Chapter 62: The Hanged Ghost Sells Out for Glory

Xia Tianqiong suddenly stepped out from the shadow behind Liu Qian, startling the man so badly that he stumbled backward repeatedly.
Had it been an assassination, Liu Qian would already be dead.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Liu Qian asked, both terrified and furious. "You haven't answered my question yet. Was my nephew, Liu Zhongjun, killed by you?"
"I don't know any Liu Zhongjun, and I've never killed anyone. I am a law-abiding citizen, so stop talking nonsense."
Xia Tianqiong replied casually, fixing his eyes on the Hanged Ghost as he took two steps forward. "Form a contract with me. You know I have plenty of nether gold."
The Hanged Ghost naturally knew he possessed a wealth of nether gold—after all, it was Xia Tianqiong who had broken its seal.
"Little brother, what terms can you offer me?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Qian knew something was terribly wrong. "What do you think you're doing? It already agreed to form a contract with me! Where are your manners?"
"When did it agree? How come I didn't hear it? If it agreed, why haven't you signed a contract with it yet?"
Xia Tianqiong glanced at him with utter disdain and launched a direct counter-attack. "You have the nerve to talk about manners? The poor thing was fighting for its life just now and almost died, yet you just swoop in for the finishing blow and have the audacity to claim a contract? Besides, did you even discuss terms with it? Are all members of the Liu family this thick-skinned?"
Liu Qian, a middle-aged man in his forties, was left completely speechless by a youth in his late teens, his face turning an exceptionally ugly shade.
Nearby, the five members of the Ghost Hunting Squad watched Xia Tianqiong with beaming smiles, silently giving him a mental thumbs-up.
"Aren't you doing the exact same thing? Trying to form a contract without discussing terms?"
Liu Qian still looked unconvinced.
Unfazed, Xia Tianqiong turned around and walked over to Zhou Boyu and the others.
Without a word, he pulled out pieces of gold and shoved fifty liang into each person's hands.
Then, unhurriedly, he asked, "I am going to contract this Hanged Ghost now. Does anyone have any objections?"
Aside from Zhou Boyu, whose expression held a hint of surprise, the other four were utterly dumbfounded, holding the gold in their cupped hands with sheer disbelief in their eyes.
Nether gold was exceedingly rare; even as official Ghost Hunters, they rarely laid eyes on it.
Moreover, fifty liang of nether gold was equivalent to five hundred thousand ghost banknotes—more than their annual salary.
"I have no objections."
"You are the most qualified to contract it."
"That's right, we all agree."
The members of the Ghost Hunting Squad voiced their agreement one after another. They had already disliked Liu Qian's conduct, and now that someone was handing them so much nether gold, naturally they had no objections.
Finally, Zhou Boyu nodded as well, though the gaze he fixed on Xia Tianqiong grew increasingly profound, as if he were deep in thought.
"Look, everyone has no objections."
Xia Tianqiong spread his hands and walked back to the side of the Hanged Ghost.
Liu Qian stood there, suddenly feeling a strong sense of humiliation, yet he was unwilling to give up just yet.
The Hanged Ghost, a Malevolent-class entity, possessed extraordinary strength. Its ghost arts were versatile for both single-target and area-of-effect attacks, boasting immense offensive power. In the current turbulent era, if he could contract it, the Liu family's survival capabilities would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.
"Form a contract with me, and I will give you ten million ghost banknotes immediately, plus two hundred thousand every month from now on."
Having previously offered one million, he had now directly multiplied the amount tenfold. This was the absolute maximum limit of funds Liu Qian was authorized to deploy.
With the offer made, he looked at the Hanged Ghost with eager anticipation, while casting a provocative sidelong glance at Xia Tianqiong.
The Hanged Ghost was also looking with eager anticipation—only, its gaze was fixed on Xia Tianqiong, eager to see how much nether gold *this* person would offer.
Too lazy to waste words, Xia Tianqiong directly produced two thousand liang of gold, stacking it into a small golden mountain on the ground.
The brilliant golden light reflected on everyone's faces, revealing vastly different expressions.
Liu Qian could not help shouting in shock, "Which family do you belong to? How can you casually pull out so much gold? Do the elders in your family not care?"
The members of the Ghost Hunting Squad stared with wide, unblinking eyes.
The Hanged Ghost trembled all over with excitement, its eyes filled with such intense greed and desire that it looked ready to swallow the nether gold right then and there.
Yet, maintaining a shred of reason, it fought hard to suppress the impulse. "Little brother, this is all for me, right? And after the contract, will there be more every month?"
The greed of a ghost was no less than that of a human.
Just moments ago, it had been a terrifying fiend threatening to kill everyone present, but now it was acting pitifully, selling itself out for honor and wealth.
