Chapter 61

"Come on, Erdan, it’s your turn to speak!" In her extreme cuteness, Xiao Luoli Jiang Qing was looking at Erdan with an innocent and adorable expression, eagerly awaiting his response.

"Me?" Erdan glanced at Jiang Qing and lowered his head.

"Cough... cough..."

"Cough... cough..."

Xiao Luoli Jiang Qing felt that the atmosphere in the room suddenly became strange, in a way that left her utterly baffled.

"What's going on? If you don't want to tell me, just say so! Why are you all making such faces!?" Jiang Qing, the little girl, was completely at a loss.

"Cough... cough..." Li Hao had almost coughed himself into an asthma attack today. "I'll say it then..." As soon as Li Hao spoke, he felt a murderous gaze fix on him. Without looking, he knew it must be coming from Erdan.

It was no wonder Erdan was radiating such a murderous aura—could he really tell this to an outsider, especially an innocent little girl?

If Li Hao really dared to say it, Erdan would probably bite him to death!

"It's like this..." Li Hao ignored Erdan's bloodthirsty gaze and continued, "I'm planning to propose, right? But as you know, I'm now a ghost scholar with status and position, so the betrothal gifts can't be shabby, or I'll be laughed at by other ghosts! But I don't have much savings, and my brother, Awei, is also new to the ghost world and doesn't have much money either. So, the betrothal gifts are a real problem for us—everyone is racking their brains to help me figure it out!"

"What! You're going to propose!?" The little girl completely ignored the part about betrothal gifts and looked at Li Hao with an incredulous expression. "You're just a little kid, even younger than me, and you're thinking about proposing!?" The little girl was actually around fifteen or sixteen years old, and by custom, she was just about the right age for marriage. However, she couldn't understand why Li Hao, a ten-year-old boy, was so eager to propose.

"Who's a little kid!?" Li Hao retorted, "My real age is much older than yours!" By "real age," he meant the sum of his lifespan in the human world and his ghostly lifespan. Li Hao had a short human lifespan and died young, so he looked like a child, but his actual age was already twenty, making him four or five years older than the little girl.

"Hey, you're still a little kid, and you're not admitting it!?" The little girl suddenly remembered that you can't judge a ghost by their appearance; some ghosts might look like infants but could have a ghostly lifespan of seventy or eighty years. Thinking of this, she changed the subject, "By the way, who is the bride? How old is she? She's not a baby, is she!?"

"Spit!" Li Hao almost spat blood, "Don't worry about it, the bride is much older than you!"

"Older than me!?" The little girl immediately imagined a very incongruous scene—a little male ghost and an adult female ghost getting married in a very mismatched ceremony...

"Cough... cough..." Thinking of this, the little girl's face turned awkward, but she still offered her blessings, "Three years older, and you'll have a golden brick! I believe in you, don't let the世俗的眼光羁绊了你!" (Note: "世俗的眼光" means "worldly eyes" or "worldly opinions," and "羁绊" means "restraint" or "hindrance.")

"Big sister, you're kidding me!" Li Hao finally couldn't hold back, "Her actual age is not older than mine!"

"Uh..." The little girl was speechless.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around!" Jiang Wei, who had been watching with a smile, finally interrupted, "Xiaohao, are you really worried about the betrothal gifts?" Jiang Wei hadn't seen Li Hao for over a month and wasn't aware of the progress between Li Hao and Zhou Xue. However, based on his understanding, they were indeed at the stage of discussing marriage.

"Yes!" Li Hao had fabricated this story not only to deceive the little girl but also to tell Jiang Wei.

"This is indeed a problem..." Jiang Wei mused. Li Hao was now an upper-class ghost scholar in the inner city, and the Zhou family was a prominent family in the outer city. Therefore, the proposal couldn't be taken lightly, or it would be laughed at by other ghosts.

The冥币 (Note: "冥币" means "hell money" or "ghost money") that Jiang Wei and Li Hao had together amounted to nearly ten thousand, but that was far from enough for betrothal gifts!

"Isn't it ironic that marriage is a matter between two ghosts, but the betrothal gifts are more for the other ghosts to see!" Li Hao said with self-mockery.

"Isn't a ghost's life all about face?" Jiang Wei said, "Xiaohao, don't worry, I'll find a way to get the money for the betrothal gifts!"

Jiang Wei and Li Hao were orphans who grew up in the Wanxiang Sect, like brothers. Jiang Wei was like an older brother to Li Hao. As the saying goes, an older brother is like a father, and Jiang Wei, as an older brother, would of course help Li Hao with his life's major events in a grand manner!

But... where to get the money—Jiang Wei was stuck on this very practical problem.

"If all else fails, we can only 'borrow' some money from the senior disciples of Fang Siqi's lineage..." Jiang Wei thought. However, he didn't have the time to consider whether this was too much of a stretch.

Just as Jiang Wei was pondering which senior disciple had more money and would be easier to approach, a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Is Junior Brother Jiang Wei here?"

Jiang Wei immediately recognized it as Lin Nianluo's voice and quickly replied, "I'm here, Senior Sister, please come in!"

The door to the pavilion was slightly ajar, and Lin Nianluo pushed it open.

Upon entering, Lin Nianluo first looked at the little girl Jiang Qing with some surprise, and then said, "Junior Brother, I'm glad you're back from Qiudao Mountain!"

Jiang Wei was puzzled, "Senior Sister, did something happen?"

"You don't know?" Lin Nianluo asked in surprise.

"Know what?" Jiang Wei was even more confused, "I just got back from Qiudao Mountain, went to see Master, and then came here... I haven't heard anything!"

"It seems you really don't know, no wonder you're still chatting and laughing here—something big has happened!" Lin Nianluo said, "Our Senior Brother is taking a concubine!"

"Senior Brother?" Jiang Wei was stunned, "You mean Fang Siqi? What does it have to do with us if he takes a concubine?"

"It doesn't matter to me, but it matters to you; it's a huge deal for the brother next to you!" Lin Nianluo said, "I heard that the concubine Senior Brother is taking is named Zhou Xue, and she seems to be the little girlfriend of the brother next to you..."

"What!!?" Jiang Wei was shocked; before Lin Nianluo could finish, he couldn't help but curse, "F*ck his whole family!"

Li Hao, standing beside him, was even more furious, his eyes blazing with anger and his face contorted.

"The betrothal gifts are already on their way, and they will probably be delivered to the Zhou family in a short while!" Lin Nianluo wasn't scared by Jiang Wei's sudden outburst, as she had anticipated his reaction.

"Damn it! Xiaohao, let's go!" Jiang Wei cursed and headed for the door, "Erdan, Xiaodao, come with me, we're going to fight!"

How could Jiang Wei possibly remain silent in such a situation!?

"Big brother, wait, I'll go with you!" The little girl Jiang Qing followed closely behind.

"Ha ha, Junior Brother, I'll go with you to back you up!" Lin Nianluo was much calmer, smiling as she followed.