As Bai Wan scrolled through the forums, he grew more and more dumbfounded.

“Everyone! The number one rookie player beneath Family has finally appeared! Rumor has it, his talent is no less than Family’s!”

“I heard that too! They call him the Lord of Gold and Silver. Supposedly, he always shows up with a melancholy, weary face. No matter what dungeon he enters, he remains calm and indifferent—hence also titled ‘Melancholy Lord.’ It’s like there’s nothing left in this world worth expecting anymore.”

“What’s even scarier is that he has two wives of gold and silver. Each wife is said to have the power to fight paranormals.”

“Hss… doesn’t that mean he basically has two paranormal women guarding him on either side? That’s terrifying…”

“Yeah. In ghost hunts, people saw it firsthand. The Lord of Gold and Silver just stood there, staring blankly ahead with that melancholy gaze, while his two wives swept the paranormals away themselves. Everyone else only needed to follow behind them, taking advantage of the gaps to collect paranormals with containment bags before the Gold and Silver Duo finished them off.”

“Damn… that’s insanely powerful. He doesn’t even need to lift a finger? But I’ve heard an even juicier scoop—Family and the Lord of Gold and Silver once joined forces in the unsolvable dungeon, The Letter! That’s destiny, right there.”

“A revolutionary friendship between the strongest rookies? Sounds epic.”

Bai Wan’s expression twisted oddly.

The “melancholy” Lord of Gold and Silver? Of course he’s melancholy—his girlfriend had drowned in the river, and her corpse had been taken away by the River God. How could he not be?

But still, though he lost his real wife, he had gained two new ones of different “materials.” And apparently, those two wives can fight paranormals? Impressive.

Speak of the devil—the Lord of Gold and Silver sent him a private message.

“Thank you, boss. I only survived The Letter thanks to you. Also… sorry. When Luo Ya died, I lost my head. I was too emotional, not myself. I really liked Luo Ya… Anyway, here’s 300 Paranormal Coins I earned recently. Just take it. I’m really sorry.”

Bai Wan blinked, then replied, “It’s fine. My condolences.”

He hadn’t expected Wang Jian to actually have some conscience. Then again, in the dungeon Bai Wan had thought he was alright as a person—just a bit too much of a lovesick simping-fool.

Losing his girlfriend Luo Ya had pushed him over the edge. Now that some time had passed, maybe he had finally calmed down.

A follow-up message came quickly: “I’ll need to get going, boss. Got something to do today—hired a craftsman to do surface maintenance on my wives. Need to put a new coat of paint on them. They’ve gotten a bit scuffed lately. See you.”

Bai Wan: “……”

Yep. No matter what, the essence of a simp never changes.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder—what material were those wives made of, that they could get scratched and need repainting?

Smiling wryly, Bai Wan closed the chat with Wang Jian, then noticed someone else on the forums was standing up for him.

Unlike back in the Nightmare Haunted Campus, this time there were people unafraid of the villains. One of them had the ID: BeatingUpCriminals.

“Don’t be scared. With big sis here, nobody can touch you. They’re just rats crawling in the sewers. Never a real threat! @Family”

Curious, Bai Wan checked the replies and found the person was no ordinary player—they were a newly promoted A-rank para-hunter. That meant they were one of the more important figures in the official hunter ranks.

Like Jiang Zai before—he had been incredibly strong. If not for encountering the Mountain God, a Paranormal God-level entity, handling ordinary paranormals would have been easy for him. Even Bai Wan himself had only survived the Mountain God by bringing out the Blood Husk Buddha.

But this time, he’d finally run into an official big shot—an A-rank paranormal hunter, no less. That was definitely a strong thigh to cling to.

He quickly replied: “Thanks, big sis. Rookie here, hugging your thigh (pitiful eyes) @BeatingUpCriminals.”

The response came fast: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely carry you.”

Bai Wan nodded in satisfaction.

…

At that moment, Su Lingling, the genius researcher who had come out of Black Mount, saw Bai Wan’s pitiful rookie act and fell speechless for a long time.

Damn… shameless. Just playing weak again, huh?

She couldn’t help recalling her own foolishness, letting Bai Wan hide behind her back then.

This so-called “easiest target,” Family, was in fact a bottomless abyss. No one could ever guess how many trump cards he was hiding. At this point, Family’s strength was more than enough to earn the title of an A-rank hunter himself. After all, he had taken down the Mountain God.

Yes, there had been coincidences, but his strength was undeniable. Even the Dark Organization’s third-in-command would probably not be a match for him.

So when she saw BeatingUpCriminals vowing to protect Family, she couldn’t help but see a reflection of herself—and muttered quietly, “Sigh, women really are too naïve. Hopefully, after getting duped by this bitch of a man, she’ll wise up.”

…

After browsing the forum, Bai Wan pulled out a paranormal item.

Whoosh!

A ghostly hand writhed restlessly, cold air seeping from its surface. This was a paranormal item he had bought at The Letter’s shop—intended to be sacrificed to the Blood Husk Buddha.

Though Bai Wan could sense that he could directly absorb paranormal items with his left hand, the next dungeon was the Desolate Village. To play it safe, he decided to exchange it for the Crimson Bodhi Seed in advance. Google seaʀᴄh novęlfire.net

He placed his left hand on the item and silently chanted a prayer.

Swish!

The item dissolved into paranormal energy, which was immediately sucked into his palm. It raced through his veins and rushed toward the blood eye on his hand.

The blood eye flashed red, and suddenly snapped open!

Clang!

A crimson heart materialized in Bai Wan’s palm, then merged into his chest. This was the Crimson Bodhi Seed, an artifact with the miraculous power to negate death once.

Checking the Blood Husk Idol again, he saw its description had changed. To obtain a second Crimson Bodhi Seed, he would need to sacrifice three paranormal items. As expected, this was no easy prize. After all, it had the power of resurrection. The further he went, the more paranormal items it would demand for revival.

Gazing at his left hand, Bai Wan suddenly recalled Captain Jiang Zai’s paranormal awakening back at Black Mount.

When he got home, he dug into the records.

Awakening a paranormal item meant unlocking its true potential. This method didn’t even require Paranormal Coins—and granted vastly greater power. It was a skill only top masters possessed.

People even drew the line for S-rank hunters: to qualify, one needed to master both Awakening and Para-Awakening.

Generally speaking, the stronger the paranormal item, the more terrifying its awakened form. It was like—what he currently had was only the initial state. Para-awakening was the Bankai.

Tilting his head, Bai Wan glanced curiously at the Blood Husk Idol fused into his arm.

The awakening of an abyss-grade paranormal artifact…it has to be unimaginably strong.

The thought filled him with anticipation. He decided to head for the Lan City branch to ask about paranormal awakening.

…

Meanwhile, as Bai Wan was travelling to the branch, the HQ of the Paranormal Hunters was in a state of tense alarm.

“What’s the situation? Is that unsolvable Telephone Ghost still in Black Mount?” S-rank Captain Li Shoushi asked urgently.