Xia Tianqiong chuckled. Without a second thought, he casually threw out a number: "Let's say fifty liang a month!"
The Hanged Ghost's face lit up with excitement, breaking into a radiant smile so bright it almost jumped up and threw itself into Xia Tianqiong's arms.
Yet, refraining from immediate acceptance, it turned its head toward Liu Qian. "Mister, are you going to raise your bid? As long as it's just a bit higher than the little brother's, I'll be your ghost."
It even batted its grey, pupil-less eyes and cast a seductive wink, giving everyone present a sudden case of goosebumps.
Liu Qian felt humiliated once again.
When that punk had set the bar that high, who could possibly afford to outbid him?
He turned his head away, too furious to offer a response.
The Hanged Ghost felt a fleeting flicker of disappointment before instantly returning to rapturous joy. "Little brother, I am willing to enter an egalitarian contract with you. I hope you'll treat me well in the future and never shortchange me, alright?"
Hearing those words, Xia Tianqiong felt as though he were engaging in human trafficking and running an immoral, illegal transaction.
This female ghost was certainly no proper lady!
Such was Xia Tianqiong's internal verdict, though aloud he simply said, "Agreed. You and I shall forge an egalitarian contract."
He actually would have preferred a master-servant contract, but with a competitor standing right beside them, the Hanged Ghost certainly wouldn't agree to it. He would settle for signing an egalitarian contract first, then look for an opportunity later to entice it into upgrading to a master-servant contract.
With the contract completed, the crisis was resolved, and the matter finally came to an end.
Yet Liu Qian continued to fix a piercing stare on Xia Tianqiong. "Return the Ghost-Sealing Chessboard to me. That is an artifact belonging to the Liu family."
"How could something belonging to the Liu family end up in my hands? Since it's in my hands, doesn't that make it my property?"
Xia Tianqiong stowed the Hanged Ghost into his Mirror Space, allowing it to absorb the gold inside and heal its wounds.
Completely indifferent to Liu Qian's questioning, he turned and prepared to walk out of the warehouse.
"If you don't hand it over, you aren't leaving."
Liu Qian immediately blocked Xia Tianqiong's path. He wanted to forcefully snatch back the Ghost-Sealing Chessboard, but he didn't dare.
First, the opponent had just contracted a Hanged Ghost, and Liu Qian wasn't certain he could win a fight against him.
Second, with official personnel present, it wouldn't do to act too blatantly out of line.
"Captain Zhou, he has looted a millennium-old heirloom artifact belonging to the Liu family. You must uphold justice for me!"
He whirled around to dump the problem onto Zhou Boyu.
Zhou Boyu was momentarily stunned. Frowning in deep thought for a brief moment, he spoke up: "We are not police officers; we do not handle private disputes. Our duty is to deal with paranormal incidents."
In truth, this matter fell into a gray area where they could either intervene or ignore it. After all, a ghost artifact was involved, and both parties were Ghost Hunters; intervening would be entirely justified.
However, Liu Qian's behavior earlier had been utterly disgraceful and repulsive.
Furthermore, Zhou Boyu had a personal aversion to members of ancient families, so he had no intention of meddling in this idle affair.
Liu Qian's face hardened, leaving him frozen in place.
He hadn't expected the official personnel he had called for assistance to refuse to back him up.
For a moment, he could think of no way to reclaim the Ghost-Sealing Chessboard.
After a brief silence, a grave expression settled over his features. "Captain Zhou, do you know where the Hanged Ghost came from?"
Zhou Boyu asked, "Could it be related to the artifact you mentioned?"
"Precisely. The Ghost-Sealing Chessboard seals away numerous vicious entities, and the Hanged Ghost is one of them. The seal was holding perfectly until he robbed me of the chessboard and forcibly shattered the seal within.
His actions are utterly malicious and pose a grave threat to humanity. The Ghost-Sealing Chessboard cannot be allowed to remain in his hands, or else even more powerful specters will inevitably be unleashed, endangering innocent lives."
Liu Qian knew precisely what the authorities cared about most.
The moment public safety was threatened, they would instantly pay utmost attention.
Through his words, Xia Tianqiong had been successfully reframed as a dangerous criminal who deliberately released ghosts.
As the captain of the Paranormal Affairs Bureau, Zhou Boyu certainly could not afford to ignore this—otherwise, it would constitute dereliction of duty.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhou Boyu immediately grew vigilant. "Such a dangerous ghost artifact—please hand it over to our Bureau for safekeeping, Mr. Xia!"
"What?"
Liu Qian froze on the spot.
If the Bureau confiscated it, he would truly never see it again.