Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen
After sending off the noisy group of students, Su Ling and the others finally had the chance to turn their attention back to the Confession Ghost.
(Confession Ghost — what a godlike name!)
But without the lively students around, the Confession Ghost clearly had no interest in coming out to interact with them.
The group of ghosts sat quietly by the teleportation formation, looking lost and unsure of what to do.
Su Ling quietly shuffled his position, glancing at Sheng Ze once, and then again.
Sheng Ze, with a forehead full of black lines, frowned as he looked at his boss, who was three meters away: “Why are you running? Come here.”
Su Ling pulled a mournful face, moving a tiny, tiny bit closer.
Sheng Ze: …
He felt a faint headache coming on: “Weren’t you fine just a moment ago?”
Su Ling pouted, feeling wronged.
— That was because he hadn’t realised what was going on at first and only just remembered that such a big shot was next to him.
#Also recalled his previous complaints about Ksitigarbha#
#Somehow feels doomed#
“My Lord, just waiting like this isn’t going to work. Don’t you have any other ideas?” Meng Xiaoman spoke up just in time, helping Su Ling redirect the pressure.
Sheng Ze pondered for a moment and seemed to have a clue: “Although the formation is mysterious, judging by the soul power attached to it from above, the troublemaker this time is probably a bound spirit.”
Wu Pan listened and began to understand. “Bound spirits have obsessions. We must have accidentally touched on its fixation before, which caused it to appear. So we might as well think back and find the trigger.”
Sheng Ze nodded appreciatively. “Think about it: compared to earlier, what are we missing now?”
Meng Xiaoman: “Those students?”
Wu Pan: “The Bagua spirit?”
Shi Kongzang: “Random cp mixing?”
Sheng Ze: …
“Really, this group of employees are hopeless.”
Sensing Sheng Ze’s complicated gaze, Su Ling quietly moved a little behind Shi Kongzang, avoiding eye contact.
Sheng Ze rubbed his chest with a mixed feeling—heartache.
At that moment, Chang Wu suddenly spoke up, “Jealousy.”
Sheng Ze raised an eyebrow.
“The trigger for the bound spirit’s appearance is jealousy,” Chang Wu stared boldly at Sheng Ze and said, “I’m guessing right.”
Sheng Ze twitched the corner of his mouth but didn’t deny it: “Actually, we might as well start from the outcome. After the bound spirit appeared, what was the first disturbance it caused?”
Meng Xiaoman recalled carefully, “It gave all the students a confession buff.”
Sheng Ze nodded, disdainfully, “Since it’s a confession, the bound spirit’s obsession should be similar. What’s with the Bagua spirit and random cp mixing…”
Shi Kongzang awkwardly rubbed his bald head.
“Well then, who here can quickly get jealous?” The naïve little judge naturally suggested.
All the ghosts turned to look at Sheng Ze and Chang Wu in unison—
Their eyes were heavy with trust in these two jealous kings.
Sheng Ze & Chang Wu: …
But really, how can someone get jealous out of nowhere?
So for a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.
As luck would have it, Su Ling happened to be squatting tiredly and shifted his weight to the other foot.
Because of the shift, the distance between Su Ling and Shi Kongzang seemed a bit closer, while the distance to Sheng Ze seemed farther.
Immediately, Sheng Ze was unhappy.
And just like that, the bound spirit was summoned.
Seeing the sudden dramatic change in the formation’s light, Shi Kongzang and the others turned their gazes to Sheng Ze—now sparkling with meaning.
—You get jealous over every little thing. Can you still manage?
Sheng Ze: …
Under the effect of the bound spirit’s confession buff, Su Ling finally felt less afraid when looking at Sheng Ze. He took a tiny step closer—so small that the distance between them was almost imperceptibly reduced.
Sheng Ze lowered his head, thought for a moment, then suddenly wore a pitiful expression and sighed plaintively, “You’re afraid of me.”
Su Ling felt that soft little spot in his heart being poked. His heart softened, and he couldn’t help but tell the truth: “You’re Ksitigarbha—the number two in King Yama’s court, the top fighter in the underworld besides Yama himself. Who wouldn’t be afraid?”
Moreover, Su Ling was practically raised in fear. From the very first day he entered the underworld, ghosts kept whispering in his ear, “Never provoke those bad-tempered ghost officials.” To still be squatting there without running away was a testament to his good mindset, plus years of brainwashing by Meng Xiaoman and the others.
Yes, brainwashing.
Speaking of which, why were Meng Xiaoman and the others so protective of their secret identities?
