I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Old Ghost, sensing his words held hidden meanings.
"Old Ghost, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't beat around the bush."
Old Ghost put down his chopsticks, a playful smirk on his face. "Others might leave without issue, but you are different. She..."
He only managed to utter the word "she" before falling silent.
"What 'she'? Say that again?"
As if he hadn't heard me, Old Ghost put down his chopsticks, let out a burp, and stood up. He called for the waiter to settle the bill, then turned and headed downstairs.
"Old Ghost, speak up! Don't leave..."
Outside the restaurant, Old Ghost finally stopped.
I hurried out and nearly ran into him.
"Old Ghost, what did you mean just now? Who is 'she'? Explain yourself clearly."
Old Ghost wore a look of schadenfreude. "What else could I mean? I think Princess Ge Ge has taken a liking to you. Otherwise, why would they be holding the驸马 selection after so many years, precisely when you arrive? Why else would no one have seen her portrait for so long, yet you did?" He then winked at me.
My jaw dropped in astonishment. "How do you know about that?"
"Not only do I know, but many others do too." As he finished speaking, Old Ghost walked towards a nearby tea stall, ordered a bowl of tea, and sat down, slurping it down.
I followed suit and sat down. Before I could speak, Old Ghost continued, "Don't ask too many questions. I don't know much. Now, I'll tell you there's only one way to leave: get that jade from her. Otherwise, nothing else will work."
"I..."
I regretted my curiosity immensely. Why did I have to be so eager to take the painting?
Now, I was faced with only two paths: either participate in the 驸马 selection, obtain the jade pendant, and leave freely, or turn back and wait to die.
If a fool were to choose between these two paths, they would know which one to pick. I had already earned a million, and as long as I could leave Moribund Village, I could give the money to my master and save my father. How could I possibly give up this opportunity?
Though I still had some doubts, seeing that Old Ghost had no intention of explaining further, I decided not to press the issue.
After a moment's thought, I decided to sign up first and get the jade pendant.
Looking at the three queues, each stretching a hundred meters long, I felt a pang of worry. How long would this take?
By the time it was my turn to register, it would be dawn. Zhang Dabiao and Sun Chuang would be in danger.
Seeing me "voluntarily" come to queue, Old Ghost walked over from the tea stall.
"Kid, have you made up your mind?"
I shot him a glare. "If I haven't made up my mind, what else can I do?"
Old Ghost chuckled. "Since you've made up your mind, I'll help you. Hurry up and register; the selection starts in another hour."
While I was wondering how he knew so much, I heard Old Ghost let out a howl like a wolf.
"Get out of the way... get out of the way! What kind of useless riff-raff are you people to come and register as 驸马? Scram! The real 驸马 is here!"
I blinked in surprise, seeing all the people in the queue turn their attention to Old Ghost. I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, thinking, "Old Ghost, do you think you're a prince? How dare you boss around so many people? You'll be beaten to death by them in a moment!"
To avoid being caught in the crossfire, I took two steps back, putting some distance between myself and Old Ghost, wanting to watch him make a fool of himself.
Just then, I felt a tightening on my wrist, followed by a numbness that rooted me to the spot, unable to move.
"Damn Old Ghost, he's trying to get me killed! He's dragging me down with him?" I cursed inwardly, then instinctively shielded my face with my hands, preparing for the impending storm.
However, after waiting for a while, I heard no curses. Instead, the scene became eerily quiet.
I lowered my arm, slightly lifted my eyelids, and looked at the scene before me with half-closed eyes. Upon seeing it clearly, I froze on the spot.
Old Ghost was nowhere to be seen.
The people in the queue had surrounded me, looking at me with grim expressions.
"Kid, what did you just say? Say it again if you dare."
"Alright! After all these years, someone actually dares to cause trouble here. Who do you think you are, you bastard? You must not want to live."
"Oh ho, the world is full of wonders. A young brat dares to shout here. Truly doesn't know the meaning of death."
"..."
Listening to the jeers of the surrounding crowd, I cursed Old Ghost to the highest heaven in my heart.
"Damn it, he said he'd help me register, but after one shout, he ran off? Isn't he trying to kill me?"
Now, even if I had a mouth on every part of my body, I couldn't explain myself!
Just as I was about to turn and flee, Old Ghost's voice rang out again.
"Grandson, I've registered you. Hurry up and come give a thumbprint."
Instantly, all eyes turned towards the registration area. Through the crowd, I saw Old Ghost holding a small plaque and waving at me.
Seeing Old Ghost's smug expression, I thought to myself, "Damn it, I was almost riddled with holes by the surrounding crowd just now. You dare to speak up now? I think you truly don't know how to write the word 'death'."
The scene of me watching the drama unfold did not materialize. The few young men who had been shouting at me the most fiercely took a step back when they heard Old Ghost speaking to me, a hint of panic appearing on their faces.
As for the few who were ready to curse, they were quickly silenced by others, their mouths covered, emitting muffled sounds. The ones covering their mouths whispered, "Don't speak, or you'll be the one in trouble. He's..."
As Old Ghost walked towards me, everyone in the crowd involuntarily made way, their gazes fixed on me.
"I've registered you. Hey, why the long face? If you don't thank me, fine, but why are you..."
Seeing the crowd looking on like they were watching a good show, I wished I could slap Old Ghost to death. I couldn't bother arguing with him anymore and pulled him to the corner of the restaurant. After confirming that no one was paying attention to us, I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Old Ghost, who's your grandson? You're taking advantage of me, you've gone too far."
My body trembled with anger. I pointed at Old Ghost twice before lowering my hand, knowing that fighting with Old Ghost would ultimately be disadvantageous to me.
"I've done you a huge favor. Not only do you not thank me, but you want to fight me? Besides, I was over ninety when I died. Wouldn't it be a loss for you if I were your grandfather?"
"You..."
"Enough, let's not talk about it anymore." Old Ghost then shoved the registration plaque into my hand. After that, he felt his chest and handed me an imprint about the size of a thumb.
"It's so cold!" I flipped the imprint over. I didn't recognize the characters on it and looked at Old Ghost curiously. "What is this thing? Why is it so cold?"
"Kid, don't ask what this is. Just know that it can suppress your human aura, preventing you from revealing any flaws if you have to fight someone later. If you lose it and your aura as a living person is exposed, even an immortal descending to earth couldn't save you."