I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"Ao Jue? So this is what you look like!" An Xin looked at the androgynous handsome young man and her eyes crinkled into a smile.

"This is my youthful appearance, don't upset me, I don't know when I'll be able to go back to normal!" Ao Jue's aggrieved little face was truly pitiful, look at those watery, moist almond eyes, look at those smooth and flowing white hair, look at those jade-like dragon horns...

"I have horns on my head, I have a tail behind me, no one knows how many secrets I hold..." Unexpectedly, An Xin started singing the next second. The lyrics were so embarrassing that Ao Jue blushed at first, then, remembering what Di Ting had said, he was speechless...

"Haha... Xinxin, is this a nursery rhyme? How did you even come up with that! Ao Jue, don't just stand there, come and eat something. Xinxin is too naughty, you'll get used to it." Gu Shuohan laughed and smoothed things over, beckoning to Ao Jue.

With a mischievous grin, An Xin picked up the fruit tea and, while drinking it, approached the four ghost generals.

"Xiao Jiu, come out quickly and take a look at these puppet ghost generals."

"Hmm, let me take a look!" Xiao Jiu floated to the Ghost General's side and looked him up and down. "Xin Xin, take off their cloaks."

An Xin obediently did as instructed and carefully observed the four ghost generals.

Four ghost generals, one woman and three men.

The female general appeared to be in her early twenties, with a striking and resolute appearance. She was taller and more robust than the average woman, holding her own even next to three male generals. An Xin even thought she was more imposing and majestic than the young Ao Jue. One could easily imagine how carefree and unconventional this female general must have been in her lifetime.

A young general, barely an adult, nearly 1.85 meters tall, wore light armor and appeared somewhat thin yet slender and robust. His still-chubby face, with its bright, clear eyes and fair skin, truly made him a handsome man. The thought of someone so young dying on the battlefield is heartbreaking.

There were also two young generals of similar age and appearance, around 25 or 26 years old, with serious expressions, one even frowning. Standing over 1.9 meters tall, their upright figures exuded an aura of imposing power. It's not hard to imagine the heroic sacrifice of these two generals who died defending their country and people on the battlefield.

Patting An Xin, who was still sighing, Ao Lie held a skewer of squid, munching on it as he said, "They all look pretty good, but they're still far inferior to the dragon soldiers under my command."

"Wipe your mouth!" An Xin tossed a pack of tissues to Ao Jue from her Qiankun World, then said, "They are heroes who died defending their country on the battlefield! It's pitiful enough that they've become souls, so don't be so smug! Besides, what about your dragon soldiers and generals? If they weren't killed by the meteorite, they should be sealed somewhere around here, just like you!"

"...You...you..." Ao Jue nearly choked on a mouthful of squid, thinking he shouldn't have provoked this woman, but then he thought of his subordinates and felt sad again. "Waaah...I'm so useless...waaah..."

"Hey! Aren't you Tianlong? Why are you acting like a faucet!"

"Xinxin! Even the Heavenly Dragons can bring rain!" Di Ting, observing the Ghost General, didn't even glance at the clown, and casually added, "Watch out for thunder!"

"Damn it! This won't do, we'll be exposed!" An Xin grabbed a few tissues and rubbed them all over Ao Jue's face. "Okay, okay! Little Jue Jue, don't cry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have brought up your sad story. How about this, if fate allows, I'll definitely help you rescue your subordinates, okay?"

"...Really...really?" Ao Jue turned off the tap, but was still sniffling. "You mean what you say?"

"It counts, it definitely counts, and Di Ting can be a witness!" An Xin raised three fingers as if making a vow.

"Xinxin, quick, I found it! They all have paper puppet figures on them!" Di Ting spotted a brown corner at the Ghost General's collar. Upon closer inspection, he knew what it was. "Xinxin, put on gloves or use tweezers and take the brown thing out of their collars!"

An Xin obediently put on gloves and carefully pulled out the brown object, which turned out to be a small figure cut from brown sacrificial paper.

"Hehe, it's you! I saw how to eliminate you in Uncle Qiu's class~ Are you scared~ Hahahaha!"

Ao Jue, who had been sobbing just moments before, instantly turned terrified and darted to Gu Shuohan's side: "She...she's gone mad?"

Gu Shuohan, who was eating calmly, waved his hand dismissively and pouted his greasy lips, saying, "Basic stuff, basic stuff, you'll get used to it."

Just kidding, after all, they've known each other for so long. Aside from grief and heartbreak, what state haven't they seen An Xin in? It's just that, including him, everyone is unconsciously drawn to An Xin's abilities, resilience, and vigorous vitality, repeatedly shocked, and ultimately admired.

........................

Qingshan Temple

"Anna has been found!" Master Zou said to his disciples.

"Then I'll go catch her!" Wei Ran's face was covered in dark circles and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked extremely ferocious with anger.

“I fought with the man next to Anna. He’s only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and he was injured by An Xin and me. But his methods are very strange and he’s not easy to deal with,” Master Zou commented objectively. “If you want to catch them, you must do so before 9 PM tonight. The person who provided the clue said they’re checking out.”

“Okay, let’s go now. Even if we can’t catch them, we can at least find out some information,” Li Qingchuan immediately replied, afraid that his master would change his mind.

........................

"Do you still remember who you are?" An Xin waved her hand in front of the female general.

"do not remember."

"So what do you remember?"

"The first person I see is my lord." The female general suddenly knelt on one knee, clenched her fist against her left chest, and roared, "Greetings, my lord! This humble general is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse, even at the cost of his life!"

"Greetings, my lord! This humble general is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty, even unto death!" Then the other three ghost generals also knelt down and shouted in unison.