Certainly, the main reason was that the boss was just too easy to tease.
But behind it, there was also their notorious reputations.
Now in the human world, which big or small ghost wouldn’t shiver at the names “Judge”, “Ksitigarbha”, or “Black and White Impermanence”? If the boss recklessly found out their true identities, maybe they’d never be able to chat normally again!
If they scared Su Ling away, they’d have to return to the underworld and work for that old fox King Yama. Just thinking about it was terrifying!
So for all these years, to dispel the boss’s fears about their identities, Meng Xiaoman had been quietly spreading the message that “those big shots aren’t such big shots after all”, and by disparaging their colleagues, they diminished the sacred aura behind those official positions.
Of course, in the end, Su Ling willingly accepted this information and intuitively reached the level of openly mocking those big shots whenever their names came up—that part was unexpected…
Now, Sheng Ze narrowed his eyes and began to toss out bait: “Think about it carefully. With me around, whenever there’s trouble with ghosts, you can just slack off and let me handle it.”
Sure enough, Su Ling’s eyes lit up.
Sheng Ze pressed on, “You won’t have to worry about the Judge or Granny Meng causing you trouble.”
Unconsciously, Su Ling moved a little closer again.
Sheng Ze went further: “With me covering you, you can even send Wu Pan and the others out to gain experience without worrying about their safety.”
Su Ling nodded vigorously, “Great!”
Wu Pan and the others: ???
Sitting calmly as the gossip unfolds, suddenly a pot falls from the sky?
Su Ling wasn’t sure which nerve had been struck, but upon hearing this, he immediately forgot his fear and looked up at Sheng Ze with hopeful eyes: “You really can just send them out like that?”
Sheng Ze glanced over at the ghosts without a shred of hesitation and nodded, “Mm.”
Su Ling’s eyes lit up so brightly that he practically wanted to pounce and cling to his leg.
— Thus, it’s clear: fear of Ksitigarbha couldn’t compare to the grudge against these employees who like to slack off!
“I’ll cast each of them a Golden Bell Shield to keep them safe. After that, you can let them do whatever you want,” Sheng Ze said, flicking a finger, and golden shimmering auras appeared around Meng Xiaoman and the others.
Finally able to slack off without worry, Su Ling beamed: “That’s awesome! Xiaoman, try to pull that bound spirit out. Kongzang, you and Wu Pan handle the left and right encirclement. Xiao Bai, Chang Wu, you two stay outside and don’t let the bound spirit escape.”
Meng Xiaoman glared furiously at Sheng Ze.
— To coax the boss, he actually sold them out! You owe us for losing that boss who always rushes into the frontline first whenever trouble arises!
Sheng Ze smiled slyly and turned his head: “They don’t seem too willing. Want me to help you supervise?”
Su Ling happily nodded, “Yes, yes!”
Sheng Ze looked back at the ghosts, formed an extremely fierce hand seal, and grinning wickedly.
Meng Xiaoman immediately turned to grab the Confession Ghost.
— Complaints? Not a chance!
Watching the ghosts fighting ahead, Su Ling finally showed a maternal smile: “Not easy, huh? It’s good to see everyone full of energy again…”
Usually, he was the one fighting fiercely up front, while the ghosts behind casually munched on sunflower seeds.
When he finished and looked back, the seeds were piled everywhere.
Sheng Ze nodded meaningfully: “That’s why you can’t be too protective of employees. Those who need training must have training.”
Su Ling sighed nostalgically, then suddenly remembered someone who seemed to be part of the seed-munching gang. He slowly turned his head and looked at Sheng Ze with deep eyes.
#I thought you were weak before, so I let you slack off#
#Now you’re a big shot, can you be a little more self-aware?#
Sheng Ze choked slightly, seriously reminding him: “I am Ksitigarbha.”
Su Ling tilted his head, “So?”
Sheng Ze: “…You’re not afraid of me anymore?”
Su Ling gave a sly smile: “What you just said made me realise one thing.”
Sheng Ze: “What thing?”
Su Ling sighed softly, “Whether you’re Ksitigarbha or whatever king, you signed an employment contract and get paid. That makes you my employee!”
Sheng Ze: …
Su Ling smiled brightly, patting his shoulder: “Go on. If you slack off again, watch out—I’ll dock your pay.”
Shi Kongzang, pretending to fight fiercely but actually muddying the waters and eavesdropping on their conversation: “The boss is mighty! The boss is domineering! Boss is amazing!”
The bound spirit, who’d been faking the fight for a long time, muttered: “Hey, can you take this seriously? At least don’t be so obviously distracted!”
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