Good Night, Mr. Ghost - Chapter 65

After the New Year, Jiang turned twenty-seven.

The two of them hurriedly wasted their time away.

One day in April, something happened.

It cast an endless shadow over Jiang Chenyi.

April, when the snow had melted, grass sprouted, willows budded, and flowers unfolded their leaves.

The couple suddenly felt the urge to go for a walk at night.

As they walked, they found themselves in a secluded area.

It was an old, rusted forest park.

Perhaps it had been abandoned for a long time, as the cobblestone paths were covered with weeds.

And just then, the sound of chewing came from nearby.

Jiang Chenyi, emboldened by Meng Loudi’s presence, ventured to take a look.

Then, he witnessed a scene he would never forget.

A bunch of messy little demons were gathered around a mutilated animal corpse, munching away noisily.

Jiang Chenyi: “…”

The little demons noticed him, showing a mix of surprise and anger, ready to pounce, only to be violently subdued by Mr. Ghost.

Meng Loudi’s expression was grim as he called Bai Lu, and the officer arrived on the scene within ten minutes.

Brownish followed behind the man, peeking curiously at the scene.

The little demons retracted their claws and sat there, looking aggrieved.

Bai Lu examined the corpse for a while and then said seriously, “This is a demon corpse. Do you know who did this?”

The little demons looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

“We don’t know.”

“It was like this when we found it.”

“No one knows who did it.”

Bai Lu frowned, “The demon core is missing.”

Jiang Chenyi stood quietly listening.

Brownish looked at the unrecognizable corpse and said softly, “Mr. Bai, is it possible that it was suicide?”

Jiang Chenyi glanced at her.

The girl had a smile on her face, her eyes seemed to hold something, as she spoke softly, “We’ve seen this demon before, remember the weasel? Her child was born weak and couldn’t survive. Is it possible she gave her demon core to her child?”

This speculation silenced everyone present.

Meng Loudi looked at his lover’s bewildered and shocked expression, frowned slightly, and led him away.

Jiang Chenyi allowed himself to be led, and after a while, asked, “Loudi, what’s going on?”

Mr. Ghost blinked, knowing he couldn’t be vague.

“Chenyi, you know, this world is different now. Spirit energy is dwindling, and many supernatural beings rely on it to survive. Without spirit energy, they can only die…”

The man stopped, reached out, and patted his lover’s head, smiling, “But don’t worry, we’re different.”

“What about Brownish and Bai Lu? Will they die?” Jiang asked.

“They won’t, unless they choose to end their lives. Otherwise, demons with stable cultivation will only die of old age.”

“Is that so…” Jiang Chenyi felt a vague sense of unease.

But what could possibly make him uneasy?

By May, this bustling city had already started to feel quite warm.

After this period of immersion, Jiang’s aura became increasingly gentle. He was still idling away at the Ba Lin Building, but his electronic drawings were getting better, gaining a bit of popularity on Weibo. He was considering creating a comic, something warm and healing.

Meng Loudi was recently handling a big project, and even as a hands-off manager, he couldn’t completely detach himself. Although he didn’t need to do much, he still had to make appearances and oversee various affairs. Moreover, his outings were becoming more frequent.

Meng Jiang was growing rapidly. By May, at six months old, it had become quite majestic-slender and tall, with sturdy limbs, sleek black fur, and upright ears. Its clear eyes gave it a somewhat goofy look, standing half a meter tall and able to reach Jiang’s chest when upright.

At six months, Meng Jiang was no longer as clueless and could understand its two parents’ words. Fetching slippers and snacks had become routine, but there was one condition: it couldn’t go too long without seeing its parents. At least one of them had to be seen within six hours. Quite clingy.

Jiang looked at his dog son tugging at his pant leg and smiled helplessly. He grabbed a wet wipe from nearby and said, “Give me your paw, and I’ll clean it before you can come up.”

Meng Jiang’s eyes sparkled as it extended its paw for the young man to clean. Jiang carefully wiped its paw, not missing a single crevice. Looking at the paw, half the size of his hand, the young man let out a heavy sigh. “It used to be a pink little paw pad, and now it’s all black.”

Meng Jiang didn’t understand its dad’s lament over the once pink paw pad turning into a rough black one. After extending its front paw, it jumped onto the sofa, sprawled out, and stretched its hind legs.

Jiang finished the cleaning task, and the big dog snuggled into his lap, pawing at his clothes. Jiang Chenyi looked at the affectionate dog and sighed, thinking it was just like its dad, with a knack for being spoiled.

The young man gently rubbed its ears, scratched its chin, and stroked its fur, making Meng Jiang blissfully happy.

When Mr. Ghost finished his tasks and entered his office, he saw the grown-up, shameless pup snuggling in his lover’s lap. Damn.

Meng Loudi walked over with a dark expression, grabbing the big dog by the scruff and moving it aside. Seeing the dog hair stuck to the young man’s clothes, his face darkened further.

Meng Jiang sensed the terrifying aura emanating from its father, showed an innocent expression, and jumped off the sofa, lying on the floor to play with its toys.

Jiang looked at the man with a dark face and smiled mischievously, “That’s your son.”

