.

At midnight, the elderly Chen Che still lay in bed, brooding in sorrow. At that moment, the wind chimes in the living room suddenly "tingled" a few times. Hearing this, Chen Che's eyes shone, and he immediately got out of bed and left his room. The wind chimes hanging in the living room were not ordinary wind chimes but more precisely Nether Chimes, which would make no sound when swayed by wind or touched by humans. They would only ring when someone from the Netherworld came to visit.

In the living room, two red candles were still burning in front of the spiritual altar on the Eight Immortals Table, and the dozen or so little ghosts had already returned to the spiritual tablets Chen Che had set up for them to rest. By the light of the candles, Chen Che saw a silhouette dressed in ancient official attire, wearing a black gauze hat, and a large sabre hanging at the waist.

From the attire, it appeared this person was a Heavenly Master from the Netherworld. A Heavenly Master, as known in the Netherworld, is like a judge. Whenever there are wandering spirits or odd demons in the mortal world that not even an Onmyoji can subdue, the Netherworld is requested to send a Heavenly Master to assist.

Seeing the sudden visit of a Heavenly Master in his home, Chen Che was greatly shocked and greeted with a bow, asking, "What brings the esteemed Heavenly Master to my humble abode? May I ask what advice you have for me?"

The Heavenly Master turned, his face a ghastly shade of green, as his fierce and round eyes looked ready to devour someone. He first let out an angry snort and then asked loudly, "Chen Che, do you have a grandson named Chen Hao?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Chen Che quickly nodded, and upon hearing the Heavenly Master mention Chen Hao's name, he couldn't help feeling worried and nervous. After a pause, he asked with a trembling voice, "May I ask why the Heavenly Master mentions my grandson's name?"

"Hmph!" The Heavenly Master stepped forward, his hand resting on the blade at his waist, and shouted, "Your grandson's time in the mortal world is up, he was supposed to report to the Netherworld four days ago. Who would have thought that he had learned some powerful sorcery, killing the soul reaper that was responsible for guiding him, and injuring two Onmyoji who came for his soul. Today, I come to the mortal world by the decree of the Nether King, to cast his Yin Soul into Hell!"

As the Heavenly Master spoke this way, Chen Che felt as if the sky had fallen, his whole body collapsing to the ground. He knelt before the Heavenly Master, knocking his head on the ground while crying and pleading, "I implore you, Heavenly Master, in consideration of the generations my Chen Family has served the Netherworld, spare my only grandson of these past several generations!"

"Chen Che, as an Onmyoji, do you still not understand the rules of the Netherworld?" the Heavenly Master exclaimed in rage, his eyes glaring fiercely.

"Heavenly Master, I beg you, I beg you, he's the only grandson I have to rely on. If he's gone..." Chen Che was no longer able to speak through his tears.

The Heavenly Master paid no attention to Chen Che's pleas, simply kicking him aside. He drew his blade, walked straight through the wooden door into Chen Hao's room. At that moment, Chen Hao was deep in his sleep, completely unaware of the imminent danger.

Chen Che hurried to his feet, quickly swiping a Peach Blossom Sword from the Eight Immortals table, ready to go all out for his grandson. Unfortunately, Chen Hao had locked the door from inside, and he couldn't enter through the door like the Heavenly Master. Left with no choice, he began to desperately ram his body against the wooden door, shouting out Chen Hao's name loudly.

Hearing Chen Che's shouting, the Heavenly Master strode over to the bedside, raised the Nether Soul blade in his hand, and before Chen Hao could wake up, chopped it down on Chen Hao's waist, splitting his body directly into two halves.

"Ugh!" Feeling the intense pain, Chen Hao suddenly opened his eyes, his face contorted in agony. Before he could even catch his breath, he died.

At that moment, Chen Che finally broke down the door and rushed into the room. Seeing the Heavenly Master's Nether Soul blade already stained with fresh blood, he instantly burst into tears and collapsed on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

The Heavenly Master returned the blade to its sheath at his waist, turned around, and angrily glared at Chen Che, "Chen Che, you rush in here with that Peach Wood Sword, are you thinking of killing me? But considering your deep love for your grandson, I won't hold you accountable! Everyone has their own fate, and you needn't have me explain this principle; your bond with him as grandfather and grandson has ended in this life. If it's fated, you may meet again in another life, and there are countless cycles of reincarnation after all!"

"Heavenly Master, I understand what you are saying!" Chen Che's head was buried in the ground as he cried, "But I can't just watch you take him away. Such are the feelings of every person; how could you understand!"

The always proud and haughty Heavenly Master snorted in anger and then waved his hand, "Enough, the person is gone; I hope you will mourn in moderation. I promise you, I will plea with the Nether King to let your grandson reincarnate soon, and into a good family, too."

"Grandfather!"

At that moment, the familiar voice of Chen Hao came from behind the Heavenly Master.

Both the Heavenly Master and Chen Che were greatly shocked! The Heavenly Master whirled around abruptly; Chen Che immediately lifted his head. To their amazement, they saw Chen Hao standing unharmed behind the Heavenly Master. His left eye had transformed into a purple vortex with a dark purple gas swirling continuously inside. The pool of blood from Chen Hao's body that had spilled onto the bed was now flowing steadily back into his body.

"Monster!" the Heavenly Master shouted. Anyone cut by his Nether Soul blade should have their Yin Soul cast into Hell, a fact that had never failed before, yet today he encountered such a strange event!

The Heavenly Master's Nether Soul blade was unsheathed once again, this time aiming to decapitate Chen Hao. However, Chen Hao's head soon returned to his neck like a bird returning to its nest, and the seam where the blade had struck disappeared shortly after.

The Heavenly Master was astonished! Chen Che was too stunned to react!

Then, the Heavenly Master pulled out a bronze mirror from his bosom, this mirror being the Demon Revealing Mirror, capable of revealing all the demons and ghosts in this world. After shining it on Chen Hao for a while, aside from a purple talisman seal around his left eye, there was nothing unusual.

"What in the world is going on?" The Heavenly Master was baffled, "Could it be that this talisman seal saved his life?"

No sooner had he spoken than a dazzling purple light emanated from Chen Hao's left eye, so bright that Chen Che couldn't keep his eyes open. When the purple light faded, Chen Che looked in astonishment to find that the Heavenly Master had been...