The deafening shouts startled the people inside the room, leaving them speechless. An Xin, her face full of exasperation, turned to Di Ting and asked, "What's going on? Explain yourself?"

"...It's probably...it's likely that they've come to acknowledge you as their master!"

"Will there be any aftereffects? Will they be controlled by the Netherworld Auction House again?" An Xin was still worried.

"They must have drunk a potion similar to Meng Po's soup, so they can't remember anything. You'll have to ask them when you go to the auction house."

Is there any solution?

"Not for now. Actually, this is also a way to control the loyalty of ghosts."

"But don't you think they're pathetic? They have no thoughts of their own..."

"Then we can only cultivate it later..." Di Ting had no choice but to slink away to Ao Jue's side. "Huh? Why are you eating human food too?"

"It's pretty delicious, do you want to try a bite... Oh! I forgot, you're a spirit now, you can't eat it." Ao Jue took a bite of the grilled fish with a cheeky grin and raised an eyebrow at Di Ting.

"So quickly assimilated by Xinxin..." Di Ting shot him a sharp glare.

Completely ignoring the tense atmosphere on the other side of the sofa, An Xin looked helplessly at the ghost general kneeling on the ground, truly regretting her impulsive actions... She wasn't raising an army, nor was she going to rebel, so what did she need four ghost generals for...?

"Get up quickly, um... do you have names?" An Xin gently helped the female general up.

"No, please bestow a name upon me, my lord!" The female general bowed and clasped her hands in a salute.

"Then you shall be called Mulan!" An Xin racked her brains for a long time, searching for the names of generals she knew.

He patted the young general on the shoulder: "You shall be named Qubing."

"You two are more like brothers, so let's call you Wan Jun and Wan Che."

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon us, my lord!" the four ghosts shouted in unison.

"Alright, alright, no need for all that formality. I'm not some lord. And just call me An Xin, otherwise I'll be really embarrassed!"

"My lord, but..." The most lively young general was about to speak when An Xin interrupted him.

"Stop, stop, stop! If you really want to obey me, just do as I say. It's just a name! Alright, stop being so wishy-washy!"

Good heavens, this barrage of threats and provocations left the four ghost generals looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Since you've acknowledged me as your master, of course you should listen to me, right? Okay, now let's make three rules. First, you're not allowed to call me 'Lord.' Second, since you're following me, you're under my protection, An Xin. No matter the pain, hardship, joy, or sorrow, don't bear it all alone; come and share it with me. You're no longer generals; you can be yourself as you please. Third, if you really don't know what to do, you can explore this world, just be careful." She tilted her head, pondering for a moment, then added, "I haven't thought of anything else yet; I'll talk about it later. I need to go out for a bit; I'll chat with you again when I get back."

She walked over to Gu Shuohan and patted him on the shoulder: "Come on, let's go buy a communicator. This world is too unfamiliar, we need to get to know it properly."

Gu Shuohan had just stood up when Ao Jue interrupted, "Take me with you! Take me with you! It's fine if I'm left here alone!"

"Hmm... alright, then let's do it the same way, put on your cloaks. Xiao Jiu, please invite the four generals into the warm jade to rest their souls."

Watching the four ghost generals float into the warm jade, Ao Jue pouted. Although he was disgusted, a dragon under the eaves has no choice but to bow its head. After all, he didn't know how long he would have to follow this little woman, so he decided to endure it.

The three of them walked out of the Soul Return Tower and onto the main street. They discovered that no matter when, there were always ghosts floating around on the streets. Perhaps this was the true meaning of a "city that never sleeps".

After walking for a short while, a shopping mall with a huge neon sign suddenly came into view.

It's still a standard 5-story building, but this shopping mall looks more like a graveyard... This... This... How much obsession must the owner of this mall have with his afterlife!

Forget it, let's make peace with it now.

After walking around for a while, I finally found a store specializing in communicators. It was incredibly simple here; they only sold one type of communicator—the "no-trace" communicator. The only difference was the size; the basic functions were the same. The strangest thing was that they had many different carriers, and the prices varied greatly, mainly due to differences in network signal strength and the complexity of the array used to power the communicator…

It's said that the best operator is one in which the city lord of Linyou City is involved, and its signal covers the entire Netherworld. It's also rumored to work in the Spirit Realm. The array can be activated for up to 100 years.

An Xin didn't think she would stay in this lousy place for long, so she chose a more cost-effective option with signal coverage in the underworld, but the service period was only 5 years.

Actually, she chose this product for another reason: it's a temporary number series that doesn't require ghost card authentication. (Compared to the lifespans of ghosts, which can easily reach thousands or tens of thousands of years, five years is just a blink of an eye, hence the term "temporary number." A ghost card can be understood as a human's ID card.)

Without saying a word, An Xin took out her black gold card and extravagantly bought seven "nothing to worry about" cards.

They then browsed the clothing section, but found themselves unable to pull off the bizarre and brightly colored outfits.

In the end, she only bought some underwear and sweatshirts. An Xin thought she should look in the scrolls to see if there were any similar robes.

Just as she was about to walk back to the Soul Return Tower, she saw a familiar figure in a luxury car. Before An Xin could confirm it, the car drove past her.

Immediately, they activated their Heavenly Eye and Heavenly Ear to follow the car and investigate. They heard a familiar, delicate voice say, "Are we almost there? I feel so unwell..."

Then another familiar male voice rang out: "Almost there, almost at the City Lord's Mansion. Damn it, how did those three stinking Taoist priests find us..."

"The gates of hell are closed, they should still be there... Find someone quickly... avenge me!"