“I don’t have a dog son,” Mr. Ghost replied coldly. Although Jiang treated the dog like a son, it wasn’t his son! At least not until Meng Jiang became a demon; he wouldn’t acknowledge any father-son relationship.

After driving Meng Jiang away, Mr. Ghost naturally sat beside the young man, pulling him into his arms and holding him close.

“Chenyi, guess who I saw today?”

“Who?”

“Liu Juncai.”

Jiang paused, trying to recall the name, and finally remembered-Luo Hui’s paramour. Ugh, what a mess.

“Luo Hui’s partner? How did you run into him?”

“The business deal today was with him. Didn’t we just develop a new set of medical equipment? The Liu Family is into machine manufacturing and wants to collaborate with us,” Mr. Ghost explained. “Since we’ve had dealings before, the negotiations went smoothly.”

Jiang asked, “Did you see Luo Hui?”

He was still quite concerned about that cat demon.

“No, probably kept at home,” Mr. Ghost buried his head in the young man’s neck, inhaling the faint warmth of his scent.

Meng Jiang, sensing his father’s mood calming, cleverly pawed at his father’s pant leg, showing an adorable expression.

Sure enough, after soaking in Jiang’s presence, Mr. Ghost, in a rare moment of tenderness, gently patted the dog’s head.

“Once things settle down, Chenyi, let’s go on a trip,” Mr. Ghost suggested.

“Oh, what brought this up?”

Mr. Ghost tilted his head, cleared his throat, and said, “Brownish mentioned it today. Also, Chenyi, when’s your birthday?”

After finishing work today, Brownish, that rabbit spirit, was overly excited, chattering on about all sorts of ‘must-do couple activities.’ Mr. Ghost seemed indifferent but secretly took note.

Then Meng Loudi realized he wasn’t exactly a model partner. He didn’t even know Jiang Chenyi’s birthday, and they’d been together for two years without celebrating it. Not to mention the honeymoon or traveling.

The question about his birthday caught Jiang Chenyi off guard. He thought for a moment, digging deep into his memory to recall it.

“I think it’s the eighteenth of March on the lunar calendar.”

That should be the date. Jiang Chenyi hadn’t celebrated his birthday in ages, ever since his parents passed away; he stopped caring about such things.

Mr. Ghost felt a bit disappointed-this year’s birthday had already passed.

After sharing his own, Jiang asked, “And when’s Mr. Ghost’s birthday?”

That was a long shot.

Meng Loudi pondered deeply but couldn’t remember when he was born.

“I forgot. From now on, let’s celebrate our birthdays together, Chenyi,” Mr. Ghost intertwined his fingers with the young man’s, quickly envisioning how they’d celebrate. “Just the two of us, buy a cake, cook a big meal, then go out and have fun.”

The man smiled, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Jiang’s heart raced at the sight.

With Mr. Ghost’s face, he could say anything!

“Okay.”

Meng Jiang heard “us” and excitedly barked twice.

Mr. Ghost glanced at the big dog with disdain, saying, “Yes, you too.”

Meng Jiang wagged his tail so vigorously it could almost bloom into a flower.

Jiang watched Mr. Ghost seriously talking to Meng Jiang and couldn’t help but laugh.

How adorable.

In the afternoon, Mr. Ghost was reluctantly dragged off by Bai Lu to deal with follow-up matters and attend a banquet with Liu Juncai. Although the meal itself was inconsequential, it was a necessary part of the process.

Meng Loudi waved goodbye to Jiang with a hint of reluctance.

Jiang, observing his demeanor, chuckled and said, “Should I go with you?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Mr. Ghost quickly agreed.

Brownish sensibly intervened to prevent her boss from making a risky move, saying, “No, you can’t. The banquet is chaotic, and the Liu Family is currently a Daoist family. If they try anything against Chenyi-Ge, what would we do? Exposing Chenyi-Ge would bring a lot of trouble! Besides our Alliance of Supernatural Beings, there are many small organizations. We absolutely can’t take that risk!”

The fear wasn’t of anything else but of being targeted by other hidden entities in the world.

Jiang Chenyi understood the reasoning. His relationship with Meng Loudi wasn’t public because he was just an ordinary human, whereas Meng Loudi was now one of the chiefs at the pinnacle of power.

If anyone wanted to harm him, it would be akin to exploiting Meng Loudi’s vulnerability.

It was truly dangerous.

“I was joking. At least for now, I can’t appear in others’ sights. Poor Loudi, hang in there,” the young man waved his hand, smiling.

Meng Loudi looked a bit disappointed, his shoulders slumping as he said, “Really, it’s okay. I’ll protect Chenyi. I won’t let anything happen to Chenyi.”

The rabbit shook its head earnestly, saying, “Better safe than sorry. We must act cautiously; it’s our responsibility to Chenyi-Ge, isn’t it?”

Mr. Ghost, having navigated the political scene and now learning the ropes in the business world, understood the importance of caution.

“Then I’ll be off. Chenyi can head home first, and I’ll make sure to return home in the evening,” he promised Jiang Chenyi, embodying the image of a good husband.

The young man agreed with a smile.