Ghost Princess Snatching Husbands (Part 1)

Ivy Shen drifted behind the ghostly parade, determined to get answers. She snatched up a little ghost boy who’d been trailing the group with drool practically streaming down his chin—seriously, he looked ready to eat the whole underworld.

"Hey, munchkin! Over here!" She yanked the kid, who looked about six or seven, right to her side.

"What d’you want?" The little ghost stuck his chin out, shot her a look that could curdle milk, then eyeballed the procession, clearly itching to keep moving.

"How long’ve you been following them?"

"Ever since they kicked the bucket, I’ve been on their tail!" the little ghost blurted, puffing up like he deserved a medal.

Ivy blinked. She’d only meant to ask about the parade, but this kid answered like he’d been glued to her four husbands from the moment they dropped dead. If that was true, did this little ghost know everything that happened to them down here?

"So you know everything that’s happened to them?" Ivy asked, hope practically sparkling in her eyes.

"Yup!" he said, then puffed his cheeks out. "But why do you keep dragging me around? Boys and girls aren’t supposed to touch, you know!"

"Zip it!" Ivy barked. "Listen up—whatever I ask, you answer honestly. Got it?"

"Nope!" the little ghost shot back, arms crossed, defiant as ever.

Whack! Ivy didn’t hold back—she thumped the little ghost boy right on the head. "Answer honestly, did you hear me?"

"No!"

Whack! "Answer honestly, did you hear me?"

"No, no, no!" The little guy glared with big eyes, pouted, and yelled at her, "Waaah, I’m so cute—why do you keep smacking my head?"

Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack! Ivy wasn’t in the mood to coddle him—she just kept whacking. "Answer honestly, did you hear me?" Her voice got much louder; she was obviously getting angry.

"Waaah, I heard you... I heard you! I only said 'no' three times, but you hit me five times—waaah, it hurts..." The little guy nodded weakly, looking utterly wronged.

Satisfied, Ivy nodded and patted his head. "Now that’s a good boy."

"I’m not a baby, I’m a young man—I’m already seven!" The little guy retorted, tears shining in his eyes.

"Alright, young man, then let me ask you: why did they lose their memories? On the way here I saw plenty of ghosts who still remember their pasts, so why don’t they?" Ivy was genuinely curious, since she was sure her husbands hadn’t drunk Forgetfulness Soup—souls who do reincarnate right away, and these four clearly hadn’t.

"My name’s Pretty Boy—it means ‘handsome young master’... They got whacked by Granny Hua’s staff." Seeing Ivy’s face darken, Pretty Boy quickly stopped joking and got serious.

"What staff?"

"See, that’s Granny Hua up ahead. She’s got a staff—any ghost she whacks on the head with it loses their memories. Otherwise, how would those handsome guys agree to marry that ugly Ghost Princess? It’s tragic—so good-looking, and forced to marry a monster!" He smacked his lips in sympathy.

Ivy frowned—no wonder. "Hey, tell me, how can they get their memories back?"

"My name’s Pretty Boy, remember? Uh… get their memories back? Ha, not possible. That staff only erases memories—it can’t restore them. But I heard the Other-Shore Flower can do it. The Ghost Princess knows, though, so she’ll never let them near it." For some reason, Pretty Boy always found Ivy scary—a single look made him shiver.

Ivy was stunned again. A hazy phrase floated through her mind: “Other-Shore Flower, Road of Fire”—it could awaken memories from a past life. No wonder her husbands had subconsciously recognized her in the flower sea.

"Done asking? I wanna go watch the fun!" Pretty Boy was a little scared of Ivy and quickly asked.

Ivy grinned down at the little guy. "Since you’ve been so helpful, I’ll repay you!"

"Heh, no need, no need!" Seeing Ivy’s sly grin, Pretty Boy broke out in a sweat—he had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh, what are you scared of? Come on, big sis will take you to the Ghost Feast—eat all you want!"

"Really?" Pretty Boy perked up at the mention of food—after all, it was the Ghost Princess’s wedding. There’d be tons of good eats!

"Big sis wouldn’t lie to you! Come on, let’s get the gifts ready first!" With that, Ivy grabbed the little guy’s hand and leaped up, not a trace of fear in her heart—just gritting her teeth and thinking: Ghost Princess, you’ve got guts stealing her men. You’re asking for trouble!

A moment later—

Ivy’s martial arts were superb—even as a ghost she was formidable. She slipped in easily with the little guy, and inside the huge courtyard, lavishly dressed ghosts floated everywhere, gossiping and boasting. Ivy rolled her eyes and led the little guy deeper inside.

"Sis, I’m hungry…" The little guy stared at the food on the table, swallowing hard.

"You can eat—but you have to stick to our plan. Go open the back door and let your friends in so they can eat too, okay?"

"Okay!" Pretty Boy zipped off to the back door, where a hundred little ghosts were waiting—he’d promised to let them in to eat, so they’d all gathered there.

Creak—the door opened, and a swarm of little ghosts flooded in. Since this was a noble banquet, there were no guards posted. The kids hadn’t eaten in ages, so they dove into the food, leaving the nobles stunned and speechless.

"Four grooms, step forward!" Granny Hua bellowed. Caleb Miles, Felix Bloom, Liam Willow, and Eli Crane shuffled forward woodenly.

The lady ghosts drooled at the sight—these four men were just too handsome. It’s not fair, not fair at all! Why should they marry the princess? She’s so ugly, she doesn’t deserve them!

But all these complaints—all these noble lady ghosts could only grumble in their hearts, never daring to say it out loud.

"Now, bring out the princess!" Suddenly, a lady ghost appeared, her head covered in a red veil. She was so lazy, she didn’t even walk—just floated along.

"Alright, it’s the auspicious hour—let’s begin the wedding ceremony!" Granny Hua shouted again.

At that moment, Ivy noticed several decent-looking men in the crowd, grinning widely with their packs on their backs, murmuring, "Finally, someone’s come to take our place—we can reincarnate into a rich family now!" Four or five men clung to each other, sobbing, but couldn’t stop smiling. Clearly, they’d suffered at the hands of the Ghost Princess.

Their words gave Ivy another clue: whatever the princess looked like, at least after serving her for a while, once she got bored and swapped them out, her husbands could reincarnate into wealthy families. That’s what all the ghosts on the Road to the Underworld envied—otherwise, who knows how many lifetimes it would take to land in a rich household.

Ivy scanned the crowd—no sign of the underworld reapers or the King of the Underworld. Most of the guests were noblewomen. It seemed the King didn’t care much about the princess’s wedding—or maybe she got married so often he couldn’t be bothered to show up.

As for all these idle rich lady ghosts—they must have connections to the princess, or maybe their parents have official positions in the underworld. So even if the King didn’t show, they wouldn’t dare skip the event. Just look at all the gifts in the hall.

But Ivy didn’t have time to analyze all this—her time was running out. She had to get them out fast. She wasn’t afraid of dying, but she worried those three guys back in the Serpent Realm might lose hope. Better to drag all four of these men home—then the whole family would be together.

"Auspicious hour—begin the ceremony!" Granny Hua yelled again. The four men shuffled to the altar like puppets, while the princess floated over, acting all shy—anyone watching might think it was her first wedding!

Bang! Bang! Suddenly, thunderous noises erupted outside the courtyard. The noblewomen finally screamed, "Oh my god, what’s happening?!"