Still the same place, Shang Yu walked in wearing sunglasses. However, this time was different—he did not come alone.
The female owner naturally liked young, handsome guys like him and recognized him at first glance.
Last time, Shang Yu had said he was not into women, so this time the owner just watched him from a distance. Well, a handsome guy was worth admiring, after all.
However, this time, it seemed he was not alone!
The fierce-looking man beside him maintained absolute vigilance toward everything around them, wearing an unfriendly expression, yet he kept following closely behind Shang Yu.
The two of them found a booth and sat down. Shang Yu ordered a drink just like before, and Wujin ordered one for himself.
This place was indeed chaotic enough—just the kind of place lesser ghosts would love. Wujin glanced around and keenly spotted the owner's gaze.
"Is this where you ran into Ma Qing'er before?"
"Yeah." Shang Yu nodded. Today the owner hadn't come over to him; it seemed what he said last time had worked wonders. "Brother Jin, when are you leaving?"
"My probation period isn't over yet," Wujin said, keeping an eye on the owner in his peripheral vision. Why did this beauty keep looking at them?
"Let's get this straight, today's ghost belongs to me alone." Shang Yu followed his gaze and understood instantly. "That's the owner of this place. Every time I came here before, she would definitely come over to strike up a conversation with me."
"Do you have her contact info?"
Shang Yu frowned. "She'd probably call you a psycho."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Seriously, for two reasons. Last time I came, I told her I don't like women." Just as Shang Yu finished speaking, half of Wujin's face darkened. "And another thing is, she doesn't like your type."
"Kid, are you trying to say I'm not as handsome as you?"
Shang Yu shrugged, as if saying, *Well, duh?*
Wujin let out a cold snort. In his peripheral vision, the owner was already walking over. He immediately sat up straight and put on a polished, gentlemanly expression as he looked at her.
The owner merely gave him a quick up-and-down scan, then sat down right next to Shang Yu. "Boyfriend?"
"Sister, my taste wouldn't be *that* bad, would it?" Shang Yu said with a miserable expression.
"Then which type do you like? Sister knows a lot of people, let me scout around for you?"
"I'll pass, Sister. My standards are too low..."
The owner slapped Shang Yu on the shoulder. "Too low? Your looks are top-tier!"
"Well... how embarrassing!" Shang Yu said coyly, completely ignoring the increasingly indescribable expression on Wujin's face across the table. "Sister, you're so nice, and I still don't even know your name!"
"Liu Xia. *Liu* like the willow tree, *Xia* like summer."
"Nice to meet you, Sister Liu!" Shang Yu was very smooth. "Can I add your contact info?"
Liu Xia took out her phone for him to scan the QR code, glancing sideways at Wujin, who was already unable to sit still across the table.
"Next time you come to hang out, let Sister know in advance! Sister will hook you up!"
"Got it! Thanks, Sister!" Shang Yu finished, then lowered his voice to whisper in her ear, "Sister, this friend of mine wants to add you too..."
"Add me? What for?" Liu Xia had a very straightforward personality and blurted it out directly.
"He wants to chase you."
Wujin's expression changed instantly.
"Chase me?" Liu Xia stared unblinkingly at Wujin's face for a moment. Aside from having too much facial hair, he actually had a rather manly vibe. "Sure! But there are quite a few people trying to chase me!"
Shang Yu chatted with her for a little longer before Liu Xia finally left.
If Wujin had still exercised some restraint while Liu Xia was around, the moment she walked away, the look he gave Shang Yu changed completely.
"Was that really necessary?" Shang Yu took a large gulp of his drink. "Haven't you ever experienced it?"
"Not really!" Wujin and Shang Yu had gotten quite familiar with each other during this period, and the two would occasionally chat when they had free time. "Everyone I've met growing up has been straight. Take that kid Zhao Chengyu for example—he likes Xiaonan."
Shang Yu had witnessed the two of them interacting before. He reminisced for two seconds and then said, "But no matter how you look at it, Sister Nannan is totally into Lord Qi!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wujin gave him a flick on the forehead. "We're all orphans adopted by Lord Qi. To us, Lord Qi is like a father. Would you like your father?"
"Definitely not." Shang Yu thought about it again. Indeed, Xiao Nan's attitude toward Qi Jingtao was truly that of a daughter toward a father. "But speaking of which, how did Lord Qi end up adopting you guys?"
"No idea." Wujin was the eldest of the batch adopted by Qi Jingtao. When he was young, Qi Jingtao funded his schooling and education. Now that he had grown up, after starting some small business of his own and becoming a boss, he simply lived off the dividends and returned to the inn to work for Qi Jingtao.
After a moment, Shang Yu suddenly realized something. "You mentioned Zhao Chengyu, you mentioned yourself, but you didn't mention Lord Qi. Is he straight or not?"
Wujin pondered for a second. He genuinely had never seen Lord Qi close to any woman, but neither had he ever seen him close to any man.
*Wait a minute! I'm getting derailed by this kid! That's Lord Qi we're talking about!* He slammed a hand heavily onto the table. "If you dare harbor any ideas about Lord Qi, you'd better watch out or I'll kill you!"
"Me? Harbor ideas about him?" Shang Yu's expression was quite spectacular. "That face is so pale—if I had to look at him every day, I'd rather stare at a wall painted with latex paint every day!"
To dare speak of Lord Qi like that! Wujin was about to blow his top on the spot, but Shang Yu hurriedly pressed him down and pointed toward the crowd on the dance floor.
They had come here to catch ghosts, and with Shang Yu acting like this, Wujin was forced to look over.
Suspended above the chaotic dance floor was a scarlet shadow, writhing in a bizarre posture over the heads of the crowd.
The music was extremely loud and pumping, and the high-spirited crowd couldn't sense that anything was wrong.
However, Shang Yu could see that a thin red thread extended from the center of each person's brow toward the shadow, and for every moment the thread remained, the blood color on the faces of the people below faded by a fraction.
"It's feeding on human life essence!" Wujin always felt that the appearance of this kind of lesser ghost was too abnormal. "This is—Heaven-Upper Rank!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Shang Yu was already walking toward that side.
In Shang Yu's eyes, forget about Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow ranks—as long as it was a lesser ghost, it meant money to be made. Other ghost catchers could determine a lesser ghost's rank at a single glance before capturing it, but Shang Yu was different. In the vast majority of cases, he only found out what rank it was *after* he got his hands on it.
Ghosts were far too familiar with a ghost catcher's aura. The moment it sensed Shang Yu approaching, it cut off those red threads and drifted away toward the outside.
Shang Yu chased after the ghost all the way out of the bar. This was the busiest area in the downtown core with tons of people, and ghosts certainly wouldn't go where human vitality was thriving.
He took off his sunglasses, his pinprick-sized pupils shifting as the trail of ghost aura clearly presented itself before his eyes.
"Shang Yu!" Wujin grabbed Shang Yu, who was about to give chase. "You wait here for Lord Qi, I'll go follow it."
"Is that really necessary, Brother Jin?" Shang Yu asked, somewhat confused. "Just a lesser ghost, and you're going to trouble Lord Qi to make a move?"
"That's Heaven-Upper Rank!"
Heaven-Upper Rank? Seeing Wujin's expression, he didn't look like he was lying. That was a Heaven-Upper Rank! If it was just about making money, there really was no need to risk his life.
"Alright, then be careful, Brother Jin."
Wujin was about to leave, then turned back. "Which way did it go?"
Shang Yu told him the path of the ghost aura, and Wujin immediately dashed off in pursuit.